‘Yavat’ or ‘Javat’ is a small village located to the north of the Nandisvara hills. It is about a 10 minutes drive from Nandgaon. Radha and Krishna have performed their innumerable confidential pastimes here at Yavat. This is where Radharani used to stay with her in-laws after her marriage. She used to live here with her husband Abhimanyu, mother-in-law Jatila, and sister-in-law Kutila.
Ohe Srinivas ara ei ramya-sthan
Ei dekho yao-gram ‘yavat’ akhyan
Yavat gramete vilaser sthan yata
Se ati ascharya taha ke kahibe kata
(Bhakti Ratnakara)
–
O Srinivasa, behold this enchanting Yao village also known as ‘Yavat’. The innumerable pastime places of Yavat are wonderful and beyond one’s descriptive ability.
Radha was married to Abhimanyu on the advice of Paurnamasi devi (Yogmaya). It must be noted that Radha and Krishna are intrinsically one and cannot be separated. They are one who have manifested themselves into two, solely to enjoy their sweet pastimes. Hence, it was only to introduce Parakiya bhava (relationship outside marriage), that Radha got married to Abhimanyu. Relationship with Krishna in Parakiya bhava (love outside marriage) is far more spiritually advanced and intense than Svakiya bhava (love within the institution of marriage), as it requires overcoming countless obstacles to defend and nourish one’s love. However, it must be remembered that this ‘Parakiya rasa’ belongs to the spiritual world and should not be imitated in this material world. In other words, ‘Parakiya bhava’ can only be relished when Krishna is the center of the relationship.
In the spiritual world, Krishna is the Supreme Purusha (male). He is the Supreme energetic while everyone else is His energy. Krishna is the center of all relationships. We should not confuse the Parakiya rasa of the spiritual world with the extramarital affairs of this world. The material world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. What is regarded as the topmost in the spiritual world finds its reflection as the lowest in this world of matter. Hence, when the ‘Parakiya Bhava’ of Goloka Vrindavan (spiritual world) is pervertedly reflected in this material world, it is considered the most abominable. Hence, in conclusion, Parakiya rasa can only be realized when Krishna is the true object of our love.
Although Abhimanyu was Radha’s husband, by the dint of Yogamaya’s prowess, he could not even touch her shadow. Instead, he always remained busy tending his cows or spending time with friends. Jatila and Kutila stayed occupied in household chores. Taking this opportunity and on various deceptive pretexts, the sakhas and sakhis would arrange meetings between Radha and Krishna. Vrishabhanu Maharaja had built a beautiful palace for Radhika, his daughter, in Yavat. Mukhara, Radharani’s grandmother, used to come and meet with her every morning here at Yavat. Kutila, Radha’s sister-in-law, would take pleasure in finding faults with Radharani. Below are some of the charming confidential pastimes to have taken place in Yavat.
Pastimes of Yavat – From Bhakti Ratnakara
On the pretext of worshiping Surya deva, Radharani would take a narrow path and wait in the kadamba forest for her beloved Krishna. Krishna would then approach and catch hold of her cloth and in this way, the divine couple would enjoy with each other.
Krishna always out-smarted Jatila and Kutila who could never catch Him red-handed. Krishna, who is fluent in all languages, used to make the sound of a Kokila bird (cuckoo) to send signals to Radharani. But once, He was unable to meet her. Krishna then approached their house and started cooing in an attempt to send a signal to Radhika. However, whenever Radha tried to open the door, the sound of her ornaments alerted Jatila. The vigilant Jatila then harshly called out, “Who’s there? Who’s there?”. Hearing Jatila, Krishna concealed Himself within a ber tree in their courtyard. This continued all night long, and Krishna’s attempts to meet with Radhika were repeatedly foiled. So He then spent the entire night hiding behind the ber tree in Abhimanyu’s courtyard here at Yavat. This pastime has been described by Rupa Goswami in Ujjavala Nilamani –
Yatha padyavalyam (205)
sanketi krta kokiladi ninadam kansa dvisah kurvato
dvaronmocana lolankhavalaya kvanam muhuh srnvatah
keyam keyam iti pragalbha jarati vakyena dunatmano
radha prangana kona koli vitapi krode gata sharvari
(Ujjavala Nilamani 1.18)
–
From Padyavali : When Lord Krishna arrived in Radha’s courtyard with the intention of meeting her, His tinkling ornaments sounded like the cooing of the cuckoos. He suddenly heard the door open and also heard the continuing jingling sounds of the conch shell bracelets. When Krishna heard the harsh Jatila call out, “Who’s there? Who’s there?” He became heartbroken. Dejected, he spent the entire night hiding behind a tree in a corner of the courtyard.
To the west of Yavat, is a forest where many cuckoos would sing. Once Krishna entered the forest and made the sound of cuckoos to send a signal to His beloved. Reciprocating to Krishna’s sound, thousands of other cuckoos began cooing, creating a huge ruckus. When Jatila heard the sound, she became very curious. Jatila asked Vishaka if she had heard anything like that before. Vishaka sought permission from Jatila so that she and Radharani could go to the forest and find out more. In this way, Radha entered the forest with her sakhis where she was able to meet with Krishna and enjoy unlimitedly. This forest is hence also known as ‘Kokilavan’ as it was here that Krishna made sounds of a Kokila bird (cuckoo) to send signals to Radharani.
There is also a deity of Krishna worshiped in the Yavat temple, where He manifests Himself as the goddess Kali. This deity is believed to be ancient and self-manifested. There is a beautiful pastime associated with this deity. It is said that once Radha and Krishna were meeting each other in the forest. When Jatila and Kutila came to know, they informed Abhimanyu. They emphasized that Abhimanyu should rush to the forest to catch her wife red-handed. So Abhimanyu sprinted to the forest. On seeing Abhimanyu, Radha became scared. She was standing there with Krishna and was about to offer Him something. Krishna comforted her and told her not to worry. Abhimanyu came right up to them and then to Radha’s surprise, offered his prostrated obeisances. Radha turned around to see that Krishna had assumed the form of mother Kali. Abhimanyu had supposed that Radha had come to the forest to worship the goddess and was therefore delighted.
What to See :
- Beautiful deities of Radha and Krishna who is lovingly worshiped as Sri Radha Kanta jiu
- Deities of Jatila, Kutila and Abhimanyu
- Krishna in the form of mother Kali
How to Reach :
‘Yavat’ or ‘Javat’ is a small village located to the north of the Nandisvara hills. It is situated about 5 Kilometers from Nandgaon and about 8 Kilometers from Kosi Kalan railway station.