| Krishna & Radha |
The Radha-Krishna Romance
The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. It's indeed hard to miss the many legends and paintings illustrating Krishna's love affairs, of which the Radha-Krishna affair is the most memorable. Krishna's relationship with Radha, his favorite among the 'gopis' (cow-herding maidens), has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of art forms, and since the sixteenth century appears prominently as a motif in North Indian paintings. The allegorical love of Radha has found expression in some great Bengali poetical works of Govinda Das, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Jayadeva the author of Geet Govinda.
Krishna's youthful dalliances with the 'gopis' are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul. Radha's utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union with the divine. This kind of love is of the highest form of devotion in Vaishnavism, and is symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or beloved and lover.
Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. Since childhood they were close to each other - they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled them apart. He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him. He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the universe. She waited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still waited. So great was Radha's love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is refered to, and Krishna worship is though to be incomplete without the deification of Radha.
One day the two most talked about lovers come together for a final single meeting. Suradasa in his Radha-Krishna lyrics relates the various amorous delights of the union of Radha and Krishna in this ceremonious 'Gandharva' form of their wedding in front of five hundred and sixty million people of Vraj and all the gods and goddesses of heaven. The sage Vyasa refers to this as the 'Rasa'. Age after age, this evergreen love theme has engrossed poets, painters, musicians and all Krishna devotees alike.
Legends of Radha Krishna
The legends of Radha-Krishna have become immortal. There are numerous legends and stories of Radha and Krishna depicting their true love. Radha's devotion and dedication towards Sri Krishna is the most sincere one. Here are some legends of Radha-Krishna portraying their love for each other.
Legend of Hot Milk
This is one interesting story showing the eternal relation of Radha and Krishna. Radha was not married to Lord Krishna. The immeasurable love of Krishna for Radha made Krishna's wives jealous of Radha. Once, they all planned a mischief to make Radha suffer. They set out a bowl of burning hot milk. They gave the bowl to Radha, saying that Krishna had sent it for her. Radha readily drank the hot milk.
When the wives returned to Krishna, they found him full of painful ulcers. This shows that Krishna resides in every pore of Radha i.e. why the hot milk didn't touch Radha, but it affected Krishna. He took all her pain and miseries upon himself.
Legend of Charanaamrit
This is another sweet story depicting the intense love between Radha and Krishna. Once, Sri Krishna got very ill. Krishna asked that he would be alright if, he would get the Charanaamrit of a true devotee. All the Gopis were asked but none of them offered. They were afraid of committing a serious offense, by offering the water with which they had washed their feet to Sri Krishna.
When Radha came to know about the situation, she said: "Take as much as you like. What does it matter if I have to go to hell as long as my Lord is released of His pain and ailment"! Radha offered the Charanaamrit with true heart. It is due to this fact; it is believed that Radha could not marry Lord Krishna. Radha loved Krishna from the core of her heart but still she offered Charanaamrit to Krishna to save him from his sickness.
Radha and Krishna were celestial beings and their love was eternal. Whether they were married or not, their love made them united for ever.