In Vaikunta, Lord Vishnu is in deep contemplation. Lakshmi sits serenely at His feet. Vishnu tells her that the time is right for Her to be born as Radha in Bhuloka. However, Lakshmi hesitates. When Vishnu asks her for the reason Lakshmi says, ” O lord, I wish to be born as your consort. How can I take birth in Bhuloka now when you are still in Vaikunta?”
Vishnu says, “O Devi, I will be born in Bhuloka after a few years. You are destined to be born before me.” Lakshmi says, “ Well then. I will be born now but I will open my eyes only after seeing you first on Bhuloka.” Vishnu smilingly nods his head in assent.
Meanwhile, in Bhuloka, it was the eighth day of the Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapad. Vrishbhanu, a Yadava chieftain is returning from the Yamuna, after His daily bath. And finds a huge golden lotus blooming in the middle of a pond. He feels awestruck. Out of sheer curiosity, he enters the pond. He is pleasantly surprised to see a divine baby girl sitting in the middle of the lotus. Her smile was as radiant as the sun.
Vrishbhanu gently lifts the girl from the lotus. That is when Brahma manifests before him and says, “O Vrishbhanu, in your previous birth, you and your wife had performed an austere penance. When I granted you a boon, both of you said you wished to have a daughter who would be the beloved of lord Vishnu. I have fulfilled your wish in this birth. This girl is your daughter and is an incarnation of Lakshmi Devi herself. She will become the consort of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu who will be born on Bhuloka after a few years.”
When Vrishbhanu narrates the entire experience to his wife Kirtida, she is delighted to be blessed with such a divine daughter. The news spreads at lightning speed. When the Vrajwasis hear the news they joyously play their dhols and drums and eagerly go to Vrishbhanu’s house. Vrishbhanu showers them all with several gifts.
When Vrishbhanu’s astrologer sees the horoscope of the infant girl, he says, ” O Vrishbhanu, “This girl’s name is Radha. She symbolises the essence of all the Shrutis. And is a swaroop of Prem and Bhakti yoga. Radha will bring you immense joy.
What’s more – Even the Suras, Naras and Munis will experience Ananda when they serve her devoutly. For they all know Radha will bring them closer to Purna Purushotham lord Vishnu. And He in turn will shower His grace on her devotees because He loves Radha as much as she loves Him.”
Vrishbhanu’s astrologer then breaks out of his reverie and exclaims, “ But why does Radha refuse to open her eyes? She doesn’t seem to be in any kind of pain. Look closely O Vrishbhanu, she seems to be experiencing intense pangs of Viraah Taap. And seems to intuitively know that the only way in which she can dispel her Viraah Taap is by meditating on the swaroop of her beloved.”
Vrishbhanu, Kirtida and the Vrajwasis are crestfallen when they see Radha’s closed eyes. They all become even more anxious when Radha does not open her eyes even after several months. But they all dote on their beloved Radha, showering her with immense love and care. And hope that Radha is blessed with sight by some miracle.
One fine day Narada visits Vrishbhanu. When Narada does Radha’s darshan he is spellbound by her radiant divinity. But Vrishbhanu feels very disappointed when Radha does not open her eyes even on seeing a divine rishi like Narada. Narada remains unperturbed though. And composes the Radhasahastranaam, Radhashtakam and Radha Upanishad on seeing Radha. Narada then departs from Vrishbhanu’s house with an enigmatic smile on his face. Vrishbhanu and Kirtida continue to hope for the best though seasons changed and months passed into years.
Time does its job perfectly. As usual. On the eighth day of the Krishna paksha of Shraavan, at the appointed hour, in the dark dungeons of Kamsa’s prison, Devki gives birth to her eighth child, a boy. The entire prison glows with divine radiance as soon as the infant is born. Vasudev’s and Devki’s shackles fall away. And Vasudev, as if in a daze, follows his intuition which seemed to be urging him strongly to ferry the infant over the swollen waters of the Yamuna. He knows he must make his way to Nanda’s house in Gokul. Without any delay.
Vasudev places the infant in a basket and rushes outside without thinking. Strangely enough, he is filled with some divine strength. And neither the heavy torrential rain nor the deep waters of the Yamuna deter him in any way. When he crosses the deep waters of the Yamuna, Krishna playfully places His foot outside the basket and fulfils Yamunaji’s wish. For she had been yearning to touch Krishna’s feet for aeons now.
Yamunaji instantly parts her swelling waters and makes way for Vasudev. On reaching Gokul, Vasudev quickly places Krishna beside Yashoda. Picks up the newly born infant girl, Maya from Yashoda’s crib and leaves quietly.
Yashoda wakes up with a start when Krishna cries out loudly. Krishna’s first words are, “ Aa Dhe…Aa Dhe..” clearly expressing His deep desire to meet his Prem swaroop Radha in Bhuloka.
And far far away, in Vrishbhanu’s house, Radha intuitively senses that Krishna had come to Her as promised. She constantly chants, “Haam…Me…ra..Haam” calling out to her beloved Shyam and asking Him to come to her as soon as possible. Vrishnabhanu and Kirti wonder who Radha was calling out to with such urgency. But try to pacify her to the best of their ability.
That is when Narada pays Vrishbhanu another visit. He says, “ O Vrishbhanu, Radha is five years old now. Nanda and Yashoda are proud parents of a beautiful infant boy called Krishna. Please invite them all to your house.” Vrishbhanu is excited to hear the news. He rushes to meet Nanda, hugs him tightly and invites Nanda, Yashoda, Rohini, Balarama and Krishna to his house for lunch. Nanda accepts his invitation.
When Yashoda reaches Vrishbhanu’s house she asks Vrishbhanu, “O Vrishbhanu, where is your lovely daughter?” Vrishbhanu calls out to Radha and says, “ Radha, look who has come to meet you.” Radha intuitively senses the presence of her consort lord Vishnu. Her eyes flutter open for the first time in five years as she does the darshan of her lord who had incarnated as Krishna. And Krishna chuckles aloud at her. For He knew without the slightest doubt that even though aeons had passed since He had met His beloved Radha, She would do exactly what she wanted, as usual.”
Vrishbhanu and Kirtida’s joy knows no bounds. Their beloved Radha could see now. Nothing else mattered to them anymore.
Radhashtami rituals in Pushti Marg
Regardless of all the challenges that Krishna had to face in His mortal body, Radha and Krishna had complete faith in their love for each other. For she was born in the material plane in the midst of a lotus to spread the message of unconditional love to us mere manavas.
In PushtiMarg, we nurture the bhaav of Radha’s birthday symbolically through our rituals. That is why on Radhastami, we draw an eight-petalled lotus using kumkum on a turmeric-coated Shriphal, place a ten-rupee and one-rupee coin over it and offer it to our Nidhi swaroops.
Photos given by Hardevji and Raviji.
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