In Hindu belief Radha or Sri Radharani is believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. The goddess thus is believed to be the love interest of Lord Sri Krishna as he is the avatar of Sri Hari Vishnu. Radha was accorded the status of a goddess in northern India though the consort of Sri Krishna is known to be Rukmini. In many temples of India it is goddess Radha who is depicted alongside Lord Krishna and not Rukmini. The immense love and devotion the goddess has for Sri Krishna is the reason for her being raised to a higher celestial plane. Today Radharani is worshipped like any other goddess in Indian temples along with Lord Krishna.
Lord Sri Krishna is seen by Radha as the ultimate divine being while she sees herself as the devotee of her lord. Her divine love towards the lord is symbolic with the ultimate union of a devotee with the god. Goddess Sri Radha is believed to be Lord Sri Krishna's adi (original) shakti. She is supreme among the Gopis (milkmaids) and sometimes it is suggested that the gopis were merely the maidservants of Radharani and she undoubtedly held the supreme position in the heart of Sri Krishna. The relationship between Radha and Krishna is not bound by marriage but eternal love and dedication towards each other.
In the Gita Govinda Radha is depicted as a human longing for unison with the divine. It was only after the sixteenth century that the cult of Radha-Krishna grew tremendously. Radha-Krishna have today become a single term, both having no meaning without each other. Both the figures complement each other and are rarely worshipped separately. She is particularly revered in Varsana the village where she was born and in Mathura Vrindavan where Sri Krishna is believed to have taken birth and spend his childhood years. Though Radharani is worshipped to throughout the year but it is on the occasion of Radhashtami when she was born that special celebrations are held. Radha till date is believed to be the supreme devotee of Sri Krishna whom she loved like no one else ever did.
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.
Radha’s love towards Krishna in the terrestrial or customary meaning is not just the relation between a man and woman. The feeling of this love is divine and phenomenal which gives this love a pious form. The philosophical side of this reduces the distance of the support and supportive, also the difference between the worshipper and worshipful is not there. Krishna is the life of Vraj; Radha is the soul of Krishna. That is why, it is said, “Atma Tu Radhika Tasya” (Radha, you are His soul). One form of Radha is, she is a devotee, worshipper of Krishna and in the second form she is the worshipful, devoted by Krishna. ‘Aradhyate Asau itii Radha.’ Radha – Krishna’s love is the symbol of the feeling of being united. When two souls are united, the difference of the other or the second vanishes.Her father Vrsabhanu was the king of cowherds Gop. Vrsabhanu was a partial incarnation of Lord Narayana while her mother Kalavati was a partial incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi.
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu