If asked, most hindus would name the auspicious love between Lord Krishna and Radha as the definition of divine love. According to some spiritual gurus, their love represents the symbolic reunification of Jivatma and Paramatma. She is so popular that her idol can be found in almost all of the krishna temples in India.
People just can’t think of Krishna without thinking of her. Every Indian knows who she is, but they aren’t all that familiar with her life story. People only know about the time she spent with Lord Krishna in their birthplace, Vrindavan, but that’s it.
This lack of information about Radha’s life makes people speculate on many theories and questions. One such question concerns the final days of Radha, and her death.
Who Was Radha?
- Radha was the younger daughter of Vrishbhanu and Kirti Devi. As per Hindu beliefs, she is the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu’s consort.
- She lived in the village of Repali, which was a little outside of Vrindavan.
- Krishna met Radha for the first time when he went to her village’s market for business.
- Radha and Krishna had been in love since they were children. Some folk tales even claim that they were once playfully married, but their love never manifested in a real wedding.
- Radha has long been a mystery in Hinduism due to her lack of a distinct identity apart from Krishna. However, when it comes to Lord Krishna’s accomplishments, several sacred texts place her at the center.
- According to Vaishnava tradition, Radha was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, while Krishna was an avatar of Lord Vishnu. However, some academics disagree with the concept.
- There is a chalisa dedicated to Radha called – Radha Chalisa, which mentions her as the most important gopi in Lord Krishna’s Raas (sacred dance).
The Separation Of Krishna And Radha
Krishna was the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. The purpose of his incarnation was to re-establish dharma in society. His first goal was to assassinate the cruel king of Mathura at the time, Kamsa.
Despite being Kirshna’s own uncle, King Kamsa tried to kill him several times since his birth. He was afraid of a prophecy that said Krishna would be the cause of his death.
The first stage of Krishna and Radha’s separation began when he left Vrindavan and went to Mathura to kill Kamsa. According to legend, Radha desperately wanted to stay with her family and tried to force Krishna to not leave their village.
However, Krishna, being an avatar of Lord Vishnu, had to perform his duty. So, he began his journey to Mathura with his elder brother, Balarama.
After defeating Kamsa in a wrestling competition and regaining control of the Mathura kingdom, he sent one of his friends to convince Radha to come. Radha, on the other hand, refused and chose to remain in the village with her family and friends.
The Marriage Of Radha With Ayan
Krishna became preoccupied in Mathura as various friendly neighboring states carried out attacks on the city in an attempt to kill Krishna for illegally occupying the Mathura kingdom from the king, Kamsa.
Meanwhile, Radha was forced to marry a man named Ayan by her family in the absence of Krishna at Vrindavan. The love between Radha and Krishna was pure and divine. However, she was also a manifestation of Goddess Lakhsmi and had her share of duty to perform.
Radha stayed with Ayan for a long time after their marriage, doing her dharma as a married woman. Krishna, on the other hand, received the message of her marriage and decided not to visit Vrindavan.
He never wanted to disturb their marriage life, or Radha’s mental peace for that matter. Despite all of this they were both in a spiritual state of love, and compassionate.
The Reunification Of Radha & Krishna
Time passed, and Radha, at her mid age, decided to visit Dwarka, the city of Lord Krishna. One thing to note here is that, after receiving too many attacks from the neighboring states of Mathura, Krishna left the place and founded his own city, Dwarka.
Seeing Radha at his place, Krishna got excited. They were seeing each other after a long time. There no one had any idea of the new lady named Radha and her relation with Krishna.
Only Krishna, Balarama, and a few of his friends from their childhood knew her. So, on request of Krishna, Radha decided to stay at Dwarka and helped operate palace needs.
The Final Days Of Radha
However, Radha soon began to feel the lack of spiritual connection that she had before while staying away from Krishna her entire life. She quickly left the palace and went to an ashram after realizing their love was divine & spiritual, and it had nothing to do with physically seeing each other.
Krishna never prevented her from doing what she desired. They were both married to their respective partners by the time, and could not do anything that was against the law of Dharma. Time passed again, and Krishna got the message of Radha being ready for mahasamadhi.
Radha began crying and smiling at the same time when she saw Krishna in front of her. She appeared to have realized her true identity as an incarnation of goddess Lakshmi. Krishna then repeatedly requested her to ask something, as he had once refused Radha’s request while leaving their village to conquer Mathura, when they were young.
Radha asked Krishna to play his flute like he used to when they were kids. Krishna then began playing his flute without wasting any time. According to Hindu beliefs, he didn’t stop playing the flute until she closed her eyes and left her body. It is said that Krishna broke his flute that day, after witnessing his love was no more.
