Krishnakarnamrtham-end of part 2 second Asvasa

[Guest guest]

99. gaayanthi kshaNadhaavsaanasamaye

saanandham indhuprabhaa

runDhanthyo nijadhanthakaanthinivahaiH

gopaanganaaH gokule

maThnanthyo dhaDhipaaNikankaNa

jhaNathkaaraanukaaram javaath

vyaavalgath vasanaanchalaa yam aniSam

peethaambaro avyaath sa naH

 

 

May Krishna who wears the yellow silk garment, on whom the gopis of Gokula sing gleefully in the early morning, their teeth outshining the moon by their whiteness, indhuprabhaarunDhanthya nijadhantha kaanthi nivahaiH, the end of their garments swiftly swirling keeping time with the jingling of their bracelets while churning the curd, protect us.

 

The gopis get up early in the morning, kshaNaavasaane, and start churning the curd for butter. Andal refers to this in Thiruppavai as `kaaSum pirappum kalakalppa kaipertthu vaasa narunguzal aaycchiyar matthinaal oSaippaduttha thayiraravam kEttilaiyo,' meaning, "Do you not hear the sound of the neck ornament of the gopis, who have started churning milk and the sound of the curd being churned," to indicate that the day has dawned.

 

When they are churning, maThnanthyah, they sing joyfully, saanandham gaayanthi, about the exploits of Krishna. The end of their garments swirl swiftly, vyaavalgath vasanaanchalaaH javaath, with the motion of the churning rod and their bracelsts are making jingling sound. The movement of the clothes and the bracelets are keeping the same time-beat, paaNikankaNa jhaNath kaaraanukaaram, says Leelasuka.

 

100.amsaalambithavaamakundalabharam

mandhonnathabhroolatham

kimchith kunchithakomalaaDharaputam

saachiprasaarekshaNam

aalolaangulipallavaiH muralikaam

aapoorayantham mudhaa

moole kalpatharoH thribhangilalaitham

jaane jaganmohanam

 

I comprehend Krishna , the enchanter of the three worlds, who is playing the flute under the kalpakatree, with his body bent gracefully in three places, letting out music with his fingers moving rapidly,with his lower lip pouched a little,his eyebrows slightly raised,with slanted and moving eyes, with the ornament on his right ear hanging down and touching his shoulder.

 

This is a beautiful picture of Krishna playing the flute. He is standing under the kalpaka tree, moole kalpatharoH, His body is bent in three places,thribhangilalitham, in a graceful posture. His head is inclined towards left, and the kundala on his left ear is hanging down and touching his shoulder, amsalambithavaamakundalabharam. His pretty lower lip, komalaaDhraputam, is pouted a little, kimchith kunchitham, when he is sending out notes through the holes of the flute joyfully, aapoorayantham muralikaam mudhaa, by moving his sprout-like fingers, aalolaangulipallavaiH.. His eyebrow is slightly raised, mandhaonnathabhroolatham, and his eyes are slanted and moving, saacheeprasaarekshaNam.

 

This brings to mind the pasuram of Pariezvar, the second of the ten beautiful pasurams describing Krishna playing the flute.

` idavaNarai idatthOLodu Saaytthu

iru kai kooda puruvam neRindhE Ra

kudavayiRu pada vaay kadai kooda

govindhan kuzal kondoodhiya pOdhu `

 

Bending his face and shoulders to the left, two hands together with his brow raised,his stomach expanded like a pot and with pouted mouth when Govinda played the flute-----

 

101. mallaiH sailendhrakalpaH SiSuH itharajanaiH

pushpachaapo anganaabhiH

gopaiH thu praakrthaathmaa dhivi kuliSabhrthaa

viSvakaayo aprameyaH

krudDhaH kamsens kaalaH bhayachakithadhrSaa

yogibhiH DhyeyemoorthiH

dhrshto rangaavathaare hariH amarakaNaan

anthakrth paathu yushmaan

 

May Hari, who appeared like a mountain to the wrestlers when he entered the wrestling ring, as a child to others, as the god of love to the women, as an ordinary mortal to the cowherds, as the supreme Lord who has the whole universe as His body to Indhra in heaven, as the angry god of death to Kamsa who was shaking with fear and as the object of meditation to the yogis and cause of joy to the devas, protect us.

 

Krishna was viewed differently by different people according to their mental attitudes. To the wrsetlers Mushtika and Chanoora, who were appointed by kamsa to kill him and Balarama, he was formidable like a mountain,mallaiH SailendhrakalpaH. To the people watching the fight, he was a child, SiSuH itharajanaiH, which made them anxious for his safety. The women who were looking at him, his beauty made them think that he must be the god of love,pushpachaapo anganaabhiH, ManmaTha. The cowherds who came with him considered him as one of them, praakrthaathmaa, an ordinary mortal. The devas and Indra, kuliSabhrthaa, who were looking forward to the destruction of Kamsa by Krishna , knew that He was the supreme Lord who is the self of all sentient and insentient beings which form His sarira,viSvakaayo aprameyaH. and thus he was the cause of joy, amaragaNaanandhakrth, for the devas. To Kamsa himself who was looking at him with fear, bhayachakithadhrsaa Krishna appeared as the god of death, krudDhaH kaalaH, Yama, who is advancing with anger towards him. To the sages He was the Brahman whom they meditated on, yogibhiH DhyeyamoorthiH, for salvation.

 

The Lord appears to all beings as they fancy, both devotees and others alike.

 

102. sanDhyaavandhana badhram asthu bhavathe

bho snaana thubhyam namaH

bho dhevaaH pitharscha dharpaNavidhou

naaham kshamaH kshamyathaam

yathra kvaapi nisheedhya Yaadhavakula

utthamsasya kamsadhvishah

smaaram smaaram agham haraami thath

alam manye kim anyena me

 

 

Sandhyavandhana, may you be blessed, salutations to you, the ritual of taking bath, snaana.. Oh devas and pitrs, I am not able, naaham kshamaH, to do dharpana etc. Please forgive me, kshamyathaam. I am going to sit somewhere , kvaapi nisheedhya,and contemplate again and again, smaaram smaaram, on Krishna , the head jewel of the clan of yadhavas, yaadhavakulotthamsam, and the enemy of Kamsa, kamsadhvishaH, and destroy my sins, agham haraami. I think that it is sufficient, thath alam manye and why do I need, kim anyena me, any other means of salvation?

 

This sloka extols the supremacy of parapatthi over everything else. By surrendering oneself to the :Lord we have no need for any other means to attain Him. As He Himself has said `.sarvadharmaan parithyajya maam ekam SaraNam vraja; aham thvaam sarvapaapebhyaH mokshayishyaami.' "Give up all the auterities and surrender to Me and I will release you from all sins" This is the import of the sloka. By offering all his thoughts, words and deed , whatever such a person does, says or thinks becomes His worship.

 

 

 

 

103. kasthoorithilakam lalaata phalake

vakshasThale kousthubham

naasaagre navamoukthikam

karathale veNum kare kankanam

sarvaange harichandhanam cha kalayan

kanTe cha mukthaavaliH

gopasthree pariveshtitho vijayathe

gopaala choodaamaNiH

 

The jewel of cowherds is victorious with e mark of kasthuri, kasthoorithilakam, on his broad forehead,lalaataphalake, the kousthubhamani on his chest, vakshasThale kousthubham, the pearl on his nose, naasaagre navamoukthikam, the flute in his hands, karathale veNum, the bracelet on his arm,kare kankaNam, smeared all over with sandalpaste, sarvaange harichandhanamcha kalayan, the pearl necklace round his neck, kanTe cha mukthaavaliH, and surrounded by the gopis, gopasthreepariveshtitho.

 

This sloka is more or less similar to the sloka 92 in meaning and it makes one wonder whether one of the two is an interpolation. This is a well known sloka though it is not sure whether it was attributed to Leelasuka. In this Asvasa there are a few slokas which are either atttrrbuted to others or not in-keeping with the aesthetic charm of the calbre of Leelasuka. For instance we find the sloka `he gopalaka he krpaajalnidhe ,' which is obviously the composition of Kulasekhara in his Mukundamala. Such slokas I have not included in my writings.

 

 

104.lokaan unmadhayan Srutheen mukharayan

kshoNeeruhaan harshayan

Sailaan vidhravayan mrgaan vivaSayan

Gobrndham aanandhayan

Gopaan sambhramayan muneen mukulayan

Sapthasvaraan jrmbhayan

omkaaraarTham udheerayan vijayathe

vamSee ninaadhaH SisoH

 

The sound of music from the flute of the child Krishna, vamSeeninaadhaH SiSoH, is triumphant, vijayathe, while it enchants all the worlds, lokaan unmadhayan, resonant with the vedas, Srutheen mukharayan, exhilarating the trees,ksoNeeruhaan harshayan, melting the mountains, Sailaan vidhraavayan, attracting the animals, mrgaan vivaSayan, giving joy to the cows, gobrndham aanandhayan, amazing the cowherds, gopaan sambhramayan, immersing the sages in meditation, muneen mukulayan, spreadng the seven notes everywhere, sapthasvaraan jrmbhayan, and expounding the meaning of praNava, omkaaraarTham udheerayan.

 

The music from the flute was sabdhabrahmaamrtham as Narayana Bhattadhri calls it in kesaadhipaadhaantha sthorthram , the last sarga of Narayaneeyam.This is what is the meaning of the word Srutheen mukharayan in the above sloka. In Krishnavathara , from the moment Krishna started uttering syllables as a child till the Geethopadhesa every sound that was associated with him was that of the vedas., including the sound made by the cows in Brindavan, as Desika puts it in his Yadhavabhyudhaya.As the wellknown sloka says `SiSurvetthi paSurvetthi vetthi gaanarasam phaNee,'( the taste of music is known to an infant, an animal and a serpent), music by itself is capable of elevating the soul of all beings. Is there anything surprising when it comes from the Lord Himself? It is the veda itself and the exposition of Omkaara as leelasuka puts it.

Periazvar describes this vividly in the ten pasurams about the venugana of Krishna as `marundu maan kanangal meygai marandhu meyndhapullum kadaivaai vazi sOra, the deer enchanted by the venugana, mrgaan vivasayan as Leelasuka puts it, forgot even to chew the grass they grazed which fell from their mouths and they stood like the picture in a painting.' Ezudhu chitthirangal pOla ninranavE' Even the trees were exhilarated, kshoNeeruhaan harshayan, says Leelasuka, which Periazvar expresses as `marangaL ninRu madhuthaaraigL paayum, malargaL veezum malarkombugaL thaazum,irangum koombum thirumaal ninRa pakkam nOkkiyavai seyyum guNamE.' The trees shower honey, and the flowers fall from the branches,which bend down and turn towards the direction where Krishana was.

 

In Srimadbhagavatham it is said that the sages took the form of birds and listened to the music of the flute of Krishna from the branches of the trees and the rivers flow slower, hearing the music and exhibit their exitement by the whirlpools and offer lotus flowers to the feet of Krishna with waves as their hands.

 

Desika compares the venugana to the sound of the vedas by a beautiful sloka in Yadhavabhyudhaya.

 

mukundhavakthranilavaadhyamaanaH

veNurbabhou vedha iva dhvitheeyaH

raagaavaDheenaam rahasaa yadhekam

geethaathmano thasya nidhaanam aaseeth (Yadh.8.47)

 

The flute played by Krishna appeared like a second veda. Vedas teach the ending of ragadhvesha and impart the secret knowledge of the upanishats, which are given out by Krishna in Gita, raagaavaDheenaam rahasa geethaathmanaH nidhaanam.There is a pun on the words to compare the flute-playing with the vedas. Referring to the music of the flute it was also a secret call, rahasaa , for the gopis who reached the limit of love, raagaavaDheenam in the form of music, geethaathmanaa.

 

Also Desika says that the music from the flute created a state similar to that of samaaDhi for all beings, man .bird and beast so that all became like sages.

 

thadhvamSanaadhaH subhago anugacchan

agresaram sourabham aagamaanaam

ayathnanishpanna manssamaaDheen

aabrahmakaan aathanuveva janthoon(Yadh.8.48)

 

To top all this, Thyagaraja has put it in a nutshell in his krthi `saamajavaragamana, ` by the words, `vedhaSiro maathrja sapthasvara naadhaachala dheepa sveekrtha yaahdava kulamuralee vaadhana vinodha mohanakara.' He addresses Krishna, the wonderful an enchanting flute player of the clan of yadhavas as the light that illuminated the mountaiin of naadha, formed by the sapthasvaras which originated from the mother Omkaara, the peak of the vedas.

 

 

This is the end of second Asvasa of Kru ishnakarnamrtham