Radha Kunda

Sometime after the disappearance of Lord Krishna from the vision of the world, His
great grandson, Vajranabha Maharaja, who was at that time the king of Mathura, excavated the sacred kundas and built stone ghatas around both Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda. Unfortunately, due to the long passage of time and the ever changing socio-political climate in India during the course of the following fifty centuries, these two sacred kunda’s were eventually forgotten and within time became covered over and completely disappeared. Then in the early 16TH Century, the sacred lakes of Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda were rediscovered by the ‘Golden Avatara’ Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, during His historic parihrama around the twelve sacred forests of Vrindavana in the year 1515. Lord Chaitanya later sent His senior-most disciples in the form of the Six Goswamis to excavate Radha-kunda and all the other holy places connected to Lord Krishna’s transcendental pastimes in Vraja Mandala that had taken place five thousand years earlier.

The Slaying of Arishtasura and the Appearance of Radha-kunda
During the despotic reign of King Kamsa, the demon Arishtasura, who possessed the
mystical form of a fierce bull, was one of the king’s most trusted allies and was asked by Karnsa to kill the cowherd boy named Krishna. This was because on the day that Kamsa’s sister Devaki was married, Kamsa heard a prophetic voice from the sky, informing him that the eighth child born of Devaki would one day kill him. The evil hearted Kamsa firmly believed that Krishna was in fact that eighth child. Consequently, on Kamsa’s order, Arishtasura began searching for Krishna in all the pasturing grounds around Govardhana Hill and was creating great fear amongst the Vrajavasis, as he roamed around Vrindavana in a very angry mood. Hearing that the bulldemon Arishtasura was causing a great disturbance near Govardhana Hill, Krishna immediately went there along with His cowherd boyfriends to challenge Arishtasura. Coming before the gigantic demon, Krishna very nonchalantly stood there with His arm resting on the shoulder of
one of His friends and in a loud voice, rebuked the demon with very sharp words which severely pierced Arishtasura’s heart. Krishna then fearlessly challenged the bull-demon to fight.
Infuriated at being humiliated and challenged by a mere cowherd boy, Arishtasura
immediately came towards Krishna in a very angry and aggressive mood. The bull-demon
Arishtasura was so huge that he appeared just like a large mountain and his long swishing tail seemed to be touching the clouds. With a loud bellow and hot jets of steam shooting from his nostrils, the gigantic bull-demon began charging towards Krishna at great speed, digging up the earth with his hooves as he went. When the bull-demon got within reach, Krishna very cleverly caught the bull-demon by his horns and after whirling him around with great force, threw him at least one hundred meters, causing the demon to come crashing to the ground with a great bump and he momentarily lost consciousness. After regaining his senses, the bull-demon stood up, feeling somewhat disoriented and sweating profusely; the demon shook his head and once again charged towards Krishna. When Arishtasura got close enough, Krishna again caught the demon by the horns and lifted him high above His head, and after twirling him around, Krishna slammed him into the ground with such a force, the demon’s eyes immediately bulged from their sockets. Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, the bull-demon’s legs began to shake violently and while simultaneously passing stool and urine, he died on the spot.
After Arishtasura had been slain, all the Vrajavasis came to congratulate Krishna on His
heroic exploits. However, Radharani and the gopis saw an opportunity to have some fun and criticized Krishna for having killed a bull, the symbol of religion. The gopis informed Krishna that they would not associate with Him until He had purified Himself from the great sin of killing of a bull, saying that He would have to bathe in all the holy tirthas of the world in order to purify Himself of the sin. Although Krishna tried to explain that the bull was actually a great demon, the gopis were not interested in excuses. Therefore, accepting the verdict of the gopis, Krishna selected the largest hoof impression left behind after the titanic battle with the bull-demon and then enlarged the hole by stamping His heel into the ground. Krishna then called all the holy tirthas of the world to appear there before Him, which they immediately did. Krishna then ordered them to fill the hole with their sacred waters so that He could take bath and purify Himself from the sin of killing a bull.
As the gopis simply looked on in amazement, Krishna very happily took His bath in the
water of all the holy tirthas. Then, in order to tease the gopis, Krishna began boasting about the sanctity and great beauty of His newly made kunda. Feeling stung to the quick by Krishna’s boasting words, Radharani, not to be outdone, immediately broke one of Her bangles and using it to dig, got down on Her hands and knees and began digging Her own kunda, right next to Krishna’s newly-made kunda. Seeing Radharani digging with Her broken bangle, the gopis also broke their bangles and also began digging in order to help Her. It was almost mid-night when the gopis finally finished digging and they immediately formed a human chain to bring water from Manasi-ganga in pots so they could fill the new kunda with water. At that moment, all the holy tirthas that had come there on Krishna’s order, appeared before Radharani with folded hands, and begged Her to allow them to fill Her newly made kunda with their holy water, saying it would be the perfection of their lives if they could render some humble service Her. Being very compassionate, Radharani agreed to their proposal and the holy tirthas immediately broke through the banks of Krishna’s kunda and poured their waters into the kunda dug by Radharani and the gopis. Krishna then came there and on the exact stroke of mid-night, He took His bath in Radha’s new kunda while declaring that hence forth it would be known as Radha-kunda, saying that whoever bathed there with full faith and devotion, would automatically develop love for Radharani equal to His own love. Radharani then went to Krishna’s kunda and while taking Her bath there, declared that its name would be Shyama-kunda, saying that anyone who bathed there with full faith and devotion, would automatically develop love for Krishna equal to Her own love.

Bahulashtami – the Appearance Day of Radha-kunda
The day on which Radha-kunda appeared in this world is known Bahulashtami, which
means the eighth day of the waning moon. In this regard the word ‘bahula’ refers to the ‘dark fortnight’ of the waning moon, also known as krishna-paksha, and ‘ashtami’ means the ‘eighth day’. Because Radha-kunda appeared on the stroke of midnight, hundreds of thousands the pilgrims descend on Radha-kunda on the night of bahulashtami to take their sacred bath on the exact stroke of midnight. Therefore this night-time bath at Radha-kunda is called the adiratrisnana (mid-night bath) and it is the only snana or ritual bath in the whole world that is performed at midnight. In the Padma Purana (Karttika Mahatmya) it says. “If a person takes bath in Radhakunda on the day of Bahulashtami in the month of Karttika, they become very dear to Krishna.”

The Benefits of Bathing at Radha-kunda
The great spiritual benefit one achieves by simply bathing once in Radha-kunda is
incomparable, but as Krishna has said, such bathing must be done with ‘full faith and devotion’ in order for such bathing to have its full transcendental effect. It is not that some sinful devil can simply take bath in the sacred kunda and immediately achieve divine love for Radharani, equal to that of Krishna Himself. That kind of sentimental assumption is not philosophically correct.
Krishna’s injunction is that those who bathe must also be properly qualified, or in other words, the bather must possess the qualification of complete faithfulness and devotion, which can only be achieved by the mercy of a bona-fide spiritual master and through the practice of pure devotional service.
The following verses from Vaishnava scriptures glorify the benefits obtained by bathing
at Radha-kunda. “One can immediately attain pure love of God by once bathing in Radhakunda.”
Radha-kundastakam – Raghunatha Dasa Goswami. “Shri Krishna gives ecstatic love
like that of Radharani to whoever bathes in Radha-kunda.” Chaitanya-charitamrita- Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami. “A devotee will at once develop pure love of Krishna in the wake of the gopis if he once takes bath in Radha-kunda.” The Bhaktivedanta purport to Upadeshamrita says. “Because these two lakes are manifestations of Radha and Krishna’s divine love, those who bathe there are most fortunate, because bathing there is like bathing in the transcendental love of Radha and Krishna.” Vraja-riti-chintamani – Vishvanatha Chakravarty Thakura.

Taking Caution when Bathing at Radha-kunda
One of the most auspicious times for bathing at Radha-kunda is on Bahulashtami, the
appearance day of Radha-kunda. Nevertheless, when one bathes in the sacred waters of Radhakunda, one has to be extremely careful not to commit any offences. Radha-kunda is considered to be the liquid form of Radharani; therefore one must observe the proper etiquette in accordance with the Vaishnava scriptures. In the opinion of Shrila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, only those who are on the same spiritual level as Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, are fit to live at Radhakunda and bathe in Her transcendental waters. Therefore, when bathing there, one must follow in Shrila Raghunatha’s transcendental footsteps while emulating his mood of humility and servitude.
Bathing at Radha-kunda should be performed as a sacrificial offering to Radharani, with
the same reverence as when worshiping the deity of Radha and Krishna in the temple. It is a Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, that when entering the sacred Radha-kunda to take bath, one should first put one’s right hand into the water followed next by ones feet; this is because Vaishnavas do not enter the sacred kunda feet first. The same etiquette should also apply to Shyama-kunda. There are some Vaishnavas who even crawl on their knees into the kunda out of respect for Radharani. Some Vaishnavas, who are unwilling to enter the sacred kunda, scoop water in a lota or kamandalu, and pour it over their heads in order to bathe without committing any offence.
In 1936, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, the illustrious founder of the Gaudiya Matha,
led a one- thousand strong parikrama party on the Vraja Mandala Parikrama. When they arrived at Radha-kunda, out of great reverence for the sacred kunda, they did not take bath, but simply sprinkled three drops of water on their heads, which, according to the Vedas, is equal to bathing, while at the same time showing the utmost respect for Radharani’s sacred kunda.
In 1976, Shrila Prabhupada heard that a parikrama group of his junior disciples were
frivolously joking around on the banks of Radha-kunda and jumping into the sacred lake as if they were at a swimming pool or beach resort. Shrila Prabhupada became very upset saying, “There is no difference between Radha-kunda and Radharani, so how can they jump over Radharani? You cannot even touch your feet to Radha-kunda. You can take a little water on your head. This is showing respect to Radha-kunda.’ Shrila Prabhupada also said regarding the offensive mentality of some devotees, ‘Don’t go to Radha-kunda simply to become a monkey in your next life”.

On another occasion years later, a group of western female devotees clad in bikinis were
seen jumping and splashing around in Radha-kunda as if they were on the beach at Goa. Such
rank neophyte devotees should never go to such a holy places like Radha-kunda in the first place, as they are spiritually unfit due to their offensive behavior and irreverence towards Radharani. Such neophytes cannot reap the benefit of visiting such an exalted holy place; on the contrary, they will simply become degraded due to committing Dhama-aparadha. There is a very famous saying of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, regarding the rank neophyte devotees and sahajiyas who congregate at Radha-kunda, when he once said, “There are many babajis who come to Radha-kunda to live, but because of their grievous offences, they are not actually living at Radhakunda, but at Naraka-kunda (hell).”

Pratibhu-murtis at Radha-kunda
In the year 1670, the Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb was planning an attack Vrindavana in
order to destroy all the temples and desecrate all the deities. Fortunately, having received an
advance warnings through spies employed in Aurangzeb’s court by the Rajput princes, all the
important deities of the Gaudiya Goswamis were smuggled out of Vrindavana in bullock carts
and taken to Radha-kunda. It has been said that the deities were actually hidden in the kunda
until the initial danger had passed. The deities spent a number of days at Radha-kunda, where
they were worshiped daily by the local residents before being taken to Kamyavana, and then
finally to Jaipura in Rajasthan. After the Gaudiya Goswami’s deities left Radha-kunda, the local Vrajavasis and Vaishnavas felt great separation from them and therefore it was decided to establish replica temples containing the pratibhu-murtis or empowered expansions of the original Goswami deities. This also meant that residents of Radha-kunda could have darshana of the ‘Seven Goswami Temples of Vrindavana’, without having to leave Radha-kunda.

THE SEVEN GOSWAMI TEMPLES AT RADHA-KUNDA
TEMPLE NAME ORIGINAL FOUNDER

Radha Madana-mohana Mandira Sanatana Goswami
Radha Govinda Mandira ( Govindaji) Rupa Goswarni
Radharamana Mandira Gopala Bhatta Goswarni
Radha Damodara Mandira Jiva Goswami
Radha Shyamasundara Mandira Shyamananda Pandita Goswami
Radha Gokulananda Mandira Lokanatha Goswami
Radha Gopinatha Mandira Madhu Pandita Goswami

Other prathibhu deities of Gaudiya Vaishnavas at Radha-kunda:
Radha Kanta Vakreshwara Pandita
Radha Vinoda Lokanatha Goswami
Radha Madhava Jaideva Goswami

Performing Radha-kunda Parikrama
The parikrama ofRadha-kunda traditionally starts from Kundeshwara Mahadeva Mandira
on the southern corner of the sacred kunda, but first one should offer one’s humble obeisance’s
to Radharani in Her transcendental liquid form as Radha-kunda. One can also perform achamana and chant prayers glorifying Radha-kunda. Some Vaishnavas chant the Radha-kundastakam by Raghunatha Dasa Goswami. Alternately, one may simply chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and sprinkle three drops of holy Radha-kunda water on one’s head, which is simple and equal to all other rituals such as achamana. One can then start the parikrama of Radha-kunda beginning from the Kundeshwara Mahadeva Mandira.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Lord Chaitanya then started on His parikrama around Vraja Mandala with the intention
to visit the twelve sacred forests of Vrindavana where Krishna had performed His transcendental pastime five thousand years earlier. Accompanied by His assistant Balabhadra Bhattacharya, Lord Chaitanya first visited the forest of Madhuvana, and then gradually traveled on foot to each of the sacred forests, first on the western side of the Yamuna, and then the eastern side, which took Him about a month to complete. After visiting Mahavana and Ravala, Lord Chaitanya arrived at the sacred forest of Vrindavana, where He became immersed in bhajana and continued to stay there for over a month.

During His travels around Vraja Mandala, Lord Chaitanya rediscovered a number of
important holy places, but His most important discovery was the sacred lake known as Radhakunda, which was Shrimati Radharani’s most confidential bathing place and where She enjoyed some of Her most intimate loving pastimes with Krishna. At Nandagrama, Lord Chaitanya also discovered the deities of Nanda and Yashoda and a small deity of Krishna, hidden inside a cave on Nandishwara Hill. After completing His parikrama of Vraja, Lord Chaitanya stayed in Vrindavana for one month where He went every day to Imli Tala and chantedjapa on His beads while contemplating the transcendental pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

yathä rädhä priyä viñëoù tasyäù kuëòaà priyaà tathä
sarva-gopéñu sevaikä viñëoratyanta-vallabhä
“Among all the gopés, Çrématé Rädhä is Çré Kåñëa’s präëa-vallabhä, the dear most beloved of His life. Similarly, Rädhä’s dear kuëòa is also extremely dear to Him.”
The Varäha Puräëa1 declares: “O Çré Rädhä-kuëòa, O Çré Kåñëa-kuëòa, You destroy all sins and award liberation in the form of prema. I bow down to you again and again.” The different Puräëas are filled with innumerable descriptions of the glories of these two kuëòas. In Vraja-viläsa-stava (text 53)2, Çréla Raghunätha däsa Gosvämé prays: “Çré Govardhana, is the arena of the nectarean räsa, where the most confidential amorous pastimes of the Divine Couple take place. Because it and other places are situated in Çré Våndävana, Våndävana has become exceedingly charming. Yet the glories of Våndävana, what to speak of Vraja-maëòala’s other pastime places, are not equal to a mere shadow of a particle of the glories of Çré Rädhä-kuëòa. I take shelter of this Çré Rädhä-kuëòa, which is more dear to Çré Mukunda than His own life.” Çré Rädhä-kuëòa lies in a village named Äriöa, about three miles north-east of Govardhana and fourteen miles from Mathurä and Våndävana. Ariñöäsura was a servant of Kaàsa who assumed the form of a bull and attacked Kåñëa with the aim of killing Him, but Kåñëa killed him instead at this place. At Çré Rädhä-kuëòa, the Divine Couple, Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa, perform Their midday pastimes, and freely enjoy a variety of amorous pastimes without obstruction. This is not possible anywhere else. Therefore, Rädhä-kuëòa is considered to be the topmost place of bhajana, superior even to Nandagaon, Varsänä, Våndävana and Govardhana. This confidential place, surcharged with the highest and most sublime loving transcendental sentiments, was therefore revealed by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu Himself, who is endowed with the sentiment and lustre of Çré Rädhä. Previously, Çré Mädhavendra Puré, Çré Lokanätha Gosvämé and Çré Bhügarbha Gosvämé also came to Vraja, where they revealed various pastime places of Kåñëa; but even they did not reveal this most confidential of places. Only Çré Gaurasundara, who is Çré Rädhä and Çré Kåñëa combined, was able to do so.

The appearance of Rädhä-kuëòa & Çyäma-kuëòa

Çré Kåñëa killed Ariñöäsura during the day. That same night, He met with Çré Rädhikä and His other beloveds here. He was very eager to embrace Çrématé Rädhikä, but as soon as He reached out to do so, She jokingly stepped back and said, “Today, You have killed a bull, which belongs to the cow family. You have therefore committed the sin of killing a cow. Please do not touch My pure body.” Smiling, Kåñëa answered, “O dear most one, I killed a demon who had deceitfully assumed the form of a bull, so how can sin touch Me?” Çrématéjé insisted, “Whatever he was, he was in the form of a bull when You killed him, so You are definitely guilty of the sin of killing a cow.” The sakhés fully supported Her words. Çré Kåñëa asked how He could atone for this sin. Çrématéjé smiled and answered, “The only atonement is to bathe in every holy place in the world.” Hearing this, Çré Kåñëa created a wide kuëòa simply by striking His heel on the ground. He then summoned all the holy places from all over the planet to come there. Uncountable holy places promptly came before Kåñëa in their personified forms, and Kåñëa asked them to enter the kuëòa as water. Within a moment, the kuëòa was filled with pure, sacred water. When Çré Kåñëa had bathed in that kuëòa He again tried to embrace Çrématéjé, but in response to the bragging of Her dear most beloved, Çrématé Rädhikä now wanted to manifest a kuëòa full of water that was larger and more exquisite than Kåñëa’s. She and Her sakhés stubbornly dug out a very attractive kuëòa nearby with their bracelets, but not so much as a drop of water appeared in it. Kåñëa joked that they could take water from His kuëòa, but Çrématéjé along with Her innumerable sakhés indignantly prepared themselves to bring water from Mänasé-gaìgä in clay pots. Çré Kåñëa signalled to the holy places that they should insist that Çrématéjé and Her sakhés fill up their kuëòa with water from His. The holy places personified prayed to Çrématé Rädhikä and Her sakhés and glorified them in many ways. Thus they pleased Her. She gave them permission to enter Her kuëòa and immediately, a current of water flowed from Kåñëa-kuëòa into Rädhä-kuëòa. With great pleasure, Çré Kåñëa bathed and sported with Çrématé Rädhikä and the sakhés in the water of this dear kuëòa. These two kuëòas manifested at midnight on Kåñëäñöamé (the eighth day of the dark moon) in the month of Kärtika; therefore, thousands of people bathe here at midnight on this day, which is known as Bahuläñöamé. The Padma Puräëa states: “Radiantly beautiful Çré Rädhä-kuëòa is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill. Faithful people who bathe here on Kåñëäñöamé in the month of Kärtika receive prema-bhakti and thus serve Çré Rädhä-Kuïjabihäré Çré Hari.”3 This same Puräëa also states: “Unalloyed devotees of Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa who go to Çré Rädhä-kuëòa on the day of Dépävalé in the month of Kärtika are granted a vision of the complete Vrajamaëòala as well the entire universe.”

The history of the kuëòas after Çré Kåñëa left for Dvärakä

Some time after Çré Kåñëa had left for Dvärakä, both kuëòas disappeared. While uncovering the pastime places of Vraja, Çré Kåñëa’s great-grandson, Mahäräja Vajranäbha5, restored these two kuëòas under the guidance of Çäëòilya and other sages. Five thousand years later, however, they had again disappeared. When Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu came to this place, He inquired from the local people about Rädhä-kuëòa and Çyäma-kuëòa, but they could provide Him with no information. They could only tell Him about Kälé-kheta and Gauré-kheta that lay before them, two fields which contained a little water. Çréman Mahäprabhu reverentially addressed Kälé-kheta as Çyäma-kuëòa and Gauré-kheta as Rädhäkuëòa and offered His respects to them. Then, as He bathed in them, He became overwhelmed in ecstasy, and losing all composure cried out, “O Rädhä, O Kåñëa!” and fainted. The place where He sat down is now called Tamäla-talä; it is also known as Mahäprabhu’s sitting-place (baiöhaka).

“Srimati Radharani is most dear to Lord Krsna, and Her lake known as Radha-kunda is also very dear to Him. Of all the gopi , Srimati Radharani is certainly the most beloved.
While performing Their daily pastimes at Sri Radha ¬kunda, Sri Radha regularly steals Krsna’s cherished flute. “One gopi said, ‘Quieting Her ankle bells by placing them on Her arms as golden bracelets, and carefully observing sleeping Krsna’s eyes for any sign of His becoming startled; the smiling Radharani stole the flute from Krsna’s lap’“(UN).
To prevent detection, Radha passes the flute to Tulasi or Rupa-manjari. They hide the flute under their saris or tucked in their hair braids. When Krsna discovers the “theft’ of His flute, He vigorously pursues the culprits The gopis laugh whole-heartedly while passing the flute around among themselves; thus preventing Sri Krsna’s repeated attempts for retrieval.

Prayers to Sri Shyama-kunda & Sri Radha-kunda
“Filled with many Campaka trees, beautiful young Asoka trees, Mango trees, Bakula trees, Lavanga creepers, and Madhavi creepers; the area around Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda is very beautiful and pleasing to the heart, and is the favorite pastime place of Sri-Sri Radhika-Krsnacandra. The delightful forest of Vrindavana, beautiful Govardhana Hill, and the nectarean arena of the rasa dance, what to speak of other places, are not equal to even a single particle of one of the atoms of Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda. Let me take shelter of these two lakes, which are more dear to Lord Krsna then His own life’s breath” (VVS).
“When, wonderful and splendid, graceful waves from the nectar ocean of sweetness, and filling Vrindavana with a very wonderful and splendid fragrance, will the lake where Srimati Radharani enjoys wonderful pastimes, the most wonderful of all places, decorate my mouth with its glories?
“Let me take shelter of the lake that is Vrindavana’s greatest ornament; where two splendid fair and dark forms of bliss enjoy the ultimate dance of the nectar of pure amorous pastimes and where the water’s touch makes a wonderful sweetness rise in the heart.
“The hairs of His body erect in ecstasy, His crown and earrings moving, and His flute placed against the full moon of His lips, Madhava praises the delightful transcendental qualities of Radha-kunda, which is the greatest jewel decorating Sri Govardhana’s crown, and which is very dear to the queen who rules the life of the charming lotus-eyed Lord.
“Please meditate on the fair and dark youthful Divine Couple, who surrounded by Their friends, and overwhelmed with sweetness, have plunged into an ocean of nectar at Radha-kunda which arouses transcendental amorous desires without equal or superior” (VM).
How to Approach Sri Radha-kunda
“Raghunatha das Gosvami showed us how to deal with Radha-kunda. sankhya purvaka nama gana natibhih. He was circumambulating Radha-kunda falling down making obeisances, that is Radha-kunda. Not only he counted the holy name, but he offered obeisances so many hun¬dreds of times daily while going around. So much vairagya (renunciation) the Gosvamis were doing. First of all do this, like Raghunatha das Gosvami—sankhya purvaka nama gana natibhih; then one can take bath in Radha-kunda”(SPT 78/76)

The Appearance of Sri-Sri Shyama-kunda & Radha-kunda
From the puranas, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur explains the origin of Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda in his commentary to Srimad-Bhagavatam verse 1O.36.l6. The gopis told Krsna to atone for killing a male cow (Aristasura) by visiting and bathing in all the holy places in the three world.
Sri Krsna responded by sticking the heel of His lotus foot into the ground to make a deep hole. Krsna then summoned all the holy places and rivers, who instantly appeared, filled the depression with their waters and created a bathing pond— Shyama-kunda.
After taking a purifying bath, Sri Krsna taunted the gopis with joking words. Srimati Radharani and Her gopis responded by creating Their own pond by digging out a deep depression left by the huge hoof prints of the Aristasura demon. When Sri Krsna offered to fill Sri Radha’s kunda with water from His, She flatly refused; insisting that the water of His kunda was polluted. Using a chain of gopis, Sri Radha arranged to fill Her kunda with water from Manasi Ganga, nearly five kilometres away at Govardhana Hill.
The personified sacred rivers that had joined to fill Krsna’s kunda, appealed to Radharani to be allowed to fill Her bathing pond. Radha consented, and at 11:45 P.M. on the eighth day of the waning moon in Kartika, the sacred rivers in Sri Shyama-kunda broke through the boundary wall and swiftly filled Radha-kunda.
Sri Krsna said to Sri Radha, “I will always bathe in Your pond which is as dear to Me as You.” Radharani replied, “I will always bathe in Your pond as well, and anyone who bathes here in Shyama-kunda will become very dear to Me.”
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti give this view of the divine appearance of Sri-Sri Shyama-kunda and Radha-kunda. “I think when Radha saw Krsna, She melted in ecstasy and thus assumed the liquid state of the waters of Radha-kunda; and in the same way, when Krsna saw Radha, He also melted in ecstasy and became the waters of Shyama-kunda. In this way the two lakes bear the names and qualities of the Divine Couple” (VRC).

“Superior to the forest of Vrindavana is Govardhana Hill for it was raised by the divine hand of Sri Krsna, and was the Site of His various loving pastimes and, above all, the superexcellent Sri Radha-kunda stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Sri Krsna. (NOI 9v.).
Within all of Vraja mandala Radha-kunda is the topmost place of Radha and Krsna’s pastimes. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally discovered Radha-kunda, and deputed the Gosvamis to excavate and develop it for the benefit of the Gaudiya Vaisnava After bathing in Sri Radha-kunda, which was then a mere puddle amidst paddy fields, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered these prayer: “Of all the gopis, Radharani is the dearmost. Similarly, the lake known as Radha-kunda is very dear to the Lord because it very dear to Srimati Radharani. In that lake, Lord Krsna and Srimati Radharani used to sport daily in the water and have rasa dance on the bank. Indeed, Lord Krsna gives ecstatic love like the that of Srimati Radharani to whoever bathes in that lake even once in his life. The attraction of Radha-kunda is as sweet as that Srimati Radharani. Similarly, the glories of the kunda are glorious as Srimati Radharani” (CC Madhya 18.6-12v.). While remembering Lord Krsna’s pastimes, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced ecstatically on the banks of Radha-kunda, and then marked His body with Radha-kunda tilaka.
“Sri Radha-kunda is described by the great sages as the lake as dear to Krsna as Radharani Herself. Indeed, Krsna’s love for Radha-kunda and Srimati Radharani is the same in all respect (NOI 11v.).
“By seeing these two lakes, Radha and Krsna believe They are present in them. It is as if They directly see each other there. The wise say that by approaching these lakes one directly approaches Radha and Krsna”(VRC).

Once upon a time Maharaja Nanda inquired from his brother as to how Govardhana had come to the land of Vraja and where he had come from. Sananda informed him that once in Hastinapur Pandu Maharaja had inquired the same question from grandfather Bhisma, and Bhisma had narrated the following history to him,
“Once in Goloka Lord Krishna requested Srimati Radharani to appear on the Earth, Radharani told Her beloved Krishna that if Vraja Dhama is not present along with the Yamuna and Govardhana She could not at all be happy. When Sri Krishna heard this, He informed Her that He had already sent His Vraja-Dham along with Govardhana and the Yamuna to the Earth. (The story of the appearance of Govardhana in this world is as follows.)
To the west of Bharata-varsa, in Samali-dvipa, the wife of Nanda Dronachal gave birth to Govardhana Hill. At the time of Govardhana’s birth the demigods showered flowers and all of the great mountains, led by the Himalayas and Sumeru, went to offer their respects. When they arrived they performed parikrama and offered worship as well as prayers and accepted Govardhana as their Giriraj (king], praising him with the following words:
“You have come from the original Goloka of Lord Krishna,and you are also the crown-jewel of Vraja” After having offered their respects to Govardhana, they returned to their homes.
Once, in Satya-yuga, the great sage, named Pulastya Muni, while visiting all of the holy places, came across the beautiful Govardhana Hill. When he saw Govardhana, he discovered upon Him so many beautiful creepers, flowers, rivers and caves, as well as birds and various animals such as deer. He immediately felt that this hill is capable of giving liberation to everyone.
Pulastya Muni went to Dronachal. Upon seeing that Pulastya Muni, the great sage had arrived, Dronachal offered worship to him and inquired if there was any service he could render. Pulastya informed him that he was traveling to all of the holy places and that he was a resident of Kasi (Varanasi), which is the abode of Visvanath (Lord Siva); and the Ganges River also flows there, but there is no beautiful hill to be found in that Krishna Thus with nice words he asked him to present his son Govardhana to so that he could perform his austerities on top of him.
Upon hearing the request of the Muni, Dronachal started to cry at the thought of separation from his son Govardhana. Govardhana, not wanting the Muni to curse his father, told Pulastya that he wanted to go with him. He inquired from him how he intended to carry Him to Kasi. The Muni informed Him that he would carry Him on his right hand. Govardhana agreed to the Muni’s proposal, but with one condition – that if he put Him down anywhere on the course of the journey, he would not be able to lift Him again.
The Muni agreed and prepared to leave for Kasi immediately. After offering respects to Dronachal, Pulastya began his journey, carrying Govardhana on his right hand.
Moving very slowly, Pulastya Muni arrived at Vraja·Mandala in the evening time. While he was passing through Vraja, he felt a great need to tend to the call of nature. At the same time Govardhana was thinking: “Now I have arrived in Vraja Dham. I must stay here and await the arrival of my Lord Krishna Thus, by His great mystic powers, He was able to influence the Muni to place him down. In due course of time, when Pulastya had finished tending to his body, he again attempted to lift Govardhana, but was unable to move Him even slightly. After trying for some time with both hands, the Muni became angry. He cursed Govardhana that He would sink by the measurement of one sesame seed per day, after which he proceeded to Kasi. Since that time, Govardhana has been sinking by the measurement of one sesame seed per day. (In Satya-yuga, when Pulastya Muni placed Govardhana in the present place, Govardhana was 8 yojanas long (64miles), 5 yojan as wide ( 40 miles) and 2 yojanas high ( 16 miles; and after ten thousands years of Kali-yuga Govardhana will disappear). When Sananda had finished narrating this story, he informed Nanda Maharaja that as long as the Yamuna and Govardhana hill remain manifest, Kali-yuga would not take its full effect. He also informed him that anyone who hears the description of the appearance of Govardhana would be freed from all sins. (This description is taken from the Garga Samhita)
After Pulastya Muni had left, Govardhana resided there very happily, waiting for the time when Lord Krishna would appear. In due course of time Treta-Yuga began and due to the burden on the Earth of many demons, and especially Ravana, Lord Rama appeared to bring peace once again and establish religiosity.When Krishna arose a misunderstanding with Rama’s stepmother, and divine will of the Lord Himself, Lord Ramacandra’s father dasarathha, was forced to banish Him to the forest for fourteen years,there the king of the demons, Ravana, cunningly kidnapped Sitarani – Rama’s wife). Thereafter, with the help of the monkeys, headed by Hanuman, and the bears, Ramacandra constructed a bridge of stone across the ocean, so as to be able to attack Ravana’s kingdom known as Lanka and free His wife Si tarani. In the course of constructing the bridge, the monkeys and bears brought many rocks and mountains, and threw them into the ocean, and by the divine power of Lord Ramacandra, those rocks and mountains were able to float Hanuman, the strongest of these monkeys, was bringing the largest mountains and tossing them into the ocean. In the course of collecting mountains from here and there, Hanuman came across Govardhana and tried to pick Govardhana up. But even though Hanuman was capable of picking up mountains many times larger than Govardhana, he was unable to lift Govardhana. Understanding that Govardhana must be a very special personality and a great devotee of the Lord, Hanuman circumambulated Govardhana and offered obeisances, and with folded hands he informed Sri Govardhana that he wanted to use Him in the service of Lord Ramacandra and thus complete the bridge across the ocean, so that they could destroy the demon Ravana and free the Lord’s wife Sitarani. When Govardhana heard Hanuman’s proposal, He readily agreed to be lifted by him, thinking that He would be able to have the vision of the Lord. As soon as Govardhana was ready to leave with Hanuman, a voice announced from the sky that the bridge to Lanka had been completed and that no other rocks and mountains were necessary. Upon hearing this Govardhana became very unhappy and He said to Hanuman: “You promised to take me to the ocean where I would have the opportunity to serve Lord Rama and now it is not possible: I will not be able to continue living. Upon hearing these words of Govardhana, Hanuman left after assuring Govardhana many times that he would return immediately. After having informed Lord Ramacandra of His devotee’s position and longing, he returned to Govardhana with the Lord’s answer. He told Govardhana ‘The Lord is extremely pleased with you and is requesting that you take courage from His remembrance and wait for some more time and in the Dvaparayuga He will appear in His original form as Lord krishna along with his brother Balarama; and at that time, He, Sri Govardhana, will become the place of many pastimes for Krishna along with His cows, boyfriends and girlfriends, and he will also become the shelter of all the devotees. Upon hearing this message Govardhana became somewhat pacified. In Dvapara-yuga Lord krishna enjoyed endless pastimes on and around Govardhana Hill, and when king lndra became angry with the residents of Vraja for stopping their worship of him and thus sent torrents of rain to destroy the entire community of Vraja, Lord Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill to give them protection and personally explained and demonstrated how Govardhana Hill should be accepted and worshipped as non-different from Him. Govardhana Hill is worshipped as Radha-Krishna and also as Their greatest devotee. This is the inconceivable position of Govardhana Hill.
Govardhana is thus worshipped by all the great devotees and by the
Supreme Lord Himself. Even stones ( Govardhana silas) from Govardhana Hill are collected by great devotees and worshipped as the Supreme Lord, but it is warned in the Garga-Samhita as follows:
“One who takes a Govardhana sila from Govardhana Hill without the permission of an older devotee and without replacing it with as much gold as the Govardhana sila weighs will go to the hell known as Raurava”
(Girirajkand 1 :29)
“The identity of Krishna and Govardhana Hill is still honored, and great devotees take rocks from Govardhana hill and worship them exactly as they worship the Deity of Krishna in the temples. Devotees therefore collect small rocks or pebbles from Govardhana Hill and worship them at home, because this worship is as good as Deity worship”. (Krishna Book, Ch. 24) “A piece of Govardhana Hill cannot be taken from Vrndavana”,
(Srila Prabhupada, letter 3-10-19 71)
Lord krishna has appeared as saligram -sila (a black stone) so that His devotees may practice rendering all kinds of service to Him. Radha and krishna have manifested as Govardhana Hill to simultaneously accept service from Their devotees and to render service to Their devotees. One should be conscious of the fact that Govardhana Hill is Radha-Krsna in the mood of serving Themselves as well as Their devotees. Govardhana sila should be taken and worshipped by those devotees who have realized the same, such as Raghunath Dasa Gosvami, who was awarded Govardhana sila by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally. Govardhana sila is not to be taken away by devotees who are in the early stage of practicing devotion to Lord Krishna, the immature devotee can go to Govardhana Hill and offer worship there. So please don’t take Govardhana sila away prematurely

.. Krsna very sweetly replied, “I shall bathe in the water of all the holy places by calling th.em all here.”

Speaking these words, He then stomped on the earth and created a depression which immediately filled up with the water of all the holy places. The personification of each . holy place also appeared before Krsna introduced himself, and offered prayers. In front. of Radha and the gopis, Krsna then took a bath in the water, uttering the name of each holy place as He did. He finished His bath sometime before midnight. Even now people follow the same
system of bathing in the holy kuJ:Zt;la.Hearing Krsna speak some boastful words, Radha with the help of Her sakhis quickly dug Her own kunda. The kunda dug by Radharani was most beautiful and the sight. of it made Krsna feel very pleased. Radharat:ti thought that She would fill Her kunda with
the waters of the Manasa-ganga, which is the essence of all holy places. Understanding Radha’s desire, Krsna gave His order and the holy tirthas entered Radha’s kunda from ·syama-kunda. The personified holy places then glorified Radharani with many prayers and, cqnsidering themselves fortunate, they became very pleased.From that time on these two kundas which are surrounded by beautiful trees and plants, became the site of Radha and Krsna’s
wonderful amorous sports.

In Stavavali, Vraja-vilasa, there is the following description: “I take shelter of the. meeting place of Radha Madhava’s beloved Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda, the site of Their amorous sports.It is most charming, being surrounded by kadamba, campaka,beautiful young asoka, mango, punnaga [white lotus], and bakula tree ,as well as lavanga and vasanti creepers.’

Radha-kunda is most beautifully surrounded by the kunjas of, the eight sakhis beginning with Lalita’s. Syama-kunda is surrounded by the kundas of the eight sakhiis beginning with Subala’s. They are most beautiful and pleasant to see.
The following song describes the beauty of Radha-kund:”Krsna is enjoying the beauty of Radha-kunda. The Kunda is full of pure water and lotuses. The bumblebees hum amongst the lotuses,and the gentle wind causes small ripples in the water. Aquatics move pleasurably through the water. The banks of the kunda are decorated with different kinds of gems. The covered terrace on the bank is decorated with painted pictures. The abode of Cupid bows its head feeling inferior. The birds and peacocks sing and dance as Radha and Krsna swing on a golden gem-studded swing hanging from the tree.”

Syama-Kunda is also known as Arista- kunda Whoever bathes in Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda gets the same results one achieves by the performance of a rajasuya and asvamedha-yajna. This is confirmed in Adi-vardha Purdna .

Raghava Pandita said that according to the Purnas there is no limit to the glories of Radha-kunda. In the Adi-vardha Purna,Mathura-khanda, it is stated that if a devotee of Visnu offers a lamp to Radha-kunda during the month of Kartika, he will be able to see the entire universe.

In Padma Purdrna, Kartika Mahatmya, it is stated: “Radha-kunda is very dear to Sri Hari and is situated near Govardhana Hill. By taking bath in Radha-kunda on the eighth day of the waning moon in the month of Kartika [Bahulasatami], one can greatly please Lord Hari, who enjoys His pastimes there. This ku1J,t;la is as dear to Krsna as Radha Herself. Amongst all the gopis, She is the most dear to Krsna. It is the duty of the devotees to bathe in the Radha-kunda during the month of Kartika and thereafter worship Lord Janardana. This simple worship pleases Krsna as much as one does by worshiping Janardana on the day of Uthana-ekadasi.”

Pure attachment without reverence is found in Golok Vrindavan. Attachment in which awe and reverence are prominent is found in the two cities Mathura and Dwarka and in Vaikuntha.
Although the vraja-gopés, the mahiñés and the lakñmis are all madhura-rasa bhaktas, still there are two types: those whose attachment is mixed with aiçvarya-jïäna and those whose attachment is not mixed. Srila Prabhupada has described these two: aiçvarya-pürëa, full of opulence, and aiçvarya-çéthila, without opulence.7 The madhura-rasa in Vrajabhumi is pure and not mixed with any consideration of opulence. Therefore Prabhupada says: “Real love of Godhead begins with aiçvarya-çéthila.” That is vraja-prema, real love.
Unreliable Black Men!
Radharani’s love is known as bämya-bhäva, the mood of a left-wing gopé. The gopé Chandravali is a rightist and Radharani is a leftist. Out of pure love Radharani sometimes develops sulkiness, abhimäna. If Krishna goes to Chandravali’s kuïja then Radharani becomes sulky. She then says, “Black men are unreliable, unreliable. I won’t see those black men!” She becomes mad, not eating and not sleeping, giving up everything and wandering about speaking to stone pillars, creepers, and trees. This is sweet lélä — mädhurya-rasa. You cannot find any such thing in Mathura or Dwarka. There the rasa is mixed with jïäna and aiçvarya. Real love of Godhead begins with aiçvarya-çéthila, without opulence, simply on the basis of pure love. Srila Prabhupada has indicated this with the words:
There are five stages of loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, çänta, däsya, sakhya, vätsalya and mädhurya. Devaki is on the platform of vätsalya. She wanted to deal with her eternal son Krishna in that stage of love, and therefore she wanted the Supreme Personality of Godhead to withdraw His opulent form of Sri Vishnu. Srila Viswanath Chakravati Thakur illuminates this fact very clearly in his explanation of this verse, bhakti, bhagavän and bhakta do not belong to the material world.
Krishna’s Friend Subal
SAKHYA BHAV&MADHURYA RAS
PASTIME AT RADHA KUNDA
One day Srimati Radharani made a very nice flower garland for Krishna and gave it to Vrinda-devi, “You take and give this to Krishna.”

Vrinda-devi thought, “Subal-sakha is a priya-narma-sakhä, He is very dear to Krishna. If Subal-sakha takes and gives it to Krishna, then Krishna will become very pleased.” So Vrinda-devi gave the garland to Subal-sakha.
Krishna was sitting on the bank of Radha-kunda. It was midday. Subal-sakha came and gave the garland to Krishna. Then he explained everything, who had prepared the garland, how it had come to his hand, and how he was handing it over.
Then Krishna said, “Oh! I was just sitting here thinking about Radharani when you brought Me Her garland. My mind is very much agitated. Please help Me, please help Me. Bring Radharani here. Please bring Radharani here. I want to meet with Her.”
Subal-sakha said, “Oh my friend, this is not a good time. It is noontime. It is quite impossible to bring Radharani here now. Oh, my friend, give up this hope. It is quite impossible.”
Krishna said, “But My dear friend, My mind is very restless and agitated. Unless you bring Radharani for Me then I will drown Myself in the Yamuna River and finish My life. I cannot survive.”
Subal thought, “Oh? My friend cannot survive? He will drown in the Yamuna? All right, then. By hook or by crook, somehow I must bring Radharani and give pleasure to my friend.”
The friend’s mentality is to give pleasure. The sakhäs always understand Krishna’s mentality. They know what Krishna is thinking and how they can help Him and give Him pleasure. This is sakhya-rasa — a madhura-rasa, sweet mellow. Such are the activities of the priya-narma-sakhäs. They are very dear to Krishna.
Suspicious Jatila
MADHURYA LILA AT RADHKUNDA

Subal-sakha is very expert in all these activities. He went to Yavat, Radharani’s father-in-law’s house. Radharani’s mother-in-law Jatila had just finished taking her lunch and was sitting at the doorstep facing the window of Radharani’s room. When she saw Subal, she said, “Hey! Why have you come here at noontime?” She knows, “Oh, this boy has come for some purpose. Yes. He’s a naughty boy.”
“Why are you coming here at this time?”
Then Subal, with much humility, said, “O mother! One of my calves is missing. I have searched all of the expected places, but I couldn’t find him. At last I have come here. He might be here. Mother, will you please go in and see if my calf is here? I will be freed from anxiety if I know my calf is here or not.”
Jatila became very angry. “I have already taken my lunch. I cannot move myself. You go inside and see.”
He was expecting her to say that. It was very difficult to go inside because she was sitting at the doorstep. So he got the opportunity. All of Krishna’s léläs take place by the wonderful arrangement of Yogamaya.
Remembering Yogamaya, Subal-sakha prayed, and then entered into the inner apartment where Radharani was. He told everything to Radha. “Krishna is sitting there on the bank of Radha-kunda intensely thinking of You. You have to go there, otherwise He will drown Himself in the Yamuna.”
Radharani said, “How will it be? This is an awkward time and My mother-in-law is sitting there at the doorstep. How can I go? How can I go?”
But what is impossible? If you are very anxious to do something, to give pleasure to Krishna, what is impossible? Krishna can do and undo things. Nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna gives the intelligence. Pure intelligence comes from Krishna. The Gétä (10.10) describes:
teñäà satata-yuktänäà bhajatäà préti-pürvakam
dadämi buddhi-yogaà taà yena mäm upayänti te
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Krishna says, “One who is satata-yuktä, constantly engaged in My bhajana with préti, with love, I give him pure intelligence.”
Radharani’s Disguise
So the intelligence came what should be done. Subal-sakha has the same appearance as Radharani. Subal-sakha said, “All right Radharani, You take my garments.” He gave his dhoti, his kurta, his turban, and everything to Radharani. “You put all of this on. Now, You give me Your sari. I will put on Your sari and remain here.” They exchanged clothes.
Then how to get out? The keen eyes of Radharani’s mother-in-law Jatila and Her sister-in-law Kutila are there on Radharani. How to get out?
Now that Radharani was dressed in his clothes, Subal-sakha told Her, “Pick up a calf. Hold the calf on Your breast like this, then go out.” Subal-sakha had come to get his calf.
She did as Subal told Her. Dressed in the form of Subal-sakha, She picked up a calf, pressed it to Her breast and passed through. When She came to where Jatila was sitting, Radharani as Subal-sakha said, “Mother, I got My calf.”
“Oh, You got Your calf? All right, very good. Now go away! Get out!”
Radharani got out and went to Radha-kunda and met Krishna. Happy union.
However, Subal-sakha was still inside wearing Radharani’s sari. How was he going to get out? Another problem!
Generally, at noontime, the damsels of Vrajabhumi all go to Surya-kunda to offer püjä to Suryadev. Now was that time, so all the damsels of Vrajabhumi came out from their houses.
Jatila called out, “Oh, daughter-in-law! Daughter-in-law! Aren’t You going to go to Surya-kunda to offer püjä to Suryadev?”
Imitating Radha’s voice, Subal-sakha said, “Yes, yes, mother. I am going, I am going.” In this way Subal-sakha got out of the house and went to Radha-kunda. Krishna became very happy because Subal-sakha brought Radharani before Him. Krishna looked at Subal-sakha and both of them were laughing.
This is sakhya-rasa in vraja-lélä. The sakhäs, friends of Krishna, always help Krishna and give Him pleasure according to what He wants. Such are the loving dealings among friends. This pastime is known as subala-milana.
MMV 6: When Love Becomes More and More Condensed
Chapter Six –
When Love Becomes More and More Condensed
There is another point here. Prabhupada has written:
according Bhakti may be considered in three stages, called guëé-bhüta, pradhäné-bhüta and kevala, and to these stages there are three divisions, which are called jïäëa, jïänamayé and rati, or prema — that is, simple knowledge, love mixed with knowledge, and pure love
Prema is wanted. It is the fifth goal of life, the parama-puruñärtha, the supreme goal. Prabhupada has written this short sentence: “This [rati or prema] is what is wanted.” The
Glass and Diamond
If you are a student of the Sanskrit language then you can analyze how the two words “käma”and “prema” have been derived from their dhätus, verbal roots. From kam-dhätu the word käma is derived; from pré-dhätu the word prema is derived. The meaning of these two dhätus, kam-dhätu and pré-dhätu is the same: préti-väïchä, desiring pleasure. Desiring pleasure for one’s own senses is käma, lust, and desiring pleasure for Krishna’s senses is prema. They look alike, like pieces of glass and pieces of diamond, but there is heaven and hell difference.
When love for the Divine Couple remains always constant and unbroken, even when there is ample cause to break that loving relationship, such constant love is called prema.
More and More Condensed
Krishna is the object of love, préti-viñaya. The bhaktas are the abode of love, préti-äçraya. There is a gradual development of prema. The example given is of sugarcane juice. If it is condensed it becomes molasses. If it is condensed more then it becomes sugar. If sugar is even more condensed it becomes sugar candy. Then if sugar candy is even more condensed it is khaëòa-michari, a big block of candy. Similarly, prema becomes condensed, more condensed, more condensed, and more condensed. There is a gradual development.

Ecstatic Symptoms
When anuräga becomes more condensed it becomes bhäva. At the stage of bhäva the eight external ecstatic symptoms manifest — añöa-sättvika-bhäva. They are açru, shedding of tears; kampa, shivering of the body; pulaka, in ecstasy the hairs on the body stand erect; sveda, perspiration; vaivarëya, fading of bodily color; svarabhaìga, choking of the voice and broken words.
I Cannot Repay
When bhäva becomes condensed it becomes mahäbhäva. There are also divisions of mahäbhäva — rüòha-mahäbhäva, adhirüòha-mahäbhäva, modanäkhya-mahäbhäva and mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva.
mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva is the topmost, and mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva-mayé is Srimati Radharani. .

Radharani’s Wealth
How to pay back the debt? Krishna says, “The wealth required to pay this debt back is not with Me! It is not available in My treasury. Where it is available? It is available with Radharani only. That is mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva-dhana, the wealth of mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva. Its sole proprietor is Radharani. This wealth is not available anywhere else. What to do? How can I pay it back? I must beg, borrow or steal. If I beg, Radharani will never give it to Me. If I borrow, She will never allow. So I must steal it.”
Krishna is the supreme stealer, the supreme thief. If you steal, you will be put into jail as a criminal. When Krishna steals it is so very nice, beautiful. Everything is beautiful with Krishna, the supreme thief. Rupapad has written, kutuké rasa-stomaà håtvä17 Krishna entered into the storehouse in the core of the heart of Radharani and stole that mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva. “Håtvä” means stole. When Krishna gets that mädanäkhya-mahäbhäva, that rädhä-bhäva, then automatically His mood changes. His complexion changes to molten gold — tapta-käïcana-gauräìgi, tapta-käïcana-gauräìga. He becomes Gauranga. Rädhä-bhäva predominates in Him and He cries like Radharani, feeling the pangs of separation. As Radharani is crying, similarly Gauranga is crying. This is prema, rati.

MMV 7: The Supreme Thief
Chapter Seven – The Supreme Thief
This person falsely appearing as a brahmacäré is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who has come in this form to take away all your land, wealth, beauty, power, fame and education. After taking everything from you, He will deliver it to Indra, your enemy. [Sukracharya to Bali Maharaja] PURPORT
“Srila Viswanath Chakravarti Thakur explains in this regard that the very word hariù means “one who takes away.”
MMV 8: Expansions of Radha
Chapter Eight – Expansions of Radha
Vrinda-devi

No Attraction for Narayan

yäsäà hanta caturbhir adbhuta-rucià
rägodayaù kuïcati
Once Lord Sri Krishna playfully manifested Himself as Narayan, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopés saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled. Even a learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopés’ ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Krishna as the son of Nanda Maharaja. The wonderful feelings of the gopés in ecstatic parama-rasa with Krishna constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life. What to speak of catur-bhuja Narayan, they don’t even want to see mathureça-kåñëa or dvaräkeça-kåñëa, Krishna in Dwarka or Krishna in Mathura.
Expansions of Radha
expands Herself. vaikuëöhe lakñmé-gaëa, puré-dvaye mahiñé-gaëa, vraje gopé-gaëa — The lakñmés in Vaikuntha, the mahiñés, the sixteen thousand queens of Krishna in Dwarka, and the gopés in Vrajabhumi are all expansions of Radharani. The lakñmé-gaëa are the vaibhava-viläsa expansions of Radharani. In that sense they are not different from Radharani. Still, they are manifestations of aiçvarya. Radharani is two-handed, but the lakñmés are four-handed.
The vraja-devés, the gopés of Vrajabhumi, are käya-vyüha — their bodies are just like the body of Radharani. Käya means body. Radharani has manifested Herself in many forms as gopés. However, the gopés don’t all have the same nature. kehi dhéra, kehi prakharä — Some are sober and some are not sober. kehi sva-pakñyä, kehi bi-pakñyä — Some are on Radharani’s side and some are not. The vraja-gopés nourish the variegated conjugal loving affairs of Radha and Krishna. Radharani has expanded Herself in variegated expansions for this purpose. This is tattva.
.6 That means He only plays with Radharani. Yet Krishna plays with all the gopés. How can it be said that He only plays with one? The answer is that all the gopés are käya-vyüha, the bodies of Radharani. Therefore it is said that Krishna only plays with one gopé. That is the tattva. Therefore the Pätäla-khaëòa of Padma Puräëa says, “Krishna’s playing in the räsa dance with the gopés means His räsa dance is only with Radharani.” This is räsa-tattva.
Assumed Two Bodies
. A loving affair means two sides — äçraya and viñaya, lover and beloved. Krishna is préti-viñaya. How can He understand the taste relished by the äçraya? The äçraya relishes more than the viñaya. it?” Therefore, Krishna accepted the mood and complexion of Radharani and came as Gaura to relish that mellow. Kaviraj Goswami has written in Caitanya-caritämåta (ädi 4.56):
Radha and Krishna are one and the same, but They have assumed two bodies. Thus They enjoy each other, tasting the mellows of love.
There is no difference between Radha and Krishna. They are one, çakti-çaktimän-abhinna — there is no difference between the energy and the energetic source.
Although there is no difference between Radha and Krishna, still, difference is there — and that difference is eternal. These two things, difference and non-difference, are both eternal. Of these two, difference is better than non-difference — if there is no difference then there is no question of tasting the lélä. This is tattva.
Condensed Hlädiné-çakti
.
pleasure-giving potency is known as hlädiné-çakti.. Hlädiné-çakti gives pleasure both to Krishna and to the devotees. Radharani is the embodiment of that hlädiné-çakti. Radharani only thinks of the pleasure and happiness of Krishna. She never thinks of Herself. Radha is govindänandéné, She who gives pleasure to Govinda. rädhä vinä tiìhon käro naya — “Krishna only belongs to Radharani.”
Krishna’s Fever
Krishna has innumerable wives, käntä, and they are divided into three groups, lakñmé-gaëa, mahiñé-gaëa and vraja-gaëa — the lakñmés in Vaikuntha, the queens in Dwarka, and the gopés in Vrajabhumi. The gopés, vraja-gaëa, are the topmost of Krishna’s consorts.

Then Narada Muni said, “I will get some medicine for You. Then You will be cured of the fever.”
Krishna said, “Oh Narada, there is no medicine for My body. Only one medicine is there. If you can get it, then I will be cured.”
“All right. Tell me what is the medicine.”
“If you go to some of My dear devotees and beg some dust from their feet, that is the medicine for Me. No other medicine will work for this body.”
Narada thought, “Here in Dwarka there are so many hundreds of thousands of queens, Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati and others. Surely they will give some dust.” So he approached them. “Krishna is sick. He has a high fever and the medicine is with you. Please give me some dust of your feet so Krishna will be cured.”
They said, “Oh, what are you saying? Krishna is our revered husband. Shall we give dust from our feet and go to hell? Get out! We cannot give.” They would not give.
Prepared to Go to Hell
What sort of love is that? How do they love? Love is shrunken in Dwarka, and therefore they would not give their dust for Krishna. Then Narada went to Vrajabhumi. Seeing Narada Muni, all of the gopés ran to him. Narada wanders everywhere, so the gopés thought, “He can give us information about Krishna and inform Krishna how we are always thinking of Him and feeling acute pangs of separation from Him.”
Narada Muni said, “Yes, I have information. Krishna is very sick now with high fever. I have come to you for medicine.”
“What medicine is that?”
“If some of you can give dust from your feet, that is the medicine. Krishna will smear it on His body and He will be completely cured.”
“Oh, that medicine. All right, take from me.”
At that time there was some competition between them.
“O Narada, take from me!”
“No, no, no! Take from me!”
“How many bags will you take?”
They said, “If giving dust from our feet is required for Krishna, and we have to go to hell and suffer forever, we are prepared for that. Let our Krishna be cured and happy.”
This is love. This is the difference between their love and the love of the queens of Dwarka. Where there is jïäna and aiçvarya then love is shrunken, préti-saìkucita. Gopé-prema, rädhä-prema, is kevala-bhakti; only pure love is there. It is not mixed with jïäna and aiçvarya. They are prepared to go to hell and suffer there forever, “Let our Krishna be happy.”
Two Types of Consorts
The chief devotees in conjugal love are the gopés in Vrindavan, the queens in Dwarka and the goddesses of fortune in Vaikuntha. These devotees are innumerable.
Attachment for Krishna is divided into two categories. One is attachment with awe and reverence, and the other is pure attachment without reverence.
Pure attachment without reverence is found in Gokul Vrindavan. Attachment in which awe and reverence are prominent is found in the two cities Mathura and Dwarka and in Vaikuntha.
When opulence is very prominent, love of Godhead is somewhat crippled. According to kevalä devotion, however, even though the devotee sees the unlimited potency of Krishna, he considers himself equal to Him.
In Gokul there is only mädhurya. There is no mixture of jïäna and aiçvarya. In Mathura, Dwarka and Vaikuntha there is aiçvarya-pradhäna — aiçvarya
MMV 9: The Heart of Radharani
Chapter Nine – The Heart of Radharani
Srimati Radhika is the transformation of Krishna’s love. She is His internal energy called hlädiné.
hlädiné karäya kåñëe änandäsvädana
hlädinéra dvärä kare bhaktera poñaëa
That hlädiné energy gives Krishna pleasure and nourishes His devotees.
hlädinéra sära ‘prema’, prema-sära ‘bhäva’
bhävera parama-käñöhä, näma — ‘mahä-bhäva’
The essence of the hlädiné potency is love of God, the essence of love of God is emotion [bhäva], and the ultimate development of emotion is mahäbhäva.
mahäbhäva-svarüpä çré-rädhä-öhäkuräëé
sarva-guëa-khani kåñëa-käntä-çiromaëi
Sri Radha Thakurani is the embodiment of mahäbhäva. She is the repository of all good qualities and the crest jewel among all the lovely consorts of Lord Krishna.
kåñëa-prema-bhävita yäìra cittendriya-käya
kåñëa-nija-çakti rädhä kréòära sahäya
Her mind, senses and body are steeped in love for Krishna. She is Krishëa’s own energy, and She helps Him in His pastimes.

ninth canto purport Srila Prabhupada says, “The hlädiné potency of the Lord belonging to the çåìgära-rasa, mädhurya-rasa, mellow of conjugal love in the spiritual world…”
The ecstasy that was felt by Srimati Radharani when She met Uddhava in Vraja in Her mournful mood of separation from Sri Krishna is personified in Lord Chaitanya.
of Srila Rupa Goswami, who in kåñëa-lélä is Rupa-manjari, a distinguished cowherd girl.
Srimati Radharani is the most beloved cowherd girl of Sri Krishna. Not only Srimati Radharani, but also the lake known as Radha-kunda is as dear to Sri Krishna as Srimati Radharani Herself.
Different levels of bhakti
The first rise of prema is called rati. In the rati section of Ujjvala-nilamaëi5, you will find that rati has three categories. They are sädhäraëé, samaïjasä, and samarthä. An example of sädhäraëé-rati is Kubja. Surpanakha in räma-lélä became Kubja in her next birth. Kubja’s love is of the sädhäraëé-rati category, and it extends up to the level known as prema. After rati comes prema, then sneha, then mäna, and then praëaya. After praëaya comes räga, anuräga, bhäva, and it goes higher to mahäbhava. Sädhäraëé-rati is a rare achievement, and is compared to a jewel. Its condition is like fire covered with smoke.
Superior to sädhäraëé-rati is samaïjasä-rati. The example of samaïjasä-rati is the wedded wives of Krishna in Dwarka, headed by Rukmini. This is svakéya-bhäva. Sita comes under the svakéya category. Sita’s love belongs to the category of samaïjasä-rati. Samaïjasä-rati extends up to the level known as anuräga — rati, prema, sneha, mäna, praëaya, räga, anuräga. This love is like a jewel, not an ordinary maëi, gem. It is very rare. Sädhärané-rati is like fire covered with smoke, whereas samaïjasä-rati is effulgent, ujjvalitä-bhäva.
The best and last type of rati is samarthä-rati. The example is the gopés headed by Srimati Radharani. Samarthä-rati is topmost. Its limit is the last limit, mahäbhäva. This rati is compared to a kaustubha-maëi. Kubja’s rati, sädhärané, is like an ordinary maëi, jewel. The samaïjasä-rati of the wedded wives of Krishna headed by Rukmini, is like candrakänta-maëi, but the samarthä-rati of the gopés is like kaustubha-maëi, and it is very, very, very rare.
When samarthä-rati is there, whatever type of rati develops on the heroine’s side in sneha, mäna, praëaya, räga, or anuräga, similarly develops on the hero’s side, Krishna’s side. This love is reciprocal.
.’

Devabhaga is the brother of Vasudev and Uddhava is the son of Devabhaga. This is confirmed in the Hari-vaàça which states that, “Uddhava is the greatly fortunate son of Devabhaga.”
:

The supremely intelligent Uddhava was the best advisor of the Vrishni dynasty, a beloved friend of Lord Sri Krishna and a direct disciple of Brihaspati.
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.
The Supreme Lord manifested the material intelligence, senses, mind and vital air of the living entities so that they could indulge their desires for sense gratification, take repeated births to engage in fruitive activities, become elevated in future lives, and ultimately attain liberation.
The perfection of possessing a mind, body, speech, intelligence, and ten senses is to develop love for Krishna. Otherwise what is the necessity of possessing them?
“I Will Return”
When Akrura took Krishna and Balaram to Mathura, the vrajaväsés, especially the gopés, became very distressed, feeling intense pangs of separation from Krishna. They said, “We cannot live! We will die without Krishna!” They lay down in front of the wheels of Akrura’s chariot: “Let the wheels roll on our body! Let us die here! Why shall we survive? Krishna is leaving Vrajabhumi! We cannot survive!” They had developed so much love for Krishna. This is man-manä bhava, day and night, twenty-four hours, thinking of Krishna.
Krishna gave them some words of consolation: “Don’t feel distressed. I will come back. I have some work there, and after finishing it I will return.”
Krishna’s Pangs of Separation
Forgetting Krishna, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [mäyä] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence.
“Give Them Solace”
This is a matter of love. “O, Uddhava, please go to Vrajabhumi. Pitror nau, My dear father and mother, Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda-mata, are very much distressed, feeling pangs of separation from Me. Please give them some pleasure.”
Then He spoke about the gopés: gopénäà mad-viyogädhià mat-sandeçair vimocaya — “Please go to the gopés, the damsels of Vrajabhumi. They are getting so much pain, mad-viyogädhià, feeling the very acute pangs of separation from Me. Please take this message of love and deliver it to them, and give them some solace. Mat-sandeçair, this is My message of love.” In the next verse (10.46.4) Krishna said to Uddhava:
Vedic Etiquette Rejected
. The Lord told Durvasa Muni, mad-anyat te na jänanti nähaà tebhyo manäg api — “Such a dear devotee, sädhu, who has developed love for Me, is like My heart and I am the heart of that sädhu. They don’t know anything but Me and I don’t know anything but them.” This is a loving relationship, loving reciprocation, and the gopés are the examples. Krishna told Uddhava, mäm eva dayitaà preñöham ätmänaà manasä gatäù — “O Uddhava, the gopés, the damsels of Vrajabhumi, are like My life.4 You think I am here in Mathura, but really I am there. Externally I am here in Mathura doing something for duties sake. But really I am there. My mind is there. My heart is there. My life is there in Vrajabhumi.”
One may ask, “Krishna, how have You been put into such a condition?” The answer is ye tyakta-loka-dharmäç ca mad-arthe tän bibharmy aham5 — “For My sake they have renounced the ordinary happiness in this life, as well as religious duties necessary for such happiness in the next life. Therefore I really stay there in Vrindavan in order to sustain them in all circumstances. They have developed such intimate love for Me that they have given up everything. They are even prepared to give up their bodies. They have already kicked away veda-maryädä-dharma, Vedic religious duties. They don’t know what is good or bad. They have kicked away that which is very difficult to give up, veda-dharma, Vedic regulations. They have kicked it away because they have put Me in their mind and heart.” Krishna says in Bhagavad-gétä, ye yathä mäà prapadyante täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham — “As they surrender unto Me I reward them accordingly.”6 It is a question of reciprocation
1) Radha says, ko vä na yäti yamunä pulina vane rädhä näme kulatäpaväda — “Who is not going to the bank of the Yamuna to fetch water? But if Radha goes there then She is condemned. Everyone says She has become a prostitute, kulatä.” However, Radha accepts it. She says, “Yes.” tomära lägiyä kalaìkera hära goläye paòite päri8 — “O Krishna, for You this kalaìka, blasphemy or character assassination, is like a very nice garland for Me. Let Me put it around My neck.” This is love, and Krishna knows it. Krishna says, “Such love they have developed!” ye tyakta-loka-dharmäç ca mad-arthe tän bibharmy aham — “They have given up everything for Me, so how can I forget them? I am completely there with them. Externally, out of duty, I am here in Mathura doing something. But My heart, My life, everything is there with them. The condition of these gopés, most of the time they are thinking of Me and fainting. This mürccha, fainting condition,
2) , when I left Vrajabhumi the gopés felt the pangs of separation from Me. This condition is like the scorching heat of the summer season. The heat of separation, viraha-tapa, is very acute. Their heart is like a pond, sarasi. That water has completely dried up.” Krishna said, “Their life is like the turtles — präëa-kürma. When all of the water is dried up the turtles bury themselves in the mud. Similarly, the gopés are only surviving with the consolation I gave when I was leaving. I told them, ‘I will come back. Don’t feel so distressed.’ This consolation is like the mud, and they are putting themselves into that mud and surviving — yäsäm-äçämådam-anusåtäù präëa-kürmä vasanti.
The gopés of Vrindavan have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Krishna, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers or herbs in Vrindavan, because the gopés trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.

At Raghunatha das Goswami’s request, Jiva Goswami assisted in excavating Radha Kund and was later appointed proprietor and project supervisor in Raghunatha das Goswami’s will.

By bathing in Rädhä-kuëòa and Syama-kuëòa, one attains the result of having performed a räjasüya-yajïa and an açvamedha-yajïa. Of this there is no doubt.

Text 419

mathura-khaëòe

dépotsave karttike ca
radha-kuëòe yudhiñöhira
dåçyate sakalaà viçvaà
bhåtyair viñëu-parayaëaiù

mathura-khaëòe – in the Mathurä-khanòa; dépotsave – in the dipotsava festival; karttike – during Kärttika; ca – and; radha-kuëòe – at Rädhä-kuëòa; yudhiñöhira – O
Yudhiñöhira; dåçyate – is seen; sakalam – all; viçvam – the universe; bhåtyair – by servants; viñëu – to Lord Viñëu; parayaëaiù – devoted.

In the Mathurä-khaëòa it is said:

O Yudhiñöhira, during the dipotsava festival Lord Viñnu’s devoted servants at Rädhä-kunòa can see the entire universe.

Text 420

padme karttika-mahatmye

govardhane girau ramye
radha-kunòaà priyaà hareù
karttike bahulañöamyaà
tatra snatva hareù priyaù

padme karttika-mahatmye – in the Padma Puräna, Kärttika-mähätmya; govardhane – on Govardhana; girau – Hill; ramye – charming; radha-kunòam – Rädhä-kunòa;
priyam – dear; hareù – to Hari; karttike – in Kärttika; bahulañöamyam – Bahulastami; tatra – there; snatva – having bathed; hareù – to Lord Hari; priyaù – dear.

In the Padma Puräëa, Kärttika-mähätmya, it is said:

Rädhä-kuëòa, by beautiful Govardhana Hill, is dear to Lord Hari. A person who bathes there on the Bahuläñöami day of the month of Kärttika is also dear to Lord Hari.

Text 421

naro bhakto bhaved vipras
tat-sthitasya pratoñaëam
yatha radha priya viñnos
tasyaù kuëòaà priyaà tatha

naraù – a person; bhaktaù – a devotee; bhaved – becomes; vipraùbrähmaëa; tat-sthitasya – staying there; pratoñaëam – satisfaction; yatha – as; radha – Rädhä; priya – is dear; viñëoùto Viñëu; tasyaù – Her; kuëòam – lake; priyam – dear; tatha – in the same way.

O brähmaëas, a person who satisfies the residents of Rädhä-kunòa becomes a great devotee. As Çrimati Rädhä is dear to Lord Viñëu, so Her lake (Rädhä-kunòa) is also dear to Him.

Text 422

sarva-gopéñu saivaika
viñnor atyanta-vallabha
tat-kunòe karttikañöamyaà
tatra snatva hareù priyaù

sarva – among all; gopéñu – the gopis; sa – She; eva – indeed; eka – alone; viñëor – to Lord Viñëu; atyanta – most; vallabha – dear; tat-kuëòe – at Her lake; karttika – of Kärttika; añöamyam – on the astami day; tatra – there; snatva – having bathed; hareù – of Lord Hari; priyaù – dear.

Among all the gopis, She is most dear to Lord Viñëu. A person who, on the añöami day of the month of Kärttika, bathes in Her lake, becomes dear to Lord Hari.

Text 423

natva stutva ca sampujyo
deva-deva-janardanaù
prabodhinyaà yatha – as; prétas
tatha prétas tato bhavet

natva – offering obeisances; stutva – offering prayers; ca – and; sampujyaù – to be worshiped; deva-deva – the master of the demigods; janardanaù – Janärdana;
prabodhinyam – on Prabodhini; yatha – as; prétaùpleased; tatha – so; prétaù – pleased;
tataù – then; bhavet – is.

As Lord Janärdana, the master of the demigods, is pleased by obeisances, prayers and worship during the Prabodhini day, so He is also pleased when these are done at Rädhä-kuëòa.

The Dream
During the excavation of the kunds, Yudhisthira Maharaj appeared to Raghunatha in a dream.
“Please don’t cut down the trees around Shyama Kund,” he requested. “My four Pandava brothers and I are living there as trees and performing worship.”
Since Raghunatha allowed the trees to remain, Shyama Kund appears irregular today, unlike the perfectly rectangular Radha Kund.
Each kund covers about two hundred square feet. Radha Kund is separated from Shyama Kund by a retaining wall rising just above the water. This wall is topped with ornate columns. A chatra shades the pada cheena of Radha and Krishna—marble footprints molded according to scriptural descriptions—installed by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. Like his father, Bhaktivinode Thakur, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta stressed the importance of Radha Kund. During their day—fifty to a hundred years ago—this village didn’t exist, and the kunds must have sparkled with crystal clear water.

The well
Raghunatha Dasa Goswami dug a well so that the kunds would not be used for washing clothes and dishes, but the townsfolk do their washing here nonetheless. Their detergent creates a green scum on the water’s surface. Great slimy turtles stick their heads up from the black muck and then disappear.

Radha Kund Puja
Radha Kund Puja, a celebration in honor of the origin of Radha Kund and Shyama Kund. For Gaudiya Vaishnavas, Radha Kund is the most sanctified place in the entire Braja Mandala, and tonight is the holiest time of year for bathing there. After moonrise, thousands of pilgrims will crowd into the little town to wash away their sins.

samadhis of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami and Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami
The samadhis of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami and Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami are here. There is also a small Radha Krishna temple containing a Deity discovered by Raghunatha Dasa while he was excavating.

In addition to Bhaktivinode Thakur’s bhajan kutir—
a little cottage where the great saint worshiped the Lord—there’s the bhajan kutir of Raghunatha Dasa.
Once, while Raghunatha Dasa was absorbed in chanting, tigers came to drink from Shyama Kund. Then Sanatan Goswami arrived and was astonished to see Lord Krishna standing by Raghunatha. The Lord was smiling and protecting the saint from the tigers. Raghunatha was unaware of this. When the tigers left, so did Krishna. Sanatan then told Raghunatha that he should build a small cottage so that Krishna would not have to come and stand guard. It’s this cottage, or kutir, that is still standing. Beside it stands the kutir where Krishnadas Kaviraj wrote Chaitanya Charitamrita, the definitive biography of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In that great transcendental literature, he stressed the importance of Radha Kund:
Of all the gopis, Radharani is the dearmost. Similarly, the lake known as Radha Kund is very dear to the Lord because it is very dear to Srimati Radharani. … Of all the gopis, Srimati Radharani is certainly the most beloved. In that lake, Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani used to sport daily in the water and have rasa dance on the bank. Indeed, Lord Krishna gives ecstatic love like that of Srimati Radharani to whomever bathes in that lake even once in his life.