The Rope Trick

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

The Rope Trick

 

 

The toddler at home is now a year old. His mobility

hitherto had been somewhat restricted due to his crawl, but now that he has

learned to walk, albeit unsteadily, there is no stopping him. And with the

additional mobility appears to have arrived mischievousness too. You are no more

able to find things at their allotted places, breakages and spillages are on the

increase due to the kid's constant activity and he keeps trying to get out into

the wide world outside, rebelling against the confines of the home. If the main

door is kept open for a second, he slips through with ease and is recaptured

only after a long and anxious search. He doesn't allow his mother to cook in

peace, picking up and throwing down various ingredients like salt, sugar etc.

and insisting on sticking his finger into the fire. What do you do with such an

endearing but infuriating brat? I have seen several mothers resort to tying up

the toddler, with a length of rope that permits him a radius of movement but

keeps him out of mischief's way. Bawl out he might, but he is set free only

after the mother has finished her chores and is free to battle with his

effervescence once more.

 

 

 

Where do you think the toddler learnt mischief? And where

do you think the mother learnt the aforesaid way of keeping him out of monkey

business?

 

There might be any number of tales of the Lord, for He

has taken innumerable avatArAs, many times over. Each of His exploits is unique

and endearing, conferring upon the listener/reader devotion and merit. However,

the Krishnavatara remains the most popular, the one people generally identify

with and are able to shower their love and affection upon. For, it is extremely

difficult to love or be one with a fish, a boar, a lion or the Perfect Monarch

who is fit only to be put on a pedestal and worshipped. The Krishnavatara, on

the other hand, is all about a real, flesh and blood person who also appears to

be so, who apparently has all the weaknessees and temptations that we ourselves

had in childhood and whose exploits still enthrall us, millennia after they were

enacted. Krishna is the neighbourhood boy with whom you can swap stories, have

fun with, play truant from classes with, love and remonstrate with, in whose

daredevil company you can steal neighbours' jealously-gurarded fruits with

impunity and escape retribution by a hair's breadth. He is the one who can

introduce you in full measure to the thrills of childhood, the minor pleasures

forbidden by straightlaced parents. It is He who can tell you with precision

which neighbour's tree is ripe with fruit, who has gone out of station, leaving

his grounds open for boisterous play and so on.

 

 

 

Among all the endearing exploits of the Krishna sisu, the one most

eulogised and chronicled must indeed be the episode of His being tied up to the

grindstone. Azhwars and Acharyas wax eloquent while recounting this tale, moved

beyond measure by the thought of the Parabrahmam permitting itself to be bound

hand and foot by a humble cowherdess. " etthiram uralinOdu iNaindu irundu Engiya

eLivE! " marvels Sri Nammazhwar, painting a vivid picture of the tearful

ParamAtmA tethered to the grindstone like cattle.

 

 

 

And why was the Lord tied to the stone? As was His wont, Emperuman had stolen

all the milk, butter and curds that could possibly be stolen in a day, from all

the households of Nandagokulam and consumed them all in the company of fellow

urchins. Yasoda, who usually defended Her son vociferously against the constant

litany of complaints that almost all the Gopis of Gokulam had against Her

darling son, found herself silenced for once by the combined assault of the

aggrieved YAdava damsels. Convinced at last of the truth in their complaints,

Yasoda, in her desperation, decided to try out a novel punishment which she

hoped would make Krishna cease and desist from His nefarious endeavours. She

decided to restrict His movement, considering this to be perhaps the greatest

penalty she could inflict on the brat, who loved to be on the move always,

intent upon all types of mischief.

 

 

 

However, one aspect of the matter is indeed puzzling. Krishna was the darling of

all the Gopis and had the run of their kitchens. He could have had all the milk

and butter He desired, just for the asking. None in Gokulam could deny the boy

his heart's desire, for everyone was well and truly mesmerised by His looks,

conduct and exploits- " MAlE seyyum MaNALaNai " says Sri Kodai Nacchiar, attesting

to the infatuation the Gopis had for the Lord. Thus, there was absolutely no

need for Sri Krishna to steal anything from anyone. Whoever would take by

stealth something that is available for the asking!

 

 

 

Yet, if Sri Krishna did steal dairy products, it was only out of His desire to

display the trump card with which He ensnares everyone, viz., His Soulabhyam and

Souseelyam. It was out of a desire to subject Himself to the mock chastisement

meted out by unlettered cowherdesses, whose hearts were full of love, affection

and devotion for Him. It was indeed out of a desire to be tied-up hand and foot

and even be beaten by these simple but loving souls- " Ayar kozhundAi avarAl

pudayuNNum en MAya pirAn " enthuses Sri Nammazhwar, marvelling at the endless

accessibility and Souseelyam of the mighty Parabrahmam, normally beyond the

grasp of the most powerful of men ( " agrAhya: " says Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam),

which consented to be immobilised by a mere rope wielded by a simple cowherdess.

Finding such traits impossible of display in Paramapadam (where none would even

dream of tying up the Lord, leave alone of beating Him), Emperuman decided to

make the most of His sojourn on earth by indulging in all sort of horseplay,

moving as one with cows and their masters. Tired of the constant paeons of

praise showered upon Him by the nitya sooris of Sri Vaikuntam, the Lord made up

His mind to listen to choice words of abuse, for a change- " VeNnai unNdAn ivan

endru Esa nindra Emperuman " . And tired of meting out punishment to all according

to their misdeeds, He decided to undergo some of it Himself, for a change. It

was all this that was behind the Lord's constant theiving expeditions- " Muhu:

pravrittam navaneeta chouryE " says Swami Desikan in YadavAbhyudayam.

 

 

 

It was not as if the brat could be tied up at will. Many were the occasions when

the infuriated Yasoda failed miserably to catch Him, even after chasing Him

across half of Gokulam, sweat pouring from her brow and breasts heaving with the

exertion of running after the spirited brat. " ThAi eduttha siru kOlukku uLaindu

Odi " says Azhwar, recounting with glee the ease with which kutti Krishnan gave

the slip to His mother, pursuing Him with a small stick, in the fond hope of

spanking Him.

 

 

 

At His playful best, Sri Krishna would allow Himself at times to be caught by

Yasoda and dragged back home, for being tied up to the grindstone. And when the

victorious Yasoda tried to truss Him up, He would make it impossible for her to

do so by cutting all the ropes at home into small pieces, in advance. As a

result, Yasoda would search in vain for something to bind Him with and would

have to release Him, admitting failure. At other times, not to be defeated by

His machinations, Yasoda would tie together various pieces of rope and

manufacture one long enough to go round Krishna's slender waist. However,

Krishna would make Himself suddenly and incredibly fat, making the rope length

extremely inadequate to tie Him with.

 

 

 

Yasoda thus found it impossible to bind the brat, whatever strategy she adopted.

And in desperation, as is the wont of simple women, she sat down to have a good

cry. When Krishna saw tears streaming out of his mother's eyes, He couldn't bear

the sight for even a second and contracted His waist, so that even the smallest

of ropes could pass several times around His midriff. It was thus that Yasoda

was able tie Him up. Though several Azhwars recount this episode with relish,

it was left to Sri Madhurakavi to reveal the secret that it was not Yasoda who

tied the Lord up, but the Emperuman who permitted Himself to be bound by the

smallest of ropes which would normally be inadequate to tie even a little

hand- " kaNNi nuN siru thAmbinAl kattuNNa paNNiya peru MAyan " . The Lord, whom the

Upanishad credits with a mammoth figure, larger than the largest imaginable

( " mahatO maheeyAn " ) made Himself smaller than the smallest, permitting His

perspiring mother to tie Him up with ease, affording her victory which had

eluded her for long.

 

 

 

Here is the beautiful sloka from YAdavAbhyudayam, with a bewitching pen-

portrait of this endearing episode-

 

 

 

" Aneetam agrE nija bandanArttham dAmAkhilam samhitamapi apoorNam

 

vilOkya nirviNna dhiyO jananyA: sankOcha shaktyA sa babhoova badhya: "

 

 

 

The last two words, " babhoova badhya: " are extremely significant-- Rather than

giving Yasoda the credit for tying Him up, Swami Desikan highlights His

soulabhyam, with the indication that He permitted Himself to be tied-up. It was

Emperuman's idea in the first place to get tied up and thereby display His

susceptibility to the Bonds of Love, says Sri Madhurakavi- " KattuNNa PaNNiya Peru

MAyan " .

 

 

 

It is from this episode that Emperuman derived the tirunAmam " DAmOdara: " and it

is said that the Lord wears with relish the marks of the rope which passed

around His midriff, as indelible evidence of His Bhakta parAdheenatvam. The

irrepressible Parabrahmam could be tied and trussed up like a hen, because the

bonds were made not out of mere cord, but of the stronger-than-steel strings of

love and devotion. Sri Nammazhwar has a special fascination for DAmOdaran and

calls Him the Primordial Cause- " DAmOdaranai tani mudalvanai " . Azhwar marvels at

the size of the rope that must have been required to tie up the Lord's belly,

swollen with accomodating all the worlds- " DAmOdaranai tani mudalvanai gyAlam

uNdavanai " . And yet because the rope was fashioned out of pure maternal love,

despite being very small ( " nuN thAmbu " ), it acquired the required degree of

elasticity to go round His monstrous midriff.

 

 

 

Scriptures tell us that blissful contemplation of this episode, of the Lord

willingly accepting bondage, can unfailingly lead to our own release from the

eternal bondage of Karma. This is akin to Swami Desikan's assertion that one who

delights in the Lord's exploit in sucking PoothanA's breast, would never have

occasion to feed on a mother's breast again, having been released from the

interminable cycle of births and deaths.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan