SHANKASURA
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.