Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda

“Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhā is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s prāṇa-vallabhā, the dear most beloved of His life.

Similarly, Rādhā’s dear kuṇḍa is also extremely dear to Him.”

The Padma Purāṇa states:

The Varāha Purāṇa declares: “O Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa, O Śrī Kṛṣṇa-kuṇḍa, You destroy all sins and award liberation in the form of prema. I bow down to you again and again.” The different Purāṇas are filled with innumerable descriptions of the glories of these two kuṇḍas.

In Vraja-vilāsa-stava (text 53)63, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī prays: “Śrī Govardhana, is the arena of the nectarean rāsa, where the most confidential amorous pastimes of the Divine Couple take place. Because it and other places are situated in Śrī Vṛndāvana, Vṛndāvana has become exceedingly charming. Yet the glories of Vṛndāvana, what to speak of Vraja-maṇḍala’s other pastime places, are not equal to a mere shadow of a particle of the glories of Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa. I take shelter of this Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa, which is more dear to Śrī Mukunda than His own life.”

Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa lies in a village named Āriṭa, about three miles north-east of Govardhana and fourteen miles from Mathurā and Vṛndāvana. Ariṣṭāsura was a servant of Kaṁsa who assumed the form of a bull and attacked Kṛṣṇa with the aim of killing Him, but Kṛṣṇa killed him instead at this place.

At Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa, the Divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, perform Their midday pastimes, and freely enjoy a variety of amorous pastimes without obstruction. This is not possible anywhere else. Therefore, Rādhā-kuṇḍa is considered to be the topmost place of bhajana, superior even to Nandagaon, Varsānā, Vṛndāvana and Govardhana. This confidential place, surcharged with the highest and most sublime loving transcendental sentiments, was therefore revealed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, who is endowed with the sentiment and lustre of Śrī Rādhā. Previously, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, Śrī Lokanātha Gosvāmī and Śrī Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī also came to Vraja, where they revealed various pastime places of Kṛṣṇa; but even they did not reveal this most confidential of places. Only Śrī Gaurasundara, who is Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa combined, was able to do so.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa killed Ariṣṭāsura during the day. That same night, He met with Śrī Rādhikā and His other beloveds here. He was very eager to embrace Śrīmatī Rādhikā, but as soon as He reached out to do so, She jokingly stepped back and said, “Today, You have killed a bull, which belongs to the cow family. You have therefore committed the sin of killing a cow. Please do not touch My pure body.”

Smiling, Kṛṣṇa answered, “O dear most one, I killed a demon who had deceitfully assumed the form of a bull, so how can sin touch Me?”

Śrīmatījī insisted, “Whatever he was, he was in the form of a bull when You killed him, so You are definitely guilty of the sin of killing a cow.” The sakhīs fully supported Her words.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa asked how He could atone for this sin. Śrīmatījī smiled and answered, “The only atonement is to bathe in every holy place in the world.” Hearing this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa created a wide kuṇḍa simply by striking His heel on the ground. He then summoned all the holy places from all over the planet to come there. Uncountable holy places promptly came before Kṛṣṇa in their personified forms, and Kṛṣṇa asked them to enter the kuṇḍa as water. Within a moment, the kuṇḍa was filled with pure, sacred water. When Śrī Kṛṣṇa had bathed in that kuṇḍa He again tried to embrace Śrīmatījī, but in response to the bragging of Her dear most beloved, Śrīmatī Rādhikā now wanted to manifest a kuṇḍa full of water that was larger and more exquisite than Kṛṣṇa’s. She and Her sakhīs stubbornly dug out a very attractive kuṇḍa nearby with their bracelets, but not so much as a drop of water appeared in it. Kṛṣṇa joked that they could take water from His kuṇḍa, but Śrīmatījī along with Her innumerable sakhīs indignantly prepared themselves to bring water from Mānasī-gaṅgā in clay pots. Śrī Kṛṣṇa signalled to the holy places that they should insist that Śrīmatījī and Her sakhīs fill up their kuṇḍa with water from His. The holy places personified prayed to Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Her sakhīs and glorified them in many ways. Thus they pleased Her. She gave them permission to enter Her kuṇḍa and immediately, a current of water flowed from Kṛṣṇa-kuṇḍa into Rādhā-kuṇḍa. With great pleasure, Śrī Kṛṣṇa bathed and sported with Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the sakhīs in the water of this dear kuṇḍa.

These two kuṇḍas manifested at midnight on Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī (the eighth day of the dark moon) in the month of Kārtika; therefore, thousands of people bathe here at midnight on this day, which is known as Bahulāṣṭamī. The Padma Purāṇa states: “Radiantly beautiful Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill. Faithful people who bathe here on Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī in the month of Kārtika receive prema-bhakti and thus serve Śrī Rādhā-Kuñjabihārī Śrī Hari.” This same Purāṇa also states: “Unalloyed devotees of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa who go to Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa on the day of Dīpāvalī in the month of Kārtika are granted a vision of the complete Vraja- maṇḍala as well the entire universe.”

Some time after Śrī Kṛṣṇa had left for Dvārakā, both kuṇḍas disappeared. While uncovering the pastime places of Vraja, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s great-grandson, Mahārāja Vajranābha66, restored these two kuṇḍas under the guidance of Śāṇḍilya and other sages. Five thousand years later, however, they had again disappeared. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to this place, He inquired from the local people about Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa, but they could provide Him with no information. They could only tell Him about Kālī-kheta and Gaurī-kheta that lay before them, two fields which contained a little water. Śrīman Mahāprabhu reverentially addressed Kālī-kheta as Śyāma-kuṇḍa and Gaurī-kheta as Rādhā- kuṇḍa and offered His respects to them. Then, as He bathed in them, He became overwhelmed in ecstasy, and losing all composure cried out, “O Rādhā, O Kṛṣṇa!” and fainted. The place where He sat down is now called Tamāla-talā; it is also known as Mahāprabhu’s sitting-place (baiṭhaka).

After the disappearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī came from Jagannātha Purī and performed bhajana at Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Once, the Mughal emperor Akbar was making his way along this path with his vast army. The emperor’s divisions of men, elephants, horses and camels were very thirsty. Seeing Dāsa Gosvāmī, Akbar asked, “Is there any big pond nearby?” Dāsa Gosvāmī motioned to him to take water from Kālī-kheta and Gaurī-kheta. The emperor thought, “This water is not sufficient even for a single elephant. How will it quench the thirst of my entire army?” However, on the repeated requests of Dāsa Gosvāmī, Emperor Akbar encouraged his men to drink. To his amazement, the whole army and its horses, elephants and camels drank to their full satisfaction, yet the water in the ponds did not reduce even slightly.

The kuṇḍas as described in Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta and Govinda-lilāmṛta

In Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta and Govinda-lilāmṛta, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura and Śrīla Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja respectively describe Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śrī Śyāma-kuṇḍa in delightful, nectarean ways: Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the source of all incarnations; He is the origin of everything, yet He is without origin; He is the personification of all nectarean mellows (akhila rasāmṛta-mūrti) and the source of all power (sarva-śaktimān). Even so, He is subservient to the prema of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, the embodiment of mahābhāva and the topmost of all of His beloveds. Śrī Kṛṣṇa always establishes the glories of His beloved Kiśorījī, and considers Her superior to Himself. Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma- kuṇḍa are non-different from Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Śyāmasundara Themselves, and thus Kṛṣṇa also attributes more importance to Rādhā-kuṇḍa than to Śyāma-kuṇḍa.

North of Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa is the kuñja of Śrī Lalitā-devī, Lalitānandada, which is shaped like a golden, eight-petalled lotus. In the north-east is Viśākhānandada, the bejewelled kuñja of Viśākhā Sakhī, which is shaped like a sixteen-petalled lotus. In the east is Citrānandada, the kuñja of Citrā Sakhī, which displays an amazing variety of forms and colours. In the south-east is the kuñja of Indulekhā Sakhī, Indulekhānandada. It is shaped like an eight-petalled lotus and is made of diamonds. In the south is the kuñja of Campakalatā Sakhī, Campakalatānandada-kuñja, shaped like a golden lotus. And in the south-west is the lotus-like kuñja of Raṅgadevī, Raṅgadevī-sukhada, which is inlaid with blue sapphires. Tuṅgavidyānandada is the kuñja of Tuṅgavidyā Sakhī. This kuñja, in the west, resembles a lotus made of red rubies. In the north- west lies Ānandada, or Sudevī-sukhada-kuñja, the lotus-shaped kuñja of Sudevī, which is inlaid with emeralds. In the centre of Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa is Anaṅgamañjarī-ānandada-kuñja, shaped like a sixteen-petalled lotus inlaid with moonstones. This kuñja, also known as Svānanda-sukhada-kuñja, belongs to Anaṅga Mañjarī.

It is connected with the bank of the kuṇḍa by a bridge made of moonstones.

In the north-western area of Śrī Śyāma-kuṇḍa is a delightful place made of diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones where Śrīmatī Rādhikā daily takes bath. North of this place is Subalānandada- kuñja, which Subala Sakhā has given to Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa take rest here. In the northern part of Śyāma-kuṇḍa is the kuñja of Madhumaṅgala, Madhumaṅgalānandada, which is inlaid with white jewels. He has given this kuñja to Lalitājī. The Youthful Couple enjoy merriment and laughter here. Ujjvala Sakhā’s Ujjvalānandada-kuñja in the north-east, made of red jewels, has been given to Viśākhā Sakhī. In the east is Arjuna Sakhā’s Arjunānandada-kuñja, made of blue sapphires, which has been given to Citrā Sakhī. Gandharvānandada-kuñja in the south-east displays a variety of colours and forms, and belongs to Gandharva Sakhā, who has given it to Indulekhā Sakhī. In the south is the green emerald Vidagdhānandada-kuñja, belonging to Vidagdha Sakhā, who has given this kuñja to Campakalatā. Here the Youthful Couple play the game of chaupaḍa. Bhṛṅga Sakhā’s Bhṛṅgānandada-kuñja lies in the south-west, and he has given this kuñja to Raṅgadevī. In the west is Dakṣasanandānanda-kuñja made of a variety of jewels. Kokila Sakhā’s Kokilānandada-kuñja, also in the west, has been presented to Sudevī. At the juncture of the two kuṇḍas is a platform made of many kinds of jewels. It is also called the Yogapīṭha of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

To the south of Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa are jewelled swings hanging from the branches of campaka trees. Swings inlaid with precious stones hang from the branches of kadamba trees to the east. To the west, swings made of jewels hang from the branches of mango trees, and to the north jewelled swings hang from the branches of the bakula trees. Rasika Śrī Kṛṣṇa plays on these swings with Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the other sakhīs.

Surrounding both Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śrī Śyāma-kuṇḍa are wish-fulfilling trees of mango, jackfruit, kadamba, bakula and so on, which are abundantly laden with flowers and fruits. Around the bases of these trees are platforms made of various precious stones. All seasons are eternally serving the Divine Couple under the guidance of the spring season. Vṛndā-devī makes all kinds of arrangements for the service of the Divine Couple. Cuckoos coo and the peacocks dance and make a sweet ke-kā sound. Blue and red lotuses and various kinds of ketakī flowers frolic on the waves of the divine ponds, while intoxicated, buzzing bees hover above. Royal swans, cakravākas and cranes play in the water with their consorts, making sweet sounds. Different kinds of birds recite love poetry on the branches of the trees, giving pleasure to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Deer and does roam about in attractive bowers nearby. Except for Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s most intimate girlfriends, no one can enter this forest.