#Radha Krishna making

[craftyphantomconnoisseur]

How To Make lord krishna Statue,Lord Krishna Idol,Krishna Statue

[bansheet]

baffled by this actually. what does any of this have to do with radha or krishna. why is the taj mahal (a tomb built by shah jahan, a mughal emperor, for his wife) here ?? where are the cows – what do you think a "gopi" is, it literally means milkmaid. i'm SO confused genuinely..

mythology meme: mortals (3/7) — radha

in hindu mythology radha was a gopi who became the beloved of the god krishna 

[severetravelerhologram-blog]

The Soul of Radhe Shyam | Prabhas | Pooja Hegde | Radha Krishna Kumar | Thaman S | UV Creations

The Soul of Radhe Shyam on UV Creations. Radhe Shyam 2022 Indian Romantic Drama film ft. Prabhas and Pooja Hegde.

[h0bg0blin-meat]

What hindu gods/deities are lgbt (I'm sorry if this is rude or ignorant I just wish to learn as I've heard some are)

Dw it's neither rude nor ignorant. Now before I start I do wanna say that almost all the queerness we see in Hindu mythology is highly subtextual most of the time, which is like pretty obvious cuz these were the ancient times. So this might lead to a varied number of interpretations, and I can only offer the same. But most of them are pretty convincingly queer, so let's get into it cuz why tf not. (This is gonna be a loooooong post so buckle up)

Vishnu

This fella is probably the most pan-coded deity in the entire pantheon. Extremely comfortable with both his masculine and feminine side, Vishnu can sometimes be considered one of the peak genderfluid icons out there. His avatar, Krishna, despite being referred to as the Parampurush (in other words the manliest man in the entire universe), his physical appearance (which is what is considered to be a very feminine body for a man today, i.e., slender and soft) breaks the stereotype of what masculine man should look like. There are paintings of him and Radha where I've stared for like a hot minute trying to figure out which one is Radha (mostly in grayscale cuz otherwise their complexions are a dead giveaway) and yet, he slays it like a badass.

Then we also have Mohini, the goddess of beauty probably the best seductress out there, and the only female avatar of Vishnu. Through her having a union (yk what they mean by that) with Shiva (AHEM subtext amirit), Vishnu gave birth to Ayyappa, and wouldja look at dat he has two dads, which was actually prophesized. Mohini in one of the versions of Mahabharata (not the original one) ALSO slept with Iravan (Arjun's son) the night before he was gonna offer himself as a sacrifice for the Kurukshetra war. Reason was that Iravan had a wish to get married and spend the night with his wife before dying, and wishing his wife would mourn for him after his death. So Krishna felt bad for him, turned himself into Mohini and married him. The next day she held her husband's body and mourned for him like any wife would. We can also go back to the time where he sported (make of that word what you will) with Arjuni (female version of Arjun) as well as the female version of Narad (for a year in the latter's case).

In short, we can see how chill Krishna is with his fluidity with sexuality and gender, so much so that it's hard to put a label on him sometimes, which is fine. But yes interpreting him as queer wouldn't necessarily be a preposterous claim after all.

Shiva

Tbh Shiva is also pretty queer-coded, given his union with Mohini (and yes he specifically ASKED Vishnu to turn into her and hence he KNEW it was his best friend after all), and him turning into a woman to join Krishna's leela that one time, which also denotes that he's pretty confident in his gender fluidity as well, to some extent. He also has a sort of female avatar, who's actually very underrated. I think it's called Shivani. Also no one can deny the tension between Shiva and Vishnu let's be real here. They even have a ship name- Harihar, PLUS that "Vishnu is in the heart of Shiva and Shiva is in the heart of Vishnu" line. Btw this was a joke, but now you know why they're one of the popular ships of Hindu mythology. I personally have very neutral stance to the kind of bond they share, whether you call it platonic or something else.

(Note that I personally do not consider Ardhanarishwar and Vaikunthakamalaja as any genderfluid thingy because I just see them as literal fusions of the two couples, but yes many consider these two fused versions of Parvati-Shiva and Lakshmi-Narayan respectively to be gender-nonconforming, or non-binary of some sort.)

Lakshmi

Why did I add her here? Because I have a feeling she might be bi, given the fact that her husband is also technically her wife, considering we take Mohini into account, who I'm pretty sure she loves just as much as she loves Vishnu. But again, that's just my take on it.

Agni

Now he's one of the more popular queer-coded Hindu gods, specifically known for his implied poly-esque relationship with his wife Svaha and Soma (the wind god). Now many sites on Google have claimed Soma to be his husband, but I am yet to find a scriptural evidence for that claim, so I suggest you to take their words with a grain of salt. But what IS true is that these two guys do share a pretty profound bond. There was also this one instance where Soma went to a mountain and Agni followed him. Then both of them at the top of that mountain, 'became one' (what does that mean? not sure but it sure as hell sounded romantic. anyways). Also Soma is considered the "seed" and Agni the "progenitor" hence releasing the "seed". Now again what does that mean? Idk but that's sus as hell for sure.

Plus, Agni is also very well-known to be the (oral) receptor of Shiva's (and sometimes Soma's but not sure about the second one) semen, which he then flung into Ganga cuz it was too hot to bear for him, and that's how Kartikeya/Murugan/Skanda (Shiva and Parvati's son and a God of war) was born. So yeah.

Mitra-Varuna

These two.... are another pair of popular queer-coded Hindu deities. They're almost always summoned and worshipped together, and you can say they have canonically.... well had a union, and good news is none of them became a woman for the deed. Their union is recorded in the Shatapatha Brahmana 2.4.4.19, where Mitra is said to have "implanted his seed in Varuna" (hmmm nothing homosexual going on here) during the waning moon. Many people consider this a metaphor for the cyclic nature of celestial phenomena so it's upto you to interpret it however you want.

Now they also give off that sunshine x grumpy vibe, with Mitra being the god of friendship, sun, daylight, dawn and stuff while Varuna is the god of the waters, moon, nighttime, dusk etc. Plus, the latter has anger issues but he has a bubbly Mitra (pun intended) to calm him down for dat :D.

They are also known for siring two sages, Agastya and Vasistha after they accidentally released and mixed their semen into a pot as a result of getting enchanted by Urvashi (one of the apsaras or celestial nymphs).

Budh and Ila

Budh is technically an AMAB non-binary (or intersex) deity (and technically the planet Mercury) born to Chandra (who's also synonymous to Soma most of the time) and Tara, to put it simply, and got cursed to be neither male nor female because Chandra had an affair with someone else's wife -_- (Tara was the wife of Brihaspati, or Jupiter, who was also the guru of the gods).

Ila is another genderfluid deity. Some versions of the myth says they were born a woman, some say they were born a man called Sudyumna, while some say they were born a woman, but since their parents wanted a son, Mitra-Varuna (who they preyed to) changed their gender and Sudyumna was born (but then there was some issue with the rituals, which led to the duo to turn him back to a woman, which is when they took the name of Ila. Ik, too much gendershifting going on, bear with me). Anyhoo they got this genderfluidity from Shiva's spell and every month they'd change sex from Sudyumna to Ila and back to Sudyumna and so on. Budh got enchanted by Ila and married her, and bore the Pururavas with her.

Later on, some versions say Ila permanently turned into a man with Parvati's boon. But personally interpreting, Budh was technically still married to Sudyumna so..... idk what happened to them afterwards tho. I hope they were still spouses...

[nidhi-writes]

Me: *complaining to Krishna* Why are you making things hard for me? Please let me live happily as your Lakshmi is beside you.

Radha/Sita/Meera/Andal/Rukmini(LAKSHMI): *turns their head slowy at my direction*

Me: OK, OK, OK, My Mistake, ladies!! *geez*

[blackknight-100]

So I was rereading the Dushyanta and Shakuntala story, and I just noticed the worst thing ever. Every mortal couple in Hindu Mythology that anyone ever called the "definition of true love" has been sundered from one another in at least one version, and usually this involves the woman being innocent and the man being either duty-bound or a jerk.

Krishna has to leave Vrindavan and Radha for Mathura. I whole-heartedly believe this was inevitable unless Radha left Vrindavan, so I don't take Krishna-slander regarding this but. They never really get together together after that so Idk tbh.

Rama, of course, does the whole Agni-Pariksha thing, even if we don't take the Uttar Kand, and if we do, he goes from reputation-obsessed questionable man to utter jerk who absolutely doesn't deserve to be called Purushottam.

And although Kalidasa did an excellent job of making Dushyanta and Shakuntala's story one of star-crossed lovers, in most other cases, Dushtyanta (in an effort to pull a Rama) outright lies and calls Shakuntala a harlot in open court when she asks him to help raise their son. The only good thing about that "love" story is the ABSOLUTE Tongue-Lashing (TM) Shakuntala gives him. Other than that, it's basically a man coercing a sheltered woman into doing the deed, later trying to humiliate her in public when asked to take accountability, and then passing it off as 'upholding her reputation.'

Honestly, we have so many good love stories I did not expect these to be the benchmark of love 🥲🫠

[pinkcloudssparklingwater]

(non)local bee watches krishna & radha draw rangoli outside their house | pt. 1

krishna & radha draw rangoli outside their house. seen from the pov of a disgruntled bee that is new to the place & doesn’t understand why everyone’s so charmed by this god (till it does)

[part 2]

Yamuna gushed brightly. Having risen just a few minutes ago, the sun bathed the world below in a buttery golden light. Blades of grass swayed despite not a single breeze blowing. It was as if their eyes, blinking awake, had fallen upon a sight that immediately jolted them out of their slumber. Filled their lean bodies with bliss uncontainable. 

A bee that had journeyed from a faraway land throughout the night—and that had been resting on top of a bud nearby—was also shaken awake by the movements of the grass. 

Annoyed by their incessant rustling, it hissed. ‘What’s the hurry now? So early in the morning, and you make such a ruckus! Fools. Stay still!’

‘How can we!’ the grass cried in unison, their trembling only growing more sweet. ‘How can we stop, how can we stay still, when our god is right there?’

‘God?’ the bee snapped. ‘What god!’

‘Oh, we can’t be still. He makes us this way. How can we be still when the mere sight of him fills us with so much pleasure we don’t know what to do with ourselves?’

‘You’ll are fucking crazy,’ the bee muttered, following the direction in which the grass seemed to be leaning. Who was this god? There’s no way he’s making every single blade of grass on this land lose its mind. ‘I don’t believe it—’ 

The bee couldn’t finish that thought, though. Not before its gaze met a pair of lotus-eyes, staring back at him. 

The owner of the eyes was a tall man at a distance, holding a broomstick, bent slightly at the curve of his waist. His skin was the colour of clouds heavy with rain. He seemed to have been in the middle of cleaning the area outside what looked like a house. And as if he’d heard the bee’s doubts, one of his eyebrows lifted in amusement. 

You really don’t believe it?

The bee’s mouth burst open in a gasp, its heart pounding.

Before it could dwell on its own embarrassing reaction, however, the solid weight beneath it seemed to give away. 

With a shriek, the bee found itself plunging down. 

But it hadn’t hit the ground. 

Mildly dizzy, it shook its head and looked around. 

It seemed to have fallen into…a flower?

‘What the fuck,’ the bee whispered, straightening itself. 

As it found its footing once more, it noticed, confusion streaking its eyes, that the petals of the flower were a soft violet. The same colour as the bud that it had chosen to camp on…

‘The bud!’ the bee realized with a start. ‘Is that you?’

‘Of course, who else would I be?’ the flower snorted from below, a haughty attitude dripping from its voice. The bee grunted in return. 

‘Why would you just become a flower so suddenly!’

‘Shut up,’ the flower snarled. 

But the very next moment, in a complete change of character—a transformation that left the bee gaping in shock—the flower’s voice lost all of the mean edge. It morphed into an unrecognisably soft, honeyed melody, as the flower turned towards the distant house, towards the god who had resumed sweeping. It cooed shyly, petals pinkening. 

‘My god looked this way. He looked my way. Of course I opened up and bared myself completely for his eyes then. Of course I bloomed for him. How else am I supposed to beg him to walk over, take me in his mouth, and suck every last drop of nectar out of me till I forget who I am?’ 

‘Excuse me?’ 

As a bee, it was hard not to feel personally offended at that.

The audacity of this god. First he makes the grass—every single one of them—kick up a completely unnecessary storm so early in the morning because they are supposedly mad with happiness at the mere sight of him. Then he charms the flowers so completely, without so much as a glance, till they defy the laws of nature—blossoming for him at the most untimely moments and blushing and calling for him to eat them up (as if they can’t see the bee hovering right in front of their eyes). Really, the audacity of this god!

Displeasure thrumming through its body, the bee whipped its head towards the house with a glare.

The god was still hard at work, the muscles of his arm shifting with each sweep of the broomstick, and the bee almost turned away, thinking he hadn’t noticed it—but right then, as if he knew exactly what it had been thinking, as if he’d heard all of its complaints, the god let out a chuckle. Deep and low and a secret shared just between them. 

Warmth scorched the bee’s face, and it leapt off the flower—rushing to hide behind a tree. 

‘S-Shit.’ 

end of pt. 1

[janaknandini-singh999]

Radha isn't just Krishna's lover, she's his biggest supporter, teacher, best friend and literally his counterpart. We are drawn to our kanha without worldly logic as to what exactly he does to us that makes him so mesmerizing but Radha is the one who hypnotizes even him. All of us want him by our side but she let him go. For us. Rukmini threatened to kill herself if he didn't marry her, Mirabai devoted her entire life to him, Arjuna was desolate without his guidance, they all choose Krishna again and again but Radha lets Krishna choose his path, his dharma always. It doesn't mean any of them loved Krishna less, but Radha just understood him the most. We all long for his arrival including Radha but she realized the importance of his departure too. Radhakrishn isn't just some greatly sacrificing, godly, dreamy teens in love, unachievable story of passion but the journey of self love, unconditional love, picking our battles, finding our purpose, circumstances leading to separation from each other because of that purpose, growing and learning more each day individually for ourselves and each other, and finally letting it all go out into the world with only the utmost compassion and empathy <3

[seireiteihellbutterfly]

Unconventional Flowers Event - March Bonus

Dahlias for Holi ft. Nanami

A/N: March bonus prompt for my Unconventional Flowers Event. I honestly was hoping for a very unique holiday and this got my attention in all the right ways. Requested by @sitarawrites. For more information on the Festival of Colors, visit Wikipedia.

Rating: E, fluffy

Pairing: Nanami x reader (Desi reader implied)

Word Count: 971

People had been skeptical of your marriage to Nanami, wondering how you would ever blend your rich, individual backgrounds. For the two of you, it just meant more cultural holidays to celebrate together, and spoiling each other with a wider variety of food and sweets accompanying each one. You knew he’d adapt well, he’s proven that when you were dating, even though Indian festivals tended to be crowded and loud. 

And you loved him for the way he kept up the rules that fell on your festival days. Vegetarian food only, and though he didn’t need to, he sat in the back while you offered your prayers, his hair damp because it was customary to always have your hair washed on festival days. The first piece of prasad which you offered to him with love after all the prayers and poojas were done, broken in half as he feeds it to you as well. It was bliss.

But the one festival Nanami refused to participate in was Holi. He had no qualms against the day in general, but rather, the way it was celebrated, by throwing colored water and powder onto others to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. You’d pouted because Holi also celebrated the love between Lord Krishna and his eternal love Radha, the most well-known romantic story in all of Hindu mythology. Not that he hadn’t given it a fair try. You’d told him to wear something old and casual but the man simply didn’t own anything that fell under those categories. He spluttered along gingerly at the fairgrounds while everyone played, his hair weighed down in his eyes by dyed water in shades of shocking pink, electric yellow, and robin’s egg blue. 

He hated the wetness, the noise, and the fact that the dyes used in the water and powder didn’t rub off for days (seriously, what was in that stuff?). After his first one which had occurred back when you were both initially dating, he’d politely told you he would not be participating in the ones to come as he tried to rub off the darkening pink that had stained his face, neck, and ears. The color had only taken in more on his pale skin, making him look like he had a bad sunburn, something that Gojo and Yuji had been quick to point out while teasing him to no end. 

So it became the rule that he would sit with you during the morning for prayers, and you went with your family and friends to the fairgrounds to celebrate the rest of the day by throwing color at each other. The first Holi after you got married though, you felt a small twinge of sadness that your husband would be absent for this affair but you hid it, pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaving.

When you arrive home, Nanami has laid down a towel trail from the door into the bathroom so that the color wouldn’t drip onto the carpet. You can’t help but appreciate his foresight on this; you loved Holi, but you certainly didn’t want to ruin the carpet. Under the hot spray, you let yourself wash off the colors that stuck to your body, watching them swirl into each other as they went down the drain. Honestly, it was only the pink that actually stuck, the rest of the colors washing off easily.  You step out, clean and fresh, and pad into the bedroom, to find Nanami sitting patiently on the bed with a cotton bag in his hands.

“Hey,” you say softly, tired from all the running around at the fairground and now the heat of the shower.

“Hey yourself.” He pats the space next to him. You oblige and sit next to him, the bed feeling soft and comforting after a long, energetic day.

“Did you have fun?” he gently rubs the top of your ear, now pink like a flamingo.

“Yeah. Missed you though.” You lace your fingers with his. 

“I know. Your face said it all when you left.” He kisses your hair, now washed and dried, smelling fragrant. “I’m sorry it disappoints you so much. But I just can’t find a way to enjoy playing Holi.”

You turn to kiss his jaw. “It’s not like you didn’t try. And you were miserable the whole time. It’s ok. It’s just one festival.”

“True. But. Maybe you and I can play Holi in a different way? One that involves colors but none of the mess?”

You look at him curiously, wondering what he had in mind before he hands you the bag he was holding. You peek into it and see that it’s filled to the brim with dahlias, your favorite flower. 

“Lay back.” You do as instructed, scooting up towards the pillows. Nanami dips his hand into the bag, picking up a pink flower. 

“Pink, to symbolize kindness and beauty.” He begins to lay all the pink flowers from the bag across your body shoulder to shoulder, like a devotee worshiping a goddess, and the act causes a rush of love to zoom through you.  

“Yellow, for cheer.” He places these across your chest and you hold still, not daring to move lest they fall off. 

“Orange, for celebrations and goodness.” These go across your stomach which is now jittery like there are a million butterflies in it. 

“Purple for respect and devotion.” The blooms are placed delicately along your legs and you feel giddy from the romance of it all. 

You lay there, colors all over your body, which was the whole point of Holi in the first place. Nanami carefully makes his way back up to your face, giving you a tender kiss on the lips, his eyes full of love.

“Happy Holi y/n. I hope this makes up for it.” 

All animated lines and banners by @/ cafekitsune

@bleach-your-panties @bleachbrainrotbro @kr0wu @grimmjowssoulmate-blog @j-u-u-z-o @brittscafe @keiva1000 @buttercupbitches @vee33ee @cindyneko-strider @dreaming-about-seireitei @quinnyundertow @naoyagasm @sitarawrites @sehunaeri @kentosgirlie @strawberrymuffinlovin @ickkck-09 @connorsui @arabidp0ssum @teasore @un-aesthetic @jadedjane

[sanskari-kanya]

my heart wants roots, my mind wants wings ; i cannot bear their bickerings ―୨୧⋆ ˚

౨౿ kanya ⁀➴ she ¡ her ᯓ twenty ᡣ𐭩 ˚⋅krishna’s biggest headache and part time fav child ꪆৎ ˚⋅

i sing ˚ʚɞ˚‧

ghodey pe sawaar

nainowaale

achyutam keshawam

agar tum saath ho

and shitpost ˚ʚɞ˚‧

hindu gods as gen z

krishna

rukmini

radha

arjun

indra

rukmini os - ‘ love in separation ’

tags ᝰ

#krishna and kanya : posts that will make you wonder if krishna is my neighbourhood best friend

#kanya in med school : where i contemplate if i want to become the best doctor in my bloodline or just marry rich

[stardustkrishnaverse]

TEXTING HINDU GODS PT.2

cos i couldnt get enough 😂

RAMA 🫶:

- replies with a wholesome and sweet paragraph LITERALLY EVERY TIME

- asks you about your day

- tells you what him and his fam did that day

- helps you make friends ('Don't worry - you're so sweet and kind! You have got this! 🤗')

- emotional breakdown support 101

- does random facetimes to show you nice things he finds in the forest

- does group vid calls to show everyone

-- > does 'campfire sessions' on group vid call where you all play antakshari or tell stories together

- gives the best life advice, on parallel with Krishna's (surprise surprise amirite)

y/n : hi Ram ji :)

Rama : Hi my priye y/n, so good to hear from you! You know, today we saw this beautiful flower in the forest that I'm pretty sure is a Golden Arch Dendrobium - Lakshmana says we have come to the areas of Bharat where it is a native plant! Its colour was so mesmerising and bright - it looked so lovely in Sitey's hair! I wish you were here to see it 🥰 [Sends pic of flower]

y/n : *sends 10min voice note of emotional breakdown*

rama : *sends multiple vns back right away with lots of affirmations and emotional support. if your love language is physical touch he also posts you a hand-knit jumper or a crochet teddy for you to snuggle*

HANUMAN 🫶:

- another one for speed dial

- happy to help in every circumstance

-- > but may not help with picking outfits as he'll find smth nice to say for every option 😂💓

- BEST motivation and motivational speeches

- will pretend to study with you on vid call so you can have a study buddy 🥺

- if you can't sleep at night, will be on phone call telling a wholesome story to send u to sleep (most likely smth about his or shri ram's adventures)

- will highly appreciate you sharing your fave Shri Ram bhajans with him

- begins and ends every convo with 'JSR 🙏' (Jai Shri Ram)

- in summary: your fave uncle and grandad in one

- in bg of all of Shri Ram's vid calls and says hi haha (he loves to sing in the antakshari and is also such a big hype man 😁)

RADHA 🫶:

- you know that trope about going to dads with all your 'dad needs' like fixing the sink,, well that is radhe with LITERALLY EVERYTHING

- solves all your problems

- is also on speed dial

- is the caring older sister (without the brown eldest sibling trauma 💀)

- reposts all the dumb pics of herself that kanha tags her in and adds individual captions with the patience of only kanhas eternal consort 🥰

kanha : *posts of a pic of himself looking swag and radhe scratching her nose mid blink* RADHE ❤️

radhe : *resharing* I've never looked so good, new pfp material 😂

kanha : *comments* wow i get to be in ur pfp 🥹🥹🥹🥹 #blessed

radha : like u are not literally in all of them 🙄

y/n : *posts a vid of radha single-handedly doing dhakka to y/n's broken down car, kanha doing 😍 face in bg*

[nainawithspecs]

A little Rohini piece because I think she is extremely cool and also extremely underrated!

Rohini is not a woman of a lot of words.

And this is not particularly a secret to anyone in Vrindavan. She partakes occasionally in the discussions of milk and grains, lends a hand to Nanda in politics and calculations, sneaks in a suggestion to Krishna for clevering his antics here and there, but, ultimately, finds peace in curling up by the window, the afternoon sunlight falling languidly on the book in her hand.  

She is unsure, then, of how exactly it is that she gets roped into being the head of entertainment for the little girls of the village, that too for a full evening.

The adults are off to a wedding in the neighboring village, the boys are out frolicking in the fields, and the girls, not allowed out in the dark alone, are staring up at her with expectant eyes from where they sit cross legged on the ground.

“What,” she begins, and hopes her tone does not betray the confusion she feels. “Would you all like to do?”

“Can we play battle like the one they show in the nataks?” one from the fifteen responds, her red bindi rising with her eyebrows in eagerness.

“I do not think that would be very wise,” Rohini states, and the abundance of knives as well as children in the house, alongwith the lack of battleground proportions of space makes her believe she is right to do so. She would like to return the girls to their parents with all their organs intact. 

“We could weave a garland then?” 

This time it comes from the front, from the girl in braids and a blue choli. Radha. 

The unofficial leader of the gopis and the partner in crime in most of her nephew’s mischiefs, smiles excitedly at Rohini, and animatedly adds, “I saw Yashoda Kaki bring in a basket full of flowers today. We could all sit around and weave it together.”

Most of the girls nod in agreement.

It is not a bad idea at all, but, “She had to use all of them for the puja this morning, I am afraid.”

Radha’s moon-like face falls, and Rohini feels a slight pang of regret. 

The kid just beside Radha immediately declares. “Take us to the wedding. I heard the food there is delicious.”

“It will be over by now, Lali,” Radha pouts, looking into the distance. 

“And we can not go to a wedding empty handed,” a girl from the middle row pipes up, seemingly scandalized. “Right, Kaki?”

Rohini hides an amused smile at the exchange. “Quite right. And besides,” she looks over at the bright young faces. “I must confess, I happen to be completely in the dark in regard to whose nuptials are even taking place.” 

The girls exchange glances among themselves. There seems to be a silent mutual understanding when Radha leans ahead to whisper conspiratorially, “Us too, Kaki.” A pause. “I think that is why we were not invited.”

Rohini leans ahead too, and drops her voice to her level. “I think that is why I was not invited either.”

The young ladies break out in giggles and Rohini, surprisingly, finds herself joining them. 

“Weddings should be about food, not the names.” Lali huffs. “Nobody cares about them.”

“True. The fight over food makes better stories than most of the bride and grooms,” another girl, adorned with green bangles and a leaf crown, asserts.

Radha suddenly gasps, deep brown eyes lighting up. “Kaki! Why don’t you tell us a story? I have seen you reading everyday. You must know so many.”

There is murmur of agreement in the gathering and Rohini is surprised that why had she not thought of it.

“Yes,” Rohini breathes out, “I do know quite a few.” She may perhaps not be a words person, but stories to her had always been more about art rather than language. More a painting rather than ink. “And to suit the occasion, some of them happen to involve weddings too.”

There is a cheer from the gathering as Rohini beacons them closer. This time, the expectant eyes and eager expression are more than welcome as she begins, “There was once a king who wanted to marry a princess from a different culture. She agreed but first placed two demands about her god and freedom…”

When the boys come back, they are shocked to see the gopis chatting away with Rohini late into the night, hanging on each and every word of hers like a sacred thread.

When the grown ups come back, at the crack of dawn, they are left confused at the sight of kids asleep around Rohini in Yashoda’s aangan, as the crisp, almost orange light falls on the royal princess reading between the dozing forms, lightly stroking Radha’s hair who’s asleep on her lap.

(Years later, when Krishna kills Kansa and becomes the Lord of Mathura, when Subhadra comes into their world and when all Vrindavan is allowed to be is a distant unimportant village, Rohini weaves a tale to her daughter to lull her into a slumber and dares not dwell on why her heart recalls a hazy laughter filled evening and hurts itself so.) 

[ahamasmiyodhah]

"Born to be his Rukmini, Forced to be His Radha."

Reels with this Caption has been popping in my feed. Celebrities, actors, sportspersons, singers, idols, etc are main part of it. And it just makes me laugh aloud not because of the Caption, Caption is beautiful and it holds so much meaning but—

Do you really understand what was Rukmini and Radha to Krishna?

In my opinion, being Rukmini and being Radha is same. How, because Rukmini- in my opinion- symbolizes the union. The presence of Love in Union aka "Milan". Rukmini yearned for Krishna from her childhood. She fell in love with him when she first heard of him. Fought against anyone who told her that she can't marry Krishna. Her love, her devotion was so pure that Krishna had to bow in front of her wishes and marry her. (Its anothet thing Krishna accepts everyone who devotes to him— and Rukmini did that -with exception of her being Lakshmi).

Now Radha. In my opinion, Radha symbolizes Separation. The presence of Love in Separation aka "Viraha". Radha loved Krishna as well. She spent her whole childhood with Krishna, she loved him deeply, even when he had to leave Vrindavan forever and Radha knew she won't see her Shyām anymore. She loved him even after she was separated for him.

So anyone who think that "Born to be his Rukmini, forced to be his Radha", bro, you already are with Him. The person you became 'Radha' for. You may not be united with him or them or whoever and be their 'Rukmini' but remember that Rukmini and Radha are same. Milan (Union) and Viraha (Separation) does NOT define YOUR love which YOU hold for them.

So, if you were Born to be his Rukmini and Forced to be his Radha, be proud that you are his 'Rukmini' or 'Radha', or whoever you feel so.

Just remember, that how like for Krishna both Rukmini and Radha are important halves of his soul, YOU are also a part of your Love One's Soul, even if they don't know ❤️

- Khyati

[pottermeow22]

Sooooo, I just managed to watch the whole of Kalki-2898AD in one sitting today.

And what a masterpiece!!!!!

I know that reviews about the movie have been mixed, (Arshad Warsi, eyes on you, man👀👀👀) but amongst the abundant comedic relief, were to me atleast, many buried little Easter eggs and clues that only someone with a knowledge of the Mahabharata, and someone willing to look with a more thoughtful eye will catch!

Bhairava's whole characterisation is the single most largest example of this! After Ashwathama's first little flashback, the suspicion of Bhairava being Karna began to itch at me, because who else could be a greater warrior than Arjuna on the field of the Kurukshetra battle?

The first similarity I found was this.... The way Bhairava has spent a large portion of his life trying to enter an elite society simply because he believes that the circumstances he was born to are not the determiners of his capacity. The way he almost KNOWS in his heart, that he has a fate larger than this coming for him, yet blinds himself into believing that it is life at the Complex! The first mistake that Karna committed in his life is the same. His first step into adharma, was brought about by his desire to be considered equal amongst the Kshatriya warriors of the Kuru clan. To not be limited by the circumstances of his birth or upbringing as the son of a sarathi....

The second clue to me, was his attachment to Bujji!!! This one is less of a parallel, and more of an indirect clue as to the background Bhairava might have, though. Karna was the son of a charioteer, who was expected to be one too, and strongly disliked the idea of being forced to be one when his interests lay in becoming a warrior that people spoke of even eons later. And at the end of the epic war, it is his chariot again, and the kshatriya king Shalya as his charioteer that pave the way to his death! The first time Ashwathama hurls Bujji and Bhairava loses yet again, this was straight where my mind went.

Then, there are the more subtle character nuances. Karna in his time, was considered a warrior second to none, and yet people often only acknowledged him as an equal to Arjuna. And in one modern iteration of the Mahabharata that I'm not sure where I read it, Krishna says that while Arjuna competes with himself, looking only to better himself, Karna strives to be better than Arjuna. And in that, he holds himself back to Arjuna's level. A clear sign of a hyper competitive person, is that not? And the first time we see any sort of a serious don't mess with me attitude from Bhairava, is when he is losing. When he has lost. And so goes his patience with the wind, his need to be undefeated, to WIN leading him to his following chaotic course of action...

And finally, the centrepoint of Karna's story, his Identity.... Karna's whole story, his cause and consequence, his curse and his many boons, are the result of his birth, and the way it was hidden from him. Bhairava too, seems to have an origin story that he either does not know, or does not remember, instead covering it up with comedic relief sob stories (according to Bujji, not me!!!) of adoption and a Captain father, which Dulquer was sooooooooo cute in his 10 minutes of screentime! Does Bhairava have a Radha too, who brought him up as a bosom son and he refuses to give up her memory to anyone? Why at the end of the movie did he lose recollection of the climactic fight? Has he been cursed with forgetfulness and therefore does not remember the legends of his own story?

Overall Kalki 2898 AD, to those watching with an open mind and a thoughtful eye, is a minefield of curious parallels, and a reversed good vs evil that with more detail from part 2, could make for a blockbuster winning combination!!!!

PS The way he looks at Sumathi/Deepika before picking her up in his arms was so 🤯🥵🤤... And is the baby somehow his and not a result of Project K? Because I do remember Sum-80 saying she was negative after the last attempt at seeding. Curiously endless possibilities!!!!!

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

HI! I've been reading through some old posts and i was wondering if you could explain how Arjun did raas with lord krishna? <3

Hello!

So the bit you're referring to is not actually from the Mahabharat. It's from the Padma Purana's pātāla-khanda.

This tiny story is a part of the dialogue that occurs between two people in the future as is the typical narrative style of these tales. It goes something like:

Arjun is curious to know all sorts of details about the raas-leela- where does it happen, how many gopis are there, who are they etc etc. Krishna is cryptic, as usual, and tells him that a man simply cannot perceive it even if the said man is more precious to him than life itself to him. Therefore, it's no use asking. Arjun is Disappointed™. Krishna is soft for him so he tells him it's fine and that he shouldn't worry about it because he'll see for himself. Then he instructs him to go to a goddess(Tripāsundari, to be exact) who will help him.

Arjun goes to her, prays to her and calls to her. She appears, pleased by his devotion and adoration. She also asks him a rhetorical question, that I personally find funny, which basically is along the lines of "What makes you so special that Krishna is letting you have this one thing that no other mortal, deity or ascetic can have?" She doesn't wait for an answer, because I think she already knew and then proceeds to give Arjun a list of prayer related tasks to worship her properly. After he follows her instructions, she and her friend show him Radha's house and vrindavan. Then she tells him to take dip in an auspicious lake and he does and emerges as a beautiful woman.

(At this point, I will be using she/her pronouns for Arjun/Arjuni because that's what the story says.)

Arjuni rises from the lake, having forgotten everything about her male self. There's a lot of poetic waxing about how alluring and attractive her voice, physicality and personality are. She happens upon a bunch of women(the gopis, obviously) who are equally as beautiful and charming as her. All the gopis are very lovely, actually and ask her who she is and how she happened to end up there and kind of soothe Arjuni's anxiety and then all of them introduce themselves. They say that they used to sages in their past life and are now gopis who participate in raas leela with Krishna.

They take her to lake, play with her, bathe her etc etc. It's all VERY sapphic, trust me. There's also a lot of praying involved. After the initiation is over, Arjuni meets Radha. More praying and devotion.

Pleased by all this devotion, Krishna asks Radha to bring Arjuni to him who promptly breaks out into sweaty excitement upon seeing him.

(Okay, now, I guess I'm obligated to inform you that what follows is very...sexual in nature. BUT a lot of Indian spiritual texts consider the sexual and the spiritual to be interconnected. Take from this what you will, I guess.)

The text goes on to describe Krishna's body in HEAVY detail (including equating his thighs to tree trunks?) that makes me genuinely worried that whoever wrote this was incredibly horny. He takes her hand and they um... participate in the leela.

When it's over, Arjuni is Exhausted from all the activity and Krishna tells her to go take a dip in the lake again. She does.

(Back to he/him pronouns people, keep up.)

Arjun surfaces and is dejected from the loss of something so wonderful. Krishna consoles him by saying that they are Dear Friends, as the historians say, and that only he knows something that no one else in three loka does. And if Arjun tells anyone what he has experienced he will curse Krishna. Again, hilarious because if you remember I said that this story is being told to us in a dialogue of TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE. Which means other people already know. Clownery of the highest order, really.

And then they go home. The end?

I hope this helps. I paraphrased a lot but I couldn't just paste the entire thing here. I've given you all the tools to go search for orginal text and translation yourself.

TL: DR Arjun gets instant lake-HRT for one night, participates in the raas-leela, and then goes home.

-Mod S

[talonabraxas]

The Legend of Radha-Krishna Talon Abraxas

The Legend Young Krishna is known to be very playful and mischievous. The story goes that as a child, Krishna was extremely jealous of Radha's fair complexion since he himself was very dark.

One day, Krishna complained to his mother Yashoda about the injustice of nature which made Radha so fair and he so dark. To pacify the crying young Krishna, the doting mother asked him to go and colour Radha's face in whichever colour he wanted.

In a mischievous mood, naughty Krishna heeded the advice of mother Yashoda and applied colour on her beloved Radha's face; Making her one like himself.

Well, there is also a legend to explain Krishna's dark complexion. It so happened that once a demon attempted to kill infant Krishna by giving him poisoned milk. Because of which Krishna turned blue. But Krishna did not die and the demon shriveled up into ashes.

The beautiful scene of Krishna's prank in which he played colour with Radha and other gopis has been made alive in myriad forms in a number of paintings and murals.

The Celebrations Somehow, the lovable prank of Krishna where he applied colour on Radha and other gopis using water jets called pichkaris gained acceptance and popularity. So much so that it evolved as a tradition and later, a full-fledged festival. Till date, use of colours and pichkaris is rampant in Holi. Lovers long to apply colour on their beloveds face and express their affection for each other.

This legend is wonderfully brought alive each year all over India, particularly in Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Nandgaon-the places associated with Krishna and Radha.

In fact, the entire country gets drenched in the colour waters when it is time for Holi and celebrate the immortal love of Krishna and Radha.

In some states of India, there is also a tradition to place the idols of Radha and Krishna in a decorated palanquin, which is then carried along the main streets of the city. All this while, devotees chant Krishna's name, sing devotional hymns and dance in the name of the lord.