This book of Poetry the poet has attempted to describe and define the relationship of Radha andKrishna from the point of view of Radha. The entire composition has been divided into four sections: Poorvraag, Manjari Parinay, Srishti Sankalp, and finally Itihaas.
Poorvraag:
As the name suggests, in this section, the poet describes the first meeting between Radha and Krishna. Of how Krishna pretends to be indifferent to Radha in the beginning and later how he demands nothing short of complete surrender. Radha right from the beginning suspects that Krishna is a part of her being and that they are in fact one. The physical distance between them makes her feel incomplete and she yearns for union with her Lord, but at the same time she is unable to cross the barriers of the Society as well as that of her own innate shyness. She regrets that she left him yearning for her.There is a sense of dissolution of the self, blending into the Eternal. Radha sees Krishna in the Nature around her- in the swirling waters of the Yamuna that caresses her as she bathes.The situation described in this section could be likened to the yearning of the soul to become One with God/ Brahman-The Spiritual Union is perhaps projected, as the extension of the Physical consummation of Radha's and Krishna's Love, the soul yearning for dissolution in the Brahman.
Manjari Parinay:
In this section Radha attempts to define her relationship, to put a name to the relationship she has with Krishna. At times she finds a name, but at other times she is confused-We are given to understand that they have consummated their love. However Radha's mind is filled with doubt, fear, sadness, pain-This fear prevents her from going to Krishna when he calls out to her, but later she cannot stay back, and she pleads with him to understand her plight, her fears- The fact that they are not married obviously bothers her and she asks of Krishna that in scattering the saffron flowers of the "Aamra Baur" did he indicate that he was filling her "sooni maang"-the symbolic filling of the parting in her hair signifying holy wedlock? She asks of him whether he was attempting to remove the ultimate obstacle- that of their non-married status symbolically by filling the bare forest path with the "Aamra Baur"blossoms. Radha pleads with him that she who forgets ordinary language itself in his thoughts, how could he expect her to understand the language of his which was far removed from the ordinary scheme of things? She appeals to her Kanu to forgive her naivette, in not understanding the significance of his actions. Only in moments of separation from her Lord, in the throes of agony of estrangement, does realization dawn upon her, the hidden implication of Krishna's actions. Baffled by the questions of everyone around, Radha attempts to define, to give a name to her relationship with Krishna.She sometimes feels, Kanu is her eternal playmate, at other times he is her protector/ guardian. Sometimes she feels maternal towards him as if he were an infant in need of protection. Yet at other times, She senses that Kanu and herself are one entity- The Omniscient, Omnipotent- The All Pervading Reality. Then there were those instances, when he taunted and harassed her that she felt alienated from him. At certain times, she realized that He was Purusha and She was Prakrithi / Shakthi/ Yogamaya. Radha realizes that she is Kanus Eternal Bride, His Cosmic Consort who has been traveling with Him from the beginning of Time. They were co-travelers on a journey that had no beginning and knew no end-she complains that Kanu took pleasure in tormenting her, he expected her to experience their cosmic bond within the confines of a mortal life, to retrace their eternal steps within the limits of a single birth, which was impossible. Faced by the volley of questions from all around, she ends up confused, flustered and at crossroads- Ultimately, He was her goal, Destination, Salvation.Again and again, Radha attempts to cross the chasm of definitions, to reach out for Her Kanu, but he eludes her. She beseeches Him to reveal to Her, Who He was to her-She realizes the futility in trying to give a name to their relationship because; their bond was of so many dimensions and hues, that defied language. It transcended the boundaries of time, space and name..It was beyond the comprehension of the mortal, tangible world. For the same reason, The Radha Krishna relationship remains an Eternal Mystery from time immemorial.
Srushti Sankalp:
Radha is the victim of The Primordial Fear that haunts every woman, that of being abandoned by her Beloved. She is filled with a sense of foreboding, of a bleak future without Her Lord by her side-a premonition of the coming events.
Radha is filled with fear and a deep sense of insecurity. She understands that she is a part of Creation, of Nature-she identifies with the high mountains, the deep oceans, the piercing darkness, the shimmering moon, the lush greenery, the Milky way, The cosmos of the galaxies- and yet a fear pervades her being, she writhes in agony like a fish out of water-she is terrified of losing her Lord.
Finally, all barriers - that of acute shyness, a nameless fear, yearning, an undefined sorrow, have been crossed, the time has come for Consummation of their Divine Love, The Ultimate Union, The Dissolution of the Universe when Purusha and Prakruthi merge-even Nature seems to have been waiting for The moment-Radha emerges as The Eternal Lover who overpowers her Lover by her unbridled passion and Unsatiated Love. She commands her beloved to draw the blinds, to close the windows and doors so that for once, Nature stands awaiting- The Mute Witness while they enact their Divine Love Play. She wishes to stay separate from Nature, and merely exist as a Beckoning- a call for Her Kanu. She bade the Ocean to wait at the door; she bade Time and Space to stand still. She claims that Time is now held prisoner in the braids of her tresses.
In this section, Spiritual Love is projected as Physical Expression, where the lovers remain unsatiated and there is yearning for consummation again and again- and the whole of creation dissolves-
Itihaas:
Kanu has left-to create History leaving a forlorn, lost Radha behind. Radha is inconsolable; Life has become an agony, an ache, a void. She spends her days reliving the memories of her moments with Kanu.
Radha wonders if she was but a bridge to cross over for Krishna on the way to create History, just a game to play to while away childhood- her dreams and desires trampled underfoot. She is no longer sure if what has passed was true or if it were just a dream, wishful thinking. She wonders if all those words that she spoke and he heard, that he spoke and she heard were true or figments of her imagination. She asks of Kanu if those words meant nothing and were mere sounds- hollow and meaningless. She claims that History owed a lot to her, because she was the one who paid a price and the world was to gain at her cost.
Radha mourns because, the Aam tree that stood witness to their meetings, their love, was to be cut down, for it was in the way of the charging armies of Krishna! She realizes that the Kanu she had known was somebody very different from the Krishna leading his eighteen Akshahauni army-she cannot find solace in the fact that the Krishna who now led a mighty army was once her very own Kanu-Radha beseeches Krishna to explain to her, as He did to Arjuna, the meanings of words like Duty, Faith, Justice, Punishment, which to her ears were mere sounds, hollow and meaningless. She doesn't know what the war is all about, and on whose side she was. But she warns him that she might not be able to comprehend the meanings of these terms because as they fall upon her ears, they sound like :Radhan, Radhan, Radhan: Still, she envies Arjuna, because he was able to sit by him and gaze at his moving lips, his dusky body, slender neck, sandal arms, uplifted eyes-She yearns to just sit by him, watch him talk, gaze at him without batting an eyelid to let his words- whatever be their meaning and essence, seep through her senses, permeate her soul and saturate her being.
The war is over, but at what cost? Who has won, who has lost? Radha tells Kanu that she saw the Ocean in her dream..she saw Kanu exhausted, sad, desolate and lonely-History staggers onward on crutches-.and Kanu has finally remembered her-he is seeking her for solace, for comfort; finally he has abandoned History like old clothing, and depressed he yearns to go to Radha for comfort- And Kanupriya /Radha has been waiting to join her Kanu!
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