kannapiraan perra vennaik kalvi-7

[Guest guest]

Dear Srivaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Before we really take up the next topic, continueing with more references on

the navaneetha nruthyam-

 

Ya Esha lOkathrayasoothraDhaara: paryaayapaathraaNi charaacharaaNi/

Anarthayath adhbhutha chEshtithOsou nanartha khElam navaneetha kaankshee//

4-27 yadhavaabhyudhayam of Swami desikan

 

meaning: Sri krishna danced beautifully in front of his mother yasOdhaa- in

turn he wanted butter as pay for his dance -[navaneetha kaankshee- person

desirous of butter- says swami desikan].

* One who is the base [aadhaaram] for creation sustenance and

destruction of all the three worlds,

* One who is best manipulator for all living beings like plants

animals and what not [charaacharaaNi]

* One who carries out amazing deeds

that person upon danced beautifully in front of the mother asking for butter

in turn for the dance he did.

 

"VadhanE navaneetha gandhavaaham

VachanE thaskara chaathuree DhureeNam!

NayanE kuhanaasru maasrayEthhas

charanE kOmala thaaNdavam kumaaram!!- 2.15 says "leela sukhar" the great

krishna bhaktha.

 

Meaning: Hey folks- prey to the young boy Sri krishna who

* has the smell of butter in his face,

* the cleverness of a thief in his words,

* false tears in his eyes,

* beautiful dance in the feet-

 

The face has butter smell (veNNai aLaintha kuNungu), hands hold butter and

in the legs beautiful dance- "navaneetha naatyam'.

 

We saw in earlier posts, kaNNan learning not only veNNaik kalvi but also

music and dancing, as part of his veNNaik kalvi. kaNNapiraan also learnt

kaLavu (stealing) as part of his veNNaik kalvi.

 

Of course, kaLavu- stealing- is also a kalai and in the list of "aaya

kalaigaL 64"- the 64 types of arts. One has to learn stealing also to be a

complete "gnaanavaan"- "wizard". "KaLavum kaRRu maRa"- (learn stealing also

and forget) is the famous tamil proverb. So kaNNapiraan learnt this as kalvi

and that too at a very young age.

 

I also get a doubt that, this veNNaik kalvi is really "kalvi or veNNaik

kaLavu". Is it part of his kalvi or kalviye kaLavukkagavaa? (Is getting

butter education for butter stealing). Of course kaNNan's stealing butter is

a fine subject- kalvi for us. Kannan's stealing of butter is enjoyed by all

bhakthaas without exception.

 

One bhaktha went a step ahead to say "when we read his kalavu our "kalaviyal

paavangal tholaiyum"- our sins due to stealing get removed by reading his

butter stealing episode.

 

See his slokam-

SthEyam harEr harathi navaneethachouryam

Jaarathvam asya guru thalpa krutha aparaaDham!

Hathyaam dhasaanana hathir madhu paana dhosham

Yath poothanaa sthanapaya: sa punaathu krushna:!!- 3.90 leela sukar

 

Meaning: For those

* who think of krishna's baala leelai of stealing butter, this

thinking itself removes the very idea of stealing and destroys all sins of

stealing other's properties.

* Who think of krishna's love making with gopees remove the sins of

committing adultery with guru's wife.

* Who think of raama killing raavaNa are relieved of sins of

committing murder

* Who think of krishna's drinking puthana's breast milk remove sins of

alcoholism.

 

[Note: Of course these words are not be taken as "first one can carry out

all these acts, then by thinking on krishna and raama, all their sins will

be removed". For sins committed wantonly and knowingly, the quantum of

paapam gets multiplied in geometric proportions. So the above verse is to be

taken that for offences committed not knowingly, salvation from these sins

will be given by reading and hearing about the lord's acts as listed].

 

Let us read in detail "krishna's veNNaik kaLavu" so that our sins committed

unknowingly are also removed.

 

In the slokam quoted above 2-15 of leela sukhar, there is a reference for

krishna having the cleverness of a thief in his words. The proof is also

given by same bhaktha - see the conversation, taking place between a gopee

and krishna

 

Kasthvam baala balaanuja: kimiha thE manmandhira aasankayaa

Yuktham than navaneetha paathar vivarE hastham kimarththam nyasE:!

Maatha: kanchan vathsakam mrugayithum maa gaa vishaadham kshaNaa DhithyEvam

varavallavee prathivacha: krishnasya pushNaathu na:!!

2.81- leela sukhar.

 

Meaning: Gopi- "hey child, who are you?

Krishna- Maa, I am Balaraaman's younger brother.

Gopi- what do you want here?

Krishna- I came here wrongly thinking this is my house.

Gopi- That is OK, but why do you put your hand in the butter pot?

Krishna- Oh mother, I missed one calf somewhere. I am looking for that calf.

I thought it may be there in the butter pot. Do not get worried in a second

for this.

 

Leela sukhar concludes saying that let such a krishna save us. Krishna

wanted to steal butter from the pot but caught red handed. But he

instantaneously answers that he is looking for a calf in butter pot to the

gopee who held him by his hand.

Is this not ample proof of krishna's vaak chaathuryam. - kavi's chathuryam

of enjoying every bit of krishna.

 

See the cleverness of child krishna in seeking help from the jewels he is

wearing. Even jewels have to respond positively to his request. Read Swami

DEsikan says in his yadhavaabhyudhayam

 

thrasyan mukundhO navaneethachouryaath niBhugnagaathrO niBhrutham sayaana:/

nijaani ni:sabdhadhasaam yayaachE badhDhvaanjalim baalaviBhushaNaani// 4-29

 

meaning: The lord Sri krishna, who bestows mOksham wealth etc, on his

subjects (like us) requested the jewels, he was wearing, not to make sound

and expose him. He, after stealing butter and eating it, feared if gopees

come to know of loss of butter, they would beat him. So, he laid himself on

the floor with his face down folding his legs and hands, so that he could

not be identified easily.

 

Comment: See the cleverness of the child krishna. Is it so easy- can he be

not identified by his megha vaNNam which differentiates him easily from

other boys? this is absolutely "poi vesham" and Swami enjoys sri krishna for

his poi vEsham.- in gopaala vimsathi swami says "maaya manusha vesha".

 

Now see a reference from Silappadhikaaram - madurai kaaNdam- titled

aaichchiyar kuravai-

ARuporuL ivan enRE amarark kaNam thozhudEththa

Urupasi onRinRiyE ulagu adaiya undanaiyE

UNdavaai kaLavinaal uRi veNNei uNda vaai

VaNduzhaai maalaiyaai maayamO! marutkaiththE!

 

Meaning: "Hey Sri krishnaa, you are the fullest, complete, first and

foremost in all respects among all", thus praised the dEvaa folk. "You, with

no hunger to quell, ate the entire galaxy, (world or cosmos?). The mouth of

you is same, which swallowed the galaxy, and also which ate the stolen

butter from the rope hanger (uri). O krishnaa you, who wears the tulasi

garlands which attract bees, what a wonder, and your deeds are quite

surprising.

 

See how a jain "IlankovadigaL" enjoys in writing about krishna- may be he

has inserted this not from bhakthi angle, but as a sort of folklore being

enacted by a troupe on its way to madurai, when the heroine is finding the

omen little inconvenient- apasakunam. But the fact that it is appearing as

part of this kaavyam is really amazing- for a krishna bhakthaa references on

krishna from any source are OK.

 

See another contemporary krishna baktha "uri Enthiya thiraL veNNaiyai

thirudum siru viralaal giri Endiya Hari Madhava" -Periasamy Thooran -a tamil

laureate sings in the very famous song "muraleedhara gopaala" in the raaga

"maund"- soulfully sung by Dr. MLV.

 

Meaning: Oh hari, oh madhavaa- with your little sized fingers you carried

the mountain govardhana giri -these little fingers are the same -siru

viralgal- which stole the butter held in the rope carrier (uri) also. Small

sized fingers do very big works with ease and finesse. That is krishna.

 

Note: Since the post has become long and there are more references on this

butter stealing we will continue to dwell on this topic in next part also.

 

Dasan Vasudevan M.G.