R
Radha
In later devotional (bhakti) literature,
Radha is the woman portrayed as the
god Krishna’s lover and companion.
Radha’s love for Krishna is a symbol of
the soul’s hunger for union with the
divine, expressed through the poetic
conventions of eroticlove.
Although a few references to Radha
in poetry date back to the seventh cen-
tury, her first developed portrayal is in
Jayadeva’slyric poem the Gitagovinda,
written around the twelfth century. The
Gitagovindatells the story of Radha and
Krishna’s passion, their conflict and sep-
aration, and their eventual reconcilia-
tion. Jayadeva’s portrayal of Radha is
unique. In the poem Radha wishes to
have Krishna all to herself, as his sole
lover and companion. She sulks jealously
when he flirts with other women and
angrily dismisses him when he comes to
her marked with the signs of another
tryst. In the end, however, they reconcile
and make passionate love as a symbol of
their union.
This picture of love, separation, and
reunion between Radha and Krishna
gains a sharper focus through the con-
text set by Jayadeva’s hymn Dashavatara
Stotra. In it Jayadeva lists the achieve-
ments of Krishna’s ten incarnations
(avatars) immediately after the text’s
introductory verses. The concluding
verses of the hymn explicitly refer to
Krishna as the ultimate source of the
ten avatars, reminding hearers that the
person taking part in this drama of
jealousy, repentance, and reconcilia-
tion is none other than the Lord of the
Universe Himself, who in ages past has
acted to preserve the world from
destruction. Unlike earlier depictions
of Krishna in which his connections
with his devotees (bhakta) are por-
trayed as a form of “play” (lila), the
Krishna found in the Gitagovinda
seems less lofty and detached, more
intimately and intensely involved with
Radha as the object of his affection.
The poem renders Krishna as one who
feels emotions deeply and truly and
meaningfully reciprocates the feelings
of his devotee.
Jayadeva’s poetic focus is on the
inner dynamic between the two lovers,
and he reveals little about Radha outside
this relationship. In the time after the
Gitagovinda, Radha’s character devel-
oped in various ways. Some poets
describe her as married to another man,
thus giving Radha’s trysts with Krishna
the color of adulterous, forbidden love.
This love is considered more intense in
Indian poetics, since the lovers have
nothing to gain from the liaison but the
love itself and stand to lose everything
should they be discovered. Here Radha
stands as the symbol of one willing to
risk and lose all for the sake of love itself.
The other way in which Radha’s char-
acter is developed runs contrary to this
adulterous portrayal. In some traditions
Radha is not drawn as a simple woman
consumed with love for Krishna, but as
his wife, consort, and divine power
(shakti), through whose agency Krishna
is able to act in the world. This deified
image of Radha was particularly impor-
tant for the Nimbarkareligious commu-
nity, which conceived of Radha and
Krishna as forms of Lakshmi and
Narayana. Another group espousing
this equality was the Radhavallabh
community, whose members particularly
stressed the love Krishna felt for Radha.
For further information about Radha,
see Barbara Stoller Miller (ed. and
trans.), The Love Song of the Dark Lord,
1977; and David R. Kinsley, Hindu
Goddesses, 1986.Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli
(1888–1975) Modern Indian philosopher
and statesman. Like many elite IndiansRadha