First of all, I must tell you that I love your id. It is unusual and very beautiful.
Next, I think I did not make it clear enough, but it is not so much my view that Radha was married to someone else as that I was told, by my grandmother, that it was so. I don't think that bothered her at all, for she took it, as you have put it, to be a namesake marriage. Like that of Meera to the Rana,when all the while she states that Krishna is her husband.
Of course Meera is a human being, while Radha is Krishna's eternal beloved and thus divine herself. So your view , that she is an avatar of Mahalakshmi, is the most logical.
However, there is an odd disjunction regarding Radha. Once Krishna leaves Gokul, as far as I am aware - and as I noted earlier, I am not an expert in our mythology - Radha is no longer heard of. Whence perhaps the two theories: one that she became Krishna's flute, and the other that she was Rukmini.
But then Rukmini has a clear background, a brother, and a royal family. It is difficult to see how Radha could become Rukmini. So what happened to Radha? I would be very much interested in your views on this, and on the questions I have listed below.
Then there are the two principal queens of Krishna, Rukmini and Satyabhama, and, as tradition has it, 16007 other wives. Were these 16007 wives the gopis of Brindavan?
Who are Rukmini and Satyabhama? in South India, though names like Radhakrishnan for men and Radha for women are very common, the focus is more on Lord Krishna's principal queens once he becomes the Dwarakadheesh. Especially on the haughty Satyabhama, around whom many dance dramas have been created, especially in Kuchipudi.
People like my grandmother did not ask questions. They simply accepted that Radha was his beloved in the Gokul phase, and once he became a king, it was Rukmini and Satyabhama and the other wives. The old paintings by Ravi Varma have both periods, Radha and Krishna in Brindavan, and Krishna flanked by Rukmini and Satyabhama in the Dwarka phase.
But once you start asking questions, it becomes confusing, at least to me. One fact, however, stands out. Lord Krishna might have had 16009 queens, but when his name is taken along with that of a woman, it is only as Radhakrishna. That says it all.
I am 70, so you could, if you like, call me Shyamala Aunty. Most folk in the IF do that.
Shyamala Cowsik (Aunty?)
Originally posted by: PandavPranayini
I believe Radha is Krishna's other half. None of the scriptures tell you that Radha was married to another man. Actually there is a very less content about Radha in the present surviving scriptures. Ayan is just a folktale and I let it be.
For me Radha is Mahalakshmi, Adi Shakti and Lord's equal. I love to imagine Radha and Krishna as childhood friends and as they grew up, they fell in love. Their separation happened when Krishna was 13. Radha may have been 13 or 14 at that time. According to Garga Samhita, Krishna and Radha had a spiritual marriage with all the devas present as spectators.
There is no chance of her getting married to anyone, and even if she did, later, it was for namesake. But I always prefer the option where she didn't marry. It's my view after all and I respect yours.
Originally posted by: sashashyam
Well, Radha does tell Balaram that Ayan is her baalpan ka sakha. So a childhood friend.Not a relative, for there is no indication that Ayan's parents are related to Vrishbaan or his wife.
As for the rest, I agree with you. I have no idea how they plan to spin out 200 + episodes with a one track story. Right now, Sumedh is carrying the show just like Lord Krishna carrying the Govardhan Parvat. Take him out, and it will collapse.
I am not an expert on our mythology, but I always understood that Radha was married to another man. Her relationship with Krishna is said to be metaphysical. I also read that after she died she was transformed into Krishna's flute.
Shyamala Cowsik