Blessed by a visit to Bahulavana

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Blessed by a Visit to Bahulavana

November 1, 2025

Here’s how this forest, Bahulavana, one of the twelve forests of Vrindavan, got its name:

There was a cow named Bahula who was owned by a brahmana. She had just given birth to a calf. But feeling very thirsty, she went to a kunda (pond) to drink some water. There she was captured by a tiger who prepared to eat her. But she pleaded to the tiger, “I have just given birth to a calf and have not yet given my calf milk. So please let me go to my calf and feed the calf milk. After that, I promise that I will return and you can eat me.”

Trusting her word, the tiger allowed her to return to her calf. The calf could see that its mother was in great distress, and hearing the situation, the calf said, “No, my dear mother, you stay here. I will go to the tiger to be eaten.” The mother cow protested, “No, my dear calf, it is my duty to protect you. So you stay here, and I will go to the tiger to be eaten.”

The brahmana owner of the cow overheard this conversation, and since cow protection is his sacred duty, he intervened and said, “No, no, my dear cow and calf, you both stay here. I will go instead to the tiger to be eaten.”

In their discussion, they could not settle who should be eaten, so all three of them went to the tiger to be eaten. The brahmana said to the tiger, “Eat me.” The calf said, “No, you should eat me instead.” And then the cow said, “Since it is I who have given you the promise, you should eat me.”

Then the all-merciful Lord Sri Krishna suddenly appeared, and the tiger, who was actually Yamaraja, the god of death, pretending to be a tiger to test the honesty of Bahula, offered his obeisances to Krishna and went away. Krishna was very pleased with the honesty of Bahula, so He told her that from now on this forest will be celebrated as Bahulavana.

Now, in memory of this pastime, on the bank of Sankarshan Kunda here in Bahulavana, there is a temple that has Krishna, a tiger, a cow, its calf, and a brahmana on its altar.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Temple by Sankarshan Kunda in Bahualavan

Bahualavan

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I've read all Srilal Prabhupada's books. Can I consider him as my spiritual guru?

Annja Biogradlija

Answer

From: Sri Rupa Seva Kunj, Aanyor, Uttar Pradesh, India

My Dear Annja,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Most definitely, Śrīla Prabhupāda is your spiritual master. He is your eternal instructing spiritual master—your śikṣā-guru. Not only that, he is jagad-guru, the deliverer of all the fallen souls throughout the entirety of material existence. Therefore, you should accept his instructions as your very life and soul, offering unto him your every thought, word, and deed in all times and circumstances, for all of eternity.

In accordance with his instructions, when you are ready to be formally initiated as a disciple, you should take initiation from one of his disciples. Just as I am the grand-disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s spiritual master, His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, you will become the grand-disciple of His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda by accepting one of his disciples as your dīkṣā-guru, your initiating spiritual master.

I hope this meets you in the best of health and in a cheerful mood.

Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Around the World Travel Schedule

20 October – Arrive in Vrindavan
11 December – Depart from Vrindavan
12 December – Arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
15 December – Depart Kuala Lumpur
15 December – Arrive in Melbourne, Australia
23 December – Depart from Melbourne
23 December – Arrive in Austin, Texas USA

How I Came to Krishna Consciousness

In a world obsessed with money, fame, and fleeting pleasures—leading nowhere but to the grave or the crematorium—I walked away. Life felt so meaningless, I couldn’t stand it. This is the true story of how I turned my back on the American materialistic dream and discovered something far greater: Krishna consciousness. A gripping journey of inner revolution and a call to awaken a world civilization on the edge of collapse.

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