Here Sri Radhika was jubilantly showered as the Queen of Vrindavan by Sri Paurṇamāsī, who had heard Lord Brahmā’s order in the sky, with the waters of sacred rivers like Mānasa Gaṅgā and with the assistance of goddesses like Sāvitrī. May this Unmatta Radha-sthali (Umrao) shower me with happiness.
VERSE 61:
sārdhaṁ mānasa jāhnavī mukha nadī vargaiḥ saraṅgotkaraiḥ
sāvitryādi surīkulaiśca nitarām ākāśa vāṇyā vidhoḥ
vṛndāraṇya vareṇya rājya viṣaye śrī paurṇamāsī mudā
rādhāṁ yatra siṣeca siñcatu sukhaṁ sonmatta rādhā sthalī
Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā: In this verse Das Goswami describes Unmatta Radha-sthalī, the place where Sri Radharani was anointed as the Queen of Vrindavan.
The Goswamis joyously described this pastime of Sri Radharani being showered as the Queen of Vrindavan. In his Dāna Keli Kaumudī and in his Stavamālā‘s “Radhaṣṭaka” and “Premendu Sudhā-satra”, Śrīla Rūpa Goswamipād has mentioned Srimati as the Queen of Vrindavan. Śrīla Dās Goswamicaraṇ has described Radha’s abhiṣek in this verse as well as in his Muktā Caritra and Vilāpa Kusumāñjali.
On the order of Sri Rūpa Goswamipād, Śrīla Jiva Goswamipād has written a matchless treatise named Mādhava Mahotsava, a great poem (mahā-kāvya) in which Sri Radharani’s abhiṣeka is elaborately and expertly described. Because they were supported by scriptural and Purānic statements as vṛndāvanādhipatyaṁ ca dattaṁ tasyai prasīdatā (“Krishna, being pleased with Radha, gave her sovereignty over Vrindavan”, Padma Purāṇa) and rādhā vṛndāvane vane (“In Vrindavan Radha is the Queen”, Matsya Purāṇa) the Goswamis were absorbed in describing Srimati’s abhiṣeka festival.
In the scripture Mādhava Mahotsava it is described as follows: “By Sri Krishna’s wish Sri Vṛndā-devī showered nectar in the form of an ethereal voice, which addressed Paurnamasi Devi: “O Queen of yogīs Paurṇamāsi! Swiftly shower this Candra-lakṣmī Sri Radha, who arose from an ocean of matchless qualities and who is seated on a jewel-studded throne which is decorated with the great beauty of gold, in the universally-praised land of Vrindavan!
“This abhiṣeka of Sri Radha will bring matchless beauty to Sri Vrindavan, Gokul and the whole world. Therefore, O Paurṇamāsi! Let Yashoda and other cowherd women bring Sri Radha to the king of meadows, Vrindavan, in front of her girlfriends, that are all reflections of her divine form, and let them arrange for the adhivās [auspicious ceremony preceding the main ceremony, Ed.]. Tomorrow, on Madhu Pūrṇimā [the full moon of Caitra, or April], Sri Radha will certainly undergo this auspicious shower! Today all the adhivās preparations, like perfumes and so forth, must be completed for Sri Radha, who is the reservoir of all the most excellent attributes!”
This ethereal order was announced throughout Braj. Everyone thought it was the god Brahmā himself who had made this proclamation, which granted auspiciousness to Braj and the whole world.
After this, the whole of Braj-maṇḍala reacted with an upsurge of wonderful ecstasy. With a great festival Sri Radha’s wonderful royal abhiṣek was accomplished. The coronation took place on Madhu Pūrṇimā under the guidance of Paurṇamāsī. Yamuna, Mānasa Gaṅgā and other holy waters arrived in personified forms, and Sāvitrī, Indrāṇī, Rudrāṇī and other leading goddesses jubilantly came there as human ladies to attend the abhiṣek of Sri Radha, bringing different presents with them. In front of Sri Krishna, all the Brajwasis, and all the goddesses, Paurnamasi Devi performed Sri Radha’s abhiṣek in a great public gathering.
The place where Sri Radha’s abhiṣek took place is named ‘Unmatta Radha-sthalī’.
Sri Jiva Goswami has written the book Mādhava Mahotsava in nine ullāsas (jubilant chapters). In the ninth and final ullās, Sri Jiva Goswamicaraṇ describes how Sri Radha ascends the throne in front of everybody, including Sri Krishna, and accepts sovereignty over the kingdom. He has called this chapter Unmada-rādhika, which means that the most bashful Sri Radha accepted this coronation in the ecstasy of loving intoxication. For this reason the place is called unmatta rādhā-sthalī. It is for this reason that the exact location in Braj-maṇḍal that this rājyābhiṣeka took place is called Umrāo. There is a Bengali blessing given to princes on their coronation, amīra umrāo, “Rise up and prosper.” So the village was named Umrāo.
paurṇamāsī yogīśvarī, vṛndāraṇye adhiśvarī,
śrī rādhāya koilā abhiṣeke
dhanya sei rādhā-sthalī, vandī āmi kutūholī,
avanata koriyā mastake
“Blessed is this Radha-sthalī, where Paurṇamāsī, the Queen of the yogīs, bathed Sri Radha and anointed her as the Queen of Vrindavan! I bow my head down and praise this place enthusiastically!”
kṛṣṇa vidhu alakṣite, ājñā kore asākṣāte,
deva vāṇī boli yāre śuni
harṣa bhare paurṇamāsī, saṅge sab vrajavāsī,
śrī rādhāre sarva śreṣṭha māni
“Moon-like Krishna gave this order in an unseen way, and everyone who heard it took it to be a divine voice. Filled with joy, Paurṇamāsī, along with the people of Braj, considered Sri Radha to be the greatest of all.”
premonmatta koribāre, unmatta rādhā-sthalī vare,
devī-gaṇera nṛtyera vibhaṅga
mānasa gaṅgāra jale, nānā raṅge kutūhole,
samārpilā abhiṣeka raṅga
“The goddesses danced with beautiful gestures to fill Unmatta Radha-sthalī with ecstatic love and Mānasa Gaṅgā blissfully offered her water for this abhiṣek pastime.”
sei rase mora mana, abhiṣikta anukṣaṇa,
hoiyā rahuka tāra vare.
ei prārthanā kori āmi, nahi mui anya kāmī,
kṛpā koro rādhāsthalī vare
“May I receive the blessing that my mind will be showered by this rasa at every moment. This is my prayer, and I do not desire any other boon. O Radhasthali, be merciful to me!”
For some pictures of Umrao as it looks nowadays, See here.
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Amazing to see this nice wetland. As with everything else in India, I tend to worry about its preservation, but at least for the present it appears to be thriving.
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