SHANKASURA GAME

A list of gopis names (ten or fifteen) is chosen by all the players. Then two teams are formed with the same number of children in each. One team represents the Gopis. The other team represents the Shankasura demon trying to steal the gopis away from Krishna and Balarama. Their respective residences are chosen thirty or fifty yards (30-45m) apart. The gopis approach Shankasura’s residence, holding hands, chanting Hare Krishna and dancing in a circle. When the gopis get close, the Shankasuras try to guess the chosen name by saying for example, “Are you the gopi Lalita?” if the demons guess wrong, the gopis answer, “No, she is on the bank of the Yamuna, playing with Krishna,” then they dance around again, chanting the Hare Krishna mantra once. The demons try again to guess. The game goes on in this way until the demons guess the right name. As soon as they do so, they run and chase the gopis. The gopis must try to reach their village without being caught. The gopis who are caught become Shankasuras in the next game, and the demons who catch them become gopis.