Talavan

Talavana is one of the twelve sacred forests of Vraja. It was in the Talavana forest that Lord Balarama killed the demon Denukasura, who was living there in the form of a wild ass along with his family and friends. Unfortunately, at the present time the forest has completely disappeared and only a few tal trees remain of what was once a large forest. The present name of this place is Tarsi, or sometimes Tarasi, and a fairly large village has now come up where the forest once stood. The important places to see here are the temple of Lord Balarama known as the Dauji Mandir and the Sankarshana-kunda.
As the name suggests, Talavana was a forest of tal trees, which is a type of palm that grows very tall and bears an extremely sweet and delicious fruit about the size of a grapefruit. The soft fleshy pulp of the tal fruit is saturated with a thick syrupy juice that tastes just like nectar. Because these wonderful fruits were of such high quality, King Kamsa ordered Denukasura to live at Talavana and protect the fruits from being plundered by others. King Kamsa firmly believed that all the delicious tal fruits in Talavan forest were meant only for his pleasure. In his previous life, Denukasura had been known as Sahashika, the son of Bali Maharaja, who himself was the son of Virocana, the son of Prahlada Maharaja. Once upon a time, Sahashika went to the Gandhmadana Mountain in the heavenly realm to sport with beautiful young girls. Unfortunately, Sahashika accidentally disturbed the great sage Durvasa Muni who was meditating in a cave on the mountain. In a sudden rage, Durvasa cursed Sahashika saying; “Oh ass-like fool, go to earth and become an ass.” After hearing the terrible curse pronounced by Durvasa, Sahashika begged Durvasa Muni for forgiveness. Being somewhat pacified by the humble submission of Sahashika, Durvasa told him that in the Dwarapa-yuga, the Supreme Lord will appear on earth in the form of the divine brothers Krishna and Balarama, and by Their mercy he would eventually be redeemed.