[world-vedic] 'A beautiful dark son': The glory of Krishna's birth [fwd from Sanga]

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Thursday, September 2, Sri Krishna Janmastami. Birth of Lord Krishna.

Complete fast until midnight, then no grains.

 

Friday, September 3, Sri Nandotsava. Appearance of His Divine Grace A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

 

"The graceful Yasoda, who was austere by nature, then began to develop the

signs of pregnancy. Her appetite changed, marked by intense hankering for

all variety of milk sweets, and her natural gravity gave way to whimsy."

 

A discussion on Janmastami, with Swami B.V. Tripurari

 

Srimad Bhagavtam mentions a man named Devamidha, whom Jiva Goswami informs

us was the ornament of the Vrisni dynasty that is glorified throughout the

Vedas and Puranas. A great knight, he settled in Mathura and married two

young ladies, one from the royal order, the other from the vaisya caste.

 

>From his royal wife issued a son named Sura, and from his vaisya wife a son

named Parjanya. Sura begot a son named Vasudeva and lived in Mathura, while

Parjanya made his residence in the rural district. Their blood relationship

is confirmed in the Bhagavata (SB 10.5.20,23.27)

 

Parjanya appropriately took up the profession of cowherding, as one follows

in cast that of one's mother in the case of mixed marriages. His mother was

highly regarded amongst the vaisya community. She hailed from the vaisya

family from which Brahma himself had abducted his wife, Gayatri, as told in

the Padma Purana. This abduction was compensated by the intervention of

Visnu, who promised to take birth in the very same cowherd family in the

future.

 

Parjanya's auspicious birth that identified him with the twice born as well

as the cowherds is confirmed in the Bhagavata in the words of his son,

Nanda, wherein he who at that time had become the cowherd king of Vraja,

told Gargacarya to perform the sacrament of the twice born for his own son

(SB 10.8.10).

 

He took up residence in Brhadvana, and came to be celebrated for his

respect of Brahmanas and devotees of Visnu. Indeed, he himself worshipped

Visnu throughout his entire life.

 

Parjanya was as magnanimous as his namesake, the cloud, for he bestowed

charity in the form of his wealth of milk products in all directions, as

the cloud pours rain indiscriminately. Due to his good qualities, Ugrasena

anointed him with the tilak of chief herdsman.

 

He married the fine lady Variyasi and fathered with her five joyous sons.

Indeed, he named them after joy, exploiting the root verb "nand" to its

utmost, with Upananda, Abhinanda, Nanda, Samnanda, and Nandana.

 

Among his sons, one stood out above the others, such that they too

recognized his greatness. So it was that when Parjanya appropriately passed

the kingdom of the cowherds to his eldest son, Upananda, he in turn, as the

very first act of his rein, crowned his brother Nanda, claming himself to

be but a 'little (upa) Nanda'. This act met with the approval of all.

 

Nanda and his wife, the daughter of Sumukha, who conquered her entire

family and bestowed glory upon even those who merely heard or saw her -

what to speak of those devoted to her - were the natural leaders of the

community. His wife was surely his better half, as she lived up to her good

name Yasoda, in bringing fame to all associated with her.

 

Nothing was wanting in the community with Nanda and Yasoda as its king and

queen, advised wisely by the elder Upananda, a veritable Bhisma in the

court of Vicitravirya. Yet one longing did persist amongst all the

cowherds, and this for the misfortune of them all represented by the

unfortunate circumstances that resulted in Nanda being sonless, even as he

approached his later years.

 

Although sacrifices were performed for the sake of Nanda's begetting a son

in the womb of Yasoda, all were performed in vain. The reason for this is

as follows: Nanda confided in his good wife that upon entertaining the

thought of conceiving, his mind became filed with a vision of a beautiful

dark son, whose beauty and qualities surpassed those of Narayana himself.

 

Realizing the impossibility of begetting a son more beautiful than God, he

became disheartened. He could not have such a son, yet having such a desire

and vision he could not settle for anything less.

 

Nanda eventually informed his good wife of his dilema, only to hear from

her that she also had the exact same experience. Amazed, the two,

considering the coincidence nothing short of divine, undertook a year long

observance of the dvadasi vrata. Free from capricious thinking, they

depended upon the satisfaction of God for their desired result, the birth

of an actual son as beautiful and as qualified as one could be.

 

After one year at the completion of the vow, Narayana himself spoke to the

couple in a dream. Lord Narayana assured them that they would soon conceive

a son, the corresponding fruit of their constant meditation.

 

At that time a woman ascetic appeared along with a young brahmana.

Mystified by their appearance in the settlement, the cowherds asked their

auspicious identity, she appearing like the very divine maya of God and he

like sage Narada in a fresh new form.

 

The mysterious lady announced herself as Paurnamasi, like the full moon

dressed in saffron cloth. Unmarried and able to divine the future, she was

accompanied by the student of Sandipani Muni, Madhumangal, a graduate

possessed of mystic powers much like those of Narada. She proclaimed when

asked as to the reason for her appearance in the settlement that it was due

to the good fortune of its inhabitants, who would soon be blessed, for

Nanda and Yasoda were about to have a son!

 

Overjoyed, the cowherds offered to build her a thatched house on the banks

of the Yamuna, also known as the Krishna on account of her dark waters.

Paurnamasi accepted their proposal, for she was meant to live always nearby

Krishna, who more than the river Yamuna, referred to the soon-to-be-born

dark son of Nanda.

 

The graceful Yasoda, who was austere by nature, then began to develop the

signs of pregnancy. Her appetite changed, marked by intense hankering for

all variety of milk sweets, and her natural gravity gave way to whimsy.

 

Then, at the very time of the child's birth, along with the all

auspiciousness movements of nature involving the simultaneous appearance of

contradictory features, Maya herself was born as his younger sister.

Certainly this is the truth, for it is mentioned in the Bhagavata (SB

10.4.9 and 10.5.1). Yet, how is it then that some call this child Krishna

the son of Vasudeva and Devaki? Only in as much as Vasudeva is another name

for Nanda Maharaja, and Devaki another name for Yasoda, as the Puranas tell

us.

 

Vasudeva never meditated on Krishna desiring to have him as his son. Thus,

by the law that one can achieve through sadhana only that upon which one

meditates, it is clear that Krishna was not his son.

 

In consideration of love, it is obvious that Nanda is the father of

Krishna, Yasoda his mother. Vasudeva's wife, Devaki, admitted this at

Kurukshetra. Nor did Vasudeva have any experience of Krishna's 'birth,' an

event devoid of majesty save and except in the minds of the parents and

family friends. He did, however, experience the majesty of four armed

Krishna's appearance (krsnavatara), the object of his meditation.

 

 

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