It is said Varuna, the sea-god, had forbidden nude bathing in rivers, ponds and other public places, but 'gopis' often resorted to it. In Jayadeva’s Gitagovindam, Song of Govinda, (a poetic work on Lord Krishna composed in 1200 AD by Jayadeva of Puri] stanza 1, says “He who is mixed up or mingled in the darkness at a peaceful Kadamba tree, pre-set by me, - deserve supreme love and affection of the Supreme and hence I reminisce about him." Īn episode that represents one of the naughtiest acts of Lord Krishna, which he performed when he was a boy relates to his stealing away the garments of 'gopis' (damsels) when they were bathing semi-nude in a pond near Vrindavan. Now, standing on one leg only, he was fully concentrating on Vishnu. During the fourth month he sustained himself on air.
During the third month he managed with Yamuna river water. During the first month he ate roots and tubers. He arrived in Madhuban (Garden) and took a seat under a Kadamba tree on the bank of the river Yamuna. In another mythical story, it is stated that Dhruv, son of King Uttanapada and wife Suniti, set out with firm determination to please Vishnu. He was in the form of a spear under a Kadamba tree. In the Sangam period of Tamil Nadu, Murugan of the Tirupparankundram hill of Madurai was referred to as a centre of nature worship. Devi is the radiant beauty who dwells in the Kadamba forest: Kadamba-vana-vasini or Kadamba-vana-nilaye, whose presence is sensed if the koel (Cukkoo) sings in the Kadamb-van (forest). Radha and Krishna are supposed to have conducted their love play in the hospitable and sweet-scented shade of the Kadamba tree. In Northern India, it is associated with Krishna while in the south it is known as “Parvathi’s tree”. Kadamba is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana (Lord Krishna’s ‘biography’) and in verses that praise Devi (Goddess). It is considered the Tree of Buddhism, and was thought to reunite separated lovers. Kadamba tree is also mentioned in other mythical stories. Mayursharma belonged to this family and he made Banavasi his capital. Since the birth took place under a Kadamba tree, the child was named Kadamba, and was placed in charge of the Sahyadri region. The Grama Paddhati, a Kannada work dealing with the history of the Tulu Brahmins, narrates a story that after Parasurama created the Haiga and Tulu countries, Shiva and Parvati came to Sahyadri, and there a child was born to the divine couple.