It is considered very significant to take a holy dip in Radhakunda on the auspicious day of Ahoi Ashtami. Couples, who have problem of conceiving, come here to seek blessings of Goddess Radha Rani, the consort of Lord Krishna. The holy bathing is done on Krishna Paksha Ashtami in the month of Kartik as per the North Indian Purnimant calendar.
Due to the belief that a holy dip in Radhakunda on Ahoi Ashtami will help the couples to conceive a child, thousands of couples come to Govardhan on this day every year and take a holy dip together in Radha Kunda.
The midnight time, also known as Nishita time, is considered auspicious to take holy dip. Hence bathing in Radhakunda begins during midnight and continues throughout the night. Couples also perform Puja while standing in the water tank and they offer Kushmanda, the white raw pumpkin, decorated with red cloth. Kushmanda is popularly known as Petha.
Those couples, whose wishes are fulfilled, revisit Radhakunda to express their gratitude to Goddess Radha Rani.
About Radha Kund and Shyama Kund:-
Radha Kund and Shyama Kund, the two most spiritually overloaded Kunds/ponds, are in a village called Arita about 5 Kilometers northeast of Govardhan and 23kms from Mathura and Vrindavan.
Radhaath Swami emphasizes the spiritual meaning of these Kunds/ponds, “Radha Kund is the holiest place of all the creation of Brahma”. Radha Kund and Shyama Kund represent the eyes of Govardhan, who has the form of a peacock. Radha and Krishna have accomplished their most intimate and sweet pastimes.
Here is a brief description of the appearance of Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda as pronounced by Radhanath Swami:
One of the demons with the name Arishta, sent by the King Kamsa to kill Shri Krishna and his brother Balarama, took the form of a bull and attacked Krishna. But it was easily subdued and was killed by the Krishna. This took place in the afternoon when Sri Krishna and his cow friends were herding the cattles.
The Same night, when Sri Krishna went to meet her beloved Srimati Radharani, she joked that he forbade her to touch her and said, “Today you killed a bull belonging to the cow family. Therefore, you have committed the sin of killing a cow. so please dont touch my pure body.”
Krishna smilingly replied that the bull was in fact a very dangerous demon and so by killing it He incurred no sin. But Radharani refused to accept this explanation and Her sakhis also supported Her.
Krishna then asked how he could atone for sin. In response, Radharani said that the only way to atone for sin is to bathe in all the holy places of the world. To fulfill his desire, Krishna created a great kunda by tapping the earth with his heel. Then he called all the holy places of the whole world. When they appeared, Krishna asked his personified forms to enter the Kunda as water, which they did quickly. In a few moments, the kunda was filled with pure and holy water. Krishna then bathed and approached Radharani, having expiated the sin of killing a bull. He boasted about how his kunda was the most beautiful and how generous he was in creating a kunda. Hearing his beloved vanity in such a way, Radharani with His sakhis decided to create an even more exquisite kunda next to that created by Krishna, digging the place with his bracelets. When there was not a drop of water manifested in the kunda, Krishna said that they could drink water from his kunda. Radharani refused and she with her sakhis decided to fill her kunda by bringing the water of Manasi-ganga into clay pots of water. Sri Krishna stressed to the holy places that they should insist that Radharani and his sakhis fill their kunda with clean water. The holy places personified prayed to Radharani and his sakhis and delighted them by glorifying them in many ways. She then gave them merciful permission to enter her kunda, and immediately a stream of water flowed from Krishna-kunda to Radha-kunda.
After Radha-kunda was filled with holy waters of the entire planet, Lord Krishna told Srimati Radharani that Her kund would be the most famous place in the world and that He would daily bathe in Her kunda. Lord Krishna declared that Radha-kunda is as dear to Him as Srimati Radharani Herself and anyone who bathes in it will get Her love. Radha kunda is the personified love of Srimati Radharani.
These two kundas manifested at midnight on krishnashtami (the eighth day of the dark moon) in the month of Kartika; therefore, thousands of people bathe here at midnight on this day, which is known as Bahulashtami.
Since these are the places where Radha and Krishna performed their most intimate and sweet pastimes, Srila Prabhupada, Radhanath Swami’s beloved guru, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Prabhupad’s beloved guru, told that we should not approach Radha Kund in a familiar or light manner. Otherwise it would not help us to advance in our spiritual life. We should approach these pastimes with great reverence and should not treat them as something ordinary or talk about it lightly. We should consider these pastimes to be way above our heads and should aspire to be the servants of the servants of those who have realized the glories of Sri Radha Kunda.
