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The romance of the young Lord Krishna with the Radha and the other 'gopis' (maidens) in Vrindavan is a focal component of the Indian ethos. The spiritualists have endowed this interaction with profound symbolism and have called it an act of faith in the divine. It has, however, fired the imagination of artists and writers, who have portrayed every nuance of this romance without the encumbrances of philosophy and theology.
Every evening after returning form grazing the cattle, Krishna would hurry to "madhuban" (the gardens of Vrindavan) to keep his tryst with the gopis. One evening his mother Yashoda detained him. "There are several chores which you have been delaying," she said. "Today you will not leave the house till you finish all of them." Krishna knew that the gopis, especially his beloved Radha, would be in a fit of rage if he kept them waiting for long. So he kept an eye on his mother's movements while he pretended to work on the chores and at the first opportunity he slipped away towards the gardens on the bank of the Yamuna River. As he scampered along, his ring fell off his finger, unnoticed by him. It so happened that one of the gopis, Lalita by name, was also late that evening. Her son was unwell so she had to feed him and put him to bed before leaving. She was in a petulant mood because she knew that the other gopis would have cornered Krishna by now and she would get a few minutes at most alone with him. However just seeing him and hearing the music of his flute was enough incentive for her to make the trip. On the way she stepped on something hard and looked down to find Krishna's ring. Her day was made. She now had the means to bypass the queue and accost Krishna directly. Krishna was sitting with Radha under a kadamba tree, playing with her unbound tresses and whispering words of love in her ear. Lalita took Krishna aside politely but firmly totally ignoring Radha's murderous stare. "I have found something you value a lot - your ring," she said. Krishna looked at his finger and confirmed that his ring was indeed missing. He then thrust his hand towards her and raised his ring finger indicating that she could slip on the ring. Lalita lovingly held Krishna's hand and equally lovingly slid the ring up the long finger. Krishna began to thank her profusely but she cut him short. "Mere words will not do," she said, "This calls for a reward. You know that your father would have grounded you for quite some time if the ring had been lost." Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article The Maiden's Reward in Indian Mythology is owned by Harsh Nevatia. Permission to republish The Maiden's Reward in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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