The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja at Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā, India, on the evening before Rādhāṣṭamī, 27 August 2009, published in Śrī Rādhā – Our Supreme Shelter, First Edition 2016

Tomorrow, we will celebrate Rādhāṣṭamī. Although today is Aṣṭamī, it is mixed with part of Saptamī. This is why we call it saptamī-viddha aṣṭamī. So, instead of today, we will consider the fraction of Aṣṭamī that appears tomorrow and will do Rādhikā’s abhiṣeka at six in the morning. After singing prayers to Rādhikā and performing kīrtana, we will speak something in Her honour and do Her abhiṣeka (bathing ceremony). After the abhiṣeka, brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs will go and bring cāva (gifts for Rādhārāṇī, which are carried on the head of the devotees) from Kailāśa-nagara and other areas. Then again, we will gather at five or half-past five in the evening and explain rādhā-tattva to you all.

At the beginning of creation, in the last phase of Dvāpara-yuga, Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared at Vaṁśīvaṭa, the place of the rāsa dance, in Vṛndāvana. But He was not feeling happy, so He simultaneously manifested two forms. To enjoy the pleasure of līlā-vilāsa, sweet pastimes, He manifested Śrīmatī Rādhikājī from His left side, and He manifested Śaṅkara (Śiva), Śrī Gopīśvara, from His right side as guru-tattva. Rādhā, filled with great pleasure, ran towards Kṛṣṇa. Rā means anurāga (deep spiritual loving attachment), and dha means dhavati (to run quickly and eagerly). She ran toward Kṛṣṇa, and that is why She is called “Rādhā”. Also, at that time, Kṛṣṇa worshipped Her (kṛṣṇena ārādhita), and so She was named “Rādhikā”.

When Kṛṣṇa first appeared in Gokula, Nārada Ṛṣi came, took darśana of Kṛṣṇa and thought, “Kṛṣṇa can never appear alone. His hlādinī-śakti must have appeared somewhere else [in this world].”

At that time, Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja was staying in Rāval. Fifteen days after Kṛṣṇa’s birth, Nārada reached Rāval and inquired from Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, “Do you have any children?”

Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja replied, “Yes, we do.” He called for Śrīdāma, who offered his obeisances to Nāradajī.

Nārada then blessed Śrīdāma and asked Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, “Has a child been born to you recently, in the past ten or fifteen days?”

Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja replied, “Yes, a little while before, a daughter has appeared to us.”

Regarding Rādhikājī’s birth, we have also heard that daily, Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja took a bath in the Yamunā River, which was flowing nearby. One day, he saw a fully blossomed hundred-petalled lotus in the river. In the middle of that lotus, there was an extremely beautiful baby girl who was sometimes sucking Her toe, sometimes moving Her hands and legs and sometimes playing in various ways. Seeing Her, Bābā, Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, lifted Her, took Her in his arms and brought Her into the palace, where he placed Her on Kīrtikā’s lap. Very few people know Rādhikā as “Kīrtikā-kumārī”, the daughter of Kīrtikā-devī. Because it was Vṛṣabhānu Bābā who took  Her from the Yamunā River and brought Her to the palace, She is called “Vṛṣabhānu-dulāri” or “Vṛṣabhānu-kanyā” – the dear daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja – and so on.

Nārada asked Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, “May I see your daughter? I will do Her birth chart and bless Her. I will describe Her future qualities.” [Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja then bought out his baby girl.] Nārada requested, “In the meantime, please gather candana (sandalwood), dūrvā grass, akṣata (whole grains of rice), roli (sacred thread), Yamunā water and other paraphernalia so that I can perform a ceremony to bless Her.”

Vṛṣabhānu Bābā went inside a room, and in the meantime, Nārada Ṛṣi entered a trance. While he was meditating, that baby girl transformed into an exquisite youthful (kiśorī) form. Lalitā and Viśākhā appeared there. Lalitā said, “What is your meditation? Arise, arise. Offer your obeisances to Her lotus feet and ask Her for a boon.”

The moment Nāradajī opened his eyes, Rādhikājī gave him a momentary darśana of Her kiśorī form and then again appeared before him [as a baby]. But because his thirst to see Her was not quenched, he went to Govardhana, to a place now named after him: Nārada-kuṇḍa. There he performed austerities for thousands of years, without eating or drinking. He meditated on Her and continuously chanted the rādhā-mantra. After thousands of years, Nāradajī became Nāradī Gopī. At that time Rādhājī appeared and gave Nāradī Gopī service to Her. We have learned these details from śāstra.

Some people say that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states, “Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam – Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead,” and that the aim of the author, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, in manifesting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was to describe Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes only. But the viewpoint of our ācāryas, like Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, is that rāsa-līlā, the most exalted pastime in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was performed for the sake of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Kṛṣṇa personally told Her,

bole, ‘tuhũ binā kāhāra rāsa?
tuhũ lāgi’ mora varajavāsa’

Śata-koṭī Gopī (6)

“Without You, what is the question of performing rāsa? Only because of You do I reside in Vraja.”

śata-koṭī-gopī mādhava-mana
rākhite nārilo kori’ jatana

Śata-koṭī Gopī (1)

[Millions of lovely cowherd damsels are unable to keep Mādhava’s attention, despite their great endeavour to do so.]

When Rādhikā disappeared from rāsa-līlā, Kṛṣṇa saw that even millions of gopīs could not attract His mind. Lamenting and crying out, “Rādhe Rādhe!” He left to find Her. Although in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is not mentioned clearly in this way, the commentators have extracted the meanings of the ślokas only in this way. Kṛṣṇa did not disappear from there alone. Rādhārāṇī first disappeared from the rāsa-līlā in māna, then after, Kṛṣṇa left the rāsa dance to search for Her. Very worried and crying, “Rādhe Rādhe,” He finally found Her.

The other gopīs, who had left the rāsa dance to search for Kṛṣṇa, now saw two sets of footprints. One set was Kṛṣṇa’s footprints, and the other, in the middle of His footprints, belonged to a lady. They thought, “These footprints belong to Kṛṣṇa, but whose are these other, smaller and delicate footprints endowed with such beautiful markings?”

Since Lalitā, Viśākhā and the other gopīs in Śrī Rādhā’s party had been serving Her feet, they knew that this second set of footprints belonged to Her, and they felt very pleased. “Oh, Kṛṣṇa has not gone alone,” they thought. “He has taken our prāṇa-priya (dearmost) sakhī with Him.” At the same time, they felt sad. “Now we cannot serve Them while They are meeting.”

Other gopīs, those who were vipakṣā, or not in Rādhā’s party, said:

anayārādhito nūnaṁ
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
yan no vihāya govindaḥ
prīto yām anayad rahaḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.30.28)

[Certainly, this particular gopī has perfectly worshipped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead, Govinda, since He was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place.]

“Oh, this girl who has gone with Kṛṣṇa is so fortunate. Kṛṣṇa has taken Her to a secluded place and has thus broken the pride (saubhāgya-mada) of millions of us gopīs.” They understood that the gopī Kṛṣṇa took with Him was superior to them. “She has surely served Nārāyaṇa and pleased Him, and due to His benediction, Kṛṣṇa took Her alone.” In this way, the supremacy of Rādhājī was revealed to the world. As soon as She disappeared from the rāsa dance, Kṛṣṇa left to find Her. Rādhikā is, therefore, topmost among all of Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds, and rāsa-līlā was performed exclusively to establish Her superiority. Kṛṣṇa performed it for Her pleasure only. He displayed the supremacy of the gopīs by saying:

na pāraye ’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ
sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ
yā mābhajan durjara-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ
saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.32.22)

[I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahmā. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshipped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.]

“O gopīs, for My sake, you left your husbands, worldly religion, shyness, the instructions of your superiors and your lives as householders, all of which were meant to keep you bound. The duties of household life never come to an end. It is a śṛṅkhalā, a chain binding the hands and legs. What is that chain? The instructions of superiors. You shattered that chain and came to Me. How can I ever repay you? Oh, you are sādhus, saints. You may free Me from my debt by your saintly nature, but I can never repay you.”

The supremacy of the gopīs, and among the gopīs, the supremacy of the gopīs who are Rādhikā’s bodily expansions, is thus shown. Our ācāryas have written:

agha-ripur api yatnād atra devyāḥ prasāda
prasara-kṛta-kaṭākña-prāpti-kāmaḥ prakāmam
anusarati yad uccaiḥ snāna-sevānu-bandhais
tad ati-surabhi-rādhā-kuṇḍam evāśrayo me

Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍāṣṭaka (3)

[For the pleasure of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, even Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, yearning to attain Her merciful sidelong glance, performs difficult austerities at the very precious and fragrant Rādhā-kuṇḍa, regularly bathing and carefully observing all the appropriate rituals. May that supremely enchanting Rādhā-kuṇḍa be my shelter.]

Rādhājī was in māna, sulky anger, and became Māninī. Her māna had no cause. Rādhikā’s māna is of two types: hetuka māna and ahaituka māna, sulky anger with or without any cause. The vipakṣā (rival) gopīs headed by Candrāvalī criticized Her, saying, “Does Rādhikā not feel ashamed to do māna? She becomes obstinate when She is in māna. I do not want to see Her face.”

On the other hand, Rādhikā says, “Candrāvalī knows nothing about the nature of prema. She does not know how to please her beloved. I do not want to see her face.”

The sneha, affection, of Rādhikā and Candrāvalī is different. Candrāvalī’s affection for Kṛṣṇa is ghṛta-sneha, very smooth, while the affection of Rādhikā and Her sakhīs is madhu-sneha, like madhu (honey), which is smooth and also sweet. Candrāvalī’s affection is compared with ghee, which needs sugar to become sweet, but honey is sweet on its own. This is the difference between them.

In Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described Rādhājī’s astonishing moods, especially sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva, mahābhāva, rūḍha, adhirūḍha, mohana, mādana. Kṛṣṇa Himself does not have mādana-bhāva, so, to relish the mādana-bhāva of Rādhājī, Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma, along with His associates. There, His desire was fulfilled. For a person to fulfil his desire, he needs a guru. For this same purpose, Mahāprabhu went to see Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda at Godāvarī and asked him many questions. Why did He do so? In Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, Rāya Rāmānanda is Viśākhā-devī, Rādhikā’s gopī friend who understands all of Rādhikā’s moods. There, in Godāvarī, Mahāprabhu displayed to Rāya Rāmānanda all the moods of Rādhikā, even His form as rasarāja-mahābhāva. This very same Viśākhā, in the form of Rāya Rāmānanda, trained Mahāprabhu in realizing these moods. After their meeting, Mahāprabhu told him, “I am so pleased. This is why I came. My desires are now fulfilled. Please help Me to relish rādhā-bhāva, the moods of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Please come to Jagannātha Purī and help Me there.” Rāya Rāmānandajī then came to Jagannātha Purī.

The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja at Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā, India, on Rādhāṣṭamī morning, 28 August 2009, published in Śrī Rādhā – Our Supreme Shelter, First Edition 2016

 

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja requested Kṛṣṇadāsa Prabhu to sing Śrī Maṅgala-gītam, Śrī Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja and Śrī Nanda-nandanāṣṭakam.)

If you want to please Rādhikājī, then you will have to please Kṛṣṇa; and if you want to please Kṛṣṇa, then you will have to please Rādhikā. If you sing the glories of Kṛṣṇa, then Rādhikājī, with millions of ears, will be eager to hear them. And if someone sings the glories of Rādhikājī, then Kṛṣṇa, intensely greedy to hear them, will desire to have billions and trillions of ears. We sang the glories of Rādhikā in Śrī Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja. Now we will sing Śrī Nanda-nandanāṣṭakam, in which obeisances are offered to Kṛṣṇa and His glories are sung.

First of all, I offer my millions of daṇḍavat praṇāma puṣpāñjali unto the lotus feet of my gurupāda-padma, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. After that, I offer my obeisances unto the sannyāsīs, brahmacārīs, Vaiṣṇavas and Vaiṣṇavīs.

The residents of Rāval and Varṣāṇā celebrated Rādhāṣṭamī yesterday. This is because they do not deeply contemplate the tithis (Vedic periods) as given in the śāstras. They celebrate Janmāṣṭamī and Rādhāṣṭamī only on Aṣṭamī, without considering whether that Aṣṭamī is purva-viddhā, parva-viddhā or śuddha, meaning, whether it is pure or not. [If the previous day’s tithi (Saptamī) is still present at sunrise, it is called ‘impure.’ In that case, we observe Rādhāṣṭamī the next day.] But the four root Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas – the Brahma sampradāya, the Rudra sampradāya, the Sanaka sampradāya and the Śrī sampradāya – do consider these rules. Following in their footsteps, we also consider these principles and are therefore celebrating Śrī Rādhāṣṭamī today.

Yesterday evening, I described how Śrīmatī Rādhikā appeared in Rāval and how [Vṛṣabhānu] Bābā found Her in the Yamunā River on a hundred-petalled lotus flower. In a different kalpa (millennium), She also appears on a lotus flower in Vṛṣabhānu-kuṇḍa. Both of these are understood to be accurate, with due consideration of the difference in kalpas. But in this kalpa, She appeared in Rāval.

Rādhikājī has innumerable qualities which neither Ananta Śeṣa nor Kṛṣṇa can describe.

devī kṛṣṇa-mayī proktā
rādhikā para-devatā
sarva-lakṣmī-mayī sarva-
kāntiḥ sammohinī parā

Bṛhad-gautamīya-tantra, Quoted in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.83)

[She who shines brilliantly, and who is nondifferent from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is called Śrīmatī Rādhikā. She is most worshipable and presides over all goddesses of fortune. She possesses all splendour and completely bewilders Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She is the supreme internal potency of the Lord.]

The word devī in the verse mentioned above means that Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the goddess of all goddesses. Kṛṣṇa-mayī means that all of Her bodily limbs manifest from Her mahābhāva: the highest ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. She anoints Herself with Her sneha (affection) for Kṛṣṇa, and She bathes in the affection that Lalitā, Viśākhā and Her other sakhīs have towards Her. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has fully explained all of this in his writings. Rādhikā is Kṛṣṇa-mayī; Her prema (love) for Kṛṣṇa constitutes Her very limbs.

Devī kṛṣṇa-mayī proktā rādhikā para-devatā. She is para-devatā. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the devatā of all devatās (God of all gods). And who is the devatā of Kṛṣṇa? She who exhibits māna at Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Kṛṣṇa takes a bath in Rādhā-kuṇḍa three times to pacify Her. In deep meditation, He chants, “Rādhe Rādhe,” to please Her. How glorious is this rādhā-nāma!

Once, as Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī was composing the verses of his Śrī Gīta-govinda, in Campaka-haṭṭa, a pastime appeared in his heart in which he saw Śrī Kṛṣṇa attempting to pacify Śrīmatī Rādhikā. After putting His flute at Her lotus feet, Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to place Her feet on His head. This filled Śrī Jayadeva with fear, and he could not bring himself to write what he saw. He thought, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa is sarveśvara (the Lord of all). There is no para-tattva (Supreme Absolute Truth) besides Him. He possesses all potencies, and although Rādhikājī is Kṛṣṇa’s hlādinī-śakti (pleasure-giving potency), still, Kṛṣṇa is the topmost principle (para-tattva). Since Śrīmatī Rādhikā is His potency, how can He touch His head to Her lotus feet? This is impossible.”

Thus, a doubt arose in Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s heart. He stopped writing, closed his notebook and went to take a bath in the Gaṅgā. Meanwhile, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself assumed the form of Śrī Jayadeva, looking as though he were ready to take a bath. In the form of Jayadeva, Kṛṣṇa arrived at Jayadeva’s house and said to his wife Padmāvatī, “I was writing something in our temple room, and then I went to take a bath. On the way, I remembered something, so I came to write it in My manuscript. Please bring it to Me.” She brought the manuscript, and Kṛṣṇa personally completed the verse Jayadeva had begun to write. To “smara-garala-khaṇḍanaṁ – the deadly poison of amorous love…” He added, “…mama śirasi maṇḍanam dehi pada-pallavam udāram – is counteracted by decorating My head with Your flower-like feet.”

smara-garala-khaṇḍanaṁ
mama śirasi maṇḍanam
dehi pada-pallavam udāram

[The beautiful flower blossoms of Your feet counteract the deadly poison of amorous love. They extinguish the terrifying fire of the pain of that love, which rages within My heart. Therefore, please be kind and allow Your feet to decorate My head.]

“O Rādhikājī, smara garala khaṇḍanam.” The word smara here means, “Your being separated from Me has the effect of a million poisons. I cannot tolerate it. Kindly forgive My offence and decorate My head by placing Your lotus foot on it.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself penned this in golden words and then left.

A short time later, Jayadeva returned, having taken his bath. Surprised, his wife asked, “How could you return so quickly? Just a short while ago, you returned, wrote something in your book, and went to take a bath.”

Jayadeva Gosvāmī said, “I never came back. After taking a bath, I am returning for the first time.” He asked for his manuscript, and upon opening it, he saw that his unfinished verse had been completed in golden writing by Kṛṣṇa Himself. He could not write it, so Kṛṣṇa Himself came and wrote it. How glorious is Rādhājī!

She is sarva-lakṣmī-mayī, the sum-total of all Lakṣmīs (goddesses of fortune):

ananta-koṭi-viṣṇu-loka-namra-padmajārcite
himādrijā-pulomajā-viriñcajā-vara-prade
apāra-siddhi-ṛddhi-digdha-sat-padāṅgulī-nakhe
kadā kariṣyasīha māṁ kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-bhājanam

Śrī Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja (11)

[O You who are worshipped by Śrī Lakṣmī-devī – the mistress of unlimited Vaikuṇṭha planets – and who bestows benedictions upon Śrī Pārvatī, Indrāṇī and Sarasvatī! Even one of the nails on Your lotus feet gives rise to an infinite variety of spiritual perfections. When will You make me the recipient of Your merciful sidelong glance?]

makheśvari! kriyeśvari svadheśvari sureśvari
triveda-bhāratīśvari pramāṇa-śāsaneśvari
rameśvari! kṣameśvari pramoda-kānaneśvari
vrajeśvari vrajādhipe śrī rādhike namo ’stu te

Śrī Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja (12)

[O Mistress of all kinds of sacrifices, of all activities, of the mantras uttered during yajñas, of all the gods, of all the teachings of the three Vedas, of the enforcement of all scriptural principles, of the goddess of fortune, of forgiveness, and of the delightful forest [of Vṛndāvana]. O Mistress and Empress of Vraja, O Śrīmatī Rādhikā, I offer my praṇāma unto You.]

Such are Rādhikājī’s glories.

What to speak of other demigods, not even Brahmā and Śaṅkara can attain darśana of Her lotus feet. Even Kṛṣṇa Himself worships them. She is sarva-lakṣmī, the embodiment of all goddesses of fortune, and sarva-kānti, the one who fulfils all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental desires. Others, like Candrāvalī, Lalitā and Viśākhā can fulfil His desires to a certain extent. There were millions of groups of gopīs in rāsa-līlā, but as soon as Rādhikājī left, Kṛṣṇa also left that rāsa dance. Kṛṣṇa thinks, “Who is this rāsa for? It is only for Rādhikā. If She is not in this rāsa dance, who is it for? Who, then, will perform rāsa?” Breaking the pride of the other gopīs, He left to find Śrī Rādhā. Rādhikā para-devatā. Kṛṣṇa is devatā and She is para-devatā: the supreme worshipful deity.

The glories of Rādhikā are innumerable. Now the Vaiṣṇavas in this assembly will glorify Her for ten minutes each. This is Her real abhiṣeka (bathing ceremony). She will not be as pleased with the abhiṣeka [using various ingredients such as milk, yoghurt, honey, ghee, etc.] as She will be with our chanting of Her glories.

The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja in Gadai Girī, India, on 2 September 1995, published in Rādhāṣṭamī The Holy Appearance of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī by Tattva Vicara Publications (Tvpbooks.com)

In the transcendental abode of Śrī Vṛndāvana, under a mādhavī, creeper, Kṛṣṇacandra was once sitting alone on a golden throne, thinking how to relish the nectarean mellow of His pastimes. As soon as He thought like that, by His mere will, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī appeared from the left side of His body. Rādhārāṇī is known throughout the universe as ādi-śakti, the original potency. When She appeared, Her bodily complexion was the colour of molten gold. Her body was decorated with various ornaments: a flower bouquet adorned Her braided hair. A necklace of pearls (mukta mālā) lay on Her breast and a belt (mekhalā) encircled Her waist. Her ears were decorated with beautiful golden earrings. The nūpura, anklets, on Her feet produced tinkle-bell sounds as She walked. Mādhava-mohinī rādhā-mādhava-mohila – Rādhā enchanted Mādhava. In the rāsa dance, She gave so much pleasure to Mādhava, and again, She thought, how can I give more pleasure to Mādhava? With this thought immediately innumerable gopīs came out from Her body. They all looked like Rādhā. To relish the nectarean pastime, They appeared as two bodies (This is a description from Brahmā-vaivarta Purāṇa).

Now, I will relate the description in the Padma Purāṇa about the appearance of Rādhā. Śivajī is speaking with Pārvatī. In the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara Khaṇḍa), it is mentioned that there was a great devotee, an opulent king named Vṛṣabhānu. His wife, Kīrtidā, was chaste and devoted. From her womb, Rādhā, jagan-mātā, the mother of the whole world, took birth. On this day, in the month of Bhādra, the eighth day of the bright fortnight, at noon, by the will of Lord Hari, Rādhārāṇī appeared. All the gopa families of Gokula became very, very blissful; all of Gokula was joyful. Everyone’s desires were fulfilled when they saw that a beautiful daughter had been born, and everyone felt great joy and happiness. King Vṛṣabhānu gave immense amounts of charity to the brāhmaṇas, Vaiṣṇavas, bhartās (husbands), naṭas (male dancers), and the poor men. In this way, Vrajeśvari, that is Rādhārāṇī, was born in Gokula. No one could understand it because of Her māyā.

One day Nārada Muni came to King Vṛṣabhānu’s quarters to have darśana of Rādhārāṇi. Nārada Muni inquired of all auspiciousness. King Vṛṣabhānu humbly replied, “By your mercy everything is auspicious. You are a great sādhu; wherever you travel, all auspiciousness appears there. Wherever you go, that place becomes a tīrtha. By your mercy everyone can have hari-bhakti.”

Saying this, King Vṛṣabhānu picked up his daughter and placed her on the lap of Nārada Muni. When Nārada Muni felt the touch of Rādhārāṇī, he became ecstatic; his hair stood on end, tears poured down from his eyes in torrents, and in his heart Nārada Muni offered a prayer to Rādhārāṇī, “You are hari-priya, dear to Lord Hari; You are mahābhāva-svarūpa, the embodiment of mahābhāva, govinda-mohinī, the enchantress of Govinda. You are ānanda-svarūpa,  the embodiment of all bliss. You are bhakti, You are tapa, You are everything. All demigods, beginning from Brahmā and Śiva, meditate on Your lotus feet. All gopīs, mahiṣīs, queens, and Mahā-Lakṣmī are your plenary portions. You are ādi-śakti, the original potency, energy; kṛṣṇa-mohinī, You enchant Kṛṣṇa; kṛṣṇa-prāṇa-rūpa, You are Kṛṣṇa’s life and soul. You are jagan-mātā, the mother of the whole world.”

Out of mercy, hearing Nārada Muni’s prayers, Rādhārāṇī showed him Her form. Nārada Muni saw Rādhārāṇī sitting on a divya-ratna-siṁhāsana, a throne studded with divine gems, under a transcendental kalpa–vṛkṣa, wish-fulfilling tree, surrounded by innumerable sakhīs. Some of the sakhīs were fanning, some sakhīs were waving cāmaras, and some sakhīs were holding white umbrellas. He saw Rādhārāṇī’s body covered with beautiful transcendental garments, and he saw the vermillion point, sindūra-bindu on Her forehead. He saw around Her waist, khate thāke, a belt, and ratna harāvali suveṣṭa māṇi male, a necklace of gems on Her chest. He saw nūpura (ankle bells) clasped to Her feet. He saw the effulgence coming from Her body. Nārada Muni’s voice faltered and his whole body was ecstatic. No one knew, no one else could see; only by Her mercy, Nārada Muni saw this beautiful form of Rādhārāṇī.

Now, again as a baby, Rādhārāṇī was lying on the lap of Nārada Muni. Then Nārada Muni returned that baby daughter to Her father Vṛṣabhānu. Then Vṛṣabhānu called his wife Kīrtidā, Vṛṣabhānu and Kīrtidā sat down before Nārada Muni. Nārada Muni said, “Both of you are the most fortunate mother and father in the world. You are very fortunate, mahā-bhāgyavān, because you have such a wonderful daughter. Kamalā, Pārvatī, Arundhatī, Śacī, and Satyabhāmā are all the portions and portions of this girl Rādhārāṇī. She is hari-priya. No one is as dear to Lord Hari as She is dear. Because of this daughter, the whole of Gokula-maṇḍala will be filled with opulence. Do not feel sorry that it is a daughter. Your glory will be spread far and wide.”

After hearing this from Nārada Muni, King Vṛṣabhānu asked, with folded hands, “Who will be Her husband?” Nārada muni said, “She will be the wife of that supreme puruṣa, parama–puruṣa, mahā-puruṣa.” At that time, Her eyes were not open. Nārada Muni said, “In due course, Her eyes will open. You are the most fortunate mother and father in the whole universe.” Saying this, Nārada Muni left that place.

This is mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa. Śivajī is speaking to Pārvatī devī. Then Pārvatī enquires:

Pārvatī again inquired at the lotus feet of Śivajī, “Why was Rādhārāṇī not opening Her eyes?”

Śivajī said, “O Devī, that is a very wonderful story. When Lord Hari wanted to descend here to the material world, He called Rādhā and said, “You will also take birth in the material world, with Me. We will manifest wonderful līlās there.” Rādhā said, “O, My dear lotus-eyed Hari if I take birth in the material world, I will be very distressed. I only see Your form. I cannot see the form of other men.” Kṛṣṇa said, “O Devī, You will not feel any distress. You will always see My form. You will not see any other male form.”

After saying this, Lord Hari took birth as the son of Nanda Mahārāja to protect the sādhus – sādhu rakṣa kare. Rādhā took birth in the womb of Kīrtidā as the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu. At the birth of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, the whole universe became supremely joyful. Seeing that Rādhā had not opened Her eyes, Kīrtidā felt distressed.

Again, Pārvatī inquired, “Please tell me how Rādhārāṇī’s vision returned.” Śivajī said, “I’ll tell you a wonderful story, hearing which everyone will feel transcendental happiness.”

King Vṛṣabhānu performed a grand festival on the auspicious occasion of Rādhā’s birth. He invited all the cowherd men and women, with a special invitation to Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodārāṇi. Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodārāṇi came to King Vṛṣabhānu’s palace seated on a bullock cart. Mahārāja Vṛṣabhānu went outside to welcome Nanda Mahārāja, and Kīrtidā went outside to welcome Yaśodā-mātā. Vṛṣabhānu and Nanda embraced, and Kīrtidā and Yaśodā embraced each other in the inner quarters. A lively festival was in progress with the music of drums, kettle drums, bugles, violins, vīṇā. In the inner quarters, Rādhā was sleeping in a cradle. Antaryāmī-hari, He who dwells within, understood it. No one noticed when baby Kṛṣṇa went to Rādhārāṇī as She slept in the cradle. Seeing the face of His dear consort, Kṛṣṇa was smiling, laughing in His mind. Then He put His lotus palm on Rādhārāṇī’s eyes. As soon as Rādhārāṇī felt the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus palm, She immediately opened Her eyes and saw Kṛṣṇa’s face.

There was an eye-to-eye union, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Both of Them were very, very blissful. At that time Kīrtidā went to her daughter’s cradle and saw that Rādhā had opened Her eyes. Kīrtidā was overjoyed and placed her daughter on her lap. She said, “O, Kṛṣṇa has given eyes to Rādhā, therefore this baby Rādhā will be very dear to Kṛṣṇa.” Hearing this mother Yaśodā was very happy.

There was a joyous festival in King Vṛṣabhānu’s palace. No one can describe this inconceivable līlā of Kṛṣṇa. The līlās mentioned in the Brahmā-vaivarta Purāṇa and Padma Purāṇa are described by the mercy of hari-guru. This is all about the appearance of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

The following are transcriptions of discourses delivered by Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja on Rādhāṣṭamī at Śrī Rādhā Mādhava Gauḍīya Maṭha, Faridabad, on September 9, 2016 and Śrī Tīrtha Āśrama, Govardhana, on September 21, 2015, published on visuddhacaitanyavani.com

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ’rjuna

[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]

‘Janma karma ca me divyam’. He is saying that His janma (birth) and karma (activities) or līlās (pastimes) are all transcendental and difficult to understand. Although He is aja (unborn), He takes birth. How can this be reconciled?

Sometimes pure devotees of Bhagavān desire to have Him as their child, so they can lovingly nurture and pamper Him in every possible way, just as parents of an ordinary child lovingly shower their affection upon him. To fulfil this desire of His pure devotees, Bhagavān manifests His birth pastime in this world, though He is unborn. Consequently, His birth and pastimes, such as stealing butter churned by the gopīs, cow-herding, and so on, are all transcendental. Though they may appear like an ordinary child is performing them, they are completely transcendental.

satyaṁ vidhātuṁ nija-bhṛtya-bhāṣitaṁ
vyāptiṁ ca bhūteṣv akhileṣu cātmanaḥ
adṛśyatātyadbhuta-rūpam udvahan
stambhe sabhāyāṁ na mṛgaṁ na mānuṣam

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (7.8.1)

[To prove that the statement of His servant Prahlāda Mahārāja was substantial — in other words, to prove that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, even within the pillar of an assembly hall — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, exhibited a wonderful form never before seen. The form was neither that of a man nor that of a lion. Thus the Lord appeared in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.]

‘Satyaṁ vidhātuṁ nija-bhṛtya-bhāṣitaṁ’– The Lord appeared in this world to make the words of His devotees true. As bhakta-vāñchā-kalpataru, Bhagavān manifests His pastimes to fulfil all the desires of His devotees. He appears only to make their words come true. Whichever form the devotees cherish and desire to see, Bhagavān assumes that very form to give pleasure to the devotees. Only devotees can understand this, not others. Unless one has received the mercy of the Lord, these topics cannot be understood.*

Aghāsura’s sister, the rākṣasī (female eater of human flesh) Pūtanā, was ordered by Kaṁsa to kill all children born within the last six months. Hence, this bāla-ghātinī (killer of newborns), while searching from one place to another, would kill any newborn she spotted. When Kṛṣṇa was just six days old, Pūtanā had come to Nanda Bābā’s place. Smearing her breasts with poison, she wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa on the pretext of breastfeeding.

But even a gigantic six krośa (eighteen kilometres) long demoness like Pūtanā could not kill Kṛṣṇa. Instead, simply by sucking her breast, Kṛṣṇa sucked out her very prāṇa (life air). Is such a thing possible for an ordinary person? The skill and swiftness with which Kṛṣṇa killed Pūtanā demonstrates how His activities are purely transcendental and beyond comprehension.

Today is Rādhāṣṭamī – the appearance tithi of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Being the eternal śakti (consort) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the scriptures have stated that She is non-different or inseparable from Kṛṣṇa.**

Śrī Kṛṣṇa has three prominent śaktis (potencies) – sandhinī, saṁvit, and hlādinī.*** Through hlādinī-śakti Kṛṣṇa tastes rasa and gives bliss to the devotees.**** Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the mūla (root) of hlādinī-śakti.***** Thus, the verse ‘janma karma ca me divyam’ also completely applies to Her. In other words, Rādhārāṇī’s birth and pastimes in this world are completely aprākṛta (transcendental). Rādhārāṇī descends in this world of Her own sweet will to give pleasure to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in His pastimes. 

In connection to Rādhārāṇī’s birth, people often ask, “It is mentioned in some places that Rādhārāṇī is the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja and Kīrtidā-devī, but in Rādhā-sahastra-nāma She is addressed as Kalāvatī-kanyā – the daughter of Kalāvatī. Are Kīrtidā and Kalāvatī the same individual, or are they two different individuals? Various scriptures have disparate opinions on this matter. How does one reconcile this? What is the significance behind such statements?”

We shall try to understand this by studying the history behind it. Himālaya (the mountain) and his wife had a beautiful daughter named Pārvatī, who was married to Lord Śiva. In one kalpa, Himālaya’s sister-in-law, Kalāvatī, the wife of Vindhyācala (the mountain), desired to have a daughter as beautiful as Pārvatī. Vindhyācala also harboured a similar desire, “If I had a daughter like Pārvatī, I would marry her to some transcendental personality like Lord Śiva, who is so auspicious and pure.” With this desire in mind, both husband and wife performed many austerities, and as a result, Rādhārāṇī was born to them.

In that kalpa, Pūtanā reached Vindhyācala in her search for newborns. Seeing Rādhārāṇī, Pūtanā lifted Her onto her beak and flew away. However, by the will of Bhagavān, on reaching Rāval, near Gokula, Rādhārāṇī slipped through her grip and fell onto a lotus in the Yamunā.

That morning, when Kīrtidā-devī had gone for her daily bath in the Yamunā, she spotted Rādhārāṇī on that lotus. Feeling compassion, Kīrtidā took that baby girl home and related all that had transpired to Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, and in this way, they kept Rādhārāṇī as their daughter. Unfortunately, there was one cause of sorrow. Even though the baby girl had incomparable beauty, Her eyes were shut, making everyone despondent.

Hearing that a daughter had been born to Kīrtidā, Yaśodā, along with baby Kṛṣṇa, went to greet the blessed parents. However, when she arrived, she felt distressed when she discovered that the eyes of this beautiful newborn girl were shut. She wondered, “What a pity that such a beautiful girl cannot open her eyes!” In the meantime, baby Kṛṣṇa crawled out of Yaśodā’s lap and went and touched Rādhārāṇī, who was close by. As soon as Kṛṣṇa touched Her, She opened Her eyes, and everyone was overjoyed.

The inner meaning behind this pastime is that Rādhārāṇī would not open Her eyes unless She first took darśana of Kṛṣṇa. From this pastime, She is teaching that only Kṛṣṇa is the real object of our vision. In other words, if there is anyone worthy of being seen by our eyes, that is Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Hence, the two opinions of Rādhārāṇī being addressed as Kalāvatī-kanyā and Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī are reconciled. Both these opinions can coexist. That is why this is called divya-līlā (a transcendental pastime).

Our ācāryas explain a deeper meaning. Just as Kṛṣṇa’s birth is mysterious – Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa appeared in Mathurā in front of Devakī and Vasudeva, then, on being carried to Gokula, He merged into Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa (the son of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā Maiyā); in the same way, the daughter of Kalāvatī was brought to Vraja, and She merged into the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja and Kīrtidā-devi. These are transcendental pastimes (janma karma ca me divyam) which are not easily understood.

We are the worshippers of Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa and Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī Śrīmatī Rādhikā. We are not the worshippers of Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa, and in the same way, we are not the worshippers of Kalāvatī-kanyā. Therefore, even though some people say that Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the daughter of Kalāvatī, their words, although true to some extent, are not the complete truth, which is that She is the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja and Kīrtidā-devī.

If anyone has been to Varsānā to celebrate Rādhāṣṭamī, they would know that Her abhiṣeka is performed during the maṅgala-ārati, preceded by night long kīrtanas and bhajanas. At other places, Her abhiṣeka is performed around 8 a.m. And still, at some other places, Her appearance time is considered noon, and Her abhiṣeka is performed then. So, what is the mystery behind this?

When it comes to Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī, everyone unanimously knows and celebrates it at midnight; there is no other consideration. However, when it comes to celebrating the appearance of Rādhārāṇī, there is a difference of opinion.

Kīrtidā-devī sighted the baby girl in the early morning; thus, some consider that time Her birth time. She took Rādhārāṇī home and showed Her to Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, and the news spread fast across Rāval that a beautiful baby girl had been born to Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja and Kīrtidā-devī. This caused a lot of commotion as everyone came to see this beautiful newborn girl, Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī. Some consider the time when everyone learned of Her birth as Her appearance time.

Rādhārāṇī, however, had not opened Her eyes yet, and for this reason, everyone was morose. The saṁskāras traditionally performed at birth, like the father of the newborn along with all the elderly family members giving charity to the brāhmaṇas, and so on, had not been done. At noon, when Kṛṣṇa arrived with Mother Yaśodā and touched Rādhārāṇī, She opened Her eyes, and at that very moment, there was a celebration of happiness – ānanda mahotsava. This is another consideration of Her birth time, which our guru-varga accepts. Hence, we celebrate the appearance of Rādhārāṇī at noon by performing Her abhiṣeka at that time.

We have heard many things about the birth and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. These tattvas are full of deep mysteries, so bhāgavata-tattva is not comprehensible for those blind or bereft of perfect (transcendental) vision (netra-hīna). Neither are they comprehensible to those who hear from such blinded personalities.

Scriptures have spoken of ten kinds of pramāṇas (means of obtaining accurate knowledge or evidence) as the basis by which one can ascertain whether or not what is being spoken is bona fide. However, only one – śabda pramāṇa (revealed knowledge) – among these ten has been accepted as the absolute truth. This is the channel by which true knowledge appears or descends.******

Śabda pramāṇa means the words of mahā-bhāgavatas who, unlike conditioned living entities of this world, are free from the four defects of bhrama (tendency to be deluded); vipralipsā (cheating propensity); karaṇāpāṭava (imperfect senses) and pramāda (tendency to make mistakes). Those who do not have these four defects are differently situated than others.

Whenever anyone expounds a principle or an object, having completely realised it, then that is considered as pramāṇa. By such pramāṇa, various truths are known in actuality as they are. Anything written or spoken by one with four defects cannot be considered pramāṇa.

For instance, during Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit to Vṛndāvana, some locals mistook a fisherman for Kṛṣṇa at Kāliyā-hrada. The fisherman’s torchlight was mistaken for bright jewels on Kāliya’s hoods. Thus, even the servant of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, got influenced by the hearsay and wanted to see ‘Kṛṣṇa dancing on the hoods of Kāliya at Kāliyā-hrada’. From this pastime, it is evident how the vision of ordinary people cannot be taken as pramāṇa.

Previously, scientists deduced that the earth was flat, and for many years, this notion was held as the truth. Only later did the scientific world change its stance by concluding that the earth was round, not flat, and now everyone believes that to be the truth. This fallible approach of the scientists to acquiring knowledge cannot be taken as pramāṇa.

Even knowledge passed through a historical account may be tinged with some motivation or bias. Suppose some king commissions a biographer to write about him. Such an account will likely carry details that glorify that king’s position while carefully excluding facts that may stain his character.

When someone with a particular absorption or bias writes a historical account, the writing will carry that flavour. For instance, say a young man is attracted towards a young woman. At that time, his consciousness is wholly absorbed in her; even if she has any faults, he doesn’t see them. He only sees her good qualities. Due to this individual’s absorption, whatever he describes about that girl cannot objectively be considered the truth.

Whenever one is absorbed in someone or something, the object of absorption enters one’s heart, and he considers any insult or praise to his object of absorption to be his own. In such a state, whatever an individual says is not inherently and objectively true, as there is some bias. Whatever is spoken has a personal flavour to it such that the glories of one’s object of absorption can be expounded well.

That is why it is said –

nāhi kāhāṅ savirodha, nāhi kāhāṅ anurodha,
sahaja vastu kari vivaraṇa
yadi haya rāgoddeśa, tāhāṅ haye āveśa,
sahaja vastu nā yāya likhana

Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 2.86)

[In this Caitanya-caritāmṛta, there is no contradictory conclusion, nor is anyone else’s opinion accepted. I have written this book to describe the simple substance as I have heard it from superiors. If I become involved in someone’s likes and dislikes, I cannot possibly write the simple truth.]

In this way, objectivity is lost due to motivation or bias, which is why even historical evidence is not accepted in the category of pramāṇa. We could elucidate all these categories that do not constitute pramāṇa, but that would be exhausting.

The words of the mahā-bhāgavatas are factually considered the absolute truth because they are free from the four defects and are established in the truth.

In Mahābhārata, we hear about the Yakṣa asking Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja many questions. One of the questions he asked was, “What is the real path to follow in life?” Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja replied, “mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ – one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.”*******

The mahājanas have presented the real essence of the Vedas. What the mahājanas speak is considered the absolute authority. We have faith in the words of our ṣaḍ-gosvāmīs, especially Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, the authorities of the Gauḍīyas. They have appeared in this world to give us ujjvala-rasa.

In the first verse of Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has specifically instructed us to perform śrī kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam, and not merely kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. The term śrī kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam means to perform kīrtana of the names of Kṛṣṇa together with those of Śrī. Here, the name ‘Śrī’ refers to sarva-lakṣmīmayī Śrī Rādhikā. It is only when Śrīmatī Rādhikā is by the side of Śrī Kṛṣṇa that He can be correctly called ‘Kṛṣṇa.’ Without Her, He is merely ‘Bakāri,’ the killer of the demon Bakāsura. This has been mentioned by our pūrva-ācārya Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī in his Śrī Vilāpa-kumsumāñjali (102):

āśā-bharair amṛta-sindhu-mayaiḥ kathañcit
kālo mayāti-gamitaḥ kila sāmprataṁ hi
tvaṁ cet kṛpāṁ mayi vidhāsyasi naiva kiṁ me
prāṇair vrajena ca varoru bakāriṇāpi

O Varoru Rādhā, I am passing my time with the sole hope of being able to serve You. If You withhold Your mercy, what value to me is this life, the land of Vraja, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Baka (Bakāri)?

Śrīla Dāsa Gosvāmī is mentioning, “Oh, whose mercy do I want?” He is praying, “I want the mercy of that Kṛṣṇa who is always with Śrīmatī Rādhikā, not Bakāri Kṛṣṇa, not that Kṛṣṇa who is killing the demons like Bakāsura and Aghāsura.” Why? Because the killing of demons is being done by Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa, not by Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa Himself, and he does not want to worship that Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa. He is saying, “Oh, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, if I can’t get Your mercy, then what is the use of my staying in Vraja-dhāma; what is the use of keeping up this body; what is the use of the mercy of Bakāri? I don’t want His mercy! I want Your mercy.” Without Rādhārāṇī, He is just Bakāri. With Rādhārāṇī by His side, He is known as Madana-mohana.

Once, Śrīmatī Rādhikā disappeared during rāsa-līlā. Some say She left out of envy because Kṛṣṇa was dancing with hundreds and thousands of gopīs and, in this way, equating Her with all the other gopīs. But our ācāryas reject this argument. The main reason for Her leaving the rāsa-līlā was not out of envy towards the other gopīs; instead, it was because of Her humility. She felt that because of Her inability to satisfy Kṛṣṇa completely, He needed to accept service from others. While feeling this in Her heart, with this mood, She left the rāsa-līlā. Afterwards, to establish the supreme glory of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Kṛṣṇa left śata-koṭi (one billion) gopīs for Her.

It was not that the other gopīs were not very qualified. The vraja-gopīs are indeed very glorious, more than even the mahīṣīs (queens) of Dvārakā. And those queens themselves are not ordinary either. Rukmiṇī, Kṛṣṇa’s foremost queen, had taken a vow – “Kṛṣṇa, if You don’t accept me, then I will take birth again and again and perform many austerities until You accept me. I will not accept anybody else.” This is her glory – she doesn’t want to accept any mortal person as her husband. She was ready to die for Kṛṣṇa for so many births. Her śaraṇāgati and love compelled Kṛṣṇa to go and rescue her and accept her as His wife.

However, one pastime has proven that the glories of Rukmiṇī and the other queens are lesser than those of the vraja-gopīs. How? Once, Kṛṣṇa manifested a pastime of having a headache, which could only be relieved by His devotee’s foot dust. All the queens of Dvārakā failed because they were unable to give their foot dust as a medicine for Kṛṣṇa’s headache, being afraid – “Oh, He is the Lord, and He is our husband. How can we give our footdust to Him? We will go to hell.” But the vraja-gopīs were not afraid and readily gave their foot dust. They said, “We can go to hell for hundreds and thousands of births. It does not matter that we may have to stay in hell forever. But we cannot tolerate even hearing that Kṛṣṇa has a headache.”

In this way, the vraja-gopīs were most glorious, but again, amongst all the gopīs, aṣṭa-sakhī śiromaṇī Śrīmatī Rādhikā is superior to them all. As soon as She left the rāsa-līlā, Kṛṣṇa followed Her. Śrīmatī Rādhikā is like the thread in a flower garland. As soon as the thread is broken anywhere, the garland falls apart, scattering the flowers here and there. So, in the same way, as soon as Śrīmatī Rādhikā left, Kṛṣṇa started following Her, and the rāsa-līlā stopped.

At one place, Kṛṣṇa manifested His four-armed form, and there, the superiority of Śrīmatī Rādhikā over the other gopīs was established even more. How? The gopīs that were walking ahead of Śrīmatī Rādhikā saw Kṛṣṇa in His four-armed form and prayed, “O Nārāyaṇa, please bless us and give us the association of Kṛṣṇa.” They offered other prayers and then went ahead. But, as soon as Śrīmatī Rādhikā approached, Kṛṣṇa was unable to hold His four-armed form. Immediately, two arms entered His body. Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the gopīs behind Her saw Kṛṣṇa in His two-handed form.

In this way, while demonstrating Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s superiority over the other gopīs, this pastime also shows that those who are following Śrīmatī Rādhikā can attain the mercy of Kṛṣṇa in full; they can get Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, darśana and sevā in full. Nobody else does. Those gopīs who were ahead of Śrīmatī Rādhikā were unable to receive Kṛṣṇa’s complete mercy, whereas those who were following behind Śrīmatī Rādhikā were able to get Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in full.

The mahājanas in the Gauḍīya line, especially Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, have established the superiority of Śrīmatī Rādhikā in this way. Even though there are so many authorities in the Gauḍīya line who also present their verdicts in so many different ways, we are the staunch followers of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has mentioned in Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣā (9) about our relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhikā – ‘madīśā-nāthatve vraja-vipina-candraṁ vraja-vane śvarīṁ tāṁ-nāthatve’ – ‘O mind, always remember Vṛndāvana-candra Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Lord of my Svāminī Śrī Rādhikā’s life and Vṛndāvaneśvarī Śrīmatī Rādhikā as my mistress’.******** These are the real thoughts and moods of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, which we are aspiring for.

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nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām

Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.23)

“The Supreme Lord is not obtained by expert explanations, by vast intelligence, nor even by much hearing. He is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.”

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śakti-śaktimator abhedaḥ

Vedānta-sūtra

There is no difference between the potent and the potency.

rādhā — pūrṇa-śakti, kṛṣṇa — pūrṇa-śaktimān
dui vastu bheda nāi, śāstra-paramāṇa

mṛgamada, tāra gandha — yaiche aviccheda
agni, jvālāte — yaiche kabhu nāhi bheda

rādhā-kṛṣṇa aiche sadā eka-i svarūpa
līlā-rasa āsvādite dhare dui-rūpa

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 4.96-98)

“Śrī Rādhā is the full power, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures. They are indeed the same, just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are nondifferent. Thus Rādhā and Lord Kṛṣṇa are one, yet They have taken two forms to enjoy the mellows of pastimes.”

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sac-cid-ānanda-maya kṛṣṇera svarūpa
ataeva svarūpa-śakti haya tina rūpa

ānandāṁśe ‘hlādinī’, sad-aṁśe ‘sandhinī’
cid-aṁśe ‘samvit’, yāre jñāna kari’ māni

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 8.154-155)

“Originally Lord Kṛṣṇa is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, the transcendental form of eternity, bliss and knowledge; therefore His personal potency, the internal potency, has three different forms. Hlādinī is His aspect of bliss; sandhinī, of eternal existence; and samvit, of cognizance, which is also accepted as knowledge.”

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kṛṣṇake āhlāde, tā’te nāma — ‘hlādinī’
sei śakti-dvāre sukha āsvāde āpani

sukha-rūpa kṛṣṇa kare sukha āsvādana
bhakta-gaṇe sukha dite ‘hlādinī’ — kāraṇa

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 8.157-158)

“The potency called hlādinī gives Kṛṣṇa transcendental pleasure. Through this pleasure potency, Kṛṣṇa personally tastes all spiritual pleasure. Lord Kṛṣṇa tastes all kinds of transcendental happiness, although He Himself is happiness personified. The pleasure relished by His pure devotees is also manifested by His pleasure potency.”

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hlādinīra sāra aṁśa, tāra ‘prema’ nāma
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa premera ākhyāna

premera parama-sāra ‘mahābhāva’ jāni
sei mahābhāva-rūpā rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 8.159-160)

“The most essential part of this pleasure potency is love of Godhead [prema]. Consequently, the explanation of love of Godhead is also a transcendental mellow full of pleasure. The essential part of love of Godhead is called mahābhāva, transcendental ecstasy, and that ecstasy is represented by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.”

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Although ten kinds of pramāṇa are mentioned, (1) pratyakṣa – direct perception, (2) anumāna – inference, (3) ārṣa – the statements of the sages, (4) upamāna – comparison, (5) arthāpatti – presumption, (6) abhāva – absence, (7) sambhava – probability, (8) aitihya – hearsay, (9) ceṣṭā – gesturing and (10) śabda – Vedic testimony, only apauruṣeya-veda is free from the faults of misinterpretation, error from careless or hasty judgement, the tendency to cheat, ill-equipped senses and so on. Truly, the principal form of evidence is śabda-pramāṇa, in the form of the Vedas.

Mādhurya-kādambinī (First Shower of Nectar, Text 3a, Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī-vṛtti)

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tarko ’pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā
nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam
dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ

Mahābhārata (Vana-pārva 313.117)

“Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.”

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madīśā-nāthatve vraja-vipina-candraṁ vraja-vane
śvarīṁ tāṁ-nāthatve tad-atula-sakhītve tu lalitām
viśākhāṁ śikṣālī-vitaraṇa-gurutve priya-saro
girīndrau tat-prekṣā-lalita-rati-datve smara manaḥ

Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣā (Verse 9)

“O mind, always remember Vṛndāvana-candra Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the prāṇanātha (Lord of the life-breath) of my Svāminī Śrī Rādhikā, Vṛndāvaneśvarī Śrīmatī Rādhikā as my mistress, Śrī Lalitā as the peerless friend of my Svāminī, Śrī Viśākhā as the śikṣā-guru in the arrangements of Śrī Yugala sevā, and Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Girirāja Govardhana as those who grant darśana of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and bestow sublime rati for Their lotus feet.”

Source: Purebhakti.com