Abstract

This article attempts to analyse the erotic-mystical nature of the “padavalis” (song-series) of the Bengal school of Vaishnavism between the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries. It projects the extramarital love of Radha and Krishna against the rigid “kulin” (clan system) of Bengal at the time and shows how Radha, locked up within the veritable fortress of the marital home, disobeys the inflexible norms of feminine chastity and braves social and familial dishonour and rejection to unite with her beloved. This is a form of bhakti in which Radha represents the “hladini sakti” (infinite bliss) of Krishna, and their love is the prime manifestation of the bhakta’s intense, unsatisfied, and selfless desire for the Lord. The explicitly erotic nature of the imagery of the poems is itself a departure from the established literary tradition of the day and is also a form of worship through the sexual union of the lovers that it describes.