Born in Barsana c. 5000 years ago (28 miles away from Mathura where Krishna was born), Radharani finds the roots of her name in the Sanskrit words radh (worship) and rani (queen) – the queen of worship.
No other Goddess blends the Bhakti Rasa and Shringara Rasa as effortlessly as Radha. She may not have been married to Krishna like Rukmini and Satyabhama but every inch of her self is smeared with love for him. Even he cannot understand the strength of her love, it almost overwhelms him. Her love for Krishna is unparalleled.
And yet, with such devotion, she carries a mind of her own. Radha is free-spirited, youthful, humble, ever blissful, an exceptional singer and veena player and she follows what her heart says. Radha is the embodiment of mercy and compassion. And most importantly, she is full of Mahabhava, the highest sentiment of love. Happy Ho organizes best Meditation and Tarot classes in Noida and Delhi NCR area in India.
In many traditions, her intense devotion to the blue God has put her on the same pedestal as him. For instance, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, Radha and Krishna are not separate entities; they are worshipped as one entity called Radha-Krishna. In Chaitanya Charitamrita – written by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Vaisnava saint and founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya – Radha has been described as full power and Krishna as the possessor of this power. They are as inseparable as the rain and the petrichor that follows it, as fire and the heat that accompanies it. And yet they have taken two different forms. To do what? Exchange love.
Our need to love and be loved comes from the Divine. Each one of us wishes to be cared for and to be able to care for someone, even God. And that’s why Krishna and Radha manifest as two different forms.
An endearing tale might help you fathom their love for each other. One time, Krishna drank a glass of hot milk and had his tongue covered in blisters. While his wife, Satyabhama, called for the healer, Radha drank the remaining hot milk. A few seconds later, Krishna found himself cured for now the blisters were on Radha’s tongue. Such is the transformational and transcendental power of love.
In time, Radha has become a Goddess in her own right. Without her, Krishna is incomplete. She is the medium through which Krishna can be reached, realised. Metaphorically, she represents the unrequited longings of our heart which yearn for Krishna. And what does he do? Krishna acknowledges this part our being each time he dances to the tunes of love with her in a moon-lit forest.
