(Srimati Radharani in Vrindavan—click to enlarge)
tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye
"I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna."
(Sri Radha Pranama)
"In Radharani is found the science of ujjala, or the brightest jewel of love of God."
(Krishna Book, Chapter 47)
"Krishna, everyone is trying to love Krishna, but Krishna is trying to love somebody. Now how great She is. Just try to understand. Everyone, the whole world, the whole universe, all living entities, they are trying to love Krishna, krsna-prema. Lord Caitanya describes, prema-pumartho mahan. And Rupa Gosvami described that 'You are distributing krsna-prema.' So krsna-prema is so valuable, but Krishna is after Radharani. Just see how Radharani is great. Just try to understand the greatness of Radharani. Therefore She is so great, and we have to offer our respect."
(Srila Prabhupada Radhastami Lecture, Montreal August 30, 1968)
"Radharani can deliver Krishna. She is so great a devotee, the emblem of maha-bhagavata. Even Krishna cannot understand the quality of Radharani's devotion. Although Krishna says vedaham samatitani—'I know everything'—He fails to understand Radharani. Radharani is so great."
(Srila Prabhupada Radhastami Lecture, London, September 18, 1969)
"Sri Krishna continued: 'All the inhabitants of Vrindavana-dhama—My mother, father, cowherd boy friends and everything else—are like My life and soul. And among all the inhabitants of Vrindavana, the gopis are My very life and soul. Among the gopis, You, Srimati Radharani, are the chief. Therefore You are the very life of My life.' "
(Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 13.150)
"Srimati Radharani is the center of all Vrindavana's activities. In Vrindavana, Krishna is the instrument of Srimati Radharani; therefore all the inhabitants of Vrindavana still chant 'Jaya Radhe!' From Krishna's own statement given herein, it appears that Radharani is the Queen of Vrindavana and that Krishna is simply Her decoration."
(Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya 13.150, Purport)
"Radha-Krishna. Radha's name is first. Why? Nobody can be better devotee than Radharani. As soon as Radha's name is there, Krishna is more pleased. That is the way. If we glorify the devotees, the character of the devotees, before the Lord, He's more pleased than to glorify Himself, He directly."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Hawaii, March 24, 1969)
"Krishna is the energetic, and Radharani is the energy. Just like energy and energetic, you cannot separate. Fire and the heat you cannot separate. Wherever there is fire there is heat, and wherever there is heat there is fire. Similarly, wherever there is Krishna there is Radha. And wherever there is Radha there is Krishna. They are inseparable."
(Srila Prabhupada Radhastami Lecture, Montreal, August 30, 1968)
"Without energy, there is no meaning to the energetic, and without the energetic there is no meaning to the energy. Similarly, without Radha there is no meaning to Krishna and without Krishna there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this, the Vaisnava philosophy first of all pays obeisances to and worships the internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Lord and His potency are always referred to as Radha-Krishna. Similarly those who worship Narayana first utter the name of Laksmi, as Laksmi-Narayana. Similarly those who worship Lord Rama first utter the name of Sita. In any case—Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, Laksmi-Narayana—the potency always comes first."
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Introduction)
"It is very simple. Hare means, 'O energy of the Lord,' and Krishna means, 'O Lord Krishna.' Just as there are males and females in the material world, similarly, God is the original male (purusa), and His energy (prakriti) is the original female. So, when we chant Hare Krishna, we are saying, 'O Lord Krishna, O energy of Krishna, kindly engage me in Your service.' "
(Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 1)
"Lord Krishna's Pleasure Potency is called Hladini, so this spiritual energy of Krishna's pleasure potency, Hladini, is Srimati Radharani Who is always increasing the transcendental pleasure of Krishna by Her super-excellent loving devotional service."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, March 29, 1970)
"Actually, because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krishna's compassion."
(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 22)
"Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami offers his respectful obeisances to Srimati Radharani, taking a straw in his mouth. Indeed, he prays, 'O Gandharvika, Srimati Radharani, just as Lord Krishna never rejects a surrendered soul, please don't reject me.' "
(Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 8.166, Purport)
"Srila Bilvamangala Thakur has prayed in his book as follows: 'Let Srimati Radharani purify the whole world, because She has surrendered Herself completely unto Krishna.' "
(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 29)
"O Radha! O beloved of Madhava! O you are worshiped by all the young girls of Gokula! All glories unto You! All glories unto You!"
(Sri Radhika-stava chorus by Srila Rupa Gosvami)
"Yes, the bumblebee is very much favored by Krishna and Radharani. Sometimes the bumblebee is taken as a messenger by Radharani and she rebukes the bumblebee because the bumblebee is blackish and Krishna is also blackish. Still, in spite of all rebuking, the bumblebee tried always to touch the Lotus Feet of Radharani. Therefore the bumblebee is to be offered our all reverence and respect."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 15, 1971)
"The photos are very nice, and Radharani looks very satisfied, as I see in the features of Her face in the photo. If She is pleased, then Krishna is pleased, and all living entities are pleased."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 11, 1973)
"In Vrindavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krishna. Srimati Radharani is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Radharani is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krishna, the Lord at once accepts the devotee's admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one's doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23, Purport)
"Lord Krishna enchants the world, but Sri Radha enchants even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all. Sri Radha is the full power, and Lord Krishna is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures. They are indeed the same, just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are nondifferent. Thus Radha and Lord Krishna are one, yet They have taken two forms to enjoy the mellows of pastimes."
(Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 4.95-98)
"Therefore Radha is parama-devata, the supreme goddess, and She is worshipable for everyone. She is the protectress of all, and She is the mother of the entire universe."
(Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 4.89)
