>245CMR at 13:51, 8 July 2021

2021-07-08T13:51:00Z

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{{short description|Celestial abode of Radha Krishna}}
[[File:4a1 Radha and Krishna Walk in a Flowering Grove. Kota, 1720, Metmuseum.jpg|thumb|[[Radha Krishna]], queen and king of Goloka]]

'''Goloka''' ([[Sanskrit]]: गोलोक) is the eternal supreme abode of the [[Hindu god]] [[Krishna]] and his consort [[Radha]].<ref name="Bengal1828" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=PRADHAN|first=SHRIKANT|date=2008|title=A UNIQUE IMAGE OF "ARDHARADHAVENUDHARAMURTI: OR "ARDHANARI KRISHNA"|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42931207|journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute|volume=68/69|pages=207–213|issn=0045-9801}}</ref> In the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', Krishna is portrayed as the highest person who resides in Goloka.<ref name="Schweig2005" /> According to Indian philosopher [[Jiva Goswami]], Goloka, also called Vrindavan is the highest spiritual planet and can be further manifested into three abodes, called Mathura, Dwarka and Gokula according to the difference in the pastimes and associates of Krishna.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Francis Bryant|first=Edwin|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=HVDqCkW1WpUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA373&dq=The+six+sandarbhas+of+Jiva+Gosvami&ots=miIQ9NLIXg&sig=A41JBeNmiGqHNIKhpT_28zH9ujw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20six%20sandarbhas%20of%20Jiva%20Gosvami&f=false|title=Krishna: A Sourcebook|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-019-514891-6|location=United States of America|pages=382}}</ref>

Goloka is mentioned in following [[Vaishnavite]] schools: [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]], [[Swaminarayan Sampraday]], [[Pranami]], [[Vallabha]], [[Nimbarka Sampradaya]], and in the scriptures such as [[Pancharatra]],<ref>goloko nitya-vaikuntho yathakaso yatha disah</ref> [[Garga (sage)|Garga Samhita]],<ref>1.23, 2.14, etc.</ref> [[Brahma Samhita]], [[Brahma Vaivarta Purana]] and [[Devi-Bhagavata Purana|Devi Bhagvata Purana]].

==Etymology==
''Goloka'' literally means "World of cows".<ref name="Vishwananda2017"/> The Sanskrit word ''go'' refers to "cow" and ''loka'' is translated as "realm."

Lord Krishna is also known as ''Gaulokvihari'' (''vihari'' means "a resident of") since he is a resident of Goloka and his consort Radha is called ''Radhika''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=King|first=Anna S.|date=2012|title=Krishna’s Cows: ISKCON’s Animal Theology and Practice|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/janimalethics.2.2.0179|journal=Journal of Animal Ethics|volume=2|issue=2|pages=179–204|doi=10.5406/janimalethics.2.2.0179|issn=2156-5414}}</ref> The [[Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Mumbai|Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Mumbai]] has two [[murtis]] dedicated to this particular form of the gods.

==Description==
[[File:Radha krishna.jpg|thumb|Painting of Radha Krishna]]

A description of Goloka can be found in the [[Brahma Samhita]], verse 5.29:

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of devotees resembling goddesses of fortune."

[[Sanatana Goswami]], an author of a number of important works in the bhakti tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, states, "Sri Goloka is considered the ultimate destination of spiritual endeavour."<ref name="sanatan">[[Sanatana Goswami|Śrĩla Sanãtana Goswãmĩ]], ''[[Brihad Bhagavatamrita|Śrĩ Bṛhad Bhãgavatãmṛta]], Dig-darśinĩ'' commentary to Part Two (Śrĩ-goloka-mãhãtmya) 1.24 (tr. Gopiparanadhana Dasa, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, p. 39) {{ISBN|0-89213-346-5}}</ref>

The [[Brahma Vaivarta Purana]] explicitly describes Goloka Vrindavan to be about 500 million [[yojanas]] (4 billion miles) above Vaikuntha loka and expands till 30 million yojanas (240 million miles). The depiction is similar with a verse found in brahma samhita 5.43. {{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

[[Acharyas]] of Gaudiya Vaishnavaism explains it to be limitless. Both [[Vaikuntha]] and Goloka are considered to be ''Nitya Dhama'' (eternal realm of existence) which are not prone to annihilation even after the whole cosmic dissolution. Krishna in his two-armed form eternally reside in the realm of Goloka and in his four-armed form, as [[Vishnu]] he eternally resides in the realm of Vaikuntha loka. {{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

==Literary sources==
Mention of Goloka is also found in other [[Puranas]], such as [[Skanda Purana]] and [[Markandeya Purana]]. In [[Brihad-bhagavatamrita]], [[Sanatana Goswami]] explains this verse is quoted from Skanda Purana and it is spoken by Krishna to Arjuna,

{{Quote|Evam bahu-vidhai rupais caramiha vasundharam brahmalokam ca kaunteya golokam ca sanatanam.
"I move about in many forms on earth, in Vaikuntha, and in eternal Goloka, O Kaunteya."<ref name="Gosvami2008"/>}}

In the [[Markandeya Purana]], Krishna declares,{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

{{Quote|Golokam ca parityajya lokanam trana-karanat kalau gauranga-rupena lila-lavanya-vigrahah.
"In the Kali-Yuga, I will leave Goloka and, to save the people of the world, I will become the handsome and playful Lord Gauranga."}}

== Goloka Structure ==
All the Vaikuntha planets are said to be like petals of a lotus flower, and the principal part of that lotus, called Goloka Vrindāvana, is the center of all the Vaikunthas. Thus the expansions of Krishna in various forms, as well as His various abodes on the spiritual planets in the spiritual sky, are unlimited. Goloka is divided into three different portions: Gokula, Mathurā and Dvārakā. As stated in Brahma-samhitā (5.43), all the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky (known as Vishnuloka) emanate from the predominating deity of Goloka Vrndāvana, known as [[Svayam Bhagavan]].

==See also==
{{refbegin|2}}
*[[Radha Krishna]]
*[[Brahma Samhita]]
*[[Govinda]]
*[[Narayana]]
*[[Ocean of milk]]
*[[Satchitananda|Sat-Chit-Ananda]]
*[[Vaikunta|Vaikunta planets]]
{{refend}}

==References and notes==
<references>
<ref name="Bengal1828">{{cite book |year=1828 |title=Asiatic Researches or Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal for inquiring into the History and Antiquities, Arts, Sciences and Literature of Asia |volume=16 |publisher=Bengal Military Orphans Press |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OygoAAAAYAAJ&q=krishna+goloka&pg=PA126}}</ref>

<ref name="Gosvami2008">{{cite book |title=Sri Brahma Samhita: with the commentary Dig-darsani-tika of Sri Jiva Gosvami |publisher=The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust |year=2008 |isbn=9789171497093 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvthBAAAQBAJ&q=eternal+goloka&pg=PP51}}</ref>

<ref name="Schweig2005">{{cite book |author=G. M. Schweig |title=Dance of divine love: The Rasa Lila of Krishna from the Bhagavata Purana, India's classic sacred love story |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ; Oxford |year=2005 |page=10 |url=http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i7974.pdf |isbn=0-691-11446-3}}</ref>

<ref name="Vishwananda2017">{{cite book |year=2017 |author=Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda |title=Shreemad Bhagavad Gita: The Song Of Love |publisher=PublishDrive |isbn=9783940381705 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJ3JDwAAQBAJ}}</ref>
</references>

{{Brahmanda}}
{{Vaishnava philosophy}}

[[Category:Swaminarayan Sampradaya]]
[[Category:Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Vaishnavism]]

Goloka - Revision history

>245CMR at 13:51, 8 July 2021