Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das
#Radhastami #AppearanceRadha #Varsana
#Janmotsava #KrishnaJayani
To celebrate Sri Krishna’s Janmotsava every
year, King Vrshabhanu, Rani Kirtida, Radharani and their whole family stay four
days in Nanda Baba’s palace (Bhadra Krishna 7-10th).
Two weeks later, Nanda Maharaj, Yashoda Maa,
Krishna and family come to Varshana and stay three days in King Vrshabhanu’s
palace to celebrate Srimati Radhika’s birthday. From the first to the 8th
day of thebright half of Bhadra month, King
Vrshabhanu elaborately decorates all the homes and streets in Varsana in
preparation for Radha’s appearance. Musicians and drummers purify the
atmosphere with a continuous flow of auspicious songs and ragas.
Two days before Radhashtami,
Vrshabhanu Maharaj sends Sridham to invite Nanda Baba and family to come honor
Sri Radha’s birthday. On the 7th morning, Nanda Baba, Sri Krishna
and Their family come to Varshana in bullock carts, palanquins and by walking. Kirtidarani
and Vrshabhanu Maharaj warmly greet them, arrange their rooms and feed them
nicely.
Sri
Radha, Lalita-sakhi, Vishakha-sakhi and other gopiyutheshvaris cook rice,
puris, sabjis and kheer, which is offered to Bhagavan Narayana and then served
out to all the guests. Sri Radhika and the
gopis lovingly quarrel over serving first. Yashoda pacifies everyone by making
different lines with a different sakhi serving each one. After eating, everyone rests in their guestrooms.
As per the usual asta-kaliyalilaschedule,
Sri Radha cooks something for Krishna. Then carrying these items, Srimati and
all go to Radha-kunda, meet Krishna, and enjoy Their midday pastimes.
Radhashtami
In the morning of
Radhashtami, everyone watches Radhika’s grand abhisheka performed by Gargi,
daughter of the kula-guru Garga Rishi. Musicians play vinas,dolaks, mrdangas, dundubhisand
pakhowajas. Paurnamasi blesses Radha with different mantras. After bathing
Radhawith herbal water, panchaamrit and gavya, a hundred pots of water, and a
huge conch showering water through the 1,000 jalpatra, Sri Radha is anointed
with fragrant oils, musk, sandal and camphor and dressed.
The
manjaris offer a beautiful arati to Radharani. Yashoda Maa offers blessings and
wonderful gifts of costly clothes and ornaments to both Sri Radha and Her
yutheshvaris. Vrshabhanu Maharaj and Radharani donate ornamented cows and
calves. Then Radhika and Her sakhis take some prasada and then start cooking a
feast.
In jest, Yashoda Maa says to
Kirtida, “Sakhi, you are so hard hearted that you make tender Radha cook so
much!” Kirtida replies, “Because our Radhika got a unique boon to cook nectar-filled
health foods, my Prabhu Vrshabhanu wants you and Nanda Maharaja to savor
Radha’s delicious preparations today. After Radha and the sakhis finish
cooking, Yashodarani blesses them all and has some manjaris fan Radha to remove
Her fatigue.
The Yogurt Game
Later everyone proceeds to
the bank of Bhanukhor, King Vrishabhanu’s bathing tank on
the east side of Varshana hill. Then like Janmashtami, everyone starts playing
Dadhikada, a game of throwing yogurt, butter and milk on each other. Afterwards,
according to age and gender, everyone bathes in different corners of Bhanukhor,
eats and takes rest.
Later Sri Radha goes to
Radha-kunda and enjoys all Her usual pastimes with Krishna. The only exception
to Their daily asta-kaliyalila flow is that for these three days, Sri Krishna
is staying with Radha in Her own palace in Varshana!
Jai
Jai Sri Radhe!
Naumi Lilas
The next morning in Varshana,
Radha-Krishna and the gopis bathe, eat and go out to perform Their usual
morning pastimes. At noontime, Radha-Krishna and the gopis go to Mor Kutir in
Varshana and Krishna entertains the gopikas by dancing like a peacock. Then
Radha and Krishna throw laddus to all the sakhis. Later in the midday, Radha
and Krishna dance the Rasa in a secret place in Gehvara, Radha’s personal
garden/forest just near Her father’s palace.
In the late afternooneveryone
returns to the palace.At that time, Sri Krishna, Nanda Baba and his family take
leave from King Vrshabhanu and return home to Nandagram in the topmost bliss.
Sri Radha’s three day janmotsava
ki jai! Jai Jai Sri Radhe!
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