As the personification of the Supreme Energy and the topmost devotee of Lord Krishna, Srimati Radharani helps us attain the shelter of His lotus feet. 

Srimati Radharani, also called Radha and Radhika, is the dearmost consort of Lord Krishna. 5000 years ago, when Lord Krishna appeared on earth, Srimati Radharani also appeared as the daughter of King Vrishabhanu and Kirtida.

The Divine Appearance of Srimati Radharani

Vrishabhanu was the king of Raval, near Mathura. He was the head of the Vaishya community and cowherd men. He was very rich due to a large stock of grains and possession of thousands of cows. His close friend was Nanda Maharaja, the king of Gokula and Nandagram.

One day, King Vrishabhanu went to the banks of River Yamuna for a midday bath. There, he was captivated by the sight of a golden lotus flower, which was brilliant and glowing like a thousand suns. The King waded through the waters and caught hold of the lotus. As he approached the lotus, he was surprised to find a beautiful baby girl on the lotus. 

When the king pondered about this baby, Lord Brahma appeared there and spoke in a grave voice, “My dear Vrishabhanu Maharaja, you are extremely fortunate to get the sight of this divine little girl. She is the supreme divine mother of all the creations, the original mother of everyone. In your previous life, you and your wife underwent severe austerities and penances for many years, seeking the goddess of fortune to become your daughter. In response to your sincere prayer and desire, Lord Krishna has arranged for the foremost Lakshmi, who is none other than Srimati Radhika, to become your beloved daughter.” 

Then Brahma lifted the child and placed it in the hands of Vrishabhanu, telling him to take care of Her very carefully. He then returned to his abode.

The king returned to his palace with the baby with great joy. Kirtida, too, became extremely happy to see the baby. The news soon reached the neighbouring villages.

Narada Muni’s Arrival Brings Hope and Joy

After a few days, the king and the queen placed the baby in a cradle. However, the baby would not open Her eyes or cry. Many days went by in this way, and both the king and queen were shocked and greatly aggrieved, thinking that the baby must have been born blind and deaf.

When they were lamenting, the great sage Narada arrived and consoled the king. He advised him to hold a grand festival to celebrate the birth of the child, inviting everyone.

The First Meeting of Lord Krishna and Radharani

As suggested by sage Narada, King Vrishabhanu made arrangements for the celebrations and invited everyone, including his friend Nanda Maharaja. 

Nanda Maharaja came to the palace of Vrishbhanu with Yashoda, Rohini, and their sons Krishna and Balarama. At that time, Krishna was one year old.

While Vrishabhanu, Nanda Maharaja and their queens were exchanging greetings and joy, Krishna was left to move around freely. He crawled around and finally reached the cradle of Radharani.

He managed to catch hold of it and stand up, peering into the cradle. When baby Radha smelt the transcendental bodily fragrance of Krishna, She opened Her eyes. Thus, She had the vision of Her beloved Lord Krishna when She first opened Her eyes. At that time, She also started crying. Everyone was now happy witnessing this scene. 

Radharani Moves from Raval to Barsana

Radharani spent Her first five years after birth in Raval, and then they moved to a beautiful mountainous region called Barsana.

At the same time, Nanda Maharaja also moved from Gokula to Nandagram because of the disturbances created by King Kamsa. On the order of King Kamsa, many demons would regularly come to Gokula in different forms to kill Krishna but were ultimately killed by Him. Then, Nanda Maharaja, after discussing this with his elder brother Upananda and other elderly members of Gokula, concluded that Gokula was not a safe place to live. Thus, he moved to Nandagram.

Vrishabhanu constructed a beautiful palace for Srimati Radharani in Barsana. She was brought up there during Her childhood till the age of 15 years. There is a beautiful temple of Srimati Radharani, called Ladli temple, at Barsana.

Where Is the Name ‘Radha’ Derived from?

In Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Shukadeva Gosvami indirectly refers to Srimati Radharani as the supreme worshipper of Krishna: anayārādhyate. The name ‘Radha’ is derived from the word “ārādhyate”, which means worshipping. 

Another reason is that Radharani appeared on the eighth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadra. Her birth star was Anuradha, from which Her name ‘Radha’ is derived.

How Lord Krishna Experiences His Bliss?

Seeking enjoyment or happiness is an inherent nature of all living beings. All of us are searching for happiness, life after life, in various forms. However, we depend on external objects and many other factors to derive pleasure. However, the Supreme Lord Krishna is all-perfect and complete in Himself. 

He is neither dependent on anything external for His enjoyment nor is He attracted by material pleasures. He is the Lord of all energies. When He wants to enjoy, His own hladini shakti or spiritual pleasure potency manifests in the form of Srimati Radharani to give transcendental pleasure to Him.

The Shakti and Shaktiman

Lord Krishna is Shaktiman possessing all energies which serve Him.

Radharani is shakti or His supreme energy. She is known as sarva-lakshmi, meaning the original source of all the goddesses of fortune. She is the supreme goddess and is worshipable for everyone. In the spiritual world, Lord Krishna is served by hundreds and thousands of Lakshmis or the goddesses of fortune. They are all expansions of Srimati Radharani.

From Lakshmi manifests Durga-devi, who is deputed to take care of the living beings in this world, reform them and give them an opportunity to become Krishna conscious.

“Sarva-lakshmi” also indicates that Radharani fully represents the six opulences of Krishna, who has strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation in full.  Therefore, She is the supreme energy of Lord Krishna.

The Relationship Between Radha and Krishna Is Divine

The relationship between Radha and Krishna is often misunderstood as an ordinary loving relationship between a boy and a girl in this world. But in actuality, it is not so. It is a divine relationship, a relationship of pure love on the spiritual platform. The so-called love we find in this world is a perverted reflection of the pure love in the spiritual world. The original love rests in the relationship of Radha and Krishna.

Every living being can have five kinds of relationships with Lord Krishna: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, filial love and conjugal love between husband and wife or lover and beloved. These same relationships found within the material world are perverted reflections of relationships with the Supreme Lord. 

Of the above five, the conjugal love is on the highest platform, and Srimati Radharani serves Lord Krishna in this relationship.

Radharani Is the Most Exalted Devotee of Lord Krishna

Lord Krishna is all-attractive. He attracts every living being in creation through His enchanting form, divine qualities and wonderful pastimes. However, Srimati Radharani’s pure love for Lord Krishna and Her qualities are so exalted that She attracts even Lord Krishna. 

Srimati Radharani is the chief of all gopis. Her devotion to Lord Krishna is unparalleled, and She always meditates on Him. 

We Have to Approach Krishna through Radharani

It is Radharani who can bestow upon us pure devotion to Lord Krishna. Without Her sanction, we cannot revive our original transcendental relationship with Lord Krishna, and without Her recommendation, we will not be accepted into Lord Krishna’s abode.

Therefore, in Vrindavan, the holy land of divine pastimes of Radha and Krishna, all devotees worship and glorify Radharani with deep reverence. They chant Her holy name – Jaya Radhe!, and address one another as Radhe, Radhe!

Srimati Radharani is most merciful and compassionate to all living beings. It is easier to approach Krishna by taking Her shelter than by directly approaching Him. By pleasing Radharani, one can easily obtain the service of Krishna.

How to Please Srimati Radharani?

The process of pleasing Srimati Radharani and approaching Krishna through Her is made possible by chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, comprising the divine names Hare, Krishna, and Rama arranged in a particular sequence.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

‘Hare’ is the vocative form of Harā, which is another name of Radharani. By chanting Hare, we are addressing Radharani, praying to Her to engage us in the Lord’s service. 

The name Hare precedes Krishna and Rama. Thus, we approach the Lord through Radharani by addressing Her first and then the Lord.

On the auspicious occasion of Sri Radhashtami, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, let us chant Hare Krishna Maha-mantra and pray to Srimati Radharani to bless us with pure devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.