In Puruṣottama-dhāma (Purī), during the time of the cart festival (Ratha-yātrā), Lord Jagannātha travels from His temple in Purī to the Guṇḍicā Temple, a distance of about two miles. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains that the Guṇḍicā Temple is Vṛndāvana and the Jagannātha Temple is Kurukṣetra. During a solar eclipse, people traditionally go to Kurukṣetra to bathe and perform other rituals. In the scriptures, you will find descriptions of the immense glories of this practice. During the time of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes on Earth, there was a solar eclipse attended by Kṛṣṇa, Who came from Dvārakā to Kurukṣetra with all His personal associates. At that time, Kṛṣṇa was the King, Emperor, and Sole Proprietor of Dvārakā. All His subjects, consorts, and personal associates were very eager to go to Kurukṣetra for the solar eclipse so they could bathe and perform sandhyā and other rituals. If they could perform these sacrifices with the brāhmaṇas, they could reap immense fruits. To fulfill this desire of His subjects, Kṛṣṇa said, “All right, we shall go.” So, all His numerous subjects, consorts, and personal associates came to Kurukṣetra. Kṛṣṇa intentionally invited everyone except the Vrajavāsis—the devotees of Vraja.

Nārada Gosvāmī was stunned by this. He approached Kṛṣṇa, “The Vrajavāsis love You so much. They are experiencing extreme separation grief by not seeing You. You are inviting everyone in the whole world, but You are not inviting the Vrajavāsis? What offense are they guilty of? Have they committed an offense by loving You? I cannot tolerate this!”

Then Kṛṣṇa said, “They are our own people. No one has to send invitations to one’s own. Parents do not invite their children, and vice versa. They are our own. Outsiders are invited. How can I invite the Vrajavāsis? You are right—I intentionally did not invite them because they are saturated with love for Me. They have no interest in performing sacrifices to obtain mundane benefits. If they come, the results of all these ritualistic practices will be destroyed. For this reason, I have not invited them.”

Although not invited, the Vrajavāsis came to learn that Kṛṣṇa was coming to Kurukṣetra. The Vrajavāsis thought, “Kurukṣetra is much closer to Vraja-maṇḍala than Dvārakā is. We should avail ourselves of this rare opportunity to see Kṛṣṇa! We can have darśana of Kṛṣṇa! We should not miss this chance!”

But they could not venture to go there. Why? They thought, “Kṛṣṇa has become Emperor. His standard is very high, and we are merely cowherd men and women. We are poor people. Perhaps Kṛṣṇa has forgotten us. If we go there, He will not recognize us. Someone of very high position will not come to see ordinary people like us. Previously, He was a cowherd boy in our Vraja-dhāma, but now that He has become King, we are extremely grief-stricken and cannot tolerate this separation.”

Thinking like this, the Vrajavāsis reasoned, “A man might forget everything else, but he will never forget his parents, even if they live far away. If Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā go there, then surely Kṛṣṇa will bow down to them and offer obeisances.” So, they went to Nanda Mahārāja and said, “Kṛṣṇa is going to Kurukṣetra! We are grief-stricken with the pangs of separation. Although we have not seen Him for such a long time, we do not have the courage to go there. We do not know if Kṛṣṇa will give us the opportunity to see Him, as His present standard of living is so high. But if you go, then Kṛṣṇa will come as your son and offer obeisances.”

Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā replied, “No, no. This is not correct. He has not come here for such a long time! He has so many consorts and servants serving Him there. He is so wealthy now, and His wives are also wealthy. We are only cowherd men and women. We have nothing. After so long, how can we go? If we go there, will He come to see us? If we go to Kurukṣetra and are deprived of seeing Kṛṣṇa, we shall die!”

When Kṛṣṇa, Emperor of Dvārakā, entered Kurukṣetra, so many cavalry units, elephants, horses, etc. accompanied Him. Only those who had permission were allowed to speak with Him. He was surrounded by servants. There were four gatekeepers, one in each direction. The king’s parents, Vasudeva and Devakī, were also there. The brāhmaṇas had gone to start the sacrifices. Therefore, no one was permitted to disturb the king.

Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodā Devī, and all the cowherd boys and other friends of Kṛṣṇa approached where He was. Nobody acknowledged them. Armed forces, cavalry, and elephants surrounded Kṛṣṇa.

Nanda Mahārāja approached one of the guards. “I have come to see my beloved son,” he said.

“Who is your beloved son?” a guard asked him.

“Kṛṣṇa.”

“How is that? You are a poor person. He is the king! His parents are already here—Vasudeva and Devakī. We do not believe you! From where have you come? Why are you claiming that He is your son? We do not believe you!”

Nanda Mahārāja cried, “I shall die!”

The guard said, “I am doing my work as per the order of the king. If I do anything against His orders, I shall be dismissed. Do you have a permit?”

“No.”

“Then I cannot let you in,” the guard replied.

Then all the cowherd boys, carrying their small cow-prods, cried, “My friend! My bosom friend! Kanhaiyā!”

“What? He is the king! His friends are like this? You are paupers! I do not believe you!”

Then the gopīs cried, “We are the consorts of Kṛṣṇa!”

“What? The consorts are already here. Satyabhāmā, Rukmiṇī, and all the other queens are here! From where have you come? Show me some permit from the king or His prime minister!”

Then, Yaśodā Devī said, “I told you that if I go to Kurukṣetra and I am deprived of seeing Kṛṣṇa, I shall die! I have nothing left. My life is finished!” She cried loudly, “Gopāla!” and fell unconscious.

At that time, Kṛṣṇa was with the brāhmaṇas, who requested Him to commence the sacrifice. Kṛṣṇa removed all His royal garments and became a small naked boy, crying, “Mother! O Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” He cried and cried and cried and ran to sit on the lap of Yaśodā Devī. Resultantly, without Kṛṣṇa’s presence, the ritual was destroyed. By hearing one single call from Yaśodā Devī, Kṛṣṇa could not remain there.

Then Kṛṣṇa met the gopīs and the others. The gopīs attracted Kṛṣṇa. They said, “We are not very happy seeing You here. There are so many cavalrymen, elephants, and chariots—we should go to Vṛndāvana. There, it is sweet. All this is Your majestic aspect. So, please grant us the opportunity to see You under better circumstances by coming with us to Vṛndāvana. Please do not remain here!” “He Gopīnātha! He Gopīnātha! Vṛndāvane calo! He Gopīnātha!”

In that mood of the gopīs, saturated with gopī-bhāva, Caitanya Mahāprabhu pulled the chariot from the Jagannātha Temple (Kurukṣetra) toward Guṇḍicā (Vṛndāvana).