dvādaśāraṇyam pradhānaṃ dvādaśāraṇyaṃ māhātmyaṃ kathitaṃ kramāt | bhadraśrīlohabhāṇḍīramahātālakhadīrakāḥ | bakulaṃ kumudaṃ kāmyaṃ madhu vṛndāvanaṃ tathā | dvādaśaitāvatī saṅkhayā kālindyāḥ sapta paścime | pūrve pañcavanaṃ proktaṃ tatrāsti guhyamuttamam ||
dvādaśāraṇyam
(Twelve Forests of Mathura Mandala in English (IAST))
Also known as dwadasha aranya · twelve vanas of vraja · mathura mandala twelve forests
A single verse, and not a hymn at all — an enumeration from a Vraja mahatmya of the twelve forests that make up the Mathura country. It names them in order: Bhadra, Shri, Loha, Bhandira, Mahavana, Tala, Khadira, Bakula, Kumuda, Kamya, Madhu and Vrindavana. Then it does the one piece of geography that matters to anyone walking the circuit — seven of the twelve lie west of the Kalindi and five to the east — and closes by saying that among those five there is an excellent secret, without saying what the secret is. This verse is the frame on which the whole Vraja parikrama is hung, which is why it is carried and remembered on its own, apart from the mahatmya it belongs to.