Lord Krishna meets Radha

When Krishna was a little boy of four or five, his father, Nanda, took him to the field where the cattle were grazing. Krishna wanted to spring a surprise on his father, so he created a severe thunderstorm. It began to rain heavily and the trees were tossing wildly.

Although Krishna was responsible for the storm, he pretended that he knew nothing. He started crying and screaming, and he clung to his father for protection.

Nanda was trying desperately to protect his child and also the cattle. He found that he could not manage to do the two things simultaneously, and so he was in a terrible predicament. He had to save his dearest child and again, he had to save the cattle. Nanda could see no way to bring both the cattle and the child home safely.

All of a sudden, a most beautiful woman appeared. Nanda was very relieved to see this unknown woman who had come at such a crucial moment. “Would you kindly take care of my child?” he asked. “I must take the cattle home now. Then I will come back. I am sure that you will be able to protect my son.”

“Do not worry. I will definitely take good care of your child,” the woman assured Nanda.

Nanda departed for home with the frightened cattle. When Krishna and the woman were alone together, Krishna did something extraordinary. He created a most enchanting scene and took the form of a youth. This youth was dark-skinned; he wore an orange cloth and on his forehead there was a peacock feather. In his hands, he held a flute which he was playing so hauntingly. Krishna looked at the woman and asked her, “Do you remember this incident, when we were in Heaven?”

The unknown woman was Radha, who was Krishna’s dearest beloved.

Radha replied, “I do remember this incident. It is very vivid to me.” Krishna was showing Radha a scene from their life together in Heaven before they took incarnation on earth. He wanted to remind Radha of their eternal oneness.

The time was fast approaching for Krishna’s father to come and take his son home. Krishna stopped the performance in Heaven and became a little child again. He started crying pitifully for his father to come and claim him. After some time, Nanda had still not appeared and Radha became very worried. She was wondering what to do when she heard a voice telling her to take the child to Nanda’s house.

Radha was so sad and miserable that she had to return Krishna to his parents after being reunited with him on earth. She was afraid that she would not be able to see him anymore. But the voice told her, “Take the child back to Nanda and Yashoda. If you listen to me, I assure you that you will be able to go and see your Lord Krishna every evening. You will meet him and he will play his flute for you. A part of your heart will always remain with him.”

At that moment, there appeared Brahma, the Creator. For 60,000 years he had been praying to the Highest only to have a glimpse of Radha. In his meditation, he had seen Krishna and Radha together on earth and he was deeply moved. So he came personally to see Radha, who was the embodiment of the Universal Force.

Radha obeyed the inner message that she had received from the voice and took the child back to Nanda’s house. After that, she used to come and visit Krishna every evening.

That is one version of how Lord Krishna and Radha met for the first time. There is another version of the story. In this second version, it is believed that Radha’s father was a very rich king. When Radha was still a little girl, he decided it was time for her to get married. He made all the necessary arrangements for her to marry a neighbouring prince.

But Radha did not want to get married; she wanted only to be with Krishna. So she took her soul out of her body and kept only a portion of herself, a shadow of her real existence, inside her body. The prince for whom she was intended married the shadow.

Radha transported her soul to Nanda’s family because she knew that Lord Krishna was being brought up there. She took birth in Nanda’s family, and she and Krishna became brother and sister, closer than the closest.