Radha Ramana

Radha Ramana (or Radharaman) is a famous image of Radha Krishna worshiped in Hinduism. There is a famous temple of this deity in Vrindavana.

Name

This name of Krishna should be understood from a certain perspective, as a lover ("raman") of his Radha. cite book
author=Hawley, John C.
authorlink=
editor=
others=
title=At Play with Krishna: Pilgrimage Dramas From Brindavan
edition=
language=
publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Pub
location=
year=1992
origyear=
pages= pp. 4-5
quote=
isbn=81-208-0945-9
oclc=
page=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NHdZH-d2xM4C&pg=PA4
accessdate=]

Historical references

The appearance of the Radha Ramana is described by Gopala Bhatta Goswami biographer Narahari in a mere four verses (Bhakti Ratnakara 4.315-19). [cite book
author=Valpey, Kenneth Russell
title=Attending Kṛṣṇa's

publisher=Routledge
location=New York
year=2006
pages=
isbn=0-415-38394-3
oclc=
url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0415383943
accessdate=p.45] Narahari Chakravarti puzzles over Krsnadasa's near-silence over Gopala Bhatta, concluding that Gopala Bhatta requested his junior, Krishnadasa Kaviraja to be omitted from the book out of humility (1.222-3). Unlike other biographies of Caitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrta describes Caitanya's south India tour, including his visit to Srirangam and residing with the temple priest Venkata Bhatta (Chaitanya Charitamrta 2.9.82- 165) [cite book
author=Valpey, Kenneth Russell
title=Attending Kṛṣṇa's

publisher=Routledge
location=New York
year=2006
pages=
isbn=0-415-38394-3
oclc=
url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0415383943
accessdate=p.175]

Famous Temple

This temple, even if not the busiest, is notable for housing the image that is the oldest remaining in Vrindavan for the longest continuous period. It remained in Vrindavan during the seventeenth century iconoclastic raids by islamic king Aurangzeb, when other images were hidden in safer places, outside the city. The temple has recently celebrated its 500th anniversary.

History

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Ranga Kshetra in 1511 and stayed at Venkata's home. Venkata Bhatta had two brothers, Tirumalla Bhatta and Prabodhananda Sarasvati. They all belonged to the Ramanuja sampradaya and Prabodhananda Sarasvati was a "tridandi" "sannyasi" of that order. Vyenkata Bhatta had a son named Gopal, who was then just a child.

Gopala Bhatta was a son of a priest of Srirangam. Venkata and his two brothers, Gopala's uncles Trimalla and Prabodhananda Sarasvati "were converted from their Sri Vaishnava faith in Lakshmi-Narayana as supreme to one in Radha Krishna" as Svayam bhagavan.cite journal
author = Brzezinski, J.K.
year = 1992
title = Prabodhananda, Hita Harivamsa and the" Radharasasudhanidhi
journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
volume = 55
issue = 3
pages = 472-497
url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-977X(1992)55%3A3%3C472%3APHHAT%22%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
accessdate = 2008-05-04"identify Radha as the supreme Laksmi.."] The dialog of this conversion is recorded in 16 c. Caitanya caritamrita biography by Krishna dasa Kaviraja.cite web
url=http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/bhaktiyoga/vaisnavism.htm
title=VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library
publisher=www.veda.harekrsna.cz
accessdate=2008-05-04
last=Jan
first=Marez]

In the second volume of the "Chaitanya charitamrita" a presentation is given, [ [http://vedabase.net/cc/madhya/9/113/en Madhya 9.113-114] : "Just to associate with Kṛṣṇa, [http://vedabase.net/l/laksmi Lakṣmī] abandoned all transcendental happiness in [http://vedabase.net/v/vaikuntha Vaikuṇṭha] and for a long time accepted vows and regulative principles and performed unlimited austerities."] with a reference to the particular verse of the tenth canto of Bhagavata Purana as to the reason why Lakshmi also knows as Sri (thus the name of "Sri Sampradaya") is burning with desire and still not capable of entering to the realm of Vrindavana. [ [http://vedabase.net/sb/10/16/36/en SB 10.16.36] ]

Prabodhananda Sarasvatipreviously a Sri Sampradaya sannyasi was converted as to supreme position of Radha-Krishna being Svayam bhagavan instead of Lakshmi-Narayana. He as well apparently came to appreciate the supremacy of Radha worship from Chaitanya.cite journal
author = Brzezinski, J.K.
year = 1992
title = Prabodhananda Sarasvati: From Benares to Braj
journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
volume = 55
issue = 1
pages = 52-75
url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-977X(1992)55%3A1%3C52%3APSFBTB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M
accessdate = 2008-05-04]

Being pleased with Gopala Bhatta Goswami's sincere service and devotion, Caitanya Mahaprabhu initiated him, and ordered him to move to Vrindavana after the death of his parents and perform bhajan and write. He instructed him to serve his mother and father and always engage in chanting Krishna's glories .

At the age of thirty Gopala Bhatta Gosvami came to Vrindavana.

After Caitanya Mahaprabhu's disappearance Gopala Bhatta Gosvami felt intense separation from the Lord. To relieve his devotee, the Lord instructed Gopala Bhatta in a dream :"If you want my darsan then make a trip to Nepal".

In Nepal, Gopala Bhatta bathed in the famous Kali-Gandaki River. Upon dipping his waterpot in the river, he was surprised to see several Saligrama Silas enter his pot. He dropped the silas back into the river, but the silas re-entered his pot when he refilled it.

Gopala Bhatta Gosvami found twelve Shaligrama shilas. Its believed once a wealthy man came to Vrindavana and offered Gopala Bhatta a variety of clothing and ornaments for his Shaligrams in charity. However, Gopala Bhatta couldn't use these for his round-shaped Shaligrams, so he advised the donor to give the Deity decorations to someone else. Its believed that donor refused to take them back and Gopala Bhatta kept the cloths and ornaments with his shilas.

On the Purnima (full moon) day of in the evening after offering to his Shalagram shilas, Gopala Bhatta put them to rest, covering them with a wicker basket. Late in the night, Gopala Bhatta took a little rest and then, in the early morning went to take bath in the Yamuna river. Returning from his bath, he uncovered the Shalagramas in order to render the puja for them, and saw amongst them a Deity of Krishna playing the flute. There were now eleven shilas and this Deity. The "Damodara shila", had manifested as the beautiful three-fold bending form of "tri-bhangananda-krishna". In this way Radha Raman emerged in a perfectly shaped deity form from a sacred fossilized salagrama stone. Devotees consider this image to be alive and that he grants a chosen family the privilege of assisting him in his daily schedule. In this way "the Lord has granted his wish and the stone was turned into the murti of Sri Krishna".cite book
author=D. Anand
authorlink=
editor=
others=
title=Krishna: The Living God of Braj
edition=
language=
publisher=Abhinav Pubns
location=
year=1992
origyear=
page=162
quote=
isbn=81-7017-280-2
oclc=
doi=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=EsvSwdUgQYcC&pg=RA1-PA162
accessdate=] As a narrative account of actualized Krishna-bhakti, Radharamana's appearance story highlights the divine-human relationship of love as the ontologically central category of ultimate reality. [cite book
author=Valpey, Kenneth Russell
title=Attending Kṛṣṇa's

publisher=Routledge
location=New York
year=2006
pages=
isbn=0-415-38394-3
oclc=
url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0415383943
accessdate=p.53]

=Decorations of the

The deity is typically wearing the following: feather, crown, yellow dress, and shining "vaijayanti-mala" (garland) on his chest. Shark shaped ornaments in his ears and a beautiful shining tilaka on his forehead. [cite book
author=Valpey, Kenneth Russell
title=Attending Kṛṣṇa's

publisher=Routledge
location=New York
year=2006
pages=
isbn=0-415-38394-3
oclc=
url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0415383943
accessdate=p.60]

References and notes

ee also

*Vrindavana
*ISKCON
*Svayam bhagavan
*Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Junagadh - Another temple with images of Radha Ramana

External links

*cite web
url=http://www.salagram.net/parishad21.htm
title=Gopal Bhatta Gos & Radha Raman
publisher=www.salagram.net
accessdate=2008-05-19
last=
first=

*cite web
url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2v6LMCWsJQ
title=YouTube - Radha Raman Darshan
publisher=www.youtube.com
accessdate=2008-05-19
last=
first=