krishna, radha and vishakha
one thing i find really interesting about radha is that she isn't just this endlessly patient, submissive woman sitting around waiting for krishna to remember she exists 😭 she wants him. she gets jealous, angry, possessive, demanding, she sulks, she complains, she can basically go “actually fuck this” when he's being annoying. and in some of the later erotic vaishnava traditions, she eventually gets tired of always being the one in the receptive position, being mounted, and wants to reverse the whole dynamic, and mount krishna. she wants to pursue him. she wants to be the one calling the shots. and honestly that makes her so much more interesting than just “krishna's devoted girlfriend.”
basically radha and krishna really said “wait what if i was you” and committed to the bit 😭
there's this later vaishnava līlā where they straight up swap clothes. radha puts on krishna's yellow clothes, crown, sometimes his flute, while krishna puts on radha's sari, veil and jewellery. basically radha becomes hari and hari becomes radha. (picture above)
and it's not just “lol krishna is wearing a sari.” the whole point is that they're so ridiculously absorbed in each other that they start taking on each other's identity. lover and beloved, masculine and feminine, pursuer and pursued — all of it gets flipped around for the līlā.
also pls don't let the internet gaslight you about vishakha 💀 vishakha is normally one of radha's closest sakhis, not simply another name for radha in these stories. radha is associated with the nakshatra of vishakha.
vidyapati has a poem about krishna taking radha's clothes, but that's not the same thing as the literal radha↔krishna outfit swap. the actual role-reversal thing fits much better into the later vaishnava līlā-hāva tradition.
and honestly the funniest part is that krishna goes along with it. since she is tired of being mounted, she and krishna decide to shake things up.
which is why i find the radha connection to viśākhā nakshatra interesting too. viśākhā has this whole imagery of branching, choosing a direction, wanting something and actually going after it. there are two paths and you have to pick one. you're not just standing there waiting for somebody else to decide where you're going.
and i think that's a way more interesting feminine archetype than the whole “strong woman = woman who acts like a man” thing because boringggg. radha can be feminine and still be aggressive. romantic and still demanding. deeply in love and still want power in the relationship. she can want someone without turning herself into this passive little object waiting to be chosen.
because that's the thing about radha: she wants krishna too. it's not just krishna desiring her while she patiently receives his affection. sometimes she wants him enough to completely flip the dynamic. the woman who's normally being pursued decides she's going to pursue. the beloved decides she's going to become the lover.
and then she literally puts on his clothes.
radha really looked at krishna and went “you've had your turn. move.” before stealing his entire wardrobe 😭
