Why is Radha not Worshiped in the Eka Sarana Faith of Sankaradeva: A Critical Difference between the Philosophies of Sankaradeva and Sri Caitanya

[This short post was, originally, written as a comment on the lecture SrimantaSankardeva and Sri Chaitanyadeva in the perspective of Bhakti Movement uploaded on YouTube by the Department of Bengali, ADP College, Nagaon, Assam.]

I have a take on the question of the relationship between the personalities of Radha and Krsna and the Samkhya entities of purusa and prakrti, which I would now like to articulate with your permission.

In my opinion, Radha and Krsna are the same purusa and prakrti of the Samkhya. Not exactly the same though; Radha is the personified form of mula-prakrti (primal matter) and Krsna is not just any purusa, but the parama purusa (God). Radha and Krsna are not historical personalities (though it might appear so to the masses not knowing the philosophy) but are primal matter and God respectively.

The difference between the Sankaradeva-ite and the Caitanya-ite schools is that between the poles. In the Sankaradeva-ite philosophy, the distinction between parama purusa and mula-prakrti is fundamental and persists eternally. God is God and matter is matter and never the twain shall meet. In the ultimate scheme of things, prakrti remains an entity eternally subservient to God (parama purusa), maintaining its own separate ontological existence. The merging of prakrti in God, etc. given in the Puranic texts such as the Bhagavata (in the chapters on the creation and dissolution of the material world) is only to be taken poetically as no real merging takes place.

Krsna, the supreme purusa, is of the essential nature of consciousness while prakrti is unconscious substance. Purusa, says the Samkhya, is conscious personality and prakrti, unconscious matter. These two fundamental entities can never be one. Therefore the difference persists eternally.

In the Caitanya-ite school, on the other hand, the distinction between parama purusa (Krsna) and mula-prakrti (Radha) is not fundamental and does not persist eternally. God is, in reality, both matter and God. From a certain portion of the supremely conscious purusa (God) emerges literally the unconscious material creation. It is this portion of Krsna that is Radha and the Lord engages in sportive activity, as it were, with “her,” his own portion.
Therefore, God, in the Caitanya-ite philosophy, is both consciousness and unconsciousness.

These fundamental differences in philosophy translate into critical differences in the theological field. In the Sankaradeva-ite theology, there is, as a result of the eternal difference between purusa and prakrti, a lot of importance placed on cultivating discrimination between "jada" (matter) and "caitanya" (conscious personality). There are many verses in Madhavadeva's Nama Ghosa that assert this critical difference. Only Hari (Krsna) is said to be caitanya; all other deities—products of matter—are jada. And it is in consequence of this primary philosophical distinction that in Sankaradeva's Eka Sarana faith, only Krsna is worshiped; and not Radha because that would mean worshiping prakrti, unconscious (jada) matter.

But in the Caitanya-ite theology, Radha and Krsna are both worshiped. Here, the worshiper would naturally be not much inclined to cultivate discrimination between jada and caitanya because, after all (here), Radha is only Krsna! God is both matter as well as God; therefore, worshiping mula-prakrti (Radha) along with the supreme purusa (Krsna) would not pose much of a hindrance to the worshiper in Caitanya’s school because, in the ultimate analysis, the two are literally one!

The Offering of Respect: A Translation of a Passage from the Nama Ghosa

The Offering of Respect (namaskara)

I salute you, Krsna, my Lord; since I am a sinner, nobody
says ‘you are mine’ to me.
Knowing that you are the purifier of the fallen, in you
I have become sold, on my own account. 191
Salutations  to that Great Remover of All Sin whose two lotus-like feet
are the dirtless ocean of pure happiness;
who is the origin-less supreme personality, ever-present across all time and space, who is the supreme truth and always beneficient and kind,
who is the possessor of all opulences and who removes the cycle of existence. 192
Delusion, nescience, passion; arrogance, dirt and lust;
hypocrisy, hatred and other such feelings; that venerable preceptor in whom all these are not present,
I bow down and salute his feet. 193
Victory to you, O Lord of the Yadus, the preserver of the organs of knowledge, the Chief of the Cows,
Yadu’s descendant, Lord of Primal Matter, the actuator of the material entities;
O pure devotees' treasure, the life of the embodied lives,
I bow down and do obeisance at your feet. 194
Salutations to you, O the one forever joyous, the supreme cause of the creation,
the immanent residence of the world, possessor of all opulences;
salutations to you who are ever-existent, pure, enlightened; who are the fulfiller of desire, the unobstructed one,
the supreme pure personality, the master, the one ever-present in time and space. 195
O Rama, the unstained one, the destroyer of the demons,
the delighter of the devotees, supreme deity!
Only you are the supreme preceptor, O the shelter of all embodied personalities!
At your feet I do service. 196

Translation of the Third Chapter of the Bhagavata of Sankaradeva Entitled Anadi Patana (Cosmogenesis): The Tale of the Great Material Dissolution

|| মহাপ্ৰলয়ৰ কথা || কহিলো তোহ্মাত পৃথিৱীৰ স্থিতি কথা | মহা প্ৰলয়ৰ আৱে শুনিয়ো ব্যৱস্থা || যেৱে গৈল এক শত বৰিষ ব্ৰহ্মাৰ | ৰুদ্ৰৰূপে কৰে হৰে জগত সংহাৰ || ২৩ || অধে ঊৰ্দ্ধে শৰীৰৰ নেদেখি প্ৰমাণ | ভ্ৰুকূটি কূটিল মুখ দেখি হৰে প্ৰাণ || আউল জাউল জটা জুট হাতত ত্ৰিশূল | ঘোৰ মূৰ্ত্তি ধৰি কৰে প্ৰজাক নিৰ্ম্মূল || ২৪ || কিলকিল কৰি হাসৈ নৰ মুণ্ডমালী | পৰ্ব্বতৰ শৃঙ্গ যেন দন্ত দুই পালি || সহস্ৰ সহস্ৰ প্ৰজা মুখে ধৰি ডাটি | মৰমৰি মুণ্ড চোবাৱন্ত দান্তে আতি || ২৫ || জঙ্কাৰন্ত মাথা স্বৰ্গবাসী যায় দূৰ | চৰণৰ প্ৰহাৰে পৰ্ব্বত হোৱে চূৰ || ঘোৰ ৰিঙ্গ দিয়া দিগ্‌গজক খোঞ্চা মাৰি | উপৰক তুলি নচুৱান্ত ত্ৰিপুৰাৰি || ২৬ || ৰুধিৰে দিগিধ দেহা কৰি ঘোৰ ধ্বনি | তিনি গোটা চক্ষু যেন জ্বলন্ত অগনি || তেজে ঘোৰ আটাস নিৰ্ঘাত বজ্ৰ পৰে | স্বৰ্গ-মৰ্ত্ত্য পাতাল একত্ৰ হুয়া লৰে || ২৭ || জগত সংহৰে হৰে পৰম বিক্ৰম | অন্তকৰো অন্তক যমৰো মহাযম || এহিমতে ৰুদ্ৰে যেৱে প্ৰজা সংহাৰয় | শুনা আৰো যেনমতে মিলিলা প্ৰলয় || ২৮ || বাহ্ৰয় বৰিষ মানে ভৈলা অনাবৃষ্টি | নুপজয় শস্য নষ্ট হোৱে প্ৰজা সৃষ্টি || বাহ্ৰ গোটা সূৰ্য্যে তাপ কৰে একেবাৰে | বহয় শোষক বায়ু হৃদয় বিদাৰে || ২৯ || সাগৰকো শুষিলা সূৰ্য্যৰ ৰশ্মিজালে | জগত প্ৰলয় যায় গ্ৰসি আসে কালে || বায়ু সূৰ্য্যে নিশক্ত কৰিলা যেৱে ৰাজ | অনন্তৰ মুখৰ অগনি হোৱে বাজ || ৩০ || হাজাৰেক মুখে বিষ বহ্নি বাজ হুই | পাতালকো দহিয়া উৰ্দ্ধক উধাই জুই || সাতো পৃথিৱীত বহ্নি লাগিলেক চানি | পোৰৈ সাতো স্বৰ্গ যেন তুলাত অগনি || ৩১ || ব্ৰ্হ্মাণ্ডক দহিলেক বাহিৰে ভিতৰে | তপত লোহাৰ যেন দেখি নিৰন্তৰে || ৰক্তবৰ্ণ ব্ৰহ্মাণ্ড বহ্নিৰ পায়া চোট | দেখি যেন দগধ গোময় পিণ্ড গোট || ৩২ || জগতক দহি যেৱে বহ্নি ভৈল শান্ত | বাহ্ৰয় বৰিষ মেঘে বৰিষে একান্ত || দোৰ্ঘোৰ শৱদে পৰৈ চৌপাশে নিৰ্ঘাত | মেঘৰ গৰ্জ্জনে ঘনে ঘনে বজ্ৰপাত || ৩৩ || বৰিষয় শিলাসৱ পৰ্ব্বত আকাৰ | কৰৈ মহা প্ৰলয় প্ৰাণীৰ ক্ষয়ঙ্কাৰ || প্ৰমত্ত হস্তীৰ শুণ্ডে যেন ধাৰা জল | অৱিচ্ছেদে পৰি চৰাচৰে গৈলা তল || ৩৪ || দশোদিশ পুৰি জল ঊৰ্দ্ধক ঊধাইল | ব্ৰহ্মাণ্ড গোটক গৈয়া ক্ষণেকে বুড়াইল || অগনিৰ দাহে চূৰ্ণীকৃত ভৈল অণ্ড | জলতে মিসাইলা ইটো মহামহীখণ্ড || ৩৫ || অগনিত পৰি জল সমস্তে শুখাইল | বায়ুত পশিয়া পাচে বহ্নিয়ো লুকাইল || মহা বায়ু লীন গৈল মহা আকাশত | আকাশো পশিল অহঙ্কাৰৰ গৰ্ভত || ৩৬ || মহত্ত্বত লীন গৈল মহা অহঙ্কাৰ | মহত্ত্ব পশিলা প্ৰকৃতিত পুনৰ্ব্বাৰ || মহাপ্ৰকৃতিয়ো পুৰুষতে গৈলা লীন | নথাকিল আন একো পুৰুষত ভিন || ৩৭ || নাহি জল নাহি স্থল নাহিকে আকাশ | নাহি মহা বায়ু মহা সূৰ্য়্যৰ প্ৰকাশ || নাহি শীত উষ্ণ ঋতু নাহি ৰাত্ৰি দিন | সমস্তে সংসাৰ গৈল ঈশ্বৰতে লীন || ৩৮ || প্ৰকৃতিৰো ঈশ্বৰ পুৰুষ স্বতন্তৰ | নাহি যিটো ব্ৰহ্মৰ বাহিৰ অভ্যন্তৰ || জগতৰ জীৱ উদৰতে দিয়া বাস | কেৱলে ঈশ্বৰ কৃষ্ণ কৰন্ত প্ৰকাশ || ৩৯ || অনাদি ঈশ্বৰ যিটো ব্ৰহ্ম নিৰঞ্জন | জ্ঞানময় আনন্দ যে সত্য সনাতন || নয়ন কমল মুদি যোগ নিদ্ৰা ছলে | আপুনাকে চিন্তি মাত্ৰ আছন্ত কেৱলে || ৪০ ||

The Tale of the Great Material Dissolution I have told you about how the earth is staying. Now listen to the plan of ultimate material dissolution (mahāpralaya). When a hundred years of Brahma have passed, Hara (time), in the form of The Wailer (Rudra), destroys the creation. 23 The upper and lower limits of his body cannot be seen. His brow is contracted in anger; seeing his face, one’s vital-air is removed. Extremely disarranged is his matted hair; he has a trident in hand. Holding a form most dreadful, he annihilates the subjects. 24 The human-heads strung together on his neck in the manner of a garland—they let out the most frightening rippling laughter. The two rows of his teeth are like the mountain-peaks. Holding thousands and thousands of subjects very firmly in his mouth, he chews on their heads with his teeth, making a crackling sound. 25 When he shakes his head, the denizens of heaven are displaced; by the blows of his feet, mountains are smashed. With a terrible sadistic roar, he pierces the elephants of the quarters and, holding them aloft, he tosses them into the air, the slayer of demon Tripura. 26 His entire body is besmeared with blood; he makes a terrible sound. His three eyes are like blazing infernos. His terrible violent laughter causes fierce thunderbolts to fall. Heaven, earth and netherworld—the people of all three realms flee all at once. 27 With supreme valor, Hara destroys the creation. The terminator of all terminators, the great death even of Yama. In this manner, when Rudra annihilates the subjects, listen further, to how the great dissolution arrives. 28 There occurs drought—twelve long years go without rain. Crops do not grow; the production of the subjects is ruined. Twelve suns, as it were, scorch the earth simultaneously. The moisture-sucking winds blow, searing the heart. 29 The great web of sunrays sucks even the oceans dry. The creation goes to its doom; kala—great time—devours. With the entire kingdom thus enfeebled by the actions of the sun and the wind, the fire of Ananta’s mouth begins to emerge. 30 The poison-fire, emanating from his thousand mouths, burns up even the netherworld to a cinder; the fire then leaps upwards. All the seven earths catch fire from all sides. All seven heavens burn like ginned cotton on fire. 31 From both within and outside, the cosmos (brahmāṇḍa) is burnt to a cinder. It resembles, all throughout, iron, red-hot. The blood-red colored cosmos, receiving the blow of this great fire, looks like a roundish lump of burnt cowdung. 32 When, after burning the creation, the fire has become quiet, for twelve years, then, the clouds shower rain uninterruptedly. With very dreadful sounds, shafts of lightning fall on all sides. Clouds rumble and roar; very frequently, lightning strikes. 33 Stones of the size of mountains shower down. They cause the supreme material destruction, the annihilation of all creatures. Like the wild elephants’ trunks are the incessant jets of water. Falling continuously, they submerge the entire creation. 34 Inundating the ten directions, the waters rose to higher levels. In an instant, they went and sank the entire cosmos. By the heat of fire, the cosmic-egg had become pulverized. This great earth-fragment had dissolved in the waters. 35 Falling into the fire, now, all the water dried up. Entering into the wind, subsequently, the great-fire too disappeared. The great-wind merged back into the great-sky. The sky also entered into the womb of ahamkara. 36 Into mahat tattva, great ahamkara got merged. The mahat tattva—the first created substance—entered once again into unmanifested primal-matter (prakṛti). Great prakrti also merged back into the supreme pure-personality (puruṣa). Apart from purusa, there did not remain any other entity. 37 There is no water, no earth, no sky; there is no great-wind, no great-sun’s light. There is no winter and summer season, no day and night. The entire creation has merged back into the Lord. 38 That supreme purusa who is the only independent entity—who is the lord even of prakrti. That supreme spirit (brahma) which has got no interior or exterior. Giving residence to all the personalities of the creation in his belly, solely, Lord Krsna remains, shining. 39 That Lord who is bereft of origin, who is spotlessly pure supreme spiritual personality. The personality of bliss that is full of knowledge; the eternal, supreme truth; shutting His lotus-eyes on the pretext of going into yoga nidra, meditative sleep, contemplating Himself, He remains solely. 40