According to the Brahmavaivarta Purana, the universe is divided into several regions or ‘lokas’. All but four of them are destroyed with each cycle of destruction. Three of these are Vaikunthaloka, Shivaloka and Brahmaloka, the abodes of the Trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma, respectively. However, these Gods are not manifest in their abodes once the universe has been destroyed. The fourth region is Goloka, which is the region of Krishna, who is the eternal manifest form of Brahm. He resides permanently in Goloka, through creation and destruction.
Within Goloka, there is a region called Rasamandala. When Krishna was in this region, a beautiful maiden emerged from the left side of Krishna’s body. This maiden was Radha. From the pores of Radha’s body emerged countless women and from the pores of Krishna’s body emerged an equal number of men. These men and women enjoy perennial existence in Rasamandala and descend on earth only during the avatar of Krishna as the milkmen and women of Braj.
The creation of the universe after its destruction began when Krishna willed it to happen. From the right side of his body, Vishnu emerged and took up residence in Vaikunthaloka. From the left side of his body, Shiva emerged and took up residence in Shivaloka. From the lotus on Krishna’s navel, Brahma emerged and waited for the next stage of creation to take place.
From the wax of Vishnu’s ears, two demons emerged -- Madhu and Kaithaba. They immediately tried to attack Brahma, but Vishnu pinned them between his thighs and crushed them to death. He then took the fat from their bodies and gave it to Brahma to create the Earth or "bhuloka."
Brahma created the Earth with the seven continents and the seven oceans. The continents and oceans are named in the Puranas. The continent on which Hinduism evolved is Jambudvipa. On Jambudvipa, Brahma created eight major mountains named as Sumeru, Kalash, Malaya, Himalaya, Udayachala, Astachala, Subela and Gandhmadana. He also created the rivers and lakes.
The universe consists of the seven regions of the upper world and seven regions of the netherworld. The Earth or "bhuloka" is the first region of the upper world. The regions of the upper world are known as lokas, whereas regions of the netherworld are known as ‘talas’ or lakes. This is the universe that gets created and destroyed during each cycle.
According to the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Krishna also created consorts for the three manifestations of the Trinity. Saraswati emerged from his mouth, as she was the Goddess of learning and was married to Brahma. Lakshmi emerged from his head and was married to Vishnu. Durga emerged from his thoughts and was married to Shiva.
When Vishnu descended to Earth as Rama, Lakshmi descended as Sita. But Krishna's avatar was a bit complicated because it entailed a combination of Krishna and Vishnu. During the first part of the avatar, when Krishna lived in Braj Radha accompanied him as his consort. But because of a curse, Krishna and Radha were destined to be separated for a 100 years. During this period, Krishna reigned as the king of Dwarka while Radha remained in Braj. As king of Dwarka, he married Rukmini, who was the avatar of Lakshmi.
Sources
- Bibek Debroy; The Brahmavaivarta Purana; Books For All, Dehli
- Harsh Nevatia; Radha - Historical Perspective; Suite101.com.
Harsh Nevatia - I live in Mumbai on the west coast of India. I am an engineer by education, have worked as an executive for most of my career but am ...
