THE SECRET ARRIVAL AT YĀVAT
One peaceful night, when the moonlight washed the palace of Yāvat in silver, Śrī Kṛṣṇa quietly entered the courtyard where His beloved Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī lived. The world slept, but the forest of Vraja was awake with divine anticipation.
Kṛṣṇa, His dark complexion glowing like a raincloud under the moon, quickly climbed up a pilu tree standing in the courtyard. From that perch He began to imitate the song of a cuckoo bird, whose sweet, cooing tone was the secret signal of love between the Divine Couple.
THE SUSPICION OF JAṬILĀ
Hearing the call, Rādhārāṇī immediately recognized that this was no ordinary cuckoo—it was Her beloved Śyāmasundara. With a heart trembling in joy, She approached the window of Her chamber and gazed toward the tree.
But fate, in the form of Jaṭilā, Her ever-watchful mother-in-law, stirred in her bed. Half-blind and suspicious, she heard the strange sound and thought, “What bird sings at night? Something is wrong.”
She rose, took a stick, and stepped into the courtyard, calling out in a sharp voice,
“Who’s there? Who’s there?”
Kṛṣṇa immediately went silent. Jaṭilā, unable to see clearly in the dim light, circled the tree several times, waving her stick in the air. The night was filled with the sound of her sandals and her grumbling words, “That deceitful cuckoo will not ruin my daughter-in-law’s reputation!”
THE WATCHFUL GUARD AND THE WHISPER OF LOVE
From above, Kṛṣṇa held His breath, His dark form blending with the shadows of the tree. Inside the palace, Rādhārāṇī blew out the lamps as Jaṭilā had ordered, pretending to sleep. Yet, She remained at the window, and in the faint glow of the moon, Their eyes met across the courtyard.
Though no words were spoken, Their hearts conversed—each heartbeat a message of love, each breath a prayer of reunion.
Jaṭilā continued to pace around, tapping the ground with her stick until exhaustion overtook her. Finally, she sat by the doorway and drifted into sleep, still muttering about the mysterious bird.
THE DAWN OF SEPARATION
Kṛṣṇa remained hidden among the branches, uncomfortable but resolute, sustained only by Rādhā’s nearness. As the first rays of dawn touched the trees of Vraja, He softly climbed down from the pilu tree, glanced once more toward the window, and disappeared into the forest paths leading back to Nandagrāma.
The cool morning breeze carried the faint echo of the cuckoo’s call—a song that had awakened not the village, but the eternal longing of divine love.
REFLECTIONS
This gentle pastime captures the beauty of love restrained by devotion. The world might see danger, secrecy, and risk, but behind every heartbeat lies the sanctity of divine union.
Kṛṣṇa’s patience in the pilu tree shows that real love endures all obstacles. It waits, it hides, it suffers—yet never fades.
Jaṭilā’s presence, though obstructive, is also sacred, for by trying to separate Them, she intensifies Their longing and thereby deepens Their love.
In our own lives, obstacles in devotion are not punishments but divine arrangements to increase our yearning for God. The sweeter the separation, the richer the reunion.
PRAYER
O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who sang like a cuckoo in the night of Yāvat,
teach my soul to long for You even when silence surrounds me.
O Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who gazed through the window of Your heart,
grant me the strength to see beyond fear and to love despite distance.
May the tree of longing grow in my heart,
and may every whisper of the night remind me of Your sacred meeting under the stars of Vraja.
Origin: Lecture by HH Indradyumna Swami – “Śrī Rādhā’s Legendary Beauty – Yāvat Part 1,”
