The appearance place of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī

The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Rāval, India on October 17, 2003

By the mercy of Śrī Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, we have come to the appearance place of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti, Mahābhāva Svarūpiṇī Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Due to differences in different kalpas (millenniums), the pastimes of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s appearance manifest in various ways.

vṛṣabhānūdadhi-nava-śaśi-lekhe!
lalitā-sakhi! guṇa-ramita-viśākhe! (3)

Stavamālā, Gītāvalī section, song 14 by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī

[O new moon arisen from the ocean of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, O dear most friend of Lalitā, O You who have enchanted and made Viśākhā happy with Your qualities of friendship, compassion and loyalty to Kṛṣṇa.]

Śrīmatī Rādhikā is very near and dear to Śrī Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja. Therefore, most people call Her Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī, the beloved daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja. Very few people call Her Kīrtidā-nandinī. The word rāvala* means great landlord, and therefore, this place is named after Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja. One early morning, he went to the Yamunā to bathe and saw a very effulgent hundred-petalled lotus flower there. In the middle of the lotus was a beautiful baby girl Śrīmatī Rādhikā. With great affection, he took that girl to his house, gave Her to Kīrtidā-sundarī, his lovely wife Kīrtidā, and they adopted Her.

Sometimes, Śrīmatī Rādhikā appears directly in Varṣāṇā. There, Śrī Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja went to Vṛṣabhānu-kuṇḍa early in the morning and, just as here, he found Śrīmatī Rādhikā there on a hundred-petalled lotus.

Understanding that the Supreme Lord, sarva-śaktimān (the all-powerful) Śrī Kṛṣṇa, had already appeared on Earth, Śrī Nārada Muni concluded that His svarūpa-śakti, His complete internal potency, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, must have also appeared somewhere. He went to the house of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja and, after receiving his obeisances, asked him if he had any children. Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja replied, “Yes, I have a son named Śrīdāma.” Ṛṣi Nārada asked, “Do you have a daughter?” Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja replied, “Yes, we have one daughter.” Ṛṣi Nārada said, “I want to see Her, to give Her blessings and read Her future.”

Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja became very happy that Śrī Nārada Muni wanted to see his daughter. Śrī Nāradajī asked him to quickly bring some paraphernalia for the worship and for Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s receiving blessings. As soon as Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja went outside, Nārada Muni began to pray to Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s lotus feet, “Kadā kariṣyasīha māṁ kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-bhājanam – O young daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, when will You bless me with Your merciful glance?”

Śrīmatī Rādhikā then displayed Her kiśorī form, Her ever-present, eternal form as a thirteen-and-a-half-year-old girl along with Lalitā, Viśākhā and all the aṣṭa-sakhī gopīs. At that time, Śrī Nārada Muni felt very happy. That is why he is always present in Vṛndāvana to get the darśana of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

We hope that by coming to this place, by hearing the hari-kathā from the lotus mouth of Śrī Guru, and by touching the dust here, this appearance place of Śrīmatī Rādhikā may also appear in our hearts and give us mercy and inspiration. We hope that Her nearest and dearest, Śrī Guru, will pray for us so that we will one day become Her maidservants.

* Rāval is the appearance place of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, who is the embodiment of mahābhāva, the essence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency. She is also Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti, or internal energy. Only by great fortune will someone desire to visit this holy place and reverentially touch and remember it.

The pastime of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s appearance in this world is narrated differently in different eras (kalpa-bheda).                                             

vṛṣabhānūdadhi-nava-śaśi-lekhe!
lalitā-sakhi! guṇa-ramita-viśākhe! (3)

“O new moon arisen from the ocean of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, O dear most friend of Lalitā, O You who have enchanted and made Viśākhā happy with Your qualities of friendship, compassion and loyalty to Kṛṣṇa.”

The one who loves Śrīmatī Rādhikā the most is Her father, Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja. For this reason, devotees usually refer to Her as “Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī” (the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja). Very few call Her “Kīrtidā-nandinī” (the daughter of Kīrtidā-devī).

The word rāvala means “an influential landlord”. This place is named after Śrī Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja, who was a most influential landlord.

Once, in the early morning, when Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja went to bathe in the Yamunā, he saw in the water a radiant lotus flower of one hundred petals. In the middle of that flower lay a beautiful tiny baby, Śrīmatī Rādhikā Herself. He tenderly lifted Her into His arms and took Her home, where he placed Her in the lap of his wife, Kīrtidā.

Sometimes Śrīmatī Rādhikā appears in Varsānā, where every morning, Śrī Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja goes to Vṛṣabhānu-kuṇḍa. On one such morning, he found Śrīmatī Rādhikā on a lotus flower in the kuṇḍa. In other eras, this took place at Rāval.

Śrī Nārada knew that the possessor of all powers, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, already had appeared on this earth and concluded that the embodiment of Kṛṣṇa’s complete potency, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, must have surely appeared here also. He proceeded to search for Her high and low. He finally arrived at the house of Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja. “Do you have a child?” Nārada asked him.

“Yes, I have a son named Śrīdāma.”

“Do you also have a daughter?” Nārada asked.

“Yes, we also have a daughter.”

“I want to see Her and bless Her.” Nārada said, “I also want to do Her horoscope.”

Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja became delighted and brought out his baby girl. Nārada then asked him to fetch the necessary items to bless the child and do Her horoscope. As soon as he had left the room, Nārada turned to Śrīmatījī and began to pray, “Kadā kariṣyasīha māṁ kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-bhājanam – O young daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, when will You bless me with Your merciful glance?”

Then, Śrīmatī Rādhājī, along with Lalitā, Viśākhā and Her other sakhīs gave Nārada darśana of Her eternal form as a fresh youth. Upon beholding this form, Śrī Nārada became overwhelmed with ecstatic, transcendental bliss.

The desire to become a maidservant of Śrīmatī Rādhikā awakens in the heart of one who comes to this place, hears pure Vaiṣṇavas speak hari-kathā here and touches its sacred dust. (An excerpt from Śrī Vraja-maṇḍala Parikramā, Part 2, Mahāvana-Gokula & Rāval)

Source: Purebhakti.com

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org and/or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)