VenugAnam
In Bhagavatham we have the following sloka which shows that the rasaleela took place in autumn and not in spring.
bhagavanapi thA rAthreeh SaradhOtpulla mallikAh
veekshya ranthum manaschakrE yogamAyam upASrithah (Bh.10-29-1)
The Lord seeing the nights of autumn with jasmine blossoms wished to perform His leela making use of His yogamaya.
But Desika describes the season as spring, perhaps thinking that spring season is more appropriate than autumn for rAsa, which is permissible as poetic freedom.
The music that flowed from the flute of
mukundha vakthrAnila vAdhyamAnaH
vEnuh babhou veda iva dhvitheeyah
rAgAvadheenAm rahasA yadhEkam
geethAthmanAm thasya nidhAnam Aseeth
The sound of the flute was the secret call of the gopis in the form of music to denote the utmost love.This was compared to the veda through pun on the words, geetha, raga and rahasa. Raga denotes the attachment and Bhagavatgita is the cause of removing it and contains the secret of the upanishads.
The venugana enslaved all beings from Brahma down to animals and birds. 'ayathnanishpanna manassamAdheen AbrahmakAn AthanuthEva janthoon.' All beings resembled the yogins by their concentrated listening to the music as though in samadhi. All beings stood still as in a painting,'AlEkhya nishpandha mrgadhvijAni.' Periazvar who has allotted ten pasurams to describe the venugana says 'ezudhu chitthirangal pOla ninranavE.' Not only the animate but also the plants and trees were attracted by the music, says Perizvar, describibg how the trees bent down towards the direction of music and showered flowers etc.
Then krishna blew his horn which was like Panchajanya and sang songs, the standard of which was beyond the comprehension of even the gAndharvaveda.
AdhyApayAmAsa sa srngamagryam
shankham thathAbhootham iva AthmayOgAth
jagou cha gEyAni bahooni yEshAm
gAndharva vedo api na paradhrSvA
Desika describes the music thus:
thrisTHAnayukthasvarabhooshitham thath
thriDHA sTHitham grAmaviSEsha yogAth
aranjayath sapthajaganthyayathnAth
geetham harErAhrtha kinnarougham
The music of Krishna attracted even the kinnaras, who are supposed to be skilled in music, and delighted all the worlds with its reach in three octaves, mandhra,madhya and thAra sThAyees,based on the three svaras,shadja, madhyama and gandhara, that arise from the three sources of sound, heart, throat and the head.
The music that came from the flute of
AdhiSyamAnAm priyavamSanAdhaih
ASAm nijASAm iva nirvighAthAm
thaTHAsTHithAm prAsTHishatha ASu DHanyAm
Asanna sanDHyADhika rAgabhAjah
The gopis hurried towards the direction where
They rushed towards
aninyirE rAgamayaiH mahOghaih
klESApaham krishna suDHA payODHim
As the rivers gather momentum by the great floods and rush towards the sea, the gopis, filled with raga , love for Krishna, were drawn by the raga from his flute and sped towards the sea of nectar, Krishna, who is klESapaha,the remover of all troubles.Bhakthi is like a river rushing towards the Lord, unmindful of all worldly obstacles, drawn by His gunas, and knowing Him to be the only source of joy unmixed by klESA, ills of the samsara.
The quick breathing of the gopis went before them, says Desika,as though wishing to bring
Let us see what this means:
sadhAgathi has three meanings, namely devas, Vayu, the windgod and the etymological meaning, of sath+Agathi, welcome.Krishna is referred to as sadhAgathiprArThanA samEtha because,
1. He was prayed to (prArThithah) by the devas (sadhAgathins) and Vayu wanted to bring him near them.
2.Vayu thought that
3.
When the gopis went in a hurry the pearls from their neck ornaments fell on the floor and it looked as though they were the flowers strewn on a stage by the suthradhara before the beginning of a dance, thus foretold the beginning of the rAsa.
They saw
avasThitham kvapi kadhamba moolE
valgusmitham vadhitha manjuvENum
sAcheekrthAksham dhadhrSuh tharuNyah
svAdhyam sathAm svasthika chArujangham
He was standing under a kadamba tree with a beautiful smile,playing the flute.He was looking at the holes of the flute with half closed eyes and having one knee bent and crossed. Desika describes his pose as 'svAdhyam sathAm' delightful to the sages
Periazvar describes this beautifully as "idavanarai idatthOLodu saitthu, irukaikooda puruvam nerindhEra" and "siruviralgal thadavu ipparimara, chengan kOda seyyavAi koppaLippa"
'Krishna bent his left hip and left shoulder with both hands together, with arched eyebrows,his fingers moving along the flute and his eyes like red lotus slanted and his red lips puckered'
Among the gopis who came and surrounded him,
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