Prem Sarovar

one day Radha and Krishna were together, surrounded by Radha’s close friends, the sakhis, enjoying each other’s company. Suddenly, a bumblebee began buzzing around Radha Rani’s face, mistaking her radiant beauty for a blooming lotus flower. Radha became frightened and tried to wave it away, but it kept coming back. Seeing her discomfort, Madhumangal, Krishna’s friend, chased the bee away with a stick and returned, announcing, “I have sent Madhusudana away; he won’t return.”

Hearing the name “Madhusudana”—which is also a name for Krishna—Radha mistakenly thought that Krishna had gone away. Even though she was sitting with Krishna, Radha felt a sudden pang of separation and began to cry out, “Oh Krishna, where have you gone?” Her heartfelt sorrow deeply moved Krishna, who also began to cry, feeling her pain.

Their tears, filled with pure love and longing, created Prem Sarovar. After this touching incident, Krishna thought to himself, “Even when I am close by, I can’t truly calm the sadness that Radha feels when she thinks of us being apart. Her love for me is so deep that the thought of separation always lingers in her heart, and it causes her great sorrow. When I’m far away, she misses me so much that she sees me everywhere—sometimes laughing and talking to tamala trees, thinking they are me, and playing with her friends as if I am there with her. But even when I am right next to her, her heart feels the pain of being apart, and she becomes overwhelmed with sadness.”

Krishna realized that this feeling of separation was an essential part of Radha’s deep love for him. He thought, “When I’m not with her, her mind creates beautiful memories and visions of me that comfort her. Even the sight of a tamala tree with its dark blue color, similar to mine, can bring her a sense of closeness.” Understanding this, Krishna made a difficult decision to leave Vrindavan for a while, knowing that their love would remain strong despite the distance. This decision eventually led him to travel to Mathura and Dwarka, leaving behind cherished memories and places in Vrindavan that would forever symbolize their love, like Prem Sarovar.