sri vEnkatEswara mahatyam part -3

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:

SrI krishNa parabrahmaNE nama:

 

dear vaishNavAs,

 

I wish you all a happy, devotional new year on this ugAdi.

 

sri vEnkatEswara mahatyam part -3

 

9. nArada meets sri Lakshmi and tells Her about nArAyaNa

 

Narada comes to know about the desertation of sri vaikuntham without srI dEvi

and paramapada nAthan. He understands that his desire that Sri Hari to goto

earth for the restoration of dharma has been fulfilled. He reaches sathya lOka

and explains the situation of Sri mAdhava in search of mAdhavi. The Lord is much

reduced for not having food and sleep. Here the self-satisfied Lord gives a

great opportunity for His devotees to serve Him. NArada requests brahma to

arrange the Lord with some food.

 

Brahma thinks over for a while and asks nArada to go and meet Lakshmi in

kolhapur. He himself starts for kailAsa. In kailAsa, Siva receives brahma with

due honour and enquires about the purpose of his visit. Brahma explains the

whole situtation in sri vaikuntha and the position of their dearest Lord on

earth. He suggests Siva and himself should take the shape of a cow and calf and

feed vishNu with milk, to help him to recoup. Siva readily agrees to such a

great opportunity to serve his Lord.

 

NArada, as directed by brahma goes to kolhapur and meets Lakshmi dEvi. Sri dEvi

duly receives nArada and then nArada speaks: ‘oh mother! Why have you left your

rightful place sri vaikunTham, and are suffering here on earth like an ordinary

woman, wearing saffron robes and performing penance?’

 

Lakshmi couldnot avoid burst into tears in remembrance of Her Lord’s negligence

towards Herself(?). However she explains her plight to nArada in detail. After

hearing to her, nArada says, ‘this is how providence plays. After you left sri

vaikuntha, nArAyaNa also left the place and wandering from place to place in

search of You, is now taking shelter in vAlmIkam under a tamarind tree in

Tirupathi. He is deprived of food and sleep. He has gone down very much. You

please arrange to feed Him with the help of brahma and Siva’.

 

After saying these words, nArada takes leave of Lakshmi.

 

10. Brahma and mahEswar become cow and calf to feed vishNu

 

Having heard from nArada, the suffering of her husband, Lakshmi is very worried.

She could not understand what could be done to feed Her husband. Both brahma and

mahEswar immediately appeared infront of Her to come to Her aid. She explains

Her situation to the appeared divinities, and they in return express their

desire to serve the Lord in the form of a cow and a calf. They ask Her to take

the take the form of a cowherd woman and take them to chandragiri and sell them

to chOLa king, to felicitate them to feed their Lord.

 

11. Lakshmi dEvi sells the cow and calf to the chOLa king

 

Lakshmi dEvi drives the divine cow and cald to chandragiri town and reached the

king’s palace. She tells the king that she intends to sell the the cow and cald

to him, She adds that these cattle belong to a special breed and ordinary people

cannot rear the same. That is why, she says, wants to sell them to the king.

 

Both the king and the queen are attracted by the appearances of the cow and calf

and purchase the cattle from Her. Taking leave of the royal couple, Lakshmi dEvi

returned to kolhApUr and resumed Her meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord.

 

The ChOLa queen has desired to feed her child with the cow of the new cow,

though she has several cows. She therefore called her cowherd and ordered him

that he should have a special care in grazing that new cow and her milk should

be brought to her separately.

 

The cowherd used to drive the new cow also along with other herds for grazing to

vEnkatAchalam. But this cow never mixes with other cows. It uses to get itself

isolated from the others and without anybody’s notice goto vAlmIkam where Sri

Hari is taking shelter and rain milk from her breast direct into the vAlmIkam

and rejoin the herd by the evening. When it returned home, there is not no drop

of milk found in her breast. This continued for many days.

 

12. Sri Hari curses the chOLa king

 

One day the wife of the chola king calls the cowherd and angrily says ‘not even

for a single day you brought the milk of the new cow. Is the cow not milking or

have you been gulping all the milk got from her or are you making money out of

it by selling separately. Speak out the truth’.

 

The cow-herd says, ‘madam! I am quite innocent. I do not know anything. Every

evening, soon after driving the cattle back home, I do try to milk this cow, as

I do with other. To my surprise, I find its breasts always dry. I do not

understand the miracle behind’.

 

The queen gets wild to hear these words, as they seem unbelievable for her.

‘will any cow with a tender calf go dry? I do not believe your words. Tomorrow,

if you donot bring its milk, you will be punished’ she says. The cowherd

trembles in fear. He postrates before her and goes away.

 

The next morning when he takes the cattle for grazing, the cowherd has a

special eye on this cow. After reaching vEnkatAchalam, he finds this particular

cow going astray. He silently follows. As usual the cow nears the vAlmIka and

begin raining milk from its opening. The cowherd’s anger crosses all bounds. He

immediately takes an axe and tries to hurt the cow.

 

Sri Hari sees that the cow, which all these days feedoing Him, is going to face

the fierceful blow from the cow-herd’s axe. He immediately comes out of the

vAlmIka and tries to save the cow. And in that attempt bore that blow on His own

head. His head begins to bleed heavily which swoons the cowherd. He becomes

unconscious. The blood that oozed out from Sri Hari’s head spread on the cow

also.

 

The divine cow moved from that place and reached the palace of the king. It

lowed loudly to get the attention of the king. Hearing the roar like sound of

the cow, and it is thumping its leg on the ground as if asking the king to

follow her. The king also observes blood stains on the cow. He, therefore along

with his army follows the cow, which is quickly marching towards vEnkatAchalam.

It stopped where the cow-herd fell unconscious.

 

The chOLa king hears sighing sound from nearby and orders his soldiers to search

from where it is coming. They found SrImAn nArAyaNa in a pool of blood. The

king asks SrI Hari to reveal Himseld and also very sorry for what happened with

Him. SrI Hari opens His eyes and in a angry mood He reveals His original

identity and cursed him to become a ghost for having a cowherd who can kill a

cow. Protection of cows, brAhmins is the highest duty of a king. Having violated

such basic rule, Lord’s curse immediately makes him a ghost. The king repents

for his mistake and prays to Hari in a humble voice, ‘ nArAyaNa! Had I known you

were here, I would have personally come to serve you. I am innocent, I never

ordered the cowherd to wound anybody. I beg of you my Lord, please withdraw your

curse on me’.

 

SrI Hari says that the king is responsible for the sins committed by his

subjects and His curse cannot be withdrawn. However the Lord promised the king

that he will take birth again in the same family by the name AkAsarAju, and Lord

will marry his daughter. ‘you will also present me with a ruby studded crown,

which I will wear on Fridays’, Lord continues.

 

The cowherd by now regains his consciousness and prostrates before Sri Hari to

ask for His pardon. Sri Hari pities him and says, ‘ Dear lad, donot worry, all

your sins are destroyed by My vision. You are the first person to see me after I

came to bhoolOka. Therefore, even in my temple, people belonging to your dynasty

will have My first darshan. Your purpose of life has been fulfilled and your

name will be remembered eternally. You can go now fearlessly.’ This is the

inconceivable grace of the Lord.

 

As per this commandment of the Lord, even today immediately after opening the

temple of SrI vEnkaTEswata, a cowherd will get the first darshan. It is only

after this, other programs are carried out in the temple.

 

(to be continued .......)

 

dAsOham,

SrIperumbUdUru vEnkaTa vinOd.