© 2019 JETIR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 6 www.jetir.

org (ISSN-2349-5162)

Raasleela, the Divine Dalliance of the Human

Krishna & Assam
Dr. Dalima Kakati

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Assamese

Loknayak Amiya Kumar Das College

Dhekiajuli, Sonitpur (Assam)

Summary :

The Hindus believe that God reincarnates on Earth to defeat the bad. Krishna is the human
reincarnation of the Hindu deity, Vishnu. After being born as Krishna, the lord did many
deeds to up hold peace in the world. These deeds of the lord is called as ‘Leela’ Raasleela
is a type of dance between Krishna and the Gopis. Through this dance, the lord has tried to
destroy pride from the minds of the gopis.

Key Word:

God, Raasleela, Ras, Krishna, gopi, desire, sensual

Field of study :

Along with the position of devotion in Hindu philosophy, and describing various parts of
devotion, this study also includes as to how Krishna got rid of desire and pride through
raasleela.

Purpose and aim of study :

This discussion has been created to show how ‘Raasleela’ like catharsis, destroys desire
and pride, despite it’s erotic or sensual outer layer.

Research method :

This discussion paper has been prepared in descriptive method.

Sources of study :

The main source of the research is field study, help has been taken from various books
related to the topic.

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1.00 Introduction: The word ‘Raas’ has been derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Ras’. ‘Leela’
means deeds or actions of divine beings. The word ‘Ras’ has been used since the age of
Vedas and Upanishadas. According to Taittiriya Upanishad –

আনন্দং প্ৰত্যভিসম্বিশান্তি ইতি।

........... ৰসো বৈ সঃ।।

‘Ras’ is not the expression of happiness of a single individual. It is the excess of happiness
of all, or the happiness of finding God. ‘Raasleela’ is mainly the act of dalliance of the God,
SriKrishna with the Gopis. Moreover, the human exploits of Krishna, the reincarnation of
Vishnu, are also shown in ‘Raas’ Thus, because this lela can give common people
‘brahmananda’ or ‘bhumananda’ or the ultimate happiness, this leela has been named as
‘Raasleela’.

1.01. Raasleela and characterization of Radha in Puranas: There are descriptions of the
Raasleela of Krishna and the gopinis in Harivansh Puran, Padma Puran, Bhagawat
Puran, Bramavaibarta Puran and Vishnu Puran, Even though in ‘Shiv Puran’, there is
mention of ‘Raasleela’ of ‘Har-Gauri’ by making ‘Raasmandal’, the word ‘Raasleela’
usually brings to mind the image of SriKrishna sporting with the gopis. Radha
Charitra has been mentioned in Padmapuran, Vishnupuran and Brahmabaivarta
Puran. In Bhagawat Puran, there is only one instance where the name of Radha is
used. The word ‘Anaradhita’, found in Bhahawat Puran, might be a mention of
Radha.
1.02. Mention of Radha Charitra and Raas leela from Sanskrit literature to Assamese
literature: Apart from puranas, descriptions of the love story of Radha-Krishna
can be found in Sanskrit poetry like- ‘Subhasita Ratnakosh’, Prakrit literature like – ‘
Gahasattasayi; by Haal, and in later generation’s Jaydev’s ‘Geet Govinda’, ‘SriKrishna
Kirtan’, etc. The one act play, ‘Raas Jhumura’ and some Bargeets by Madhavdeva
have mentions of the name of Radha in them –

ক) ৰাধা ভূষণ চুৰি কৰিয়ে কহু পুছত বাত হামাৰি। (মাধৱদেৱৰ বৰগীত)

In the post-Sankardeva era, songs by Gopaldeva, Jadumanideva, Sanatandeva, the

poem ‘Radha Charit’ by Dwij Kalapchandra, son of Ramsaraswati, in all these the name of
Radha can be found. However, these instances in Assamese literature can be a result of
the influence of Bengali literature and also the preference of erotic literature by the Ahom
kings, like - Sivasingha. Sankardeva has not mentioned the name of Radha in his works but
he has described Krishna’s dalliance with the gopinis. In the ‘Dasham Skandha’ (tenth
Canto) of Bhagawat, chapter ‘Raasleela’ of Kirtana, and in the play ‘Keligopal’ or
‘Raaskrira’, Sankardeva has described Raasleela between Krishna and the gopinis.

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1.03 The history and legend of Raas festival: According to astrological accounts, Krishna
was born before 3000 BC1. People believe that he was born in the Dwapar Yuga. He
was born in a prison cell of Kangsa, and grew up in Vrindavan. It is said that Krishna
did the raaslela with the gopinis in Vrindavan, on the banks of the river Yamuna,
during the season of Autumn. Based on this myth, even in the 21st century,
Raasleela, is observed a festival in Mathura, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, etc. It
is to be noted that Raas leela has been officially celebrated in Vrindavan since 15th
century. Even today the people of Vrindavan believe that Radha Krishna come to
‘Nidhibhan’ temple every midnight to do raasleele2. On the foundation of religious
belief, raas leela is celebrated as a festival in Assam. Around the year 1840 A.D.,
Raas was celebrated for the first time as a festival in Dakshinpat Sattra, Majuli. After
that, along with Garhmur, Auniati, Bengenaati Sattras, many other sattras and
naamghars of Assam celebrate Raas in the season of Autumn. In the 21st century, in
various places of Assam ‘Raas’ is observed with different methods. In Upper and
middle Assam, the common people take part in ‘Raasleela’ by acting as Krishna,
gopis and other characters, though, in lower Assam figurines are used in stead,
Nalbari, Sualkuchi, Hauli, Palasbari, Tihu, etc. places in Lower Assam, clay figurines
are used to act as Krishna, gopis and the other characters to observe the
raasleela. In Palashbari, Raas with alive figurines is also celebrated. Presently, in the
21st Century many changes have come to the way of celebrating Raas. Before,
people used to observe Raas only in naamghars of sattras, Gradually this celebration
entered stages. Pitambar Devagoswami of Garhmur Sattra, first introduced Raas on
stage.

1.04 The tale of Raasleela: The context of Raasleela has been depicted in pages of
Assamese literature. In the original Bhagawat Puran, SriKrishna’s Raasleela has been
described from the Chapter 29 to Chapter 33. These five chapter are also called as
‘Raas Panchadhyayi’. The tale of the Raasleela in Bhagawat had been told by Shuk,
son of Vyasa, to king Parikshit. The ‘Raaskrira’ in Sankardeva’s Kirtan, and his play
‘Keligopal’ have similarities in their plots with the story in the original Bhagawat.
Saknardeva wrote the chapter ‘Raaskrira’ of Kirtan while he was in Dhuwahat,
Belguri. On a full moon, beautiful Autumn night, all the gopis and gopinis abandoned
their work and went to Krishna after listening to the music of his flute. In
‘Vishnupuran’ it is mentioned that Radha too went to Vrindavan after hearing
sounds of the flute, though Sankardeva hasn’t refered to Radha. Leaving house
chores and instead of caring for their children and husband, and going to Krishna,
can be regarded as attraction for other men in the eyes of the ignorant, but in
reality it is not true. In spiritual sense, the gopis after giving up on earthly desires
went to the God only. Even then, their minds had both the worldly desire and
devotion for God, together. In attempt to get close to Krishna sooner, some of the

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gopis wore clothes and jewelleries while on the way, it shows how they only had
eyes for their destination, that is Krishna the God. By being anxious to meet God,
the gopis have become Bhakta or Bhakata (devotee) of Krishna. No danger can keep
devotes away from their god. That is why the gopis could make it to Vrindavan after
ignoring many house hold problems:

ভকতৰ কৰ্ম্ম যেন নভৈল বিফল। (কীৰ্তন)

Sisupal, Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, etc. received divine blessing even after

treating their Gods as enemies, likewise, the gopinis could receive Krishna’s blessing even
through their lust for Krishna Sankardeva has explained this in Kirtan with example:

বিষ বুলি অমৃতক পিলে যিটো নৰ।

নুহিবেক হেন জানো অজৰ-অমৰ।।

In ‘Raaskrira’ in Kirtan,the miracle of shravana (listening) and kirtana (singing) has

also been discussed. Unlike the gopis worshipping Krishna by staying close to him, if
someone does shravan, kirtana of the lord even from a distance, that devotee to would
be able to receive the lord’s blessings. Even though the gopis at first went to Vrindavan as
women, thinking of Krishna as a common man, later on staying in his company made
them realize that he is actually the soul of the universe:

জগতৰে বন্ধু আত্মা তুমি।

সমস্তে ধৰ্মৰ আপুনি ভূমি।। (কীৰ্তন)

Though the gopis were able to receive divine blessing because of their devotion,
they were unable to sake the worldly desires and bounds. So, when they thought they
had gotten lord Krishna through kirtan, pride and arrogance came to their minds. Such
vices distance a devotee from their God. That is why, to clear out the pride from their
minds, Krishna vanished from there. After that, the pain of separation from their God
made them ask every living being in Vrindavan about any news of Krishna.
Remembering him, the gopis all became sad. To lessen the pain and sorrow, the gopis
started copying every deed of Krishna. One Gopi would play the part of Krishna, another
would be Putana, and someone would act the role of Yashoda, while playing the ‘Leelas’
(sports) of Krishna. In the 21st Century, these characters are still shown together with
Krishna in Raas festival. In this way, after memorizing the leelas of Krishna, the whole
world became full of Krishna. The gopis came to understand that Krishna is the ‘Jagatguru‘
(leader of the universe) and the husband of goddess Lakshmi. Thus, the pride along with
the lust was cleared from the gopis’ minds. Satisfied by the pure devotion of the devotees,
the lord presented himself in front of them and then completed the raasleela. Sankardeva
has mentioned in Kirtana and the play, ‘Keligopal’, that even the gods of heaven were
present during the raaskrira. In Vishnupuran there is a description of the Gandharvas
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(singers of the heaven) singing and dancing in Gandharva loka after observing the raasleela
between Krishna & the gopis.

It cannot be said that there aren’t some differences between the ‘Raaskrira’ chapter
in the original Bhagawat, and the raaskrira in Kirtana and the play ‘Keligopal’. In the
original Bhagawat, the description of Raaskrira had completed in the chapter 33 of the
tenth canto. There is no mention of Asura (demon) Vadh (killing) in the chapter. There are
mentions about the killing of Yaksha (mammon) named Sankhachud in the 34th chapter,
Canto 10, of Bhagawat, and in the chapter 37, canto 10, about the killing of the asura of
Kansa, named Keshi. Sankardeva might have thought of circulating entertainment along
with devotion, that is why he included the killings of Arista and Keshi, two demons, in the
raaskrira part of Kirtana. In the play ‘Keligopal’ too, there is a description of rescuing the
gopies after killing the asura named Sankhachuda. One of the aims of this description
might be to arouse devotion among the people. It means, gods saves their devotees from
any kind of danger.

1.05 Various types of devotion expressed through Raasleela: Through the raasleela,
described in Bhagawat Puran, Vishnupuran, Kirtana, ‘Dashama’ of Sankardeva, the
play ‘Keligopal’ by Sankardeva, nine types of devotion has been gathered together –
shravana (the gopies has listened to other gopies talking about Krishna), kirtana (the
gopies has described Krishna to one another), smarana (by remembering Krishna
after he vanished from the sight of the gopies), bandana (through the gopis
worshipping Krishna in their hearts), dashya (through the gopis accepting
themselves as servants of Krishna) and aatmanivedan (through the gopies
expressing their vices and weaknesses freely in front of Krishna and then
surrendering themselves to Krishna). Purposeful devotion turns into pure devotion
in raaskrira. Sakaam bhakti or Saguna bhakti (purposeful devotion) means devotion
that comes at a price, search of freedom, property-money, fame etc. Niskaam
bhakti or Nirguna bhakti means selfless, pure devotion or the devotion that
surrenders everything to the god. Madhavdeva also meant pure devotion when he
said, ‘মুক্তিত নিস্পৃহ যিটো’. Though the gopies at first tried to fulfill their desires with
Krishna, later it changed into pure devotion :

এহিমতে ব্ৰজৰ যুৱতী প্ৰতি নিত।

পাইলে মহোদয় কৰ্ম্ম-বন্ধ ছেদ ভৈল।। (কীৰ্তন)

A devotee has to cross through three stages to receive ‘moksha’ or salvation--

antarangaa, uttama and saprema. In antarangaa bhakti, a devotee accepts the existence
and importance of the world, and they ask the lord for blessing to get happiness or
freedom from the circle of life. In uttama bhakti, the lord is the only truth for the devotee.
The world is a lie. So, one should surrender one’s body, soul and senses, everything to the

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god and worship him. In supreme bhakti, there is no existence of the world. Devotee
automatically emerges themselves purely into thinking of God. The devotion in raaskrira is
also a pure form of devotion that turns into saprema devotion. At first, the gopies had
atleast a little bit of sense of the world. That is why they wanted to enhance their outer
beauty before going to Krishna. After that Krishna became the only truth in their minds.
So, when Krishna told them to go home, the gopis didn’t. All the times doing smarana,
kirtana, shravana makes a devotee neglectful and ignorant towards the outer world. The
same had happened with the gopis. As though they had united with the soul of the lord.
This body was created by the lord, so there is no shame or need to clothe it in front of him
:

বস্ত্ৰ নসম্বৰে মহামোহ হুয়া পৰে।

স্বামীৰ কাষতে পাছে লজ্জা হোৱে বডে।। (কীৰ্তন)

1.06 Conclusion : In Vishnupuran, Bhagawat puran, the ‘Raasleela’ chapter of Kirtana, the
play ‘Keligopal’, Parikshit has asked Sage Shuk that, even after being a god, why
Krishna despicably did raasleela with other’s women, where is the boundary for
Krishna? The souls inside the gopis, their husbands and other living beings are
actually a part of the lord, as stated in Bhagawat :

গোপীনাং তৎপতীনাঞ্চ সৰ্ৱেষাঞ্চৈযৱ দেহিনাম।

It has been mentioned in the ‘Kirtana’ too :

সৰ্বভক্ষ অগ্নি সৱাকো শৌৱে।.....সিজন জানা মৰি যায় প্ৰাণে।।

(Fire that burns everything isn’t held responsible for it. If a common man tries to act like a
god, the foolish man will only go down. If someone tries to drink poison because Har (Lord
Shiva) did it, then they will get only death in return).

Raaskrira is a beautiful story of the dalliance of the souls of the gopis or gopinis with the
supreme lord in the guise of Krishna. Sankardeva has presented the greatness of Raaskrira
for the common people with saying, ‘কামজয় নামে ইটো কেশৱৰ কেলি’

Footnote :

1. Fact gathered from field study : Auniaati Sattra, Majuli, Assam.

2. Fact gathered from field study : Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh

Reference Books :

1. Goswami, Malini (ed) : Sri Madbhagawat Geeta, Assam Prakasan Parishad,

Guwahati, 2005.
2. Das, Surendra Kumar (Trans) : Vishnupuran ; Banalata, Guwahati, 2014.
3. Das, Surendra Kumar (Trans) : Shiva -aha Purana, Banalata, Guwahati, 2010.

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4. Devagoswami, Keshavananda : Ankamala, Banalata, Dibrugarh, 1999.

5. Mahanta, Bapchandra (ed) : Prabandha Gaanar Paramparat Bargeet, Banalata,
Dibrugarh, 2006.
6. Hazarika, Surjya Kanta : Kirtan Ghosa aaru Naam Ghosa : Sri Sri Sankardeva Sri Sri
Madhabdeva, Banimandir, Dibrugarh, 2008

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