Radha, Marathi Novel

by Samar.

श्रावणी नावाची बावीस वर्षीय तरूणी दु:खातून बाहेर पडण्यासाठी आणि भविष्याबाबत शांतपणे चिंतन करण्यासाठी वृंदावनात जाते. तिथे तिला अनपेक्षितपणे राधा भेटते. श्रावणीला काही प्रश्नांची उत्तरं हवी असतात. ती राधेला ते प्रश्न विचारते. राधा त्या प्रश्नांची उत्तरं देतांना वृंदावनातील तिच्या आठवणीही सांगते. श्रीकृष्ण आणि राधेचं नातं श्रावणीला राधेच्या दृष्टीकोनातून समजतं. त्या दोघींच्या संवादातून प्रेम, पुरूष आणि नैतिकतेचे अनेक पैलू उलगडतात.
तेच हे 'कादंबरीमय उपनिषद!'

Genres: Marathi, Love

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2024

About the author

Samar
Founder, Samar Publication
Education: NET, M.A. (Marathi), B.A. (Marathi)
Location: Pune, Maharashtra

◼ Literary Series Milestone
The series ‘Three Songs of Jasmine’ encompassing Radha, Urmila, and Parvati has been translated into English and Hindi, and has achieved a landmark success, collectively selling over 1 Lakh (100,000) copies across three languages combined.

◼ Published Works (English and Hindi)

Series : Three Songs of Jasmine
Urmila (Novel): Penned in 2019 and published on October 8, 2022. This novel explores the profound inner world and isolated journey of Lakshmana’s wife, Urmila, marking her first complete biographical novel in Marathi. The original edition sold over 30,000 official copies within three years. This title has been translated into English and Hindi.
Radha - Part 1 (Novel): Published on February 20, 2024. The core narrative centers on a dialogue between Radha and a modern-day young woman named Shravani. Through their conversation, multiple facets of love, masculinity, and morality are unraveled. The Marathi edition crossed a record milestone of 30,000 official copies sold. This title has been translated into English and Hindi.
Radha - Part 2 (Novel): Boasts a rare first-edition print run of 17,000 copies, an exceptional feat in Marathi literature. The novel was simultaneously published in three languages.
Parvati (Novel): Delves into the known and unknown dimensions of Lord Shiva’s consort, Parvati. The novel rapidly crossed the 14,000 official copy sales mark. This title has been translated into English and Hindi.

Not the Mahabharata You Think You Know (Non Fiction): Written in 2020 and published in March 2023. This book brings unfamiliar and astonishing stories from the Mahabharata to readers, complete with original shlokas and their contextual translations.

◼ Published Works (Marathi Only)

Mahakavya Shivpratap (Epic Poetry): Written at age 16, this is the first metrical epic in the Marathi language composed in 19 distinct meters (Vruttas). It features 3,500 shlokas structured into 10 volumes and 119 cantos, detailing the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It was officially published on November 9, 2021, by Maharashtra Bhushan Babasaheb Purandare.
Sangeet Chandrapriya (Musical Play): Written, directed, and produced at age 17. Based on the life of Emperor Chandragupta Vikramaditya of the Gupta Empire, the play was performed across Pune, Ratnagiri, Mumbai, and Nashik. It was also recorded and broadcasted by the Sahyadri television channel.
Mahabharatatil 108 Adbhut Rahasye: Written in 2020 and published in March 2023. This book brings unfamiliar and astonishing stories from the Mahabharata to Marathi readers, complete with original shlokas and their contextual translations.
Tathagat (Novel): A 400-page novel based on the life of Gautam Buddha, written at age 20. It was published on February 13, 2022, marking the launch of Samar Publication. It is the first Marathi novel to present the life of Tathagat Gautam Buddha in an autobiographical, first-person narrative style.
Samudramanthan (Science Fiction Novel): Published on February 16, 2023. Written with the vision of establishing a science-fiction series in Marathi, this is arguably the first Marathi novel based on the concept of parallel universes.
Maharajadhiraj (Novel): Published in 2023, this novel chronicles the comprehensive life of Emperor Samudragupta, richly illustrating various episodes of his life grounded in historical contexts.
Dharma (Novel): Published on February 19, 2025. A fictional novel based on the quest for 'Dharma' by Karna, Ashwatthama, and Ekalavya. The narrative follows their journey to a religion-centric village, exploring their philosophical reflections on Dharma based on their experiences.
Chahul (Poetry Collection): Published in 2023. A collection of nearly 100 poems (including metered and free verse) and over 100 Marathi ghazals.
Smrutiviplav (Science Fiction Story): A serialized sc

Reviews

[Priyanka Patil]

Radha by Samar explores the definition of true love through the journey of Sravani, a woman recovering from heartbreak who visits Vrindavan. There she encounters a Radha Rani who narrates her suffering when Krishna left her in Vrindavan and went to Mathura to confront Kansa.I found the portrayal moving and the book enjoyable to read.

One element that surprised me is the author’s assertion that Radha was married to Krishna and even his first wife — a claim I’d not encountered before in popular retellings. It would have helped if the book cited which Purana or source the author relied on for this version.

Overall the novel is well written and worth reading once for its themes and emotional resonance.

[Prerana Kokate]

राधे राधे, याच्या पेक्षया सुंदर पुस्तक कधी वाचलच नाही. gen-z पण खरं इतीहास जाणून घ्यावची खूप इच्छा होती, आणि काही प्रश्नाची उत्तरे खरच राधा विचार्याची इच्छा होती, खूप सारे प्रश्न श्रावणी सारखे माझ्या ही मनात खूप आधी पासून होते नशिबाने है कवी भेटले आणि रखडलेली आयुष्याची प्रश्न सुटले, खरतर मी है पुस्तम ऑफलाइन घेतलं आणि ऑनलाइन review केएस देतात माहीत नावात पिन है पुस्तक येवढ आवडल की review डेन अनिवार्य वाटल, कवी चे खूप आभार मनीचे आहेत की त्यानी येवढ छान पुस्तक लिहल आणि ते पण श्रावणी आणि राधा चा संवाद त्याच बरोबर राधा कृष्ण ची कथा आणि सत्य सुधा. Thannyou samar you don’t have any idea how much you have solved my life.

[Kushal]

I recently read Urmila, and soon after that, I picked up my hand on Radha.

I like to read about Krishna and Radha themselves,
And at some point, I personally realise Shravani has life lifetime chance to interact with Queen Radha,
And she asks a really stupid question at some point.


But the story was engaging and good to read.

[Mitali Patel]

The book starts as expected and takes you on a beautiful journey, describing events from life of Radha and Krishna. Most if it is from Radha's perspective, which is definitely a different take for readers. However, the ending was a little unexpected and unsatisfactory, personally for me. Overall, its a great book to read and reflect on your personal relationships.

[Lavanya]

A gentle, thoughtful read.
I liked the way the book explores love through the conversations between Radha and Shravani. It made me look at some familiar ideas about love and relationships a little differently. Fresh perspective on love and devotion and how we should look at relationships in this modern world.

[Rutuja Patil]

i want to read this book

[Kedar Chavan]

Radha's prespective of knowing shri krishn. Most important read if you want to know shri krishn as a whole man before reading mahabharat and gita.

[Shraddha]

Very good book

[योगेश भावसार]

I started this book after reading so many nice reviews but honestly I was a little disappointed.

[Tejaswini]

इतकं सुंदर पुस्तक की दुसऱ्या भागाची वाट आपोआपच लागते. सगळ्या प्रश्नांची उत्तरं इथे ओरडून सांगितली जात नाहीत, ती हळूच समजत जातात. राधाच्या आयुष्यातून सार घेऊन आजच्या प्रेमाच्या कोड्यांकडे पाहायला लेखकाने आपल्याला शिकवलं आहे—इतक्या सहजपणे की आपण नकळत श्रावणीच्या जागी जाऊन बसतो आणि राधाकडून आयुष्याचे धडे घेतो.

मलाही अनेक प्रश्न होते, श्रावणीसारखेच. आजच्या युगातली तरुण पिढी ज्या द्वंद्वात अडकली आहे—एकीकडे स्वातंत्र्य, तर दुसरीकडे संसार. कधी कधी प्रेम जखडून टाकणारं वाटतं. मग खरं प्रेम नेमकं काय असतं? ते कसं ओळखायचं? आणि कितीपर्यंत जाऊन तडजोड करायची?

असे एक नाही, तर अनेक प्रश्न त्या वाराणसीच्या काठावर शांतपणे उलगडत जातात.

खूप खूप धन्यवाद लेखकाला—राधा आणि श्रावणीसारख्या असंख्य मनांना शब्द देण्यासाठी.