Yasodha's Bhakthi

[Guest guest]

Indha Mandha Bhudhikku Yerpatta KeLvikku Kshamithu Vidai ALikumAru KEttu

KoLgiren.

 

As far as my modest mind knows, Yasodha Piratti does not realise (at all

times ,except for few occasions) that Sri Krishna, Her son, is Para Brahmam

and Lord of all..

 

If that is the case, Her pasam towards her child should be equal to any

other mother who has affection to her child. Then how is it that Yasodha

Piratti's Bhakthi is considered esteem than any other's.

 

One Bhagavatha answered me saying that He Himself has choosen Yasodha

Piratti to be His mother and that Bhagyam makes the difference. Is it so?

 

Thousand appoligies once again

 

Adiyen

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Oppiliappan, "shreecan@s..." <shreecan@s...>

wrote:

> As far as my modest mind knows, Yasodha Piratti does not realise

(at all> times ,except for few occasions) that Sri Krishna, Her son,

is Para Brahmam> and Lord of all..

>

> If that is the case, Her pasam towards her child should be equal to

any> other mother who has affection to her child. Then how is it that

Yasodha> Piratti's Bhakthi is considered esteem than any other's..

 

****************

 

Dear member,

 

Yours is a very good and thoughtful question. Please permit me to

suggest an answer. I hope you will find it useful if not wholly

adequate.

 

Yasodha was not Krishna's natural mother. She was His foster-mother.

And yet Yasodha's love, her bhakti, for the child-Krishna was no less

than Devaki's. From the beautiful 'pAsuram-s' of Peria-AzhwAr,

(like 'neerAttam', 'kaapidal', "poochootal" etc. which I'm sure you

are quite familiar with), one can easily gauge the depth and

intensity of Yasodha's maternal feelings. Reading them makes one

really wonder how such love could take root within a foster-mother's

heart for a child that was not of her own womb, not of "her own flesh

and blood", so to say.

 

Normally, in the ordinary world we all know, the love of a foster-

mother or a step-mother is always somewhat less than that of a

natural mother. (Step-mothers, in fact, in most children's fairy

tales, are rather unkind, if not cruel to their children). But

Yasodha's love for Krishna was a unique, incomparable exception. Her

heart simply welled up with mother's love every time, every moment

she set eyes upon her beloved Krishna. She breathed Krishna, she

dreamed Krishna, she lived Krishna....

 

Yasoda's love was so unique that Krishna soon took on his foster-

mother's name. He was known first as Yasoda's darling son, even

before people came to know him as Nandagopalan Jr.! People even

momentarily forgot that He was actually Devaki's natural-born son! It

is also the reason why even we today -- if only we paused to dwell a

bit upon the fact -- we all find it far easier to remember Krishna

as "yasOdha-bAla" than "devaki-putra"! In the very first stanza of

the TiruppAvai, if you notice, AndAl makes special reference

to "yasOdai illan-singam" -- "Yasoda's little lion-cub". To the best

of my knowledge, there is, however, hardly any mention at all of

Devaki in the 30 wonderful stanzas of ANdAl! Curious, amazing, isn't

it?!

 

It is keeping in mind Yasoda's unique foster-motherhood that we use

today that old Tamil quip about foster-mothers -- we say the love of

a "vallarthat~thAi" is sometimes more intense than that of

the "petrath~thAi".

 

And it is because of Yasoda, again, that today every natural-mother --

i.e. every mother who has experienced that ineffable joy there is in

cradling her infant -- every such mother truly understands what is

meant when it's said (as the AzhwAr himself said) that motherhood

might well be a mystic pathway to God -- a "bhakti-mArga" in its own

right...

 

Trust you will find the above answer useful.

 

Thanks and regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan