AthimAnusha Sthavam SlOkam 51-55

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SrI:

 

SlOkam 51 :

 

haa janma thAsu sikathAsu mayaa na labdham

rAsE Thvayaa virahithA: kila gOpakanyA:

yAsthavakeena padha pankthi jushOajushantha

nikshipya tathra nijam angam ananga taptham

 

(Meaning) : When the Lord disappeared at the end of the Raasa KrreDai ,

the Gopis suffered immensely from their seperation from Him. They were

overcome with viraha tApam . They placed their bodies on the sands of

river Yamunaa that got consecrated thru the sambhandham with the Lord's

feet during the occasion of the Raasa KreeDai . That helped them to quell

the sufferings from their thApam . AzhwAr laments that he was not fortunate

to have been born as one of the shoals of sand , which had the bhAgyam of

association with the Lord's sacred feet .

 

(Commentary) : Raasa Kreedai was over and the Lord disappeared .

Suddenly the gOpis , who were immersed in the bliss of the Lord's

company felt acutely the pangs of seperation from their dear One .

They looked around for some object , which had the sambhandham of

the Lord to get relief from their thApam ( ananga taptham nija angam

nilshipyartham ) . They found the shoals of Yamunaa Sand on which they

had performed Raasa KreeDaa earlier . The Gopis threw themselves on

those sands and reduced their taapam . Those shoals had the miraculous

curative power because of their sambhandham to the Lord's sacred feet .

KurEsar wishes that he were born as one of those islands of sand

so that he would have been blessed with the sambhandham of

the Lord's sacred feet .

 

SlOkam 52:

 

Aachinvatha: kusamam angri sarOruham tE

yE bhEjirE Bhatha ! VanaspathayO lathA vaa

adhyApi tathkulabhuva: kuladhaivatham mE

BrundhAvanam mama dhiyam cha sanATayanthy

 

(Meaning) : In the previous slOkam , KurEsar expressed his regret

over the dhurbhAgyam of not having been an achEtana vasthu ( shoal

of Sand ) in the Raasa KreeDaa BhUmi . In this slOkam , KurEsar gives

vent to his sorrow that he missed being a plant or tree at BrundhAvanam

that had the sambhandham with the Thiruvadi of the Lord as He sported

amidst them .KurEsar comforts himself by the thought that the trees and

plants of current time , which are descendants of the trees and plants of

KrishNa's time , are his kula dEvathais because of their lineage . Kuresar

states that BrundhAvanam and the plants and trees there rule over his mind .

 

(Commentary ) : During His KrishNAvathAram , our Lord climbed the trees

for sport and picked the flowers from the creepers to decorate the tresses of

the Gopis . He climbed a Kundha tree during the Gopikaa vasthrApaharaNam .

He got on top of a Kadhambha tree to jump on the head of KaaLiyan . Thus

many trees and plants had the sambhandham of the Lord's Thiruvadi during

KrishNAvathAram at BrundhAvanam . KurEsar acknowledges that the offsprings

of those trees that exist today at BrundhAvanam are objects of adoration

for him due to their inherited sacredness.

 

SlOkam 53:

 

yath Thvathpriyam tadhiha puNaym , apuNyam anyath

nAnyath tayOrbhavathy lakshaNamathra jAthu

dhUrthAyitham Tava hi yath kila rAsaghOshDyAm

tath keerthanam parama pAvanam Aamananthy

 

(Meaning) : During KrishNAvathAram , our Lord danced with

Gopa kannikais as well as some who were married women .

Questions might arise about the Lord's behavior here . How

could He as the embodiment of dharmam behave in this manner

and serve as a bad example for others to follow ? KurEsar responds

to this query by defining the rules of grammar relating to BhagavAn's

behavior : Whatever that is desired by the Lord is puNyam for us and

whatever that is rejected by the Lord is Paapam for us. Raasa Kreedai

provided ample evidences for the workings of this divine grammar .

 

(Commentary ) :Our Lord is SarvAvasTithan , sarvaantharAthmaa . There is

nothing that does not have His sambhandham . Hence there is nothing wrong

in having the Lord'd sambhandham by one and all .We can not however imitate

the Lord's act because we do not have His sakthi of all pervasiveness. Swamy

Desikan gives an example of our Lord's Brahmacharyam (celibacy ) , which was

demonstrated during the time , when the child of Abhimanyu fell out of his

mother's womb as a lump of lifeless charcoal . Sage VyAsar said at that time

the touch by a true BrahmachAri would bring life back to that lump of charcoal .

Well known BrahmachAris like Bheeshama , HanumAn , Sukhar were invited

to touch that lump of charcoal but they hesitated to undergo thsi test .

Lord KrishNa now stepped in front and declared if I am atrue BrahmachAri ,

let this piece of coal come to life as a baby . He touched the inanimate object

with His sacred feet and that touch transformed the coal immediately into

a joyous baby . This is only possible because the Lord had related to

the Gopis without any bodily sambhandham and stayed as a BrahmachAri .

 

SlOkam 54 :

 

yaa Kamsa mukhyanrupakeDa niBharhaNOtthA

saa nirjithathrijagatha: Tava naiva keerthi:

gOpAlanAdhi yathitham bhavadheeya karma-

ithyArdhree akrOthy vidhushAm hrudhayam tadhEtath

 

(Meaning) : Oh KrishNaa ! In Your previous avathArams such as

Thrivikraman , Narasimhan and VarAhan , You destroyed

mighty asurAs and conquered the worlds . Compared to those glories ,

Your destruction of worm like kings like Kamsan , SiSupAlan and

Dantha Vakthran in Your avathArAm as KrishNa will pale into

insignificance .What people will remember as the most glorious

chEstithams in Your avathAram as KrishNa are : Your grazing

cows , subduing the seven fierce bulls , being bound to a mortar

by a simple woman , lifting the gOvardhana hill to prtoect the citizens

and the cattle of Gokulam , going to DuryOdhanA's court as

a messenger for the PaaNDavaas , serving as a charioteer for

Arjuna and stealing veNNai at neighbors' houses and being

humiliated when caught in that act . These acts are the limits of

Your soulabhya and souseelya guNams.There are no matches

for those acts .

 

SlOkam 55 :

 

gOpAla vEsha-parikarama parAvarEsam

yannAma dhAma paramam tamasa: parasthAth

tath pinchAlAnchana sudhAma kruthOpaveetham

gOdhULi dhUsaritha kuntaLam antharasthAm

 

(Meaning) : While the eternally liberated souls (nithya sooris)

were eulogizing the Lord at Sri Vaikuntam , at the same time He

was roaming as a cowherd at BrundhAvanam wearing the peacock

feather in His tresses and with the dust from the hoofs of

the calves settled all over His body . This Sri Vaikunta NaaTan ,

the supreme JyOthi adored by the nithya Sooris sported with

illiterate cowherds and went into the forest in midday heat

to graze cows . The simplicity of KrishNavathAram moved

KurEsar so much that he begged for the permanent retention

of the Lord's image in his mind as the cowherd youth with

His tresses adorned with the dust from the cows and

the peacock feather ( gO dhULi dhUsaritha kuntaLam

antha: AasthAm) .

 

(To be continued)

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan