Fw: Verses filled with nectar - from the Hindu

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

Our dear SrI Madhavakkannan shares with us

the treasures that he comes across frequently .

Here is one for your enjoyment !

 

V.Sadagopan

 

P.S : SrI Lela Sukhar is the One who asked Lord Raamamchandra

to drop His mighty bow of KodhaNdam and take up instead

flute in His hand and adorn peacock feather in His tresses

so that he can worship the Lord as his ishta dhaivam.

 

 

-

"Madhavakkannan V" <srivaishnavan

<nama-singapore>; <bakthi-indonesia>;

<acharya>; <>

Thursday, September 02, 2004 8:43 PM

Verses filled with nectar - from the Hindu

 

 

> Verses filled with nectar

> http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/09/03/stories/2004090300810600.htm

>

>

> Lila Sukha's "Krishna Karnamritam " is a beautiful

> garland of poems. LAKSHMI DEVNATH elaborates...

>

> CAPTIVATING, CHARMING fascinating, enchanting...

> adjectives do seem to fall short while describing the

> personality of Krishna. His life too was a

> kaleidoscopic one brimming with incidents, varied and

> colourful. At Gokulam and Brindavan, where he grew up

> as one among simple cowherds, he charmed the girls

> with his quaint pranks, delightful barbs and above all

> with the magic of his flute and graceful dance.

>

> Years rolled by. The Supreme Lord played diverse roles

> to fulfil the purpose of his incarnation. He was

> supremely affable and divinely charming. "This is

> indeed the most complete avatar," raved philosophers

> and litterateurs.

>

> In subsequent centuries, Krishna became the central

> theme of many a story, poem, drama, song and so on. It

> was thus that, in the 13th century, a beautiful ode

> was created on Him. It focussed predominantly on the

> childhood phase of Krishna.

>

> The author Lila Suka titled his creation, "Krishna

> Karnamritam. True to its name, its verses, when read

> or heard indeed fill the ears with nectar.

>

> "If you place just one per cent of the love you have

> for me on the Lord, your future is guaranteed."

> Bilvamangala's ladylove Chintamani rebuked her

> paramour. This sharp remark spurred him on to the

> spiritual path. Krishna enveloped him completely. His

> unbridled passion for the lila-s (divine sport) of

> Lord Krishna struck a chord in the minds of people.

> "Ah, isn't his devotion reminiscent of the legendary

> Suka's (composer of the Srimad Bhagavatam) devotion to

> the same Lord?" the transformation was now complete

> and Bilvamangala attained fame as Lila Suka. Authentic

> details about his life are not available and whatever

> has been chronicled has been pieced together by

> inferences. Kerala was his home town. Along the way,

> Lila Suka also equipped himself with a deep knowledge

> of the Sanskrit language and it is said that in his

> later years he even adopted the ascetic order.

>

> Scanty details about his life notwithstanding, his

> work - the Krishna Karnaamritam - is fortunately

> available with us in its entirety. It is made up of

> three portions that are referred to as Aashvasah.

> Three hundred and twenty eight slokas, all strung

> together by the thread of love for Krishna go to make

> up an odoriferous and colourful garland fit to be

> offered to the Lord. The beauty of this poem

> captivated the attention of the great Krishna

> Chaitanya, during his south tour, and he took back a

> copy of the manuscript and wrote a commentary on it.

> Interestingly the Bengali version has only one asvasah

> of the verses. The composition for the major part

> focuses, on the early life of Krishna and his

> delightful exploits at Gokulam and Brindavan. Krishna

> as Parthasarathy and as the beloved of Rukmini,

> Satyabhama and Radha are very briefly touched upon.

>

> Dark and magnetic

>

>

> Krishna - a more apt name could not have been chosen

> for the foster son of Yashoda and Nanda. The word can

> be interpreted to mean both darkness and the ability

> to draw people. The Sanskrit interpretation of the

> word is Karshati iti Krishna - one who pulls other to

> him is Krishna. Dark as the rain bearing clouds,

> Krishna exuded a magnetic charm that, true to his

> name, instantly captivated all those who came in

> contact with him.

>

> Centuries later poet Lila Suka relived the era and

> burst into rhapsody over the luminous dark complexion

> of Krishna, "herds of thirsty cows approach him

> thinking him to be the Yamuna, peacocks eagerly look

> up to him under the impression that he is a

> rain-bearing cloud, the Gopis (cowherd girls),

> desirous to adorn their hair with the Tamala flower,

> pinch him thinking that he is a black blossom. May

> this black lustre that has destroyed the pride of the

> snake Kaliya protect us (2.2)."

>

> However, let us enter the world of Krishna Karnamritam

> through the main doorway. Lila Suka begins his ode to

> Lord Krishna by paying his respects to his guru

> Somagiri whom he describes as the Chintamani gem that

> has the power to grant one's desires. He also pays his

> obeisance to Lord Krishna whom he addresses as his

> siksha guru (teacher of knowledge) saying that Goddess

> Lakshmi always dwells with those who worship his Lord.

> Having thus started off on an auspicious note Lila

> Suka, with gay abandon, plunges deep into the ocean of

> Krishna and emerges with a myriad variety of gems. It

> is significant that, while Lila Suka revels on the

> child Krishna, he never forgets his divinity. In the

> very second verse, Lila Suka states that Krishna is

> the Supreme Brahman incarnated in the hamlet of Gokula

> albeit as a child. Mesmerising

>

>

> Incomparable Krishna was in more ways than one. His

> looks were undoubtedly charming but his music was

> absolutely mesmerising. His chosen instrument was the

> flute and when he breathed air into it, it came out in

> the form of ethereal music. It is said that, when the

> music drifted into the air, the wind stopped blowing,

> the cows stopped grazing and the gopis stood

> transfixed. Lila Suka, while he is lulled into deep

> reverie by this magical music, is also envious of the

> good fortune of the flute. "Will I ever earn that much

> merit so as to be born as a flute on the banks of the

> Yamuna for, it is the Lord's instrument that occupies

> an exalted position near his beautiful lips."

>

> Stories of the gopis' love for Krishna and his

> reciprocal grace are too many to be recounted. But

> there can be no doubt that the flute player was the

> darling of the cowherd girls and their love for

> Krishna was harmless. The Lord, in response to their

> devotion, danced with each one of them. The Rasakrida,

> as the dance is popularly known, has been extensively

> dealt with in cantos 29-33 of the tenth book of the

> Bhagavatam. Lila Suka in his inimitable style

> describes the dance thus: "Madhava stood between two

> gopis; there was one girl between two Madhavas. In

> this kind of arrangement, Krishna also stood in the

> middle and played the flute melodiously." But let us

> move on from Krishna the beloved of the Gopis to

> Krishna the incorrigible tease.

>

> It was a daily ritual for Yashoda to listen to the

> complaint of the gopis about Krishna stealing butter

> or curds, untying calves on the sky and so on. Lila

> Suka describes such episodes in a delightful manner.

> But lest anybody be under the delusion that Krishna

> was an ordinary butter thief Lila Suka, in several

> verses, unfolds the Supreme nature of the child. The

> meaning of one of them runs as follows:

>

> "Oh yogis, you who tired by searching for Him in the

> forests of the Vedas, listen to my valuable advice.

>

> Search for the meaning of the Upanishads in the houses

> of the gopis. You will find it tied to the mortar!"

>

> Thus, Lila Suka revels in the Lord and regales us too

> with his descriptions of the Supreme Brahma who lived

> as one amongst the simple cowherd folk of Gokulam and

> Brindavan. The Krishna Karnamritam indeed offers a

> lavish and delectable feast both to the intellect of

> the litterateur and to the heart of the devotee.

>

>

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> Srivaasa Ranga Parakaala Munitrayaapta Lakshmaatma

> Rakshana Yathitva Yugaagamaantham /

> Achaarya Bhakthi Pari pootham Anargha Seelam

> Gopaala Desika Munim Gurum Aasrayaamaha //

>

> (meaning)

> We seek refuge at the sacred feet of our revered AchAryan,

> Sri Gopala MahA Desikan, who received the sacred rites of samAsrayaNam ,

> Bhara SamarpaNam from the great AchAryA,

> Sri Srinivasa MahA Desikan (Srimad Poundarikapuram Andavan); ThurIyAsramam

> from Sri Srinivasa MahA Desikan

> (Srimad VeNNaaRRankarai Andavan) and the wealth of

> Ubhaya VedAntham from Srimad Abhinava Ranganatha

> Brahmatantra Swantantra Parakaala Yatindra Maha Deshikan.

> He shines with illustrious sadAchAram and is resplendent

> with his limitless AchArya Bhakthi.

> Links

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