Why Krishna did not marry Radharani? Complete Details!
None of us has any qualification to speak of the relationship of Krishna and Radharani and about why Krishna did not marry Radharani, as the conditioned souls have no capacity to understand the divine love and its message as it is.
However, since this is the only question that I have received in large numbers, I like to write in detail to stop the inflow of such questions in future.
This question is asked by many as they see Krishna and Radharani like two separate conditioned souls like all of us.
(Is it true that Radharani is Krishna’s maternal aunt? READ HERE!)
(1) First of all, the marriage happens between two persons. But, Krishna and Radharani are not two separate persons, as Radharani is WITHIN KRISHNA as His INTERNAL PLEASURE POTENCY. Then, what is the need for the marriage between Krishna and Radharani when Radharani is the part and parcel of Krishna. So, Krishna did not marry Radharani that is not necessary.
In the “Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra”, Radharani is described as follows:
“The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord.”
(BEAUTY OF RADHARANI – A BLISSFUL DESCRIPTION! READ HERE!)
Thus, there is no question of immorality in their relationship. Krishna, being self-satisfied, does not depend on an external source for happiness but manifests His own potency when He wants to enjoy; this manifestation is Radharani. We worship Radha with Krishna, because She is the dearest devotee of Krishna and by pleasing Her we can also become dear to Him.
In short, the lila of Radharani and Krishna is that of an unwed couple, lover and beloved, but the spiritual reality is that they are eternally with one another as the Lord and His internal potency or His ‘consort’. Their unmarried love enhances the sweetness of their exchanges and is altogether wholesome and pure.
Actually, this material world is the exact replica of the spiritual world. When looking upon the lake’s surface where a tree is growing on the far bank of the lake, what do you see? You see a reflection! And what is the upper portion of the tree which you see in the reflection? Since the reflected image is upside down, you will see the roots growing up, and the branches growing down!
(Is worshiping Radharani alone sufficient without Krishna? READ HERE!)
Radha is prominent in the Gaudiya Vaishnavism which follows the madhurya rasa bhakti.
Sri Caitanya Maha Prabhu showed this bhawa since He is said to be a special avatar of Krishna with the mood of Radharani, to enjoy how Radharani feel when she loves Him.
In other Vaishnava sects, Radharani is not worshipped much. Sri Ramanuja propagated Vishishtadvaita or Sri Vaishnavism having the primary deities as Narayana and Lakshmi.
Only the material love has barriers of social norms. Spiritual love is between athmas and not body oriented. Though Radharani married Abhimanyu (Ayan) as per the social norms because she had taken birth in a family, she had soulful love with Krishna and hence this love is spiritual and hence no barriers. Anyone can love Krishna either as a brahmachari or a sanyasi or a grahastha. No issue of loss of purity because, love with Krishna is the love between soul and supersoul. Therefore the question Why Krishna did not marry Radharani does not arise among them.
(Why Radharani is not mentioned in Bhagavatham? Are we worshiping an imaginary character? READ HERE!)
In the case of Radharani, she is not just a soul, but, Krishna’s internal energy. Her taking birth and loving Krishna are preplanned lila by them to enjoy the mood of loving.
(2) EXPLANATION OF TWO RASAS BETWEEN KRISHNA AND RADHARANI
The lilas between Radharani & Krishna’s are viewed in TWO RASAS:
(i) SVAKIYA RASA (Married Relationship) and (ii) PARAKIYA RASA (Eternal Love).
(i) SVARKIYA RASA:
“Svakiya Rasa” is explained in “Brahma Vaivarta Purana” and the “Garga Samhita” describing the wedding of Radha and Krishna.
MARRIAGE BETWEEN KRISHNA AND RADHARANI
Let us now see the story of marriage between Radharani & Krishna as per SVARKIYA RASA as explained by Chapter-16 of GARGA SAMHITA, written by Garga Maharishi.
(RADHARANI – APPEARANCE AND BIODATA – DETAILS – READ HERE!)
When Radharani reached the kishore age ( less than teen age ), She wished that now She should marry to her eternal husband the Lord Krishna. To do that and to test the real saints, She created a MAYA as under:
A highly violent cyclone started in Vrindavan. All the people put themselves inside their houses forgetting their children also. Radharani came and took Krishna in Her lap as Krishna was just one year old then.
Then She went to Bhandir Vana (forest namely Bhandir) alongwith Nanda. Nanda followed Her as if he was in a dream.
In Bhandir Vana, Both became youth. Then Radharani remembered Brahma to to act as purohit for Their marriage ceremony.
Lord Brahma then came and solemnised the Marriage acting as a Purohit. After marriage Krishna became child again.
Then Radharani took Him in Her lap and came back along with Nanda. When Nanda , Radharani and Krishna reaches back to mother Yashoda , the air storm was stopped by Radharani. Nanda forgets all this as if he was in a dream.
Then Radharani handed over Krishna to Yashoda saying that she had taken Him to save from the air storm.
(KRISHNA AND RADHARANI – LILAS CAN BE READ HERE!)
(ii) PARAKIYA RASA:
“Parakiya Rasa” is focussed in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition as the highest form of love, wherein Radha and Krishna share loving exchanges through separation. The love the gopis feel for Krishna is also described in this esoteric manner as the highest platform of spontaneous love of God, and not of a mundane sexual nature.
There is no need to describe the “Parakiya Rasa” as it has been given by the acharyas like Srila Prabhupada in detail in their books and speeches.
However, let us read a lecture by “H.H Bakthi Caru Swami”, a spiritual master in ISKCON about the PARAKIYA RASA, ie, loving relationship of Krishna and Radharani:
“So one day Krishna was in the house of Srimati Radharani. Radharani is Krishna’s eternal consort but for the sake of pastimes, for the sake of enhancing the the mellow of union, the joy of union, or excitement of union, Radharani was as appearantly married to Abhimanyu. Actually Krishna is Radharani’s eternal consort and no one besides Krishna can even touch Srimati Radharani. But for the sake of pastimes Radharani was appearantly, that means it appeared as if Radharani was married to Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu was the king in Yavat. And he was a very wealthy person, he was a king of the cowherd folks and it has been described that his house, the walls of his house were made of gold. Not the house, but the the surrounding walls of the house was made of gold, so you can well imagine how wealthy he must have been. And you all know from Nectar of devotion and also from Krishna book that Abhimanyu’s mother and sister Jatila- and Kutila they were very envious of Srimati Radharani. They were always trying to stop Radha and Krishna to meet. The friends of Srimati Radharani the gopis of Vrindavan, they are always trying to unite Radha and Krishna. But Jatila and Kutila were always trying to stop Radha and Krishna from meeting each other. So, and also from the social side, you can well imagine like no mother-in-law wants her daughter-in-law to have an affair with someone else. So appearantly.that was Radharani’s situation. Now this has been described in the scriptures, specially by the Goswamis, that the highest form, the highest enjoyment or highest relationship, the greatest relationship is that between Radha and Krisha in parakiya mellow. Parakiya means where the the hero and heroine are not married to each other. There are two types of conjugal mellows, one is called svakyia and the other is called parakiya.
(GLORIES OF RADHARANI CAN BE READ HERE!)
In svakyia the nayaka and nayika or hero and heroine are married but in parakiya the hero and heroine are not married, and it is said that that relationship is more on a spiritual platform, that relationship is more profound or it is more enjoyable for the hero and heroine. Or that mellow, or that the highest relationship in the spiritual sky when reflected on the material nature, since material is perverted, that relationship in the material nature is the lowest. Whatever is the highest in spiritual sky when it is reflected in the material nature that becomes the lowest. In the spiritual sky when Krishna has His dealings with Srimati Radharani and if she is married to somebody else then it is the highest. But in the material nature when someone imitates Krishna and has an affair with someone else’s wife is it very good? No, that is very abominable, very degrading. So we have to understand that these topics are actually from the spiritual world.
The relationship between Radha and Krishna, the dealings between Radha and Krishna are on the spiritual platform and it is the highest spiritual relationship.
(Can we approach Radharani as mother as we approach Krishna in many relations? READ HERE!)
Actually Krishna Who is the Supreme Proprietor, Who owns everything, Who is the Lord and Master of everyone, is there any need or Him to get married or does He need any social approval? No, He can do anything He wants to do. But a living entity should never imtiate Krishna, a living entity must understand that only Krishna can do these things but no one else should imitate it. Just like the servant may see his master doing so many things. But can the servant start imitating the master? Like he may see that the master is lying on his nice bed and having party with his friends. Now, if the servant says, ok I will also lay on the bed of my master or I will also join in his party and drink with him then the master will kick him out. So the master, our position is like that of a servant and Krishna is Supreme Master. What the master can do the good servant will never try imitate. Therefore the living entity will never imitate Krishna’s pastimes. In other hand he will shy away this activities knowing well that only Kirshna has the exclusive right to indulge in these activities and we do not have. So therefore these pastimes of Radha and Krishna was not revealed to ordinary living entities. It was kept as a secret.”
(End of the excerpts of speech)
So, why should we ask why Krishna did not marry Radharani?
(“Who are gopis? Can I love Krishna like Gopis?” READ HERE!)
Let us also read a part of the speech by Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, on Radhastami, Srimati Radharani’s Appearance Day, in Montreal, August 30, 1968:
“…..Radha-Krishna philosophy has to be understood by the liberated person, not by the conditioned soul. So we shall await for the fortunate moment when we are liberated, then we shall understand radha-krishna-pranaya-vikrtir. Because Krishna and Radha, They are not on the material field. Try to understand. This is Jiva Gosvami’s analysis, that Krishna is the Supreme Brahman. The Supreme Brahman cannot accept anything material. So Radha is not in the material field.
….we should not treat Radharani as ordinary girl, or Krishna as ordinary man. They are the Supreme Absolute Truth. But in the Absolute Truth, there is the pleasure potency, and that is exhibited in the dealings of Radha and Krishna. And Radha’s expansion all the gopis, and Krishna is the Supreme Lord.”
Then, what is the need to ask why Krishna did not marry Radharani?
CONCLUSION:
Thus, all the pastimes of Krishna and Radharani are very special, Private and in Spiritual Platform that can not be understood as it is by our senses. Therefore, one should hear the pastimes of them with a humble mindset not with a material & research mindset. Krishna and Radharani are not bound by material world’s social rules. Marriage for pleasures is necessary for bodies remaining under the material laws. Because, Krishna never reveals Himself when we approach Him without devotion and humbleness.
Hope you are now clear about Why Krishna did not marry Radhatrani.
(Worship of Radha Krishna or other forms of Krishna – How to select? READ HERE!)