Krishna and Radha’s love is perhaps one of the most iconic romances in Hindu mythology. Their divine love has been glorified and eulogized for centuries through songs, stories, dances, and artworks. But does Krishna truly love Radha? To answer this question, we must first understand who Krishna and Radha are and the origins of their fabled love.
Who is Krishna?
Krishna is considered to be an avatar or incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. According to Hindu scriptures, Krishna was born in northern India around 3,228 BCE. He was born in a prison cell in the village of Mathura to Devaki and her husband Vasudeva. The evil king Kamsa, Devaki’s brother, wanted to kill Krishna because of a prophecy that the eighth son of Devaki would kill Kamsa. However, Krishna’s parents managed to sneak him out of the prison and exchange him with a baby girl. Krishna then grew up as a cowherd in Vrindavan under his foster parents Nanda and Yashoda.
Even as a young boy, Krishna displayed his divine powers and protected the village from many threats and demons. He was known to be very playful, mischievous and charming. Tales of his childhood depict him as the lover and protector of the gopis (milkmaids) of Vrindavan. Known for playing the flute, Krishna has been portrayed as an extremely handsome and enchanting god. He is often depicted with blue-hued skin and a peacock feather in his hair.
As an adult, Krishna returned to Mathura and killed his uncle Kamsa, fulfilling the prophecy. He later established his kingdom in Dwarka in Gujarat. In the great war depicted in the Mahabharata, Krishna served as the charioteer and guide of the Pandava prince Arjuna. Over the years, the stories of Krishna’s life became highly mythologized and he came to be revered as a supreme god in the Hindu pantheon.
Who is Radha?
Radha was born in a village near Vrindavan. She was a milkmaid and lived with her two sisters Anuradha and Vrishabhanu, and her mother Kalavati. She is said to have been married to a man named Abhimanyu but left him to become one of Krishna’s gopis in Vrindavan. Her love and devotion for Krishna knew no bounds and she longed for his company day and night.
Radha is regarded as Krishna’s beloved and the two are often worshipped together by devotees. Temples dedicated to Radha and Krishna depict them as a loving couple. In scriptures and folklore, Radha’s love for Krishna symbolizes the longing of the individual human soul to unite with the divine. Radha’s agony in separation (viraha) from Krishna and ultimate union with him became a metaphor for a devotee’s unification with God after yearning and pining for his love.
The Legend of Krishna and Radha’s Love
There are many stories about Krishna and Radha’s love. According to legends, even as a young boy, Krishna was enamored by Radha’s beauty, grace and devotion for him. Their love is said to have blossomed in the beautiful forests of Vrindavan as they danced and frolicked with the gopis. Krishna would even sneak away from his village to meet Radha and spend time with her.
When Krishna moved away to Mathura and Dwarka, Radha was left devastated and longed to be reunited with him. At the same time, Krishna too yearned for Radha and would sometimes return to Vrindavan just to get a glimpse of her. Their love inspired the Raas Leela – the dance of divine love – where Krishna danced with Radha and the gopis in ecstatic joy. Radha’s love was unconditional and she forgave Krishna for all his mischiefs and dalliances with other gopis because she could not bear his separation.
According to some traditions, Radha eventually followed Krishna to Dwarka and they reunited. However, there remain ambiguities and variations in accounts of Radha’s life story and her relationship with Krishna based on different traditions.
The Philosophical Significance of Krishna and Radha’s Love
At the metaphysical level, Radha signifying the human soul and Krishna symbolizing the divine has a profound philosophical meaning in Vaishnavism. Radha’s longing and pining for Krishna mirrored a devotee’s intense love and yearning to feel the presence of god. The bond between Radha and Krishna depicted the spiritual union between Jivatma (individual soul) and Paramatma (supreme soul). This philosophy laid the foundation of the Bhakti (devotional) traditions focused on cultivating an intimate and mystical relationship with god.
In Caitanya school of Vaishnavism, Radha is venerated as the supreme goddess who fulfills devotees’ desires. As Radha-Krishna, she is the energy that empowers Krishna. The love between Radha and Krishna is considered to be sacred, divine and transcendental – the highest form of devotion. Their love depicts the human-divine relationship between the lover and the beloved.
Was Krishna’s Love for Radha Real or Symbolic?
Opinions remain divided on whether Krishna’s love for Radha was real or simply metaphorical. According to traditional narratives, Krishna’s love for Radha was unequaled and beyond ordinary human love. His flute ceaselessly called out to her. But at the same time, as a divine incarnation, Krishna also had a larger purpose of establishing dharma and destroying evil forces.
Some scholars argue that while Radha’s love for Krishna was real, Krishna’s love for her was perhaps more symbolic – a means of depicting the relationship between the yearning devotee and the higher truth of the divine. Others however believe that Krishna was smitten by Radha and experienced intense love for her in a human way, even if fleetingly.
Krishna’s dalliances with many gopis like Rukmini, Satyabhama and his marriage to them, have also led some to conclude that his love towards Radha may have been more allegorical than actual. However, Radha-Krishna devotees insist that none could match the unconditional, pure love Radha had for Krishna.
Ultimately, Krishna was not an ordinary human but an avatar born to destroy evil and establish a just, ethical order. So his life must be seen from that larger perspective beyond a single romantic liaison. But Radha’s love shakes the very foundation of bhakti and presents the most mystical vision of a devotee surrendering completely to the deity.
Conclusion
To conclude, while the authenticity of Krishna and Radha’s mythical love affair remains nebulous, their story powerfully symbolizes the intense devotional bond between the seeker and the divine. The Radha-Krishna romance reverberates across texts, temple sculptures, dance forms, music and poetic works as the ultimate exemplar of divine love transcending the physical realm. Their story will continue to imaginatively capture human imagination, inspiring perennial quests for that mythical merger of the mortal and the immortal in the mystical world of Vrindavan’s forests.