Hi viewer, welcome back.
Hope you travelled nicely through my earlier blog- Srimad Narayaneeyam - Part - 1. We shall continue the journey to witness the wonderful days with Krishna as a child and a youth.
Let us start this blog with a soulful music from Saint Thygaraja, Samaja Vara Gamana, on "Yadhava kula Murali". This is a song about Lord Krishna, describing how he moves - majestically like the heavenly elephant, Airavatham, which is also called Samaja (as it was born out of Sama Veda) - with unshakeable grace, and unchallenged leisure, confident and in full control.
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Text and meaning of the song "Samaja Vara Vamana":
sAmaja vara gamana sAdhu hrt sArasAbja pAla kAlatita vikhyAta
O Krishna, with the majestic gait of the large elephant, (Airavath)! O protector of the lotus-like hearts of the saintly! O Krishna, whose fame transcends time!
sAma nigamaja sudhAmaya gAna vichakShaNa guNashIla dayAlavAla mAm pAlaya
O Expounder of the nectar-like music arising from sama veda ! Thou of great qualities and mercy! Care for me.
vEda shirOmaNi mAtruja saptasvara nAdAchala dIpa svIkrta
yAdavakula muraLi vAdana vinOda mOhanAkara tyAgarAja vandanIya
Master of the vedas! O Light in the mountain of music, based on the seven swaras of Goddess Saraswati! Member of the yAdava clan! Player of the flute! O mysteriously attractive Lord, worshipped by TyAgarAja!
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There are eighteen main Purarnas, in the Hindu scriptures. The most important is Sreemad Bhagavatha Purana, which is the condensed form of all Vedas, as written by Sage Vyasa. It has 18000 slokas. Narayaneeyam is a further condensation of this Purana, and contains only a little over thousand slokas, with its philosophical and devotional contents intact. The important thing to note is that though the Narayaneeyam is incredibly short when compared to its original text, none of the essence or principles are lost in translation. To be able to read the the Bhagvatam is very very difficult. Reading the Narayneeyam can be used as a near-substitute.
In addition to being a devotional work Srimannarayaneeyam contains the gist of all the Upanishads and is therefore, a work of great significance from the Vedantic point of view also.
The Holy book of Narayaneeyam is said to be one of the favourites of Lord Krishna. The devotee who religiously reads this book is blessed with a lot of things; but the most important blessing received is that of good health. There have been reports of even deadly diseases being cured by the power of Narayaneeyam and the grace of Lord Guruvayoorappan.
The children soon felt the severe heat inside the mouth. Krishna, realising their suffering, entered the mouth to save his friends and instantly grew up in size such that the demon wreathed in pain and found it difficult to breath. Krishna ripped open the throat of the demon and all the children and calves came out safely. Then the soul of the dead demon raised up in the form of a brilliant light and merged with Krishna, as soon as he emerged from the mouth.
All the gods danced in joy at this miraculous event and accompanied Krishna, when the boys decided to move to another safe place to continue their picnic. The ever unassuming Krishna, with his flute and horn tucked in his waist, and carrying the food parcels in his lotus hands, played with his friends, making them laugh heartily with his jokes. Seeing this, the gods, including Brahma, were even more happy and praised Krishna for enjoying the simple home made food in the company of his friends, more than the heavenly offerings made by the gods and noble sages.
Dasakam 52: Brahma's Pride:
After witnessing the ease with which Krishna slayed Agasura, Brahma wanted to test Krishna's powers and hence Brahma used his power of Maya and made all the calves surrounding Krishna to disappear from view. Hearing the commotion raised by the cowherd boys, following the disappearance of the calves, Krishna, who was in the midst of his meals, went after the calves, as if he is not aware of what is happening as he is the master of the same Maya.
Now, Brahma made the boys also disappear from view. Krishna now decided to teach Brahma a lesson, through the same power of Maya. Now, it was Brahma's turn. He saw Krishna with all the calves and cowherd boys, continue with their meals, as if nothing has happened and played the whole day and finally returned back home at the end of the day.
Brahma could see not only this, but also all the inanimate objects like utensils, meals, curd, horn, flute, pots etc intact. Brahma also saw the manifold forms of Krishna was welcomed by the respective mothers of the boys and calves. As mortals, it is customary for all of us to bestow love and affection on our offsprings by virtue of our ego; that being so, if Krishna himself assumes the role of divine children, how great an affection and love would be showered on them by the parents ?
This effect of Maya went on for a year and everyone was happy with the manifest form of Krishna, without any shade of doubt. Not even, Balarama could unfold the secret, till at a later date. It shows that though both are brothers are divine incarnations, Krishna was different.
At the end of one year, as Brahma's Maya left, Brahma could see two sets of same boys and calves and he could not differentiate between them. Brahma was thoroughly confused. With a view to help Brahma identify all these "new" creations, Krishna reflected upon these 'new' forms in his own image. Now, Brahma could see all the new boys appeared, as if they are Krishna himself, with four arms, with all ornaments, crown etc and glowing with the radiance of the rain clouds.
As if this is not sufficient proof, Krishna made Brahma see all of his 'new' creations getting fondled by Mahalakshmi, the mother of all creations; all these forms reclining on Adi sesha; all of them in complete in an yogic trance; each of them being worshipped by the sages like Sanaka and others, including Brahma himself. Thus Brahma was fully immersed in Maya. Now, Krishna finally decided to dispel this Maya. He showed Brahma, his form a year ago, when Krishna was left alone with his half-eaten meals in the forest, missing his friend sand claves.
Brahma by now realised that Krishna is none other than the Supreme Lord Himself. Brahma realised his mistake and bowed down, heavily apologising. Brahma then left for Satyaloka, his abode, praising Krishna all the while. Now Krishna returned back to Brindavan village will all his entourage. Whatever appeared as an year was but a play of Maya indeed.
Dasakam 53: Dhenukasura Vadam:
Krishna by now had turned 5 years of age, crossing his childhood into boyhood days. He now started additionally rearing and caring for cows as well. Krishna incarnated for protecting the earth from the demons and in particular he loved protecting the cows (both are called "Gotra" in Sanskrit).
One day, when Krishna and Balarama were moving around the forest, his friend, by name Sridaama, wanted to visit the nearby area called Dhenukavana and all decided to visit the spot. Once they reached there, as directed by Krishna, Balarama shook a palm tree, when many ripe and semi-ripe fruits fell off it and scattered all around.
Hearing this noise, the demon of the place, Dhenuka, came there in the form of a wild ass. Dhenuka also means cow in Sanskrit. Krishna, with a view not to kill the demon himself in view of the similarity in name with the holy cow, let his brother Balarama deal with the demon, since the demon was an enemy of the gods. Balaram completed the task quite easily.
Now, the two brothers were attacked by the followers of the demon, who came rushing there in the form of jackels (jumbukas). Both Krishna and Balarama effortlessly threw all of them up the palm trees, as if they were mere jambu fruits.(Incidentally, Varuna is also called Jambuka and when Varuna heard the boys calling jambuka's (jackal) name, he must have been terrified as if the boys are going to trouble him and he would rather let his name of Jumbuka be used only for Vedic purposes).
The gods were happy at the destruction of the demon and they praised Krishna, saying that this could be the fruit of his incarnation. But Krishna jokingly told the gods that the jambu 'fruits' have come down from heavens and enjoyed eating them with his friends. All of them gathered the rest of the juicy fruits, which had fallen down and returned home with Krishna. The villagers partook the fruits brought by the boys and upon hearing the killing of demon Dhenukasura, all the villagers loudly praised Krishna, wishing him long life, prosperity and success.
Dasakam 54: Entry of Kaliya, the serpent king:
There once lived a sage, named Soubhari, who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. He did penance for 12 years by immersing himself in the waters of river Kalindi, (Yamuna) wishing to serve the Lord. During this long period of time, the sage got attached to the fishes who played around him. He became angry, when one day he saw Garuda, the eagle, started eating the fishes. Garuda is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu, son of Triksha and also the enemy of serpents. The sage warned Garuda and cursed him that if he ever tried to eat any living being in that area, Garuda would loose his life. The place was thus insulated from Garuda.
In a later event, there was a fight between Garuda and a deadly serpent, named Kaliya, as the latter tried to snatch the food offered to Garuda. He was chased by Garuda and he then took refuge in the river Kalindi, since it is a safe haven, out of reach for Garuda. Due to the presence of Kaliya, the stretch of the river belt became highly contaminated with the poison emanating from Kaliya and all living beings were destroyed in it, including the trees around the river bed, not even sparing the birds flying over it. Krishna was upset over this.
One summer day, Krishna went to the river bed with his friends and cows, leaving Balarama behind. The boys and cows drank the river water to quench their thirst; but all of them collapsed due to the poison. Krishna, the most merciful, cast his benevolence on them through his glance and all of them were up and alive. The boys felt rejuvenated and quickly understood that their miraculous escape was due to Krishna's mercy. They happily embraced Krishna and thanked him. For the boys, it was nothing new, as they have witnessed many similar miracles performed by Krishna in the past. The cows, on their part, were also equally moved by Krishna's mercy and came running to him, shedding their tears in joy, mooing gently.
The boys were a thrilled lot, couldn't believe they are alive still, felt goose-bumps all over and could not express a word. They thought it could be due to the effect of the poisonous waters that they could not utter any word. Such is the curing power of Krishna's glance in bringing back alive, even the dead and making them hale and healthy again.Dasakam 55: Kaliya Nardhanam:
Krishna made up his mind to put an end to Kaliya's atrocities by forcing him out of the place. With this in mind, Krishna went up a Kadamba tree at the banks of the river, which had withered out completely due to the poisoned air. At that time, his tender feet looked like fresh saplings on the barren tree. Krishna then jumped into the swirling river, amongst the fiery waves, diving deep down in search of Kaliya.
Though Krishna is a boy, it was perhaps due to the fact that he weighed heavily on account of supporting the entire universe that the waters surged upwards with thunderous noise and overflowed on both the sides of the river, splashing the waters over a large area. Kaliya became disturbed by the agitation, swirl and heavy noise, and he emerged from the waters and approached Krishna.
Kaliya appeared deadly with his thousand hoods, hissing dangerously, emanating fiery sparks and spewing venomous poison. He looked like a mountain with multiple peaks, as he came near Krishna with burning eyes, emitting poison and intense heat all around. Kaliya bit Krishna hard, only to find that Krishna was unaffected by the strong bite. Kaliya then coiled around Krishna with a view to powerfully crush him. It was surprising to see Kaliya trying his powers on the Lord who has unlimited powers.
Meanwhile, the cowherd boys on the banks were terrified and worried at the disappearance of Krishna into the river depths. The elders of the village rushed to the spot as they witnessed many evil omens. Hearing that Krishna had drowned, they decided to give up their life in grief.
Just then Krishna emerged from the waters, untying himself from the deadly grip of the serpent, smiling as if nothing has happened. Krishna then started dancing on the hoods, with his tender and soft feet, rhyming with the jingling of his anklets and the bangles. What a sight it was for all the cowherd boys and elders to rejoice, the sages to celebrate and gods to shower the flowers on little Krishna.
This dance scene is brought out nicely through a thillana by Carnatic muscician, Ms. Aruna Sairam. You can enjoy it in the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Cbhpd2zYw
If you wish to see a dance form of this thillana, please click the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU1SNjnGcP0
Dasakam 56: Taming of Kaliya:
Krishna continued his dance for a prolonged period on the hoods of Kaliya, while the celestial maids sang in praise, accompanied by the gods beating the drums in accordance, with Krishna's ear rings swinging back and forth. It was an adorable sight to see Krishna jump from the lowered hoods to the raised ones, subduing them with his tender lotus feet, beating the rhythm, in tune with the music, with his hands, at the same time.
Kaliya was battered and fully run-down by the continuous rhythmic pounding by Krishna, which subdued all the hoods by then. Kaliya was profusely bleeding and the river turned red due to the bleeding. The wives of Kalia, the serpent women, now came up and approached Krishna for mercy upon their lord, Kaliya and sang in praise of Krishna. Since the serpent women had prior knowledge about Krishna, their prayers casually included deep messages, which were beyond comprehension even by the sages.
At the devotional request by the serpent women, Krishna felt pity and let go of Kaliya, giving him another life. Kaliya fell on Krishna's feet in complete surrender. Krishna directed Kaliya to vacate the place and migrate to an island called Ramanaka, in the mid of the ocean, assuring that Garuda would not trouble him there. All the serpent women presented Krishna with precious stones, brilliant necklaces and silk garments, which he accepted and adorned himself. With Kaliya having departed with other serpents, Krishna returned to the banks to join his folks, who were waiting there anxiously and all tearfully rejoiced with joy.
As darkness approached, the villagers decided to spend the night in the forest protected by Krishna. Suddenly they were engulfed by a wild fire and they started yelling in pain due to the scorching heat. Krishna instantly swallowed the fire in one gulp and brought relief to all. It is no wonder that Krishna could easily accomplish this, as fire forms his mouth, in his Virat Swaroop.
The cowherds were extremely happy at the sight of Krishna swallowing the fire and wondered how the yellow colour (peethatha) which was only an attribute of fire till now had become an essence of Krishna too, by his drinking (peethatha) it.
Dasakam 57: Balarama killed Pralambasura:
One day, Krishna set out to the forest in all his fine attire, along with Balarama, cows and the cowherd boys for a stroll. Showing all the scenic beauty to Balarama, Krishna played with the children and came near a banyan tree, when he met demon Pralamba, the tall one with long hands, who assumed the form of a cowherd bay, intending to kill Krishna.
Krishna, though aware of the evil intentions of Paralamba, befriended him and called for a dual fight, where in the boys were divided into two sides, one side headed by Krishna and the other by Balarama. Krishna deliberately took Pralamba on his side. The rule was that who ever looses should carry the winner on their shoulder for a distance. Krishna lost to his friend Sridhama and hence carried him on his back, as per the rule of the game. Krishna thus showed his love and affection for his devotees.
The game continued this way and one by one the losers carried the winners on their back. Pralamba, who lost to Balarama, carried him on his back and moved very far off from the place with an intention to separate him from Krishna. Sensing that he is being carried far away from Krishna, Balarama increased his weight as much as possible. The demon now revealed his real form. Balarama was taken aback at this unexpected change in form, and staying at the back of the tall demon, he could see Krishna at the distance. Balaram regained his courage at the sight of Krishna and smashed the demon with his fists, crushing him down in one stroke.
Balarama joined the boys after killing the demon. Krishna embraced Balarama affectionately. The gods showered flowers on both of them as they stood embracing each other.
Dasakam 58: Krishna, the Saviour:
After the Pralamba incident, Krishna and other cowherd boys were playing with each other in joy. The cows, in the meanwhile, strayed far into the forest area, known as Isheeka, in search of food. The cows ventured far away from Brindhavan, deep into the forest and began to feel the heat of the summer, became thirsty. Unable to find Krishna and the cowherd boys, the cows felt lost, not knowing what to do.
Krishna and others started searching for the cows and Krishna spotted the cows in Munja forest, wandering aimlessly and feeling lost. Unfortunately, when Krishna hurried to the spot, a forest fire suddenly caught up with all, engulfing the area far and wide and spreading fast, with heavy sounds of the cracking woods. The cows were trapped inside the heat, with no escape route, started bellowing for help to save them and expressing their refuge to Krishna. Who else than Krishna, the friend in need and remover of troubles can help them?
Krishna pacified the boys not to panic, asked all the boys to close their eyes and when they opened their eyes a moment later, all of them, including the cattle, found themselves in another forest area, called Bhandeera, with no trace of fire. The cowherds felt relieved and profusely thanked Krishna for his mercy. Krishna graciously accepted it and went ahead roaming and playing in the forest. The area was so cool that summer could hardly be felt, except for the flowering trees like Patala, which announced the arrival of summer.
Krishna thus spent his summer days, which were extremely hot and miserable, like how his enemies feel. He is the one who drives away the sins of his devotees, like the summer drying up the mud. The summer spread out its heat all around the Yamuna, like the long, lustrous arms of Krishna, which reaches out to all.
Thereafter, Krishna spent the rainy days happily there, enjoying in the caves of the mountain, with the black rain bearing clouds resembling his body colour, and the powerful lightnings resembling the dazzling yellow robes that he wore. While Krishna thus spent his days in the caves, the king of the mountains, Govardhana, used to worship Krishna daily, to the accompaniment of the joyous calls from the peacocks. The Kutaja and Kadamba trees bloomed with flowers all around, adding to the scenic beauty.
Krishna also spent the Sarath (rainy) season in the Brindavan, tending the cows, with the crystal clear waters, like the clean minds of the devotees, flowing in the Yamuna, the fertile greeneries attracting the gracing cows.
Dasakam 59: Effect of Krishna's Flute:
Krishna remained the talk of the town, especially with the topics women, who were enchanted and infatuated by his very appearance, which was like a fresh Kalaya flower, as he embodies the Truth, the para Brahman, the combined form of the three qualities, sat, sit ananda (truth, intellect and bliss). The Gopikas, affected by cupid Manmatha, always wanted to be in the presence of Krishna and could not bear separation from him even for short duration, when he left for the forest every day, only to come back the evening.
The lovely maidens, having beautiful eyes like that of a deer, would keep staring at the direction of the forest, where Krishna left for the day, with their minds going after him. The only solace for them from his separation, was to enjoy the melodious music which emanated from his flute from the distant forests. They spent most of their time sharing all his divine sports.
Krishna, upon reaching the forest area, would shelter under the cool shades of a tree, with his right leg slightly bent, crossing the left leg and would start playing the flute. The divine music set the hearts of all the celestial maiden beat faster due to cupid effect, make all the birds and animals to cease all movements and even melt the hardest of stones. Here is the lovely song from M.S. - "Katrinile Varum Geetham":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iwMBHNjzl8
Meanwhile the Gopika maiden back home, unable to see Krishna in their physical presence, would take pleasure in making mental images of Krishna playing the flute, with his tender fingers hovering softly and quickly over the holes in his flute, while his soft feet tapping the ground in tune with the music. The Gopikas were so excited by visualising Krishna in this form, that they swooned in ecstasy.
The cowherd maidens felt that the celestial maidens, animals, birds, cows and the land on which Krishna roamed around in the forest to be extremely fortunate to physically be with Krishna, without any hinderance always. These cowherd maidens longed to taste the sweet nectar of his lips, even if it is the remains of the liquid absorbed by the flute. They understood that such a wish is far fetched and may not materialise in near future or may not happen at all and this thought sent them into deep depression, making them swoon often.
As days went by, these maiden were so obsessed with extreme love for Krishna, that they became distracted and disinterested in performing their regular household duties. These maidens were very fortunate and blessed that they could feel love for the Lord and also have the opportunity to be physically with Him and attain ultimate bliss.
Dasakam 60: Krishna stealing the clothes:
These beautiful maidens desired to be of service to Krishna for ever and prayed to Goddess Parvati, by forming a sand idol at the banks of Yamuna. Carrying Krishna in their minds, they would assemble in the banks of the river daily at dawn, worship the goddess, make plenty of offerings and prayed to Her to make Krishna their husband. This vow or Vrata is known as Katyayini Vrata.
Thus, the charming maidens completed one month of the Vrata (vow) and on that day they all offered payers as usual, removed their clothes on the river bed and went under the waters for bathing. Krishna, desiring to bless them, reached the spot and saw them sporting in the waters of Yamuna. All of them, on seeing Krishna all of a sudden, were extremely ashamed and downed their heads in shame. Krishna took this opportunity, gathered all their clothes and climbed up a tree.
He then teased them to come up and individually collect their respective garments. Extremely embraced by this act of Krishna, the maiden prayed to Krishna for favouring them with their clothes, blessing him with long life in return and promising to be His slaves always, but all in vain. Krishna was only offering them his smile as reply.
The maidens finally came out of the waters, with folded hands offering namaskaram to Krishna, in complete submission to their Lord, pure minded. Krishna happily returned the clothes to them. Blessing them all, Krishna told them that he was aware of their heart's desires and that it would be answered soon on a moon-lit day on the sands of the river Yamuna.
Dasakam 62: Govardhana Mountain:
Once Krishna saw his men were busy preparing for a yagna and enquired Narada about why so much of preparations are going on, as if he did not know of it. Nanda replied that it was customary to offer prayers to Indra every year, thanking him for the rains, as all people on earth are dependant of rains for their food, more so for the gopas, who were fully depended on the rains for rearing their cattle.
Krishna, determined to teach a lesson to Indra, tried convincing Nanda and others by replying that rains are not due to Indra, but due to the good deeds of the people. He quoted that the trees in the forest are not offering any prayers to Indra. Krishna further said that since cows are the biggest wealth of the community, it would be appropriate to offer prayers to the cows, instead of to Indra. Same way, it would be appropriate to offer prayers to the great king of mountains, Govardhana, as it provided all that is needed for their sustenance. Krishna suggested that they should offer prayers to those holy men, who were superior to even the gods.
Hearing these logical words of Krishna, all the men, totally convinced, offered their respects to the holy men and worshipped the mountain with plenty of offerings, went round it and bowed in reverence. Krishna, using his powers, ensured that the mountain physically consumed all their offerings, thus, further convincing the men on his words. Krishna assured the men that in case Indra got angry at this, the mountain would come to their rescue. The gopas happily returned back home, upon this assurance.
Indra came to know of the stoppage of offerings to him and became very angry at Krishna. Though he was aware that Krishna was the avatar of Lord Vishnu and also that it was Vishnu who had exalted him to the high post, he was under the control Rajo Guna and got enraged. Thus infuriated Indra vowed to destroy all the wealth of the cowherd, Krishna and ventured into it. He must know better that if Lord Vishnu so decided, all the gods would step down from their exalted positions.
Indra mounted the elephant Airavat, with his weapon thunderbolt and sent a battalion of clouds, for creating a situation similar to that of Pralaya or deluge, to destroy Krishna's abode, called Vraja. The other gods, including fire and wind gods, laughed at this foolish move of Indra, wondering how can anyone escape the power of Lord's Maya.
Krishna once again assured the gopas not to worry since, in the event of Indra attacking them, they have the blessings of the holy men and the Govardhana mountain to protect them. Krishna, wondering why Indra has not yet arrived at the scene, eagerly awaited him.
Dasakam 63: Krishna holding the mountain:
As expected, Krishna could see at the distant, heavy outcast of clouds gathering darkness, like his complexion, causing the earth to shake with sounds of incessant thunder. The rains started pouring heavily all over the place, with hailstorms determined to destroy Vraja. The gopas were a worried lot and came to Krishna for refuge. Krishna asked them not to be afraid of these events.
Krishna then swiftly uprooted the huge mountain and held it up in his tender hands, claiming at the same time that if this mountain, which was their family deity would not protect them from Indra, who else would.
The Gopas having witnessed many such miracles of Krishna, such as holding the mountain, asked Narada to share the secrets of Krishna's avatar. They were convinced that Krishna was the avatar of the Lord, when Nanda shared them what he had learnt from sage Garga, detailing Krishna's greatness. Hearing this, all were immensely pleased.
Indra, fully drained of his pride at the humiliation met by him, realised that Krishna was Lord Himself and came down to Krishna, fell at his feet, his jewel decked crown touching Krishna's feet. Indra offered the celestial cow, Kamadenu, also called Surabhi, as a gift to Krishna, profusely praising Krishna.
Surabhi bathed Krishna with her milk and named him as "Govinda", the protector of cows. Indra bathed Krishna with the holy waters of celestial river Ganges, as brought by his elephant, Airavath. With crowning of Krishna as the king of the cowherds (Gokula), the entire place assumed further prosperity and glory, better than the heavens and Vaikunta.
Thereafter, once, Nanda tried to take bath in the river, in the early hours and was taken away by Varuna's (Rain God) men to Varuna's abode, since it was against the code of ethics to take bath at that time. Krishna had to rush to meet Varuna to secure his father back. This was necessary as Krishna also had the main purpose of his incarnation as upholding the dharma and hence Krishna did not want to punish Varuna, as he acted well within his dharma.
Varuna was pleasantly surprised at the unexpected visit of Krishna and paid obeisance to Krishna. Nanda reached back home, after Krishna retrieved him from Varuna's abode. Nanda then described to his fellow men, what had happened.
All the Gopas were very much convinced that Krishna was Hari Himself and they longed to experience the Supreme bliss of Lord Vishnu. Krishna mercifully revealed to them his Supreme Abode, which is not easy to attain by even the sages. Krishna made them enjoy the bliss for a long period of time and then brought them back to normal life.
It is to be noted that only in Krishna avatar, the devotees were allowed to experience the Supreme Abode of the Lord. It dispelled all doubts that Krishna was indeed the Supreme Lord Himself.
Please listen to Baja Govindam by Sri Adi Shankara:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA7QwA1ggb4
Dasakam 66: Krishna delighted the Gopikas:
Krishna purposely frowned upon them for their conduct, though heart of hearts he wished to fulfil the wishes of these love-struck maidens. Krishna copiously described the duties and virtues of the women, as mothers and wives and it was listened to by the Rishis in heavens only to be passed on to all on earth. Though his words carried lot of advise on dharma shastras, his actions were not meant to be followed by other men, as they are not pure and beyond all attachments like Krishna.
This advise aggrieved the misery of the women who thought Krishna was going to forsake them. Looking at their miserable forms, Krishna consented to engage with them unconditionally in romantic sporting on the sands of the river. He sat down on the sands, using the garments of the women as a cushion, in a hand in hand posture, kissing and embracing them softly, making them instantly ecstatic. Krishna removed their sense of "I"-ness, making them merge with him in oneness, in deep devotion and bliss. The women reached the height of ecstasy by embracing Krishna, who is the most beautiful in all the three worlds, who sports a sweet scented smile and whose lustre enhanced by his sweat on his body. The Gopikas felt the pangs of separation from him earlier, were now delighted at their union with him. It was a marvellous moment for them.
Dasakam 67: Krishna disappears:
The women, who enjoyed the divine ecstasy by embracing Krishna, felt extremely proud and they all thought individually they were so attractive the they were capable of attracting even the Lord of Lakshmi. Sensing their false pride, Krishna suddenly disappeared from the scene. Only Radha, who was very dear to Krishna since she was not affected by such false pride, Krishna made himself visible and both of them sported at a distance.
The maidens felt lost at the sudden disappearance of Krishna and searched the entire forest, undergoing extreme pangs of separation. They started enquiring all the trees, flowers and creepers in the forest, about the whereabouts of their sweet heart. One of them, falsely felt that she has seen Krishna and cried out in excitment, only to be found it to be wrong, which put all of then in agony again.
Some women, who united with Krishna, assuming them to be Krishna himself, re-enacted the earlier acts of Krishna in killing Putana, Sakatasura etc. They all then resumed their search for Krishna and found Radha alone and assumed that Radha has also been forsaken by Krishna. After searching for a longtime and not able to find Krishna, they all reassembled at the spot and started praying to Krishna, singing his praise.
Krishna, who is beyond the influence of the god of love, out of compassion for them, now made himself visible to those grief stricken women. The women did all sorts of acts in disbelief, at the sudden sight of Krishna, due to excessive delight.
Dasakam 68: Krishna reappears:
The Gopis, excited upon seeing Krishna, rushed near him; but upon reaching him they all stood motionless by his enchanting presence, due to oozing of nectar-like bliss. One of the women, caught hold of his arms ans placed it on her bosom and stayed motionless for a longtime, enjoying the thrill. Another one, put the other arm around her neck tightly, as if to block her out from breathing. Another one, snatched the half-eaten betal from Krishna's mouth and put in on her mouth and chewed in ecstasy.
Another one became angry at him for forsaking her and shouted at him. Krishna led them to the sands and sat on their garments as cushion, glowing with saffron pastes on his body. The Gopikas chided him for being unsympathetic to them, especially when they have surrendered to him fully. Krishna clarified to them that his act was to ensure their continued love for him and not out of any other reasons, such as being unsympathetic or hard-heartedness. Krishna assured them that they are dearest to him and asked them to enjoy his company, completely, uninterruptedly, on the soothing moon-lit night. The Gopikas were extremely happy to hear this and Krishna enthusiastically enjoyed the Rasa Leela with the Gopikas.
Dasakam 69: Rasakreeda, the Celebration of Divine Love:
The stage is getting ready for the great celestial feast of the Universe. We can very well imagine how Krishna would have decorated himself for the best performance, with peacock feathers on his hair, fish-shapped ear rings ready to dance on his cheeks, necklaces and lovely scented garments adorning his neck, body emitting attractive odour of sandal paste and other perfumes, yellow silk garment with golden girdle, anklets of gems dazzling in the moon light etc.
Expectations running high, as Narada informed all the celestials not to miss this extra-ordinary event, all gods and celestial damsels, beautifully dressed, rushed to the Yamuna banks, eager to witness the spectacle, accompanied by their partners.
During such a marvellous festival of love, featuring Krishna and the Gopikas, Krishna was seen in multiple figures, matching with all the Gopikas individually. The Gopikas were really fortunate by way of their past karma to get such an opportunity to dance with the Divinity. All of them shone further with beauty, due to the perspiration oozing out in their bodies during the Rasa Leela dance and were fully take-over by the extreme love shown by Krishna and the Supreme dance came to a halt.
Krishna then led them to the waters of Yamuna and played further with the Gopikas, who were by then fully exhausted, and fondled and caressed them to their heart's content, thus engaged in flirting amongst the cool breeze, with the air filled with lovely fragrance of the blossoming flowers.
The Gopikas, hundreds in numbers, experienced the harmony with nirvana, the complete ecstasy, which is attainable only by the Yogis after strict practice. Gods like Brahma, Sankara and others, must have felt that the cowherd maidens were more esteemed than themselves, to have the company of the Lord, in his most beautiful form, which can be accessed only by the devotees.
Concluding Notes for Part 2:
As the day broke, Krishna asked the Gopis to return home, which they did unwillingly. All of them were relieved to find their kith and kin not even aware of their prolonged absence from home. This must be the play of Krishna's Maya. The incident was a delightful memory for the Gopikas to cherish for ever. With this Dasakam, we come to the end of the childhood and adolescent days of Krishna and we now enter the other phase of serious activity for Krishna for fulfilling the purpose of his avatar.
SHARAD PURNIMA is the full moon day in the autumn season. The full moon on this day is closest to the earth and therefore its influence and healing benefits are immense and profound. The moon represents the mind and the sun represents the Light of Knowledge. On the purnima day, all of the sun’s light falls on the moon unobstructed. Therefore the full moon in all its glory represents a pure satwic mind endowed with knowledge.
The minds of the Gopis of Vrindavan are likened to the full-moon and Sri Krishna, the Personification of Knowledge (Sun) danced in their minds! This is the true inner RAASA-KREEDA. The entire inner Raasa-kreeda is externalised and dramatized beautifully as the dance-sport of Sri Krishna with the Gopis. Therefore Sharad Purnima is also called as RAASA PURNIMA. In some parts of the country, Karthik Purnima which comes in the next calendar month is also called as Raasa Purnima.
The Krishna-Gopi pair at the micro level represent “Consciousness+Thought” playing about within oneself – a mini Raasa! Infact, the Whole Universe is a MAHA-RAASA. From the celestial bodies, the planetary system, the silent mountain ranges, the rains, the roaring ocean, the flowing rivers, the passing breeze, the nodding fields upto the complex body system, the mind-intellect equipment – all are a play of Prakriti and Purusha – perpetual Raasa-Kreeda! So many mini Raasa-s in the Cosmic Raasa!
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