Mahabhakt Raani Ratnavati ki Kahaani
About this film
Devotees might come in your life as your servant, friend or as a son, one should always respect them as their mere presence can change your destiny. Those who are the servant of supreme personality of godhead Krishna, are worthy of love and respect. The queen of Amer ( Rajasthan), the daughter in law of King Prithviraj Chouhan was thus blessed by her servant with the gift of love for Krishna.
The Story
Queen Ratnavati of Amer is a righteous queen whose life is transformed by the devotion of her personal maid, a learned Vaishnavi disciple of Shri Vitthalnath Ji, who spends her days in silent remembrance of Krishna and ecstatic kirtan. Observing the maid dancing and calling out to Krishna with complete abandon, Ratnavati becomes intensely curious and begs to know about this “butter thief” and “heart-stealer” whose love makes a person forget everything else, despite the maid’s warning that once the desire to know Him awakens, worldly attachments and royal pleasures lose all charm. Night after night the maid narrates Bhagavat-katha to her, and the two spend entire nights in discussion and kirtan until Ratnavati’s heart blazes with longing for direct darshan of Shyam Sundar. On her maid’s advice she begins serving the deity with exquisite bhog and loving care, but even this does not satisfy her; she wishes to serve the Lord personally. The maid then reveals that Krishna resides where His loving devotees live, so Ratnavati builds a “sant niwas” near the palace, sends her attendants across villages and forests to invite Vaishnava saints, and starts serving them like the Lord Himself, watching them from specially designed palace windows. When a group of saints arrives from Braj, an irresistible pull makes her cast aside royal decorum; she defies all warnings about family honor, rushes unveiled into their midst, bows at their feet, and joyfully serves them food while listening, spellbound, to Bhagavat-katha, entirely forgetting her status. This sparks scandal in the kingdom, and her husband King Madhav Singh, inflamed by his minister’s letter, secretly conspires to have her and the saints killed by a starved wild lion released into the sant niwas at night. Immersed in japa, Ratnavati hears the roar, steps out, and, seeing the lion, recognizes Krishna’s Narasimha form; without fear she lovingly strokes the animal, performs ārtī, and the lion miraculously stands calm with tears in its eyes. Watching from a balcony, the king and minister are stunned as the lion suddenly turns on the minister, kills him, and spares the queen. Shaken, Madhav Singh realizes his grave sin, falls at Ratnavati’s feet, and begs forgiveness; she replies that only Krishna can truly forgive him and asks that he no longer obstruct her path. Declaring that she is now going forever to her Lord, she utters “Hari bol” and disappears, while a divine murti in her form manifests from the earth, before which the king confesses his fault. The story is remembered as a shining example of unwavering Krishna-bhakti that triumphs over fear, social pressure and royal power.
