Radha

The most fascinating character in Krishna stories for me other than Krishna is Radha. She’s said to be a friend of Krishna who used to love him eternally. In fact even today when people chant Krishna’s name ,Radha’s name is also chanted in the same breath.

She’s elder to Krishna and always had found joy around him. Radha had lost her mother at a very young age and she had step mothers (many) taking care of her. Kids also used to play with her although she was elder to them and from the neighboring village But as they started growing they used to get irritated of her as she and Krishna used to spend more and more time with her. Always she used to command his attention and his biggest attraction.

She played a big part in Krishna’s life while he was in Mathura, but after he moved out of this place he never came back to her. He went ahead to marry Rukmini. I always wonder what she must have felt. There are lots of stories about her marriage. Some say she married a much older man from neighboring village, some say she refused to get married, some that Krishna married her secretly in the forest, some that her marriage was fixed to an army man in Kansa’s security etc.

It is said that Rukmini and she had a very uncanny resemblance in terms of personality,although Rukmini was born to a king and Radha to a poor man.Krishna always said "It takes two people to get married and he and Radha are one."

All said and done, her getting vanished from Krishna’s story after he leaves Mathura is what surprises me. Nowhere after that is she mentioned. Where she went, what she did after he went. Her version of her life around Krishna would be an interesting read.

What say????