Līlāvatī of the Rādhāshṭamī Vrata

Līlāvatī was a woman of the Kṛta Yuga. She was very beautiful, but in her life she had done very grave pāpa (sin). One day she kept the Rādhāshṭamī vrata (vow) with devotees, almost by chance. When a serpent bit her and she died, the messengers of Bhagavān Vishṇu took her to Goloka, the supreme abode of Rādhā and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Her beauty and her pāpa

The Padma Mahāpurāṇa describes Līlāvatī as a woman of rare beauty. Her waist was slender, her eyes were like those of a deer, and her form was lovely. Her hair and ears were beautiful too. Even so, she had done very grave pāpa during her life.

The temple and the vrata

Līlāvatī was travelling from her city to another city to seek wealth. She came upon a beautiful temple. Many wise devotees were there, joyfully keeping the Rādhāshṭamī vrata. They offered pūjā to Rādhā’s mūrti with sandal paste, flowers, incense, lamps, cloth and fruits. They sang and danced, recited stotras (hymns of praise), and played lutes and drums.

Līlāvatī was curious. She went up to them and asked what they were doing. The devotees answered: “Today is the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada. On this day Rādhā was born. When this vrata is kept in the right way, it destroys all pāpa: the killing of a cow, stealing, the killing of a brāhmaṇa, taking another man’s wife, and wronging the wife of one’s teacher.”

Līlāvatī heard this and thought again and again: “I shall keep this vrata, which destroys all pāpa.” She joined the devotees and kept the vrata there and then.

Her death and Goloka

After this a serpent bit Līlāvatī, and she died. The messengers of Yama came to take her, with nooses and hammers. But the messengers of Bhagavān Vishṇu also came. They carried conches and maces and rode in a golden vimāna (flying chariot) drawn by royal swans. They cut the nooses with their discs. Her pāpa had been destroyed. They took her to Goloka, the charming city of Bhagavān Vishṇu. By the grace of the vrata she lived there with Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Rādhā.

Sources

• Padma Mahāpurāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7