🌺 Radha Ashtami Puja Vidhi — step by step
The household vidhi of Radha Ashtami — sankalp in the morning, abhishek, shringar and offering of Radha-Krishna at midday (Abhijit above), aarti and kirtan in the evening; the fast broken next day (or a fruit meal at night — family custom).
How to do Radha Ashtami — the steps
- Morning: bathe, wear clean or new clothes (pink, yellow, red — Radha's colours); at the puja place a chauki with a pink or yellow cloth, the idol or picture of the couple Radha-Krishna (Radha to the right — the left-side custom of temples; at home as you have it), a flower toran, kalash sthapana.
- Sankalp: 'I (name) keep the vrat of Shri Radha Rani's birth festival for (marital happiness / children / devotion); puja at midday, paran tomorrow' — release the water; the fast without water, on fruit or one meal — as one is able.
- Midday abhishek (Abhijit — timings above): bathe the Radha-Krishna idol in panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar), then saffron or rose water, then pure water; 'Om Hreem Shri Radhikayai Namah' / 'Om Shri Radhakrishnabhyam Namah' / the Radha Gayatri; conch and bell, the cry of 'Radhe-Radhe'.
- Shringar: new clothes for Radha (lehenga-chunri — pink or red), ornaments, a garland (rose, jasmine, lotus), a crown, nose-ring, bindi, sindoor, mehndi (married women offer the suhag items to Radha Rani), pitambar, peacock feather and flute for Krishna; a sandal-saffron tilak; attar and rose water.
- Worship: incense, ghee lamp, flowers, akshat and roli, paan-supari, Tulsi leaf (for Krishna; not for Radha in some customs), sixteen items of shringar (some homes); recitation of the Radha Sahasranama, the Radha Kripa Kataksha stotra or the Radha Chalisa; a mala of Radha's name (108).
- Offering: arbi (colocasia) curry + puri, kheer, malpua, rabri, butter and mishri, fruit, panchamrit, boondi laddoo, peda — to Radha-Krishna; a Tulsi leaf in Krishna's offering; after the offering the camphor aarti of the couple — 'Aarti Shri Radha-Krishna ki' / 'Shri Radha Kripa Kataksha'.
- Katha and kirtan: the katha of Radha's birth (below), bhajans and kirtan of Radha-Krishna ('Radhe-Radhe', 'Shri Radhe Govinda'), sankirtan of Radha's name; a swing or cradle (rocking Ladli Ji in a cradle — some homes, as at Janmashtami).
- Evening and night: evening aarti, lamp offering, kirtan; fruit for the one fasting, or paran after sunrise the next day — with arbi-puri or kheer; distribute prasad (laddoo); suhag items or dakshina to married women (as one can).
Puja samagri checklist
Worship of the couple Radha-Krishna, Radha's shringar, the offering of arbi, puri and kheer — the Radha Ashtami list.
- Idol or picture of the couple Radha-Krishna, chauki, pink-yellow cloth, kalash (water, mango leaves, coconut), flower toran, swing or cradle (optional)
- Abhishek: panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar), saffron water, rose water, Ganga water, conch, a cloth for wiping
- Radha's shringar: lehenga-chunri or new clothes (pink-red), ornaments, crown, nose-ring, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, bangles (suhag items), garland (rose, jasmine, lotus), attar; pitambar, peacock feather, flute and garland for Krishna
- Worship: sandal and saffron, roli, akshat, incense, ghee lamp, camphor, aarti plate, bell, paan-supari, clove-cardamom, Tulsi leaf (Krishna), sixteen shringar items (some homes)
- Offering: arbi (colocasia), flour for puri, kheer (rice-milk), malpua, rabri, butter and mishri, boondi laddoo, peda, fruit (banana, apple, pomegranate), dry fruits
- Recitations: Radha Sahasranama, Radha Kripa Kataksha stotra, Radha Chalisa, the Radha Ashtami katha, a bhajan booklet; mala (Tulsi or sandal)
- Gifts: suhag items for married women, dakshina for a girl or Brahmin, a gift to a gaushala, clothes (as one can)
Arbi curry and puri, kheer, malpua and rabri, butter and mishri; the fast on fruit or without water
The offering of Radha Ashtami is as rich as that of Janmashtami — but arbi (colocasia) curry with puri is the special custom of the day (Braj-Mathura); kheer, malpua, rabri, butter-mishri, boondi laddoo; in Barsana the chhappan bhog and the showering of laddoos. The one fasting takes fruit or nothing in the day and breaks the fast next day with arbi-puri or kheer; no onion, garlic or meat.
- Offering: arbi (colocasia) dry or gravy curry (ajwain and asafoetida — no onion), puri, rice kheer, malpua, rabri, butter and mishri, boondi laddoo, peda, panchamrit, fruit, dry fruits
- Fruit meal (for the one fasting): fruit, milk, sabudana kheer or khichdi, water-chestnut or buckwheat puri, potato and arbi (rock salt), makhana kheer, panchamrit
- Paran (next day): arbi-puri, kheer, curd — after sunrise; prasad to home and neighbours
- Barsana-Vrindavan: chhappan bhog, laddoos showered from the temple roof, malpua and kheer offered at Radha Kund, in Bengal the 'Radha Ashtami khichdi' and payesh (kheer)
- Forbidden: onion, garlic, meat, alcohol, grain (for the one fasting — fruit only), Krishna's offering without Tulsi
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Panchamrit abhishek of Radha-Krishna at midday (Abhijit — timings above), new clothes and shringar, the cry of 'Radhe-Radhe'
- Offer arbi-puri, kheer, malpua, butter-mishri; Tulsi for Krishna; aarti of the couple; recite Radha's name or stotra, kirtan
- Married women: suhag items for Radha, a prayer for marital love; maidens for a groom; the childless: Radha Kund or Radha puja
- If you kept Janmashtami, keep Radha Ashtami too — the fruit is complete; fast as you are able (fruit or one meal), paran the next day
- Ill or pregnant: puja, offering and kirtan instead of the fast; gifts and dakshina (married women, a girl, a gaushala)
❌ Don't
- Neglecting Radha as merely Krishna's companion — in the Vaishnava view Radha comes first (Radha-Krishna, not Krishna-Radha)
- Onion, garlic, meat, alcohol; stale or tasted food as offering; Krishna's offering without Tulsi (some customs do not offer Tulsi to Radha — opinions differ)
- Forcing a waterless fast on the ill or pregnant in the name of the vrat; keeping children hungry
- Krishna puja without Radha's name (the folk rule 'Radhe-Krishna'), leather in the shringar, anger or quarrel during the puja (she is the goddess of love)
- Taking Radha Ashtami for Janmashtami — they are different; Radha Ashtami comes fifteen days later
Vrat katha
The katha of Radha's birth: the cowherd chief Vrishabhanu (lord of Barsana/Raval) and his wife Kirti were childless; one day, bathing in the Yamuna, Vrishabhanu found a radiant girl on a lotus — but her eyes were closed.… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Radha Ashtami in {Y}?
Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami — date above (Delhi), fifteen days after Janmashtami; the Ashtami prevailing at midday counts; abhishek in the Abhijit muhurat; tithi window above.
How to keep the Radha Ashtami vrat?
Sankalp in the morning, fruit or no water in the day (as able), abhishek, shringar and offering of Radha-Krishna at midday (arbi-puri-kheer), Radha stotra or name-japa, aarti and kirtan in the evening; paran after sunrise next day (some homes a fruit meal the same night).
Why arbi curry?
A custom of Braj-Mathura — arbi (colocasia) curry with puri is offered and eaten at the paran on Radha Ashtami; the folk reason: arbi's new crop comes in Bhadrapada and it is accepted as vrat food (a tuber); some homes keep kheer and malpua as the main offering.
What is the difference and connection between Radha Ashtami and Janmashtami?
Janmashtami is Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami (Krishna's birth, midnight); Radha Ashtami is Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami (Radha's birth, midday) — fifteen days later; the scriptural view: the Janmashtami vrat is completed by the Radha Ashtami vrat.
Why do married women and maidens keep this vrat?
Radha is the goddess of love and marital harmony — married women for the husband's love, Lakshmi in the home and children; maidens for the groom of their choice; the custom of offering suhag items (bangles, sindoor, chunri) to Radha.
Is Tulsi offered to Radha or not?
Tulsi goes in Krishna's (Vishnu's) offering; some Vaishnava customs offer Tulsi to both Radha and Krishna, some not to Radha (the Tulsi-Vrinda episode) — follow your family's or temple's custom; a garland (rose, lotus) for Radha in any case.
How is Radha Ashtami celebrated in Barsana?
Midday abhishek at the Ladli Ji temple, badhai songs, laddoos showered from the roof, the 'Radhe-Radhe' fair, celebrations at Raval, the parikrama of Radha Kund; devotees come from all of Braj — a festival greater than Janmashtami; if you cannot go, worship the couple at home in the same spirit.
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