In his devotional masterwork Prem Ras Madira, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj paints a picture of Holi that no calendar or festivity can fully capture. He opens a window into Vrindavan — not the town on a map, but the eternal realm of Radha and Krishna’s divine play — and invites every soul to step inside.
वृंदावन, धूम मची होरी।
सखन सखिन को, सखिन सखन को, लै पिचकारिन रंग बोरी।
लली लाल मंडल बिच ठाढ़े, दुहँन, दुहँन किए सरबोरी।
लाल गुलाल लाल भए बादर, लाल लाल भए ब्रजखोरी।
मस्त व्यस्त सब के पटभूषण, करत परस्पर झकझोरी।
तब ‘कृपालु’ कह, साँझ भए अब, कालि होय होरी हो री॥॥
vṛindāvana, dhūma machī horī
sakhana sakhina ko, sakhina sakhana ko, lai pichakarīna raṃga borī
lalī lāla maṇḍala bicha ṭhāḍhe, duhuṁna, duhuṁna kiya saraborī
lāla gulāla lāla bhaye bādara, lāla lāla bhai brajakhorī
srasta vyasta saba ke paṭa bhūshana, karata paraspara jhakajhorī
taba ‘kripālu’ kaha, sāṁjha bhaī aba, kāli hoya horī ho rī
The festival of Holi is being celebrated with great enthusiasm in Vṛindavan. Sakhis and Sakhas are spraying colour on each other with their pichakaris, almost drenching each other with coloured water. Shri Radha and Shri Krishna are standing in the middle of the circle. They too, have coloured each other from head to toe. There is so much gulal being thrown around that even the clouds seem to be coloured in red, and so are the lanes of Braj. There is such a tough tussle going on between the Sakhas and the Sakhis that their clothes and ornaments are all disarrayed. Then, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj announces, “The evening has approached, hence the play of Holi should be stopped now. It will be resumed tomorrow at the same time at this very place.”
Read these lines once, and you see a joyful festival. Read them again, and something deeper begins to surface. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is not simply describing Holi — he is revealing what Holi actually is.
The Sakhis and Sakhas are the eternal companions of Shri Radha and Shri Krishna, souls so fully surrendered to divine love that their every action — even play — is an expression of that love. When they drench one another in colour, they are not merely celebrating a season. They are living out the truth that in God’s presence, even the smallest act is sacred.
Lali (Shri Radha) and Lala (Shri Krishna) stand at the centre of the circle, drenched in colour, surrounded by their devotees. This image says everything: God is always at the centre. The devotee simply draws closer. And when the all-pervading red of gulaal turns the sky and streets of Vrindavan crimson, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is pointing to a state of consciousness — a heart so filled with love for God that it sees Him everywhere it looks.
Then comes the final line, so quiet and tender. Evening has fallen. The play pauses. But tomorrow, it will continue. This is not a conclusion — it is a reminder. Divine love never exhausts itself. The Holi of Vrindavan has no end.
Holi Has Always Been About This
This is not a new idea. It goes all the way back to the story from which Holi itself was born.
Prahlad, a child utterly absorbed in devotion, lived in a palace that had no room for God — his father, the demon king Hiranyakashipu, had banned the very name of Vishnu. And yet Prahlad’s love was unshakeable. He was thrown from cliffs, cast into poison, and finally placed in a pyre with his aunt Holika, who was believed to be immune to fire. Holika perished. Prahlad walked out unharmed.
Holi reminds us of the unshakable faith of Prahlad. No matter how powerful the darkness seemed, devotion protected him. The bonfire we light on the eve of Holi — Holika Dahan — is the burning away of everything within us that resists God: the ego, the arrogance, the idea that we can find lasting happiness anywhere other than in Him.
When Hiranyakashipu pointed to a pillar and challenged Prahlad — is your God in there too? — the Lord appeared immediately. That is the truth this festival carries: Shri Krishna is present everywhere, in every heart and in every moment. This festival is not just about colours — it is about remembering this.
So when we play Holi, we are not merely throwing colour at one another. We are, if we choose to see it this way, recognising God in the face before us. Let us celebrate Holi by seeing Him in everyone and everything.
A Divine Poem That Opens a Door
This is what makes the poem in Prem Ras Madira so extraordinary. It is not a theological treatise. It is six lines of vivid, joyful, heart-piercing verse — and yet it holds within it the complete meaning of Holi. The colours, the circle, the Divine Couple at the centre, the promise of tomorrow. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj understood that the shortest path to a spiritual truth is not always an argument. Sometimes it is a poem.
The book “Prem Ras Madira” — The Intoxicating Bliss of Divine Love — is available at Prem Mandir (Shri Vrindavan Dham), Bhakti Mandir (Shri Kripalu Dham Mangarh) and Kirti Mandir (Shri Barsana Dham). It is also available at our official online book store – Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) Literature. This Holi, it is worth picking up.
