The Bhagavata Purana glorifies the Divine sports of Lord Vishnu and hence it it is called the Bhagavata! One of the amazing sports of the Lord is the “Rasa Leela” in which He takes countless forms and dances with innumerable Gopikas satisfying their insatiable yearning for togetherness with Krishna! Earlier, the Gopikas had suffered indescribable pangs of love for union with Madhava! The Gopikas are considered as the greatest devotees or bhaktas for they never cared for anything but the sight and presence of Krishna before them! The had sacrificed everything for their Krishna! They never wanted to be separated from Krishna even for a fraction of a second! The story of Radha and Madhava is said to be the symbolic representation of the union of the Jivatma with the Parmatma! It represents how the Jiva is lovelorn and languid when it is separated from the Deva or Paramatma! The Gopikas can never subsist for a second without the presence of their Madhava! According to a story, Sachi Devi, Indra’s wife visited Vaikunta once and fell in love with the wonderful beauty of Lord Vishnu! The Lord granted that He would be born as Krishna in Dwapara yuga when her wish would be fulfilled! Thus Sachi Devi took birth as the sister of Nanda, the foster father of Krishna in Gokulam! She is none other than Radha, the epitome of a lady love who cannot live without her Madhva even for a second!
The great Bengali poet Jayadeva has described the Divine Sports of Lord Krishna in his “Magnum opus” Gita Govinda. Krishna is the hero of his ‘Kavya’, Gita Govinda! Radha is the heroine! Whatever happens between the lover and the lady is beautifully and faithfully described by the poet! The sudden change of moods, the pangs of separation or ‘Viraha’, the suspicion of the lady on her lover, are portrayed as seen through a magnifying glass! Jaya Deva throughout describes the hero and heroine in “Sringara Rasa!” Though the entire description is erotic the element of devotion and surrender to the Lord runs as an undercurrent throughout his ‘Ashtapadis.’ Every Ashtapadi is a gem of superb Divine composition recording the diverse changing moods of Radha and the reports of her friends on the guiles and mischief of Madhava! In the eighth Ashtapadi starting with “ Nindati chandana mindhukirana manu vindati kheda madhiram” Krishna after meditating on Radha for long has seated himself in a bush! He has stopped searching for Radha. Spotting Krishna there, Radha’s friend stands before Him and addresses thus!
“O Madhava! Radha’s state is very pathetic. Her pangs of separation from you are indescribable!l She is afraid that she would be overwhelmed by the arrows of Manmatha! She is abusing the cool fragrant sandal paste as well as the comforting rays of the moon! She considers the gentle breeze coming from the fragrant sandalwood trees as poisonous! She is afraid that the flower arrows of Manmatha may injure you in her heart! Hence she has shielded her heart with moistened leaves of the lotus! O Pundarikaksha! Expecting the ecstasy of your deep embrace, she has reclined on the bed arranged by Manmatha’s five flowers. It is the repository of all acts of sringara! (the five flowers are: Aravinda, Asoka, chuta, navamallika and nilotpala). It appears that Radha is performing some Vrata! Unable to bear your separation, tears are raining from her eyes! Her enchantingly beautiful face shines as if it is eclipsed by Rahu, the demon!”
“O Krishna! Much agitated by your love, Radha has seated herself in a rendezvous and is carving out an image of the love God, Manmatha with fragrant “Kasthuri!” Then she painted below the idol, the figure of the peacock, the vahana of Manmatha! She then wrote a tender twig of mango as the arrow of the love God! Later she addressed and bowed to him saying “O, the God of Five Arrows! Don't torture me!” Radha, taking control of you through her meditation and visualizing you before her, is weeping! She is laughing at times and feeling sorrow at other times! She feels miserable at the next moment! Suddenly she leaves for some other place forgetting her sorrow!”
“O Sri Hari! Every moment she is calling out “ O Madhava! I have taken refuge in your lotus feet! As You are invisible to me and present at some other place, the moon is burning my body with his cold rays!” She suffers thus and is always thinking of you” Poet Jayadeva addresses the devotees and says that if they feel that his words are the best, they should enjoy them in full! They should listen to the words of the friend of Radha suffering from the pangs of love or Viraha! It is only a lover or scholar of Sanskrit language who can enjoy every word of the description of Radha pining away for the Divine company of Krishna. Is it not the union of the Jivatma with Paramatma the be all and end all of human existence on this terra firma?
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