Gopalavimsati
by Vedanta Desika
.
Desika has written devotional hymns on all the archaavathaaras the deities of all the vaishnavite shrines but none of the forms of Lord Narayana seems to be so dear to him as His incarnation
as Krishna. Gopalavimsati, twenty verses in
praise of
The mangalasloka is
‘vande brindavanacharam vallaveejanavallabham;
jayanteesambhavam DHaama
vyjayantheevibhooshanam.’ (Gopalaavimsati-1)
This verse is rich in
meaning and brings out fully the glory of
His
Vaathsalya, love towards His
dependents is indicated by Brindhaavanacharam , which is like that of a cow towards its
calf. Brindha denotes
His devotees, for whose protection, avanaaya, He moves about, charathi. This dispels the fear in the
heart of His punishment for the wrong deeds one has committed, svaaparaadha
bhaya nivarthakam. Appayya dikshitha, in his commentary says that He, who was dhandakaaranyachara, walked in the
dhandaka forest for the protection of the rshis
became brindhaavanachara, for the protection of the cows, in
Krishnaavathaara true to His promise later,
‘parithraanaaya saadhoonaam vinaasaaya
cha dushkrthaam, dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya samhavaami yuge yuge’, I
manifest Myself in each epoch in order to protect the good and
to punish the wicked.’ The cows represent the good who
resort to the Lord for their welfare. Sentiment, rasa, exhibited by this
epithet is adbhutha, wonder that the
lord assumes the form of a cowherd and
showers His love to one and all, man, bird and beast. The same vathsalya as He has shown towards Prahladha so
that Hiranya kasipyu could not harm even
a hair on his body, towards Jatayu in
Ramaavathaara and towards all His dependents in Krishnaavathaara which made
Him even to wash and feed the horses
during the Mahabhaaratha war.
Valavee jana vallabham, the beloved of the gopis, is the epithet chosen for the
purpose of indicating His Souseelyam,
benevolence. Souseelyam is defined as
‘mahathah mandhaihi saha neerandhra samslesha svabhaavah, the
close friendship shown by the great towards the humble folk. This quality of
the Lord dispels the fear that He is beyond comprehension. Appayya dikshitha
says that the
fact that He who enjoys the
uninterrupted union with Mahakakshmi was also able to enjoy the company of the
simple cowherd girls is the proof of His souseelya. The term Vallavijana
is used to denote their nomad existence as valla
means movement. The sentiment expressed here is sringara.
Desika
uses the epithet Jayanthee sambhavam to denote the soulabhya of the Lord, in taking birth
in the yadhavakula, which removes the
fear that the Lord is unapproachable. Soulabhyam
is labhdhum susakathvam, easy accessibility. The significance of the word jayanthee sambhava instead of Devakisambhava implies that the Lord manifested Himself as
Krishna and was not born, according to His words ‘sambhavaami yuge yuge’ and ‘yadha yadha hi dharmasya
glaanirbhavathi -------thadhaathmaanam srjamyaham.’ Jayanthi
also means jayam thanothi, victorious in the vinaasa
of dushkrtha, indicative of
virarasa. It is interesting to observe here that the words jayanthi and janmaashtami are used only to mark Krishnajayanthi,
janmaashtami avathaara dhinasya jayantheethi vyavahaarah and all
the others are mentioned as Ramanavami
, Nrsimhajayanthi and so on.
Dhaamavyjayantheevibhooshanam relates to
the svaamithva, overlordship.. Dhaama means the self effulgent
nature and vyjayayanthi which
normally means garland of forest flowers also implies bhoothathanmaathra adhishtaana
devatha the divinity behind the
elements. The vanamaala here is the maya of the Lord which He wears like a
garland in His manifestations This indicates that
The next sloka describes the Gopalayantra.
vaacham nijankarasikaam prasameekshmaaNah
vaktraaravindhavinivesita paanchajanyah
varNatrikoNa ruchire varapundareeke
badDHaasano jayathi vallavachakravarthee.(Gopalaimsati-2)
The Lord is seated on , a lotus shaped
aasana, varapuNdareeke , which is beautiful, ruchira, and trikoNa , with three angles and contains varNa,
letters of the Gopalamantra.Within a lotus of eight petals there is a
triangle and the varNa, letters represent Vak,Sarasvatidevi, nijaanka rasika, who enjoys the anka , lap, meaning the center of the
yantra. Krishna is looking at her, prasameekshamaaNah, His glances directed towards her to
give jnana . The implication here is that the wisdom
of even Sarasvati is from the Lord only.He has the Panchajanya, the conch which
is the source of all sounds being praNavasvarupa, in His lotus like mouth, Vaktraaravindavinivesitha
paanchajanyah. The Lord is referred to as vallavachakravarthee,the Lord of the cowherds.He is a
chakravarthee , the emperor of the universe though born in the vallaveekula.
The rest of the slokas are beautiful describing the leelas of
AmnaayaganDHirudhithasphurithaadDHaroshtam
aasraavilekshaNam anukshaNamandhahaasam
gopaladimbhavapusham kuhanaajananyaah
praanNsthananDHayam avaimi param pumaamsam.(Gopalavimsathi-3)
'I know for certain that this child in the form of
a cowherd is none other than the Supreme
Purusha, whose lower lip trembling when he cries has the fragrance of the
vedas, whose eyes are stained with tears but the next moment lit up with smile,
who drank the life of Poothana , who came disguised as His mother.'
Krishna was crying or pretends so because even
though His lower lip was trembling it
gives out the fragrance of the vedas and eyes were full of tears, He gives a
charming smile( perhaps when no one was looking) which belies His grief.
Besides He drank the life of Poothana who came in the guise of His mother. So
Desika says that he is sure that this is none else than the Lord.He uses the
verb 'avaimi' to mean 'I know' to denote that it is his confirmed opinion.
The idea in saying that the trembling lip 'sphurithaaDharoshtam,
of Krishna, who is crying,'rudhitha,' smell of vedas, is that whatever
sound that came out of His lips is that is veda.Desika says in his
Yadhavaabhyudhaya that Krishna's first speech and his conversation with His
friends and even the sound made by the cows around Him were nothing but the
vedic sound, because He is the Paramapurusha whose nisvaasa, exhalation is the
veda. The veda sabdas became the cows and the rshis of dandakaranya became the gopis.
AavirbhvathyanibhrthaabharaNam purasthaath
aakunchithaikacharaNam nibhrthaanyapaadham
DHadhnaa nimanTha mukhareNanibaddhathaalam
naatTHasya nandhabhavane navaneethnaatyam (Gopalavimsati-4)
'Let the vision of Krishna dancing in the house of
Nanda, His ornaments sounding as He dances, with one foot steady and the other
bent , His navaneethnaatya, danc
for butter,to the thala of the churning of milk, appear in front of me'
Krishna begs for butter and dances to please His
mother to persuade her to give it to Him., . His
ornaments shake,anibhrthaabharaNam, as He
dances making beautiful sound. He has one foot bent, aakunchithaikacharaNam
and other foot steady, nibhrthaanyapaadham in dancing a step. What can
be the thala to His dance Desika says the churning of curd making continous sound ,daDHinimanThamukhara,provides the thaala.
Desika calls this navaneethanaatya, dance for butter.
Desika
in his Yadhavabhyudhya, describes this as follows:
The lokasuthradhaara, one who is the controller or
director of this world of chit and achit, danced to the wishes of the gopis wishing to
get butter. What a wonderful leela!
In gokula, keeping close to the churning pot
desiring butter, the body of
ksheerasaagaratharangaseekaraasaarathaarakrtha charumoorthaye
bhogibhogasayaneeyasaayine maadhavaaya madhvidvishe namah.
Salutations to Madhava ,the
killer of Madhu, reclining on the bed of adisesha, His body charming splattered
with the drops from the waves of the milky ocean, looking as though He is
covered with stars.
The
dance of
Vadhane navaneethagandDHavaaham vachane thaskarachaathuree DHureeNam
nayanaakuhanaasru asrayetTHaah charaNam komalathaandavam kumaaram
Seek the foot of the boy who is dancing
gracefully,with His mouth smelling of butter,His speech showing Him to be the foremost of cheats, His
eyes ( on being told off) full of false tears.
The devotees imagine that the reason the Lord left
the milky ocean and came to gokula is because being milky ocean He can get only
milk there and not butter.
Harthum kumbhe vinihithakarah svaadhu hyangaveenam
dhrshtvaa dhaamagrahaNa chatulaam maatharam jaatharoshaam
paayath eeshathprachalithapadhah nApagacchan na thishtan
mithyaa gopah sapadhi nayane meelayan visvagopthaa.(Gopalavimsathi-5)
May the saviour of the world, the pseudo cowherd,
who put His hand in the pot of fresh
clarified butter and seeing His mother agitated and angry with a rope on
hand, closed His eyes at once ( as though afraid ), and took a step as if to go but neither moved nor stood,
protect us.
Hyangaveenam is fresh ghee prepared from milk taken the day
before.
Krishna wished to eat the ghee prepared from the
butter taken from the curd made out of the milk milked the day before when he
saw his mother, angry and agitated at his mischief, approaching him with a rope in hand to
tie him up. Then he pretended as though he is angry and took a step as if to go but did
not stir from the place with one step forward and one step backward.
This
scene is described in Bhagavatha thus:
krthaagamamtham prarudhantham akshiNee
kashanthmajjanmashiNee
svapAinaa
udhveekshamaaNam bayavihvlekshaNam
hasthe grheethvaa bhishaynthyavaagurath
Yasodha is grasping
Desika calls
him mithyaagopah
, because being visvagoptha, the protector of the whole universe he is now
pretending to be a cowherd boy feigning fear. This is the scene precedent to
vrajyoshidhapaangaveDHaneeyam madhuraabhaagyam ananyabhogyameede
vasudevavadhoosthanandhayam thath kimapi brahma kishorabhaava dhrsyam-(Gopalavimsati-6)
I worship that Brahman, who appears as a child of
Vasudeva and Devaki , who is pierced by
the glances of the gopis ( like arrows)
and who is the fortune of the kingdom of Madhura and is the delight of His
ardent devotees.
Desika here shows the true identity of the
mithyagopa before he starts describing another leela of the Lord ,namely, the
yamalaarjuna bhanga, uprooting of the twin trees to free the sons of Kubera. He
also indicates in this sloka the later episode of venugana and raasakrida by
the epithet vrajayoshidhapaangavedhaneeyam,the glances , apaanga of
gopis, vrajyoshid , pierce him
like arrows through their love .
He is the bhaagya, blessing of madhura
meaning that He is considered to be the greatest good fortune by all
in Madhura. To the devotee the Lord is the best bhagya that could happen
because once He is with us all the world and its
wealth and enjoyment therein becomes trivial. Desika himself said this in his
vairagyapanchakam when
riches were offered to him., ' asthi me hasthisailaagre vasthu
pairthaamahamadhanam, I have at the top of the hasthigiri, (meaning Varadaraja
of kanchi) the wealth of my forefathers, '
Desika wonders at the scene where
the parabrahma, the
SupremeSelf appearing as a boy in the
gokula , brhmakishorabhaavadhrsyamThe word kimapi used as an
adjective to brahmakishora denotes the wonder. Kimapi is translated as
indescribable or extraordinary in this context.
Madhusudhana sarasvathi, a great exponent of advaita philosophy, who at the same time a devotee of
krishna says,
yenaabhyaasena vaseekrthena mansaa yannirguNama nishkriyam
jyothih kimchana yoginahyadhi param pasyanthi pasyanthu
the
asmaakam thu thadheva lochanachamathkaaraaya bhooyaath
chiram
kaalindhee pulineshu kimapi yanneelam maho dhaavathi
Let those yogis see that supreme light, (Brahman) which is
actionless and attributeless, with their mind controlled through practice. As
far as we are concerned the same Brahman, as a blue light, is running here on the banks of
Yamuna to the delight of our eyes.
.
the next scene describes
Parivarthitha kandharam bhayena
smithaphullaadharapallavam smaraami
vitapithvaniraasakam kayoschith vipulolookalakarshakam kumaaram
( Gopalavimsathi-7)
I recall the memory of the young boy, who is
pulling the large mortar along with him with smiling sproutlike lips turning
his head (asthough) in fear , who thus freed those (two sons of kubera) from
their treehood.
Yasodha had bound Krishna in a mortar and he was
pulling the mortar and went through the two twin trees in his backyard who were
thw two sons of Kubera cursed to become trees by the sage Narada because they
were bathing in the river and did not heed him when he came that way. they were pardoned and were told that the Lord will free them in His krishnaavathaara. So
they took the form of twin trees at the house of Nandagopa waiting for their
redemption. When Krishna passed through the trees the mortor got stuck between
them and when Krishna pulled at it the trees fee down with great noise and the
two sons of Kobera were freed from their curse and went away after bowing down
to Krishna.
Bhagavatha describes the effort of Yasodha in trying
to bind Krishna to the mortar thus:Yasodha found that
the rope withwhich she tried to tie him up was short by two inches, dvayangulonam.She
tried it with other ropes but all were found to be short by two inches due to
the maya of the Lord.then seeing her tired and flustered Krishna got bound by
himself out of love and pity for his mother who was laughed at by other gopis
witnessing he scene.
The scene in which Yasodha bound
Desika calls the mortar 'aattha puNya.
' That is , it has done some good deed in its
purvajanma to have
Leela sukha
asks those, who try to understand the Brahman by extensive study of the
vedas and become fatigued by wandering in the forest of vedas, to stop their
effort and come to Gokula where the essence of the upanishads is found tied to
a mortor, 'upanishadhartham ulookale baddham.'
Desika
further says in his Yadhavabhyudhaya that those who meditate on the Lord
thus bound to the mortar will be free from all bondage against the rule that
one becomes like the object which he contemplates longingly,(
thathkrathunyaya.) One who thinks of the navaneethachourya will be free from
all deceitvful thoughts and thinking of His rasaleela will free the heart from all lust and other
desires.
nikateshu nisaamayaami nithyam nigamaantharairadhunaapi
mrgyamaanam
yamalaarjuna dhrshtabaalakelim yamunaasaakshikayouvanam
kumaaram
(Gopalavimsathi-8)
Let me observe everywhere near me, Him, who is
inquired by the vedas even now and eternal, whose childhood sport is witnessed by the twin trees and
whose boyhood is wirnessed by the river Yamuna.
Desika passes on from the childhood leelas of the
Lord to those of His boyhood on the banks of a Yamuna in the next verse and he
mentions the transition of
The consequence of binding Krishna to the mortar is
only hinted in this verse by mentioning that the twins, the sons of Kuerea who
were in the form of twin trees were the
ebservers of the baalaleela of the Lord. Being situated in the backyard
of the house of Nanda, naturally they were witnessing all the leealas of the
baby
Bhagavatham desctribes the release of the curse of
the sons of Kubera thus:
rsheh bhaagavathamukhyasya sathyam karthum vacho harih
jagaama sanakaisthathra yathra aasthaam yamalaarjunou ( Bh.10-10-24)
Krishna went towards the trees in oreder to prove
the words of sage Narada, who was the foremost among HIs devotees.he thought,
says Bhagavatham,
devarshirme priyathamah yadhimou dhanaddhaathmajou
thatthathaa saadhayishyaami yadhgeetham thanmahaathmanaa (Bh.10-10-25)
"the devarshi Narada is dear to me
and these are the sons of Kubera(who is also a devotee) anf hence I will
fulfill what has been promised by Narada."
As he took the form of a lion-man to prove the
words of Prahlada and the boon of Brahma, both of whom were His devotees, now he allowed HImself to
be bound to the mortar in order to free the twins and to prove the words of
Narada . That is the karunaa of the Lord.
May you be not deluded by HIs childish pranks,
implies Desika by saying that the one who did all this is 'nigamaanthairadhunaapi
mrgyamaana' He whom the vedas struggle to understand even now. In
yadhavaabhyudhaya Desika says that the
scriptures trying to describe the Lord
as He is, become tired even before they finish with one of HIs gunas .'yadekaiakgunapraanthe sraanthaah nigamavandhinah' Such
is the glory of the Lord.
Padhaveem
adhaveeyaseem vimukthEh ataveesampadham ambuvAhayantheem
aruNADHara sAbilAshavamsAm karuNAm kAraNa mAnusheem bajAmi
(Gopalavimsathi-9)
I
worship HIm, who is the cause of the world and the personification of mercy in
human form, thus a shortcut to salvation, who is the rainbearing cloud to
Brindavan forest and holds the flute, which looks eager to be near His red
lips.
1.
karunA kAraNa manushee -- personification
of mercy being the cause of the world assuming human form.He is the creator of
the world and sustainer as well due to HIs mercy. He has assumed the human form
as Devakinandana in order to give refuge to all creatures great and small like
cowherds and cattle as well as the kings like Pandavas.That is why He is called
karuna by Desika.
2.ataveesampadham
ambuvahayantheem--
He makes the forests of Brindhavan flourish with His very presence. Desik
describes this more elaborately in his YAdhavAbhyudhaya thus:
yenoushaDHeenAm aDHipam purasthAthAhlAdha hEthum jagathAm
akArsheeth
thEnaiva dhaDHyou manasA vanam thath krishnO gavAm kshEma
samrddhim icchan
( Yad.4-40)
It means, just as He created the moon, the
Lord of the herbs, with HIs mind
(chandhramA manasO jAthah---Purushasuktham)
wishing to give joy to the world, now made the forest rich with
vegetation by His will for the welfare of the cattle.
3.aruNADHara
sAbhilAsha vamsAm-- holding the flute at His red lips which seems as though
the flute is desirous of drinking the nector of HIs lips.
4.padhaveem adhaveeyaseem vimukthEh --padhavee can be taken to mean either a path or a
place. The Lord is both the path and the place of salvation and that too, adhveeyasee,
meaning very near. He is here and easily available for those who seek Him. He
always near and hence the salvation ,mukthi is also near , says Desika, dhaveeyas
meaning 'far' adhaveeyas is the opposite, very near. It is remarked by one devotee that vaikunta
is just a call away because when gajEndhra called Him the Lord came
immediately!
All
the four qualifications mentioned here only denotes
His karuNa, infinite mercy.
animEshanishevaNaNeeyam akshNoh ajahadhyouvanam Avirasthu chitthE
kalaHAyithakunthalam kalApaih karONmAdhaka vibhramam mahO mE
(gopala visathi-10)
May
the brilliant form of the Lord, which should be enjoyed with unblinking eyes,
the ever youthful, with HIs crown of
peacock feathers always agitated by HIs tresses, thus enchanting all the senses with His
playful actions, be present in my mind always.
His form is so
beautiful that the onlookers are afraid even to bat their eyelids fearing that
the form will be lost for that moment.So Desika
says that he should be seen with animesha akshinee, unblinking
eyes. His youth is eternal and gives pleasure to all the senses. The experience
is compared by Desika to unmAdha or madness of the karaNa senses. On describing the returning of
Krishna from the forest Desika says in his YAdhvAbhyudhaya, that in the evening
at sunset, seeing Him return from the forest the gopis felt that their minds
were completely covered with peacock feathers, meaning that they were enchanted
by His maya, as the peacock feathers are usually used by magicians. 'RasO vai
sah,' says the upanishad, as the Lord is the essence
of joy.So He evokes all the rasas by His presence and all tthe senses are
gratified at the same time. Anuyaayi manojna vamsanaaLah avathu spasrsitha
vallavee vimohaih
anaghasmitha sheethalairasoumaam
anukampaasaridhambujairapaangaih
(Gopalavimsathi-11)
May
the Lord
protect me with His sidewise glances, which are the lotuses that grow in the
water of mercy,followed by the stalk in the form of the flute,and which make
the gopis swoon by its touch and made
cool with His pure smile.
The
glance, apaanga is compared to lotus whose stalk,naala
is the bamboo, vamsa with naala, reeds with holes, the music from
the flute follow, anuyAyi, the eyes with their heartwarming tunes. the
smile of Krishna which is pure,anagha,
and not kapata, deceitful, is compared to the coolness of the lotus.The
lotuses, glances, are grown in the lake of anukampa, mercy,and
contacting the gopis make them vimohitha go inta a trance, forgetting
themselves and their homes.
Desika describes the
playing of the flute by krishna beautifully in
Yadhavabhyudhaya.
nirankusasneharasaanuviddhaan nishpandhamandhaalasa nirnimeshaan
vamsenakrishnah prathisambabhaashe varthaaharaan vaamadhrsaan
kataakshaan
( Yad.4-60)
The gopis were talking
to him with their beautiful glances,vaarthaaharaan
vaamadrsaan kataakshaan to which
adharaahitha chaaruvamsanaaLaah
makutaalambhimayoorapicchamaalaah
harineelasilaavibhangaleelaah prathibhaah mamaanthimaprayaaNe santhu
( (Gopalavimsathi-12)
May the appearance of
the flute applied to the lowerlips, of the garland of peacock feathers at his
crown, of the lustre resembling that of sapphire blue always be in front of me
when I start on my last journey.
Desika entreats the
Lord to appear in front of him during his last journey with all His splendour ,
His flute on His lower lip, peacockfeather applied to his locks as a garland
and His body shining loke a blue sapphire.
In Krishnakarnaamrtha
Leela suka says,
vyathyamsapaadham avathamsitha barhibarham
saacheekrthaanananivesithavenurandhram
thejahparam paramakaaruNikam purasthaath
praanaprayaanasamaye mamasannidhatthaam
With His feet crossed
with peacock feather as his head ornament, His face turned sideways with the
flute, let the supreme light , full of mercy,stand
before me at the time of my life going out.
.akhilaan
avalokayaamikaalaan mahilaaDHeena bujaantharasya yoonah
abhlaashapadham
vrajaanganaanaam abhilaapakramadhoormaabhimukhyam
(Gopalavimsathi-13)
I am seeing at all
times the youth, whose chest was appropriated by Lakshmi and whose beauty is
the longing of
the gopis and who is beyond expression.
Desika
relates his experience of constant perception of the beauteous form of Krishna,
the chest of whom is the abode of Lakshmi , his beauty is the most cherished
object of love for the gopis.His beauty is such tht it cannot be described by
words, being beyond expression.
hrdhimugDha sikhandamandanah likhithah kena mamaisha silpinaa
madhanaathuravallavaanganaavadhanaambhoja dhivaakaro yuvaa.
(Gopalavimsathi-14)
By
which artist has this form of the youth , who is
like the sun for the lotuses of the
faces of love-stricken gopis and with
beautiful head ornament of peacockfeathers, been painted on my heart.!
Desika
after saying that he is constantly seeing
By
which artist has this form of the youth , who is
like the sun for the lotuses of the
faces of love-stricken gopis and with
beautiful head ornament of peacockfeathers, been painted on my heart.!
Desika
after saying that he is constantly seeing
MahasE mahithAya
moulinA vinathEnAnjalimanjanathvishE
kalayAmi vimugDhavallavee valayAbhAshitha manjuvENavE (Gopalavimsati-15)
Here Desika
desfribes the playing of the flute by
I
bow down to that venerarble great light of dark hue whose flute converses with
the brcelets of the gopis.
Jayathi lalithavrtthim sikshithO vallaveenAm
SiThilavalayaSinjASeethalairhasthathAlAih
akhilabhuvanarakshAvEshagOpasyaVishnOh
aDHaramaNisuDHAyAm amSavAn vENunAlah (gopalavimsati-16)
The
flute at the gemlike lips of Krishna, the saviour of the whole world who has
assumed the disguise of a cowherd, shine
well being taught of the dance of lalithavrtthi by the loose bangles worn by
the coolhands of the gopis.
The music that flowed from the lips of Krishna
tthrough the flute was so lilting that the svaras seem to perform the Lalithabhinaya, which quality is
attributed to the influence of the hasthathalam .beating of the hands
keeping time, as described in the previous sloka , sounding the bangles, whixh
seem to teach the flute the gaits of the dance. That is, the music seems to
follow the thala and not viceversa. The dance of the svaras that flow out of
the flute was set to the thala of the sound of the bangles.This is just to show the bhakthavAthsalya of the
Lord.
chithrAkalpahSravasikalayan lAngaleekarNapooram
barhOtthamsasphurithachikurO banDHujeevam dhaDHAnah
gunjAbaddhAm urasi lalithAm dhArayan hAra yashtim
gopasthreeNAm jayathi kithavah kopi koumArahAree
(Gopalavimsathi-17)
Coconut
flowers adorn his ears,peacock feather flutters at his
crown with hibiscus flowers and he is wearing the garlands made of bandhujeeva,
the red seeds called kunrimani and thus he steals the heart of the young gopis
. He is the wonderful and delightful rogue!
leelAyashtim karakisalayE dhakshiNE nyastha DhanyAm
amsE dhEvyAh pulakaruchirEsannivishtAnyabahuh
mEghashyAmO jayathi lalithO mEkhalA dhatthavENuh
gunjApeedasphurithachikurO gOpakanyA bhujangah
(Gopalavimsathi-18)
He
is holding his staff for sport which is fortunate( for being held by him) in
his sproutlike right hand, the other arm is around Radha who is thrilled at his
touch , his flute is held in his waist ornament and his head is adorned by the
kunrimani garlands.The dark-hued Lord of the gopis shine thus.
PrathyAleeDasThithim aDHigathAmprApthagADAngapAlim
paschAdheeshanmilithanayanAm prEyseem prEkshamANah
BhasthrAyanthrapraNihithakarah bhakthjeevAthuravyAth
vAreekreedAnibidavasanah vallaveevallabhO nah (Gpopalavimsati-19)
He
will protect us who, is the lover of gopis and the very life. force of His bhakthas.
He is (seen here ) holding his dear one in a tight
embrace from behind and looking at her , who has her right leg in front as if
to go so that she could not escape, which made her close her eyes slightly with
joy, and with the basthrAyanthra( the instrument used in sprinkling
water during holi)in His hand, tying up His garment ready to play with water.
PrthyaleeDa is the
pose opposite to that of shooting an arrow which is AleeDa, with left
leg in front.The scene describes the festival of holi when
There
are two ways to mukthi, rasAsvadha, or experiencing the joy of union with
the Lord and brahmajnana, through meditation or jnanamarga.The upanishad
says, 'rasO vai sah;rasam hOvAyamlabDhva
Anandhee bhavathi.' Brahman or Narayana is the rasa and attaining Him is
the bliss. Rasa, Anandha and Brahman are synonymous terms.
The
rasakreeda signifies the jivas enjoying the bliss with the Lord. The sages see
the leela of the Lord in the world where all the jivas are around Him holding
His hand.So the whole world is the brindavan and the leela of the Lord in
creating sustaining and annihiating is the rasakreeda. RAsa is also
termed as the collection of all the five vaishnava rasas, namely,dAsya, sakhya, vAtsalya,madhura
and shantha.
To
those who criticise the rasleela the answer would be that
gOpeenAm
thathpatheenAm cha sarvEshAmEva dhEhinAm yO anthascharathi so aDHyakshah
kreedanEna iha dhEhabhavah
The
one who is the indweller of the gopis and their husbands and all beings and the
witness self, is
now playing in physical form.
Srimadbhagavatha
says,
rEmE ramESO vrajasundareebhih
yaTHA arbakah svaprathibimba vibhramah.
The
Lord of Lakshmi enjoyed the company of the cowherd damsels as a child will
revel in his own reflections.
The
whole of Bhagavatha is considered to be the sarira of the Lord and the five
adhyayas describing rasakreeda are the prANasThAna. It is bhakthyAh
parA kAshTA na sringArasya .
It is the height of devotion and not of physical desire.It is said in
Bhagavatha that the husbands never felt the absence of their wives during the
nights of rasakreeda because their yogasariras were with
Vedantadesika
in his
yadhavabhyudhaya mentions that the brahmacharya of
The
one who related the story is a parivrajaka brahmajnani and the one to
whom it is told is Parikshit, paramabhagavtha and those who listened
were rshis. All jivas are women and He alone is the Purusha.
vAso hrthvA dhinakarasuthA sanniDHou vallaveenAm
leelAsmErO jayathi lalithAm AsThithah kundhaSAkhAm
savreedAsthadhanu vasanE thAbhirabhyarThamAnE
kAmee kaschith karakamalayOh anjalim yAchamAnah
(Gopalavimsati-20)
The
wonderful lover of all, wins (all hearts), he who robbed the gopis of their
clothes on the bank of Yamuna and ascended the graceful branch of the kundha tree and with a playful smile demanded that
they should entreat Him with folded hands when they asked for their clothes
bashfully.
This
has reference to the Pavainonbu undertaken in the month of Margasira.
Bhagavatham mentions it that the girls in Nanda's village observed the vratha
propitiating Devi kAthyaAyani for the welfare of all ,
individually for their union with the Lord.
hemanthe prathamE mAsi nandavraja kumArikah
chEruh havishyam bhunjAnAh
kAthyAyanyarchanvratham
Desika describes the gopivashtrApaharaNa
thus:
niSAthyayE snAna samudhyathAnAm
nikshiptham AbheerakumArikANAm
koolAdhupAdhAya dhukoolajAlam
kundhADHirooDO mumudhE mukundhah
When the young cowherd girls went to the river
yamuna in the early morning to take bath and left their garments made of white
silk on the bank,
Utthamur swami comments on this sloka saying that
first it was koola dhukoola
sangamam the garments, dhukoola,
had the contact with the bank and then there was kundhamukundha
sangamam, the contact with the branch of the kundha tree and with
Mukundha.The kooladhukoola sangamam denotes leaving the old
vasanas and bathe in Krishnanubhava and the kundhamukundhasangamam
implies mukthi as the word Mukundha means the one who gives mukthi,mukthim
dhadhAthi ithi mukundhah, Kum, sin, dhyathi, destroys ithi
kundhah. So kundha -mukundha sangamam means that the Lord
destroys all the sin and gives moksha.
When
they requested him to give back their garments he made them come out and pray
to him with folded hands This was to make them cast
off their dhEhAthmabuddhi only when they become qualified for mukthi.
The Lord has already willed to give them mukthi after their present life and
only wanted to create the
desire in them.He says in Gita 'vAsAmsi jeerNAni yaTHA vihAya ---thaTHA
sarirANI vihAya jeerNAni anYANi samyAthi navAni dhEhee,just as one casts off the old clothes and put on new ones
the soul casts off the old body and takes a new one.' But until there is total
surrender this changing of bodies will go on. When the soul surrenders the Lord
gives a new awareness under the pretext of giving back their garments which have undergone change on
account of kundhamukundha sambandha.This is the significance behind the episode of gopivasthrApahaharaNam
The
last sloka of Gopalavimsati is where Desika gives the phalasruthi, the result
of this work.
ithyananyamanasA vinirmithAm
vEnkatESakavinA sthuthim paTan
dhivyavENu rasikam sameekshathE
dhaivatham kimapi youvathapriyam
One
who reads this sthothra, which has been composed by Venakatesakavi with
unswerving mind, will have the darsan of the divine form of the wonderful Lord,
who is loved by the gopis, the rasikas of hHis venugana.
Jayathi lalithavrtthim sikshithO vallaveenAm
SiThilavalayaSinjASeethalairhasthathAlAih
akhilabhuvanarakshAvEshagOpasyaVishnOh
aDHaramaNisuDHAyAm amSavAn vENunAlah (gopalavimsati-16)
The
flute at the gemlike lips of Krishna, the saviour of the whole world who has
assumed the disguise of a cowherd, shine
well being taught of the dance of lalithavrtthi by the loose bangles worn by
the coolhands of the gopis.
The music that flowed from the lips of Krishna
tthrough the flute was so lilting that the svaras seem to perform the Lalithabhinaya, which quality is
attributed to the influence of the hasthathalam .beating of the hands
keeping time, as described in the previous sloka , sounding the bangles, whixh
seem to teach the flute the gaits of the dance. That is, the music seems to
follow the thala and not vicevresa. The dance of the svaras that flow out of
the flute was set to the thala of the sound of the bangles.This is just to show the bhakthavAthsalya iof the
Lord.