As she came out of the lake, she looked at herself. Surprisingly, she was not wet from the water. Her body was adorned with a fine red dress, and her limbs were adorned with elegant and light jewellery. Her reflection showed her ethereal beauty. She herself was momentarily dazzled by her reflection. She came out of the lake, not knowing where to go. As a matter of fact, she didn't know who she was.
"You are Arjuni!" said a melodious heavenly voice. "Proceed from this Southern Lake to the Lake in the East. There you shall meet your friends and all your questions will be answered."
Arjuni was astonished at the heavenly voice, but nevertheless followed the instructions. She walked towards East, where gradually she spotted another lake. And as the voice had said, there were a group of girls near the lake. As she walked towards them, she saw them whispering to each other and giving her quizzical looks. Then one of them came to Arjuni.
"Welcome here sakhi! I am Priyamuda and these are my sakhis. Who are you? Where do you come from?"
Arjuni looked at Priyamuda's kind and gentle smile. Her nervousness vanished and she said, "I do not know who I am or from where I come. All I know is that my name is Arjuni, and I was directed here by a heavenly voice, saying I will find my friends here and they will guide me further."
Priyamuda smiled again. "So be it! From today, you are also one of our sakhis! Let me introduce you to all of us! We are all the gopikas of Srimati Radharani, engaged in the service of the Moon-faced Lord of Vrindavana. This abode is that very Vrindavana."
Arjuni's mind suddenly felt a flash of a happy memory, but it disappeared. The happiness remained though.
Priyamuda then pointed at each one of the gopis.
"This is Goddess Purnarasa, our most senior gopika. This is Rasamanthara, Rasalaya, Rasavallari, Rasapiyushadhara, Rasatarangini, Rasakallolini, Rasavapika, Anangasena and Anangamalini. This is Lalita, Lalitayauvana, Madayanti, Rasavihvala, Madanamanjari, Kalavati, Ratikala, Kamakala, Kamadayini, Ratilola, Ratotsukha, Ratisarvasva and Ratichintamani. These are the Priyasakhis of Radharani.
Pointing to another group of goddesses, Priyamuda said, "These are the various goddesses of the scriptures. This is Udgita, Sugita, Kalagita, Kalasuraa, Kalakanthika, Vipanchi, Bahuhuta, Kramapada, Bahuprayoga, Bahukala, Kalavati and Kriyavati.
"These are the various Siddhayoginis: Ugratapa, Bahuprada, Bahuvrata, Priyavrata, Suvrata, Surekha, Suparva..."
And she rattled off a few more names. "... and this is Asantatika." She looked at a dazed Arjuni and laughed. "Don't worry, you shall get the names soon!"😆"
And then she led Arjuni into the Eastern Lake, and helped her in chanting the proper hymns. After decorated herself, Arjuni was taught the Krsna Mantra by Priyamuda. After chanting the mantra, Priyamuda taught her the Radha mantras. Duly worshipping Radha, Arjuni chanted:
Tapta Kanchana Gaurangi Radhe Vrindavaneshwari|Vrishabhanu Sute Devi Pranamami Haripriye||I worship you, O Devi Radha, you who possess a molten gold complexion, the Mistress of Vrindavana, the daughter of Vrishabhanu, and the beloved of Sri Krsna.As soon as they had chanted this, Radharani appeared in a flash. With a lot of affection, she took Arjuni's hand and said, "You are now my sakhi as well! Come, I shall fulfil your desire!"
As Arjuni's eyes were filled with tears of ecstasy and her limbs overcome with horripilation, she followed Radharani to the northern Lake, where the goddess bestowed upon her the mantras of Sri Krsna. She told her to meditate on Krsna, who has a complexion of a dark blue lotus, decorated with ornaments, with a beauty of a crore Cupids and filled with Divine Love. Thus instructing Arjuni, Srimati Radharani told Priyamuda to take care of her.
She then proceeded towards Krsna, and with an eight petalled lotus, she worshipped him. Krsna's eyes twinkled. "What is it Radhe? So much worship for me today?"
"It is a ritual Krsna. Follow it."
And so Krsna followed her worship till the end. Radha then told Krsna about Arjuni, who was chanting the Krsna mantra with utmost devotion. Krsna told Radha, "You can escort her here now. The Rasa festival is about to begin."
"Typical. You won't come and bless her yourself?" Radha asked.
"What's the fun in that? Her excitement is only going to increase if she comes here by herself."
And so Radha and Sharada, another sakhi, came to Arjuni and gently taking her hands, escorted her to the grove of Krsna.
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