Who is Radha?

Srimati Radharani, or Radha as she is more affectionately called, is the ideal woman, and Krishna's most beloved consort. She is loved and revered by many devotees all over the world. In fact, she is so important that whenever people say the names of Radha and Krishna, Radha always comes first. It is said that if one wants to get to Krishna, one must seek the blessings of Radha first.


A Little Bit about Radha's Background

Radha is the Goddess of Fortune. Laxmi, Sita, and all other goddesses are expansions of her. She lived in the beautiful hills of Varshana, in the land of Vraja. Millions go to her temple in Varshana annually to pay her respect. Her father is Vrishabhanu, the king of Varshana, and her mother is Kirtida, the Queen. Radha has a brother named Sridham and a younger sister named Ananga Manjari.

Even though Radha and her family are cowherds they are very wealthy. In vedic times the cow is given much respect, and much wealth in the form of milk, butter, cheese, ghee, and yogurt is traded for silks, gold, and luxurious items. Therefore, though Radha is a milkmaid, she is a princess and wears beautiful silk clothing, precious gems and gold jewellery, and is always decorated with gorgeous flowers, being the sweet country girl that she is.

Above is a one of my drawings of Radha balancing a pot of yogurt on her head (as is the tradition with the milkmaids of India) and the pot is decorated with brightly coloured paint. Radha is decorated with bangles, gold earrings, a nosering, a tika (heapiece), a jewelled belt, choker necklace, and beautiful flowers in her hair. Her forehead is decorated with a bindi and her hands are painted with alta (red dye). She is wearing a silk outfit with traditional patterns and prints.

Radha is the foremost of the gopis, and she has 8 main gopi friends who always do whatever they can to ensure that Radha is united with Krishna. These gopis are named Lalita, Vishaka, Champakalata, Indulekha, Chitra Devi, Ranga Devi, Tungavidya, and Sudevi. They all live near Varshana and are very dear to Radha.


Radha's Divine Birth in this World

Radha was born in Varshana or Rawal, just south of Delhi, India. Her birthday is celebrated by millions all over the world and is called Radhastami. This day usually falls sometime in September, but because the vedic calendar follows the moon instead of the sun the date is variable.

As the story goes, when Radha was born she could not open her eyes. When the people of Braja were invited to the celebration of her birth they saw the beautiful golden-complexioned baby girl. Baby Krishna was also brought to the celebration and when he approached Radha she suddenly opened up her eyes and looked at him. Radha refused to open her eyes because the first person she wanted to see was Krishna, and as soon as he was close enough she opened up her gorgeous lotus-like eyes.

Radha's beautiful lotus eyes always recieve much praise. Radha's entire body is incredibly beautiful, and she is perfect in every way. Her skin is like molten gold, her lips are reddish and lush, her hair is thick and silky, her waist is small and her hips are round and perfectly curved. When she walks the sounds of tinkling ankle bells fill the air and her gorgeous hips sway to and fro. She is the epitome of beauty.

Here is a pencil drawing I have done of Radha and Krishna in the forest. She's being coy :)



The Transcendental Qualities of Srimati Radharani

Radha has many many transcendental qualities, and she has numerous talents. There are 25 top transcendental qualities, some of which are:

• She is sweetness personified
• She is always brightly smiling
• She is expert in the art of singing
• She is expert in presenting feminine attractions
• She can speak very nicely and sweetly
• She is transcendentally cunning
• She is situated on the highest devotional platform
• She can give shelter to all kinds of devotees
• She always keeps Krishna under Her control

Radha can also be quite fiesty and when she has a quarrel or argument with Krishna she becomes fiery and hot-tempered. When Radha becomes angry Krishna becomes appreciative of her gorgeous expressive eyebrows. Even in a bad mood Radha is still incredibly beautiful. These quarrels are part of the nectar of Radha and Krishna's pastimes in Vrindavan.

Radha has many talents, some of which are:

• She is an incredible cook.
• She is expert at arranging flowers and making flower garlands.
• She is a talented musician and singer.
• She's an amazing dancer.
• She is clever and quick-witted.
• And she knows how to please her beloved Krishna.

The Glorious Beauty of Srimati Radharani

This is a painting of Radha I did using acrylics on canvas. It is part of a set, the other being a painting of Krishna looking towards the right at Radha. I consider this one of my best paintings, and I love Radha so very much.
Some people look up to some celebrity or famous humanitarian for inspiration, and that's fine, but to me Radha is the ultimate idol. No one is better than her.

All glories to Srimati Radharani!

More pictures of Radha

What Are They Wearing?

Ah, fashion! And how it differs from one culture to another is amazing. One may wonder what this has to do with anything, but let me explain.

The paintings and drawings I show in this blog depict various people wearing what you might call "traditional Indian" or "vedic" clothing. This usually consists of men wearing a dhoti and women wearing sarees.

Most paintings and sculptures of Krishna that I have seen show Him wearing a dhoti. This is a long single piece of material that is artfully wrapped around to make a kind of "trouser". This vedic outfit still survives in India to this day and is worn by many men as an everyday item. For special occasions men might wear a silk dhoti or a dhoti with a very ornate border. ( How to wear a dhoti. )

An interesting side note: the simple, traditional, vedic dhoti is also shown in ancient Egyptian art! The Egyptians seem to have worn a shorter version of the dhoti, what Indians might call a lungi. Here is a fresco found in an ancient building depicting a hunting scene, and the Egyptian in the foreground is clearly wearing a lungi. Were the Egyptians part of that wonderful vedic culture? Did they trade with the ancient Indians? I'd like to think so :)

Anyway, getting back on track. Sarees are the most popular dress for Indian women. A saree is a very long piece of cloth that wraps around the body in a most beautiful way. It's a long thing explaining it but if you're interested you can watch this video on how to put on a saree.
However, Radha is a gopi (cowherd girl) and so she is almost always depicted wearing a skirt and choli with a dupatta. Gopis are milkmaids and wear something I like to call "countryside" couture. This style of dress is very popular in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, India. Wheareas sarees were more like "city" gear, usually worn by the upper class. But now nearly every woman in India wears a saree, regardless of caste, status, region, etc.

The type of dress that Radha wears is called a ghagra choli, lehenga, or more simply gopi skirt.


There is some argument about whether in Vedic times women wore cholis, because some say that it is an Arab invention. Many ancient Indian paintings and sculptures depict women wearing a small, single piece of cloth tied around the breasts (what us modern women might call a "boob tube") with a saree or skirt. It is said that Indian women didn't incorporate the choli into their costume until the Muslims invaded, then it sort of seeped into the culture. More recent paintings of Radha show her wearing and choli. Whether all this is true or not, I don't know.


Artist Raja Ravi Varma, 19th century painter from Kerala, India, incorporates both the choli and the "boob tube" in his paintings of women. Although, it seems he only paints the tube on forest women and ascetics, whereas city women and goddesses wear cholis.
To the left is one of Varma's paintings, and you can see that these forest women are not wearing cholis but the more primitive, or shall I say simplistic, alternative.

I especially like Varma's paintings because they are a wonderful blend of east-meets-west. Traditional Indian art tends to be quite stylized, from the voluptuous carvings on the ancient temples to the beautiful paintings of the Mughals and Rajputs.


B.G. Sharma is an artist who's work follows the tradition of Mughal, Kishangarh, and Kangra paintings of old. His paintings of Radha and Krishna are famous worldwide, and he is possibly one of the most renowned artists of his tradition.

His paintings of Radha always have very ornate cholis and skirts decorated with wonderful prints, reminiscent of Mughal textiles. In this painting Krishna is not wearing a dhoti but a very fancy outfit, generally associated with the Rajasthani tradition of dressing Krishna, made up of trousers and a large flowing skirt. This type of outfit incorporates an ornate large headdress that is also typical of this tradition. But until the Muslim invasion of India this style was not invented.

Sharma has a really gorgeous book with his paintings of Radha and Krishna. Form of Beauty: The Krishna Art of B.G.Sharma

Radha Krishna and the Eight Principle Gopis
Murlidhara Das, 1984

This is a famous painting, ( I did not paint this, just to make things clear) which I have loved very much since childhood. The artist has done a wonderful job of displaying the mood of Radha and Krishna, and also the beautiful clothes everyone is wearing. Here you can see the dhoti that Krishna is wearing and the beautiful skirts, cholis, and dupattas donned by the gopi girls.

The Beginning

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

I think since this is all about my "art and mind" I should begin with some of my artwork and what its all about.
I am an artist and I paint all kinds of different things, but my heart will always be with Radha and Krishna: the most beautiful, most divine couple in the universe and beyond.

Let me explain. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (aka God) and is usually associated with the "Hindu" (more specifically Vaishnava) tradition. He has many names and many incarnations: Vishnu, Rama, Buddha, Balaji, Govinda, Jagannatha etc etc. Krishna means "the all attractive one" in sanskrit. All over India, and now in many countries all over the world, Krishna is worshipped lovingly and devotedly in His many forms.

Radha is Krishna's divine energy, or His female counterpart. She also has many forms and incarnations, like Lakshmi and Sita. Radha and Krishna are completely in love and devoted to each other, and this love is more beautiful and true than anything else in the world. It is this love that has me completely enchanted, and this is why I must always paint and draw Radha and Krishna in their many different forms.

So, that's my really brief intro, but I will be writing lots more about this as I go along. I will also share all the beautiful stories I know about Radha and Krishna so I can help others understand why I love them so much.
I will also be writing about lots of other things that may or may not relate to this subject, whatever is on my mind at the time. Hopefully someone will find this interesting.

Okay, now that I've done that little intro I'll show you some of my artwork.


Krishna Plays His Flute for Radha




Here are two verses from the Brahma Samhita (the song Brahma sang when he saw the beauty of the spiritual world: the world of Krishna) describing Krishna (Govinda).

Text 30

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals with head decked with peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids."

Text 31

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose two hands are adorned with the flute and jeweled ornaments, who always revels in pastimes of love, whose graceful threefold-bending form of Syamasundara is eternally manifest."

More Brahma Samhita



As you can see, I've done my best to follow the scipture and paint Krishna exactly how Brahma describes. In this painting I've portrayed Krishna in a relaxed position, leaning against a tree by the banks of the river Yamuna (more on her later). Radha is sitting opposite Him, listening intently and captivated by the beauty of Her beloved.

It is said in the Krishna Book (tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, a vedic text), that when Krishna played His flute all the animals, trees, and creatures would stop moving and just listen in bliss. When the gopis (cowherd girls) would hear the sound of Krishna's flute their hearts would melt and they would stop all other activities just to listen to the wonderful music. The sound of Krishna's flute would drive them mad and they would run away from their homes in search of Krishna.

Such was the nectar of Krishna's pastimes.