It was Govardhana Puja (worship) day and all the Gopas and Gopikas had to go beyond the village limits to circumambulate and worship the Govardhan Hill, a festival they celebrated every year. Neeraja too went with the others and in spite of the severest warning, she peeped into a crowd of enthusiastic Gopis watching the dance of Radha with Krishna, in a flower bower near the Hill. She was so captivated by the Divine Presence that she was no longer the same person.

Another day, while on the Yamuna bank, she saw Krishna fashioning a flute from a reed taken out of vamsi kunj (bamboo bower) and she heard Him play! Oh, it was overwhelmingly ecstatic! It was a call to transcend the material bonds to free oneself from the trammels of earthly endeavours. Neeraja did not care for any one now. She became God-mad. In fact, she was the first to hold the reins of Akrura’s chariot when he was taking Krishna to Mathura away from Gokulam, and try to push the vehicle back!