yadhavabhyudhaya-chapter19

August 30, 2007

Chapter19- Krishna wakened by the Vedas

Krishna on hearing about the imprisonment of Aniruddha decided to advance against Bana the next day and spent the night in his palace. On the daybreak he was awakened by the vedas themselves assuming the role of vandhis, the bards who normally wake up the king by their song of praise.

The whole adhyaya consists of the waking up of Krishna. The meaning of some of the eighty slokas will be explained here.

Krishna , says Desika, who is always awake, nithyaprabuddha, with his divine intellect, was closing his lotus-like eyes as though he was sleeping.

..

yAminyapaithi yadhunATha vimuncha nidhrAm

unmesham icchathi thavonmishithena lokam

jAthah svayam khalu jagath hithameva karthum

DharmapravarthanDhiyA DharaNeethale thvam

(Yad.19.2)

"The Lord of yadhavas! Give up your sleep. When you open your eyes it will be the waking up of the whole world. You have manifested yourself to do good to the world because of your will to spread dharma."

This has reference to the GIta sloka `uthseedheyuh ime lokAh na kuryAm karmacheth aham,' in which the Lord says that the wolrds will collapse if He does not do His work, namely the protection of the world of beings. The words jAthah svayam khalu indicates that the seeming births of the Lord as Krishan Rama etc. are only His manifestations.

Santhyajyathe tharalamoukthikajAladhrSyaih

thArAgaNaih thridhaSavarthma thamAlaneelam

padhmApatheh amrtha nirmaThanAvasAne

dhugDhAmburASiprshathaih iva roopam agryam

(Yad.19.7)

The sky regains its blue colour becoming devoid of the stars like the body of the Lord which regained His original colour at the end of the churning of the ocean for nectar when, the drops of the milky ocean that were splattered on His body fell off.

The cocks with red crown with their loud cry come out of the houses and play to the joy of the damsels. This reminds of the line `kozi azaitthana kAN,' in Thiruppavai pasuram of Andal.

Prathyakshithe thamasi yAsyathi viprakarsham

Sanccahnna bhAnumathi samprathi jeevaloke

gangAyamAnasalilam nijaraSmiyogAth

sishNAsyeva sithabhAnuh upaithi sinDhum

(Yad.19.13)

The darkness that has been perceptible so long is going to vanish and the Sun is still hidden from the view of all beings and the Moon enters the ocean which has been made white by his rays as though he wishes to take bath in the Ganges. The implication here is that the Sun is hidden when the thamas, that is Rahu is present during eclipse. So the entering of the Moon in to the ocean is compared to the bath taken at the end of eclipse when all waters are considered to be as pure as the Ganges. The Moon is referred to as sithabhAnu, which means one with white rays. The poetical fancy continues further when Desika personifies the dawn as the wife of the Sun who has got up earlier like a good wife and the red hue of the rising Sun in the dark morning is the mark of Sindhoor at the parting of her dark hair.

The philosopher comes to the forefront in the following sloka along with the poet.

prAdhurbhavishyathi charAcharjanthuvarge

prApthAruNena viDhunA thamasA cha vela

AbhAthi bhAvithaparasparleSayogA

mAyAvipakthih iva lohitha SuklakrshNA

(Yad.19.18)

The time of the morning, before the moveable and immovable beings woke up, is red with Aruna, dawn, white Moon and the darkness still remaining, is like the causative elements of the universe, namely, fire, red, water, white and earth, black. It resembles the prkrthi or primal nature which consists of the three gunas, which are described as red, white and black, before creation.

The dawn is compared to the Lord with lotuses blossoming like His eyes opening, the colour of the indheevara flowers shining like the dark blue of His body, welcomed by the sages who got up in the morning, accompanied by the red colour of the dawn like that of Lakshmi and with rathAnga, that is chakravaka birds (the word raThAnga also means chakrayudha.

The light of the Sun starting from the east waking up the flowers and destroying the darkness is like the light brilliance of the chakra of the Lord, rising up to delight the good and to destroy the asuras.

pAdhasprSAM dhiSathibhoomibhrthAmprakASam

satthvam sameDhayathisadhbhih udheerithArGhyah

thejogaNANapithirasuruthe svadheepthyA

chakrapriyah thvam ivasamprthi chandabhAnuh

(Yad.19.35)

The Sun when risen is like Krishna himself because he gives light to the bhooDhara mountains by his rays, padha, make the endeavour grow by inducing action. He is worshipped by the good. He eclipses the glory of other luminous bodies by his light and he is dear to the chakravakas, chakrapriyah. Krishna is also chakrapriya, fond of his chakra, and gives light of knowledge to the kings bhooDhara, who resort to him, makes the good actions flourish and worshipped by the good.

Aruna, the dawn removed part of the darkness and the Sun destroyed the rest. This is like some of the sins being removed by the association of the good and the rest of the sins are destroyed later by the wise who make us meditate on the Lord.

Desika the baktha makes reference now to Sri Narasimha and Sri Varaha. He says that the Sun is like Narasimha who manifested suddenly and tore the body of Hiranyakasipu in tearing away the darkness. The earth which was immersed in the darkness for long is rescued by the Sun like the time when the earth was immersed in the sea by Hiranyaksha and was brought out by Varaha.

Now we see the vedanthacharya coming to the forefront in the following sloka.

nidhrAm apAsya thamasA cha dhrSo niroDham

prathangmukham praThamathah praThayan prakASam

niSSreyasa prathipadhena nijena DhAmnA

viSvam samADhiriva dharSayathi vivasvAN

Desika compares the Sun to the state of samADhi or realization. He wakes up the sleeping, dispels the darkness, spreads the light to the west and then shows himself and causes the welfare of the world. SamaDhi also is achieved after first dispelling the darkness of ignorance which makes the individual soul sleep in worldliness, as though in a dream and then creating awareness in the self and then causing the perception of reality resulting in moksha. Here the prathyak means the west and also the individual soul and nissreyas is both worldly welfare as well as moksha.

The elephants getting up is compared to the benefactors who are ever engaged in the act of giving gifts to others. The trunk of the elephants are always covered with rut like the water flowing from the vessel used for dhAna. The bees which hover around them are like those who are asking for gifts and the elephants getting up is compared to the respectful gesture of the donors towards the receivers of the gifts.

After along description of the morning the bards entreated Krishna to get up from his bed like the adhisesha and cast his honey-like merciful glances towards them from his lotus eyes.

The next adhyaya describes the defeat of Bana and the marriage of Usha and Aniruddha.