SRI VRINDAVANA CANDRIKA
The Moon Beam Of Vrindavan
ISSUE NO. 2, NOVEMBER 15, 2021, ON SRI RADHA
Krishna is simply Radha’s decoration
CC Madhya 13.150
vraja-väsé yata jana, mätä, pitä, sakhä-gaëa,
sabe haya mora präëa-sama
täìra madhye gopé-gaëa, säkñät mora jévana,
tumi mora jévanera jévana
Çrématé Rädhäräëé is the center of all
Våndävana’s activities. In Våndävana, Kåñëa
is the instrument of Çrématé Rädhäräëé;
therefore all the inhabitants of Våndävana still
chant “Jaya Rädhe!” From Kåñëa’s own
statement given herein, it appears that
Rädhäräëé is the Queen of Våndävana and that
Kåñëa is simply Her decoration. Kåñëa is
known as Madana-mohana, the enchanter of
Cupid, but Çrématé Rädhäräëé is the enchanter
of Kåñëa. Consequently Çrématé Rädhäräëé is
called Madana-mohana-mohiné, the enchanter
of the enchanter of Cupid. (Srila Prabhupada
Purport)
Prayer at the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani
tväm asau yäcate natvä
viluöhan yamunä-taöe
käkubhir vyäkula-svänto
jano våndävaneçvari
O Empress of Vrindavan, bowing down and
rolling on the Yamuna’s shore, this person
petitions You with faltering voice and
desperate heart.
kåtagaske 'py ayogye 'pi
jano 'smin kumatav api
dasya-dana-pradanasya
lavam apy upapadaya
Although I have committed offenses, although
I am unqualified and with bad intelligence,
please bestow upon me even a particle of
servitude unto Your lotus feet.
yuktas tvaya jano naiva
duùkhito 'yam upekñitum
kåpa-dyota-dravac-citta-
navanétasi yat sada
It is not proper for You to neglect a miserable
person like me because Your butter like heart
always melts with the fire of Your
compassion.
(Sri Prarthana Paddhati, Sri Stava mala, Srila Rupa
Gosvami, Text 5-7)
Qualities of Sri Radha
Jaiva Dharma
Radharani has unlimited qualities in which 25
are most prominent.
1. She is Madhura – meaning
unparalleled beautiful
2. She is of fresh youth (kisora vayas –
nava vaya)
3. Her glances are restless
4. Her smile is sweet and effulgent
5. She is endowed with fortune signs
6. She maddens Krishna with Her
fragrance
7. She is expert in music
8. Her talks are sweet
9. She is expert in joking conversation
10. She is humble
11. She is merciful and compassionate
12. She is clever
13. She is expert in everything
14. She is shy
15. She follows perfect etiquettes
16. She is patient
 17. She is grave
18. She is fond of sports with Krishna
19. She is eager for experiencing
mahabhava
20. Simply by seeing Her, love awakens in
the hearts of Gokukla-vasis
21. She is famous in the entire universe
22. Elders love Her
23. She is controlled by Her sakhi’s love
24. She is the best among Krishna’s sakhis
25. Krishna is always submissive to Her
In jivas, these qualities are in the form of
droplets. In demigoddesses, they are more
manifest. In Gauri etc. they are not in
complete and pure form but in Sri Radha,
these qualities are present in unlimited and
spiritual form.
Sri Sri Radha Shyam in Sri Vrindavan Dham
बिरज की प्यारी जी सरकार
बिरज की प्यारी जी सरकार |
जीवनधन राधाजी सरकार || ध.ृ ||
कांचन अंग पे नील जो पट है |
बिजुरी बादल से ही लिपट है || १
पैर में नूपुर रुन झुन रुन झन
ु |
पंछियों का जो मधुर है कूजन || २
कमर पे सुंदर मेखला बंधन |
श्याम के मन को लुभाये है लटकन || ३
अंग में कमल का हार है धारण |
श्याम के नयन भँवर हैं चारण || ४
हाथ में कंकण अंगद पहने |
कंठ में रतन के नाजुक गहने || ५
कोटि चन्द्र सम सुंदर आनन |
केश की लट घन श्याम सुहावन || ६
नयन हैं नील प्रेम रस सागर |
मगन हुए हरी नयन मिलाकर || ७
होठ लाल और नयन में काजल |
मधु मधु स्मित से हरी हैं पागल || ८
भाल पे चमकत रम्य है बिन्दिया |
कंु डल नथनी रसिक मन बसिया || ९
सिरपर फूल का गजरा बिराजे |
दामिनी चन्द्रिका संद
ु र साजे || १०
अन्त में सार कहे हैं रसिकजन |
श्याम ही हैं राधा के विभष
ू ण || ११
(refrain) O beloved empress of Sri Vraja, O
wealth of our life Sri Radha
(1) On Her golden complexioned form, She is
wearing dark saree. This beauty appears as if a
steady lightening is wrapped by a cloud.
(2) The ankle-bells in Her feet are sweetly
jingling like the chirping of birds.
(3) Around Her waist is tied a beautiful waist-
belt and the ornament hanging from the waist-
belt has enticed the mind of Shyam.
(4) She is wearing a garland of lotuses on Her
body and eyes of Shyam are like two bumble-
bees hovering and dancing over those lotuses.
(alternatively, they are spying around the lotus
garland of Sri Radha)
(5) She is wearing bracelets and armlets in her
hands and delicate jewel necklaces around Her
neck.
(6) Her face is more beautiful than millions of
moons and Her braid is thick, dark and
delighting. (alternatively, Her braid is
delighting Ghana Shyama Krishna)
(7) Her eyes are blue like a blue ocean of love.
Hari has immersed Himself in that ocean by
meeting Her glance with His glance.
(8) Her red lips, the collyrium of Her eyes and
Her honey like smile has made Krishna crazy.
(9) On Her forehead is shining a charming
bindiya and the beauty of Her ear-rings and
nose-ring occupy the mind of Krishna who is
the connoisseur of mellows.
(10) A gajra made of many flowers beautifully
rests on Her head and damini and chandrika
ornaments nicely decorate Her head.
(11) At the end the knowers of rasa have
described the essence: Sri Shyam only is all
the ornaments of Sri Radha.
Gopi Gita – O Krishna, Please Come Back
gopya ücuù
jayati te 'dhikaà janmanä vrajaù
çrayata indirä çaçvad atra hi
dayita dåçyatäà dikñu tävakäs
tvayi dhåtäsavas tväà vicinvate
The gopés said: O beloved, Your birth in the
land of Vraja has made it exceedingly
glorious, and thus Indirä, the goddess of
fortune, always resides here. It is only for
Your sake that we, Your devoted servants,
maintain our lives. We have been searching
everywhere for You, so please show Yourself
to us.
10th Canto Acarya Commentaries:
Jiva Goswami -
Only Krishna can understand what gopis
meant and I am trying to write the same. May
the compassionate gopis accept my insistence
upon writing. (May the gopis forgive me and
give me their own devotion or devotion unto
their lotus feet. – SG)
By your birth Laksmi resides here and
everyone is happy except us. (adhikam = Vraja
is greater than Vaikuntha)
Srinath Cakravarti Thakur -
Drsyatam = cannot you see our plight? Our
separation? Our great endeavor to find you?
All because we are tavakah
Foolish women, then become somebody
else’s. No that’s impossible You are dayita.
We cannot even have an iota of relationship
with anyone else.
But ka-i-avarahi-aà pemmaà ëa hi hoi mäëuse
loe | ja-i hoi kassa virahe hontammi ko jéa-i
‘Love of Godhead, devoid of cheating
propensities, is not possible within this
material world. If there is such a love, there
cannot be separation, for if there is separation,
how can one live?’
then how come you are still alive? Because we
are tvayi dhrta asavah: Our life is in You.
Vishvanath Cakravarti Thakur -
VCT – else we would have been happy leaving
our bodies- but our life airs are in You who are
always happy – so although the body is in
pain, the life airs are happy thus we don’t die.
And You are always happy by seeing us
suffer.
Visuddha-rasa-dipika
At least come to see the wonder how we are
looking for you although our lives have gone.
We are cakoris and You become our Moon to
save us. Else it will be shame on Your part just
as it is said that after serving the husband of
rivers (ocean) if the birds residing on banks
have to drink water from a lake then it is a
shame for the ocean.
Also it is mentioned that if one plants
poisonous tree even, it is inappropriate for him
to cut it himself. So You please save us who
maintained us so far.
We tvadeka-jivanah ananya-gatikah
The vulture of death is fearful of the fire of
separation thus he is not attacking the prey
bird of our lives.
Hari suri
It is alright that you gave great punishment to
our minds who committed offense of being
proud but why did you disappear from our
eyes who were innocent and made them bereft
of their happiness? Giving punishment of
one’s offense to someone else, is it not
irreligious injustice?
You sport here to give pleasure to Vraja, so
needless to say it again, please give pleasure to
our group of senses (gokula = vraja)
How can Radharani be titled as Srimati?
Secondly, by etymology, Sri-mati is a matup
pratyaya meaning someone full of or
possessed of. So Srimati Radharani would
simply mean that Radharani who full of Sri or
transcendental beauty. Just as we say Sri-mat
Bhagavatam.
Lastly, Kaviraj Goswami, both in Sanskrit and
Bangla has referred to Her as Srimati.
kä kåñëasya praëaya-jani-bhüù çrématé
rädhikaikä (CC Madhya 8.182)
täì-sabära kathä rahu,—çrématé rädhikä sabä
haite sakaläàçe parama-adhikä (CC Adi 6.69)
Also, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana uses the
term Srimati to respectfully address Radharani.
Srila Prabhupada absolutely followed the
mood and the method given by previous
acaryas.
So, following the footsteps of Srila
Prabhupada, we do use all different
appropriate addresses for Radharani including
Sri Radha, Srimati Radhika, Radharani,
Srimati Radharani, Sri Radhika or simply
Radha, whatever feels right in particular
situation.

Some mahants in Barsana have objected the Let us pray to Sri Radha (or Srimati
use of title “Srimati” for Radharani by Srila Radharani) that vaishnavas do not fight over
Prabhupada. They are saying that this title is a trifle issues due to lack of study of scriptures
mundane title for married women of this or due to narrow-minded outlook or simply
world. They also challenge whether our false egoism and separatism. It will do them
previous acaryas have used this address for well if they use the limited human energy in
Her. Here we prove that the usage Srimati for full devotion to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha
addressing Radharani is both bona fide Shyam. Jai Sri Radhe.
grammatically and also have been seen in
great acaryas like Kaviraj Gosvami and the
objection is unfounded.
Firstly, let us treat the objection contextually
and not just textually. It is true that the word
Srimati or Sriman are used to respectfully
address women and men of the mundane
world. Yet the context shall always determine
the meaning. Just like the dictionary meaning
of ‘bhoga’ is ‘mundane sense gratification’,
yet when you say ‘bhoga for the Thakur ji’, it
means ‘transcendental offering for Krishna’.