The nāyikā who goes to meet her beloved, or who causes him to come to the meeting. Rūpa Gosvāmī defines her in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 5.71–72: she travels by moonlight or in darkness, dresses for the journey, silences her ornaments, veils herself and takes a single trusted companion. Because the definition includes arranging the meeting, it covers sakhīs such as Citrā as well as the heroine herself.
