(Śṛṅgāra-sevā Līlā – The Loving Adornment Pastime)
Kṛṣṇa’s Loving Service to Rādhārāṇī
There is also the famous pastime—the mirror pastime—that took place at Kusuma-sarovara, where Kṛṣṇa, with great care and devotion, once decorated Śrī Rādhā’s hair with Her permission.
Rādhārāṇī Gazes into the Mirror
When He had finished, Rādhā gazed into a mirror to see His work.
As She did so, Kṛṣṇa walked around behind Her to peer over Her shoulder, and many other gopīs followed behind Him.
The Chakora Bird of Love
But as Śrī Rādhā looked into the mirror, Her first impulse was not to look at Her own reflection, but at Kṛṣṇa’s.
It is described that, like a thirsty chakora bird, She drank the rays of His moonlike face—now even more beautiful due to the intense effort He had put into decorating Her hair.
A Moment of Divine Recognition
Finally, their eyes met in the mirror, and He said to Her, “Dearest, what do You think? Did I do well?”
Then, only to please Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rādhā examined Her own reflection.
Rādhā’s Loving Praise
She spoke to Kṛṣṇa through the mirror.
She said, “Śyāma, no one has ever decorated Me as nicely as You have. You are truly the presiding deity of adornment—the presiding deity of adornment.”
She said again to Kṛṣṇa in the mirror, “Śyāma, no one has ever decorated Me as nicely as You have. You are truly the presiding deity of adornment—the presiding deity of adornment. Hari, You have outdone even My dearest friends.”
Lesson to Be Learned:
This intimate pastime teaches us the essence of divine service and selfless love. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, though the Supreme Lord, becomes the servant of His beloved. And Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, even when looking into the mirror, is absorbed not in Her own beauty but in Kṛṣṇa’s.
The devotee should learn to cultivate such selfless bhakti, where one finds joy not in self-centered appreciation but in seeing the Lord’s pleasure and beauty reflected in every action. True beauty is in service, and the highest pleasure is in mutual loving exchange with the Lord.
