yadhavabhyudhaya of Desika

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In this context it would be interesting to note the peculiar

circumstances which made Vyasa write the Bhagavatha purana. The

Dasamaskandha, tenth section of Bhagavathapurana contains the story

of Krishna, the subject matter of Yadhavaabhyudhaya. It seemed that

after Vyasa had finished Mahabharatha and other vedantic works he

became depressed for no reason. Narada came to him and told him that

his feeling of depression born out of dissatisfaction was due to the

fact that though he exhaustively wrote about dharma and Vedanta he

did not write about the exploits and the glory of Krishna and the

incarnations of the Lord which would inculcate bhakthi . Hence his

heart became dry and depressed. Then Narada told him the whole

Bhagavata as he had learnt from Brahma. This was the inducement for

Vyasa to write the Bhagavatha purana. That is why Desika calls it

vibhudhajeevaathu, the life-giving elixir.

 

Desika refers to the Lord as Vibhu, and Sreemaan. He is Vibhu, all

powerful, all pervading, Sreemaan associated with Sree, Lakshmi. The

significance of the two adjectives is given by the words eko

vusvamidham chithram ajeejanath. He is eka, one only. `Sadheva soumya

idham agra aaseeth, ekameva adhvitheeyam (Chandhogya Up.) Sat alone

existed in the beginning, one only without a second.' Hence Brahman,

Lord Narayana of Visistadavaita, was both the material and

instrumental cause of the Universe. Usually in creation as applied to

the worldly things like the creation of a pot the material cause, the

mud and the instrumental cause, the potter are different. But before

creation, says the Upanishad there was none else than the Brahman. So

Brahman is the upaadhaana karana, material cause and nimiththa

kaarana, instrumental cause. This is indicated by the words svayam

and svasmin.

 

The Lord created the world which Desika describes as chithram,

wonderful. He compares it to a painting; chithram which is created by

the Lord with the brush of His leela, playful and without effort, and

the paint He used was His krpa, infinite mercy. The

canvas was nothing but the Lord Himself, svasmin, in Him, created by

Himself, svayam. This is in accordance with the concept of sarira-

sariri bhava of Visishtadvaita. The world consisting of sentient and

insentient beings is the body of the Lord of which He is the soul.

Before creation the world exists in Him in subtle form and after

creation it assumes the gross form.

 

Now what is the purpose of creation?

To say that it is His leela would make Him a sadist who has

created the world full of sorrow and misery for His sport.} No, it is

not so, says Desika, because He has coloured it with His krpa. The

word leela only denotes that the creation was as effortless as a play

for Him. He not only created but also sustains the universe through

His acts of mercy. The duhkha is due to our karma but to protect us

by showing the path to emancipation is His act of mercy.

 

Then Desika traces the clan of yadhu in which the Lord took the

incarnation as Krishna.

The first of the clan was Chandra, the Moon.' Chandramaa manaso

jaathah, the Moon was born from the mind of the

Lord.'(Purushasuktham) Desika gives the reason as to why the Moon was

born out of His mind. The Moon came out as though he is the

personification of the prasaadha, grace of the Lord,

paripaaalayithavyeshu prasaadha iva, towards the people deserve to be

protected, His devotees because the moon is jagadhaahlaadhakara,

gives happiness to all

 

Budha, the adhidevatha of the planet Mercury was the son of Moon and

Pururavas was the son of Budha. Pururavas, says Desika, was the

living example of the efficacy of sathaam aahitha vahneenaam

stheyathaa, the power of aahithaagni the sacrificial fire, which

represents the acts of sacrifice, yajna because it gave him the power

of visiting svarga where he fell in love with Urvasi, the celestial

damsel and married her.

 

The lineage of Pururavas flourished in all directions of the earth by

the fame of his descendants like Ayus and Nahusha, who attained the

status of Indra through his merit. When Indra incurred brahmahaththi

dosha, the sin of killing a Brahmin by his slaying

Vrthraasura, who was the son of Thvashta, a Brahmin , he had to leave

the svarga and do penance. Then the devas put Nahusha in the place

of Indra since he has performed hundred asvamedha yagas, which makes

him qualified for the post of Indra but he incurred the displeasure

of Agasthya and was cursed by him to become a snake.

 

Yayathi was the son of Nahusha and had three sons and one of them was

Yadhu, who was a vadhaanya, very generous and austere and just.

Vasudeva, the father of Krishna was born in the clan of Yadhu.

Vasudeva was Kasyapa prajaapathi in his previous birth and was the

father of both devas and. asuras. His wives Surabhi and Adhithi were

born as Rohini and Devaki in next birth and married Vasudeva. When

Vasudeva was born the divine musical instruments, aanaka and

dhundhubhi sounded and hence he acquired the name AAnakadhundhubhi.

 

Vasudeva was the refuge of the good as Lord Vishnu is for the world,

the Sun is for light and the sea is for gems. This implies that he

was the sole resort of the good as the earth was burdened with

unrighteous kings for whose destruction the Lord descended in the

form of Krishna. Even though born of the royal family Vasudeva was

intent on attaining mukthi and was not interested in the worldly

possessions and became content with whatever came to him of its own

accord?

 

Vasudeva got married to Devaki, the cousin sister of Kamsa whom he

loved very much but hearing the aerial declaration that the eighth

son of Devaki will be his killer Kamsa put them both in prison.

 

In the meanwhile the devas were approached by Bhoodevi who

entreated them to relieve her of he burden of adharma perpetuated by

the unrighteous kings who oppressed her like giant mountains. Then

they all approached the Lord Narayana along with Brahma with

Bhoodevi in front and started praying to Him.

 

The devas praised the Lord thus.

 

He is thrivedimadhya dheeptha, shines on the three vedas because He

is vedavedya, known through the Vedas. Here it would be interesting

to compare the words of Thyagaraja in his kriti `saamajavaragamana'

on Krishna. He calls Him `vedasiromaathrja

sapthaswara naadhaachaladheepa,' He shines as the light on the

mountain of naadha, made up of the seven notes, sapthasvara which

were born out of the head of vedas, that is pranava.

 

He is thridhaama, having three abodes, namely, Vaikunta which is His

paramapadha, supreme abode, the milky ocean and the surya mandala,

disc of the Sun, He is described in the upanishat as

Suryamandalamadhya varthi.

 

He has five weapons, panchahethayah, shankha, charka gadha ,sharnga

and khadga, the Conch, Disc, Mace, Bow and Sword respectively.

 

He is baahyaanthara havirbhuja, takes the external offering in the

yajna and also internal in the form of the self which is offered in

devotion and He as varadha, bestows His grace.

 

His power is independent ananyaadheenamahima and unlimited whereas

that of other gods are in His control paraadheenavaibhava and hence

limited. Devas beseech Him to protect them as He is

dhayaadheenavihara overwhelmed with mercy as shown by His acts like

killing Ravana. In this sloka the poetic skill is shown in the choice

of the epithets ananyaadheena svaadheena and dhayadheena.

 

The Lord is the ocean of mercy, dhayaambhudhi in which His gunas,

jnana bala aisvarya ,,shakthi , tejas and virya are the ratnas, gems

and the waves are His vyuhas and vibhavas. The six attributes,

knowledge, might, sovereignty, power, glory and valiance are called

bhagas and hence the name bhagavan. The vyuhas are His

manifestations as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradhyumna and Anirudhdha

and the vibhavas are His incarnations. These are metaphorically

described as the waves while the gunas are the precious gems which

are said to be in the ocean.

 

The glory of the Lord cannot be ascertained from the Vedas

even ,because they are His creation and they are compared to the

travellers who even after travelling from morning till evening are

unable to reach the destination ,namely to describe Him as such.

 

He puts on different costumes and comes down as incarnations like an

actor and He acts according to the role He assumes. This amuses the

wise who see Him act like a subordinate, a supplicant and obedient

son to His own children and dependents. He is the one who apportions

the result of karma to the individuals and it is all His leela which

waters the seeds of karma so that it brings forth the sprouts of

results, karmaphala. Desika says that this is true with all beings,

brahmaadhisthambaparyantham, from the four-faced Brahma down to the

blade of grass as everything is His creation only.

 

He shines in the hearts of the pure in His full splendour and like

the Chintamani fulfils all their wishes. Chintamani is a precious gem

which is supposed to grant all wishes of the possessor.

 

To those who have become fatigued by traveling in the desert of

samsara the devotion of the Lord serves as a welcome river, flowing

with the nectar of His mercy, in which they plunge and enjoy its

coolness.

 

He is the boat that helps those who are caught in the whirlpool of

sin to cross

over to the other side.

 

He is unparalleled, limitless, and the cause of the universe, Himself

uncaused. He is denoted by Pranava, the essence of Vedas and the raft

of rescue from the sea of samsara. Those who seek refuge in Him

alone depend only on Him for their redemption and do not adopt any

other means except devotion to Him like the chathaka bird which live

on rain drops alone. Not seeking any other source of water.

 

Like the sun that wakes up from sleep the Lord wakes up the jivas

from the sleep of ignorance. Hence, the devas entreated Him to dispel

their calamity like the sun destroys the darkness because Kamsa and

others have risen like comets to create disturbances in the world.

 

Thus entreated by the devas Bhagavan appeared before them out of

mercy. Desika here gives a beautiful description of the Lord.

 

The devas saw Him reclined on the couch of Adisesha, like a rain-

bearing cloud, dark in hue , on a white cloud of autumn. Adisesha is

supposed to be white in color and sitting on him the lord presented

a picture of a dark cloud on the top of a white cloud, which is a

rare occurrence. This simile is an indication of the wonder the devas

experienced on seeing the Lord before them.

 

The lord was accompanied by Sridevi with lotus in her hand implying

His aisvarya, the mastery over the universe. The epithet Lakshmipathi

denotes the supreme power combined with mercy of the Lord.

 

He was adorned with ornaments which were sukumara, slender and not

heavy, sukhasparsa, soft of touch on His body and not rough, like

sweet smelling flowers, suganshibhih prasoonaih iva, and well suited

to His gunas, the infinitely auspicious qualities. His form is the

garden of His gunas and the ornaments were like the flowers in

the garden. Desika expresses his love for the Lord in imagining the

ornaments on His body to be tender like flowers. An ardent devotee

treats the archa or idol of the Lord as real and cannot bear to see

even the stalks of the flowers hurting Him. And arranges the

ornaments on the idol in such a way as not to hurt Him

 

Every part of His body vying each other in beauty excelled that of

His ornaments and stole the hearts of all beings. The ornaments were

beautified by Him and not vice versa. The weapons He was wielding,

namely the disc , bow, mace etc. were proclaiming His

natural qualities like valor, power and so on and seemed to forecast

the victory of the devas. With His form created by Himself, He shone

like a sapphire rising out of the sea of His own splendor.

 

Along with the Lord came Garuda, who is the embodiment of Vedas,

srutiroopa, and covered with the fragrance of the feet of the Lord,

being His carrier, signifying the impending war with the asuras. The

veda calls Garuda `suparno asi garutman trivrth the

sirah' meaning that Garuda with powerful wings has veda as his head.

 

The Lord thus presented a picture of a Sun who never sets, a Moon who

never wanes and an ocean of nectar which has no bounds to devas. He

was shining in His glory which excelled the Sun, was source of joy in

His cool mercy, which never diminishes and He was like everlasting

nectar to the devas in showering His grace. By

seeing Him thus the eyes of the devas became fruitful and the Lord

reassured them with His abhayahasta, showing His hand in a gesture of

protection and by His smile that destroys evil by the mere sight of

it. The abhayakara and the mandasmita were reassuring enough for them

that their prayer is answered even before He began to speak.

 

Appeal to the lord

The devas started to tell the Lord that rakshasas who were

extinguished previously by Him like moths by the fire, have come back

to earth in the form of kshathriyas and the earth is suffering by

their misdeeds and if the Lord does not intervene the earth will be

submerged into the sea, not being able to bear their weight.

The idea here is that the wicked are burden to the earth. They

entreated Him thus: ˜This earth which has you, who is full of with

mercy, as its helmsman, should not be allowed to go under.

 

Desika provides a beautiful metaphor by referring to the Lord

as the central jewel of the girdle of the earth. The devas claimed

that the earth deserves the protection of the Lord from the

oppression of the wicked kshathriyas . The earth is surrounded by the

ocean like a girdle of the Bhoodevi and the Lord shining in the

middle of the ocean like a sapphire is like its central gem. Further

the devas said that He should free the earth from the burden of these

wicked kings and make her shine as the crest jewel of

Aadhisesha, meaning that the earth should be made light as a

crest jewel for Sesha who supports it on his head.

 

Desika, the bhaktha, here comes out with beautiful expression.

He makes the devas say ˜Prabhodhasubhagaih smeraih prasannaih

sheethalaischa nah

kataakshaih plaavaya kshipram krpakodhanvadhoormibhih,

They pray to him to direct His merciful glances towards them.

The glances of the Lord are, Prabhodha subhaga, attractive, He just

being awakened from His yoganidra, smera,

accompanied with His charming smile, prasaana, pleasing,

sheethala ,cooling with love and they are like the waves of the sea

of His mercy, krpakodhanavadhoormibhih. Imagining the Lord thus is

enough to send a devotee to ecstasy. With these words devas concluded

their entreaty asking the Lord to forgive them for their impudence in

informing Him the reason of their approaching Him as though He did

not know everything being the antharyami, indweller of all.

 

Then Bhoodevi bowed down to Him, who has vowed to protect His

dependents, along with the devas and informed Him of her plight.

Desika describes her as being beautiful like the Maya of the Lord.The

earth assuming the form of an exemplary damsel,

vanithaarathnarupini, of slender waist and large eyes ,

thanumadhyaa visaalaakshi , is compared by Desika to the enchanting

Maya of the Lord. The whole Universe constituted of the five elements

is the product of Prakrthi, otherwise known as the Maya of the Lord.

 

Desika's poetic skill is seen in his further description of

Bhoodevi. She was sporting beautiful hair, the natural scent of which

attracted the bees that hover on her head presenting a spectacle of

her being covered with an umbrella made of peacock feathers. The

tears of joy on seeing her Lord formed the beads of pearls that adorn

her chest. Her left shoulder throbbed as though desiring the embrace

of her Lord which was welcomed by her as a good sign. Desika uses the

word Dhakshinaa for the Bhoodevi to imply that

she is knowledgeable about the meaning of signs and employs

the word dhakshinaadhitharam , the one other than the right to

denote left arm thus enhancing the poetic beauty.

 

The Lord replied to them in a voice that echoed the sound of

His Paanchajanya. He reassured them by saying that those who follow

His command will never come to harm. [Vide: Bhagavatgita-6-40- ˜ na

hi kalyanakrth kaschith dhurgathim thaatha gachchathi.] The Lord then

promised that He will descend to earth as an incarnation to lessen

the burden of the earth by destroying the evil kshathriyas and will

establish dharma and He asked them to take birth as kings to

partake the result of His deeds. So saying the Lord awaited the

right time to enter the garba of Devaki to be born as Krishna. Thus

the one in whom the entire world resided came to reside in Devaki.

 

 

chapter-2 The eve of incarnation

Devaki appeared divine because she carried the krishnarasayana,

the elixir which is sidhdha and sidhdhanishevitha, resorted to by the

sages being sure of effect.

Devaki ate the mud, symbolic of the earth, during her

pregnancy as if she is showing buy her action, naatitham, that the

one who has devoured the whole earth is inside her,

'bhukthaa puraa yene vasundharaa saa sa visvabhoktha

mamagarbhabhoothah,' says Desika.

She dreamt that she was lying on Adhisesha and traveled on

Garuda.Utthamur swami explains this as

`'devakigarbhagantham bhagavanthamprthak paricharithum anishtvaa

seshaadhayah devakeesthathvaveshenaiva paricharantheeva.'

It looked as though Adhisesha and others carried devaki along

with the Lord in order to

do service to Him. She walked slowly as if not to burden the earth

with the weight of Him who is visvaguru, the mighty Lord who has the

entire universe in Him. He is vidvaguru or jagatguru as He was going

to impart the Gita to the world and also the greater than the

greatest, mahatho mahiyaan. The word `guru ` contains a pun to mean

preceptor as well as big.

 

Description of the night of Krishnavathaara

Then starts the description of the night of Krishnavathaara.

The appearance of the dusk, sandhya, seemed to denote the advent of

the Lord. Sandhya, personified as a damsel, a is compared to the form

of the Lord, murdhvishah murthih dhvitheeyaa, on account of the

attire of golden hue, suvarnapithaambharavaasinee, and hiding the

Sun with the brilliance of own light, svadhaamasamchaadhtha

suryamurthih. The Sun sinking in the ocean seemed to seek some

support avalambhana, by his rays stretched out. He looked like a

lotus plucked from the pond of the sky by sandhya and the crest jewel

of a serpent plunging into the ocean afraid of Garuda in the form of

sandhya. The richness of poetic imagination of Desika is

illustrated by these words.

 

At the setting of the Sun, the day being ashtami 8th day of

krishnapaksha, dark fortnight, no moon appeared and darkness spread

everywhere. Stars looked like a garland of pearls to adorn the Lord

on His avathaara prepared by His servant, the Kala, Time. Later when

the moon rose the eastern direction looked like Devaki.

Thamafprasangena vimuchyamaana gourprabhaa. The paleness of her is

the white light, gouraprabhaa of the moon who has risen from darkness

as she is going to be freed from her sorrow, thamafprasangena

vimuchyamaana. The Moon being the first forefather of the Yadhuvamsa,

looked like a purohitha, priest coming after bath from the ocean to

do the samskara, the rites for the newborn.

 

The darkness that first came was like the haalaahala, the

terrible poison which came out of the milky ocean, namely the eastern

direction indicative of the subsequent emergence of Lakshmi, the good

fortune of Yadhuvamsa. Desika says later in describing Krishna that

Lakshmi was always with the Lord which ever avathara he took because

She is inseparable as the sloka goes

`Raaghavathve bhavathseetharukminee Krishna janamani

anyeshuchaavathaareshu vishnoreshaa anapaayini.'

It is said that even in Vamanaavathaara Lakshmi was in His

chest to hide whom the Lord covered His chest with deerskin lest He

could not take away the aisvarya of Bali if he gets the glance of

Lakshmi, lakshmikataaksha.

 

Then the auspicious time for the avathaara drew near. The wicked

people like Kamsa were sleeping and the good were awake like Devaki

and Vasudeva.Vadfyagosha of divine instruments could be heard

everywhere. The lamps in the house of Kamsa became extinct for no

reason and so did the anguish in the minds of devotees. Ashtami was

chosen by the Lord for his avathaara as the eighth child and the next

day Navami was going to be the day of the avathara of Yogamaaya.

Hence, as Desika puts it, ashtami became prathama and navami,

dvitheeya. Krishna appeared at vrishabha lagna when the five planets,

Chandra, angaraka, bhudha guru and sani were in exalted position.

Desika describes His manifesting Himself as Devaki the eastern

direction produced the Lord , the moon implying that He was not born

in the usual way but as He says in the Gita `sambhavaami

aathmamaayayaa' He only made Himself manifest as the moon coming out

in the East.

 

 

chapter-3 The birth of krishna

At the time of the birth of Krishna the whole world seemed to

be happy. The directions looked bright devoid of darkness as though

the day is born. This implies that the manifestation of the Lord

dispelled the darkness in the mind caused by ragadvesha and the

hearts of the good became filled with the joy arising out of the

understanding of the truth about the manifestation. Among the usual

paraphernalia that is described in the puranas and ithihasas when

some divine or extraordinary event happens, such as the apsars

dancing the trumpets sounding the kinnaras singing in the devaloka,

there was cool breeze blowing from the quarters and the clouds

thundered which was like the jayagosha by the devas. Here we see the

poetic skill of Desika who says that all the anxieties in the minds

of all the people joined together like rivers and fell into the mind

of Kamsa, who was the only one agitated to the utmost. Andal

addresses the Lord as 'kamsan vayittril neruppenne ninra nedumaalE',

the one who stood like fire in the stomach of Kamsa.

 

Vasudeva became free from his shackles.'Rnaadhiva devakipathih

amuchyatha srnkalathah' says Desika, comparing the release from

srnkala to that from debt. In fact the word 'rna' could mean debt as

well as prarabdhakarma as the saying goes 'rnaanubandhasaarena

pasupatni suthaalayaa,' ones acquisition of wealth, son and property

is according to prarabdhakarma. Desika asks, 'what is so wonderful

about this in front of one who removes the shackles of all bondage?'

 

Devaki was having Krishna on her lap and shone like a golden mountain

which had a peak of indraneelamani,sapphire. Vasudeva saw Him, who

had the color of the sea, carrying sanka, conch, chakra the disc,

gada,the mace and ambuja, a lotus. Vasudeva prayed to Him to hide His

divine form lest Kamsa will come to know His true identity. He

praised the Lord as the embodiment of the Veda, who had come to be

born as his son due to his prayers in the previous birth. At the same

time he was worried about His safety and begs Him to disguise

Himself. That is the maya of the Lord!

 

Then the Lord instructed Vasudeva to take Him to Gokula and leave Him

there and bring the female child born to Yasodha to Mathura. Vasudeva

took the infant, which the Lord changed Himself into, as requested

and the prison gate opened and the guards were fast asleep. When he

approached the street the quarters became lighter due to the luster

of the body of Krishna. Garuda circled around to ward off the evil

forces and Adisesha followed spreading his hoods as an umbrella to

protect from the rain.

'sruthimayo vihagah parithah prabhum vyacharadhaasu

vidhoothanisaacharah; anujagaama cha bhoodharapannagahsphuta

phanamanidphanamanidheepaganodvahah.'

Garuda is sruthimaya , the personification of vedas, as

Yamunacharya calls him 'vedhaathmaa vihagesvarah,' and the Sesha is

referred to as Bhoodharapannaga, who followed giving light by the

gems on his thousand hoods as though thinking that the Lord needed

some light as He had contracted His own tejas. The significance of

the word Bhoodharapannaga by Desika is that the Krishnavathara was

for the

purpose of lightening the burden of the earth which will also lighten

the burden on the head of Sesha who is bhoodhara, bearer of the earth.

 

Vasudeva carried Krishna as though on the gurudavahana and reached

river Yamnna, directed by the moonlight. The land near Yamuna seemed

to welcome Vasudeva by its cool breeze to remove the fatigue and the

buzzing of the bees, serving as the welcome song.

 

The description of Yamauna when Vasudeva approached the river with

Krishna brings the poetic fervour of Desika. He says that it looked

as though the river is bemoaning the plight of the Lord which made

Him take the guise of a mortal, feigning

weakness, 'kuhakadhainyam.' The lilies, 'asithaneeraja' were closing

its eyes, petals, as the morning was approaching and the lotuses had

not yet started to bloom and the chakravaka couple, a kind of birds

which become blind in the night were wailing , not being able to see

one another. All this seemed to indicate the mental anguish of

Yamuna, savithuh sutha, the daughter of the Sun.'

Nimishithaasithaneerajalochanaa mukulithaabjamukhee

savithussuthaa;lulithadheenarathaangayugasvanaa kuhakadhainyam

asochatheeva prabhoh.'

 

The river throwing its waves here and there looked as though,

Yamuna, without knowing that all is the leela of the Lord, was

throwing up her arms in distress, fearing Kamsa. Yamuna gave way to

Vasudeva, looking high in the east and almost dry in the west. It

makes the kavi wonder whether she wanted to ascend the vishnupada or

was going to the Kalinda Mountain, her father's abode. Thus vasudva

crossed the river as if it was jananasindhu, sea of birth, which he

would cross obtaining the Lord as his offspring.

 

At the time of the birth of Krishna the whole world seemed to be

happy. The directions looked bright devoid of darkness as though the

day is born. This implies that the manifestation of the Lord

dispelled the darkness in the mind caused by ragadvesha and the

hearts of the good became filled with the joy arising out of the

understanding of the truth about the manifestation. Among the usual

paraphernalia that is described in the puranas and ithihasas when

some divine or extraordinary event happens, such as the apsars

dancing the trumpets sounding the kinnaras singing in the devaloka,

there was cool breeze blowing from the quarters and the clouds

thundered which was like the jayagosha by the devas.

 

Vasudeva entered Gokula where, says Desika, 'svasutham agryam

asooyatha rohini,' which implies that he saw his son Balarama also.

There he placed Krishna near the sleeping Yasodha and took the female

child near her to Mathura. Knowing that the eighth child was born,

Kamsa came and took the infant by her legs to strike her on the

rock when she kicked herself free and rose up to the sky and warned

kamsa about the birth of Krishna. Her speech is described by Desika

thus: 'patu gabheeram udhaaram anaakulam hitham avistharam arthyam

aviplavam.' It was patu, sharp and pungent,

gabheeram,resonant,udhaaram, distinct, anaakulam, poised, hitham,

well wishing, due to her karuna the goddess Durga as she was to be

known later, wanted to warn him not to court destruction. It was also

avistharam, brief, arthyam, meaningful and aviplavam

unmistakeable.

 

She said that she was aseshasuraasuramohinee, the deluder of all

devas and asuras, being the Maya of the Lord, the destroyer of

madhukaitabha, the maya that veils the real nature of the Lord,

yavanikaa. Then she warned him that his destroyer is in the house of

Nanda, 'Vasathi nandagrhe vibudhadhvishaam dhamayithaa vasudeva

samudbhavah thava naasayitha.' In the Bhagavatha the Yogamaya does

not divulge the whereabouts of Krishna but Desika boldly makes her

give the address of Krishna perhaps to make it clear to Kamsa that he

cannot harm Krishna even if he finds Him.

 

Then the scene changes and in Gokula yasodha and other regains

consciousness from the swoon-like sleep induced by the maya of the

Lord and Yasodha found a male child next to her. Desika describes the

Lord as the one who is aagamabhooshana, ornament to the vedas, who is

enquired into by the sages even now without finding His real nature,

became the ornament of the gopas due to destiny of His own making.

 

After Krishna came to Gokula there was no death of calves and the

cows were contented and gave plenty of milk as Andal

said, 'vaangakkudam niraikkum vallal perum pasukkal.' The person had

no fear from robbers and from disease and Desika says that the life

in Gokula resembled that in Krthayuga.

 

Nanda celebrated the birth of Krishna elaborately. 'Adhichakaara

vadhaanyamaneh sriyam vyadhitha kalpathroranukalpathaam ajanayaccha

sutha prasavotsave mahathi megha vikatthana modhathaam.' That is,

Nanda appropriated the glory of

chitamani, the wish-giving gem, by his generosity, which made the

kalpataru lose its importance and he outshined the rain giving clouds

by his shower of gifts. This made the people of Gokula,says Desika,

look down on the Indraloka. The news of the celebratiobns in Gokula

pacified the minds of Devaki and Vasudeva who were separated from

Krishna, the puraanapurusha, who had come to them through the penance

of earlier life.' putram prasooyathapasaa purusham puranam kaalam

chiram vidhivasaath kila viprakarshou.'

 

The two boys, Balarama and Krishna grew up in Gokula like the Moon in

sukla paksha creating happiness not only to the inhabitants but also

to devas who were eagerly waiting for the destruction of Kamsa and

others.

 

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