Krishnanandalahari- Yadhavabhyudhya of vedantadesika-chapter8 Venugaanam and Ras

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Advent of the Spring season

It was spring time in Brindavan The wind was soft and gentle and Krishna enjoyed it in the company of young damsels and Balarama. Spring is the time of love and the god of love, Manmatha was not far behind.

The cuckoos, with their shrill note of Panchama svara, seemed to give their blessings to Manmatha,who has the bow called pundra and arrows of flowers and wishes to conquer the world.

The champak flowers with their red tips shone like the flames of the lamps for the festival of Kama.

The malaymArutham, southerly wind, which rose from the river Thamraparni, wandered around, strewing flowers all around, like the elephant with rut belonging to the god of love.

The Thamraparni is described as mukthApaga,the source of pearls. it is also the land of mukthas, released souls like Nammazvar.

In Bhagavatha it is said that there will be great bhakthas in the south and in the west during kaliyuga, in the lands where the rivers Thamraparni, Karveri and Mahanadhi flow.

kalou khalu bhavishyanthi nAraynaparAyaNAh

kvachit kvachit mahArAja dhravidEshu cha bhooriSah

thAmraparNee nadhee yathra krthamAlA payasvinee

kAvEree cha mahApuNya pratheechee cha Mahanadhee

Most of the azvars and acharyas were found in the land of Thamraparni and Kaveri and great devotees belong to the land of Mahanadhi.

Hence the southerly wind coming from Thamraparni, like an elephant emerges after dipping in the river roamed around everywhere reachng the land of Brindavan. This denotes the atmostphere of bhakthi in the scene of rasakreeda.

The wind rising from its dip in the river implies coolness and carrying flowers in its wake denotes the fragrance thus pleasing to the senses.

When the bees sat on the flowers and rose from them it looked like the bowstring of Kama bending and stretching.The karnikara flowers, orange in colour, shaking with the breeze seemed to do the mangalarathi for Manmatha.

When Krishna entered the forest, the flowers fell from trees and did abhisheka for him.Krishna showed the delightful scene to Balarama and compared the forest to the garden of Kubera.

All animals shed their natural enmity and and lion cubs and elephent cubs played happily together as though born of same mother drinking the milk of the she-lion..'simheevaSAsthanyavidhO bhajanthE subhrAthrthAm kEsaridhanthipOthAh.'

Krishna said that the forest deities were singing as though pleased with the white colour of the body of Balarma which is like the moon to the chakora birds.( the legendary chakora birds were said to thrive only on moonlight.)

The river Yamunaa was fanning with her lotuses and it looked like Balarama with his blue garment with its white colour and its blue flowers ( indraneela)

Then inspired by the beauty of the scene Krishna started playing the flute as though calling the gopis.Desika describes this as,

prAyasthadhAhvAnavidhou niyOkthum

pragrhya vENum prathipanna dhoothyam

nyavESayath kungmalithE saleelam

bibmbAdharE soochitha chittha rAgE.

He put the flute on his closed lips as though to send it as a messenger to convey his love to the gopis.

Then starts the descriprtion of the venugana and the arrival of gopis for Rasakreeda.