Radha through the lens of Sri Vaishnava Acharyas and Vidwans
(Compiled by Godanuja)
Mentions in WORKS OF PURVACHARYAS
1. Yadavabhyudayam of Vedanta Desika (Verses 9.90 and 10.71)
2. Gopala Vimshati of Manavala Mamunigal (authenticity disputed)
3. Yatiraja Vijayam of Ghatikashatham Ammal
4. Raghavayadaviyam of Arasanipalai Venkatadhvari Kavi
5. Prapannamrta Stotram of 31st Parakala Mutt Jeeyar
WORDS OF ACHARYAS AND VIDVANS
1. Sri Sarathy Thothathri swami ([Link]
“Nappinnai pirattiyum radhavum ondra?” appdinu parththom na, adhukku avlo thelivaana adharam illa; irukka mudiyaadhu nu dhaan soldren.
(If we see “are nappinnai and radha one?” - there is no clear evidence for it, “it cannot be so” is what I say.)
● Srimad bhagavtam says how Krishna married satya by winning over seven bulls; in a similar fashion, azhvars have described the marriage of krishna
and nappinnai by winning over seven bulls. But if we see about radha, that “she was a gopika” is what is known, from the charitrams of the north (as a
cowherd girl, as a gopika) - but there is no charitram of krishna marrying radha.
Andal nachchiyar-oda pasurangal-la kooda, paththu gopikaigalai andal nachchiyaar ezhuppugiraal.
Appdi ezhuppumbodhu, oru oru gopikaiyai paththi varnikkumbodhu, adhule, oru sila gopikaigalai sollumbozhudhu, "ival kannanukku migavum priyamaana
gopikai" - appdinu sollapattirukkiradhu.
(In andal nachchiyar's pasurams too, she wakes up 10 gopikas. As she wakes them, when she describes the gopikas one by one, in that, when a few gopikas
are being talked about, it has been said that "she is a gopi most beloved of krishna")
Ipo idhellam parthom-na, ellam gopikaigalum kannanukku pidikkum, adhule visheshama sila gopikaigal idaththile avan anbodu irundhirukkiran, endru
theriyavarudhu.
(If we see all this, all gopikas are loved by krishna, in that towards specially few gopikas he has had love, this is what we understand.)
Andha kramaththile parthom na..
... "andha 'radha' engira gopikai kannanudaya anbukkum migavum paththram aanaval", endru appdindra alavavukku namma kandipa vechchukalaam.
(In this sequence, "that radha was a gopika who was very much a receiver of krishna's love" - to this level we can definitely say.)
● But “Is radha sri devi, bhu devi or nila devi?” - there is no specific evidence for this.
● Hence, we cannot say that nappinnai and radha are the same.
2. Sri Navalpakkam Vasudevachariar swami ([Link]
Quoting a verse from yadavabhyudayam of vedanta desika:
"ramA rADHA dayaschEthi"
Sri vaikunthaththila eppdi lakshmiyo, appdi than aayar kulaththil radha mudhalaanavargallam. Aaga, "ellam unakku onnu dhaana appa!?" endru vasudevar
soldrar.
(Just as Lakshmi in vaikuntham, so are radha et al in the cowherd clan. Thus, "they are all the same to you, right krishna?", says vasudeva.)
"Indha shlokaththula enna vishesham?"-nu ketta, "रमा राधा दयः"-nu radha-oda thirunaamaththa desikan eduthirukkirar.
(If asked "whats the speciality in this shloka?", here desikan has taken the holy name of radha)
Naraiya per kekkira - "radha engindraval nammudaya sampradaayaththula unda?", sollittu. "Lakshmi devi-udan amsamaaga avar avathaaram pannirukiraal",
endru kurippai desikan ingu tharaar.
(Many people ask - is radha a part of our sampradaya?, and so on. "She has taken avatara as amsha of lakshmi" - this detail is provided to us by desika.)
3. Sri Velukkudi Krishnan swami (translation by lugita swami)
"According to this Shloka, we obtained the Gita by Krishna opening his lotus-like mouth with words full of nectar. We have been worshiping many places where
that Krishna played at a young age. Among those, the place where are in today is the famous place called Barsana. In the olden days, they called it Brihatsanu.
Now having changed in the course of time, it has acquired the name of Barsana. It is in the vicinity of Nandagramam. As was said previously, Krishna, having
spent his first five years in Gokulam, then went and came to Nandagramam. Until about his tenth or eleventh year, he lived in Nandagramam itself. This
Barsana is within a distance of 10 miles from Nandagramam. Everyone celebrates this place as the place where Radharani grew up. Radha was born in a place
called Raval. Radha grew up in this place Barsana.
In this place there is a very wondrous temple built by people from Rajasthan. That temple is what you are worshiping right now. If we climb a little hill, we can
obtain a beautiful Darshan of Radha and Krishna appearing together. We can obtain the opportunity of worshiping them. In this temple there are two sides, one
is a palace side, the other is a temple side. If you look down from the above in the temple, there is a place called Morukutti. It was in this place that Krishna
having put on a peacock-like costume would dance to make all the boys happy. If you look straight ahead, a place called Sanket can be seen. It was in that
place that all Krishna would invite all the Gopis and Radha and meet and talk to them. In another place, there is the place where Krishna would demand tolls.
The girls would go carrying pots of buttermilk and pots of milk and butter to sell. Krishna would stop them saying "To go past this place, you need to pay me a
toll." We can also worship that place.
The question "Who is Radha?" will arise. If we look for this in books, then according to the Bhakti Sampradayams in North India, according to their way of
worship, Radha is one of the wives of Krishna. But neither Radha's name nor her life story is found in detail in the 4000 Pasurams of the Azhwars, in the
Bhagavata Mahapurana, or in the Vishnu Purana. In fact we can say it's not found at all.
Despite this, Radha has so much centrality and importance. How many devotees talk about her and feel bliss? If there are Krishna Bhaktas, Radha's name will
necessarily come up. Given that, the question "Who is she?" will arise.
So many Gopis lived right alongside Krishna. All of them were little girls. Just like children will interact with other children, they were blissfully playing in
Gokulam, Nandagramam, and Barsana. What they all had in common was Bhakti, affection for Krishna, flawless, undecaying, abundant, non-decreasing love
for Krishna. Love is an feeling. Love will be in the lover. Feeling will be in the feeler. If you're asked "Draw a feeling", you can't draw it. If you're asked "Draw
someone who has developed love for Krishna", if you're asked that, you can draw a picture of a Krishna Bhakta, you can write "this is his name". But if you're
asked "Draw a picture of love for Krishna itself", you can't do it. You can't draw a picture of a feeling. A feeling has no form. Only a person who has a feeling will
have a form. Only a feeler will have a form.
But we're asking "Who is Radha", aren't we? We need to understand that if we turn the lofty quality, the feeling called Krishna Bhakti, that feeling itself into a
person, into a woman, that form is what Radha is. So if Krishna Bhakti took a form, we say personification don't we, that form would have the name Radha.
That's why Radha has attained this much fame throughout India. Krishna and Krishna Bhakti. Bhakti is feminine. After all, love, infatuation, things like this are
feminine. In our country, rivers all have female names. We only talk about rivers using feminine words. Because of that, we say Bharata Mata. Do we say
Bharata Pita? Lofty things will always have a feminine form. How lofty a thing is Krishna Bhakti? Because of that only, it should have a feminine form like Radha.
Standing in Barsana, having said "live long" to that Krishna and Radha, by their grace, we will continue chapter 4 of Krishna's Gita.”
4. Sri APN swami ([Link]
Appo radha unda, illaiya? “Radha” endradhaana tattvam unda, illaiya?
(So is radha there or not? Is the tattva of radha there or not?)
Onnu theriyuma? Ghatikashatam ammal - adi van shatakopa swami-udaiya acharyan.
“Panbudaiya ammal than parivudaiyon vazhiye!” - endru, nam adi van shatakopa swamiyinudaiya vazhi thirunaamaththla anusandhanam pandrom. Avar oru
grantham panniyirukkar - yatiraja vijayam, alias vedanta vilasam. Idhu oru “allegorical drama”; sankalpa suryodayam maadhiri oru natakam.
(Do you know one thing? Ghatikashatam ammal was the acharya of adi van shatakopan swami. We also mention him in the vazhi thirunamam of adi van
shatakopan swami. He has done one work ‘yatiraja vijayam’ aka ‘vedanta vilasam’; this is one allegorical drama like sankalpa suryodayam.)
Andha natakaththinudaiya mangala shlokaththla “radha krishnan nammai rakshikkattum”-nu andha swami mangala shlokam panniyirukkar.
Ippo naama vyapakala? Illa avallam vyapakala?
(In the mangala shloka of that natakam, “May radha-krishna protect us!” - this has been done in the mangala shloka by that swami.
Now, are we vyaapakaas? Or are they vyaapakaas?)
“Andha radha-endra uyarndha tattvam enna?” appdinnu therinjikkanum na - ghatikashatam ammal, adharkku munbaaga swami desikan yadavabhyudayam
mahakavyaththla kaanbichchirukkar, avar.
(If you want to know what the exalted “tattva of radha” is, ghatikashatham ammal, and before that, it was shown in the mahakavya yadavabhyudayam of swami
desikan.)
5. U. Ve. Sriman T. C. Soundararajan, vidwAn from ParakAla Matham, Program head-Kanchipuram (credits to Anik)
“Radha is Sri Devi”
6. His Holiness Sri Sri Rangapriya Mahadeshika Swamiji (credits to Anik)
“Radha is Amsha of Sri Devi”
7. 'Deśika-darśana-sevaka' Sri M K Srinivasan (credits to Anik)
“Radha is Nappinnai”
~From his commentary of Gopāla Vimshati of Vedanta Desika
8. His Holiness Sri Śrī Kṛṣṇa Brahmatantra Swatantra Parakāla Swāmi (31st Pontiff of Parakāla Matham) (credits to Anik)
~14th Shloka of Śrī Prapannamṛta Stotram of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Brahmatantra Swatantra Parakāla Swāmi.
Ratnadīpikā an ancient and rare commentary on Yatirāja Vijaya Nāṭakam:
