yadhavabhyudhaya-chapter2

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chapter-2 The eve of incarnation

Devaki appeared divine because she carried the krishnarasayana,

the elixir which is sidhdha and sidhdhanishevitha, resorted to by the

sages being sure of effect.

Devaki ate the mud, symbolic of the earth, during her

pregnancy as if she is showing buy her action, naatitham, that the

one who has devoured the whole earth is inside her,

'bhukthaa puraa yene vasundharaa saa sa visvabhoktha

mamagarbhabhoothah,’ says Desika.

She dreamt that she was lying on Adhisesha and traveled on

Garuda.Utthamur swami explains this as

`'devakigarbhagantham bhagavanthamprthak paricharithum anishtvaa

seshaadhayah devakeesthathvaveshenaiva paricharantheeva.'

It looked as though Adhisesha and others carried devaki along

with the Lord in order to

do service to Him. She walked slowly as if not to burden the earth

with the weight of Him who is visvaguru, the mighty Lord who has the

entire universe in Him. He is vidvaguru or jagatguru as He was going

to impart the Gita to the world and also the greater than the

greatest, mahatho mahiyaan. The word `guru ` contains a pun to mean

preceptor as well as big.

 

Description of the night of Krishnavathaara

Then starts the description of the night of Krishnavathaara.

The appearance of the dusk, sandhya, seemed to denote the advent of

the Lord. Sandhya, personified as a damsel, a is compared to the form

of the Lord, murdhvishah murthih dhvitheeyaa, on account of the

attire of golden hue, suvarnapithaambharavaasinee, and hiding the

Sun with the brilliance of own light, svadhaamasamchaadhtha

suryamurthih. The Sun sinking in the ocean seemed to seek some

support avalambhana, by his rays stretched out. He looked like a

lotus plucked from the pond of the sky by sandhya and the crest jewel

of a serpent plunging into the ocean afraid of Garuda in the form of

sandhya. The richness of poetic imagination of Desika is

illustrated by these words.

 

At the setting of the Sun, the day being ashtami 8th day of

krishnapaksha, dark fortnight, no moon appeared and darkness spread

everywhere. Stars looked like a garland of pearls to adorn the Lord

on His avathaara prepared by His servant, the Kala, Time. Later when

the moon rose the eastern direction looked like Devaki.

Thamafprasangena vimuchyamaana gourprabhaa. The paleness of her is

the white light, gouraprabhaa of the moon who has risen from darkness

as she is going to be freed from her sorrow, thamafprasangena

vimuchyamaana. The Moon being the first forefather of the Yadhuvamsa,

looked like a purohitha, priest coming after bath from the ocean to

do the samskara, the rites for the newborn.

 

The darkness that first came was like the haalaahala, the

terrible poison which came out of the milky ocean, namely the eastern

direction indicative of the subsequent emergence of Lakshmi, the good

fortune of Yadhuvamsa. Desika says later in describing Krishna that

Lakshmi was always with the Lord which ever avathara he took because

She is inseparable as the sloka goes

`Raaghavathve bhavathseetharukminee Krishna janamani

anyeshuchaavathaareshu vishnoreshaa anapaayini.'

It is said that even in Vamanaavathaara Lakshmi was in His

chest to hide whom the Lord covered His chest with deerskin lest He

could not take away the aisvarya of Bali if he gets the glance of

Lakshmi, lakshmikataaksha.

 

Then the auspicious time for the avathaara drew near. The wicked

people like Kamsa were sleeping and the good were awake like Devaki

and Vasudeva.Vadfyagosha of divine instruments could be heard

everywhere. The lamps in the house of Kamsa became extinct for no

reason and so did the anguish in the minds of devotees. Ashtami was

chosen by the Lord for his avathaara as the eighth child and the next

day Navami was going to be the day of the avathara of Yogamaaya.

Hence, as Desika puts it, ashtami became prathama and navami,

dvitheeya. Krishna appeared at vrishabha lagna when the five planets,

Chandra, angaraka, bhudha guru and sani were in exalted position.

Desika describes His manifesting Himself as Devaki the eastern

direction produced the Lord , the moon implying that He was not born

in the usual way but as He says in the Gita `sambhavaami

aathmamaayayaa' He only made Himself manifest as the moon coming out

in the East.

 

 

chapter-3 The birth of krishna

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' says Desika, comparing the 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 color 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 disguise

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 of 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 night were wailing , not being able to see

one another. All this seemed 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 obtaining the Lord as his offspring.

 

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.

 

Vasudeva entered Gokula where, says Desika, 'svasutham agryam

asooyatha rohini,' which implies that he saw his son Balarama also.

There he placed Krishna near the sleeping Yasodha and took the female

child near her to Mathura. Knowing that the eighth child was born,

Kamsa came and took the infant by her legs to strike her on the

rock when she kicked herself free and rose up to the sky and warned

kamsa about the birth of Krishna. Her speech is described by Desika

thus: 'patu gabheeram udhaaram anaakulam hitham avistharam arthyam

aviplavam.' It was patu, sharp and pungent,

gabheeram,resonant,udhaaram, distinct, anaakulam, poised, hitham,

well wishing, due to her karuna the goddess Durga as she was to be

known later, wanted to warn him not to court destruction. It was also

avistharam, brief, arthyam, meaningful and aviplavam

unmistakeable.

 

She said that she was aseshasuraasuramohinee, the deluder of all

devas and asuras, being the Maya of the Lord, the destroyer of

madhukaitabha, the maya that veils the real nature of the Lord,

yavanikaa. Then she warned him that his destroyer is in the house of

Nanda, 'Vasathi nandagrhe vibudhadhvishaam dhamayithaa vasudeva

samudbhavah thava naasayitha.' In the Bhagavatha the Yogamaya does

not divulge the whereabouts of Krishna but Desika boldly makes her

give the address of Krishna perhaps to make it clear to Kamsa that he

cannot harm Krishna even if he finds Him.

 

Then the scene changes and in Gokula yasodha and other regains

consciousness from the swoon-like sleep induced by the maya of the

Lord and Yasodha found a male child next to her. Desika describes the

Lord as the one who is aagamabhooshana, ornament to the vedas, who is

enquired into by the sages even now without finding His real nature,

became the ornament of the gopas due to destiny of His own making.

 

After Krishna came to Gokula there was no death of calves and the

cows were contented and gave plenty of milk as Andal

said, 'vaangakkudam niraikkum vallal perum pasukkal.' The person had

no fear from robbers and from disease and Desika says that the life

in Gokula resembled that in Krthayuga.

 

Nanda celebrated the birth of Krishna elaborately. 'Adhichakaara

vadhaanyamaneh sriyam vyadhitha kalpathroranukalpathaam ajanayaccha

sutha prasavotsave mahathi megha vikatthana modhathaam.' That is,

Nanda appropriated the glory of

chitamani, the wish-giving gem, by his generosity, which made the

kalpataru lose its importance and he outshined the rain giving clouds

by his shower of gifts. This made the people of Gokula,says Desika,

look down on the Indraloka. The news of the celebratiobns in Gokula

pacified the minds of Devaki and Vasudeva who were separated from

Krishna, the puraanapurusha, who had come to them through the penance

of earlier life.' putram prasooyathapasaa purusham puranam kaalam

chiram vidhivasaath kila viprakarshou.'

 

The two boys, Balarama and Krishna grew up in Gokula like the Moon in

sukla paksha creating happiness not only to the inhabitants but also

to devas who were eagerly waiting for the destruction of Kamsa and

others.

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