krishnakarnamrtham-slokas22to25

[Guest guest]

22.vichithrapathraankuraSaalibaalaa sthanaantharam mouni manaantharam vaa

apaasya brindhaavanpaadhapaasyam upaasyam anyam na vilokayaama

 

Except the chest of the young girls,baalaasthanaantharam, decorated with variety of leaves and buds, vichithra pathrankurasaali, or the heart of the sages, mouni manontharam, or the foot of the trees of Brindavan, brindhaavanapaadhapaasyam, there is no other place to seek Krishna upaasyam anyath na vilokayaama.

Krishna lives in the heart of the gopis whose devotion even surpasses that of sages. So Leelasuka says you can find Him in the mind of the sages by all means but He is easily available in the heart of the gopis and under the trees of Brindavan.

 

In Srimadbhagavatham Krishna himself extols the love of gopis to Uddava. He says that the gopis, cows and even trees and other animals attained him by sheer love. Here the word mouni can mean those who have their minds engrossed in the Lord as mentioned in the Gita.' mayyeva manaaadhathsva,' who have given up all attachment and contemplate only on Him with devotion. The gopis were equal to the sages in this respect, if not more because they never studied the sasthras or observed any austerities but surrendered to Him body and soul.

 

Uddhava says on seeing the devotion of the gopis,

 

Ethaah param thanubhrtho bhuvi gopavaDhvah

govinda eva nikhilaathmani rooDabhaavaah

vaancChanthi yath bhavabhiyah muanyah vayam cha

kim brahmajanmabhih ananthakaThaa rasasya (Bh. 10-47-58)

 

It means that the gopis are really obtained the fruit of embodiment by their firm-rooted love for Govinda, surrendering to Him body and soul, whom the sages and the devotees like himself wish to attain, fearing the samsara . What earthly use is the birth as a brahmin for one who savoured the story of Hari!

 

This reflects the idea expressed by the Lord in Bhagavtgita,

`Naaham vedairna thapasa nadhaanena na chejyayaa----- bhakthyaathu ananyayaa labhyah.'

"I am not attained by learning the Vedas, nor by penance nor by charitable acts nor by performing sacrifices. I am solely attainable through selfless and unswerving devotion. "

 

Uddhava says, `vandhe nandhavrajasthreeNaam paadhareNum abheekshnaSah, yaasaam harikaThodhgeetham punaathi bhuvanathrayam.'meaning, "I salute the dust under the feet of the gopis who purify the three worlds by singing the names of Hari."

 

 

23. saarDham samrddhaih amrthaayamaanaih

aaDhymayamaanaih muraleeninaadhaih

moorDhaabhiShiktham maDhuraakrtheenaam

baalam kadhaa naama vilokayishye

 

When am I going to see the young Krishna who is the crowning beauty of all lovely forms along with his music from the flute that creates abundance of nectar!

 

Krishna plays the flute which pours nectar in the ears of the listeners, and added to that His form is loveliness personified a crowning glory of all things beautiful. He is thus soundaryalaharee, ocean of beauty and maadhurya laharee, sea of sweetness by his music and thus creating aanandhalaharee, waves of joy in the mind of the devotees. He creates the longing for more in those who see him and hear him,

 

This reminds us of the sloka in Narayaneeyam where NarayanaBhattadhri describes Guruvayurappan from head to foot. He says, "seeing the beautiful young form in front of me, dhivya kaiSoraveSham, I am merged in nectar, peeyooShaaplaavithoham. He entreats the Lord, ` place your flute, veNunaaleem, on your lips , and fill our ears with the flow of the nectar of nadha brahmam that cools the whole universe, SabdhabrahmaamrthaiH SiSirithabhuvanaiH sincha me karNaveeTheem.'

 

24. SiSireekuruthe kadhaa nu naH SikhipicChaabharanaSiSur dhrSoH

yugalam vigalan maDhudhrava smitha mudhraa mrdhunaa mukhendhunaa

 

When will the child Krishna wearing the ornament of the peacock feathers please our eyes with his soft moon-like face giving out his nectarine smile!

 

Let us see how Narayana bhattadhri describes the form of Krishna adorned by peacock feathers and his smile.

Neelaabham kunchithaagram ghanam amalatharam samyatham chaarubhangyaa

Rathnotthamsabhiraamam valayitham udhayath chandhrikaih pincChjaalaih (Nara.100-2)

The hair of Krishna is thick and black curling at the ends and bound beautifully and adorned with gems. On that the peacock feathers shine with the eye-like center resembling the rising moon.

 

Vedantadesika gives a tall order to the Lord,

 

adharaahitha chaaruvamsanaaLaah makutaalambhimayoorapicchamaalaah

harineelasilaavibhangaleelaah prathibhaah mamaanthimaprayaaNe santhu

( (Gopalavimsathi-12)

 

Desika entreats the Lord to appear in front of him during his last journey with all His splendour , His flute on His lower lip, peacockfeather applied to his locks as a garland and His body shining like a blue sapphire.

 

Leelasuka also expresses the same wish elsewhere.

 

25. kaaruNyakarburakataakShanireekshaNena

thaaruNya samvalitha SaiSava vaibhavena

aapuShNathaa bhuvanam adbhuthavibhrameNa

Sree krshNa chandhra SiSireepurulochanam me.

 

Oh Krishna chandhra, with your look tender with mercy, with your form elegant and young, with your sportive acts that nourish the whole world, cool down my eyes also.

 

Here Krishna is called Krishna Chandra , the moon who is Krishna. It denotes wonder as he is Krishna dark and yet he is the moon. He is elegant like the moon, nourishes the world by he is nectar of glance like the rays of the moon. The commentators say that by denoting Krishna as the moon the eye of the devotee signifies the lily, kumudha that blossoms by the rays of the moon.

 

The eyes of the Lord is compared to both the Sun and the Moon, fierce like the Sun to wards the wicked and cool like the Moon towards His devotees. Andal says,' thingaLum aadhitthiyanum ezhundhaarpol angaN iraNdum koNdu engaL mel nokkudhiyEl engaL mEl Saapam izhindhElO rempaavaai.' (Thiruppavai-23)

 

It means that if the Lord looks at us with both His eyes like the rising Sun and the Moon our sins will be washed off. Rising Sun is quite pleasant and the Moon is always cool.

 

Here Krishna himself is addressed as chandhra because his whole being is oozing with nectar and his glance full of mercy will be cooling to the devotee who is tormented by the heat of the samsara.