The Unfathomable Chastity of Srimati Radharani
Entering the mysteries of Krishna’s pastimes through surrender and humility
“Chastity is the fullness of fidelity — an undivided heart offered entirely to one beloved.”
The Limits of Our Senses
To understand Srimati Radharani’s pastimes with Krishna, we must first acknowledge that our blunt material senses are not the right instruments for this sacred work. With our eyes, ears, and mind, we gather knowledge of the world — analyzing people’s behavior, judging motives, and protecting ourselves from enemies. This helps us survive worldly challenges, but such tools cannot penetrate the divine mysteries of Krishna’s pastimes.
How can our limited intelligence ever grasp that Krishna can expand into unlimited forms, or that Srimati Radharani can merge with another gopi, or that She can have a husband in this world and yet remain supremely chaste only to Krishna?
Inevitably, our reasoning protests: “This doesn’t make sense… this cannot be right.” At such moments we must recognize the futility of trying to cage the infinite within the small walls of human logic.
When Intelligence Fails
Even Lord Brahma — the most intelligent being in the universe — was bewildered by Krishna’s childhood pastimes. In the 14th chapter of the Tenth Canto, Brahma humbly admitted defeat and surrendered, praying to Krishna with a bowed head. That is true spiritual wisdom: knowing what to do when our intelligence fails.
Spiritual intelligence means becoming a beggar before God. We admit, “I cannot understand You by my abilities. Please reveal Yourself to me.”
This surrender is not weakness but the highest wisdom. It opens the heart — the true doorway for divine revelation.
The Mood of Humility
As Krishna’s pastimes are narrated, our role is not to be critics but to be vulnerable and receptive. We surrender, declaring:
“O my Lord, I am a fool, unqualified to understand Your divine personality. But I long to know You. Please reveal to me the secrets of Your pastimes. Let me receive Your mercy.”
In this prayerful state, logic is set aside and the heart-valve is opened. If Krishna so desires, His kathā flows in and suddenly everything that seemed impossible becomes the most natural reality.
The Leela of the Porous Pot
Once Krishna became very sick, worrying Mother Yashoda deeply. A physician appeared — in fact, Krishna Himself in disguise — and declared that the only cure was to sprinkle Krishna with Yamunā water carried in a porous pot. Such a miracle would be possible only if the pot was filled by the most chaste woman, who could not be the patient’s mother.
Yashoda, recalling how Jatila and Kutila often criticized the gopīs as unchaste, assumed they must be paragons of chastity. Jatila is Abhimanyu’s mother, and Kutila is his sister. Abhimanyu himself is none other than an expansion of Krishna, who appeared in the role of Srimati Radharani’s husband only to deepen and enhance the sweetness of the parakīyā-rasa (as discussed in the previous article).
But when Jatila and Kutila attempted, the water immediately leaked out of their pots. Embarrassed and defeated, they dismissed the possibility that Srimati Radharani could succeed.
At the physician’s urging, Radharani stepped forward. With a heart full of prayer — “May Krishna be cured of this fever” — She dipped the pot into Yamunā. A miracle! The pot held water perfectly. Bringing it before Krishna, She sprinkled it over Him, and immediately He leapt up, cured. All present witnessed that Srimati Radharani is the most chaste woman in all creation.
The Secret Marriage
Scriptures also reveal that Lord Brahma Himself performed the marriage of Radha and Krishna in their childhood, at Bhandiravan, as narrated in the Garga Samhita.
Once, when Krishna was still a small child, Nanda Maharaj took Him along while going to herd the cows. By Yogamāyā’s arrangement, a sudden storm broke out. Worried for Krishna’s safety, Nanda Maharaj entrusted Him to a group of slightly older gopīs, who happened to be walking from the opposite direction, and requested them to take Krishna safely home. But before returning, they brought Krishna to Bhandiravan, where a secret, joyous marriage was arranged with Srimati Radharani. Lord Brahma appeared as the priest and performed the sacred rituals.
From that moment onward, Radharani’s heart was bound to Krishna forever.
The True Meaning of Chastity
Radharani’s chastity is not a social formality, but the highest spiritual principle: She is exclusively, eternally, and lovingly devoted only to Krishna.
Unlike worldly fidelity — which is tested by external circumstances — Radharani’s chastity flows from Her very essence. She does not simply choose Krishna; She is Krishna’s eternal energy and beloved. Her chastity means that every breath, every glance, every heartbeat is only for Him.
This is why She is rightly glorified as the crest jewel of chastity and the topmost devotee of Krishna. Srimati Radharani is not only the embodiment of love but also of supreme chastity, showing the world that the highest devotion means undivided, eternal loyalty to Krishna alone.
A Devotional Reflection
For us, the lesson is clear: when divine pastimes defy our reasoning, we must not doubt but surrender. To insist on fitting everything into our limited logic is like trying to pour the Ganga into a small clay cup — it will always overflow.
But if we become humble, receptive beggars, Krishna may open our heart and reveal His mysteries. And then, like the porous pot that held Yamunā water, we too may hold something impossible — the nectar of Radharani and Krishna’s pastimes — within our hearts.
To be continued…..
