44 
The Country of Braj. 
[No. 1, 
first received liis distinctive title of Balarama, i. e. Bama the strong, 
in consequence of the prowess he had displayed in vanquishing the 
demon Pralamba; Dangoli, where Krishna dropt his ‘ staff,’ ( dang ) 
and the fair lake of Man-sarovar, scene of a passing lovers’ ‘ quar¬ 
rel’ (man). Then follow the villages, of Piparoli, with its broad- 
spreading pipal trees ; Loh-ban, perpetuating the defeat of the de¬ 
mon Lohasur ; Gopalpur, favourite station of the herdsmen ; and 
Baval, where Badha was born and passed the first } r ears of infancy 
before her parents went to live at Barsana. Next comes Burliiya 
ka khera, home of the old dame whose son had taken in marriage 
Badha’s friend Manvati. The fickle Krishna saw and loved, and 
in order to gratify his passion undisturbed, assumed the husband’s 
form. The unsuspecting bride received him fondly to her arms, 
while the good mother was enjoined to keep close watch below, and 
if any one came to the door pretending to be her son, by no means 
to open to him but rather, if he persisted, pelt him with brick-bats 
till he ran away. So the honest man lost his wife, and got his 
head broken into the bargain. After leaving the scene of this 
merry jest, the pilgrims pass on to Bandiganw, name commemora¬ 
tive of Jasoda’s two faithful domestics, Bandi and Anancli, and ar¬ 
rive at Baldeva, with its wealthy temple dedicated in honour of 
that divinity and his spouse Bevati. Then beyond the village of 
Hathora are the two river fords, Chintaharan, ‘ the dispeller of 
doubt,’ and Brahmanda, 1 creation’ Gliat. Here the child Krish¬ 
na’s playmates came running to tell Jasoda that he had been stuff¬ 
ing his mouth with clay ; but when she took up a stick to punish 
him, he opened his mouth to prove the story false, and shewed her 
there the whole terrestrial globe, with all its seas and continents 
distinct, within the compass of bis baby cheeks. Close by is the 
town of Mah&ban, famous for many incidents in Krishna’s infancy, 
where he was rocked in the cradle, and received his name from the 
great pandit Garg, and where he did to death Putana and the 
other evil spirits whom Kausa had commissioned to destroy him. 
At Gokul on the river bank are innumerable shrines and temples 
dedicated to the god under some one or other of his favourite titles, 
as Bitthalnath, Madan Mohan, Madhav Bae, Kalyan Bae, Gokul- 
nath, Nava-nil-priya and Divaraka-nath, and when all have been 
