Radha arrived at Surya's shrine with Jatila, Lalita and Visakha. Jatila went ahead to prepare the worship pavilion. Kundalata reminded her that the ceremony needed a brahmana. Jatila agreed and sent her to find a capable priest. This gave Kundalata the opportunity to bring Krishna.
Lalita showed Radha that the place was ready. She invited her to bow before Surya. Radha bowed and asked to see the one for whom she longed. Then Krishna entered dressed as a young brahmana. Madhumangala and Kundalata followed Him.
Krishna saw Radha and was filled with joy. Within Himself He compared her with light that delighted His eyes. From a distance Radha noticed the young brahmana's dark complexion. His sidelong glances stole her composure. She quietly told Lalita what she felt.
Then Radha looked at Him carefully once more. She recognized Hari beneath the brahmana's clothing. She compared her response with a moonstone that beads with moisture in moonlight. Visakha confirmed her recognition. Meanwhile Kundalata presented the two learned brahmanas to Jatila.
Madhumangala promptly announced his expertise in Surya puja. The first thing he requested was sugar laddus. Jatila recognized him as Krishna's friend. She removed him from the ceremony and chose the other gentle, dark-complexioned brahmana. It was Krishna in disguise whom she entrusted with Radha's worship.
Krishna continued the play and supported His friend's dismissal. Jatila asked that the arghya offering to the Sun be made quickly. He turned to Radha and asked her name. Jatila answered quietly into His ear. Krishna pretended to be astonished at Radha's celebrated virtue.
He then asked Radha to take the copper vessel. He said that He would recite the mantra. Radha obeyed with a tremor. But His words also carried a personal appeal for her glance. At the end He added the formula of homage to Savitr, the Sun.
Jatila was puzzled by the verse she had never heard before. She asked Kundalata about this unfamiliar prayer. Madhumangala answered with a joke about a supposed Vedic branch of the flower bow. His witty invention covered the loving meaning of Krishna's words. Everyone smiled, and an embarrassed Jatila allowed the worship to continue.
Krishna invited Radha to offer her gift to the Sun with joy. Kundalata added words that could also be heard as a playful reference to Krishna. Radha looked toward Him from the corner of her eyes. He completed the prayer and asked for an offering of flowers. Radha offered a handful of bandhuka blossoms.
Madhumangala asked for sweets and cooked food as the brahmanas' reward. Krishna checked his insistence. He said that friendship with Gokula's residents was sufficient dakshina for Him. Jatila became still more pleased with the young priest. She invited Him home for a feast and promised a jeweled ring.
Krishna suggested that she first feed Madhumangala. He said that He needed to deliver Garga's message to Paurnamasi. The message called for Radha to receive a protective prayer beneath the kalpa tree. Kundalata urged Jatila to bring Paurnamasi and feed the brahmana. Jatila left with Madhumangala, leaving Krishna with Radha and the sakhis.
Smiling, Kundalata asked Radha for a reward for completing her task. When Radha asked what she had accomplished, she replied that she meant the Surya puja. The sakhis continued their joke about the priest and His dakshina. Then a voice called that the cowherds could not find the herd. Krishna went to gather the cows, intending afterward to return to Radha.