Hindu Mythology

Lesson 7: Krishna

Radha

Radha has been perceived differently by different people down the ages. She is sometimes the adulterous and amorous lover of Krishna and at others his divine consort. This perhaps makes her the most confusing character in Indian mythology. Munshi has in his work included a note on the historical perspective of Radha, which I am reproducing. The note is largely self-explanatory and where required, I have included my clarifications in brackets.

"Radha is the problem child of our national imagination. Her origin is shrouded in mystery. She is not mentioned in the Mahabharata, Harivamsa or Bhagwat, which was probably composed in the eighth century AD. On the other hand, she is mentioned in the Silappadikaram, an ancient Tamil work, as Nappinnai, wife of Krishna, and in the Gatha-Saptasati of Hala (about the second century AD).

However, from the second century, the name of Radha seems to be familiar to Prakrit (a language common to the eastern part of India at that time) authors. From the 8th century onwards, she is mentioned by various Prakrit poets mostly in erotic verses. In those times gopis (a name given to the maidens of the cowherd community) were worshipped along with Lord Krishna, but Radha was not included among them.

In Sanskrit literature, Radha figures for the first time in a benedictory verse found in three inscriptions of the Parmara Emperor Vakpati Munja of Malva (about AD 973 - 994). However, she only became famous all over India as the raseshvari (Rasa is the name of the dance of Krishna with the gopis of Vrindavan and raseshvari means the goddess of the Rasa dance), the central figure in the Rasa episodes, when Jayadev, the court poet of King Lakshmansen (c AD 1179 - 1203) made her the heroine of Geet Govind.

The lilting, sensuous charm of this erotic work caught the imagination of the whole of India within a century or two. No poet has ever been rated so high or become so popular on the basis of a single work, and few have retained their popularity for seven hundred years.

Geet Govind soon came to be accepted as a religious work. Later, Chandidasa in Bengal and Vidyapati in Mithila, made Radha immensely popular among the masses because of their songs. In later Puranas we find various stories of her divine origin, explaining her relations with Krishna. The stories are different but their motive is clear. As beloved friend of Lord Krishna's childhood, she was given a place in the pantheon.

Chaitanya (one of the greatest devotees of Lord Krishna, and worshipped in his own right) accepted her as a goddess. So did the Radhapanthis, Vishnuswamins and Nimbarkas (these are different sects devoted to the worship of Radha). According to the general tradition in India she is the divine spouse of Sri Krishna.

In the eastern religious tradition, she is however accepted as a beloved of Lord Krishna but the wife of another, sometimes mentioned by name as Aiyyan.

Anyway, Krishna without Radha is unthinkable, and I consider the view accepted by general tradition as appropriate."

The conclusion drawn by Munshi seems to contradict his note. In my opinion there are two aspects missing from the above note. Had these been included then Munshi’s conclusion would be easily accepted. The note finds only passing mention of Brahmavaivarta Purana, a later Purana that expounds in considerable detail the relationship between Krishna and Radha. While describing the origin of Radha, it states that Radha and Krishna are essentially the same Being. Radha is a manifestation of Krishna created by Krishna from Himself. The purpose of the interplay between Krishna and Radha is to demonstrate this Unity and likewise demonstrate the Unity between God and His devotees. This Purana also describes in detail the various trysts between the two lovers and is the source for writers and painters who have developed this aspect of the relationship.

The other aspect is that there has always been a strong oral component to Hindu mythology and despite the fact that Radha is not mentioned alongside Krishna in the more popular scriptures, the interplay of Radha and Krishna has always been a part of this oral tradition.

Whereas spiritualists and devotees have accepted the interpretation of the Radha-Krishna relation offered in the Brahmavaivarta Purana, writers down the ages have offered their own interpretations. And because this is a course on mythology and not religion, and because I strongly believe that mythology remains alive as a result of the diversity of views over the years, I will deal in some length on the literature of Krishna and Radha.

As mentioned earlier Geet Govind was a watershed in Indian Literature. In this poem Jayadev unabashedly describes the love affair of Krishna and Radha. He does not symbolise or rationalise or philosophise this love. He portrays the physical aspect with a candour and explicitness perhaps never done before or since. There is no doubt that Jayadev was an ardent devotee of Krishna and considered both Krishna and Radha as divine. Perhaps that is why he does not question the morality of this romance. He does not pass judgment on the divine and does not apply the “human” standards of ethics to their behaviour. He merely records every nuance of the myriad emotions the couple goes through. Jealousy, sorrow, bitterness, regret, loneliness, longing, companionship and ecstasy - all have a place in this epic.

When Radha would see Krishna flirting with the gopis of Vrindavan, a pang of jealousy would engulf her. On one such occasion she could not bear the torment within her soul and stormed out. Krishna saw her leaving and wanted to stop her, but the other gopis had pinned him down.

As soon as he could free himself from the grasps of the gopis he set out to look for Radha. He could feel her pain in his heart and his own for being separated from her and he promised to make amends. Though he searched everywhere he could not find her. Ultimately he sat down in a lonely grove by the river Yamuna dreaming about Radha.

Radha’s friend approached him and began to describe Radha’s troubled state. Radha had asked her to seek him and find out if she alone was the victim of love’s torment. Krishna requested her to take him to Radha. In another nook of the madhuban, Radha was waiting impatiently for her friend to bring news about Krishna.

It was well past midnight when Krishna tiptoed into the grove and disturbed Radha from her reverie. In an instant Radha’s pain and fatigue vanished, but in the next it was replaced by something worse. She could not believe her eyes. Krishna wore a disheveled look. Kohl from some gopi’s eyes was spread over his cheeks. His lips bore the teeth marks of his lover. Her nails had scratched victory all over his chest. Her fragrance was emanating form his body. Radha was enraged beyond words can describe. Krishna consoled her. All this is your friend’s doing. These marks on my body are the fee she has charged for leading me to you. Had I refused her these small pleasures I would have to spend the night alone and so would you.

As Krishna guided Radha to the bed of lotuses she had lovingly made, she put aside her anger and began to blush. He removed her anklets and massaged her legs to vanquish her tiredness. He removed the shawl she was wearing and embraced her. And all forgiven, their lovemaking was tender and refreshing.

And when they had spent their pent up energies, Radha saw that dawn was breaking and said to Krishna. Hurry up and help me dress quickly so that I can reach home before anyone realizes I have been out all night.

Unlike most epics, Geet Govind is not written in a single verse form throughout. Each verse has a metrical structure suited to the emotion being portrayed. And finally the enjoyment of Geet Govind is not restricted to the reading of the poem. Artists have put it on canvas, singers have put it to melody and dancers have exhibited it with poetic movements and graceful gestures.

Contemporary writers are not so frank. Society was more permissive in Jayadev’s time. Since then Islamic Puritanism and Victorian prudishness had inhibited society considerably. In the later works there is a tendency to symbolise and rationalise. I shall refer to two anthologies I am familiar with. Both these works are multi-faceted and this discussion by no means represents the works in their entirety. It is only a starting point. One is written in Hindi by a renowned poet Dharmavir Bharti. It is called Kanupriya or Krishna’s loved one. He divides time into cyclic segments – one when Krishna and Radha are together and the other when they are apart. These segments symbolise the various natural cycles. Like it is spring when Krishna and Radha are together and winter when they are apart. Hence Krishna and Radha lose their human persona and also become eternal. This is the essence of their divinity.

The other is Sri Radha by Ramakanta Rath. It was written originally in Oriya but has been translated into English by the poet himself. He portrays the amour between Krishna and Radha as having taken place in Radha’s imagination and not in reality. Radha desired Krishna but for various reasons she did not express her desire. The poet theorises that a state of unfulfilled desire gives more bliss. In such a case the object of desire is perfect and so is the imaginary relationship. Once the object of desire has been attained it is found wanting in comparison with the image. This leads to dissatisfaction. Hence Radha was content in living in an imaginary relationship.

There is a specific reason for discussing literary works in this section. I believe that today’s literature can become day after tomorrow’s mythology. I would not be surprised if a thousand years later some of the literary works we know today are mythologized in some form.

Optional Exercises

5a. Jayadeva’s Geet Govind has inspired many painters. The following sites portray two series of paintings in different styles. They refer to specific verses of the epic poem and the verses have been translated into English.
http://www.goloka.com/docs/gita_govinda/...
http://www.goloka.com/docs/mewari/index....

5b. The concept in Kanupriya of the togetherness of Krishna and Radha representing spring and their being apart representing winter has a parallel in Greek mythology. When Demeter and her daughter Persephone are together the plants and crops flourish and when Persephone goes to her husband in the underworld the plants and crops wither away. The myth can be read at the following site.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/demet...

5c. Given below is an extract from Sri Radha.

When, for the first time,
I thought I would touch you,
my hands froze.
There was darkness everywhere.
You too, like each of my thoughts,
were lost in that darkness.
Before I could make up my mind
if I should go ahead and touch you,
or if I should put it off and retreat,
my breathing almost ceased
as though I saw the river’s onrush
towards where I stood,
as though the wind had ceased in all the universe
and as though all my days hereafter
would be filled with terror
of dreams materialising.

So, is this the condition then the best –
you forever standing near
and forever unreachable?
You forever tempting me to touch you,
and me dying
in a lifelong moment of indecision?

I then thought
if you stood there forever,
near and yet far away,
I would someday come to believe
that you had never belonged to me,
that I did not belong to you,
that all you had given me
was the vision of an unreal image,
its eyes, lips, arms and waist,
all unreal – like the rainbow.

I then collected
all these half-formed desires,
fused them together,
rushed towards you like a gale
and entwined my fingers
in your fingers.

5d. Though Radha herself does not appear in the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna’s interplay with the other gopis of Vrindavan features prominently. Read the following from ‘Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God’ in Part One, Chapters 29 to 35 beginning on page 125.

5e. This section according to me is the most fascinating one and the one that should throw up the most questions. Start by expressing your view point and we will take up the discussion from there.

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