Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki — Krishna Aarti

The Sweetest Aarti

There is something in the Krishna aarti that no other aarti quite matches — a warmth, an intimacy, a tone of playful love rather than awe-struck reverence. When the devotee sings “Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki”, they are not singing to a remote, thunderous deity. They are singing to the boy who played in the groves of Vrindavan, to the one whose beauty undid the hearts of sages and cowherds alike, to the god who is simultaneously infinite and approachable.

Kunj Bihari — “the one who plays in the groves (kunjas)” — is one of Krishna’s most intimate names. It evokes the moonlit forests of Vrindavan, the sound of his flute drifting through the night, the fragrance of jasmine and wild flowers. This is not the cosmic Krishna of the Bhagavad Gita’s battlefield — this is Krishna in his most tender and human aspect, the beloved.

Krishna: The One Who Draws All Hearts

Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu and arguably the most beloved deity in the entire Hindu tradition. His life is told across multiple texts — the Harivamsa, the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana (the primary source), and the Mahabharata — but the episodes that have captured the heart of devotional Hinduism are those of his childhood and youth in Vrindavan.

He is depicted:

• With dark blue or black skin, the colour of the monsoon cloud and the infinite sky
• Wearing a peacock feather (morpankh) in his crown
• Playing his flute (bansuri or murli) — the instrument whose sound is said to be the call of the divine to all souls
• Wearing yellow silk (pitambara) and a garland of vaijayanti flowers
• Standing in the characteristic three-bend pose (tribhanga) — a posture of relaxed, joyful grace found nowhere else in divine iconography

His consort Radha — and the gopis (cowherd women) of Vrindavan — represent the soul in its highest state of longing for the divine. The Rasa Lila (the dance of divine love) between Krishna and the gopis is the central symbol of bhakti — the path of love — in which the individual soul (the gopi) dances in union with the universal soul (Krishna).

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Refrain

आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरधर कृष्ण मुरारी की ॥

Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki, Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari Ki.

This is the aarti of Kunj Bihari — the grove-player — of Shri Girdhar who lifted Mount Govardhana, of Krishna the destroyer of the demon Mura.

Girdhar (mountain-lifter) is the name Krishna earned when he lifted the entire Govardhana mountain on his little finger for seven days to shelter the people of Vrindavan from Indra’s torrential rains — proving that the Lord himself is the devotee’s shelter, greater than any cosmic power. Murari (enemy of Mura) recalls his destruction of the demon Mura, protector of his devotees.

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Verse 1

गले में बैजंती माला, बजावे मुरली मधुर बाला ।
श्रवन में कुण्डल झलकाला, नंद के आनंद नंदलाला ॥

Gale Mein Baijanti Mala, Bajaave Murli Madhur Bala. Shravan Mein Kundal Jhalakaala, Nand Ke Aanand Nandalaala.

Around his neck hangs the vaijayanti garland; the beautiful youth plays the sweet flute. Earrings sparkle at his ears — he is Nandalaala, the delight of Nanda’s house, the bliss of father Nanda’s heart.

The vaijayanti mala is a garland of five sacred flowers or seeds representing the five elements — it is Krishna’s distinctive garland, worn during his divine play. The flute (murali) is the most evocative symbol of Krishna’s call to the soul: its sweet sound, the tradition says, cannot be resisted by any heart that has awakened to its own longing.

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Verse 2

गगन सम अंग कान्ति काली, राधिका चमक रही आली ।
लतन में ठाढ़े बनमाली, भ्रमर सी अलक कस्तूरी तिलक लाली ॥

Gagan Sam Ang Kaanti Kaali, Radhika Chamak Rahi Aali. Latan Mein Thaadhe Banmaali, Bhramar Si Alak Kasturi Tilak Laali.

His form shines dark as the sky; Radhika glows radiantly at his side. The wearer of forest garlands stands among the creepers and vines, with curls dark as bees and a musk-tilak mark of red on his brow.

This verse sets the scene of the kunjas — the leafy bowers of Vrindavan where Krishna and Radha meet. Banmaali (wearer of forest garlands) is the wild, free Krishna of the forest, crowned with peacock feathers and flowers. The comparison of his dark curls to bhramar (bees) is a classic image from Sanskrit poetry — both are dark, both hum with a sweet sound.

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Verse 3

कनकमय मोर मुकुट बिलसे, देवता दरसन को तरसे ।
गगन सों सुमन रासि बरसे, हँसत मुख चंद्र दरसे ॥

Kanakamay Mor Mukut Bilase, Devata Darasan Ko Tarase. Gagan Son Suman Raasi Barase, Hansat Mukh Chandra Darase.

His golden peacock-feather crown blazes with glory; even the gods long for a glimpse of this vision. A shower of flowers rains from the sky; his smiling face shines like the full moon.

Even the devatas — the divine beings of the higher realms — yearn for darshan (the blessing of beholding Krishna’s form). The flowers raining from the heavens (pushpa varsha) is the traditional mark of divine approval — the universe itself celebrating. And that smiling moon-face: this is the image that millions of bhaktas hold in their hearts in meditation, that face that makes everything else irrelevant.

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Verse 4

कटि पर करि कर कीरत धारी, हँसत मुखचंद्र निहारी ।
मनमोहन मुख मुरली प्यारी, करत मनोहर छवि न्यारी ॥

Kati Par Kari Kar Keerat Dhari, Hansat Mukh Chandra Nihaari. Manmohan Mukh Murli Pyari, Karat Manohar Chhavi Nyari.

His hands resting on his waist, singing praises — that laughing moon-face beholding all. Manmohan (stealer of hearts), with his beloved flute at his lips, creates a vision of beauty that is utterly unique in all the worlds.

Manmohan — stealer/enchanter of hearts — is one of Krishna’s most used names in devotional poetry. The verse describes the iconic tribhanga pose: hands on waist, weight shifted to one hip, flute at the lips, face radiant with a smile. This is the image painted on a million temple walls, embroidered on saris, carved in stone — the image that has defined divine beauty in India for three thousand years.

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Janmashtami: Krishna’s Birthday

Janmashtami is the celebration of Krishna’s birth at midnight on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is one of the most joyfully celebrated festivals in Hindu India — a night of fasting, singing, temple visits, and finally feasting at midnight when Krishna “arrives.”

The tradition at Janmashtami:

• Fast through the day and evening
• Sing Krishna bhajans and aartis continuously through the night
• At midnight (Krishna’s birth hour), break the fast with panchamrit (five sacred offerings: milk, yogurt, honey, ghee, sugar)
• Do abhishek of the baby Krishna image
• Sing the Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki as the culminating act of worship

In Mathura and Vrindavan — the land of Krishna’s birth and childhood — Janmashtami is an eight-day festival. In ISKCON temples worldwide, the midnight aarti on Janmashtami night is one of the most moving devotional events in the Hindu calendar.

How to Perform Krishna Aarti

Light a ghee lamp or camphor in a metal thali. Also light agarbatti (incense) — Krishna is pleased by fragrant scents. Stand before the image of Krishna (or Radha-Krishna together) and wave the lamp in a slow clockwise circle, following the traditional pattern: five times before the full form, four times at the feet, two times at the navel, once at the face, seven times over the whole form.

While waving, sing the aarti together. In Krishna bhakti, communal singing (kirtan) is especially powerful — the tradition holds that where ten people sing together in Krishna’s name, he is present in their midst.

Close by ringing the bell, offering tulsi leaves (most sacred to Vishnu/Krishna), and passing the aarti plate before each family member to receive the blessing-light.

“Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki” — this is the aarti of the grove-player, the flute-player, the god who smiles like the moon and whose beauty makes even the devatas long for just one glimpse.

Come. See him. He is here.