The mysterious appearance of Srimati Radharani

Appearance of Srimati Radharani, the eternal consort of Krishna, is celebrated as Radhastami. As Krishna is the father of all, similarly Radharani is the mother of all living beings of the universes.

When Lord Krishna was to appear in this world, he requested Radharani to accompany him.

Radharani agreed but she had a condition. She wanted river Yamuna and Govardhan hill to also appear on earth. This was not a problem for Krishna. Yamuna and Govardhan were more than happy to appear on earth to assist Krishna and Radha in their pastimes.

Radharani also wanted to appear on earth because she always wants to be with Krishna. She cannot live without Krishna. And Krishna cannot live without her. So, she happily agreed.

Radharani appears in the house of Vrishbhanu Maharaj and Kiritida Devi in Barsana

She decided to appear in Barsana in the house of Vrishbhanu Maharaj and Kiritida Devi. Both these great souls had been performing austerities since many lifetimes to have the eternal consort of Krishna as their daughter.

Story behind appearance of Srimati Radharani on earth

Once Vrishbhanu Maharaj went to the river Yamuna and there he saw an extraordinary spectacle. In the river Yamuna a beautiful lotus flower of golden colour was floating.

And in the whorl of the flower was a little girl of golden complexion. 

She was extremely attractive. Just by seeing her Vrishbhanu Maharaj’s heart got overflooded with love.  He immediately picked the little girl in his arms. He felt deep bliss. His heart danced in joy. Just by looking at her, he forgot all his miseries and misfortunes. He considered himself to be the most fortunate person in the world. 

Vrishbhanu Maharaj looked around; he did not see anyone around.

He thought, “Who is she? Why she is all alone here?”

He waited and waited but no one turned up.

“How can I leave her alone here? It won’t be safe for her. What if no one comes for her? What if no one is there to look after her in this world?” These thoughts kept on troubling him.

After waiting for a long period of time, he decided to take the girl to his house.

He felt that it is the will of the providence that she becomes his daughter. It is a gift of God to him.

Kiritida Devi and Vrishbhanu Maharaj, the proud mother and father of Srimati Radharani

Kiritida Devi, his wife, was so happy to see the baby girl.  Both Vrishbhanu Maharaj and Kiritida Devi desperately wanted a child and for this they had been praying to the Lord continuously.

And today by divine arrangement a goddess had appeared in their life as their daughter. Kiritida Devi and Vrishbhanu Maharaj became the proud mother and father of the little girl who was Srimati Radharani.  

Vrishbhanu Maharaj and Kiritida Devi were the king and queen of Barsana. Little Radha became the princess of Barsana.

Little Radha’s eyes are closed, she does not even cry  

But they observed a unique thing in the baby. Her eyes always remained closed. She did not cry, and it seemed she could not even hear.

Both the parents became sad. But their sadness would disappear as soon as they would see the face of little Radha.  Tiny little Radha had stolen their hearts. They would do their best to take care of the baby. And would pray to the Lord to give her vision and speech.

Celestial sage Narada meets Radha

Meanwhile Lord Krishna had already appeared in the house of Nanda Maharaj. Sage Narada had played an important role in ensuring that Lord Krishna appears as soon as possible. The revered sage knew that if Krishna has appeared then Radharani will also appear somewhere near Vrindavan.

To take darshan of Srimati Radharani, sage Narada would go to different houses to find if any new baby girl has taken birth. He would see the child to find out if she is Radharani.

One day he came to the house of Vrishbhanu Maharaj and asked the same question. Since the child was not in a normal condition so Vrishbhanu Maharaj used to be reluctant to show the child to others. But they could not refuse sage Narada.

He took him to a room where Srimati Radharani as a baby girl was playing in her cradle. 

As soon as Narada saw the baby girl he recognized her. She was Radharani. He was overwhelmed with joy.

Somehow, he controlled his emotions. He wanted to offer prayers to Radharani. But he could not do it in front of her father. He knew that Radharani would not like to reveal her identity to her father and mother.

So, he requested Vrishbhanu Maharaj to leave him alone with the child so that he could say some prayers for the benefit of the child.

Vrishbhanu Maharaj left and Narada Muni began offering his prayers to her.

Radharani blesses saga Narada

Srimati Radharani was extremely pleased to see sage Narada. She appeared in her youth (kishori) form which is very rare to see.  Narada Muni saw the most beautiful form of Srimati Radharani, the mother of entire creation. He was so ecstatic. He could not control his emotions. Overwhelmed with spiritual delight he fainted.

Srimati Radharani brought him back to his external consciousness. She asked the sage if he wanted any benediction. Narada was still stunned at his great fortune. He kept on offering his prayers to Radharani again and again. Today all his desires were fulfilled. What else could he have asked from her? He sought blessings from Radha. Singing and dancing in joy, he left the house of Vrishbhanu Maharaj.

Meanwhile Radharani again took the form of the little girl.

Vrishbhanu Maharaj and Kirtida Devi did not know what transpired between the sage and their little princess. Both were praying that their child opens her eyes and start playing like other children of Barsana.

Krishna and Radharani meets for the first time

After the appearance, Srimati Radharani was desperate to meet Krishna. Krishna too longed to meet Radha. But they were not getting an opportunity to see each other.

Once Vrishbhanu Maharaj invited Nanda Maharaj who was his friend to his house with all the family members. Krishna also came. At that time Krishna had not even started walking, he used to just crawl. Krishna was waiting for the opportunity to see Radha. He knew his Radha would be waiting for her.

When the elders of the family got busy, he secretly crawled to the room of Radharani.

He caught hold of the cradle in which his most beloved princess was lying. Holding the cradle with his hand, little Krishna stood up.

Radharani opens her eyes for the first time to see Krishna

Radha felt the presence of Krishna. She slowly opened her little beautiful eyes. She was waiting for this moment from the day she appeared on earth. As soon as she appeared she had closed her eyes because she had a desire that when she opens her eyes for the first time, Krishna should be in front of her. And now Krishna was before her.

They both looked into each other’s eyes. Their hearts were flooded with deep emotions. Words were not sufficient to express their love for each other. Radharani, the princess of Barsana, could not control her tears. She was not able to control herself anymore. Little Radha cried. She cried for Krishna. She was asking Krishna why he came so late. Krishna did not say anything. He did not want to say anything. Krishna just stood stunned looking at Radha. He just wanted to live in that moment forever.

Kirtida and Vrishbhanu’s eyes are filled with tears of joy when they see that Radha’s eyes can see

Cry of little Radha reverberated in the palace of Vrishbhanu Maharaj. Everyone quickly rushed inside the room of Radha.

Little Radharani was restless in her cradle. Her eyes were open. Little Krishna was standing in front of Radha.

Kirtida, the most fortunate mother of Srimati Radharani, and Vrishbhanu Maharaj, the blessed father of Srimati Radharani, also could not control their tears.

Their eyes are filled with tears of joy when they see that Radha’s eyes can see. Mother Kirtida immediately picked Radha in her arms and embraced her.

Mother and father just looked into the little beautiful eyes of their beautiful daughter and experienced immense joy.

It was time for celebration in Barsana and Vrindavan.

Radharani had started seeing, speaking and hearing. She was so happy because she saw Krishna. And little Krishna after seeing Radha was so blissful.

Story about the appearance of Srimati Radharani in Barsana has been described in Puranas.

Barsana, the blessed land – the birthplace of Srimati Radharani

The land of Barsana became blessed because of the appearance of Srimati Radharani. Radharani played, sang and danced in the holy city of Barsana with her cowherd friends.

The residents of Barsana became fortunate because every moment they got an opportunity to see Radharani and to be with Radharani. They were greater than the mystic yogis because they got association of Radharani.

And it is impossible to describe the fortune of Kirtida Devi and Vrishbhanu Maharaj, the mother and father of Srimati Radharani.  We can just bow our head at their lotus feet and beg for their mercy.

Let us aspire to bathe in the sacred dust of Barsana which had the fortune to embrace the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani, the eternal consort of Krishna.