Verses filled with nectar - Krishna karnamrutham- From The Hindu

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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.