----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 9:11
PM
Subject: [Oppiliappan]
Krishnakarnamrtham-slokas22to25
22.vichithrapathraankuraSaalibaalaa sthanaantharam
mouni manaantharam vaa
apaasya
brindhaavanpaadhapaasyam upaasyam anyam na
vilokayaama
Except the chest of the young girls,baalaasthanaantharam,
decorated with variety of leaves and buds, vichithra
pathrankurasaali, or the heart of the sages, mouni manontharam,
or the foot of the trees of Brindavan, brindhaavanapaadhapaasyam, there
is no other place to seek Krishna upaasyam anyath
na vilokayaama.
Krishna lives in the heart of the gopis
whose devotion even surpasses that of sages. So Leelasuka says you can find
Him in the mind of the sages by all means but He is easily available in
the heart of the gopis and under the trees of
Brindavan.
In Srimadbhagavatham Krishna himself extols the love of gopis to
Uddava. He says that the gopis, cows and even trees and other animals attained
him by sheer love. Here the word mouni can mean those who have their minds
engrossed in the Lord as mentioned in the Gita.' mayyeva manaaadhathsva,'
who have given up all attachment and contemplate only on Him with
devotion. The gopis were equal to the sages in this respect,
if not more because they never studied
the sasthras or observed any austerities but surrendered to
Him body and soul.
Uddhava says on seeing the devotion of the gopis,
Ethaah param thanubhrtho bhuvi gopavaDhvah
govinda eva nikhilaathmani
rooDabhaavaah
vaancChanthi yath bhavabhiyah muanyah vayam
cha
kim brahmajanmabhih ananthakaThaa
rasasya (Bh. 10-47-58)
It means that the gopis are really obtained the fruit of embodiment by
their firm-rooted love for Govinda, surrendering to Him body and soul, whom
the sages and the devotees like himself wish to attain, fearing
the samsara . What earthly use is the birth as a brahmin
for one who savoured the story of Hari!
This reflects the idea expressed by the Lord in Bhagavtgita,
`Naaham vedairna thapasa nadhaanena na chejyayaa-----
bhakthyaathu ananyayaa labhyah.'
"I am not attained by learning the Vedas, nor by penance nor by
charitable acts nor by performing sacrifices. I am solely attainable through
selfless and unswerving devotion. "
Uddhava says,
`vandhe nandhavrajasthreeNaam paadhareNum abheekshnaSah, yaasaam
harikaThodhgeetham punaathi bhuvanathrayam.'meaning, "I salute the
dust under the feet of the gopis who purify the three
worlds by singing the names of Hari."
23. saarDham samrddhaih amrthaayamaanaih
aaDhymayamaanaih muraleeninaadhaih
moorDhaabhiShiktham maDhuraakrtheenaam
baalam
kadhaa naama vilokayishye
When am I going to see the young
Krishna who is the crowning beauty of all lovely forms along with
his music from the flute that creates abundance of
nectar!
Krishna plays the flute which pours nectar
in the ears of the listeners, and added to that His form is loveliness
personified a crowning glory of all things beautiful. He is thus
soundaryalaharee, ocean of beauty and maadhurya laharee,
sea of sweetness by his music and thus creating
aanandhalaharee, waves of joy in the mind of the devotees. He creates the
longing for more in those who see him and hear him,
This reminds us of the sloka in Narayaneeyam where
NarayanaBhattadhri describes Guruvayurappan from head to foot. He says,
"seeing the beautiful young form in front of me, dhivya kaiSoraveSham,
I am merged in nectar, peeyooShaaplaavithoham. He entreats the Lord, `
place your flute, veNunaaleem, on your lips , and fill our ears with
the flow of the nectar of nadha brahmam that cools the whole universe,
SabdhabrahmaamrthaiH SiSirithabhuvanaiH sincha me
karNaveeTheem.'
24. SiSireekuruthe kadhaa nu naH
SikhipicChaabharanaSiSur dhrSoH
yugalam
vigalan maDhudhrava smitha mudhraa mrdhunaa
mukhendhunaa
When will the child Krishna wearing the ornament of the
peacock feathers please our eyes with his soft moon-like face giving out his
nectarine smile!
Let us see how Narayana bhattadhri describes the form of
Krishna adorned by peacock feathers and his smile.
Neelaabham kunchithaagram ghanam amalatharam samyatham
chaarubhangyaa
Rathnotthamsabhiraamam valayitham udhayath chandhrikaih
pincChjaalaih (Nara.100-2)
The hair of Krishna is thick and black curling at the ends
and bound beautifully and adorned with gems. On that the peacock feathers
shine with the eye-like center resembling the rising moon.
Vedantadesika
gives a tall order to the Lord,
adharaahitha chaaruvamsanaaLaah
makutaalambhimayoorapicchamaalaah
harineelasilaavibhangaleelaah prathibhaah
mamaanthimaprayaaNe santhu
(
(Gopalavimsathi-12)
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 like a blue sapphire.
Leelasuka also expresses the same wish elsewhere.
25.
kaaruNyakarburakataakShanireekshaNena
thaaruNya
samvalitha SaiSava vaibhavena
aapuShNathaa bhuvanam adbhuthavibhrameNa
Sree krshNa
chandhra SiSireepurulochanam me.
Oh Krishna chandhra, with your look tender with mercy, with
your form elegant and young, with your sportive acts that nourish the whole
world, cool down my eyes also.
Here Krishna is called Krishna Chandra , the
moon who is Krishna. It denotes wonder as he is
Krishna dark and yet he is the moon. He is
elegant like the moon, nourishes the world by he is nectar of glance like the
rays of the moon. The commentators say that by denoting Krishna as
the moon the eye of the devotee signifies the lily, kumudha that blossoms by
the rays of the moon.
The eyes of the Lord is compared to both the Sun and the Moon, fierce
like the Sun to wards the wicked and cool like the Moon towards His devotees.
Andal says,' thingaLum aadhitthiyanum ezhundhaarpol angaN iraNdum koNdu
engaL mel nokkudhiyEl engaL mEl Saapam izhindhElO rempaavaai.'
(Thiruppavai-23)
It means that if the Lord looks at us with both His eyes like the
rising Sun and the Moon our sins will be washed off. Rising Sun is quite
pleasant and the Moon is always cool.
Here Krishna himself is addressed as
chandhra because his whole being is oozing with nectar and his glance full of
mercy will be cooling to the devotee who is tormented by the heat of the
samsara.