On the western bank of Yashoda Kund, there’s a spot where Krishna spent his childhood playing with his friends. Krishna and his older brother, Balram, were often so caught up in their games that they would forget to come home for meals. Mother Yashoda, concerned that they hadn’t returned, would first send Rohini, Balram mother, to bring them back. But when she arrived, the two brothers would mischievously run away, making it impossible for her to catch them.

Seeing this, Yashoda would go herself to fetch her playful sons. Using different tricks, she would try to lure them in and, with great effort, finally manage to catch them. Once she had them, she would take them home, bathe them, and make sure they ate. Sometimes, when they didn’t want to come home, Yashoda would tell them stories about a scary creature called a “hāua,” or hobgoblin, to spook them just a little. Krishna, curious as ever, would then say, “Maiya, I want to see the hāua!”

There is a charming Brajbhasha poem about this pastime:

“Dūr khelan mat jāu lāl, yahān hãu aye hain
Hamskar pūcht Kānh, Maiyā, yah kinai pathãye hain.”
(“Do not go far away, my child, the hāua has come.”
Krishna smiled and asked, “Maiyā, who sent him?”)

Even today, stone figures of the hāua can be seen here, serving as a sweet reminder of Krishna’s playful childhood and the loving tricks of Mother Yashoda.