Intrinsic Nature of Krishna’s Raslila

Krishna’s rasalila with the gopikas of Vraj, is played out by Krishna before Krishna leaves for Dwarka. There has been much debate about Krishna playing with other’s wives by summoning them in the middle of the night in Vraj. His escapades with Radha have been the subject of discourse in several works, paintings, treatises, and scriptures. Krishna’s episodes with the gopikas of Vraj also find mention in the hymns of the propounders of the Bhakti movement namely Sri Chaitanya in West Bengal and Meerabai in Rajasthan. According to several interpretations of the Bhagavata Purana, the union between Radha and Krishna is an example of the ultimate spiritual and blissful union between the jeevatma (individual soul) and paramatma (Supreme Soul). This is because according to many scriptures, Radha was another incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself. This was also the reason why Krishna never got married to Radha since it would entail Krishna marrying himself. The Radha and Krishna love story is an instance of the zealous pursuit of spirituality which culminates in the union of Radha-the individual self, with Krishna-the universal self.