yathā rādhā priyā viṣṇos
tasyāḥ kuṇḍaṁ priyaṁ tathā
sarva-gopīṣu saivaikā
viṣṇor atyanta-vallabhā
[Cc. Madhya 8.99]
[Just as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is most dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, her bathing place [Rādhā-kuṇḍa] is also dear to Him. Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is supermost and very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.]
Purport
This verse is from the Padma Purāṇa and is included in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.1.45), by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. It also appears in the Ādi-līlā, chapter four, verse 215, and again in the Madhya-līlā, chapter eighteen, verse 8.
[mangalacarana]
…and fortunate to have the most precious and sacred association of His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaj.
[devotees:] ”Hari Bol..”.
[Maharaj:] Everyone kindly welcome Maharaj to Sri Radha Gopinath mandir.
[devotees:] ”Hari Bol...”
[Maharaj:] [Maharaj reads the verse, translation and purport]
Material World- Full of Problems – Even to devotees
Today we are celebrating the most auspicious festival of the appearance day of Shri Radha Kund. On the order of Sri Giriraj Maharaj, I will speak something what I can share with you in regard to this wonderful pastime and then he will illuminate your hearts with transcendental knowledge. [Maharaj chuckles] Sukhdeva Goswami explains in the Srimad-Bhagavatam how Kamsa was sending one demon after another to Vrindavan. And Srila Prabhupada explains there that this material world is such a contaminated place that even in Vrindavan the Lord’s own abode so many demons are coming to cause disturbances. What to speak of anywhere else. We should not think that because we have come to Krishna consciousness that this material world would become a nice place. Whether we are devotees or not devotees there will always be adversities. There will always be problems. There will always be attacks from within and without by demoniac forces. But the difference is for those persons who are of materialistic consciousness when they are plagued with the problems of this world, they simply become frustrated and they take shelter of material resources for relief which further perpetuates their bondage and misery. But devotees they blissfully seek shelter in the lotus feet of Krishna by chanting his holy name. [devotees chant together] hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare/hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare|| And in this way, they gradually experience the ultimate sweetness of Krishna’s divine love and transcend all of the contamination of this material existence.
Aristasura enters in Vrindavan
So, Kamsa sends a very terrible demon of the name Aristasura, who appeared in the form of a tremendous bull. This bull was so big. You have seen when there is just an ordinary bull walking down the street, how everyone becomes very much afraid to come near him. But Aristasura was larger than a mountain. His body was so huge that the clouds were hovering around his body like a mountain. And he began to run into Vrindavan with such force, with such speed and anger. His hooves were tearing the earth to pieces and as he was galloping into vraja the earth was trembling like an earthquake, in fact it was an earthquake due to his influence. And even pregnant women and cows just out of the fear of the shaking of the earth they were having miscarriages. And as Aristasura was coming closer and closer into Vrindavan his eyes were red with rage and the Vrajvasis in great fear when they saw him coming and heard him, he was growling, he was roaring in such a way it was piercing people's ears and hearts. They cried out, “Krishna, Krishna please protect us.”
Krishna - the Only shelter of Vrajvasis
In Vrindavan, when everything was nice, by the yogmaya potency everyone thought Krishna is their friend, their child or their lover. Yashodha Mai is thinking ‘If I do not feed Krishna and he will become sick and perhaps even he will die.’ and his friends they are playing with him as an equal sometimes wrestling, sometimes defeating him in various games and sports, but when the terrible demons would come, they would immediately recognize that ‘Only Krishna can save us.’ But then after he killed the demons they would, Yogamaya potency would cover them to think ‘It must be due to our pious acts that Krishna has that...that we have been saved.” So the vrajvasis were calling out, “Krishna, save us.”
Krishna Kills Aristasura
And Krishna came before Aristasura. And he was very calmly standing with his arm on the shoulder of one of his gopas and he called out to Aristasura that, “You terrible demon, you have caused so much distress to my friends in Vrindavan therefore today I will send you to the kingdom of death. You have come for a challenge, now I am ready.” So Aristasura hearing these words, he became ever so more angry and with eyes burning in rage he pointed his terrible sharpened horns right at the beautiful body of Lord Krishna and began to run with full force roaring and roaring and roaring. And Krishna effortlessly took him by the horns and threw him to the ground. When he was thrown to the ground, he became even more angry and he got to his feet and again attacked Lord Sri Krishna and Krishna again took him by the horns and threw him to the ground breaking his powerful mighty horns and then with his lotus feet, the same feet that the gopis would meditate upon that when Krishna was herding the cows in the forest, they were thinking that ‘These stones and the pebbles of Vrindavan are so hard and Krishna’s lotus feet are so soft that he must be experiencing great pain just by walking.’ The same soft lovely feet, when they were kicking Aristasura they were like mighty mighty deathly blows. Then Krishna kicked him again and again, just as one kicks a wet cloth to wring it out and as he was being kicked by Krishna his eyes started bulging from their sockets. Blood started flowing profusely from his mouth. He began to pass urine and stool simultaneously. He began to kick his legs violently in the air and then by the mercy of Bhagavan Sri Govinda, Aristasura entered into the kingdom of death. Sri Krishna Bhagavan ki.
[Devotees:] Jai!
Radharani and Sakhis chastise Krishna for killing Aristasura
[Maharaj:] And the demigods being very pleased, they were chanting nice songs and showing flowers upon Krishna and everyone was chanting the glories of Krishna and Krishna and Balaram and the cowherd boys again entered into the village of Vrindavan and everyone was singing the glories of Krishna who had just killed this terrible terrible demon Aristasura. So later on, at night Krishna approached his beloved concert Srimati Radharani to enjoy their beautiful lila of transcendental love. Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur explains this story from Padma Purana, that Sri Radharani along with her sakhis, they told to Krishna that, “We will not play with you tonight. In fact, we will not allow you to even touch us, because you have become sinful because you killed a cow, a male cow. You may say that, “He was a demon.” but nevertheless this is Gokul the place of the protection of cows and you have killed this bull. Therefore, unless you bathe in all the holy places you cannot atone for this terrible sin.”
Appearance of Shyam Kunda
So, Lord Krishna, he replied that, “I can bathe in all the holy places. But why should I leave Vrindavan? Vrindavan is the holiest of all holy places.” There are so many wonderful stories. Once when Nanda Maharaj was thinking it is the pious duty of all followers of Sanathan Dharma to go to Badrinath and Kedarnath. He was packing his carts to bring Krishna, thinking ‘Krishna will get very good grace of Lord Vishnu if we go to these holy places of tirtha in Himalayas.’. So, Krishna said, “There is no need. We should never leave Vrindavan.” and he brought Badrinath and Kedarnath to Kamyavan in Vraja. So similarly, Krishna told Radharani that, “I will bring all the holy places right here in this very spot.” and he took his beautiful lotus foot and he made an impression in the earth and then he called for the holy places and the all the holy places in the entire universe appeared at that very spot and they all began with folded hands and hearts full of love to introduce themselves to Lord Krishna. “I am the Bhogavati.”, “I am Gangadevi.”, “I am Jamuna.”, “I am Pushkara”, “I am…” like that. So, Krishna instructed them and they all took the form of holy waters and filled the Kunda. And that became Shayma Kunda and then Krishna took nice bath very happily in that Kunda and then he came out of the water and he told Shrimati Radharani that, “You see how I have performed such a pious activity what have you done and besides that you have taken the sides of a demon and therefore you are contaminated, so you should also.”
Appearance of Radha Kunda
So, Srimati Radharani... he said, “You should also bath in my Kunda.” And Radharani said, “No, I will not bath in your Kunda, I will make my own Kunda.” So, she went just off Shyam Kunda and there was the hoof marks Aristasura and her and her friends, the gopis they began to dig with their hands and they excavated a very very nice Kunda and then Krishna he said to Sri Radharani, “Now you have a nice Kunda and I will take my waters from my Kunda to fill yours.”. She said, “How we will do this? Your waters are contaminated by the sin of killing a bull. We will get our own waters from the pure and fresh reservoir of Manasi-Ganga.” So, millions and millions of gopis were assembled and with buckets they all began to work very nicely in the service of Sri Radharani to bring the water from Manasi-Ganga to her Kunda. At that time, Krishna, wanting to give pleasure to his eternal pleasure potency, his life, his soul, his object of complete affection. He instructed the personification of all holy places to approach Sri Radharani. So, [they] he approached her with folded hands, and began to glorify her with so many beautiful prayers. “O Srimati Radharani you are the supreme Laxmi, the goddess of fortune. All of the greatest demigods, they are always aspiring for the dust of your lotus feet. Even the supreme personality of godhead the lord of all lords decorates your beautiful feet with wonderful colors and places ankle bells upon you and worships you. So please, we have come begging you to fulfill our desire.” And Srimati Radharani replied, “What is your desire?” That, “We want to please you, we want to serve you. Please allow us to fill your Kunda with our waters.” So, hearing heartfelt loving prayers and knowing this was truly the desire of her beloved Govinda. She said, “Yes, please come.” And then the waters from Shyam Kunda, which are the liquid personified prema or love, they swelled up to such an extent that they broke through the boundaries of Shyam Kunda and flooded into Sri Radha Kunda and filled her up. When Krishna saw the beauty of Sri Radha Kunda, he explained that, “In all of the creation and all of existence, Srimati Radharani, you are most dear to me. And this Kunda now is as dear to me as you.” And Srimati Radharani said, Krishna said, “Let us bathe in this Kunda.” and Srimati Radharani replied that, “I will also bathe in your Shyam Kunda even if you kill millions and millions of Aristasuras and anyone who comes to bathe in these Kunds will receive the very love of my own heart.”
The Holiest of Holy place - Radha Kunda
So, in this way Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda became the most confidential place of Lord Sri Krishna and Sri Radharani pastimes. They would perform the most confidential of all of their lilas. The Rasalila on the banks of Sri Radha Kunda. And the great acharyas have glorified this place as the most holy and sacred place in all existence. They explain how in Goloka Vrindavan one time Radha and Krishna were together and they were feeling such love for each other that Krishna in his ecstasy took the form of Radha and Radha took the form of Krishna and not seeing the one that they are adored in love they were feeling separation and they began to weep tears and this filled these two lakes in Goloka and then they both bathed in those lakes and Krishna became Krishna and Radha became Radha and in this way this became even in Goloka Vrindavan their most favorite and intimate place of lila.
Vajranabh re-establishes Holy Places of Vrindavan
After Krishna left this world Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda were forgotten and Krishna’s great grandson Vajra was ordered by Maharaja Yudhisthir to be the king of Mathura. So, the Vrajavasis were requesting that he re-establish the places of Krishna’s lila but he did not know how he could do like this. So, it is explained that he sat on bank of Jamuna and he began to pray. But by the divine arrangement of the lord, he was sitting under a Kalpavriksha tree. The trees of Vrindavan will fulfill all one's desires. So, he was praying, “Please I desire to find all of the holy places of Radha and Krishna’s lila and reveal them to world.” So, by the grace of Jamuna Devi and this Kalpavriksha tree, all of the holy places were revealed to him. And in this place called Aritagram where Krishna killed Aristasura, he revealed the holy place of Shyam Kunda and Radha Kunda and excavated.
Lord Chaitanya rediscovers Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda
But as the millenniums passed, again the holy places of Vrindavan were covered and that same Lord Sri Krishna in the mood of his eternal and beloved life and soul, Srimati Radharani appeared as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And he traveled to Vrindavan. It is explained by Kaviraj Goswami, that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was living in Jagannath Puri he was always in the ecstasy of Radharani’s love to Krishna. But when he would even think of Vrindavan that love would increase hundreds of times. And when he decided to go to Vrindavan and he was traveling to Jharikhand forest, just the anticipation of coming to Vrindavan that love would increase thousands of times. And when he entered into Mathura Mandal came Vishram-ghat the district of Mathura, that love increased thousands of times and when he actually entered into Vrindavan and wandered through twelve forests Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes that, that love increased unlimitedly. But while he was in Vrindavan, he was very anxious to rediscover the holiest of all holy places, Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda. So, he was inquiring from the Vrajvasis but no one had any idea where it may be. When he came to the village of Arita-gram he was inquiring from all the neighboring people but no one knew. But as the supreme lord of Vrindavan Sri Vrindavan Chandra, he understood everything. So, he was sitting under a tamal tree meditating in the beauty of Vraja Bhoomi and there he could see with his divine eyes the original forms of Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda. But at that time there was a thick and dense forest all around and within this forest there was a field of paddy and within that paddy field there were two very very small ponds with just a little quantity of water in each one. And he could understand ‘This is the most sacred of all sacred places, Radha Kunda, Shyam Kunda.’ And with great ecstasy of love lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu entered into those waters and took his bath, chanting these beautiful prayers in the glorification of Radha and Krishna. And then with the mud from Sri Radha Kunda he decorated his own beautiful golden form with tilak in twelve places. In this way Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed the very heart of the lila of Radha and Krishna to the world. Lord Chaitanya then returned to Jagannath Puri and he sent Rupa-Sanatan Goswami to Vrindavan with a special instruction to locate and excavate the holy places of Vraja.
Raghunath Das Goswami excavates present day Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda
Raghunath Das Goswami also after Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s disappearance went to Vrindavan and Rupa and Sanatan Goswami instructed him and blessed him to make his residence on the banks of Sri Radha Kunda. So, Raghunath Das Goswami was residing by these two simple puddles in the paddy field but with his divine vision he could actually see the wonderful lila of Radha and Krishna taking place there, in the mood of ecstatic separation. And knowing Lord Chaitanya’s desire, one day he was thinking that ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could excavate these two ponds into beautiful Kunds where people from all around could come and worship this place, as a place of pilgrimage?’ But he was thinking, he was living in a very secluded place that ‘I should not be thinking because to excavate these Kunds means, I need lots of money and where will I find lots of money? This is not a proper desire for me. I should simply be meditating on the name and lila of Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya and Radha and Krishna.’ At that very time one very wealthy man went to Badrikashram to worship Badri-Vishal and his worship was to give a very large donation. Badrinath appeared to him in a dream and told him, “Do not give your money here, but you should go to Vrindavan and there near Sri Giri-Govardhan is the beautiful lakes of Shyam Kunda and Radha Kunda you will find the greatest of all devotees Raghunath Das Goswami and you should give him whatever money he requires to excavate Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda.” So, he came to Vrindavan and he met with Raghunath Das Goswami and Das Goswami would understand ‘This is the will of the lord.’ So he personally arranged for the excavation of Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda. First there was the excavation of Radha Kunda and then as he was about to excavate Shyama Kunda the evening before Maharaja Yudhishtir appeared to him in a dream and said “Myself and my four brothers are in the form of trees meditating on the beautiful lila of Radha and Krishna. So please do not disturb our bhajan.” So, the next day Raghunath Das Goswami located those trees and told the excavators that they should make their plan without disturbing. So, for this reason Shyam Kunda is shaped in a... not a square way.
Gaudiaya Acharyas worships Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda
Another time Raghunath Das Goswami was thinking that ‘Radha Kunda is so sacred and there is no other water here. We should not use Radha Kunda to wash utensils or to use when we go for responding to nature and these other purposes.’ So, he decided to dig a well close by and as his servants, his disciples were digging this well, the Vrajvasis, they hit a stone and that stone began to bleed profusely. So, they stopped digging and that night Lord Sri Krishna appeared to Raghunath Das Goswami and explained that, “Govardhan is none different than my body. And Shyam Kunda and Radha Kunda are the eyes of Govardhan and when your devotees were digging, they dug into my tongue and they caused blood. Now you should know that this stone is my very tongue. You should take it out from where it is and you should place it in a temple and worship it.” So, to this very day near by the banks of Sri Radha Kunda is the temple established by Sri Raghunath Das Goswami of the tongue of Govardhan. The greatest of our acharyas worshiped Radha Kunda. It was there that Raghunath Das Goswami exhibited the highest sentiments of Prema Bhakti as the prayojana guru. It was there on the banks of Sri Radha Kunda that Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami chose to write the most important, the purest of all literatures, the Sri Chaitanya-Charitamrita. It was there on the banks of Sri Radha Kunda that Srila Vishwanath Chakravarthi Thakur had written the most celebrated comprehensive and intimate commentaries ever written on the Srimad-Bhagavatam. It was there on Sri Radha Kunda, that Jiva Goswami Gopal Bhakta Goswami, Raghunath Bhatt Goswami would often do their worship and it is in this place of Radha Kunda that Srila Prabhupada received some of the most important and intimate instructions from his own beloved spiritual master Om Vishnupad Paramhamsa Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur. At this time his holiness Giriraj Maharaj who Srila Prabhupada said, “Bombay is Giriraj, and Giriraj is Bombay.” So, since we are all trying to preach in Bombay, we are all simply assisting Giriraj, who is Bombay, and Bombay who is Giriraj. We are all trying to assist him in whatever small way we can in his wonderful mission to Srila Prabhupada and he will explain to us this most wonderful historical lila of Guru Maharaj Srila Prabhupada's wonderful exchange with Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur on the banks of Shri Radha Kunda. Today is the appearance of Radha Kunda. Krishna appeared on Janmashtami, Radharani appeared on Radhastami and Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda who are none different than Radha and Krishna appeared on Bahulashtami. Giriraj Maharaj please counteract the offenses of this Aristasura making noises. These are reservoir of all holy places, please purify these devotees.
[00:33:50 His Holiness Giriraj Maharaj begins to speak]