Lalita and Vishakha came to Vrishabhanu's home. Their friend Radha was already thinking of Krishna. She spoke of His qualities with tender joy. Yet words alone could not quiet her longing. The sakhis asked for a private moment together. They had not come to scold her feelings. They had come to share something they had noticed. Krishna passed through the settlement with His companions. The path from the forest brought Him nearby. An encounter no longer seemed so distant.
Radha listened with growing attention. Before seeing Him, she wished to see His likeness. She asked her friends to make her a picture. Lalita and Vishakha set about that gift. Their work continued the conversation in another way. Nanda's Son appeared in the portrait. They captured His youthful beauty in its features. What they had described could now be seen. They placed the finished portrait in Radha's hands. She received it as a precious remembrance.
Radha gazed for a long time at the painted Krishna. Joy and longing intertwined within her. The picture did not draw her away from Him. Instead, His form seemed even nearer. Holding it, she gradually fell asleep. In her dream Krishna was inside her home. She saw Him dancing close to her. The border between remembrance and dreaming softened. His presence filled the quiet house. Then Radha awoke.
Waking brought the feeling of separation again. The painted likeness remained beside her. But now she wished to see Him in person. The sakhis pointed toward the narrow street. Krishna was indeed returning from the forest. Radha approached the window. From there she saw Him among His companions. Krishna also saw Vrishabhanu's daughter. The glance was brief, but its echo lingered. He continued toward His own home.
Radha remained overwhelmed by that encounter. Lalita saw the strength of her longing. She spoke beside her gently and patiently. Advice could not take the place of meeting Him. But she could become her friend's voice. So she set out to find Krishna. The path led her to the Yamuna's bank. Flowering vines intertwined there. Beneath a kadamba tree she found Him alone. Lalita addressed Him with trust.
She told Him how Radha was feeling. Since seeing Him, everything seemed different to her. Jewels could not turn her thoughts aside. Fragrances and flowers did not lessen her longing. Even her lovely home seemed empty. Lalita was not telling this out of curiosity. She was carrying a close friend's sorrow. She asked Him to grant Radha His presence. Krishna listened carefully to her message. Then He answered in a deep, peaceful voice.
Krishna explained that the feeling was mutual. Love had not arisen on one side alone. Nothing could replace its worth. He spoke of love that seeks no private gain. It was not measured by gifts and conditions. Radha and He were not strangers to each other. He compared their closeness to milk and its whiteness. Different names did not mean divided hearts. He entrusted Lalita with a reassuring message. Radha's longing had not gone unheard.
Lalita bowed and returned. Now a smile lit her face. Radha received her privately once more. Her friend conveyed Krishna's reply. He desired their meeting as much as she did. Those words changed the weight of waiting. Absence no longer meant indifference. A living, mutual love stood between them. The portrait now carried another meaning. It was more than a picture of a distant beloved.
Lalita directed Radha toward selfless devotion. Tender feeling could also become action. Radha turned to the sakhi Chandranana. She understood spiritual observances. Radha asked her to explain a form of worship. Through it she wished to bring Krishna joy. The question was not a demand for an easy reward. It was a wish for love to find expression. Conversation with her friends opened a path again. This time it led from longing toward service.
At first there had been only words about Krishna. Then came the portrait, the dream and the window's glance. Lalita connected the two shores of waiting. Vishakha contributed her thoughtful gift. Chandranana received Radha's next question. None of the friends claimed the center for herself. Each helped love become clearer. Radha kept Krishna within her heart. His reply remained a quiet support for her. A painted likeness had begun a living conversation.