Sahasranama position 623 of the 1,072 names

Radha

राधा

Rādhā

What Radha means

Radha is name 623 in the Adya Mahakali Sahasranama, the 1,072-name devotional text to Maa Kali. The beloved consort of Krishna, ever devoted, embodying the soul's yearning for the Divine.

Also spelled

  • Source transliteration: RADHA

Sanskrit names travel into English in several romanizations. This page keeps the common spelling, the IAST form, and the source transliteration together so the same name is discoverable under each spelling readers use.

Meaning and elaboration

Meaning: The beloved consort of Krishna, ever devoted, embodying the soul's yearning for the Divine.

Elaboration

Radha is a central figure in Vaishnavism, especially in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, but she is not usually invoked as an aspect or name of Mahakali in the Shakta traditions. Radha and Mahakali belong to different spiritual lineages and express different theological principles, even though both are revered as supreme manifestations of the Divine Feminine within their own traditions.

Mahakali is the fierce cosmic power of dissolution, time, and ultimate reality. In Shaktism, she is a form of the Great Goddess (Mahadevi), dark, wild, and awe-inspiring, granting liberation through the destruction of ego and illusion.

Radha, by contrast, is the embodiment of pure devotion (premā-bhakti), the highest expression of Krishna's internal potency (antaranga shakti) in Vaishnavism. She signifies the soul's longing, unconditional love, and complete surrender to the Divine Beloved. Her form is radiant, graceful, and filled with the mood of ecstatic love.

For that reason, explaining "Radha" as a name of Mahakali would be theologically inaccurate in the traditional Hindu context, because it blends two distinct and deeply revered divine forms. Though both embody the Divine Feminine, their meanings, roles, and theological frameworks remain separate.

Text and sources

The name list follows the Adya Mahakali Sahasranama as compiled for this project. The English meaning and elaboration are interpretive notes for devotional study, not a translation of a single critical edition.

Read the editorial method and source notes →

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