One day Srila Madhavendra Puri (a devotee of Sree Krishna) was circumambulating Sree Govardhan in a state of total intoxication and absorption in love for Sree Krishna. When he arrived at GovindKund, he took his bath and sat down beneath a nearby tree to perform his evening sandhya meditation and rituals. While he was doing so, a young cowherd boy carrying a pot of milk approached him and said with a smile, “What have you been thinking? Why don’t you ask for something to eat? I have brought you some milk.Drink it.”
When Srila Madhavendra Puri saw the beautiful lad, he was so overcome that he completely forgot his hunger and thirst. Instead he asked him, “Who are you? Where do you live? How did you know that I had not eaten?”
The cowherd boy answered, “I am a cowherd and I live in this village. In our village, no one ever goes hungry. Some people beg for food, but if someone doesn’t ask, then I bring him something to eat. The womenfolk came here to fetch water and saw that you had not eaten. They sent me here with this milk for you. But it is nearly milking time and I will have to leave. I’ll come back later to fetch the pot.”
Srila Madhavendra Puri was astonished to see the boy walk away and disappear. He drank the milk and then washed the pot and put it aside, waiting for the cowherd boy to return . He sat under the tree chanting the Holy Names until the end of the night when he started to doze. While asleep, he had a dream in which the cowherd youth came to him and led him by the hand to a wooded bower.
The boy said, “I live here in this bower, but I am very uncomfortable due to the summer heat, the rains and the winter cold. Go and tell the village folk to help you uncover Me, and take Me to the top of the hill and build a shelter for Me. Then bathe me with cool, clear water. I have been waiting for you for a long time, wondering when you would come to serve me. I was waiting for your loving service so that I could show Myself and thereby save the entire universe.”
“My name is Gopal, the lifter of Govardhana. Krishna’s great grandson, Aniruddha’s son Vajra, established My service so many years ago, but the pujari in charge of My service hid me here when he fled out of fear of the Muslims. Since then I have been here. It is good that you have finally come here, now please dig Me up.”
When Srila Madhavendra awoke, he began to cry from his intense feelings of love, thinking, “Alas! Sree Krishna himself came to me in the form of a cowherd boy and I was unable to recognize him!” However, after a few moments he brought himself under control in order to carry out Sree Gopal’s orders. He took his morning bath and then gathered the village folk together and said, “Sree Gopal, the lifter of Govardhana, is the deity of this village, but He is buried in this bower. Go and bring shovels, we have to dig Him up and release Him.”
The village people enthusiastically started to clear the bower and soon discovered a large deity who was covered in earth and weeds. The strongest of the local people lifted the deity up and carried Him to the top of the hill where they placed Him on a large rock throne. In order to carry out the grand abhishek ceremony, the local Brahmins had water from Govinda Kund filtered and carried to the site in a hundred new jugs. When word got out of the discovery of the deity and it was announced that His puja and abhishek would soon be held, a joyful noise arose in all directions, musicians played on their instruments and the people danced and sang. The mountain was covered with all kinds of offerings, ghee, milk, yogurt and sandesha, all gifts from the local people.
Srila Madhavendra Puri himself performed the abhishek bathing ceremony.
After this, Sree Gopal was bathed with the hundred jugs of water. After bathing the deity in this way and then oiling Him once again, Srila Madhavendra Puribathed Him again in water scented with sandalwood and perfumes poured from a conch.
After the bath was completed, the entire body of the deity was dried with a cloth and He was dressed in a clean cloth and decorated with sandalwood, tulasi and flower garlands. Just as Sree Krishna instructed the cowherds at the end of the Dvapara Yuga to worship Govardhana with a mountain of foodstuffs, so in the Kali Yuga, Srila Madhavendra Puri ordered a mountain of food to be prepared for Sree Giridhari Gopal. Ten Brahmins were engaged in preparing the rice, another five in cooking vegetable preparations, another five or six Brahmins prepared various types of breads, which were all brought together in one place to be heaped up in the shape of a mountain. A pile of rice was surrounded by many clay pots filled with soups, cooked vegetable preparations, milk, yogurt, whey, shikharini(a drink made of yogurt, milk, sugar, camphor and pepper), rice pudding,butter, and cream, etc. When the mountain of food was ready, Srila Madhavendra Puri made the offering along with many jugs filled with water. Sree Gopal, who had not eaten for such a long time, hungrily ate everything He was offered. Even so, by His merciful touch, all the pots were again filled. Only Srila Madhavendra saw how the Lord did this.
Afterwards, Srila Madhavendra offered the deity a mouthwash and then pan. Then he performed the arati ceremony, after which he brought a new bed for Sree Gopal to rest upon. When Sree Gopal was finally taking rest, Srila Madhavendra Puri fed the prasad of the anna-kuta festival, first to all the Brahmins and then to all themen, women and children, of the village.
Word spread to all the villages of the area that Sree Gopal had made His appearance, and people from each village took turns having their own feast on different days in His honor. “The people of Vraja are naturally affectionate toward Sree Krishna. And Sree Krishna, too, is affectionate to them.”
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.4.95)
