RADHA KRISHNA

                                                     RADHA KRISHNA

Krishnaite traditions of Vaishnavism, Krishna is referred to as Svayam Bhagavan ^[7] and Radha is illustrated as the primeval potency of the three main potencies of God, Hladini (immense spiritual bliss), Sandhini (eternality) and Samvit (existential consciousness) of which Radha is an embodiment of the feeling of love towards the almighty Lord Krishna (Hladini).^[8]

With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess.^[9] It is said that Krishna is only satiated by devotional service in loving servitude and Radha is the personification of devotional service to the supreme lord. Various devotees worship her with the understanding of her merciful nature as the only way to attain Krishna. Radha is also depicted to be Krishna himself, split into two, for the purpose of his enjoyment.^[10] As per Hindu scriptures, Radha is considered as the complete incarnation of Mahalakshmi.^[11]

The story of the love between the divine Krishna and the cowherder, milkmaid or gopi, Radha, his devotee, is among the most celebrated of all Hindu myths. Such was their love, the couple ultimately became one, unifying the masculine and feminine forms of god: Krishna representing its primeval form, while Radha embodied traditional ‘female’ traits such as spiritual bliss, the eternal nature of god and human consciousness of god’s existence. Krishna, it is claimed, enchants the world, while Radha enchants him.

The story of Radha and Krishna was popularised by the 12th-century Sanskrit poem, Gita Govinda, written by the Brahmin Jayadeva Goswani, the former court poet of Shri Lakshmana Sena, the king of Bengal. The 12-part epic recounts Krishna’s faithlessness and his subsequent return to Radha, and is widely understood as representing the human soul straying from its true allegiance before returning at length to the god which created it. The poem was composed in a grass hut in Champahatti, Navadwipa, north of what is now Kolkata, after Jayadeva turned his back on the sumptuous surroundings of the Bengal court.

Radha’s undying devotion is often described as a romantic one rather than a spiritual one by the society were as in reality, their relationship was of the mind. Krishna did not return to Vrindavan as he promised to his beloved but radha kept waiting. Krishna assured Radha that everyone would take her name before his name whenever they worshipped him. that Is why even today, we refer to them as Radha Krishna and not Krishna Radha.

The childhood meeting of Radha Krishna is much debated but the story goes something like this, when Yashodha ties Krishna to the pounding wood for his mischief, any other child would have wept for the mother to come and untie him but divine Krishna uproots the pounding stone with his strength and dragged it along with him as he went out. Two girls came that way and they noticed Krishna. The younger girl Lalita was his playmate. The older girl was about 12 years of age. He did not know who she was but he was just drawn to her. She was Radha.

• It is believed that when Krishna was just four or five years old, he went to the field with his father where the cattle were feeding food. For surprising the father with the spring, Lord Krishna created a thunderstorm and pretended like he knew nothing. It started raining heavily and Krishna started crying and hugged his father for protection.
• His father was in worry as he had to take care of his child as well as cattle. Then, his father saw a beautiful woman coming to their side and he felt relieved and asked that woman to take care of his child. After the woman assured to take care of Krishna, Nanda left home with the cattle.
• When that woman and Lord Krishna were alone, Krishna did something surprising. He appeared in the form of a youth that wore orange color clothes, peacock feather on the head, dark-skinned, and holding a flute in hands. He asked that woman whether she remembers the same incident when they were used to be in heaven before their incarnation on earth. She replied yes and she was actually Radha, his beloved. This is how they met each other for the first time after their incarnation on the earth.
  

  It is believed that Lord Krishna and Radha used to meet each other secretly in Vrindavan. Lord Krishna used to play the melodious flute every day by the lakeside that used to captivate Radha to come and meet Lord Krishna.

• According to the believed facts, Radha is never separate from Lord Krishna. The bond of love between Lord Krishna and Radha was not physical, rather it was a spiritual and pure form of devotion. So, it is said that Lord Krishna and Radha are two different manifestations of the divine principle.

• To prove that love and marriage both are entirely different from each other, Lord Krishna and Radha decided not to marry each other. For evidencing that love is more pure and selfless emotion than being physical, both of them expressed the highest devotion of love by not marrying each other.

• According to some beliefs, Radha did not consider herself the right fit for him because she was a cowgirl, therefore, she was firm in her decision of not marrying Lord Krishna.

  

• If you are really interested in knowing more untold facts of Lord Krishna and Radha’s life, then stay tuned and keep reading blogs on our website