Shri Radha Kripakataksha Stotra: 12th shloka

Makheshvari-kriyeshvari-svadheshvari-sureshvari,

Trivedbhaarteeshvari-pramaanhshaasneshvari.

Rameshvari-shameshvari-pramodkaanneshvari,

Brajeshvari! Brajaadhipe! Shri Radhike! Namostute.

'Oh svamini of several yagyas or sacrficial offerings, the manageress of all deeds, controlling principle of all religious oblations, the goddess of the three vedas (Rig,Yajur and Sam), the great shakti or energy of certified commands, dallying in Pramod Van( the pleasure-grove at Ayodhya, a meeting place of Ram and Sita) the daughter of King Janak incarnated as Shri Radhike! Oh Brajeshwari the one controlling Braj, I bow respectfully before your lotus feet over and over again!'

Singing with enthused exultation of Shri Radhika's divine play, her radiant limbs lustrous due to divine romantic dalliances, the sweet bhavas, Adi Shankaracharya, composer of the 'Shri Radha Kripakataksha Stotra', exalts her divine majesty in the end. In reality grandeur does not seem agreeable in the realm of madhurya or sentiment of sweet romance but at places it is perfectly befitting.

One can spot the terrifying rush of love in songs of the Braj maidens...'Na khalu gopika nandno bhavaan' acclaiming her grandeur. In love-lorn renditions' Yathadipurusho bhajte mumushoon' grand words display the beauty of her distraught love-talk...above all...handsome Krishna, is primarily the supreme lover and the Supreme Being later.

So the darling son of Nanda's grandeur, escalates in moments of separation due to the pathos of longing. During the episodes of union and the pleasure of belonging, its memory has no respite. But it all happens in the case of the supreme lover.

Shri Radhika is the svamini or devotional ideal of the sakhis. She encapsulates the idea of bhakti shringara; a certain spirituality that can only arise from indulging in love. Her perspectives, thoughts, voice, as expressed in the thousands of padas in daily use are not only of one svamini and her relationship with Krishna but equally those of the sakhis, gopa cowherds, Nanda, Vrashban and the collective Braj denizens.

Making a prayer to Radha, enables us in imbibing the sakhi bhava (it helps us realize who we really are in terms of our eternal identity in the spiritual realm; through this meditation one gradually develops prema or love for Krishna.)

Nandnandan's sweet love for Shri Radhika is constant and new every day...he distributes his love with a free hand to the herd of sakhis as well. Few can resist Krishna's secret or sudden love as he bursts forth into the hearts of his beloveds, though Shri Radhika's compassion is imperative for this experience.

Shri Radhika's sentiment of sweet romance is solely for handsome Krishna, her passionate lover. For all others her vatsalya or maternal tenderness and grace are attainable. To some extent the supremely fortunate gopikas can relish her sakhya or friendship.

Radha feels that her love for Krishna can always expand to greater heights, and therefore she manifests herself as the many gopis of Braj, who fulfil Krishna's desire for a loving relationship in a variety of ways.We have accounts of the cowherdesses' romantic dalliances with Krishna but only by meditating on Radha's powerful majestic grandeur, or else there is chance of grave offence.

Therefore Adi Shankaracharya after exalting Radha's madhurya adorned with grandeur, her amorous frolic with Krishna in all shlokas, reports her glories with enthused exultation in the last verse. Ecstatic experiencing the svamini's greatness, he forgets to ask when she will cast her favourable side-long glance, propritiating her over and over again.

Without shakti or energy the world is lifeless. Brahma, the all pervading spirit of the universe, also lacks spontaneity...therefore Shri Radhika, the source of all shaktis or feminine manifestations of cosmic energy, beloved of Krishna, is the svamini of all yagyas, religious ceremonies, fields of knowledge and all realms.

Another pivotal concept endorses that Shri Radha is acclaimed as the svamini of everyone but is addressed as Shri Sitaji. This proves that Shri Rama and Shri Krishna (divine energetic source or shaktiman) and Shri Sita and Shri Radha (divine feminine energy or shakti) are one and the same.

We bow respectfully before Shri Radhika, the svamini of Braj denizens, the ruler of Braj...over and over again.