Janmashtami 2019: Lessons To Learn From The Love Story of Radha Krishna

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The Radha Krishna love story is a tale of divine love. This is not like any average love story. That is why, it is a good idea to revisit the legend of the Radha Krishna love story on Janmashtami. The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Krishna in to the world as an avatar of Lord Vishnu and this year, it is on 24th August, Saturday.

Radha and Krishna's love story is special because it is the perfect example of platonic love. Radha and Krishna were never married. And yet, they are sighted as an example of divine lovers. Thy myth of the Radha Krishna love story goes something like this..

Krishna was the shepherd prince of Gokul and Radha was Vrishbhanu Gurjar who had a boon that Devi Lakshmi will be born as his daughter. So technically, we look at Radha as an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. Radha and Krishna were childhood playmates. Radha was one of the Gopis or cowherd girls with whom Krishna did rasleela in the forests of Vrindavan.

But Radha was the dearest to Krishna and most devoted to Him. When Krishna played the flute, Radha sang and danced with Him. However, this love story never reached its maturity because, Krishna left Vrindavan at the age of 12 to study at his gurukul and then to attack his uncle Kamsa in Mathura.

Meanwhile, Radha was married off to a wealthy landowner named Abhimanyu. Some stories also give the name of Radha's husband as Chandrasena. There is also a myth that Radha and Krishna were secretly married in Vrindavan and Lord Brahma presided over their marriage as a priest. This version of the story does not hold much water because it is not written in the Puranas.

The essence of the Radha Krishna love story is true love that goes beyond the physical realm. Krishna and Radha were never man and wife. They were not bound in holy matrimony and yet they were soulmates. Their love was 'pure' because it was never consummated. It was love on a platonic level. Radha's devotion to Krishna was unprecedented. That is why, although Krishna has 16008 wives, His favourite consort was always Radha. She was a part of His soul although she was never a part of His home.

That is why, thousands of years later we still worship Radha and Krishna together. In fact, Radha-Krishna is an unbreakable word that stands for both the masculine and feminine aspects of the Universe. That is Radha and Krishna love story encompassing the love present in all of the Universe.