Vṛṣabhānu

Vṛṣabhānu was a king. In the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa he is known as the earthly father of Śrī Rādhā. She appeared from his yajñabhūmi (the sacred ground where he held a fire ritual).

The birth of Rādhā

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa decided to come down to earth to lift the burden that wicked kings had placed on the devī of the Earth. He called Rādhā, who was dearer to him than his own life, and asked her to come with him. Rādhā agreed and descended.

She appeared on the holy Aṣṭamī, the eighth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhādrapada. She sprang up in a divine form from the yajñabhūmi of King Vṛṣabhānu. The king was delighted. He received her and gave her to his queen, who nourished her and raised her.

A secret account

Brahmā tells this to Nārada. He stresses how secret the account of Rādhā’s birth is: “This is to be kept secret, to be kept secret, to be kept secret carefully.”

The day of her birth from the king’s sacrificial ground is Rādhāṣṭamī, the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada. It is the holy day kept as the Rādhāṣṭamī Vrata.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7