29 / The Rāsa Dance: Introduction
In the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  it is stated the  rāsa  dance took place on the full moon night of the  śarat  season. From the statement of previous chapters, it appears that the festival of Govardhana Pūjā was performed just after the dark moon night of the month of Kārttika, and thereafter the ceremony of  Bhrātṛdvitīya  was performed; then the wrath of Indra was exhibited in the shape of torrents of rain and hailstorm, and Lord Kṛṣṇa held up Govardhana Hill for seven days, up until the ninth day of the moon. Thereafter, on the tenth day, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were talking amongst themselves about the wonderful activities of Kṛṣṇa, and the next day,  Ekādaśī  was observed by Nanda Mahārāja. On the next day,  Dvādaśī , Nanda Mahārāja went to take a bath in the Ganges and was arrested by the men of Varuṇa; then he was released by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then Nanda Mahārāja, along with the cowherd men, was shown the spiritual sky.
In this way, the full moon night of  śarat  season came to an end. The full moon night of Āśvina is called  śārad-pūrṇimā . It appears from the statement of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  that Kṛṣṇa had to wait another year for such a moon before enjoying the  rāsa  dance with the  gopīs . At the age of seven years, He lifted Govardhana Hill. Therefore, the  rāsa  dance took place during His eighth year.
From Vedic literature it appears that when a theatrical actor dances among many dancing girls, the group-dance is called a  rāsa  dance. When Kṛṣṇa saw the full moon night of the  śarat  season, He decorated Himself with various seasonal flowers, especially the  mallikā  flowers, which are very fragrant. He remembered the  gopīs ' prayers to goddess Kātyāyanī, wherein they prayed for Kṛṣṇa to be their husband. He thought that the full night of the  śarat  season was just suitable for a nice dance. So their desire to have Kṛṣṇa as their husband would then be fulfilled.
The words used in this connection in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  are
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