When we think of Shree Krishna, we naturally think of Shree Radha. Yet, many people wonder, who is Radha Rani? Why is Her name absent in the Bhagavatam, yet sung endlessly by saints and devotees?
The truth is that the Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas reveal Shree Radha to be the very essence of the principle of divine love (Prem tattva saar). Shree Krishna is the Shaktiman (the possessor of energy), and Shree Radha is His Shakti (the divine energy itself). Out of His infinite potencies, the most intimate and exalted is the Hlādinī Shakti- the bliss-giving power. This Hlādinī Shakti is none other than Shree Radha. She is the reservoir of ānand (bliss), the essence of Krishna’s own bliss, the power through which He relishes love and bestows that love upon souls.
वंदे वृन्दावनानंदां राधिकां परमेश्वरीम्।
गोपिकां परमां शुद्धा ह्लादिनी शक्तिरूपिणीम्॥
vaṁde vr̥ndāvanānaṁdāṁ rādhikāṁ parameśvarīm।
gopikāṁ paramāṁ śuddhā hlādinī śaktirūpiṇīm॥
Meaning: Shree Radha is the Supreme Entity, with none beyond Her.
Who is the Supreme Brahman?
The sages, who had realised Brahm Gyan (knowledge of the Absolute), once raised a most profound question to the eternal Vedas:
कः परमो देवः कुतो मृत्योर्भवेति कस्य ज्ञानेनाखिलं विज्ञातं भवति ।
kaḥ paramo devaḥ kuto mr̥tyorbhaveti kasya jñānenākhilaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati ।
“Who is that Supreme God, knowing whom one attains complete knowledge? Who is the highest deity, by whose understanding everything else becomes known, and even death itself is conquered?”
The Vedas replied with clarity:
कृष्णो ह वै पर्मं दैवतं गोविन्दान्मृत्युर्विभेति ।
गोपिजनवल्लभज्ञानेन तज्ज्ञातं भवति ।
तस्मात्कृष्ण एव परो देवस्तंध्यायेत् तं रसयेत् तं भजेत्॥
kr̥ṣṇo ha vai parmaṁ daivataṁ govindānmr̥tyurvibheti ।
gopijanavallabhajñānena tajjñātaṁ bhavati ।
tasmāt kr̥ṣṇa eva paro devastaṁ dhyāyet taṁ rasayet taṁ bhajet॥
“Shree Krishna is indeed the Supreme Brahman. Even death trembles before Him. By knowing Govind, the beloved of the gopīs, all knowledge is attained. Therefore, Krishna alone is the Supreme God. He must be meditated upon, relished, and lovingly worshipped.”
Thus, the Vedas establish Krishna as Parabrahman—the highest divinity, the source of all tattvas.
Who is Shree Radha?
Hearing this, the Brahmavadis (knowers of the Absolute) asked another question:
ब्रह्मवादिनो वदन्ति कस्मात् राधिकामुपासते ।
brahmavādino vadanti kasmāt rādhikām upāsate ।
“If Krishna is the Supreme God, then why should we worship Shree Radha? Who is Shree Radha?”
The Vedas gave their most wondrous revelation:
कृष्णेन आराध्यते इति राधा ।
kr̥ṣṇena ārādhyate iti rādhā ।
“She is called Radha because even Shree Krishna worships Her.”
This single declaration reveals the most profound mystery of divine existence. If Krishna is Supreme, then the One whom even He adores, serves, and honours is none other than Shree Radha.
The Radhikopanishad further glorifies Radha’s supreme position:
यस्यारेणुं पादयो विश्वभर्ता धरते मूर्ध्नि ।
यस्या अगम्यताम् श्रुतयो वदन्ति ।
सांशा कमला शैलपुत्री तां राधिकां शक्तिधात्रीं नमामः ।
yasyā reṇuṁ pādayo viśvabhartā dharate mūrdhni ।
yasyā agamayatām śrutayo vadanti ।
sāṁśā kamalā śailaputrī tāṁ rādhikāṁ śaktidhātrīṁ namāmaḥ ।
“Shree Radha is that Supreme Personality, whom even the Vedas confess they cannot comprehend. The Preserver of the universe, Shree Krishna Himself, places the dust of Her feet upon His head. The great goddesses Lakshmi, Parvati, and Saraswati are but partial expansions of Her infinite power. We bow again and again to that original Shakti, Shree Radha.”
The Supreme Truth
From these verses, the eternal conclusion shines forth:
- Krishna is Parabrahman, the Supreme God, worshipped by the Vedas, feared by death itself.
- Radha is the Supreme Shakti, the very Hlādinī Shakti, the essence of divine love, worshipped by Krishna Himself.
- Together, Radha and Krishna are One entity manifesting as two for the sake of divine leela.
Thus, to meditate upon Krishna without Radha is incomplete; to worship Radha without Krishna is impossible. They are the two sides of the same eternal truth—the energetic and the energy, the Supreme Lover and the Supreme Beloved, the Divine Whole manifest in sweet duality.
तस्मात्कृष्ण एव परो देवः।
सा राधा परमेश्वरी।
tasmāt kṛṣṇa eva paro devaḥ।
sā rādhā parameśvarī।
Meaning: “Therefore, Krishna alone is the Supreme God. And She, Radha, is the Supreme Goddess, the eternal Parameshwari.”
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj has beautifully summarised all that the Vedas and Upanishads declare, in the opening verses of Bhakti Shatak:
अद्वितीय एक तत्व है, राधा तत्व प्रधान ।
याको दूजो रूप है, स्वयं कृष्ण भगवान ॥ 1 ॥
advitīya ek tattva hai, rādhā tattva pradhān ।
yāko dūjo rūp hai, svayaṁ kṛṣṇa bhagavān ॥
जोइ राधा सोई कृष्ण हैं, इनमें भेद न मान ।
इक हैं ह्लादिनी शक्ति अरू, शक्तिमान इक जान ॥ 2 ॥
joi rādhā soī kṛṣṇa hain, inmeṁ bhed na mān ।
ik hain hlādinī śakti arū, śaktimān ik jān ॥
Meaning: There is only one indivisible Absolute Truth, and Radha Tattva is foremost. That very Truth appears as Krishna Himself. Radha and Krishna are not two but one—Radha is the Hlādinī Shakti and Krishna is the Shaktiman.
So, let us all bow down at the lotus feet of Shree Radharani and humbly pray for Her kripa, for by Her grace alone can we attain the eternal servitude (sevā) of Shree Krishna.
