YADHAVABHYUDHAYA-CHAPTER3-BIRTH OF KRISHNA

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CHAPTER3

 

At the time of the birth of Krishna the whole world seemed to

be happy. The directions looked bright devoid of darkness as though

the day is born. This implies that the manifestation of the Lord

dispelled the darkness in the mind caused by ragadvesha and the

hearts of the good became filled with the joy arising out of the

understanding of the truth about the manifestation. Among the usual

paraphernalia that is described in the puranas and ithihasas when

some divine or extraordinary event happens, such as the apsars

dancing the trumpets sounding the kinnaras singing in the

devaloka,there was cool breeze blowing from the quarters and the

clouds thundered which was like the jayagosha by the devas.

 

Here we see the poetic skill of Desika who says that all the

anxieties in the minds of all the people joined together like rivers

and fell into the mind of Kamsa, who was the only one agitated to the

utmost. Andal addresses the Lord as 'kamsan vayittril neruppenne

ninra nedumaalE', the one who stood like fire in the stomach of Kamsa.

 

Vasudeva became free from his shackles.'Rnaadhiva

devakipathih amuchyatha srnkalathah' saysa Desika, comparingthe

release from srnkala to that from debt. In fact the word 'rna' could

mean debt as well as prarabdhakarma as the saying

goes 'rnaanubandhasaarena pasupatni suthaalayaa,' ones acquisition of

wealth ,son and property is according to prarabdhakarma. Desika

asks, 'what is so wonderful about this in front of one who removes

the shackles of all bondage?'

 

Devaki was having Krishna on her lap and shone like a golden

mountain which had a peak of indraneelamani,sapphire.Vasudeva saw

Him, who had the colour of the sea, carrying sanka, conch, chakra the

disc, gada,the mace and ambuja, a lotus. Vasudeva prayed to Him to

hide His divine form lest Kamsa will come to know His true identity.

He praised the Lord as the embodiment of the veda, who had come to

be born as his son due to his prayers in the previous birth. At the

same time he was worried about His safety and begs Him to diguise

Himself. That is the maya of the Lord!

 

Then the Lord instructed Vasudeva to take Him to Gokula and

leave Him there and bring the female child born to Yasodha to

Mathura. Vasudeva took the infant , which the Lord changed Himself

into, as requested and the prison gate opened and the guards were

fast asleep. When he approached the street the quarters became

lighter due to the luster of the body of Krishna. Garuda circled

around to ward off the evil forces and Adisesha followed spreading

his hoods as an umbrella to protect from the rain.'sruthimayo vihagah

parithah prabhum vyacharadhaasu vidhoothanisaacharah; anujagaama cha

bhoodharapannagahsphuta phanamanidheepaganodvahah.' Garuda is

sruthimaya , the personification of vedas, as Yamunacharya calls

him 'vedhaathmaa vihagesvarah,' and the Sesha is referred to as

Bhoodharapannaga, who followed giving light by the gems on his

thousand hoods as though thinking that the Lord needed some light as

He had contracted His own tejas.The significance of the word

Bhoodharapannaga by Desika is that the Krishnavathara was for the

purpose of lightening the burden of the earth which will also lighten

the burden on the head os Sesha who is bhoodhara, bearer of the earth.

 

Vasudeva carried Krishna as though on the gurudavahana and

reached river Yamnna, directed by the moonlight. The land near Yamuna

seemed to welcome Vasudeva by its cool breeze to remove the fatigue

and the buzzing of the bees, serving as the welcome song.

 

The description of Yamauna when Vasudeva approached the

river with Krishna brings the poetic fervour of Desika. He says that

it looked as though the river is bemoaning the plight of the Lord

which made Him take the guise of a mortal, feigning

weakness, 'kuhakadhainyam.' The lilies, 'asithaneeraja' were closing

its eyes, petals, as the morning was approaching and the lotuses had

not yet started to bloom and the chakravaka couple, a kind of birds

which become blind in the nigh,t were wailing , not being able to see

one another. All this seemrd to indicate the mental anguish of

Yamuna, savithuh sutha, the daughter of the Sun.'

Nimishithaasithaneerajalochanaa mukulithaabjamukhee

savithussuthaa;lulithadheenarathaangayugasvanaa kuhakadhainyam

asochatheeva prabhoh.'

 

The river throwing its waves here and there looked as

though, Yamuna , without knowing that all is the leela of the Lord,

was throwing up her arms in distress, fearing Kamsa. Yamuna gave way

to Vasudeva, looking high in the east and almost dry in the west. It

makes the kavi wonder whether she wanted to ascend the vishnupada or

was going to the Kalinda mountain, her father's abode. Thus vasudva

crossed the river as if it was jananasindhu, sea of birth, which he

would cross obtaing the Lord as his offspring.