Who is Radharani?
Who is Radharani? Very few people in this world truly know the answer to this question.
Apart from God-realized saints, or those to whom a God-realized saint has imparted tattva-gyān (spiritual knowledge) and explained about the divine entity called Radha, no one else knows. Most people do not even know Radharani's name. And even those who do know it assume, upon hearing "Radhe Shyam," that Radharani is Shri Krishna's consort, because just as in "Sita-Ram," Sita is Lord Ram's consort; in "Umapati," Parvati is Lord Shankar's wife; and in "Ramapati," Rama (Lakshmi) is Lord Vishnu's wife, in the same way they conclude that Radha is Shri Krishna's wife.
But that is not so.
kr̥ṣṇo ha vai hariḥ paramo devaḥ ṣaḍvidhaiśvaryaparipūrṇo.....kr̥ṣṇena ārādhyate iti rādhā।
"kr̥ṣṇena ārādhyate" - meaning, She whom Shri Krishna Himself worships is Radha.
Then the Vedas declare:
yasyā reṇuṁ pādayor viśvabhartā dharate mūrdhani। yasyā aṅke viluṇṭhan kr̥ṣṇadevo naiva sasmāra golokākhyaṁ dhāmapadaṁ। sāṁśā kamalā śailaputrī tāṁ śaktidhātrīṁ rādhikāṁ namāmaḥ।
She whose foot-dust Vishvambhar, Shri Krishna - the sustainer of the Universe - places upon His head, and resting in whose lap Shri Krishna forgets even His own abode of Golok - such is Radharani, the Ārādhyā - the One who is worshipped.
rādhyaivā'rādhyate mayā।
Shri Krishna Himself says, "I worship Radha."
ātmā tu rādhikā tasya। (skanda purāṇa)
Radha is Shri Krishna's very soul. Just as your soul is the jīva and the rest of the body is its servant, similarly, Radha is the Soul of the Supreme Lord (Paramātmā). The Paramātmā Himself is her servant.
yasyaikaniḥśvasitakālamathāvalambya jīvanti lomavilajā jagadaṇḍanāthāḥ। viṣṇurmahān sa iha yasya kalāviśeṣo govindamādipuruṣaṁ tamahaṁ bhajāmi॥
The lifespan of Mahavishnu is measured by His breath. One breath of Shri Krishna is equal to the entire lifespan of Mahavishnu.
"viṣṇurmahān sa iha yasya kalāviśeṣaḥ" - Mahavishnu is but a kalā (partial manifestation) of Shri Krishna. He is an ansh (part) of Shri Krishna and is known as Kāraṇārṇavashāyi.
Garbhodashāyi Mahavishnu is an ansh of Kāraṇārṇavashāyi.
Kshirodashāyi Mahavishnu is an ansh of Garbhodashāyi.
And the countless Brahmas, Vishnus, and Shankars are anshas of Kshirodashāyi Mahavishnu.
The word "Vishnu" means "the sustainer." The presiding lord of a single universe is called Vishnu, the sustainer of countless universes is also called Vishnu, and Shri Krishna Himself is also called Vishnu. Here, "Mahavishnu" refers to the four-armed form holding the conch, discus, mace, and lotus.
Shri Krishna, however, is two-armed -
dvibhujaṁ jñānamudrāḍhyaṁ vanamālinamīśvaram॥
tamekaṁ govindaṁ saccidānandavigraham।
That Shri Krishna is Saccidānand Brahm.
The Vedas ask:
- kaḥ paramo devaḥ?
Who is the Supreme Lord? Who is the ultimate Supreme Power? - kasmānmr̥tyurbibheti?
Out of whose fear does death itself tremble? - kasya jñānenākhilaṁ tajjñānaṁ bhavati?
By knowing whom does one attain knowledge of everything?
The answer is:
kr̥ṣṇo havai paramaṁ daivatam।
That Supreme Entity is Shri Krishna.
govindānmr̥tyurbibheti
Death trembles before Govind.
gopījanavallabhajñānenākhilaṁ jñānaṁ bhavati।
One who truly knows Shri Krishna automatically gains knowledge of everything else.
Such is Shri Krishna - and Radharani is the One whom even He worships.
Regarding Radha, Brahma says in the Vedas:
rādhā vai sarveśvarī। mahimāsyāḥ svāyurmānenāpi kālena vaktuṁ na cotsahe।
"Radha is the Swamini of all. Even if I were to spend my entire lifespan describing Her glories, I would not be able to explain even a fraction of it."
And Brahma's lifespan extends for trillions of years. The four yugas together comprise 4,320,000 years. Seventy-one cycles of these four yugas make up one Manvantar, which lasts 306,720,000 years. Fourteen such Manvantars make one day of Brahma, known as a Kalpa. Measured in such days and nights, Brahma lives for one hundred years.
Such is the glory of Radharani.
Even Radharani Herself cannot fully describe Her own glory. Then who else possibly can?
Understand this much: the very One whom the Vedas declare to be the Supreme entity-
kr̥ṣṇa eva paro devastaṁ dhyāyettaṁ rasayet taṁ bhajet।
- That very Shri Krishna Himself worships Radharani. Such is Radharani.
His consort, meanwhile, is Mahalakshmi. But poor Mahalakshmi cannot even compare with the Gopis.
nāyaṁ śriyo'ṅga u nitāntarateḥ prasādaḥ svaryoṣitāṁ nalinagandharucāṁ kuto'nyāḥ । rāsotsave'sya bhujadaṇḍagr̥hītakaṇṭhalabdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vrajasundarīṇām॥ (Bhāgavatam)
The divine ras that Shri Krishna bestowed upon the Gopis of Braj - "nāyaṁ śriyo'ṅga" - was not attained even by Lakshmi. If even Lakshmi did not receive that ras, then what could the celestial maidens of heaven hope to attain? What standing do they have?
yadvāñchayā śrīrlalanācarattapo vihāya kāmān suciraṁ dhr̥tavratā॥ (Bhāgavatam)
Mahalakshmi performed severe austerities for a very long time, desiring that ras. Even today, Her temple stands at Belvan. Yet She was not granted entry into Braj. She resides on the left side of Shri Krishna's heart. On the right side of His heart is the mark of Shrivatsa, and in the centre is the footprint of Bhrigu. Yet Lakshmi did not receive even a fraction of the Braj-ras that the Gopis attained.
Rukmini of Dwarika is an incarnation of Lakshmi. She possesses Samanjasā-rati, through which she attained Anurāg-bhakti. But she did not attain mahābhāv-bhakti.
In short, understand this much: Radharani is the One whom Shri Krishna worships. And if you wish to understand this more deeply, then Shri Krishna Himself became Radha.
ye yaṁ rādhā yaśca kr̥ṣṇo rasābdhirdehe naika: krīḍanārthaṁ dvidhābhūt
For the sake of His divine pastimes, He became two. He manifested Himself as Radha, while remaining Shri Krishna Himself.
tasmādekākī na ramate sa dvitīyamaicchat
So, you may understand it in either of two ways. One is that Shri Krishna Himself became Radha; therefore, the question of being male or female simply does not arise. The other is that, in His divine pastimes, He worships Her; therefore, Radharani is His Ārādhyā - the One whom He worships.
That is Radharani!
Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:
