Vṛnda, Daughter of Kedāra

Vṛnda was the daughter of Kedāra. She did intense tapas (austerity) in the forest on the bank of the Yamunā, aimed at Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. The forest where she did her tapas is called Vṛndāvana, after her. It is the forest where Bhagavān Kṛshṇa spent his divine childhood.

Dharma came to her in the form of a brāhmaṇa and tested her. She repelled him with a fierce śāpa (a curse). Then she gave him long life from the merit of her own tapas. She went up to Goloka in a divine chariot.

Who she was

Vṛnda was the daughter of Kedāra, also named Kedārīya. She came to the forest on the bank of the Yamunā, the forest that would later carry her name. She settled there and did tapas aimed at Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Her tapas was very strong, and the forest itself was made holy by the power of her presence and austerity.

Dharma’s test

Dharma, the deva of righteousness, came to Vṛnda in the form of a brāhmaṇa. His approach was improper. It put her in a situation that called for the full strength of her character. Vṛnda did not hesitate. She saw the impropriety clearly and repelled Dharma with a fierce śāpa, a curse of great consequence.

The devas who had gathered were alarmed that the curse had fallen on Dharma himself. They came to Vṛnda and begged her with folded hands. She did not take back the curse. Instead she did an act of great compassion. From the merit of her tapas, she gave Dharma a vara (a boon) of long life (āyus). In this way she answered the harm of the curse with generosity.

Her ascent and the name Vṛndāvana

Her purpose was fulfilled. Her tapas had been tested and proven, and her compassion and strength of character had been shown. Vṛnda went up to Goloka in a divine chariot. The devas who saw this declared the forest holy in her memory.

The forest of Vṛndāvana, where Bhagavān Kṛshṇa would play his divine childhood līlā (divine play), carries her name: vṛnda (Vṛnda’s) and vana (forest) make Vṛndāvana. So the most sacred forest in the tradition of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa has its origin in a woman’s tapas, her courage in dharma, and her compassion.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 86