complaint against krishnan

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri vaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

In this mail let us enjoy Kannan and songs of his bhakthaas. this write up

is about a complaint being filed in the Court of Mother YasOdhaa the wife of

King Nandha, father of young krishna the darling of masses of aayarpadi.

 

Place: King Nandha's palace in aayarpaadi

Judge presiding in the court: Ms. Yasodhaa the wife of King Nandha

Complainant or plaintiff: the Gopis of aayarpaadi not single in number but

as a group. Few act as witnesses to the complainant gopi in the first

instance and when she finishes other gopi lists her complaint to the judge.

Then first complainant becomes the witness. Thus the cycle is repeated as

there are quite a number of complaints.

 

Defendant: Krishna the young son of the Judge herself.

There is no counsel for defendant but he himself argues the case.

Witnesses for defendant: Friends of Krishna and Balarama the senior of

Krishna

 

The central theme of this court scene is from Sri Oththukkadu Venkata Subbu

Iyer through his krithis

a. thaayE yasOdhaa in Raaga thodi (complaint)

b. illai illaaiyammaa in mohanam (defence)

c. pEsaadhE pOngaLadi in raaga madhyamaavathy (judgement)

 

May be the court scene will extend for more than one mail and Sri Mani has

to excuse me for that.

 

Addressing the judge is not in the usual manner of "My Lord" but "Oh

mother". She is pleased with this calling and hears the complaint patiently

even after having realised that the complaint is against the judge's own

son. See the amount of fairness with which people lived those days, proof of

which was available in abundance else where, so that time wise a later date

poet also writes about it.

Pallavi: "ThaayE! YasOdhE!Undhan aayar kulaththu" uthiththa Maayan

gOpaala krishNan seyyum jaalaththaik kELadi! (thaayE)

 

The case is made out first highlighting the damage it has created not only

to the direct recipients or the directly affected but the entire clan of

connected with the defendant. Also added, is the kulam is not ours, but, "oh

Judge it is yours" thus including the judge herself.

 

Now a "closeness feeling" is induced while addressing. Since she is also a

young lady, and, whenever a woman is addressed "oh you young woman" she

feels more proud. This psychology is also used while addressing the judge by

calling her "thaiyalE". "Please hear. I have not seen another boy like your

son in this world".

Anupallavi: ThaiyalE! KELadi" unthan paiyanaip pOlavE - indha

Vaiyagaththil oru piLLai aiyayya! Naan kaNdathillai (thaayE)

 

Comment: There is no one equal to my krishna in this world. That is a fact.

How can this young gOpi could find an equal to krishna. This fact is put

very nicely by an exclamation, even though it is a complaint to the judge.

 

Now the first complaint: CharaNam:

Kaalinil silambu konjak kai vaLai kulunga muththu

Maalaigal asaiyath theru vaasalil vanthaan!

Kaalasaivum kaiyasaivum thaaLamOdu isainthu vara

Neela vaNNak kaNNan ivan narththanam aadugiraan!

Baalan enRu thaavi aNaiththEn! aNaiththa ennai

Maalai ittavan pOl vaayil muththam ittaaNdee!

Baalan alladi un magan jaalam miga seyyum krishNan

Naalu pErgaL kEtkach cholla naaNam miga aaguthadee! (thaayE)

 

He came in the street with jingling sounds of the anklets in the legs,

bangles wriggling and making noise in the wrists, the pearl necklaces just

shaking in the chest. His hands and legs were following a rythmic pattern

and this beautiful krishna is dancing in the street. Seeing such a beautiful

young boy (or child?) I was fascinated and lifted him and embraced him.

Immediately he gave me a kiss in my mouth like my husband who has garlanded

me in my marriage. Hey yasOdha He is not an young boy I say! He is a

trickster! I feel ashamed in front of others for this kind of embarrassment

he gave me. I feel very bad, when many people hear this, what they will

think about me etc, for the act he did with me.

 

So, Now the complaint is made out and it is for the judge to seek the

defense or call for witness or pronounce the punishment etc.

 

The next complaint from another gopi:

Charanam no 2:

AnRoru naaL intha vazhi vantha virunthu iruvarum

Ayarnthu paduththu uRangum pOthinilE- kaNNan

ThinRathu pOgak kaiyil iruntha veNNaiyai- antha

Virunthinar vaayil niraiththu marainthananE!

Ninthai migu pazhi ingE paavam angE enRapadi

Sintha miga nonthidavum seyyath thagumO

NandhagOpaRku indha vitham antham migu piLLai peRa

Nalla thavam seithaaradi- naangaL enna seivOmadi (thaayE)

 

Third complaint from gopi no 3.

Charanam no.3:

EngaL manai vaazha vantha nangaiyaaith thannan thaniyaai

Thungaa yamunaa nadhip pOgaiyilE- kaNNan

Sangaiyum illadhapadi- pangayak kaNNaal mayakki

Engu engO azhaiththuch chenRu nisi vanthaan

UngaL magan naan enRaan! - solli ninRa pin

Thangu thadai inRi veNNai thaarum enRaan

Ingu ivanaik kaNdu iLa nangaiyaraip peRRavargaL

Engi eNNith thavikkinRaar! -naangaL enna seivOmadee! (thaayE)

 

Forth complaint:

Charanam no 4.

ThottililE piLLai kiLLi vittathum avai alaRa

Vitta kaariyam agala veNNai thinRaan!

Kattina kanRai avizhththu ettiyum oLiththu vittu

Mattilaath thumbai kazhuththil maattik koNdaan!

Vittu vittu ammE enRaan kanRinaip pOlE

Attiyillaadha maadum ammaa enRathE!

Kittina kuvaLaiyOdum ettinaal un selva magan!

Pattiyil kaRavaiyidam paalai ootturaan adee! (thaayE)

 

Fifth complaint:

Charanam no 5.

ChuRRi chuRRi ennai vanthu aththai veettu vazhi kEttaan

Siththaththukku ettum varaiyil solli ninREn

Aththudan vittaanO paarum aaththankarai vazhi kEttaan

Aththanaiyum sollivittu ninREn

Viththagamaai onRu kEttaan - naaNamaaguthE!

Muththaththukku vazhi kEttu saththam ittaaNdee

Aththanai idam koduththu meththavum vaLarththu vittaai!

Iththanai avanaich chollak kuththam illaiyeyadee! (thaayE)

 

Sixth complaint:

Charanam no 6.

VeNNai veNNai thaarum enRaan! VeNNai thanthaal thinRu vittu

PeNNaith thaarum enRu kaNNadikkiraan!

VaNNamai niruththamaadi maNNinaip paathaththaal eRRik

KaNNilE iraiththu vittuk kaLavaadinaan!

PaNN isaiyum kuzhal oothinaan- kEttu ninRa

PaNbilE arugil vanthu vambugaL seithaan!

PeNNinaththukku enRu vantha puNNIyangaL kOdi kOdi

ENNi unakku aagumadi- kaNNIyaamaaip pOguthadee! (thaayE)

 

Seventh complaint:

Charanam no 7.

MunthaanaL anthi nEraththil sontham udan kittE vanthu

VinthaigaL anEgam seithu viLaiyaadinaan- oru

PanthaLavaagilum veNNai thanthaal viduvEn enRu

Munthugilaith thottizhuththup pOraadinaan

Antha vaasudhEvan ivan thaan adi yasOdhE!

Mainthan enRu thottu izhuththu madi mEl vaiththEn vaiththaal

Sundara mugaththaik kaNdu sinthai mayangum nEram

Anthara vaigunthamOdu ellaam kaattinaan adee ! (thaayE)

 

The English meaning and few comments, defense and the judgement by mother

judge, we will see in the next post.

 

Dasan

 

M.G.Vasudevan

 

PS: Many rasikas may have heard only one or two charanams of this famous

krithi "thaayE yasodhaa". Please note this krithi has 7 charanams and these

are taken from the book compiled by Sri Needamangalam krishnamurthy

bhagavathar. There are few variations in the first charanam itself as sung

by Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam as "vaNorgaL ellaam magizha maanidar ellaam

pughazha neela vaNNak kaNNan ivan". But I have taken the stanza as given in

the book as this meaning is more apt (in my opinion) to the context.

 

It is my eedupaadu with kaNNan and the amount of enjoyment I derive when I

listen to this krithi made me to write all the charanams to the forum

members so that they also can enjoy kaNNan. Perhaps the defense and

judgement krithis mentioned may not have appeared in many music platforms

except by very few singers.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Vasudevan,

 

This complaint is very much similar to what is put forth by PeriyAzhwAr

and ThirumangaiAzhwAr where the Azhwars consider themself as one of the

gOpis and put forward the list of complaints to Yasodha.

 

ThirumangaiAzwar devotes 10 beautiful songs where he enjoys himself

describing the complaints (10.7.1 to 10.7.10, periya thirumozhi). One of

song

goes like this

 

kAlai yezhun^thu katain^thavim mOrviRkap

pOkinREn kaNtE pOnEn,

mAlai naRungunci nan^than makanallAl

maRRuvan^ thAru millai,

mElai yakaththun^aNG kAy! van^thu kANmin_kaL

veNNe yEyanRu, irun^tha

pAlum pathin_kutam kaNtilEn pAviyEn

en_seykEn en_sey kEnO!

 

This gets roughly translated to :

 

"When I went out to sell the curds I'd just prepared, I saw [Him] on the

way. Till evening no one other than him, the son of Nandan, has visited

[my place]. Oh! the lady of the upper [quality] house! Come and see my

house. Not just the butter, but even the milk is also missing. What do

I do now ?"

 

PeriyAzhwar's complaints are very broad, ranging from cheating MahABali

chakravarthi to stealing the clothes while the Ayarmangaiyar were taking

bath. ref 2.10.1 to 2.10.10, periyAzhvAr thirumozhi

 

dAsan

Balaji

[Guest guest]

Dear Sriman Vasudevan:

 

Thanks very much for posting all

the 7 charaNams of UtthukkAdu

Mahaan . Rarely one comes across

this text known for its maadhUryam .

UtthukkAdu mahAn was a KrishNa BhakthA

par excellence , who had the BhAgyam of

playing and conversing with KrishNa.

That anubhavam of a rare kind has

resulted in His krithis dealing

with KrishNa chEshtithams .The vigraham

that was worshipped by this mahAn is

in a small village near KumbakONam

and is an extraordinarily beautiful

KaaLinga nardhana vigraham .

 

The humor , the pathos and the description of

the delicate situation that the Gopis found

themselves with this Mayavan as described in

the 7 charaNams are beautiful testaments to

his KrishNa prEmai.

 

One more KrishNa Bhakthar , who enjoyed

Bala KrishNan in this intimate way is

LeelA Sukhar of Kerala who lived from

1220-1300 A.D. In Sanskrit slOkams known

for their MaadhUryam , Leela Sukhar conversed

with the Lord and named his conversations as

Sri KrishNa KarNAmrutham .This work has 328

slOkams and is a delight to experience.

 

LeelA Sukhar saluted this ParamAthMA incarnating

as a sisu at Gokulam as " akhila udhAram

kisOra aakruthi:" ( That effulgent Jyothi ,

which gives every thing to every one seeking

his refuge appears as a little boy ).He recognizes

KrishNan as " pasu paala paala parishadh

VibhUshaNam' ( the cherished aabharaNam

for the cowherd kulam).He saluted KrishNan

as the embodiment of the phalan of all

his puNyams ( mattha-soubhAgya BhAjAm

math puNyAnAm )and as the limit of the bhAgyams

of the Cowherd kulam ( Vraja BhAgya Seema).

 

LeelA Sukhar explains the unique relationship

between the adoring Gopis and KrishNan this way:

 

"Vraja Yuvathi haaravali Marakatha

naayaka mahA MaNi " ( the center emerald

piece in the necklace of pearls (gopis).

 

The chEshtais as Baala KrishNan earn from

Leela Sukhar the name dhUrttha Swamy ( the head

of the group of those , who cheat ).The full

slOkam is worth enjoying:

 

Oshtam jigran sisurithi dhiyA

chumBithO vallaveebhi:

KaNDam gruhNan aruNitha padham

gADamAlingithAnga:I

dhOshNA lajjapadham abhirumsann

angam aarOpithAthmA

DhUrtha SwamI harathu dhuritham

dhUrathO BaalakrishNa:II

 

(Meaning): May this emperor of cheaters

chase away all of our paapams quickly ! May

this BaalakrishNan kissed by the gOpis

on the assumption that He is a mere child ,

May this digambharan embraced tightly by

the young ladies of gokulam such that He is red

at all those points from the tightness of their grips,

May this kapata naataka soothradhAri sitting on

the lap of the gOpis enjoying their endearments

and covering His private part (lajjaa padham)

shyly with His hand ,May He destroy all of

our paapams!

 

The GopikA RamaNa GopAla chakravarthy

and His tattvam is saluted by Leelaa Sukhar

in a very revelatory slOkam:

 

thvayi prasannE mama kim guNEna

thvyapprasannE mama kim guNEna?

rakthE virakthE cha varE vadhUnAm

nirarthaka: kumkuma pathra bhanga:

 

Here LeelA Sukhar says that the Lord's grace

is the central factor to realize His

anugraham and our gunams are not important

in this matter.

 

Thvayi PrasannE guNEna mama kim = when You

come in front of us , what is the use of

our attributes ?

 

thvyapprasannE mama kim guNEna? =when You

do not present Yourself , what is the use of

my GuNams?

 

VadhUnAm varE rakthE = when the married woman

has her husband's love

 

kumkuma pathra bhanga:nirarthaka: kim ?= there is no

need for her to seek the help of kumkumam , flowers

and beetle leaves to enchant him .

 

VadhUnAm varE virakthE , kaumkuma pathra

bhanga: nirarthaka: = when the husband's

love is not there , what is the use of

Kumkumam , beetle leaves and flowers ?

 

In another moving slOkam , LeelAsukhar

describes his KrishNa chaithanyam this way:

 

yatha kaapi nisheedhya Yaadhava

Kula-utthamsasya Kamsadhvisha:

smAram smAraagham harAmi

tadh alam manyE kim anyEna mE?

 

(Meaning) I sit somewhere quietly and think

of the Yadhu Kula sirO-bhUshaNam , KrishNan,

the sworn enemy of Kamsan . Those intense thoughts

about Him are enough for me to chase away my

paapams . What is the use of the other karmAs?

 

With a slOkam devoted to the celebration

of SaraNAgathi Tathvam , adiyEn concludes

this tribute to KrishNa BhakthALs like

OotthukkAdu mahAn , LeelA Sukhar and request

Sri VaasudEvan to share with us his musical

tributes of great BhaagavathAs:

 

Saranam asaraNAnAm SaaradhAmbhOja nEthram

niravadhi madhurimnA neela vEshENa ramyam

marasara paratanthra smEra nEthrAmbhujAbhi:

Vraja yuvathibhi: avyAth Brahma samvEshtitham

 

(meaning) May KrishNA , who is the protector for

all those , who have no recourse , May that KrishNA

with the beautiful eyes similar to the lotus that

blossoms in autumn season, May that KrishNa delectable

with His enchanting blue hue, May that KrishNA , who

is bound by the arrows of love of the young girls

of Gokulam and surrounded by them , May that

Para Brahmam protect us without any other recourse!

 

Sarvam KrishNArpaNam asthu!

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil V.SatakOpan