Spiritual World: The Secret of Lord Govinda's Name: An intriguing event unfolds when Lord Vishnu, while in search of Goddess Mahalakshmi, enters the earthly realm. As He enters Bhuloka, human qualities of hunger and thirst manifest within Him. Thus, Lord Srinivasa visits the ashram of Sage Agastya and states, “O great sages, I have come here for a unique purpose. I will remain here until the end of Kali Yuga. I have a great fondness for the milk of she-cows. I know you have a large cow shelter with many cows. Could you please give one of them to me?” Sage Agastya smiles and replies, “O Lord, I know that you are the divine Lord Vishnu in human form. I am very happy that the creator and ruler of this world has come to my ashram. However, I have set a condition to test your character; I will only give you my sacred cow if you come to my ashram with Goddess Lakshmi to request it.” To this, Lord Srinivasa responds with a laugh, “Alright, O great sage, I will do what you ask.” Thus, He returns and later marries Goddess Padmavati. After a few days of marriage, Lord Srinivasa comes with his divine wife Padmavati to the ashram of Sage Agastya. However, at that time, the sage was not present. The disciples of Lord Srinivasa asked Him, “Who are you? What service can we offer you?” The Lord replied, “My name is Srinivasa, and this is my wife Padmavati. I had asked your guru for a cow for my daily needs, but I was told to come and ask for it with my wife.” The disciples politely said, “Our guru is not here; please come back later to get the cow.” To this, Srinivasa replied, smiling, “I agree to your words, but I am the Supreme Ruler of all the universe. Therefore, all of you disciples can trust me and give me the cow; I may not come back.” The disciples replied, “Certainly, you are the Lord of the Earth and the entire universe is yours, but our divine guru is our supreme leader, and we can’t do anything without his permission.” Srinivasa laughed gently, “I respect your guru; please inform him when I return that I came with my wife.” Saying this, Lord Srinivasa started moving toward Tirumala. Shortly after, Sage Agastya returned to the ashram and when he learned about what had happened, he felt disheartened. “O supreme Narayana, you came to my ashram along with Goddess Lakshmi, but unfortunately, I was not here. A great misfortune has occurred. Nevertheless, I will give the cow that the Lord desires.” Immediately, the sage entered the cowshed, took the sacred cow and ran towards Lord Srinivasa and Goddess Padmavati, who were visible from a distance. Calling out in Telugu, Sage Agastya exclaimed, “Swami (Lord), the cow goes!” (In Telugu, ‘góvu’ means cow, and ‘inda’ means take). He kept calling, “Swami, góvu inda... Swami, góvu inda…” repeatedly, but the Lord did not respond. Sage Agastya increased his pace and began to call out “Swami” to hear the divine play of words transforming into “Swami Govinda, Swami Govinda, Swami Govinda, Govinda Govinda Govinda…” 🙏!! After the repeated calls from the sage, Lord Srinivasa, along with Goddess Padmavati, accepted the sacred cow from the sage. Then Lord Srinivasa said to the sage, “O sage, whether knowingly or unknowingly, you have uttered my most beloved name 108 times. Until the end of Kali Yuga, I will remain on Earth in the form of my deity on the sacred Saptagiri hills. My devotees will call me ‘Govinda’, and temples will be built for me on these seven sacred hills, and people will come daily to see me and will call my name ‘Govinda’ when they ascend the hills.” “O sage, please note, every time someone calls me by this name, they will also remember that you are the reason behind this dear name. If for any reason any devotee cannot come to the temple, but remembers my name ‘Govinda’, then I will fulfill all their needs. As they ascend the hills calling the name ‘Govinda’, I will grant salvation to all the devotees.” Thus, Lord Srinivasa established Himself as the Lord of the seven hills. Shreemad Ramaramana Govinda, Govinda 🙏 🚩