The Rope Trick

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Rope Trick

 

The toddler at home is now a year old. His

mobility hitherto had been somewhat restricted due to his crawl, but

now that he has learned to walk, albeit unsteadily, there is no

stopping him. And with the additional mobility appears to have

arrived mischievousness too. You are no more able to find things at

their allotted places, breakages and spillages are on the increase

due to the kid’s constant activity and he keeps trying to get

out into the wide world outside, rebelling against the confines of

the home. If the main door is kept open for a second, he slips

through with ease and is recaptured only after a long and anxious

search. He doesn’t allow his mother to cook in peace, picking

up and throwing down various ingredients like salt, sugar etc. and

insisting on sticking his finger into the fire. What do you do with

such an endearing but infuriating brat? I have seen several mothers

resort to tying up the toddler, with a length of rope that permits

him a radius of movement but keeps him out of mischief’s way.

Bawl out he might, but he is set free only after the mother has

finished her chores and is free to battle with his effervescence once

more.

 

Where do you think the toddler learnt mischief?

And where do you think the mother learnt the aforesaid way of keeping

him out of monkey business?

There might be any number of tales of the Lord,

for He has taken innumerable avatArAs, many times over. Each of His

exploits is unique and endearing, conferring upon the listener/reader

devotion and merit. However, the Krishnavatara remains the most

popular, the one people generally identify with and are able to

shower their love and affection upon. For, it is extremely difficult

to love or be one with a fish, a boar, a lion or the Perfect Monarch

who is fit only to be put on a pedestal and worshipped. The

Krishnavatara, on the other hand, is all about a real, flesh and

blood person who also appears to be so, who apparently has all the

weaknessees and temptations that we ourselves had in childhood and

whose exploits still enthrall us, millennia after they were enacted.

Krishna is the neighbourhood boy with whom you can swap stories, have

fun with, play truant from classes with, love and remonstrate with, in

whose daredevil company you can steal neighbours’

jealously-gurarded fruits with impunity and escape retribution by a

hair’s breadth. He is the one who can introduce you in full

measure to the thrills of childhood, the minor pleasures forbidden by

straightlaced parents. It is He who can tell you with precision which

neighbour’s tree is ripe with fruit, who has gone out of

station, leaving his grounds open for boisterous play and so on.

 

Among all the endearing exploits of the Krishna sisu, the one

most eulogised and chronicled must indeed be the episode of His being

tied up to the grindstone. Azhwars and Acharyas wax eloquent while

recounting this tale, moved beyond measure by the thought of the

Parabrahmam permitting itself to be bound hand and foot by a humble

cowherdess. “etthiram uralinOdu iNaindu irundu Engiya

eLivE!” marvels Sri Nammazhwar, painting a vivid picture of the

tearful ParamAtmA tethered to the grindstone like cattle.

 

And why was the Lord tied to the stone? As was His wont, Emperuman had

stolen all the milk, butter and curds that could possibly be stolen in

a day, from all the households of Nandagokulam and consumed them all

in the company of fellow urchins. Yasoda, who usually defended Her

son vociferously against the constant litany of complaints that

almost all the Gopis of Gokulam had against Her darling son, found

herself silenced for once by the combined assault of the aggrieved

YAdava damsels. Convinced at last of the truth in their complaints,

Yasoda, in her desperation, decided to try out a novel punishment

which she hoped would make Krishna cease and desist from His

nefarious endeavours. She decided to restrict His movement,

considering this to be perhaps the greatest penalty she could

inflict on the brat, who loved to be on the move always, intent upon

all types of mischief.

 

However, one aspect of the matter is indeed puzzling. Krishna was the

darling of all the Gopis and had the run of their kitchens. He could

have had all the milk and butter He desired, just for the asking.

None in Gokulam could deny the boy his heart’s desire, for

everyone was well and truly mesmerised by His looks, conduct and

exploits—“MAlE seyyum MaNALaNai” says Sri Kodai

Nacchiar, attesting to the infatuation the Gopis had for the Lord.

Thus, there was absolutely no need for Sri Krishna to steal anything

from anyone. Whoever would take by stealth something that is

available for the asking!

 

Yet, if Sri Krishna did steal dairy products, it was only out of His

desire to display the trump card with which He ensnares everyone,

viz., His Soulabhyam and Souseelyam. It was out of a desire to

subject Himself to the mock chastisement meted out by unlettered

cowherdesses, whose hearts were full of love, affection and devotion

for Him. It was indeed out of a desire to be tied-up hand and foot

and even be beaten by these simple but loving souls—“Ayar

kozhundAi avarAl pudayuNNum en MAya pirAn” enthuses Sri

Nammazhwar, marvelling at the endless accessibility and Souseelyam of

the mighty Parabrahmam, normally beyond the grasp of the most

powerful of men (“agrAhya:” says Sri Vishnu

Sahasranamam), which consented to be immobilised by a mere rope

wielded by a simple cowherdess. Finding such traits impossible of

display in Paramapadam (where none would even dream of tying up the

Lord, leave alone of beating Him), Emperuman decided to make the most

of His sojourn on earth by indulging in all sort of horseplay, moving

as one with cows and their masters. Tired of the constant paeons of

praise showered upon Him by the nitya sooris of Sri Vaikuntam, the

Lord made up His mind to listen to choice words of abuse, for a

change—“VeNnai unNdAn ivan endru Esa nindra

Emperuman”. And tired of meting out punishment to all according

to their misdeeds, He decided to undergo some of it Himself, for a

change. It was all this that was behind the Lord’s constant

theiving expeditions—“Muhu: pravrittam navaneeta

chouryE” says Swami Desikan in YadavAbhyudayam.

 

It was not as if the brat could be tied up at will. Many were the

occasions when the infuriated Yasoda failed miserably to catch Him,

even after chasing Him across half of Gokulam, sweat pouring from her

brow and breasts heaving with the exertion of running after the

spirited brat. “ThAi eduttha siru kOlukku uLaindu Odi”

says Azhwar, recounting with glee the ease with which kutti Krishnan

gave the slip to His mother, pursuing Him with a small stick, in the

fond hope of spanking Him.

 

At His playful best, Sri Krishna would allow Himself at times to be

caught by Yasoda and dragged back home, for being tied up to the

grindstone. And when the victorious Yasoda tried to truss Him up, He

would make it impossible for her to do so by cutting all the ropes at

home into small pieces, in advance. As a result, Yasoda would search

in vain for something to bind Him with and would have to release Him,

admitting failure. At other times, not to be defeated by His

machinations, Yasoda would tie together various pieces of rope and

manufacture one long enough to go round Krishna’s slender

waist. However, Krishna would make Himself suddenly and incredibly

fat, making the rope length extremely inadequate to tie Him with.

 

Yasoda thus found it impossible to bind the brat, whatever strategy

she adopted. And in desperation, as is the wont of simple women, she

sat down to have a good cry. When Krishna saw tears streaming out of

his mother’s eyes, He couldn’t bear the sight for even a

second and contracted His waist, so that even the smallest of ropes

could pass several times around His midriff. It was thus that Yasoda

was able tie Him up. Though several Azhwars recount this episode

with relish, it was left to Sri Madhurakavi to reveal the secret that

it was not Yasoda who tied the Lord up, but the Emperuman who

permitted Himself to be bound by the smallest of ropes which would

normally be inadequate to tie even a little hand—“kaNNi

nuN siru thAmbinAl kattuNNa paNNiya peru MAyan”. The Lord, whom

the Upanishad credits with a mammoth figure, larger than the largest

imaginable (“mahatO maheeyAn”) made Himself smaller than

the smallest, permitting His perspiring mother to tie Him up with

ease, affording her victory which had eluded her for long.

 

Here is the beautiful sloka from YAdavAbhyudayam, with a bewitching

pen- portrait of this endearing episode—

 

“Aneetam agrE nija bandanArttham dAmAkhilam samhitamapi apoorNam

vilOkya nirviNna dhiyO jananyA: sankOcha shaktyA sa babhoova badhya:”

 

The last two words, “babhoova badhya:” are extremely

significant-- Rather than giving Yasoda the credit for tying Him up,

Swami Desikan highlights His soulabhyam, with the indication that He

permitted Himself to be tied-up. It was Emperuman’s idea in the

first place to get tied up and thereby display His susceptibility to

the Bonds of Love, says Sri Madhurakavi—“KattuNNa PaNNiya

Peru MAyan”.

 

It is from this episode that Emperuman derived the tirunAmam

“DAmOdara:” and it is said that the Lord wears with

relish the marks of the rope which passed around His midriff, as

indelible evidence of His Bhakta parAdheenatvam. The irrepressible

Parabrahmam could be tied and trussed up like a hen, because the

bonds were made not out of mere cord, but of the stronger-than-steel

strings of love and devotion. Sri Nammazhwar has a special

fascination for DAmOdaran and calls Him the Primordial

Cause—“DAmOdaranai tani mudalvanai”. Azhwar marvels

at the size of the rope that must have been required to tie up the

Lord’s belly, swollen with accomodating all the

worlds—“DAmOdaranai tani mudalvanai gyAlam

uNdavanai”. And yet because the rope was fashioned out of pure

maternal love, despite being very small (“nuN thAmbu”),

it acquired the required degree of elasticity to go round His

monstrous midriff.

 

Scriptures tell us that blissful contemplation of this episode, of the

Lord willingly accepting bondage, can unfailingly lead to our own

release from the eternal bondage of Karma. This is akin to Swami

Desikan’s assertion that one who delights in the Lord’s

exploit in sucking PoothanA’s breast, would never have occasion

to feed on a mother’s breast again, having been released from

the interminable cycle of births and deaths.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan