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(Times of India 21/7/25. Speaking Tree: Radha & Rukmini: Two Facets of Love in Krishn Lila by Ganesh Kolambakar)

    In Krishn’s divine lila, love reveals itself in many shades, not to confuse us but to awaken us. At first glance, Krishn’s bond with Radha may seem puzzling, especially since Rukmini was his lawful consort. Yet across centuries, temples, songs, and hearts remember Krishn not as ‘Rukmini-Krishn’ but as ‘Radha-Krishn’.
    Radha and Rukmini are two expressions of the Divine force. They symbolise two dimensions of love– the worldly and the transcendental, the composed and the consuming. They are not in conflict but in complement, reflecting the soul’s journey towards the divine.
Rukmini, the queen of Dwaraka, embodies maryada, the love that lives within the boundaries of dharm. She is Lakshmi incarnate, graceful and steadfast. Her love stands for a sacred partnership rooted in harmony, order, and purpose. She represents Apara Shakti, Krishn’s manifest energy that sustains worldly life.
Radha, the gopi of Vrindavan, is Krishn’s Hladini Shakti, his bliss, inner song. Her love transcends all boundaries. It is romantic, yes, but not merely earthly; it’s the soul’s cry for union with the Infinite. Radha is Para Shakti, the soul’s longing for the Divine, unbound by law or logic. She is not another love; she is love itself, raw and pure.
To a layperson, Radha and Krishn’s romance is emotionally relatable, a tale of longing, stolen glances, and secret meetings under moonlit skies. But to the seeker, it reveals a profound truth: that the soul, like Radha, yearns not for a husband or a protector, but for oneness with the Divine Beloved. This is why their love stirred saints and poets alike. Meerabai, too, wept and sang for Krishn, not as a king but as her eternal lover. Her devotion mirrored Radha’s fearless and boundless love, pure, sacred, and beyond the bonds of this world.
Rukmini’s love is the temple. Radha’s the sacred fire within. Rukmini walks with grace, and Radha dances in divine ecstasy. Both are true. Both are sacred. One represents Krishn’s presence in worldly life. The other reveals Krishn in the innermost heart. Sri Aurobindo saw Radha as the symbol of the psychic being – the soul’s flame moving toward the Divine. In this light, Radha and Krishn are not two lovers, but the seeker and the sought. Their union is not merely emotional. It is spiritual and cosmic.
Some traditions view Radha and Krishn as Shakti and Shiv, two forms yet ultimately one. Rukmini represents Krishn’s role in society and dharm. Radha is the inner music, his hidden joy. Both are divine movements of the same truth.
To truly understand Krishn, one must embrace both these aspects. He is the cowherd of Vrindavan and the sovereign of Dwaraka. He is Radha’s eternal beloved and Rukmini’s devoted husband. One whispers the mystery of divine ecstasy. The other upholds the strength of divine grace.
Krishn’s lila unveils love in its fullness. In Krishn’s world, love has many faces. Each of them is sacred. Through them, we do not just learn how to love. We learn how to become Love itself.

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Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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