This supremely charming forest called Vṛndāvana is expertly served by Śrī Vṛndā-devī and is densely filled with many types of sevā-kuñjas and keli-kuñjas. Vṛndā-devī, eternally reigning and residing here, is the protector, nourisher and forest goddess (vanadevī) of Śrī Vṛndāvana. All the trees, creepers, birds and animals of Vṛndāvana are under her jurisdiction, and they are dependent upon and obedient to her. She constantly engages countless gopīs in service in the kuñjas. She is therefore the adhiṣṭhātrī-devī of kuñja-sevā.
It is important to understand Yogamāyā (samaṣṭibhūtā svarūpa-śakti), Paurṇamāsī (parākhyā mahā-śakti) and Vṛndādevī and their different functions. Bhagavatī Paurṇamāsī is
the līlā-avatāra of Yogamāyā; in other words, when Yogamāyā takes a tangible form, she becomes Paurṇamāsī. Paurṇamāsī’s function is to attend to all the details of the various pastimes in the forests and goṣṭhas. Vṛndā-devī, on the other hand, who is the personification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlākhyā mahā-śakti and also a manifestation of Yogamāyā, makes all the arrangements for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s nikuñjavilāsa, rāsa-vilāsa and so on.
Vṛndā-devī’s father is Candrabhānu, her mother is Phullarā Gopī and her husband is Mahīpāla. All of them eternally reside in Vṛndāvana. Vṛndā is the most important among all the dūtī sakhīs, or messengers, like Vṛndārikā, Mainā and Muralī. Her function is to skilfully arrange the
meeting of the Divine Couple through various means and, therefore, she is the vanadevī of Vṛndāvana. Vṛndā-devī has dedicated her kingdom of Vṛndāvana, which she wonderfully
serves, protects and nourishes, at the lotus feet of Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī Śrīmatī Rādhika, who is mahābhāva svarūpā, the embodiment of mahābhāva. Therefore, Śrīmatī Rādhikā is truly Vṛndāvaneśvarī, the Queen of Vṛndāvana.
The Purāṇas state that the following personalities are all kāya-vyūhā svarūpā, bodily expansions, of sarva-śaktimayī Śrīmatī Rādhikā: Mahārāja Kedāra’s daughter who is described as Vṛndā-devī; king Kuśadhvaja’s daughter whom the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa describes as Tulasī, the wife of Śaṅkhacūḍa; and Vṛndā, or Tulasī, the beloved of Hari who
appears in the form of a plant on the earth planet. They eternally reside in Vṛndāvana and are the partial manifestations (kalā-svarūpā) of Vṛndā-devī, who is always engaged
in the service of the Divine Couple in the nikuñjas of Vṛndāvana. Indeed, Vṛndāvana is known by the name of this Vṛndā-devī.
Descriptions of the abundant glories of Śrī Vṛndāvana are found throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the crown-jewel of all pramāṇas (evidences). Śrī Nanda Bābā’s
minister and elder brother Śrī Upānanda says:
vanaṁ vṛndāvanaṁ nāma paśavyaṁ nava-kānanam gopa-gopī-gavāṁ sevyaṁ puṇyādri-tṛṇa-vīrudham
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.11.28)
[We should not stay in this Gokula-Mahāvana which is constantly in turmoil. As gopas and gopīs, our prime duty is to immediately take up residence in Vṛndāvana, whose charm is unrivalled, being enchanting in every respect. It is covered with lush grass, beautified with various trees, creepers and sacred mountains, and protected in all respects to provide safety to cows and other animals.] Upon observing the wonderful, sweet pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Caturmukha Brahmā became very astonished and prayed with folded hands:tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ yad gokule ’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukundas tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.34)
[Aho! It would be my great fortune to take birth as a blade of grass, a shrub or any other species which can be anointed with the dust falling from the lotus feet of any of the Brajabāsīs of Vṛndāvana. Even the śrutis, who have been searching for so long, have not yet received the dust of the lotus feet of Bhagavān Mukunda, who is the life and soul of these Brajabāsīs. If it is impossible for me to take birth in any species in Vṛndāvana, then let me take birth even as a rock on the border of Nanda-Gokula. The ladies who sweep the streets will then rub their feet on this rock to clean them, and by this I will receive the good fortune of touching the dust of their feet.] Uddhava, the premātura bhakta, prays:āsām aho caraṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.61)
[I would consider it my greatest fortune (aho bhagya) to take birth as a shrub, creeper, or any other plant in this Vṛndāvana and thus be sprinkled by the footdust of these gopīs. They have given up everything, including their husbands, sons and other family members, the path of chastity (āryadharma), and their honour in society (loka-lajjā), which are all very difficult to renounce. Thus their prema has enchanted even Svayaṁ Bhagavān Brajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is searched for by the śrutis.] The beautiful young women of Mathurā present in Kaṁsa’s wrestling arena lavishly praised Vṛndāvana by saying:puṇyā bata vraja-bhuvo yad ayaṁ nṛ-liṅga gūḍhaḥ purāṇa-puruṣo vana-citra-mālyaḥ gāḥ pālayan saha-balaḥ kvaṇayaṁś ca veṇuṁ vikrīḍayāñcati giritra-ramārcitāṅghriḥ
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.13)
“Aho! In all three worlds, only Śrī Vṛndāvana and the goparamaṇīs living in Vṛndāvana are fortunate, because in that place the parama purāṇa-puruṣa Śrī Kṛṣṇa, disguised as a human being, performs human-like pastimes under the arrangement of Yogamāyā. Adorned with a multi-coloured vana-mālā, He grazes the cows with Baladeva and the sakhās, vibrating His sweet flute and absorbed in various kinds of krīḍā-vilāsa.” Being intoxicated by kṛṣṇa-prema, one gopī addresses another gopī, saying:vṛndāvanaṁ sakhi bhuvo vitanoti kīrtiṁ yad devakī-suta-padāmbuja-labdha-lakṣmi govinda-veṇum anu matta-mayūra-nṛtyaṁ preksyādri-sānv-avaratānya-samasta-sattvam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.21.10)
[O sakhī, this Vṛndāvana is spreading the fame of the Earth planet even above that of Vaikuṇṭha because it is splendidly decorated by the marks of the lotus feet of Yaśodānandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Sakhī, when rasikendra Śrī Kṛṣṇa plays on His muralī, which enchants the whole world, the peacocks become intoxicated and, thinking the sound of the flute to be the roaring thunder of the clouds, spread their tail feathers and begin to dance. Seeing this, the birds and animals roaming on the mountain summits become completely stunned and relish the sound of the flute with their ears and the dance of the peacocks with their eyes.] What to speak of others, even parama-rasika and bhavuka Śukadeva Gosvāmī is mesmerised by Vṛndāvana, and thus praises this land repeatedly:barhāpīḍaṁ naṭa-vara-vapuḥ karṇayoḥ karṇikāraṁ bibhrad vāsaḥ kanaka-kapiśaṁ vaijayantīṁ ca mālām randhrān veṇor adhara-sudhayāpūrayan gopa-vṛndair vṛndāraṇyaṁ sva-pada ramaṇaṁ prāviśad gīta-kīrtiḥ
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.21.5)
[Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the enchanter of the whole world, dressed as a naṭavara, the best of dancers, entered the supremely charming Vṛndāvana, beautifying it with the marks of His lotus feet. His head was decorated with a peacock feather. He wore fragrant yellow karnikara flowers behind His ears, a radiant golden garment on His śyāma-complexioned limbs, and around His neck a vana-mālā made of five different coloured flowers, that extended down to His lotus feet. He poured the nectar from His lips through the holes of His flute, enchanting everyone by its sweet sound, including both moveable and immovable entities. The cowherd boys followed Him, singing His glories.] Śrī Kṛṣṇa never leaves this sweet Vṛndāvana, which is inundated with akhila cidānanda rasa – vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya pādamekaṁ na gacchati (Brahma-yāmala). One poet who was a rasika bhakta extracted the essence of the śrutis and Purāṇas in regard to Vṛndāvana. As if putting the vast ocean into a water pot, he summed it up accurately by saying:braj samudr mathurā kamal vṛndāvan makarand braj vanitā sab puṣp haiṅ madhukar gokulcand
“Braja is like the ocean, Mathurā like the lotus, and Vṛndāvana like the nectar-pollen. All the Braja gopīs are like flowers, and Gokulacanda Kṛṣṇa is the bumblebee.”The Unique Glory of Śrī Vṛndāvana
Śrī Vṛndāvana is not merely a tīrtha, but is Bhagavān’s own abode (dhāma), or His own home. It is no exaggeration to say that Vṛndāvana is Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa because Kṛṣṇa and His dhāma are non-different. According to the Purāṇas, Devarṣi Nārada was once singing the glories of Śrī Hari on his vīṇa when he reached Prayāga. This Prayāga is Tīrtharāja, or the king of all holy places. Prayāga welcomed him with great honour and narrated the story of how he became Tīrtharāja. Śrī Nārada said, “Bhagavān has given you the post of Tīrtharāja, but I have some doubt in this regard. Does Vṛndāvana ever come to make offerings to you along with the other tīrthas?” Tīrtharāja replied, “No.” Śrī Nārada asked, “Then, what kind of Tīrtharāja are you?” This statement pierced the heart of Tīrtharāja, who understood it to be true. “How then am I Tīrtharāja?” he wondered. Thinking in this way, he went to Bhagavān. Seeing Tīrtharāja approaching, Bhagavān honoured him appropriately and asked him why he had come. Tīrtharāja humbly replied, “Prabhu, You have appointed me as Tīrtharāja, but the tīrtha of Vṛndāvana never comes to make any offering to me. How can it be that I am Tīrtharāja? If a small tīrtha like Vṛndāvana does not accept my jurisdiction, then it is not at all appropriate for me to hold the title of Tīrtharāja.” Upon hearing the statements of Prayāga Rāja, Bhagavān became silent for a moment. His eyes brimmed with tears as He remembered Braja. Cow-grazing, His sakhās, Nanda Bābā and mother Yaśodā’s affection, His beloved Kiśorī Śrī Rādhā, the gopīs and His rāsa-vilāsa – these memories appeared in His heart along with many others from Braja. Bhagavān’s heart melted. After composing Himself a little, He spoke very gravely. “Tīrtharāja! It is true that I have appointed you the king of all tīrthas, but I have not made you the king of My own home, Śrī Vṛndāvana. The land of Vṛndāvana is not only My home, but is the supreme place of My beloved Śrī Rādhā’s pastimes (vihāra). She is indeed the adhipati (mistress) and īśvarī (sovereign) there. She is truly Vṛndāvaneśvarī. I also reside there eternally. You are Tīrtharāja, no doubt, but Vṛndāvana is not merely a tīrtha. You too can worship and serve Vṛndāvana in some way.” Śrī Nārada has glorified Śrī Vṛndāvana not only in the Padma Purāṇa, but also to Bhakti-devī in Śrīmad-Bhāgavat Māhātmya (1.61):vṛndāvanasya saṁyogāt / punastvaṁ taruṇī navā dhanyaṁ vṛndāvanaṁ tena / bhaktir-nṛtyati yatra ca
[He Devī! By coming to Vṛndāvana, you have again become a fresh young woman. Thus, this Vṛndāvana Dhāma, where bhakti is dancing everywhere, is blessed] The glories of Śrī Vṛndāvana are also mentioned in the Mathurā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa and in the Ādi Varāha Purāṇa. [Excerpted from the Gaudiya Vedanta Publication “Śrī Braja Maṇḍala Parikramā“]