Rādhā’s Stotra to Kṛshṇa

Rādhādevī sang this stotra to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa from within the Yamunā river. It was the last day of the Gaurī Mārgaśīra Vrata, when Kṛshṇa took away the garments of the gopīs, the event called vastrāpaharaṇa. Rādhā stood still in the water, sat in a yoga āsana (posture) and praised Kṛshṇa as Golokanātha, Gopīnātha, Mānanātha and Prāṇapriya, and as the master above Śiva, Brahmā and Ananta. It is found in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa of the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Chapter 27.

The setting

The gopīs of Vṛndāvana kept the Gaurī Mārgaśīra Vrata for one month. They kept it out of devotion to Devī Pārvatī, with the one prayer that they might have Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa as their husband. On the last day they went to the Yamunā for the closing bath that the vrata needs. They bathed without garments in the sacred water.

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa came there with his twelve cowherd companions. Their names are Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā, Vasudāmā, Subala, Suparśva, Śubhāṅga, Sundara, Candrabhānu, Vīrabhānu, Sūryabhānu, Vasunbhānu and Ratnabhānu. With Kṛshṇa and Balarāma they were fourteen in all.

They gathered the garments and the food offerings that the gopīs had left on the bank. They tied them into bundles and hung them on the branches of a Kadamba tree. Kṛshṇa then called to the gopīs. He said that Varuṇa had taken their garments because they were bare. He told them to come out of the water with hands folded in namaskāra if they wanted their clothes back.

The other gopīs were overcome by what had happened and by their deep longing for Kṛshṇa, and they began to come out. But Śrī Rādhādevī did not move. She stood in the water of the Yamunā, sat in a yoga āsana with complete concentration, and from that posture composed and recited this stotra to Kṛshṇa. She stayed in the river all the while.

The stotra

Standing in the Yamunā in deep yoga, Rādhādevī praised Bhagavān Kṛshṇa with these names and qualities:

  • Golokanātha. He is the master of Goloka, the highest divine realm. All jīvas come from it in the end, and all devoted ātmās return to it. Rādhā names him first as the king of that realm.
  • Gopīnātha. He is the lord and beloved of the gopīs, the highest object of their love and devotion.
  • Mānanātha. He is the lord of honour (māna). He is also the destroyer of pride (māna) when it stands in the way of union. It is to him alone that such māna can finally be given up.
  • Prāṇapriya. He is dearer than the prāṇas (life-breaths) of all beings. For the gopīs, parting from Kṛshṇa hurts more than death, and his presence gives more life than prāṇa.
  • Dīnabandhu. He is the friend of the helpless (dīna).
  • Dīnanātha. He is the lord and protector of those in distress.
  • Sarveśvara. He is the master of all beings, all worlds and all forms. Brahmā’s rule over creation, Vishṇu’s rule over keeping, and Śiva’s rule over dissolution all come from Kṛshṇa as Sarveśvara.
  • Master above Śiva, Brahmā and Ananta. Rādhā praises Kṛshṇa as the highest, above Śiva (Śaṅkara), Brahmā and Ananta Śesha. He is the support and the seed (bīja) of the three guṇas, sattva, rajas and tamas, and is not bound by them.
  • Master of the Ashṭasiddhis. He is the master of the eight powers that the greatest yogīs reach after lifetimes of tapas: aṇimā, mahimā, garimā, laghimā, prāpti, prākāmya, iśitva and vaśitva.
  • Paramātmā. He is the supreme Self who lives in all beings, the witness, who is both within all and beyond all.

When Rādhā finished the stotra and opened her eyes, she saw that all the gopīs’ garments had been returned to the bank of the Yamunā. The vastrāpaharaṇa had done its work. It had drawn out Rādhā’s stotra and shown the full surrender of the gopīs. It was complete.

The phalaśruti

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa declares these fruits for reciting the stotra:

  • Three times a day. One who recites it three times a day gains Hari-bhakti (devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu), Hari-dāsya-mukti (moksha through service of Bhagavān Vishṇu) and the highest goal, equal to Rādhā’s own place (Rādhā-gati).
  • In danger. One who recites it in distress at once gets wealth, prosperity and protection.
  • Lost property. Property that was lost or taken is won back.
  • Family reunion. Relatives and loved ones long parted are united again within one month.
  • A good husband. An unmarried girl who hears this stotra for one year gets a husband equal to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself in virtue, devotion and qualities.

Sources

  • Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27