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Lord Shiva as Gopeshwar<br />
Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !!<br />
Thursday 6th March 2008 is Maha Shivaratri Vrata. We offer<br />
our obeisances and adorations unto the lotus feet of<br />
Mahadeva as the greatest of Vaishnavas and as Gopeshwar,<br />
the gate-keeper of the rasa mandali who very kindly grants<br />
us entrance into Lord Krishna's maha raas.<br />
Nimna-gaanaam yathaa gangaa devaanaam achyuto yathaa<br />
vaishnavaanaam yathaa shambhuh puraanaanaam idam<br />
tathaa<br />
Just as the holy Ganga is the best amongst all rivers and Lord<br />
Vishnu Achyuta, the best amongst all Lords, so foremost<br />
amongst all Vaishnavas is Lord Shambhu and best of all the<br />
puranas is the Srimad Bhagavatam.<br />
Baba had an intimate relationship with Lord Shiva who visited him on several occasions, calling<br />
Himself 'Mahesh', sometimes alone and other times with His divine Spouse. Lord Shiv also gave<br />
to Baba some rare shaligrams.<br />
Baba used to be very fond of narrating the following story about Lord Shiva's attempt to<br />
participate in Lord Krishna's maha-raas. Once during a nauka vihar in the Yamuna in Vrindavan<br />
He relished recounting the story.<br />
Once while in deep meditation on Mount Kailash, Lord Shiva heard the sweet vibration of<br />
Krishna playing His divine flute. Mesmerized, He entered samadhi. He followed that<br />
transcendental sound until He came to Vrindavan, where Lord Gopinath was getting ready to<br />
start the Maha raas with His gopis.<br />
Desiring intensely to join the maha-raas, when He came to the entrance of the raas-sthali, He was<br />
stopped by Yogamaya, who told him, "No males except Krishna are allowed entry. First you<br />
must have gopi-rupa, the form of a Vraja milkmaid, a gopi, only then can you enter."<br />
Lord Bholanath asked "How can I get gopi-rupa?" Yogamaya replied, "Seek the shelter of<br />
Vrinda Devi. She will grant you the form of a gopi."<br />
Vrinda devi asked Lord Shiva to take a dip in the waters of Manasarovar. After bathing there,<br />
Lord Shiva emerged from the lake with the form of a beautiful gopi.<br />
Vrinda devi then took Lord Shiva in her gopi form to one corner of the raas sthali. Lord Shiva<br />
stood there and prayed to Sri Sri Radha Krishna for getting prema-bhakti.
Then the raas started. Lord Krishna danced with all the gopis. He also danced very elegantly with<br />
Lord Shiva disguised as a gopi.<br />
Then after some time, when they rested, the Lord said 'I'm not getting the usual pleasure from<br />
our raas. Something is not right. I think there is another man in our midst." Then He asked Lalita<br />
devi to check all the gopis and make sure no man was lurking amongst them dressed as one of<br />
them.<br />
Lalita devi went around and lifted the veils of all the hundreds of gopis but couldn't find any man<br />
disguised as a woman. She came and reported to Krishna, "I have not found any man, but there is<br />
one gopi with three eyes." she said puzzled.<br />
Lord Krishna asked her to bring her to Him. When the Lord saw the Shiva gopi, He laughed<br />
heartily and addressed him, "O Gopeshwar, I am very pleased to see you in the form of a gopi.<br />
But you know that this raas is not for grihastas (householders). Therefore, since you have already<br />
participated and fulfilled your desire, now I offer you the post of raas dwaar paal (gatekeeper of<br />
the raas). I also give you the blessing that henceforth, all the gopis will offer respect to you and<br />
seek your blessing to get gopi bhava."<br />
From that time, Gopeshwar Mahadeva has been worshipped in Vrindavan in the form of a Shiva<br />
linga in the mornings. In the evenings, the shiva-linga is decorated beautifully as a gopi.<br />
Srila Sanatana Gosvami, who resided in Vrndavana near the old Sri Madana-Mohana temple,<br />
would go daily to see Sri Gopeshwar Mahadeva at his temple.<br />
Once, in his older years, Sanatana Gosvami had a dream wherein Gopeshwar Mahadeva<br />
appeared and instructed him: Now that you are old, please do not go through so much trouble to<br />
see me. Sanatana Gosvami replied, I will continue to come. I cannot change this habit.
Lord Gopeshwar said, Then I will come and stay very near to your residence, manifesting in<br />
Bankhandi. The very next day, Sri Gopeshwar Mahadeva appeared in Bankhandi, halfway<br />
between his orginal temple and Srila Sanatana Gosvami's residence.<br />
Seeing this, Sanatana Gosvami became overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy, and from that<br />
day on he visited Bankhandi Mahadeva every day.<br />
Prior to this, Lord Siva had asked Sri Krsna for the boon to witness His childhood pastimes.<br />
Krsna ordered him to situate himself in Nandagaon in the form of a hill. Siva followed this order<br />
and became Nandisvara Hill, and he thus became known as Nandisvara.<br />
Sri Gopeshwar Mahadeva ki Jai !!<br />
Jai Jai Sri Radhey !!<br />
Srimad gopishwaram vande sankaram karunaa-mayam<br />
sarva-klesha haram devam vrindaaranya-rati-pradam