By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
About 400 years ago, a Shakta text was composed in Sanskrit language, probably in Bengal. It was called Radha Tantra. It was a response to the rising tide of the Chaitanya Vaishnava movement, where Krishna is the supreme divine being and Radha is the subordinate.
From the 12th century onwards, we have seen the rise of Radha as a character, dominating the bevy of gopikas who dance around Krishna, thanks to the composition of Geet Govind by Jaydev, around the Puri temple. This song brings a tantrik flavour to the bhakti of Krishna. The inclusion of the erotic, at the time, was in direct contrast to the monastic Vedantic tradition that was spreading widely in Hinduism.