Krishnakarnamrtham_part3-slokas41to 50

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41. anuchumbathaam avichalena chethasaH

manujaakrtheH maDhurimaSriyam vibhoH

ayi dheva krshNa dhayitha ithi jalpathaam

api no bhaveyuH api naama thaadhrSaH

 

Even to us who speak inarticulately, jalpathaam, His name as Oh Lord, Krishna, beloved etc. will occur,thaadhrSaaH api no bhaveyuH, the experiences of those who enjoy, anuchumbathaam, the nectarine richness of Krishna, maDhurima Sriyam vibhoH with steadfast mind, avichalena chethasaa, concentrated on Him.

 

In this sloka Leelasuka speaks about the yogic experience of those who meditate on the Lord as the sweet form as Krishna with steady mind. This experience, says Leelasuks can be had by mere saying His names without undergoing any rigorous disciplines of yoga.

 

Srimadbhagavatham says, 'kalou nama sankirthanam' the surest and easiest way to get release from bondage in kaliyuga is through

Namasankirthanam. This is what is referred to here by Leelasuka in this sloka. The only mans of attaining the same goal as the yogis do with difficult path of yoga and meditation is namasankeerthanam. Kulasekhara says,

 

Sreevallabhethi varadhethi dhayaaparethi

Bhakthapriyethi bhavlunTankovidhethi

naaThethi naagaSayanethi jagannivaasethi

aalaapinam prathipadham kuru me mukundha

 

"Oh Mukundha, make me at every step utter your names, Srivallabha the Lord of Lakshmi, Varada, giver of boons, dhayApara, filled with mercy,bhakthapriya, dear to your devotees who are dear to you,bhavalunTana kOvidha, one who is skilled in taking away the samsara from His devotees,nAtha, Lord of the universe,nAgaSayana, on who reclines on Adisesha and jagannivAsa, one who is manifest all over the world."

 

42. kiSoravesheNa krSodhareedhrSaam

viSeshadhrSyena viSaalalochanam

yaSodhayaa labDha yaSonavaambuDheH

niSaamaye neela niSaakaram kadhaa

 

When will I see Krishna, with large eyes, viSaalalochanam, who is like the dark moon, neela niSaakaram, to the novel sea of fame,yaSonavaabuDheH, obtained by Yasodha, yaSodhayaa labDham, and who forms a special sight, viSeshadhrSyeNa for the eyes of the gopis with slender waists, krSodhareedhrSaam, with his young form, kiSoravesheNa. The yamaka in every line is beautiful.

 

Yasodha obtained fame as the mother of Krishna and it is as vast as the sea. Krishna is the moon though dark yet lustrous like the blue sapphire, the moon that causes exuberant waves of the fame. He is a sight which I something special and extraordinary to the eyes of the gopis with slender waists with his youthful form and large eyes.

 

43. prakrthiH avathu naH vilaasalakshmyaaH

prakrthijadam praNathaaparaaDhaveeThyaam

sukrthikrthapadham kiSorabhaave

sukrthimanaH praNiDhaanapaathram ojaH

 

May the light, ojaH, that is Krishna, in his young form, kiSorabhaave, who is the natural form of rich elegance, prakrthiH vilaasalakshmyaaH, who is naturally unaware, prakrthijadam of the path of sin of those who surrender to Him, praNathaaparaaDhaveeThyaam, whom those with meritorious deeds attain, sukrthikrthapadham, and who is the receptacle of the worship, praNiDhaanapaathram, of those with pure minds, sukrthimanaH, protect us, avathu naH.

 

Krishna as a young boy, is the embodiment of grace and beauty. He turns a blind eye to the faults of those who surrender to him. He is the goal for those who have done good deeds and a deserving receptacle of the worship for pure minds. The poetic skill is seen in the usage of the word prkrthi and sukrthi in the first two and the last two respectively.

 

44. apahasitha suDhaamadhaavalepaiH

athi sumanoharam aardhra mandhahaasaiH

vrajayuvathi vilochanaavalehyam

ramayathu Dhaama ramaavaroDhanam naH

 

May that light, Dhaama, give us joy, ramayathu, which, by a loving smile aardhramandhahaasa, very attractive, sumanoharam, puts to shame, apahasitha, the pride of nectar, suDhaamadhaavalepa, swallowed by the eyes of the gopis, vrajayuvathi vilochana avalehyam, and is the abode of Lakshmi, ramaa avaroDhanam

 

The nectarine smiles of Krishna seem to remove the pride of the nectar, being superior to it, because of being attractive and comforting to the mind, and hence swallowed by the gopis with their eyes. He is also the abode of Lakshmi. All this show his superiority to nectar which tastes good and gives immortality but Krishna besides giving immortality pleases all the senses and also gives happiness in this world being the abode of Lakshmi.

 

The word avaroDha usually means the inner apartments or harem in a palace, besides other meanings, and for Lakshmi , the Lord is the palace in which she resides and hence her harem.

 

45. ankuritha smera dhaSaaviSeshaiH

aSraantha harshaamrthavarsham akshNaam

samkreedathaam chethasi gopakanyaa

ghanasthana svasthyayanam mahO naH

 

The light, mahaH, that is Krishna, who ceaselessly showers nectar, aSraantha harshaamrthavarsham of joy to the eyes, akshNaam, with his sprouting smile, ankuritha smera, with its variations, dhaSaaviSeshaiH, and who constitutes the state of well being, svasthyayanam, in gopis play in our hearts, naH samkreedathaam chethasi..

 

The smile of Krishna appears like a sprout on his lips and spreads around giving joy to the eyes that seems to be a shower of nectar.

 

46. mrgamadha panka sangara viSeshitha vanya mahaa

girithata gandagairika ghanadhrava vidhrumitham

ajithabhujaantharam bhajatha he vrajagopavaDhoo

sthanakalaSasThalee ghusrNa mardhana kardhamitham

 

 

Oh devotees, meditate, bhajatha, on the chest of Krishna, the invincible, ajithabhujaantharam, which has been smeared red like coral, vidhrumitham. by the mixture of the kasthuri paste, mrgamadha panka sangara, and that of the red stone from the slopes of mountain freshly made, girithatagandagairika ghanadhrava and also with sandal paste from the body of the gopis

 

47. aamoola pallavitha leelam apaangajaalaiH

aasinchathee bhuvanam aadhrtha gopaveshaa

baalaakrthiH mrdhula mugDha mukhendhubimbaa

maaDhurya siddhiH avathaan maDhuvidhvisho naH

 

May the child form of Krishna, baalaakrthiH, of accomplished sweetness, maaDhurya siddhiH with soft and charming moon-like face, mrdhula mugDha mukhendhubimbaa, whose exploits have sprouted from the beginning, aamoola pallavitha leelam, who drenches the world with his glances, apaangajaalaiH aasinchathee bhuvanam and who has assumed the guise of a cowherd, aadhrtha gopaveshaa, protect us, avathaan naH.

 

The exploits, of Krishna have started from the very beginning of his incarnation when he appeared with four arms and changed himself into an ordinary baby and instructed Vasudeva what to do and almost immediately on reaching Gokula he destroyed Poothana. The cowherd form has been put on by him, who is the saviour of the world. He drenched the whole world by his merciful glances giving protection to all who approached him. For all this he appeared as an innocent and charming child with lotus-like face belying his true reality as the Lord , the destroyer of demons like Madhu.

 

48. viraNan maNi noopuram vraje

charaNaambhojam upaassva SaarngiNaH

sarase sarasi Sriyaa Sritham

kamalam vaa kalahamsanaadhitham

 

Worship the lotus feet of Krishna, charaNaambojam SaarngiNaH, with the anklets sounding, viraNan maNi noopuram, with gems inside like the cooing of the swan, kalahamsanaadhitham, in Gokula, vraje, or perhaps as the lotus, kamalam vaa, held by Lakshmi, sriyaasritham, in a lake full of lotuses, sarase sarasi accompanied by the sweet sound of swans.

 

This is one of the beautiful slokas which renders itself to tasteful explanation. In Gokula Krishna walks with his anklets filled with gems sounding sweetly like the sound made by the swans. Leelasuka tells everyone to meditate on the feet of Krishna as such. He gives an alternative by describing the feet as the lotus in a lotus-pond or lake. The feet of the Lord , the wielder of the bow Saarnga, is the lotus held by Lakshmi, meaning the feet fondled by Lakshmi when Lord Narayana is reclining on his bed of Adhisesha in the milky ocean. Here the lake full of lotuses is the Lord Himself.

 

Peyazvar says in his moonraam thiruvanthadhi,

 

kaNNum kamalam kamalamE kaitthalamum

maNNaLandha paadhamum mattravaiyE

 

The eyes, hands and feet of the Lord are like lotuses and His form is blue like the water of the lake. Kamban describes the Lord when He appeared in front of the devas as `karumugil thaamaraikkaadu pootthu,' that is, He looked like a dark cloud in which there was a forest of lotuses.

 

This is true in all His incarnations and the metaphor of the lotus-lake applies to Krishna who is referred to as Saarngi, the epithet of Lord Narayana. As such in all the lotuses in the lake ,that is the Lord the lotus fondled by Lakshmi is the feet. kalahamsadvani applies to this metaphor also as there will be the cooing of Hamsas in a lotus-lake . In the lake that is Narayana, the kalahamsadvani is the chanting of the Vedas by the sages who are hamsas or realized souls.

 

49. SaraNam aSaraNaanaam Saaradhambhoja nethraam

niravaDhi madhurimnaa neelavesheNa ramyam

smaraSaraparathanthra smeranethraambujaabhiH

vrajayuvathibhH avyaath brahma samveshtitham naH

 

 

May the Brahman, brahma, that is Krishna, who is the refuge SaraNam, of those who have no other resort, aSaraNaanaam, who has the eyes like lotus in autumn, Saaradhaambhojanethram, who is attractive by his blue form, neelavesheNa ramyam, which is of boundless sweetness, niravaDhi maDhurimNaa, and who is surrounded by love-stricken gopis, smaraSaraparathanthra, with eyes like full blown lotuses, smera nethraambujaabhiH..

 

In this sloka Leelasuka identifies Krishna with Brahman explicitly. Brahman has come down as Krishna in manifest form with eyes like lotus in the autumn when they are in full bloom. His form of blue hue is of limitless sweetness and he is surrounded by gopis with smiling eyes that show their love. Thus appearing in a form easily accessible he becomes the refuge of all who have no one else to resort to.

 

50. suvyktha kaanthibhara sourabha dhivya gathram

avyaktha youvanapareetha kiSorabhaavam

gavyaanupaalana viDhou anuSishtam avyaath

avyaajaramyam akhileSvara vaibhavam naH

 

May the incarnation of the Lord of the universe, akhileSvara vaibhavam, who has a lustrous and fragrant manifest form, suvyaktha kaanthibhara sourabha dhivya gaathram, in childhood with youth not yet manifest, avyaktha youvanapareetha kiSorabhaavam, naturally attractive, avyaajaramyam, and who was commissioned with the task of tending the cows, gavyaanupaalana viDhou anuSishtam protect us.

 

The Lord of the universe, Narayana, has incarnated as Krishna , the unmanifest Brahman becoming manifest. The form of the Lord as Krishna is naturally attractive lustrous and fragrant. He was sent with the duty of tending the cows and in this way, befriending himself with the simple folk like gopies and the dumb animals, he has shown his role as the refuge of those who have no one else to approach as made out in the previous sloka.