Vasanta Pancami

In India, there are many festivals held for the worship of Lord Krsna. There the year is divided into six seasons, each lasting two months. Among the six seasons, the most glorious is Vasanta, Spring. The Vasanta season is very pleasant, for the weather is neither too hot nor too cold at that time. An abundance of fragrant flowers, like beli, cameli, jui and others bloom everywhere, and flowers such as ratkerani (night queen) bloom even at night. Rivers like Ganges and Yamuna are especially clean and pure at that time, looking as though they are simply waiting for Sri Sri Radha and Krsna, and the lands in many places look like yellow carpets because they are full with varieties of yellow flowers. Krsna’s garments are also yellow, because His most beloved Srimati Radhika has a yellowish-golden complexion and He wants to be always vgjuiembraced by Her.

Today is Vasanta-Pancami, the beginning of the Vasanta season, at which time the Rasa Dance of Krsna was performed in Govardhana, in the village of Parasauli, by the lake known as Candra Sarovara. At that time the gopis were dancing with Krsna for the duration of a night that became billions of years. It became as long as one entire day of Brahma. On that night the moon stood still, not moving from its best view of the sight of the dancing of Radhika and all Her sakhis with Lord Krsna. Such beautiful pastimes were born from an ocean of rasas (sweet, transcendental mellow tastes), saturated with unlimited happiness.

In Saradiya, the autumn season, the Rasa Dance was performed in Vrndavana, under the shade of the Vamsivata tree, in the beginning of Kartika month. All classes of gopis participated in that Saradiya rasa-yatra, whereas in this Govardhana Vasanti-rasa, only the highest class of gopis were allowed to participate. In this Spring Rasa Dance, Lord Krsna openly demonstrated the prominence and superiority of Srimati Radhika.



Krsna disappeared in the midst of this Vasanti Rasa Dance, and all the gopis were bitterly crying, “Where is Krsna? Where is Krsna?” The gopis searched for Him everywhere, and after some time they saw Him in His four-handed form, standing like a statue. Coming nearer, they said, “Oh, He looks like Krsna, but at the same time He is not Krsna. Our Krsna is not four-handed. Where has His flute, His peacock feather, and all His other apparel gone? He now carries a conch shell, disc, club, and lotus flower – in four hands!” They prayed to him, “We are very attached to Krsna, and we are searching for Him. We will die without Him. If you are Narayana, please be merciful and tell us which way He went. Be merciful so that we may find Him.” Then, after praying in this way, they left and went on their way.

When Srimati Radhika was arriving after the other gopis had left that place, the breeze that had just touched Her veil carried so much fragrance from Her body that it entered the nostril of Krsna and He thought, “Oh, My most beloved is near.” He forgot that He was supposed to maintain His four-handed form, and He could no longer hide His original form. Two hands disappeared at once, entering His body, and His original two-armed form reappeared – with His flute in His hands and His peacock feather atop His head.

rasarambha-vidhau niliya vasata kunje mrgaksi-ganair
drstam gopayitum svam uddhura-dhiya ya susthu sandarsita
radhayah pranayasya hanta mahima yasya sriya raksitum
sa sakya prabhavisnunapi harina nasic catur-bahuta

[“At the beginning of the Rasa Dance, Lord Krsna hid Himself in a grove just to have fun. When the gopis came, their eyes resembling those of deer, by His sharp intelligence He exhibited His beautiful four-armed form to hide Himself. But when Srimati Radharani came there, He could not maintain His four arms. This is the wonderful glory of Her love.” (a quotation from the Ujjvala-nilamani by Srila Rupa Gosvami, as quoted in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 17.293)]

When Krsna sees Radhika, His most beloved and the embodiment of all love and affection, He forgets everything else. She is no one other than Krsna. She is Krsna Himself, but in the body of Radhika.

In this way, Krsna returned to His own form and quickly embraced Her. This occurred in vasanti-rasa-lila.

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