Manifestation of Choṭā Rādhā-Mādhava
During Śrīla Prabhupāda’s manifest pastimes, at one time in Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhām, His Divine Grace was donated three sets of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities from Mr. Palmir, a life patron member. One set of Deities went to Berkeley, one to Boston, and Śrīla Prabhupāda kept the other set with himself. This set of Deities was to become our small Rādhā-Mādhava, Choṭā Rādhā-Mādhava.
When Śrīla Prabhupāda was in Allahabad, he once chanted a song of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura to Choṭā Rādhā-Mādhava: "jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī / gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī / yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana / yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī". After he sang the first two lines, he fell into a trance. When he came back to external consciousness, he remarked that this song depicted Vṛndāvana: "Everything is there: Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa, Govardhana, Yaśodā, all the cowherd boys and the gopīs."
One night, Śrīla Prabhupāda arrived late at the temple with Choṭā Rādhā-Mādhava. Concerns were raised as the Deities were left packed in a trunk. Śrīla Prabhupāda insisted, "No. Make an altar for Them now." Devotees quickly established a proper place for Their Lordships before resting. Later, in 1972, the small Deity of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was brought to be worshipped alongside Choṭā Rādhā-Mādhava (śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya), celebrating ISKCON’s first Gaura-pūrṇimā festival in Mayapur.
Manifestation of Big Rādhā-Mādhava & Aṣṭa-sakhīs
In 1979, Radhapada das, a congregational devotee from Kolkata, had a vivid dream where Śrīla Prabhupāda appeared and requested him to help devotees construct a big temple. He immediately went to the Kolkata temple and offered to fund the carving of the large Deities of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava according to the exact dimensions specified earlier by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Omkara Prabhu supervised the murti sculptor in Jaipur, Mr. Pandai. When completed, Bhavananda Prabhu requested a final polish. To the amazement of the devotees, giving that final polish revealed a fine, natural white thread-like line all around the body of Śrī Mādhava (resembling a sacred brāhmaṇa thread), and a faint tilaka appeared on His forehead. Big Rādhā-Mādhava arrived in Mayapur and were installed in 1980.
Six years later, in 1986, four of the eight sakhīs were installed before Gaura-pūrṇimā. In 1992, the remaining four sakhīs arrived, completing the full divine assembly of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava with Their eight principal sakhīs (Aṣṭa-sakhīs).
"tārā madhye hema-pīṭha, aṣṭa-dale veṣṭita / aṣṭa dale pradhāna nāyikā / tārā madhye ratnāsane, basi āchen dui-jane / śyāma saṅge sundarī rādhikā"
"In the midst of the golden lotus of one hundred petals, there is a golden platform surrounded by eight petals. Situated upon those eight petals are the eight principal sakhīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā. On that golden platform, the Divine Couple sit upon a jeweled throne. In the company of Lord Śyāma sits the beautiful Rādhikā."
— Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura (Prārthanā)
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