Today is celebrated as Rāsa Pūrṇimā in Māyāpur. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam this was the night when Lord Krishna performed the Rasa dance, a dance that represents the most perfect intimacy between the soul and God.
Rāsa Lilā, one of the sweetest pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna
The word “rāsa” is derived from the Sanskrit word “rasa”. ‘Rasa’ means divine mellow or transcendental bliss. It is attained only by those who perform unalloyed devotion to the Lord. By the mercy of the internal potency or svarupa shakti of the Lord, the conditioned souls overcome the bondage of three material qualities and surpass the attribute-less, form-less manifestation i.e. Brahman and finally reach the realm of Vishuddha Sattva. At this level the transcendental bliss is attained. “Līlā” indicates the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna in association with His internal potency, Yogamaya. This pastime is recorded in Puranas and Vaishnava texts. Srimati Radharani and Lord Sri Krishna are the central characters of this pastime. Other cowherd maidens associate them.
Description of Rāsa Lilā in Srimad Bhagavatam
The gopis prayed to Lord Sri Krishna and recited different hymns. They began to weep loudly. Then Lord Sri Krishna appeared before them in His yellow attire and with a flute. The Gopis went mad with joy to see Him. The Lord who attracts even the cupid, started playing with the Gopis on the bank of the river Yamuna. The banks of the Yamuna were full of flowers,
The bees were buzzing with their sweet smell and singing melodiously. The full moon of autumn spread its beams like the petals of jasmine. It seemed that all the splendors of the entire three worlds were combined and embodied in the form of Sri Krishna that night. He is encircled by the Gopis. The Gopis joyfully held each other’s hands. Shri Krishna, the master of all yogic power, expanded Himself and entered between each of the two Gopis. The Rāsa dance started. Every Gopi saw Sri Krishna holding her hand.
“rāsotsavaḥ sampravṛtto gopī-maṇḍala-maṇḍitaḥ
yogeśvareṇa kṛṣṇena, tāsāṁ madhye dvayor dvayoḥ”
(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.33.3)
Every Gopi thinks, He Who is the master and the refuge of the world, is also my consort and shelter too. He is only mine. For so long they meditated on Lord Krishna in their hearts and realized His presence there- now they saw that He was close to them. Sri Krishna is inside the heart of the gopis. Sri Krishna is outside Sri Krishna is everywhere in the world. The Gopis are dancing. Sri Krishna is dancing. The supreme personality of Godhead, Hari who is the final conclusion of Vedanta, is dancing. They saw Sri Krishna between each pair of the Gopis. Sri Krishna is at their left, at their right. They saw Sri Krishna. Near them, they saw Sri Krishna. The Gopis saw nothing but only Sri Krishna in the world. Rāsa means to see Sri Krishna, the embodiment of rasa, everywhere; to cherish His sweet mellow in every mood. He is the personification of rasa and bliss – “raso vai sah”.