The songs lack sensual passion and religious ecstasy. In these songs Krishna is not divine he is a simple cowherd, a hero of the village folk. In Hala’s Gatha Saptasati Krishna removes a dust particle, kicked up by cows, from Radha’s eye thus declaring her exalted position in her heart and humbling the other women. The idea that God (Krishna) loves all with equal intensity was visually expressed by making the women dance in a circle, each one equidistant from Krishna who stood playing the flute in the centre.Īround this time Prakrit literature started referring to one Radha who was portrayed as Krishna’s favorite. In the Bhagvata Purana, compiled around 10th century in South India, where the idea of devotion to God visualized as Krishna was elaborated, Krishna disappears when the milkmaids become possessive and seek exclusive attention. The women were a collective with whom Krishna danced and sported. But there was no mention of Radha or any particular milkmaid. This described in detail Krishna’s life in Gokul including his dalliances with milkmaids.
Later around 400 AD, the Harivamsa was added as an appendix to the Mahabharata. The earliest tales of Krishna, found in the Mahabharat, compiled between 300 BC and 300 AD, only refer to, but do not describe, his early life in the village of cowherds. It is difficult for many people to accept that religious ideas have a history of their own. To understand this, we have to look at the historical development of Krishna worship in India. Even the most sacred book of Krishna, the Bhagavat Puran, does not mention Radha. In Pandharpur, Maharashtra, and Dwarka, Gujarat, he stands alone with the temple of his wife Rukmini nearby. In Udupi, Karnataka, and Guruvayoor, Kerala, and Nathdvara, Rajasthan, Krishna stands alone as a cowherd boy. In Puri, Orissa, Krishna is enshrined with his sister, Subhadra, and his brother Balaram. And yet, some of the biggest Krishna temples in India do not enshrine the image of Radha. Theirs is an eternal love story The stuff of romantic songs.
It is impossible to think of Krishna without thinking of Radha.
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