Appan Avatharittha KathAmrutham : JanmAshtami day

[Guest guest]

BahudhAnya Samvathsara KrishNa JayanthI day

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Dear Sri KrishNa BhakthAs :

 

Tonight we celebrate the Lord's arrival

in Mathurai as the son of DEvaki PirAtti and

VasudEvA .Tonight , we perform Sri KrishNa Jayanthi

AarAdhanam for the Lord , who gave us Bhagavadh GitA .

 

I will use this occasion to comemorate His avathAram

as celebrated by Srimadh Bhagavatham , PeriyAzhwAr and

Srimadh NaarayaNIyam .I will add some select slOkams about

the greatness of KrishNA as enjoyed by Sri LeelA Sukhar

in his KrishNa KarNAmrutha Slokams .

 

Chapter 3 of Dasama Skandham of Srimadh BhAgaavatham

celebrates the Lord's birth . Srimadh NaarAyaNIyam

salutes the birth of the Lord in the 38th Dasakam .

PeriyAzhwAr describes the joyous scene at Gokulam ,

where the GopAs and Gopis celebrated the Lord's birth .

These verses are housed in the first 20 paasurams of

Periya Thirumozhi .This AzhwAr enjoyed immensely

the Bala kreetais of Kuttik KaNNan in exquisite

PiLLait Tamizh and recognized the divya desam of

ThirukkOshtiyUr as Gokulam , where the Lord was

adored by YashOdhA PirAtti as her dear child .

 

Time and the site of AvathAram

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In the first slOkam of Sri GopAla Vimsathi ,

Swami Desikan gives us a clue about the time of

the avathAram : JayanthI sambhavam dhAma

VaijayanthI vibhUshaNam ( I salute the divine

effulgence revered as KaNNapirAn , who has

Vyjayanthi mAlai around His neck and who was

born on Sri JayanthI).

 

Sri JayanthI is the time , when RohiNi Nakshathram

joins with KrishNa Paksha Ashtami during the month

of Simha SrAvaNam ( AavaNi Month ) .Srimadh BhAgavatham

describes this time as the most auspicious and favorable

time , when the star RohiNi was in ascendance ( atha

sarvaguNOpEtha: kaala: parama sObhana:) .At such an

auspicious moment , in the middle of the dark night

during the rainy season , Our Lord was born of the divinely

beautiful Devaki , like the pourNami chandran

rising on the eastern sky :

 

nisIthE tamudhbhUthE jaayamAnE JanArdhanE

DevakyAm deva rUpiNyAm VISHNU: sarva guhAsaya:

aavirAsIdh yathA prAchyAm disIndhuriva pushkala:

---Srimadh BhAgavatham : 10.3.8

 

The divine beauty of the child KrishNA and Its

VishNU chinnams are celebrated by Srimadh BhAgavatham

this way :

 

tamadhbhutham baalakam ambhujEkshaNam

chathurbhujam sankha gadhAryudhAyudham I

Srivathsa Lakshmam galasObhi kousthubham

pIthAmbharam sAndhra payOdha soubhagam II

---Srimadh Bhaagavatham : 10.3.9

 

(Meaning ) : Lotus-eyed , four-armed ,

adorning the conch , mace and other divya aayudhams ,

the newly born child had the shining Srivathsam

birth mark on its chest and the effulgent

KousthubhA gem around its neck .The beautiful

child had a golden yellow cloth around its waist

and had the hue of the dark blue cloud of the rainy

season .The father VasudEvA saw the beautiful black ,

curly tresses of hair on the child's head , a diadem ,

ear rings containing precious gem stones , bracelets

on its arms , armlets and golden waist girdle . The

luminous appearance of this beautiful and extraordinary

child with all the alankArams , aabharaNams and

natural beauty are described in the above slOkam

and the one below .

 

mahArha vaiDUrya kirIta kundalathvishA

parishvaktha sahasra kunthaLam I

uDDhAma kaanchyangadha kankaNAdhibhir-

virOchamAnam VasudEva eikshEhta II

---Srimadh Bhaagavatham:10.3.10

 

VasudEvA and DEvakI saw all the signs and

symbols of Divinty (MahA purusha LakshaNam )

and began to eulogize this divine child .

VasudevA saluted this unique child this way :

 

vidhithOsi Bhavaan saakshAth Purusha: prakruthE: Para:I

kEvalAnubhavAnandha svarUpa: sarva bhuddhi dhruk II

 

(Meaning): I recognize who Thou art ! You are

the supreme being ( Purusha: ) Himself , who

transcends prakruthi and are of the nature of

pure consciousness-bliss and sarva saakshi .

 

Mother DEvakI eulogized Her child , the Lord

this way :

 

rUpam yath tath prAhu: avyaktham aadhyam

Brahma jyOthirnirguNam nirvikAram I

satthAmAthram nirvisEsham nirIham

sa tvam SaakshAth Vishnu: adhyAthm adhIpa:

---Srimadh BhAgavatham : 10.3. 24

 

(Meaning ) : O my child ! Thou art truly

MahA VishNu , the divine light , what the sages

describe as the primordial , the unmanifest ,

the giganatic , the effulgent light beyond the

three guNAs , the eternal , the purest ,

changeless and the desireless one .

 

Devaki recognizes Her divine child as the master

of PrakruthI and the principle behind the whole

time doctrine and the driver of the Kaala chakram serving

as the basis of the dynamics of the Universe . She is

overwhelmed by the magnitude of this concept and

recognizes her child as the JagadhAdhAran and

performs prapatthi to that divine child { --MahIyAmstham

thvEsAnam KshEma dhAma PrapadhyE ).

 

Devaki continues with her salutations and reveals

His avathAra rahasyam this way : " That Thou , who

bearest the whole universe within Thyself at the time

of Thy cosmic sleep , hast been born of my womb

(mama garbhagOabhUdhahO ) is only Thy imitation

of human ways to hide Thy identity .

 

Thereafter , the Lord hid His VishNu svarUpam and

transformed Himself into the form of an ordinary , but

beautiful child . He asked VasudEvA to transport Him

to Gokulam immediately and exchange Him with the girl

( VishNu MaayA ) born to yasOdhA and her husband ,

NadagOpAlan , who was the chieftain of the shepherd clan .

 

Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri describes movingly the journey

of the Lord to Gokulam on that rainy night on the head of

VasudEvA in a basket . AdhisEshA served as an umbrella

to protect the Lord from the pouring rain as VasudEvA

journeyed across the way cleared by the river YamunA

to Gokulam :

 

sEshENa bhUripaNavaaritha vAriNAtha

svairam pradarsitha paThO maNi dhIpitEna I

tvAm dhArayan sa kalu dhanyatama: prathasthE

sOyam tvamIsa mama nAsaya rhOgavEghAn II

 

Here Bhattdhiri says : The great bhAgyasAli , VasudEvar

carried You , the Lord to Gokulam . At that time , Adhi Seshan

protected You , our Lord from the rain with his hoods and

the light from the gems on his hoods illumined

the path safely for VasudEvar to reach Gokulam .

 

PeriyAzhwAr describes the joyous scene at Gokulam

for the next dozen days until the child's naamakaraNam

ceremony took place and He was given the name of KrishNA .

Sage Gargar ( Acharyan to Yadhu vamsam )came to

NandagOpan's house and selected the name of KRISHNA

for the divine child . He combined the dhAthu of

"Krushi" and the aksharam, "Na " to recognize the Lord as

the embodiment of Sath and Aanadha rUpam , which destroys

the sins of the universe . When Bhattadhiri asked

GuruvAyurappan , whether Gargar chose the name of KrishNa

for Him following the above etymology , the Lord nodded

His head to indicate His concurrence .

 

We will conclude this salutation to the Lord , who took

KrishNAvathAram to bless us with the charama slOkam

to redeem us with the words of Leelaa Sukhar in his

KrishNa KarNAmrutham slOkams :

 

** hastha nyastha nathApavargam akhila udhAram

kisOrAkruthi : ( This doctrine in the form of

a small child has in its hand Moksha palan

for those , who seek refuge in Him ).

 

** LeelA Sukhar says that the aspects of KrishNA's

beauty is not surpassed by any other

Dhaivams this way :

 

tath kaisOram taccha vakthrAravindham

tath kAruNyam thE cha leelAkatAkshA:

tath soundharyam saa cha mandhasmitha SrI :

sathyam sathyam dhurlabham DhaivathEshu

 

That the Lord of Gokulam and BrindhAvanam is

the embodiment of sweetness and bliss is

recognized by LeelA sukhar thru the following slOkam :

 

madhuram madhuram vapurasya vibhO:

madhuram madhuram vadhanam madhuram I

madhugandhi mrudhusmitham yEdhath ahO

madhuram madhuram madhuram madhuram II

 

(Meaning ):The Vapu : ( ThirumEni) is delectable ;

the vadhanam ( Thiru mukha madalam ) is

delectable to enjoy; That vadhanam has the

fragrance of sweet honey ( madhu gandhi )

and mrudhusmitham ( shines with the delectable

smile ) .I do not know how to describe this

delectable ( blissful ) KrishNa tattvam except to

say it is Madhuram , Madhuram , madhuram .

 

As the midnight is rapidly approaching on

this BahudhAnya samvathsaram's KrishNa JayanthI

AarAdhanam time , I conclude this posting with

the chamakam like salutation to our Lord KaNNan :

 

prEmadham cha mE kaamadham cha mE

vEdanam cha mE vaibhavam cha mE I

jeevanam cha mE jeevitham cha mE

dhaivatham cha mE dEva naaparam II

 

(Meaning ) : Oh Deva Deva! You are the One ,

who blesses me with prEmai (anbhu ) ; You

are the One , who fulfills my wishes and

desires ( Kaamadham ) ; You are the One , who

blesses me with Jn~Anam ; You are indeed my

imperishable wealth ; You are my life and

aayus . I have no God other than You .

 

Om NamO BhagavathE VaasudEvAya

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan