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In Sanatan Dharma, Ashtami Tithi of Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month is considered to have immense spiritual and religious importance. This holy festival, which falls exactly 15 days after the birth anniversary of Lord Shri Krishna i.e. Krishna Janmashtami, is celebrated as the birth anniversary and manifestation of Radha Rani. According to mythological beliefs, on this auspicious day, the presiding deity of Braj, Shri Radha Rani, the embodiment of love and compassion, appeared. On this special occasion, a supernatural scene of devotion, faith and joy is being seen in Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul and especially Ladli Ji Temple of Barsana. Lakhs of Vaishnav devotees from India and abroad have reached Brajdham to have darshan of the child form of Kishori ji and to receive the blessings of the couple’s government. There is a strong belief in Vaishnav tradition that without the worship and grace of Radha Rani, devotion to Lord Shri Krishna is considered incomplete.
According to the Hindu calendar and Drik Panchang, Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami Tithi will start from 1:00 pm on September 18 and will remain in effect till 3:26 pm on September 19. In such a situation, on the basis of Udayatithi and Madhyamna Vyapini Tithi, the fast and main puja of Radha Ashtami is being done on 19th September, Saturday. The appearance of Radha Rani is believed to be at 12 noon, hence the worship done at noon is considered to be the most fruitful. The auspicious Choghadiya Muhurat for the whole day’s Sadhana and Archana are as follows: morning auspicious Choghadiya Muhurta from 7:39 am to 9:11 pm, afternoon’s auspicious Choghadiya Muhurta from 1:46 pm to 3:18 pm, Amrit Choghadiya Muhurta from 3:18 pm to 4:50 pm and evening’s auspicious Choghadiya Muhurta. The auspicious time will be from 6:22 pm to 7:50 pm. The worship done during these auspicious times brings happiness, peace and prosperity in the lives of the devotees.
In the scriptures, Radha Rani has been described as a very kind goddess and one who is pleased with the feelings of the devotees, hence her worship should be done with pure conscience and love instead of tying it in any complicated ritual. Wake up early in the morning at Brahma Muhurta, take bath and wear clean or yellow clothes. After this, purify the worship place of the house with Ganga water and decorate it with fresh fragrant flowers. Spread a red or yellow silk cloth on a clean platform and install the couple idol or picture of Shri Radha-Krishna. If the idol is made of metal, then anoint it with Panchamrit i.e. milk, curd, ghee, honey and Ganga water. After this, offer them new clothes, sandalwood, kumkum, intact and fragrant yellow flowers. Express your wishes to the Lord by lighting a ghee lamp and incense sticks and remember the name of the couple. At the conclusion of the puja, perform Aarti of Radha ji and distribute Prasad among everyone.
According to Vaishnav beliefs, Radha Rani is very fond of special types of traditional dishes. There is an ancient Braj tradition of offering special Sattvik vegetable of Arbi (Ghuiyan) to Kishori ji on the day of Radha Ashtami. Apart from this, offering seasonal fresh fruits, white sweets made from milk, butter-mishri, kheer, malpua and sweet beeda of paan is considered very auspicious. While offering Bhog, Tulsi Dal is used only in the portion of Lord Krishna, while pure Satvik sweets are offered directly to Radha Rani. After the completion of the puja, this divine Mahaprasad should be distributed respectfully among all the family members and devotees, so that there is never any shortage of food and money in the house.
Chanting the name on the auspicious occasion of Radha Ashtami brings infinite benefits. Devotees can chant these sacred mantras mentally during their puja or throughout the day. Chanting ‘Om Radhaayi Namah’, ‘Om Hreem Shreem Radhikaayi Namah’ and Gayatri form ‘Om Vrishabhanujayai Vidmahe Krishnapriyaai Dhimahi Tanno Radha Prachodayat’ at least 108 times with Tulsi or Kamalgatta rosary is considered to be especially beneficial. If a devotee feels uncomfortable in chanting Sanskrit mantras, he can achieve the same spiritual results by simply continuously chanting ‘Radhe-Radhe’ or ‘Jai Shri Radhe’, as the name Radha in itself is considered to be the ultimate essence of all the Vedas and mantras.
No worship is considered complete without Aarti. On Radha Ashtami, light incense sticks and perform this sacred aarti with a copper or brass vessel: Aarti of Shri Vrishabhanusuta, Manju Murti of Mohan Mamta. Trividha Tapayut Sansriti Nashini, Bimal Vivek Virag Vikasini, Pavan Prabhu-Pada-Preeti Prakashini, the most beautiful image of beauty. Muni-Man-Mohan Mohan Mohani, sweet and charming idol, sweet, everlasting love-amiy-rasa dohani, dear and always friend of Lalita. Santat Sevya of Sat-Muni-Jan, Aakaar of infinite divine gun-gun, Akarshini Krishna-body-mind, very priceless property of equality. Krishnatmika, Krishna-Sanghi, Chinmayvrinda-Vipin-Viharini, Jagajjanani Jag-Dukhnivarini, etc. of Anadishakti Vibhut. By singing this Aarti, all the worldly troubles of the seeker go away and marital life becomes sweet.