Editing Radha (section)

== Literature and symbolism ==
[[File:Jayadeva pay homage to Krishna from gita govinda Series by manaku.jpg|thumb|[[Jayadeva]] recites the mantra to Radha Krishna by Manaku.<ref>{{cite book |last1=D. Prahladacharya |first1=Rāṣṭrīyasaṃskr̥tavidyāpīṭhaṃ Lal|title=Utkalaśrīmañjūṣālanguage|date=2002 |publisher=Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHrXAAAAMAAJ&q=jayadeva+kanyakubja|language=en}}</ref> ]]

Radha is an important goddess in the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]] traditions of Hinduism. Her traits, manifestations, descriptions, and roles vary by region. Radha is intrinsic with Krishna. In early Indian literature, mentions of her are elusive. The traditions that venerate her explain this is because she is the secret treasure hidden within the sacred scriptures. During the [[Bhakti movement]] era in the sixteenth century, she became more well known as her extraordinary love for Krishna was highlighted.{{sfn|Pauwels|1996|pp=29–43}}<ref>Vaudeville, Charlotte in {{harvnb|Hawley|Wulff|1982|p=2}}</ref>

Radha's first major appearance in the 12th-century ''[[Gita Govinda]]'' in Sanskrit by [[Jayadeva]],{{sfn|Love Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva's Gītagovinda|1977}}{{sfn|Archer|2004|loc=The Gita Govinda}}<ref>Miller, Barbara Stoler in {{harvnb|Hawley|Wulff|1982|p=13}}</ref>{{sfn|Datta|1988|pp=1414–1421}} as well as [[Nimbarkacharya]]'s philosophical works.{{sfn|Ramnarace|2014|p=}} Thus in the ''[[Gita Govinda]]'' Krishna speaks to Radha:
{{blockquote|<poem>
O woman with desire, place on this patch of flower-strewn floor your lotus foot,
And let your foot through beauty win,
To me who am the Lord of All, O be attached, now always yours.
O follow me, my little Radha.
</poem>|sign=Jayadeva|source=''Gita Govinda''{{sfn|Archer|2004|loc=The Gita Govinda}}}}

However, the source of Jayadeva's heroine in his poem remains a puzzle of the Sanskrit literature. A possible explanation is Jayadeva's friendship with [[Nimbarka|Nimbarkacharya]],{{sfn|Vemsani|2016|p=197}} the first acharya to establish the worship of Radha-Krishna.{{sfnm|1a1=Hardy|1y=1987|1pp=387–392|2a1=Ramnarace|2y=2014|2p=}} Nimbarka, in accordance with the [[Sahitya Akademi]]'s Encyclopaedia, more than any other acharyas gave Radha a place as a deity.{{sfn|Datta|1988|p=1415}}

Prior to Gita Govinda, Radha was also mentioned in text ''[[Gaha Sattasai|Gatha Saptasati]]'' which is a collection of 700 verses composed in [[Prakrit]] language by King [[Hāla]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jash|first=Pranabananda|title=Radha-Madhava Sub-Sect in Eastern India|date=1979|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=40|pages=177–184|jstor=44141958|issn=2249-1937}}</ref> The text was written around first or second century AD. Gatha Saptasati mentioned Radha explicitly in its verse:{{sfn|Miller|1975|pp=655–671}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Srinivasan|first1=K.S.|last2=Ramanujan|first2=A.K.|date=1982|title=What is Indian Literature?|journal=Indian Literature|volume=25|issue=4|pages=5–15|jstor=24158041|issn=0019-5804}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite book|last1=Gokhale|first1=Namita|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KWJ7DwAAQBAJ&q=Radha+in+Padma+Purana&pg=PT7|title=Finding Radha: The Quest for Love|last2=Lal|first2=Malashri|date=2018-12-10|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-93-5305-361-1|language=en}}</ref>

{{Verse translation|Mukhamarutena tvam krsna gorajo radhikaya apanayan {{!}}
Etasam ballavinam anyasam api gauravam harasi {{!}}{{!}}|"O Krishna, by the puff of breath from your mouth, as you blow the dust from Radha's face, you take away the glories of other milkmaids."|rtl1=}}

Radha also appears in the [[Puranas]] namely the ''[[Padma Purana]]'' (as an avatar of [[Lakshmi]]), the ''[[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]]'' (as a form of [[Mahadevi]]), the ''[[Brahma Vaivarta Purana]]'' (as Radha-Krishna supreme deity), the ''[[Matsya Purana]]'' (as form of [[Devi]]), the ''[[Linga Purana]]'' (as form of Lakshmi), the ''[[Varaha Purana]]'' (as consort of Krishna), the [[Naradiya Purana|Narada Purana]] (as goddess of love), the ''[[Skanda Purana]]'' and the ''[[Shiva Purana]]''.{{sfn|Miller|1975|pp=655–671}}{{Sfn|Kinsley|1988}}<ref>{{Citation|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|title=Hinduism and its basic texts|date=2017-07-14|work=Reading the Sacred Scriptures|pages=157–170|location=New York |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315545936-11|isbn=978-1-315-54593-6}}</ref> The 15th and 16th century [[Krishnaism|Krishnaite]] [[Bhakti]] poet-saints [[Vidyapati]], [[Chandidas]], [[Meera Bai]], [[Surdas]], [[Swami Haridas]], as well as [[Narsinh Mehta]] (1350–1450), who preceded all of them, wrote about the romance of Krishna and Radha too.{{sfnm|1a1=Archer|1y=2004|1loc=5.3 Later Poetry|2a1=Hardy|2y=1987|2pp=387–392|3a1=Rosenstein|3y=1997|3p=|4a1=Hawley|4y=2005|4p=}} Thus, Chandidas in his Bengali-language ''Shri Krishna Kirtana'', a poem of Bhakti, depicts Radha and Krishna as divine, but in human love.{{sfn|Stewart|1986|pp=152–154}}{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=385|loc=Shrikrishna Kirtana}} Though not named in the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', [[Visvanatha Chakravarti]] (c. 1626–1708) interprets an unnamed favourite gopi in the scripture as Radha.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Online Vedabase—The topmost source of spiritual knowledge|url=https://vedabase.io/en/|access-date=2021-06-20|website=vedabase.io|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=das|first=Bhadra Balaram|date=2016-09-09|title=The Biggest Mystery of Srimad Bhagavatam—Srimati Radha|url=http://mayapurvoice.com/svagatam/biggest-mystery-srimad-bhagavatam-srimati-radha/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Mayapur Voice|language=en-US}}</ref> She makes appearances in  ''Venisamhara'' by [[Bhatta Narayana]] (c. 800 CE), ''Dhvanyaloka'' by [[Anandavardhana]] (c. 820–890 CE) and its commentary ''Dhvanyalokalocana'' by [[Abhinavagupta]] (c. 950 – 1016 CE), Rajasekhara's (late ninth-early tenth century) Kāvyamīmāṃsā, ''Dashavatara-charita'' (1066 CE) by [[Kshemendra]] and ''Siddhahemasabdanusana'' by [[Hemachandra]] (c. 1088–1172).<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Manring|first=Rebecca J.|date=2019-12-01|title=Rādhātantram: Rādhā as Guru in the Service of the Great Goddess|journal=International Journal of Hindu Studies|language=en|volume=23|issue=3|pages=259–282|doi=10.1007/s11407-019-09264-1|s2cid=213054011 |issn=1574-9282}}</ref> In most of these, Radha is depicted as someone who is deeply in love with Krishna and is deeply saddened when Krishna leaves her.<ref>Miller, Barbara Stoler in {{harvnb|Hawley|Wulff|1982|p=14}}</ref>{{sfn|Kinsley|1988}} But, on contrary, Radha of the ''[[Radha Tantra|Rādhātantram]]'' is portrayed as audacious, sassy, confident, omniscient and divine personality who is in full control at all times. In ''Rādhātantram,'' Radha is not merely the consort but is treated as the independent goddess. Here, Krishna is portrayed as her disciple and Radha as his guru.<ref name=":9" />

[[File:Radha and Krishna by DHURANDHAR MV.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.9|Painting of Radha with Krishna, by [[M. V. Dhurandhar]], 1915.]]
Charlotte Vaudeville theorizes that Radha may have inspired by the pairing of the goddess [[Ekanamsha]] (associated with [[Durga]]) with [[Jagannatha]] (who is identified with Krishna) of [[Puri]] in Eastern India. Though [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]] (15th century, the founder of [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]]) is not known to have worshiped the deity couple of Radha-Krishna, his disciples around the [[Vrindavan]] region, affirmed Radha as the ''hladini shakti'' ("energy of bliss") of Krishna, associating her with the Primordial Divine Mother. While the poetry of Jayadeva and [[Vidyapati]] from [[Bengal]] treat Radha as Krishna's beloved, the Gaudiya poetry elevates her to a divine consort.<ref>Vaudeville, Charlotte in {{harvnb|Hawley|Wulff|1982|pp=9–12}}</ref> In Western India, [[Vallabhacharya]]'s Krishna-centric sampradaya [[Pushtimarg]], Radha is revered as the ''Swamini'' of Krishna, who is worthy of devotion.<ref>Vaudeville, Charlotte in {{harvnb|Hawley|Wulff|1982|pp=11–2}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Vemsani|2016|p=222}}: "According to Vallabha tradition, she (Radha) is the swamini of Krishna, who is worthy of devotion."</ref>

According to Jaya Chemburkar, there are at least two significant and different aspects of Radha in the literature associated with her, such as ''Sri Radhika namasahasram''. One aspect is she is a milkmaid (gopi), another as a female deity similar to those found in the Hindu goddess traditions.{{sfn|Chemburkar|1976|pp=107–116}} She also appears in Hindu arts as ''[[Ardhanari]]'' with Krishna, that is an iconography where half of the image is Radha and the other half is Krishna. This is found in sculpture such as those discovered in [[Maharashtra]], and in texts such as ''[[Shiva Purana]]'' and ''[[Brahma Vaivarta Purana]]''. In these texts, this ''Ardha Nari'' is sometimes referred to as ''Ardharadhavenudhara [[murti]]'', and it symbolizes the complete union and inseparability of Radha and Krishna.{{sfn|Pradhan|2008|pp=207–213}}

D.M. Wulff demonstrates through a close study of her Sanskrit and Bengali sources that Radha is both the "consort" and "conqueror" of Krishna and that "metaphysically Radha is understood as co-substantial and co-eternal with Krishna." Indeed, the more popular vernacular traditions prefer to worship the couple and often tilt the balance of power towards Radha.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kripal|first=Jeffrey J.|date=1998|title=Review of Devī: Goddesses of India|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion|volume=66|issue=1|pages=176–179|doi=10.1093/jaarel/66.1.176|jstor=1466250|issn=0002-7189}}</ref>

Graham M. Schweig in his work "''The divine feminine theology of Krishna''" in context with Radha Krishna stated that, "The divine couple, Radha and Krishna, comprise the essence of godhead. Radha is therefore acknowledged by Chaitanyaite Vaishnavas to be part of very center of their theological doctrine. Sacred images of the forms of Radha Krishna, standing together side by side, are elaborately worshiped in the Indian temples. Through her image, her divine character and her amorous and passionate relations with Krishna, Radha is the constant meditation of practitioners.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bryant|first=Edwin F.|title=Krishna: A Sourcebook|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-803400-1|pages=451–473}}</ref>

According to [[W.G. Archer|William Archer]] and David Kinsley, a professor of Religious Studies known for his studies on Hindu goddesses, the Radha-Krishna love story is a metaphor for a divine-human relationship, where Radha is the human devotee or soul who is frustrated with the past, obligations to social expectations, and the ideas she inherited, who then longs for real meaning, the true love, the divine (Krishna). This metaphoric Radha (soul) finds new liberation in learning more about Krishna, bonding in devotion, and with passion.{{sfn|Archer|2004|loc=The Triumph of Radha}}{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=147}}{{Sfn|Kinsley|1988}}

An image of Radha has inspired numerous literary works.{{sfn|Hawley|Wulff|1982|pp=xiii–xviii}} For modern instance, the ''Shri Radhacharita Mahakavyam''—the 1980s epic poem of Dr. [[Kalika Prasad Shukla]] that focuses on Radha's devotion to Krishna as the universal lover—"one of the rare, high-quality works in Sanskrit in the twentieth century."{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=384|loc=Shri Radhacharita Mahakavyam}}

=== Radha and Sita ===
The [[Radha Krishna|Radha-Krishna]] and [[Sita]]-[[Rama]] pairs represent two different personality sets, two perspectives on [[dharma]] and lifestyles, both cherished in the way of life called [[Hinduism]].{{sfn|Pauwels|2008|pp=12–15, 497–517}} Sita is traditionally wedded: the dedicated and virtuous wife of Rama, an introspective [[Temperance (virtue)|temperate]] paragon of a serious, virtuous man.<ref name=goldmanrama>{{cite book |author=Vālmīki |translator=Robert P Goldman |title=The Ramayana of Valmiki: Balakanda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWX43jnbOngC |year=1990 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-8455-1 |page=3}}</ref>{{sfn|Dimock|1963|pp=106–127}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC&pg=PA51 |year=2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=51–57}}</ref> Radha is a power potency of Krishna, who is a playful adventurer.<ref name=goldmanrama />{{sfn|Pauwels|2008|pp=12–15, 497–517}}

Radha and Sita offer two templates within the Hindu tradition. If "Sita is a queen, aware of her social responsibilities", states Pauwels, then "Radha is exclusively focused on her romantic relationship with her lover", giving two contrasting role models from two ends of the moral universe. Yet they share common elements as well. Both face life challenges and are committed to their true love. They are both influential, adored and beloved goddesses in the Hindu culture.{{sfn|Pauwels|2008|pp=12–15, 497–517}}

In worship of Rama, Sita is represented as a dutiful and loving wife, holding a position entirely subordinate to Rama. However, in the worship of [[Radha Krishna]], Radha is often preferred over to Krishna, and in certain traditions, her name is elevated to a higher position compared to Krishna's.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Bhandarkar|first=R. G.|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111551975/html|title=Vaisnavism, Saivism and minor religious systems|date=2019-05-20|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-155197-5|language=en|doi=10.1515/9783111551975}}</ref>