Krishna, performing the Rasa-lila with the gopis

The Rasa lila or Rasa dance is part of the traditional story

of Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where he dances with Radha and her

sakhis.

The term, rasa meaning aesthetic/s and lila meaning act, play or dance is a concept from Hinduism, which roughly translates to "play (lila) of asthetics (rasa)," or more broadly as "Dance of

Divine Love".

The rasa lila takes place one night when the gopis of Vrindavan, upon hearing the

sound of Krishna's flute, sneak away from their households and families to the forest to dance

with Krishna throughout the night, which Krishna supernaturally stretches to the length of

one Night of Brahma, a Hindu unit of time lasting approximately 4.32 billion years.

In the Krishna Bhakti traditions, the rasa-lila is considered to be one of the highest and most esoteric of Krishna's pastimes. In these traditions, romantic love between

human beings in the material world is seen as merely a diminished, illusionary reflection

of the soul’s original, ecstatic spiritual love for Krishna, God, in the spiritual

world.

In the Bhagavata Purana it is stated that whoever faithfully hears or describes the Rasa lila attains

Krishna's pure loving devotion (Suddha-bhakti).

Just as a child plays at its own will with its reflection in a mirror, even so with

the help of His Yogamāyā Bhagavān Śrī Krishna sported with the Gopīs, who were like many shadows of His own

form.(Wikipedia)

The Radha-Krishna amour is a love legend of all times. It's indeed hard to miss the many legends and paintings illustrating Krishna's love affairs, of

which the Radha-Krishna affair is the most memorable.

Krishna's relationship with Radha, his favourite among the 'gopis' (cow-

herding maidens), has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of

art forms, and since the sixteenth century appears prominently as a motif

in North Indian paintings. 

The Radha-Krishna Romance ~Romantic Stories from

Hindu Literature

Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of

Vrindavan.

Since childhood they were close to each other - they played, they danced, they

fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled

them apart.

He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him.

He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the

universe.  She waited for him.

He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of

Ayodhya, and she still waited.

So great was Radha's love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is referred to, and Krishna worship

is though to be incomplete without the deification of Radha.

One day the two most talked about lovers come together for

a final single meeting.

Suradasa in his Radha-Krishna lyrics relates the various amorous delights of the

union of Radha and Krishna in this ceremonious 'Gandharva' form of their

wedding in front of five hundred and sixty million people of Vraj and all the gods and

goddesses of heaven. The sage Vyasa refers to this as the

'Rasa'.

Age after age, this evergreen love theme has engrossed poets, painters, musicians

and all Krishna devotees alike.(about.com)

Krishna's youthful dalliances with the 'gopis' are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the

human soul.

Radha's utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union

with the divine.

This kind of love is of the highest form of devotion in Vaishnavism, and is

symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or

beloved and lover.

TrinityFebruary 2010