In Praise of Radharani's Braid.

If we look at the sciptures, very often we have verses praising different features of the Lord. To give an example, we hear Satyavrata Muni praising the belly of Lord Krishna and also praising the ropes that bind the belly of the Lord. In the Sri Sampradaya,we have Sri Vedanta Desikan,who wrote an epic composition consisting of 1008 verses praising the footwear of Sri Ranganatha of Srirangam, in response to a challenge posed by a sanskrit scholar. The entire composition was completed overnight and completely defeated the opponent who managed to come up with a hundred verses. With this background information, i am presenting here two verses, one from Srila Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami's Govinda Lilamrita and another from Srila Rupa Goswami's chatuh pushpanjali. Both these verses beautifully sum up the exquisite beauty of Simati Radharani's hair. Here it is for your reading pleasure. Also attached are some pictures of Sri Radha Vrindavanchandra who were visiting us from a friend, to further the envisioning of the descriptions provided in the below mentioned verses. All Glories to Srimati Radharani! All glories to her supremely beauiful braid. Some pictures are Repetitive but Krishna always appears beautiful, each and very moment and so in that mood we are putting this up for your viewing pleasure. The verses: Hanging down Her back, Srimati Radharani's braids are decorated with flowers, tied with ribbons, and pressed by the cluster of necklaces at Her neck. I think these braids are actually a serpent climbing a staircase mercifully created by demigod Brahma from the foothills of Srimati Radharani's hips up to the mountain summit of Her head. 94- Upon Srimati Radharani's arms Visakha then placed flower garland, a blue ribbon, and the golden armlet. In his Catu-puspanjalih [Stava-mala], Srila Rupa Gosvami says: "O Queen of Vrndavana, Sri Radha, I worship You. Your fair complexion is more resplendent than molten gold, the color of Your sari the hue of a blue lotus flower. Your beautiful braided hair is long and raven-black, its coiffure studded with many brilliant gems, like the shining black hood of a cobra. "Even the beautiful lotus in full bloom or the rising full moon offers no comparison to Your breathtaking face, for it is much more exquisite. Your shining forehead is marked by a tidy saffron tilaka. "The arches of Your elegant eyebrows put to shame Cupid's bow. Your cascading black tresses sway, and the dark mascara on Your roving eyes makes them look like restless black partridges. Chatuh Pushpanjali Stava mala