Bahulastami or appearance day of Radha-kunda comes in the month of Kartik. In this month of Kartik the presiding deity of the month is Srimati Radhika and in the same month is also the appearance day of the lake which is the embodiment of the Love of Radharani. In Front of Radha Madhava Asta Sakhi altar a Radha kunda and Shyam Kunda was made for the pleasure of the divine couple. Following is the description of Radha Kunda in Navadvipa Dham by Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Bhakti vinoda thakura and Sri Chaitanya Mahabrabhu.
In the island of Rtudvipa, in the village known as Ratupura, Lord Nityananda along with Dvija Vaninatha and many devotees arrived. Lord Nityananda became entranced and called out, “Bring My sringa (horn) immediately! All the calves have gone far away from here. Kanai is still sleeping in the house. He is so childish that He has not come here yet. Where are Subala and Sridama? I, Balarama, am alone here. I cannot go alone to fetch the cows.” The most powerful Lord Nityananda shouted, “Kanai! Kanai!” and started leaping in the air. By seeing Lord Nityananda in this mood, the devotees immediately approached Him and said, “O, Lord Nityananda! Your brother is Gauracandra. Now He is not here. Gaurahari has taken sannyasa and gone to Nilacala, leaving us beggars behind.” When Lord Nityananda heard that Gaurahari was not there, He felt great distress and started crying and rolling on the ground, feeling separation from His Gaura. Lord Nityananda addressed Gauranga as Kanai, “O, My brother Kanai! For what reason have You taken sannyasa and left us behind here to go to Nilacala? I will not maintain this life anymore. I will jump into the water of the River Yamuna!” Having spoken these words, Lord Nityananda fainted. The devotees started harinama- sankirtana realizing that Lord Nityananda had developed mahabhava. Four dandas (one danda equals twenty four minutes) of the day had passed, but Lord Nityananda had not come back to His external senses. Then the devotees started to chant gaura-gita (songs about Gaura). When Lord Nityananda heard the name of Gauranga He immediately got up and said, “This place is Radhakunda. Here Lord Gaurahari along with His devotees would perform Nama Sankirtana every afternoon. Just see the beauty of Syama-kunda, attracting the minds of the whole universe. Just see the kunjas of the different sakhis. Here Gauracandra would come with his sankirtana party and please everyone by distributing love of Godhead.
O My brothers, there is no place equal to this in the three worlds. This is the best spot for devotees to perform bhajana. Whoever resides here will get love of Godhead and his heart will be pacified.” That day all the devotees along with Lord Nityananda stayed there chanting the holy name of Gauranga, immersed in love. The next day they proceeded to Vidyanagara.
Radha Kunda in Ratupura
In the Navadvipa Bhava Taranga Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura writes the mood and activities of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as he came to Rtudvipa.
Ritudvipam tato gatva
drishtva sobham vanasya ca
radha-kundadikam smritva
ruroda saci-nandanah
“Arriving at Ritudvipa and seeing the beauty of the forest, Saci-nandana started crying while remembering Radha-kunda and other sacred places.” right Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Pramana-khanda 4.44)
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s meditation – When will I wander about the island of Ritu-dvipa, seeing the beauty of the forest and remembering these pastimes of the Lord? Suddenly I will catch a glimpse of the pastimes being performed at Radha Kunda and become completely stunned by such a wonderful vision. Here on the bank of the Manasa Ganga river, Balarama and Krsna along with Their cowherd boyfriends named Dama, Bala, and Mahabala head countless calves to secluded forests. While sporting numerous pastimes and playing tricks, all the boys sing the glories of Krsna.
The cowherd boys then sit down and engage in various types of funny conversations. Meanwhile, the calves keep grazing and grazing until they wander off to distant woods. Losing sight of them, all the boys become alarmed, but at the sound of Krsna’s flute the calves immediately come running back. While I am watching and watching this pastime with full attention, suddenly the scene vanishes and I will fall to the ground unconscious…
Radha Kunda in Chaitanya Math
Chaitanya Math is the house of Chandrashekhar Acharya, the maternal uncle of Mahaprabhu and also the headquarters of Gaudiya Maths established by Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. In this temple Sri Radha Kunda, Shyama Kunda and Giri Govardhan, Keli Kadamba and Tamal Vriksha are present. Sri Navadvip Dhama is non-different from Vrindavana and called as Gupta Vrindavana or hidden Vrindavana. These Kundas and Govardhana were made by Bhakti Siddhanta Sarawsati Thakur in memory of these holy places in Vrindavan. They are also known as Smriti Radha Kunda and Smriti Shyama Kunda.
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