Bahulastami

What is Bahulastami?

On Bahulastami devotees celebrate the appearance of Sri Radha Kunda, the holy pond of Srimati Radharani near Govardhana Hill. It is kept on the eighth day of the waning moon in Kartika, the month of Lord Damodara, and in 2026 that is Monday, 2 November.

Significance

After Lord Krishna killed Arishtasura, a demon who had come in the form of a bull, the gopis teased Him, saying that He was now impure and must bathe in all the holy rivers. Krishna struck the ground with His heel, and the sacred rivers appeared in Shyama Kunda. Srimati Radharani and the gopis then dug a pond of their own, and by Her permission all the rivers entered it too.

Krishna declared that this pond was as dear to Him as Radharani Herself. Srila Rupa Gosvami, one of the six Gosvamis of Vrindavana, describes its glory in Nectar of Instruction:

the superexcellent Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Nectar of Instruction 9

How to observe it

At Radha Kunda in Vrindavana, devotees gather at midnight, the hour the kunda appeared. They offer prasada, garlands and pumpkins into the water and then bathe. Those who are far away can hear this pastime, chant the holy names and pray for the mercy of Srimati Radharani.

This holy day falls in Kartik, the month of Lord Damodara, when devotees offer Him a lamp each evening and sing Damodarashtakam. Read about Kartik (Damodara) Month, and offer your own lamp from wherever you are through our Kartik Deep Daan Seva.