Goddess Tvaritā or Trotalā

Kṛṣṇa-Vimarśa: Rādhārāṇī

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The term Hlādinī denotes Vimarśa—the pure consciousness-force (cit-śakti). The preceptors of the Kālīkula tradition refer to the Divine Mother Kālī as the Hlādinī-śakti of Śiva. Among their expositions, the commentary by Ācārya Vimalānanda on the Karpūrādi-stotra is of primary importance.

​In his commentary on the verse "त्वमेका कल्याणौ गिरिशरमणी काली सकलं" from the Karpūrādi-stotra, the realized Kālī-sādhaka Vimalānanda states: "गिरिशरमणी शिवानी, गिरी कूटे शेते इति गिरिशः कूटस्थब्रह्म तस्य रमणी ह्लादिनीशक्तिः" 

It means — "The consort of Giriśa or Śiva is Śivānī. One who rests atop the kūṭa is Giriśa / Śiva, the unchangeable Parabrahman; His consort is the Hlādinī-śakti".

​Similarly, the Vimarśa of the manifest Kāmeśvara is Mahā-Tripurasundarī. Tripura-Ambā is the Hlādinī-śakti of Śiva. Because of this shared Hlādinī principle, an esoteric synthesis between Tripurasundarī and Śrīmatī Rādhikā is found across various scriptures. For this reason, the Nāradīya Purāṇa identifies the supreme Tāntric form of Rādhā as none other than Pārvatī Tripurasundarī.

​The Bṛhannāradīya Purāṇa declares:

श्रीराधा सुन्दरी देवी तान्त्रिकैः परिकीर्त्यते।

कुरुकुल्ला च वाराही चन्द्राली ललिते उभे॥ 

The Tāntrikas proclaim Śrī Rādhā to be the goddess Sundarī (Tripurasundarī), while Candrāvalī and Lalitā are identified as Kurukullā and Vārāhī, respectively.

​According to the Nāradīya Purāṇa, the Dhyāna of this Tāntric Rādhā is as follows:

लोहितां ललितां बाणचापपाशसृणीः करैः।

दधानां कामराजाङ्के यत्नीतां मुदितां स्मरेत्॥ 

One should meditate upon the joyful, exquisitely graceful Mother of crimson hue, bearing in Her hands the floral arrows, the sugarcane bow, the noose, and the goad (aṅkuśa), seated affectionately upon the lap of Kāmarāja (Kāmeśvara Śiva).

​Thus, when Kṛṣṇa assumes the identity of Śiva in the Tantras, Rādhārāṇī reveals Herself as Bhavānī Tripura-Ambā.

​Key motifs of the Śrīvidyā tradition—such as the Kadamba tree, the pair of Śuka-Sārī birds, and the arts of sacred erotic mysticism (śṛṅgāra-kalā)—were later woven into the philosophy of Rādhā. The poetic duel of the Śuka-Sārī birds in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava literature is prominent, and the Kadamba tree's central presence in the Kṛṣṇa-līlā is undeniable. In the Gautamīya Tantra, the Kṛṣṇa-gāyatrī addresses the Lord as the wielder of the floral bow ("पुष्पवाणाय धीमहि"), directly mirroring Kāmeśvara Śiva in Śrīvidyā. Furthermore, the medieval Bengali text Rādhā-tantra explicitly bridges the non-dual identity between Tripurasundarī and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, serving as a foundational document for this philosophical synthesis. 

A duality of forms is discernible within the theology of Kṛṣṇa as well. Many scholars and traditions distinguish between Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa and Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa. Vrajendra-nandana was born from the womb of Yaśodā along with Ekānaṁśā. Later, they merged; yet, they separated again during the Māthura phase. He never truly abandoned Vṛndāvana. The influence of the Pāñcarātra school is evident in the characters of Dvārakādhīśa Vāsudeva and Rukmiṇī; however, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā of Vraja are deeply nourished by the traditions of the Śaiva and Śākta Āgamas.

​For this reason, Rādhā-centric Vaiṣṇavism does not disown the Śāmbhavī-śakti. Whereas several other medieval Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas completely disregarded the ancient identity of Durgā as Ekānaṁśā (the sister of Viṣṇu)—reducing every divine feminine principle monotonically to a consort (patnī) of Viṣṇu—Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism preserved the ancient Mathurā-centric brother-sister relationship between Kṛṣṇa and Yogamāyā. Moreover, acknowledging Durgā as the beloved consort of Śiva (Śiva-bhāminī), it asserts that She who is Rādhā to Kṛṣṇa is Durgā to Śiva.

​This correspondence is transparent even philosophically: while other Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas adhere to Viśiṣṭādvaita, Rādhā-centric Vaiṣṇava philosophy reflects the Pratyabhijñā doctrine of the Kaulas. Thus, Rādhā is non-different from Kṛṣṇa (कृष्णाभिन्ना), the sovereign conscious power (स्वातन्त्र्यशक्ति-चिति). Conversely, in Viśiṣṭādvaita, the Vaiṣṇavī-śakti Mahālakṣmī is understood merely as an aspect (अंश) wearing the remnants of Viṣṇu (विष्णुनिर्माल्य-धारिणी).

​Many consider Rādhā to be an invented literary figure of the medieval period, but this is inaccurate. Because the foundation of the Rādhā doctrine does not lie in the Pāñcarātra, She never attained prominence within Viśiṣṭādvaita. Explicit references to Rādhārāṇī are found in the Gāthā-saptasatī, composed between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Furthermore, Goddess Rādhā is described in Ānandavardhana’s 9th-century masterpiece Dhvanyāloka:

तेषां गोपवधूविलाससुहृदां राधारहः साक्षिणां क्षेमं भद्र कलिन्दशैलतनयातीरे लतावेश्मनाम् । 

विच्छिन्ने स्मरतल्पकल्पनमृदुच्छेदोपयोगेऽधुना ते जाने जरठीभवन्ति विगलन्नीलत्विषः पल्लवाः ॥ 

Meaning — "O companion of amorous pastimes, privy to the secret rendezvous of the cowherd maiden Rādhā and Her lover! Tell me, are the bowers on the banks of the Yamunā still flourishing, or have their leaves withered away into pale desolation now that there is no lover left to pluck their tender sprouts for a bed of passion?"

​The sovereign Kaula master, Mahāmāheśvara Ācārya Abhinavagupta, composed a commentary on this work titled Dhvanyāloka-locana. Explicating this verse, he elucidated the esoteric aesthetic of Rādhā's solitary, supreme communion (raho-vilāsa) with Kṛṣṇa, showing that Rādhā is the foremost embodiment of divine aesthetic rapture (rasa-camatkāra), — 

तेषामिति । हे भद्र! तेषामिति ये ममैव हृदये स्थितास्तेषाम्। गोपवधूनां गोपीनां ये विलाससुहृदो नर्मसचिवास्तेषाम्। प्रच्छन्नानुरागिणीनां हि नान्यो नर्मसुहृद्भवति। राधायाश्च सातिशयं प्रेमस्थानमित्याह-राधासम्भोगानां ये साक्षाद् द्रष्टारः, कलिन्दशैलतनया यमुना तस्यास्तीरे लतागृहाणां क्षेमं कुशलमिति काक्वा प्रश्नः। एवं तं पृष्ट्वा गोपदर्शनप्रबुद्धसंस्कार आलम्बनोद्दीपनविभावस्मरणात्प्रबुद्धरतिभावमात्मगतमौत्सुक्यगर्भमाह द्वारकागतो भगवान् कृष्णः स्मरतल्पस्य मदनशय्यायाः कल्पनार्थ मृदु सुकुमारं कृत्वा यश्छेदस्रोटनं स एवोपयोगः साफल्यम्। अथ च स्मरतल्पे यत्कल्पनं क्लृप्तिः स एव मृदुः सुकुमार उत्कृष्टश्छेदोपयोगस्त्रोटनफलं तस्मिन्विच्छिन्ने। मय्यनासीने का स्मरतल्पकल्पनेति भावः। 

​"O noble one! Are they [the creepers and bowers], which dwell within my very heart, well?

​'Gopī-vadhū-vilāsa-suhṛdām'—referring to those bowers that serve as the vilāsa-suhṛt or narma-saciva (intimate confidants and accomplices in secret amorous pastimes) for the cowherd maidens (gopīs). For the cowherd maidens consumed by hidden, clandestine love, there are no confidants other than these vine-covered bowers.

​'Rādhā-rahaḥ-sākṣiṇām'—because love for Rādhā is supreme above all, he states: those [bowers] that have directly witnessed the solitary, confidential pastimes of Rādhā.

​'Is all kṣema (well-being and auspiciousness) with the bowers standing upon the banks of the Yamunā?'—the question is uttered in a kāku-svara (a plaintive, yearning tone heavy with anxious affection).

​Having thus inquired of Uddhava, the latent impressions (saṁskāras) are awakened within Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa upon seeing this cowherd companion (Uddhava). Recollecting both the foundational (ālambana) and excitant (uddīpana) aesthetic determinants (vibhāvas), Kṛṣṇa brings to mind the anxious, heightened, and awakened mood of divine romantic longing (rati-bhāva) arising within Himself.

​'Smara-talpa-kalpanā'—the fashioning (kalpanā) or arrangement of the couch of love (smara-talpa) is itself the epitome of delicate refinement (sukumāra)."

​Thus, the esoteric doctrine of Rādhā (Rādhā-tattva) holds profound significance even among the Kaula Sādhakas.