Explaining the Enigmatic and Mysterious Concept of Radha

Kalakalpa, 2023

Gita Govinda was composed by Jayadeva during the latter half of the twelfth century in a village Birbhum in Bengal or in a village near Puri in Orissa. The central characters of Gita Govinda are Radha and Krishna and the poetry is essentially lyrical devotional poetry. Radha has had an extremely mystifying presence within early Indian literature, and until Jayadeva rendered her the heroine of his poem, she rarely appeared in stray verses from Indian literature. Gita Govinda encompasses an array of human emotions like that of love and separation felt by the divine couple, Krishna and Radha towards each other. Since the text of Gita Govinda contained sensuous erotic expression, it not only appealed to a diverse audience exhibiting a broad literary taste and religious devotion, but it had permeated all levels of society and was not restricted to a court or elitist audience. Although the text is devotional poetry, composed to invoke lord Krishna, Radha is a figure integral to this devotional love poetry as she appears neither as a wife nor as a devotee but as a profound, passionate woman who complements and reflects the diverse emotions felt by Krishna. Since the time of its composition, the text has influenced almost all the various forms of Indian art especially dance, music and paintings. The Gujarat Gita Govinda paintings are amongst the earliest attempts by the artists in Gujarat to invent pictorial motifs in order to convey the literary implications of the verses. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine the visual representation of Radha through pictorial manifestations of the Gita Govinda painted in Gujarat in the late fifteenth century or early sixteenth century. The objective is to uncover and expound the various psychological complexities of an impassioned woman in love using theories of semiotics and Indian psychology.

Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga dan Hukum Islam

Providing decent food (breastmilk) to support the growth of children is one of the obligations of their parents and it is the gift that is given to a mother by Allah (God). This research is library research (literature research), which uses the interpretation of the Tafsir Al Misbah, the literature from books, journals, dictionaries, and other papers related to this research. It has been proven that breast milk is the best food for babies because of the diverse and complete nutritional content. The main content of breastmilk is 88% of the water that removes excess solute. Breast milk also contains carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, hormones, and growth factors. According to Quraish Shihab, radha’ah is interpreted as breastfeeding. In this case, he interpreted radha’ah as breastfeeding although breastfeeding recommendations in surah al-Baqarah is in the form of Khabar (information/news), but it means an order which obliges all mothers to carry out breastfeeding for up...

Religion and gender, 2015

This article analyses how Radha was depicted in miniature paintings between the 16th and 19th century in North India. Interrogating the link between text and image, contrasting poetry, style and historical settings with the visual representations of this central figure, the reflections focus on the changing nature of Radha. Through various examples from miniature paintings of different periods and schools, this article analyses the way the rich personality of Radha was transposed into images. In order to stress the changes brought to this female figure, she will be compared to Krishna, the masculine figure who is always at her side. The main goal of the article is to show the normative power of images on the figure of Radha, with normativity being understood as the simplification, iconisation, aestheticisation and stereotypification of a figure with polysemous references.

Abstract The story of Andal represents the essence of feminine audacity in the South Indian culture in the midst of the evolution of devotional tradition (bhakti). Andal who imagined herself as the wife of Vishnu, chose the best groom for herself, and through her commitment, and expression of the longing of her soul in her poetry she inculcates strength and continues to inspire generations of young women of India. In this paper, I will examine how her story travels north to Andhra Pradesh through a masterful Telugu rendering of Andal’s story by Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara during early fourteenth century. I will also examine how women and young girls still brave the winter chill to perform early morning ablutions of cold water, or a dip in the local river to pay reverence to Andal. This paper is devoted to analyzing the symbolic ways in which the story of Andal connects and inspires women not only in contemporary India, but also women in the diaspora, in the Hindu devotional practice celebrated in her memory.

One Goddess, Two Goddesses, Three Goddesses More, 2020

2013

Malayalam cinema, from its inception, was strongly rooted in the contemporary social reality. Social realism at the level of thematic and stereotyping at the level of characterization is a peculiar brew for a cinema to adopt. Cinema has become an important tool in the study of identities and sexualities today because of its ubiquitous presence as a popular medium and a powerful ideological apparatus negotiating with subjectivities and pleasures. Chandupottu is a typical Malayalam cinema that apparently has everything that constitutes a typical mainstream film in the Indian context. It also openly proclaims that it is different for its characterisation of the protagonist as a transvestite. This paper aims to analyze how such a movie failed to acknowledge the effeminateness of the male. It tries to highlight how instead the movie brought forth traditional machismo of the male hero and defined an unsophisticated masculinity.

International journal of english, literature and social science, 2024

Love is not merely an emotion but a potent feeling everyone desires to experience. When someone falls in love, they lose control over their feelings. Some individuals love selflessly, even without any hope for reciprocation. We all wait for someone who makes us feel unique and adds extraordinary value to our lives. However, love also demands sacrifices; sometimes, our love becomes the reason for someone's pain. In love, one should not be selfish and should not expect reciprocation from the other person. Love is unconditional and knows no bounds. "If someone does not love you, you do not have to convince them to love you back. True love comes naturally when you truly care for someone. Only when someone who loves you disappears from your life do you realise their importance? In contemporary times, everyone desires to be loved and to love in return. We are all lonely people who crave love and care. No one can love someone like Radha loved Lord Krishna. "Their love is everlasting and serves as an example of true love for future generations. Their love, respect, and care for each other cannot be matched. This paper will analyse the theme of love by examining the story of Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha and their love and sacrifice for each other."

1993

In this introduction I discuss Indian goddesses and the feminine sacred in South Asia with regard to the more general debate on the 'Great Goddess' or the 'Mother Goddess'. I stress the specificity of the goddess figure in South Asia as well as the relation between this representation and the conception of femininity in the South Asian context.