DID KRISHNA STEAL BUTTER? Part 3 (CONCLUDED)

[Guest guest]

DID KRISHNA STEAL BUTTER? Part 3

(Anbil Ramaswamy)

===============================================================

POIGAI AZHWAR

19. Azhwar asks Krishna: “Oh! Lord with sea blue hue!

When your mother caught you red handed (white handed?)

while stealing (besmeared with butter all over your body) and tied you to a mortar,

you never stopped crying all the time thinking of more and more butter and

this was seen and commented upon by all people.

Tell me how come! You contrived this situation?”

“viralODu vaai tOynda veNNai kaNDu, Aaichi

uralODu piNitha naanru – kural Ovaa du

yEngi ninaindu ayalaar kaaNa irundilaiyE?

OngOta vaNNaa! urai” (Mudal Tiruvantadi 24)

 

PEY AZHWAR

20. Azhwar comments on the scene as follows:

“What a big tummy he had!

He was not content with eating the whole world; he drank Pootana’s life along with the poison-smeared breast-milk.

Still not satisfied, he stole butter.

For this mischief, his mother awarded a punishment to him by fastening him with a rope.

May be, he swallowed this punishment also. Indeed, he should be having really a big belly!”

“maNNuNDum peychi mulai Undu maatraadaai

veNNai vizhunga veguNDu, Aaichi – kaNNIK

kayitrinaal kaTTathaan kattuNDu irundaan

VayitrinODaatraa magan” (Moonraam Tiruvantaadi 92)

 

SWAMI DESIKA

21. Swami Desika captures the scene in which Kutti Kannan enacts his “Navaneeta Naatyam”

in Gopala Vimsati Slokam 4.

And, you know where?

In Nanda’s palace: “Nanda BhavanE” In his own place!

 

And, the question arises why he should take butter from others’ houses.

It is not as if there was not enough butter at his home.

Did not Andal refer to the prosperity of Nandagopan’s palace?

“Vaanga kuDam niraikkum vaLLal perum PasukkaL” (Tiruppavai 3)

“Katruk karavai gaNangaL pala karandu” (Tiruppavai 11)

“Kanaithu iLam katrermai kanrukku irangi,

ninaithu mulai vazhiyE ninru paal sOra

nanaithu illam sEraakkum nar chelvan nangaai!” (Tiruppavai 12)

“yETra kalangaL ethir koNDu meedaLIppa,

maatraadE paal soriyum vaLLaL perum pasukkaL

aatrap paDaithaan maganE!” (Tiruppavai 21)

“Petram mEithu uNNum kulathil pirandu” (Tiruppavai 29)

 

22. Baala Mukunda AshTakam (Slokam 5) also mentions that when the Vraja kanyas were away

after securing dairy products safe, baby Krishna sneaked in to steal the products and devoured to his

heart’s content and pretended to be fast asleep.

sikhyE nidaaya adya payO dadeeni

bahir gataayaam vraja naayikaayaam/

bhunktvaa yatEshTam KapaTena suptam

Baalam Mukundam manasaa smaraami//

23. A question arises as to how one could steal anything when being watched closely.

The Vedas declare that Nitysooris constantly keep a vigilant watch with eyes wide open all over the world

(including Aayrapaadi) and for them even the pitch dark night becomes as bright as mid daylight when the Sun is at its zenith.

“tad vishNO: Paramam Padam sadaa pasyanthi sooraya:” and

“paryaaptyaa anataraayaaya sarva stoma ati raatram uttamam ahar bhavati”

--------------

Now, let us see what is “stealing” or “theft”

“Stealing” or “theft” implies taking another’s property illegally or without right.

When all the worlds, all the sentient beings (Chits) and insentient things (achits)

without any exception are the properties of Bhagavaan, it goes without saying

that “butter” is also his property. When he takes his own property, there can be no issue of theft here.

The only Azhwar who came to be the “defense attorney” for Kannan was “TiruppaaN Azhwar”

who concluded his “Amalan Adi piraan” thus:

veNNai uNDa vaayanai, enn uLLam kavarndaanai

enn amudinai kaNDa kaNgaL matronrinaik kaaNaa vE//

He did not use the word “steal” or “theft”. He merely said that Kannan ate butter.

Immediately, the Azhwar issued a correction slip saying “enn uLLam Kavarndaanai”

meaning what the Lord devoured was not butter but “uLLam”.

“uLLam” is an upa-lakshaNam (representative expression) for “Atma”.

Bhagavaan took back only the Atma which in any case belonged to him only.

Therefore, there is no question of any “theft” here and no need for him

to take anyone’s permission to do so.

 

King Janaka laid a challenge through the Siva Dhanus in Sri Sita's marriage;

Kumbar, the Aayar Chief laid a challenge in the form of the 7 bulls in the marriage of Nappinnai;

But, Vishnuchitta laid no challenges in the marriage of his daughter, Andal because of his obvious conviction

that in due time, “the owner would claim what he owned”

 

Here Lord Krishna claimed what he owned. No question of theft!

 

 

On the other hand, it is we who are guilty of theft because we think all the time that our soul belongs to us

while in reality, it belongs to the Lord, until we do “Bhara SamarpaNam” or “SaraNaagathi”

 

CONCLUSION: KRISHNA DID NOT STEAL BUTTER

==============================================================================

(CONCLUDED)

==============================================================================