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Radha from a historical point of view

Marble

Rolling Marble
When does Radha first appear in scriptures?
Has she a history as an independent goddess before she is affiliated with Krishna?
Does the name Radha have a meaning?
 

Shuddhasattva

Well-Known Member
Shrimad Bhagavatam

No

Radha means beautiful. Related is the term aradhita used to describe Her. Beautiful to the point of being worthy of worship.

Speculation:
Ra (knowledge) + Dha (touch) could be taken as pleasure (Rati). Rati is Radha.

It may be relevant also that Dhara is support.
 

Marble

Rolling Marble
Is the Shrimad Bhagavatam part of the Mahabharata?
Was Radha a mortal woman who was made immortal by Krishna?
 

Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
Is the Shrimad Bhagavatam part of the Mahabharata?
Was Radha a mortal woman who was made immortal by Krishna?

Shrimad Bhagavatam is a scripture on its own- thank goodness, since it's already very very long (it is a Purana).

Radha is Shakti. She is an incarnation or manifestation of Lakshmi/Parvati or whomever you believe to be the Holy Mother.

But actually I don't think that Radha is mentioned by name in the Srimad Bhagavatam. She is mentioned in the purport/commentary but not the actual verses. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

I remember it was some later text that spoke of her but I don't recall which one.
 

Marble

Rolling Marble
Are there other gopis besides Radha who are important for Krishna?
Does Balarama, Krishna's broter, also have a companion?
 

Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
Are there other gopis besides Radha who are important for Krishna?
Does Balarama, Krishna's broter, also have a companion?

All the gopis are important but Radha is literally his other half.

It's been a long time since I read and heard these stories so I don't recall if Balarama had a chief gopi companion. I do know that he married a princess named Revati.
 

Vrindavana Das

Active Member
When does Radha first appear in scriptures?

The earliest information (that I know of) about Śri Rādhā is given in the Rig-parisishta (the supplement to the Rig Veda):

radhaya madhavo devo madhavenaiva radhika/ vibhrajante janeshu.​

"Among all persons, it is Śri Rādhā in whose company Lord Madhava is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious in His."

Has she a history as an independent goddess before she is affiliated with Krishna?

Rādhā is the internal pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa.

Rādhā is the energy. Kṛṣṇa is the energetic. There is not meaning to Rādhā without Kṛṣṇa and vice verse. Just like there is no meaning to Sun without sunlight and no meaning to sunlight without Sun.

Does the name Radha have a meaning?

Rādhā, who is the Internal Pleasure Potency of Kṛṣṇa, has appeared from His left side.

Rādhā comes from Rā + Dhā.

I am forgetting the meaning of Rā...:D
Dha comes from sanskrit word 'Dhāvīta' (to run).

When Rādhā first appeared from the left side of Kṛṣṇa, immediately on appearance, she ran back towards Krishna. Thus, the word Rādhā.
 

Vrindavana Das

Active Member
Shrimad Bhagavatam is a scripture on its own- thank goodness, since it's already very very long (it is a Purana).

I agree. :yes:

Śrimad Bhāgavatam is known as the spotless purāna. It broadcast the sublime and spotless glories of the Personality of Godhead.

Radha is Shakti. She is an incarnation or manifestation of Lakshmi/Parvati or whomever you believe to be the Holy Mother.

Rādhā, for the service of Kṛṣṇa, expands into the Gopīs and Goddesses of fortune - Lakṣmīs.

krishna-kanta-gana dekhi tri-vidha prakara
eka lakshmi-gana, pure mahishi-gana ara
vrajangana-rupa, ara kanta-gana-sara
sri-radhika haite kanta-ganera vistara​

The beloved consorts of Lord Krishna are of three kinds: the goddesses of fortune, the queens, and the milkmaids of Vraja, who are the foremost of all. These consorts all proceed from Radhika.[C.C.Adi 4.74-75]

But actually I don't think that Radha is mentioned by name in the Srimad Bhagavatam. She is mentioned in the purport/commentary but not the actual verses. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

:yes:

It is said that Śukadeva Gosvami did not mention Rādhārānī's name directly because if he had mentioned Her name directly he would have gone into an ecstatic trance for six months. As Maharaja Pariksit had only seven days to hear Śrimad Bhāgavatam, he gave Radha's name in an indirect, hidden way.

I remember it was some later text that spoke of her but I don't recall which one.

Sri Caitanya Caritamrita.
 

Vrindavana Das

Active Member
Are there other gopis besides Radha who are important for Krishna?

Yes. There are eight principal Gopīs, including Rādhā.

Their names are:

Candrāvali, Syāmala, Saibya, Padma, Śrī Rādhā, Lalitā, Viśākhā and Bhadrā.

The Padma Purana confirms that Śri Rādhā is the foremost of the gopīs:

yatha radha priya visnos
tasyah kundam priyam tatha
sarva-gopisu saivaika
visnor atyanta-vallabha​

"Just as Śrīmati Rādhārānī is most dear to Kṛṣṇa, Her bathing pond is similarly dear. Of all the gopīs, She is the most beloved of the Lord."

Does Balarama, Krishna's broter, also have a companion?

...:rolleyes:Yes...Kṛṣṇa :D
 

Marble

Rolling Marble
The earliest information (that I know of) about Śri Rādhā is given in the Rig-parisishta (the supplement to the Rig Veda):

radhaya madhavo devo madhavenaiva radhika/ vibhrajante janeshu.​

"Among all persons, it is Śri Rādhā in whose company Lord Madhava is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious in His."
How do other denominations interpret this verse, does someone know?
 

Shântoham

Vedantin
How do other denominations interpret this verse, does someone know?

Pranām

Other denominations – as you call them – don’t need to interpret this verse. All stanzas in the Ṛg-Pariśiṣṭa are numbered, and have exact references as to where they are to be inserted or appended in the main text. Therefore their context is known.
This verse does not speak about Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, but rather about a specific Nakṣatra (constellation) and Māsa (month).
The context indicates that Rādhā is the constellation Viśākha and Mādhava is the month of Vaiśākha (April-May) that coincides with that constellation.

rādhayā mādhavo devo mādhavenaiva rādhikā vibhrājante janeṣu – Mādhava with Rādhā, Rādhikā with Mādhava, indeed, they shine (Vibhrājante — give off light) among the people (Janeṣu).

There are other verses in the Vedas that according to Vaiṣṇavas mention Kṛṣṇa – Ṛg Veda 1.54.6 and 1.164.31, for example – and others that mention Rādhā – Ṛg Veda 1.30.5, 3.51.10, 8.61.14; Sāma Veda 1600; Atharva Veda 20.45.2 – but according to their context they don’t.

Having said that – and in the attempt to avoid another pointless argument – it is the privilege of a Kṛṣṇa-Bhakta to see Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa everywhere. For him, the truth peeps through in a veiled manner, unnoticed by all but the most enlightened.
To read a related word in an ancient scriptural passage and have a vision of his Beloved presence there. Lovers indulge in these things, and lovers of God even more so.
But this does not make Rādhā the subject of a given Ṛg-Vedic passage, in the so-called objective (or inter-subjective) sense.
 
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Vrindavana Das

Active Member
How do other denominations interpret this verse, does someone know?

The literal meaning of the verse, for any denomination, remains the same.

The meaning of the aphorisms in the verse contains clear purport in itself, like the brightly shining sun. Interpretations revealed unto the heart of some scholars, add to the beauty of the sun, like a cloud with a silver-lining.
 

Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
Yes, Bhagawad Gita is part of Mahabharata. In the original Mahabharata she isn't linked with Krishna(both male and female). She is the foster mother of Karna.

The (foster) mother or Karna is a different person all together.

Also Marble asked if Srimad Bhagavatam is part of Mahabharata..not BG :eek:
 

Shuddhasattva

Well-Known Member
Marble's question & subsequent development has caused me to do some research on this topic, will post findings in a bit after I clear my erstwhile to-do list, but it caught my eye that Viśākha as a constellation might be equated to she of the same name among the varistha gopis. There appears to be a great deal of astrological significance in the rasa lila.

Of course, the Rg Parishista (āśvalāyana-gṛhya-pariśiṣṭa?) as I understand it is a late text.
 

Shântoham

Vedantin
Marble's question & subsequent development has caused me to do some research on this topic, will post findings in a bit after I clear my erstwhile to-do list, but it caught my eye that Viśākha as a constellation might be equated to she of the same name among the varistha gopis. There appears to be a great deal of astrological significance in the rasa lila.

Of course, the Rg Parishista (āśvalāyana-gṛhya-pariśiṣṭa?) as I understand it is a late text.

Namaskāram

Once upon a time works such as the Bahvṛca Pariśiṣṭa, Śaṅkhāyana Pariśiṣṭa, Āśvalāyana-Gṛhya-Pariśiṣṭa, were all considered Ṛg-Pariśiṣṭa. Now only Āśvalāyana-Gṛhya-Pariśiṣṭa is considered a pure Pariśiṣṭa.
And judging by the Sanskrit alone I would say it is somewhat a later text.
For a discussion of the astral connections of Rādhā and Mādhava see Miller’s introduction to her translation of the Śrī Gītā Govinda, pp.27-8 and Sashibhushan Dasgupta’ Śrīrādhār Kramavikāśa, pp.96-99.

Pranāms
 

Maija

Active Member
Radha was the daughter of Vrishbhanu Gurjar who was king Suchandra in his previous life. Suchandra and his wife had acquired a boon from Brahmaji that in the Dwapar age Shri Laxmi will be born as a daughter to them in the form of Radha. King Suchendra and Queen Kalavati only were reborn as Vrishbhanu and Kirtikumari and Laxmiji was incarnated as Radha.

It is said that at Radha’s birth, Devarshi Narad himself went and met Vrishbhanu and informed him, “This girl’s beauty and nature is divine. All the houses, wherever her footprints are, Lord Narayan with all other deities will reside. Nurture this girl thinking her to be a Goddess.” According to Naradji’s advice, Vrishbhanu nurtured Radha with great love and care. Nandbaba who lived in the nearby village was friends with Vrishbanu. Once during the festival of Holi; Vrishbanu went to Gokul to meet Nandrai. At Nandrai and Yashoda’s house Krishna (who was growing up as their son) met Radha. Their union was divine, phenomenal and incessant. This meeting was Radha and Krishna’s first meeting which became eternal"

I also just learnt that Srimati Radhika was Sri Krishnas advisor and childhood friend. What a wonderful holy relationship ! :p
 
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