In the days when the Infinite Lord dwelt at Vrajabhumi as boy, He was the darling of all the much-blest people of that neighborhood. Each had some particular rasa toward Krishna that is, some sublimely sweet relationship. The highest of these relationships was that experienced by the Gopis, Krishna's girl friends, who were of approximately the same age as Himself. The Gopis' love for Krishna stood above the purest performance of ritual devotion, and beyond even His supreme capacity to reciprocate. They are considered to stand at the height of all perfection among living entities. And the foremost of these maids was Radharani. She is the Lord's pleasure potency, His Eternal Consort, and His Most Beloved. In the Maha Mantra, the word Hare is another name for Radha.
