yadhavabhyudhaya-end of chapter9

April 23, 2007

Chapter9 continued- Krishna's departure to Mathura and the grief of the gopis

Krishna and Balarama started for Mathura and seeing that the gopis ran behind the chariot sounding like the kururi birds lamenting on the departure of Krishna,with dishevelled hair and garments, saying that they will sp tophim even if they have to fall in front of the chariot.

They became angry with Akrura for taking Krishna away from them, as though lcking their eyes fom them, and said that he did not desrve to be called Akrura ,not cruel while he is really krura.As the most cruel rakshasas deceive the world disguised as good ones Akrura came in a suave form and deceived them.

The Lord , they said ,uplifted the earth from the sea in His incarnation as the boar, Varaha, and wondered whether He would now extricate them from the sea of grief.

Krishna used to say to them, 'ahamasmi,thave thvamEva va mamadhrshtih, I am yours and you are my eyes,' and now did not seem to care for them and they did not understand how could Krishna forasake them, who, like creepers around the tree, wound themselves around His feet, who is their master enslaving them by His quaities. He is like the milky ocean , which was the abode of both nectar and poison.they called him kuhaka, a cheat,who made their faces blossom with his sweet words on the banks of Yamuna showing his love which was not true.

They accuse him of giving up Gokula, being attracted by the richness of Mathura and envy the good fortune of Mathura and its inhabitants.They were sure that Krishna was not going to be true to the women of Mathura since he never thought twice about leaving the gopis with whom he played since his childhood. Nevertheless Krishna , they said, would enchant them by his speech which was even sweeter that the music from his flute, and they will become mad about him.'yuvathee ayam indhukAnthyEth nagare nandhakumarachandhramAH, this moon, Krishna, would melt the hearts of the city women, like the moonstone.'

The reason for this was even the mind-stone manassila, of the gopis were melted by his moonlike smile. ( manassila means mind like sti one and also a kind of redstone found on the mountains. cf.'manssilAyAsthilako gandapArsvwe niveSithah,'-VR-sundarakanda, where Sita tell Hanuman to remind Rama about his putting the redmark of the manssila on her forehead as a sign of Hanuman meeting Sita.)

But Krishna would not be moved by the city -women as he was not, by the gopis as otherwise he would not have left them because the moon melts the moonstone and not viceversa.So they entertained some hope that he may return to Gokula and give joy to their eyes and ears ut again they became desperate thinking that he might be attracted by the refined beauty, speech and behaviour of the city-women 'maThuraouramatthakASinee maDHurAlApam,' and may forget them.

In the meanwhile the chariot went out of their eyesight and hearing. The gopis wondered that they were still alive even after Krishna who was like their life breath had gone away.

Here, Desika says that even this was the mercy of the Lord.

svaguNAnubhavEna subhruvAm

bhavabhogochithapuNya samchayam

virhavyaTHayA thu theevrayA

vrjinAmbhODHim aSoshayath parabhuh.

Their joy ue to union with Krishna was the fruitof all their puNya and the sorrow due to separation was the fruit of their all the sins. Hence both the puNya and pApa being spent they attained mukthi.In srimadbhagavatham the Lord says that He takes away everything fri om those whom He wanted to show His grace.When they pine for Him He makes them attain eternal union with Him, which is beyond the realm of body, mind and inrellect.

The chapter ends with brief account of Akrura having entered the waters of Yamuna, seeing Krishna and Balarama as the Lord and the Adhisesha. Having had the darsan of the Lord on his bed of adhisesha he came out and agin saw Krishna and Balrama on the chariot and narrated his experience to them.

Then they crossed Yamuna,which looked agitated with the thought that Krishna would never return and with its black hue looked like the sky itself melted, and reached Mathura.

End of chapter 9 of yadhavabhyudhaya.