When Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami was visiting the pilgrimage centres of northern India, he found a Shri Shalagram Sila on the banks of the Gandaki River. He took the worshipable stone form and carried it with him wherever he went, attending to the shila as Sri Vrajendranandana Krishna Himself. One day he thought that he would like to worship the Lord in a deity form so that he could expand his service. On the very next day, he found that the Shri Shalagram Sila had transformed itself into Shri Radha Raman to fulfill the wish of His devotee. This deity stands alone without any form of Srimati Radha standing by His side. Instead, as a symbol of Srimati Radharani, a silver crown is placed on His left side.
The story is also told in the following way. It is said that Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami used to daily worship twelve Shri Shalagrams. He developed a desire to serve the Lord in the form of a deity, thinking that in this way he would be able to worship him in a much better way. The Lord within his heart knew his feelings and through a rich merchant had many beautiful items used in the worship of the deity, such as ornaments and clothes, sent to him. Srila Gopal Bhatt Goswami began to worry that all these beautiful objects would be wasted because there was no way that he could use them unless he had a deity in human form. That night, he put the Shri Shalagrams to rest and in the morning he saw that one of them had been transformed into the Sri Radha Raman deity.
The annual festival commemorating Sri Radha Raman’s appearance, when He is bathed publicly, takes place on the full moon day of Vaishakh. The Radha Raman temple is considered one of the most important in Vrindavan.
