Yadhavabhyudhaya- part 3

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Story of Krishna- Part3

 

 

Chapter 18- Travellogue !

 

Krishna traveled from Indraloka to Dvaraka with Sathyabhama and showed her the places they were crossing explaining about them.This reminds one of the immortal kavya Megha dhutha of kalidasa.

 

He starts by showing her the mount Meru in the north above the earth, on the way from Devaloka.

 

nisargakaLyANathayA pradheeptham

sarvottharam thatthvam ivaikam Adhyam

amum priye noonam athandhrithAni

jyotheemshi bhakthyA pariyanthi ajasram

 

Tn he mount Meru is compared to the Lord who is the supreme reality, sarvottharam thatthvam, and possesses infinitely auspicious qualities. The mount Meru is situated in the north of all , sarvottharam, always auspicious, nisarga kalyANatha being made of gold. The heavenly ; luminous bodies like the Sun and the Moon go round it, always, deligently, athandhritham pariyanthi ajasram as though with devotion, as the nithya sooris, the eternal souls always go round the Lord with devotion.

 

The sky with the stars shone as the canopy of pearls and the Meru in the centre was being showered by the water of the Ganges from heaven, like king having abhisheka performed to him and the luminous bodies going round were doing mangAlarathi as it were. The Meru abounds in caves of precious gems that put to shame those in the palaces of the dhikpalakas.

 

Krishna showed to Bhama how the earth itself looked like a lotus and the Meru was like the centre of the flower. The earth itself revolving like a chakra of the Lord.

 

Next Krishna describes the three regions of the earth, namely, IlAvrthavarsha, Harivarsha and Kimpurushavarsha. Garuda was flying over the Harivarsha, that is the modern Arabia which is situated to the south of IlAvrtha, Tibet and was nearing the Kimpurushavatrsha that is the slopes of Himalayas, which was inhabited by the mkimpurushas and kinnaras. The former have horse-face and the latter are musicians of celestial heritage. Garuda was flying high and low like a jet plane to show the places below and when he ascends above the clouds looked like the fans for the divine couple as they moved fast. The movement of Garuda was so smooth that the earth and the mountains with forests seem to come near them and recede as when we travel in a vehicle with high speed.

 

They were approaching Mount Kailas and Krishna compared it to the clouds of autumn which are white in colour and imagines that it is the heap of the sacred ash fallen from the body of Siva who dances in the pradhoshakala. The place of Kubera is also situated there and shine as though white-washed by the reflection of the snow- clad mountain peaks and it is enhanced by the waves of the Ganges flowing from the head of Siva when he shakes his head during his dance.

 

Desika here alludes to the incident of Ravana moving the kailasa mountain.

 

udhagravajravraNakarkaSAnAm

paryApthasAreNa bhujArgaLAnAm

anenavikhyApitha vikramamthath

rakshah pur ramasaravyam Aseeth

 

Kailasa mountain proclaimed the fame of Ravana who moved it with his twenty arms hardened by the blow of Vajra and who later fell for the arrow of Rama. By this sloka the strength of Ravana ,the greatness of Kailasa, which he could not move though tried because his hands were caught under it due to Siva pressing his big toe and also the glory of Rama who could vanquish such a valiant hero, are all brought out.

 

Krishna compared the mountain to Balarama by saying that it had dark middle due to the trees and white in the upper part and red at places due to the red sand of the mountain like Balarama who used to wear dark garment with a white body and his eyes red with wine.

 

The next sloka is full of poetic beauty.

 

niSamya dhivyadhrumasambhavAnAm

noonam ravam noopuramanjareeNAm

uddeeyamANAh pratyanthi amee thvAm

manjusvarAh mAnasa hamsadhArAh

 

 

The sound made by the cluster of flowers of the parijatha resembled the sound of the swans of the mAnaSA lake in Kailas and so the swans come in front as though honouring them.

 

Next they neared the city of SoNithapura where the asuras like Hiranayakasipu were ruling and which was at that time reigned by BaNAsura, the son of Bali, who pleased Siva by playing mrdhanga with his 1000 arms. Then Krishna pointed out the krouncha mountain in which Parasurama made a hole with his arrow and through that hole swans are flying with ease and it looked like the Ganges coming out of the ear of Jahnu. (Ganga when following Bhagiratha flodded the asrama of he sage Jahnu and he drank the river and let it out of his left ear as requested by Bhagirtha which was why Ganga acquired the name Jahnavi.)

 

Krishna showed to Sathyabhama the Manthara mountain which was churned by the devas to get amrtha. The poetic imagination of Desika runs riot in this chapter and he describes that the gems on the ornaments of the Lord which were stained by the blood of the asuras, became polished and shining due to the drops of nectar the fell on them when the peaks of the mountain were churned and hence they acted as the polishing stones for the gems. This from the mouth of Krishna Himself adds the vehemence and the sloka is also one of metrical beauty.

 

Vilagna dhaithyeSvara SoNithAnAM

vikunTa keyoorajushAmmaNeenAm

ayathnaSANopalathAmapushyan

ArdhrAh suDhAbinDhubhih asya kootAh

(Yad.18-30)

 

Krishna further said that the whirlpools of the sea stand as the marks of the speed of the mountain being churned in order to get amrtha and Lakshmi.. Here the words `lakshmeesuDhAsanjananAya,' reminds one of the words of Yamuna in his sthothra rathna where he says that the Lord took so much trouble to churn the ocean not for securing amrtha to the devas but only to get Lakshmi for Himself. Apart from the meaning in a lighter vein, this may mean that the Lord wanted Lakshmi not for Himself but for the world because she took place in His heart and made it full of mercy.

(Reading the sloka of Yamuna this sloka arose in the mind which I would like to share with the devotees.

SreeprApthyarTham eva yadhi mahadhAYAsam krtham

Thadhapi thava karuNA eva na svArTham

karuNekshaNenakarothi yA jaganmangalam

chakarTha thasyAh khalu nivAsam thava hrdhayam

 

That You have taken so much trouble to churn the ocean to get Lakshmi if nit an act of selfishness but for the sake of the world because You have made your heart her abode that she directs her merciful glances to all and causes the welfare of the world.)

 

Thus they reached the Himalayas which Krishna describes as the second Siva because it has Ganges and resorted to by the siddhapurushas and it forms the ornamental boundary to the land of Bharathavarsha. The description of the Himalayas by Desika can only be compared to that of Kalidasa in his kumarasambhava and it excels by the aura of devotion.