parakiya-rati

Parakiya-rati is a concept within the Vaishnava-Sahajiya movement of Hinduism, primarily found in Bengal. It literally translates to "the love of a man for a woman who legally belongs to another". This form of love is considered more intense and spiritually analogous to divine love than conventional conjugal love (svakiya-rati). The movement celebrated the divine romance between Krishna and Radha, with Radha embodying the ideal of parakiya. This esoteric tradition, which developed from the 17th century, often operated in secrecy and employed enigmatic language. The concept is related to the broader bhakti tradition, which emphasizes intense emotional attachment and love between a devotee and a personal god.12