Chapter Seven: Literature of the Rasika Tradition
Even this vast creation did not bring Sita heartfelt delight, and she asked for a new creation in which the rāsa could flourish. Rama therefore formed Goloka above all worlds from a portion of his own realm, Saketa. Everything there is a reflection of Ayodhya.1
The work explains the correspondence. The Sarayu became the Yamuna; Mani Parvata became Govardhana; the wish-fulfilling tree became Vamshivata; Dasharatha became Nanda and Kausalya became Yashoda; all the attendants of līlā became cowherds; Janaki became Radha; and the goddess of the Ashoka grove became Vrinda Devi.
With Janaki, Rama became Radha and Krishna, master of the flute and supremely playful, forever performing the lovely rāsa and its varied sports. Seeing this new realm, Janaki’s heart rejoiced, and for a long time she sported there with Rama in a form composed of being, consciousness, and bliss.2
Footnotes
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“At the desire of his beloved, Rama manifested from his own realm a wondrous place above every world: Goloka, in which every feature appears as a counterpart of Ayodhya.” ↩
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Śuka Saṃhitā, chapter 1, fourth section. The closing verses say that Sita beheld the wondrous realm as the complete reflection—indeed, in some respects an intensification—of Ayodhya and asked to enjoy love play there for a long time. Rama then sported with her in Vrindavana, as great sages adorned with mahābhāva sing. ↩