Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is revered as goddess of love, tenderness, compassion and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Mūlaprakriti, the Supreme goddess, who is the feminine counterpart and internal potency (hladini shakti) of Krishna. Radha's birthday is celebrated every year on the occasion of Radhashtami.
Radha accompanies Krishna in all his incarnations. The Nimbarka Sampradaya and many other Vaishnava traditions worship Radha as the eternal consort and wedded wife of Krishna. In contrast, traditions like Gaudiya Vaishnavism revere her as Krishna's lover and the divine consort.
In Radha Vallabha Sampradaya and Haridasi Sampradaya, only Radha is worshipped as the Supreme being. Radha is described as the chief of Braj Gopis (milkmaids of Braj) and queen of Goloka and Braj including Vrindavan and Barsana. She has inspired numerous literary works, and her Raslila dance with Krishna has inspired many types of performance arts.
Etymology and epithets
The Sanskrit term () means "prosperity, success, perfection and wealth".Monier Monier-Williams, Rādhā, Sanskrit-English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 876Sukumar Sen (1943), "Etymology of the name Radha-Krishana," Indian Linguistics, Vol. 8, pp. 434–435 It is a common word and name found in various contexts in the ancient and medieval texts of India. The word appears in the Vedic literature as well as the Hindu epics, but is elusive. The name also appears for a figure in the epic Mahabharata. Rādhikā refers to an endearing form of Radha.
In chapter 15th, Goloka khanda of Garga Samhita, Sage Garga elaborates the complete meaning of Radha. In Radha, 'R' signifies Rama, goddess Lakshmi, 'a' means Gopis, "dh" signifies dhara, goddess Bhudevi and last 'a' symbolises River Virājā (also called Yamuna).
The fifth chapter, Fifth night of Narada Pancharatra mentioned 1008 names of Radha under the title Shri Radha Saharsnama Strotam. The 68th chapter, Tritiya paad of Narada Purana also listed 500 names of Radha. Some of the common names and epithets are:
Sri, Shreeji, Shriji: Goddess of radiance, splendor and wealth; Lakshmi Madhavi: Feminine counterpart of Madhava Keshavi: Feminine form of Keshava Aparajita: She who is unconquerable Kishori: Youthful Nitya: She is eternal Nitya-gehinī: Krishna's eternal wife Gopi: Cowherd girl Shyama: Beloved of Shyam Gaurangi: She whose complexion is bright like the lustrous gold Raseshvari and Rasa-priya: Queen of Raslila and she who is fond of rasa dance Vrindavaneshvari: Queen of Vrindavan Krishneshvari: Feminine counterpart of Krishna
Literary sources and symbolism
Radha is an important goddess in the Vaishnavite traditions of Hinduism. Her traits, manifestations, descriptions, and roles vary by region. Radha is considered inseparable from Krishna. In early Indian literature, mentions of her are elusive. The traditions that venerate her explain this is because she is the secret treasure hidden within the sacred scriptures. During the Bhakti movement era in the sixteenth century, she became more well known as her extraordinary love for Krishna was highlighted.Vaudeville, Charlotte in
Radha's first major appearance in the 12th-century Gita Govinda in Sanskrit by Jayadeva,Miller, Barbara Stoler in as well as Nimbarkacharya's philosophical works. Thus in the Gita Govinda Krishna speaks to Radha:
However, the source of Jayadeva's heroine in his poem remains a puzzle of the Sanskrit literature. A possible explanation is Jayadeva's friendship with Nimbarkacharya, the first acharya to establish the worship of Radha-Krishna. Nimbarka, in accordance with the Sahitya Akademi's Encyclopaedia, more than any other acharyas gave Radha a place as a deity.
Prior to Gita Govinda, Radha was also mentioned in text Gatha Saptasati which is a collection of 700 verses composed in Prakrit language by King Hāla. The text was written around first or second century AD. Gatha Saptasati mentioned Radha explicitly in its verse:
Radha also appears in the Puranas namely the Padma Purana (as an avatar of Lakshmi), the Devi-Bhagavata Purana (as a form of Mahadevi), the Brahma Vaivarta Purana (as Radha-Krishna supreme deity), the Matsya Purana (as form of Devi), the Linga Purana (as form of Lakshmi), the Varaha Purana (as consort of Krishna), the Narada Purana (as goddess of love), the Skanda Purana and the Shiva Purana. The 15th and 16th century Krishnaite Bhakti poet-saints Vidyapati, Chandidas, Meera Bai, Surdas, Swami Haridas, as well as Narsinh Mehta (1350–1450), who preceded all of them, wrote about the romance of Krishna and Radha too. Chandidas in his Bengali-language Shri Krishna Kirtana, a poem of Bhakti, depicts Radha and Krishna as divine, but in human love. Though not named in the Bhagavata Purana, Visvanatha Chakravarti (c. 1626–1708) interprets an unnamed favourite gopi in the scripture as Radha. She makes appearances in Venisamhara by Bhatta Narayana (c. 800 CE), Dhvanyaloka by Anandavardhana (c. 820–890 CE) and its commentary Dhvanyalokalocana by Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 CE), Rajasekhara's (late ninth-early tenth century) Kāvyamīmāṃsā, Dashavatara-charita (1066 CE) by Kshemendra and Siddhahemasabdanusana by Hemachandra (c. 1088–1172). In most of these, Radha is depicted as someone who is deeply in love with Krishna and is grief stricken when Krishna leaves her.Miller, Barbara Stoler in In contrast, Radha of the Rādhātantram is portrayed as audacious, confident, omniscient and divine personality who is in full control at all times. In Rādhātantram, Radha is not merely the consort but is treated as the independent goddess. Here, Krishna is portrayed as her disciple and Radha as his guru.
Charlotte Vaudeville theorizes that Radha may have been inspired by the pairing of the goddess Ekanamsha (associated with Durga) with Jagannatha (who is identified with Krishna) of Puri in Eastern India. Though Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th century, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism) is not known to have worshiped the deity couple of Radha-Krishna, his disciples around the Vrindavan region, affirmed Radha as the hladini shakti ("energy of bliss") of Krishna, associating her with the Primordial Divine Mother. While the poetry of Jayadeva and Vidyapati from Bengal treat Radha as Krishna's beloved, the Gaudiya poetry elevates her to a divine consort.Vaudeville, Charlotte in In Western India, Vallabhacharya's Krishna-centric sampradaya Pushtimarg, Radha is revered as the Swamini of Krishna, who is worthy of devotion.Vaudeville, Charlotte in : "According to Vallabha tradition, she (Radha) is the swamini of Krishna, who is worthy of devotion."
According to Jaya Chemburkar, there are at least two significant and different aspects of Radha in the literature associated with her, such as Sri Radhika namasahasram. One aspect is she is a milkmaid (gopi), another as a female deity similar to those found in the Hindu goddess traditions. She also appears in Hindu artwork as Ardhanari with Krishna, that is an iconography where half of the image is Radha and the other half is Krishna. This is found in sculpture such as those discovered in Maharashtra, and in texts such as Shiva Purana and Brahma Vaivarta Purana. In these texts, this Ardha Nari is sometimes referred to as Ardharadhavenudhara murti, and it symbolizes the complete union and inseparability of Radha and Krishna.
D.M. Wulff demonstrates through a close study of her Sanskrit and Bengali sources that Radha is both the "consort" and "conqueror" of Krishna and that "metaphysically Radha is understood as co-substantial and co-eternal with Krishna." Indeed, the more popular vernacular traditions prefer to worship the couple and often tilt the balance of power towards Radha.
Graham M. Schweig in his work "The divine feminine theology of Krishna" in context with Radha Krishna stated that, "The divine couple, Radha and Krishna, comprise the essence of godhead. Radha is therefore acknowledged by Chaitanyaite Vaishnavas to be part of very center of their theological doctrine. Sacred images of the forms of Radha Krishna, standing together side by side, are elaborately worshiped in the Indian temples. Through her image, her divine character and her amorous and passionate relations with Krishna, Radha is the constant meditation of practitioners.
According to William Archer and David Kinsley, the Radha-Krishna love story is a metaphor for a divine-human relationship, where Radha is the human devotee or soul who is frustrated with the past, obligations to social expectations, and the ideas she inherited, who then longs for real meaning, the true love, the divine (Krishna). This metaphoric Radha (soul) finds new liberation in learning more about Krishna, bonding in devotion, and with passion.
An image of Radha has inspired numerous literary works. For modern instance, the Shri Radhacharita Mahakavyam—the 1980s epic poem of Dr. Kalika Prasad Shukla that focuses on Radha's devotion to Krishna as the universal lover—"one of the rare, high-quality works in Sanskrit in the twentieth century."
Radha and Sita The Radha-Krishna and Sita-Rama pairs represent two different personality sets, two perspectives on dharma and lifestyles, both cherished in the way of life called Hinduism. Sita is traditionally wedded: the dedicated and virtuous wife of Rama, an introspective temperate paragon of a serious, virtuous man. Radha is a power potency of Krishna, who is a playful adventurer.
Radha and Sita offer two templates within the Hindu tradition. If "Sita is a queen, aware of her social responsibilities", states Pauwels, then "Radha is exclusively focused on her romantic relationship with her lover", giving two contrasting role models from two ends of the moral universe. Yet they share common elements as well. Both face life challenges and are committed to their true love. They are both influential, adored and beloved goddesses in the Hindu culture.
In worship of Rama, Sita is represented as a dutiful and loving wife, holding a position entirely subordinate to Rama. However, in the worship of Radha Krishna, Radha is often preferred over to Krishna, and in certain traditions, her name is elevated to a higher position compared to Krishna's.
Iconography
Radha in Hinduism, is revered as the goddess of love. She is mostly depicted along with Krishna or gopis in the land of Braj. Various art forms based on Radha Krishna are majorly inspired by Gita Govinda and Rasikapriya. In Rajput paintings, Radha represents an ideal of beauty, wearing the traditional sari decorated extensively with patterns and ornamented in jewelry with lighter skin tone and emphasized facial features. In Kishangarh paintings, Radha is represented as beautifully dressed woman in ghagra choli with pearl jewelry and a dark diaphanous veil over her head. The famous Bani Thani portrait by artist Nihâl Chand was inspired by Radha's physical features which includes sharp eyebrows, lotus-like elongated eyes, thin lips and a pointed nose and chin.
In religious art forms, Radha also appears as Ardhanari with Krishna, that is an iconography where half of the image is Radha and the other half is Krishna forming the combined masculine and feminine form of Ardhanarishvara.
In Radha Krishna temples, Radha stands on the left of Krishna, with a garland in her hand. She is often dressed in traditional sari or ghagra-choli along with a veil. Her jewelry from top to bottom is either made of metals, pearls or flowers.
The Sanskrit scripture Brahma Vaivarta Purana describes Radha as the beautiful and youthful goddess having the molten golden complexion and wearing the garlands of gems and flowers.
Legends As a milkmaid