Radha Krishna
Radha-Krishna is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and shakti Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God, in several Krishnaite traditions of Vaishnavism.
In Krishnaism, Krishna is referred to as Svayam Bhagavan and Radha is illustrated as the primeval potency of the three main potencies of God, Hladini, Sandhini, and Samvit, of which Radha is an embodiment of the feeling of love towards Krishna.
With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess. Krishna is said to be satiated only by devotional service in loving servitude, personified by Radha. Various devotees worship her to attain Krishna via her. Radha is also depicted to be Krishna himself, split into two for the purpose of his enjoyment. As per scriptures, Radha is considered as the complete incarnation of Mahalakshmi.
It is believed that Krishna enchants the world, but Radha enchants even him. Therefore, she is the supreme goddess of all, and together they are called Radha-Krishna. In many Vaishnava sections, Radha Krishna are often identified as the avatars of Lakshmi Narayana.
Names and epithets
Radha Krishna can be broken into two: Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu, which means, "all attractive" or "dark blue", and his shakti Radha, the incarnation of Lakshmi, which means "the pleasing one".Many significant epithets accorded to Krishna including - Radha Ramana and Radha Vallabh, which means "the lover and the beloved of Radha" are directly derived from the name of his consort, Radha. Similarly, epithets of Radha including - Krishna Kanta, which means "the consort of Krishna" and Krishna Vallabha, which means "the eternal companion of Krishna", are directly associated with the name of Krishna.
Literature
Radha Krishna's first literary mention was found in King Hala's Prakrit text Gatha Saptasati which is composed of 700 verses and was written in the 1st century CE. Later, the popular Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva in 12th century CE widely depicted Radha and Krishna as a couple.According to scriptures like Brahma Vaivarta Purana and Garga Samhita, Radha-Krishna are the supreme deities. Content of both the scriptures are majorly based on the divine pastimes of Radha Krishna in Vrindavan and Goloka. The other relevant texts mentioning Radha Krishna are the Radhopnishad, Radhika Tapani Upanishad, Gopala Tapani Upanishad, Shiva Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, Matsya Purana, Devi-Bhagavata Purana, Narad Purana, Narada Pancharatra, Radha Tantra, Brahma Samhita and Chaitanya Charitamrita. Radha is also indirectly mentioned in Bhagavata Purana along with Krishna under many different names like "Aradhika" and "Gopi". Adi Shankracharya also mentioned Radha under the name of Radhika in his work called "Achyuta Ashtakam" which is dedicated to the Achyuta form of Krishna.
The devotional works of Jayadeva, Nimbarkacharya, Rasik saints like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu along with his six disciple goswamis, Bhakti poet-saints Narsinh Mehta, Vidyapati, Chandidas, Meera Bai, Surdas and Swami Haridas played pivotal role in spreading devotion to the divine couple.
According to several Hindu denominations including Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Nimbarka Sampradaya, Pushtimarg, and Swaminarayan Sampradaya, it is believed that Radha is not just one cowherd maiden, but the origin of all the Ashtasakhi, Gopis, or divine personalities that participate in the rasa dance.
Shakti and Shaktiman
The common derivation of shakti and shaktiman, that is, female and male principle in a god implies that shakti and shaktiman are the same. Each and every god has its partner, or Shakti, and without this Shakti, is sometimes viewed being without essential power. It is a not uncommon feature of Hinduism when worship of a pair rather than one personality constitutes worship of God, such is worship of Radha Krishna. Traditions worshiping Krishna, as svayam bhagavan, who is male, include reference and veneration to his Radha, who is worshiped as supreme. A view that exists of orthodox Krishnaism, the sect of the worship of Krishna, is that Radha is shakti and Krishna is shaktiman and are always found without any tinge of materialistic attributes or cause.Theology and philosophy
From the Vaishnava point of view the divine feminine energy implies a divine source of energy, God or shaktiman. "Sita relates to Rama; Lakshmi belongs to Narayana; Radha has her Krishna." As Krishna is believed to be the source of all manifestations of God, "Radha, his consort, is the original source of all shaktis" or feminine manifestation of divine energy.The first theologo-philosophical justification for worshiping Radha-Krishna was given by Nimbarkacharya, a founder of the Nimbarka Sampradaya in 12th or 13th century CE. In accordance with the Sahitya Akademi Encyclopaedia, he more than any other acharyas gave Radha a place as a deity.
A number of interpretations according to traditions possess a common root of personalism in the understanding of worship. Specifically Chaitanyaite Gaudiya Vaishnava doctrine and mission is fiercely "personalistic," proclaiming the supremacy of Krishna, the identification of Chaitanya as Radha-Krishna, the reality and eternality of individual selves, and a method for approaching the absolute reality and the Deity as a person first and foremost.
Jiva Goswami in his Priti Sandarbha states that each of the Gopis exhibits a different level of intensity of passion, among which Radha's is the greatest.
In his famous dialogs Ramananda Raya describes Radha to Chaitanya and quotes, among other texts, a verse from Chaitanya Charitamrta 2.8.100, before he goes on to describe her role in the pastimes of Vrindavana.
The central pivot point of the theology is related to the word rasa. The theological use of the word can be found very early, about two thousand years before the Nimbarka or Chaitanya schools, in a phrase that the tradition frequently quotes: "Truly, the Lord is rasa" from the Brahma sutras. This statement expresses the view that God is the one who enjoys the ultimate rasa or spiritual rapture, emotions.
According to Swami Krishnananda, between the two incarnations of Vishnu, Rama signifies human perfection, whereas Krishna represents divine perfection; Rama establishes the ideals of "discipline, law, conduct and righteousness" and hence is called Maryada-Purushottama, and Krishna represents "God playing the divine sport of his transcendent and supermental magnificence, glory and perfection in the world of mortals", and hence is called Lila-Purushottama.
In traditions
Radha Krishna are worshiped in the following Hindu denominations:Bhagavata
In Vedic and Puranic literature, Radha and other forms of the root word Radh have meaning of ‘perfection’, ‘success’ and even ‘wealth’. Lord of Success, Indra was referred to as Radhaspati. In references to Mahavishnu as the Lord of Fortune and freely used by Jayadeva as Jaya Jayadeva Hare – the victorious Hari, and ‘Radhaspati’ all found in many places. The word Radha occurs in the Atharva Veda, Taittiriya Brahmana and Taittiriya Samhita.Charlotte Vaudeville, in the article Evolution of Love Symbolism in Bhagavatism draws some parallel to Nappinnai, appearing in Godha's magnum opus Thiruppavai and in Nammalwar's references to Nappinnani, the daughter-in-law of Nandagopa. Nappinnai is believed to be the source of Radha's conception in Prakrit and Sanskrit literature although their characteristic relations with Krishna are different. In the ritual dance called Kuravai, Krishna dances with his wife Nappinnai. "It is a complex relationship, for the devotee is the ‘same as and yet different from’ the Lord, and so even in the joy of union there is the pain of separation. Indeed, the highest form of devotion, according to Yamunacarya, comes not in union but after the union, in the ‘fear of new separation’".
Yasastilaka Champukavya and Gaha Sattasai make references to Radha and Krishna well before Jayadeva's period. There are elaborate references of Radha and Krishna in Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Garga Samhita and Padma Purana.
Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya
, as the name suggests, usually refers to the region of Bengal. Early Bengali literature gives a vivid description of the depiction and evolution of understanding of Radha and Krishna.In this Bengali tradition, metaphysical status and Radha-worship are considered to have been established by Krsnadasa in his Chaitanya Charitamrta, where he represents the doctrine that prevailed among the Vrindavan Caitanyaites following Caitanya's demise in 1533. It is believed that Krishna, desiring to experience fully what it is like to love Krishna as Radha does, appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And what Radha does in her longing for Krishna is to chant his names. One of the self manifested Deities established by Gopala Bhatta Goswami is called Radha Ramana. Since Chaityana Mahaprabhu is seen as combined form of Radha-Krishna, Radha Ramana is viewed not only as Krishna, but as a unified form of Radha-Krishna. And worship in his temple, located in the centre of Vrindavana is a perpetual daily affair, involving several prescribed events throughout the day, with the goal of being theoretical and remote, but with aspiration of the possibility to attend and associate directly with Radha and Krishna.