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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



The Trivial Tribute


Poverty had them in its crippling embrace. Its cruel manifestations were there 
for all to see-in the tiny, ramshackle house with the roof ready to fall on 
one's head at the slightest sneeze, the empty shelves and almirahs with 
provisions and condiments conspicuous by their absence, the hearth full of 
ashes, sole remnants of the cooking fire made a full seven days ago, the 
absolute lack of cheer on the face of the emaciated inhabitants who had been 
starving for days and had nothing major (or even minor, for that matter) to 
look forward to, the muted whimpers of children too hungry and exhausted even 
to emit a full-throated cry, the uniformly unseemly clothes the residents wore, 
with innumerable patches trying in vain to join torn cloth which had served out 
its life-the tell-tale signs of abject penury were only too evident in the 
household. The head of the family, however, remained unaffected by all the 
privations poverty could impose, and spent most of his time in blissful 
contemplation of the Lord and His auspicious attributes. He dwelt mostly in the 
past, constantly cherishing memories of the glorious days spent in the company 
of that boisterous brat Krishna, sharing everything from a morsel of stolen 
butter to the most private of secrets, with nary a care in the world. Those 
were the days, filled with youthful adventure, fun and frolic, in the 
bewitching company of glorious GopAla, the epitome of mischief, whom everybody 
loved so much and who loved everyone back with the same measure of wamth and 
goodwill. It was unadulterated affection, prompted solely by mutual love, 
without any expectations of quid pro quo whatsoever. Mere thoughts of those 
fun-filled and sunny days in the company of the youthful Yadava were enough to 
make one feel satiated, even if the stomach remained unfilled and growled in 
hunger.



The gentleman's wife was however a more practical lady, who thought more about 
where the next day's food was to be scrounged from, with an army of infants to 
be fed. Children grew up fast and it was indeed unseemly for grown-up girls to 
be clothed in the rags they sported, for want of anything better to wear. Her 
eyes filled with tears at the pitiable sight of the children's lean frames with 
hardly any fat clinging to them, their eyes full of expectations and dreams, 
all of which remained in the realm of imagination. And how long could one go on 
the way they had, with square meals a thing of the distant past and even 
morsels difficult to come across? It pained her to think of their helpless 
state, with no light at the end of the long tunnel which seemed to stretch away 
endlessly. They had borrowed from everyone possible, till there was none to 
lend to them.



Racking her brains for some source of aid, she thought of and discarded 
relatives, neighbours and acquaintances as likely providers of succour. At that 
moment, she heard her husband's lips muttering Sri Krishna's name, as he did 
often when he was consumed by nostalgia and longed for the boyhood friend's 
company. An idea struck her forcefully: why not ask her husband to seek some 
help from his friend Krishna, who was doing extremely well, by all accounts? He 
was reputed to be quite well-off and endowed with all sorts of riches. Even if 
He were to spare them a minuscule bit of His wealth, they could eat comfortably 
for days together. And, if He were all that close to her husband, He would 
definitely not refuse the need-based appeal.



However, like all husbands to whom brilliant ideas have been voiced by their 
better halves, SudhAma too demurred, preferring to look upon his friendship 
with Krishna as something to be cherished and treasured, rather than to be 
materially exploited. He couldn't bear the thought of going to Krishna with a 
begging bowl, whatever be the current privations-not that the latter would 
refuse him anything, for the bonds of friendship that bound them together were 
too strong to be strained by mere requests for alms.



Much in the fashion of every wise husband, who knows what is good for himself, 
having dutifully made his protest, Sudhama too fell in line with his wife's 
suggestion, albeit with extreme reluctance. It was more the deep desire to see 
Sri Krishna again, rather than any inclination to seek alms that made him agree 
to go to Dwaraka. Thus He consented to go to his friend of yore and to request 
him for aid, if only to enable them to keep their body and soul together. 



There arose a problem-if he was to meet Sri Krishna, he couldn't very well go 
empty-handed. Even if he couldn't afford something valuable enough to be 
offered to DwArakAdeesa, he had to carry some little thing at least, which 
could serve at best as a poor substitute to what the latter was acccustomed and 
entitled to be offered. His wife came to the rescue, putting together four 
fistfulls of "aval", borrowed from neighbours in an act of scraping the barrel. 
With the humble offering securely bundled in his upper cloth, Sudhama set off 
on the long journey to Dwaraka.



Though the city lay at a long distance from Sudhama's residence, the very 
thought and eager anticipation of meeting Sri Krishna and the mere notion of a 
reunion with the best of friends kept the poor brahmin going, without any 
thought of hunger, fatigue or other incoveniences, minor and major. He walked 
in a trance, with his thoughts fixed solely on Krishna and His exploits. And in 
no time at all (it appeared to KuchEla) he had arrived at the bewilderingly big 
city of Dwaraka.



Sudhama didn't need to enquire the way to the Lord's residence-his instinct 
guided him unerringly to the largest and most magnificent of palaces, like a 
week-old calf finding its mother accurately in a huge herd of cows. The 
striking splendour of the palace made him hesitate for a moment at its portals, 
mindful of his own extremely humble appearance, in vivid contrast to the 
beautiful clothes worn by even the lowliest of Sri Krishna's servitors. 
However, picking up courage, he entered and, after passing several magnificent 
halls and rooms filled with every imaginable form of wealth, reached at last 
the splendid abode of the Lord, brilliant with the radiance of gems and jewelry 
adorning every nook and corner of the place, where Sri Krishna was engaged in 
friendly banter with Sri Rugmini, every bit equal to Him in beauty and 
boundless magnificence.



Surprisingly, it never occurred to Sudhama to wonder about the sort of 
reception he was likely to be accorded, for he was banking solely on a distant, 
childhood friendship. He did not for a moment doubt that his friend of yore 
would remain the same and would retain the same degree of warmth He had 
displayed earlier, several long years ago. He never imagined for a moment that 
his efforts to renew the bonds of affection could be spurned by the rich, 
powerful and glorious Krishna, who might no longer remember nor desire the 
company of those incomparably low in social, economic and other status. Not for 
a trice did it occur to him that his childhood friend, now the exalted Emperor 
of Dwaraka, might develop a convenient amnesia, where poor playmates of infancy 
were concerned. Such was Sudhama's implicit faith in the genuineness of the 
Lord's dealings.



As it happened, every bit of the poor brahmin's trust was proved true, when Sri 
Krishna, espying His bosom friend of yesteryears, came rushing down from His 
throne and locked Sudhama in a bear hug indicative of the depth of emotion. It 
was indeed a scene for jaded eyes-the all-powerful Emperor of Dwaraka embracing 
intimately an emaciated brahmin who was poor as a dormouse. It brought to 
memory the embrace bestowed by Sri Chakkravartthi Tirumagan on the bestial 
hunter Guha. Tears of joy at the reunion emanated from the lotus eyes of the 
Lord and coursed down His beautiful cheeks-the Lord was crying unashamedly at 
the sight and feel of the long-lost friend, with whom He had spent many an hour 
of fun and frolic.



Reminded of His duties as a host, the Lord reluctantly disengaged Himself from 
the embrace and seated the protesting Kuchela on His (the Lord's own) throne, 
washed Kuchela's feet, weary with treading all those miles of hard travel, with 
scented water and, in an endearing gesture, sprinkled the same on His lofty 
head. He personally applied sandalwood paste and perfumes on Kuchela, affording 
him an exhuberant welcome fitting a rare visitor of royal descent. It was a 
sight to behold, Sri RugminI personally fanning the ill-clad and emaciated 
brahmin who was little more than a bag of bones, the coat of grime from head to 
foot resulting from travel doing little to enhance his already unimpressive 
looks. Those in charge of protocol at the Dwaraka palace were flabbergasted at 
the blatant breach of all norms of etiquette governing royal conduct and were 
about to protest when the all-knowing Krishna silenced them with a stern 
glance. The amazed and astounded courtiers looked on, stunned at the good 
fortune of the poor brahmin seated on the exalted throne, being waited upon 
hand and foot by the Lord and His Consort and the abundantly apparent love and 
affection the Lord had for His unimpressive visitor.



As is common to old friends who had been apart for long, Sri Krishna and 
Kuchela picked up the threads of their once- intimate association and began 
swapping nostalgic memories of the times that were, each interrupting the 
other's narrative with cries of "Do you remember when.". They caught up with 
all that had happened to each other since their parting and were so much 
engrossed in themselves that even Sri RugminI began to feel ignored and a 
trifle jealous of the visitor.



It did not occur to the humble Kuchela, amidst all this uproarious welcome, to 
offer Sri Krishna the humble aval that he had brought from home; and if it did, 
he must have been consumed by shame at the thought of offering the trivial 
tribute to the exalted Emperor. He therefore kept quiet, whether due to 
forgetfulness or design, we are unable to vouchsafe. However, remembering the 
old friend's affectionate offerings during childhood, Sri Krishna told Kuchela, 
"What have you brought for me now? And why are you hiding it in your uttareeyam 
instead of handing it over immediately?". So saying, the Lord snatched 
Sudhama's upper cloth, untied the knots, found the humble "aval" and with a cry 
of delight, tossed a fistful into His mouth. Pleased beyond measure by the 
modest offering, because it was brought by the devoted Kuchela with 
overwhelming affection, the Lord relished it much more than all the delicacies 
the palace kitchen had to offer. It afforded the Lord's taste buds such 
pleasure as had not been occasioned in a long time, because true friends or 
true devotees were indeed scarce ("sa mahAtmA sudurlabha:"). When He was about 
to take a second helping, Sri Rugmini held His hand, telling Him that whatever 
purpose He had in mind had been achieved with the first fistful He had 
consumed. Kuchela spent a day of unalloyed enjoyment in the Lord's company, fed 
with the choicest of royal delicacies and gourmets' delights, enjoying the 
loving ministrations of the royal couple, totally forgetting for the nonce his 
usual state of impoverishment and domestic concerns involving his army of unfed 
and ill-clad children. 



All good things come to an end and so did the blissful visit. With very great 
reluctance, Sri Krishna bid au revoir to His soulmate with tears in His eyes, 
accompanying Sudhama for just seven steps in the homeward direction, as 
prescribed by Shastras. Kuchela's heart was overflowing with the bliss 
occasioned by the Lord's uplifting company and had no place for any other 
emotion.



After covering quite a distance, it struck him that he had absolutely forgotten 
his wife's bidding, to ask Sri Krishna for aid. Thus the principal mission, for 
which he had set out as prompted by the better half, remained unaccomplished 
and he would return empty-handed, bearing nothing but disappointment and dismay 
for the family waiting for him with bated breath in eager anticipation of the 
gifts he would be bearing them from Dwarakadeesa. His joy at the reunion with 
Sri Krishna had been so great that he had totally forgotten to ask the Lord for 
anything. 



A stray thought occurred to him. True, he had not sought alms from Krishna: but 
wasn't the all-knowing Emperor perceptive enough to appreciate his predicament 
and poverty? If He was, why did He not offer His friend even a single coin, 
leave alone riches, to alleviate the obvious suffering Sudhama was undergoing? 
Were the sweet words, the tears of joy and the expressions of endearment all 
confined to the lips, without reaching the heart and, more important, the purse?



Sudhama instantly dismissed the thought as unworthy, preferring to focus his 
reflections on the boundless bliss resulting from the reunion, which was its 
own reward and would sustain him till the next meeting with the Lord, whenever 
that happened. True to the saying "ParamAtmani yO rakta: virakta: 
aparamAtmani", Sudhama bothered little about matters other than Bhagavat 
anubhavam, totally leaving his dEha yAtra in the hands of the Almighty.



Approaching his home, such as it was, Sudhama steeled himself to tell his wife 
of his failure to garner any aid or assistance. When he drew near, he was 
astounded to find that his modest hut had disappeared and there stood in its 
place a palatial residence fit for royalty. Nor were his wife and children, 
instantly recognisable from their ill-fitting and torn apparel, anywere to be 
found. Accepting this as one more cruel arrow from the apparently unlimited 
armoury of fate, Sudhama resigned himself to the possibility of some rich man 
having taken a fancy to his humble plot of land and having constructed a 
mansion, after driving away the poor family with probably a pittance as 
compensation. To his utter amazement, however, he found his wife coming out of 
the mansion, welcoming him with open arms. And he could hardly recognize her, 
for she was clad in the finest of apparel, bedecked with glittering jewelry 
from head to foot. Gone were the signs of crippling poverty and killing penury, 
replaced by all outward symbols of unlimited prosperity. His children too were 
obviously beneficiaries of the same phenomenon, for they looked very much like 
Princes and Princesses right out of a palace. 



Sudhama rubbed his eyes in disbelief, demanding an immediate explanation from 
his wife for the magical transformation from poverty to prosperity. The tale 
she had to tell was equally astonoshing, for all she could recount was the 
sudden and inexplicable change, miraculously converting their humble hut into a 
palatial mansion filled with riches beyond imagination. It was then that 
Sudhama remembered Sri Krishna's snatching and partaking of the trivial "aval" 
with great gusto. This was the fabulous prize the Lord had showered on them in 
return for just a fistful of aval, offered with all affection. Tears flowed 
freely from Sudhama's eyes, overwhelmed by the Lord's boundless munificence. 
The unlimited wealth attained suddenly and without effort, wrought absolutely 
no change in the brahmin's demeanour or conduct, and he continued to be as 
happy in the mansion as he was earlier in the dilapidated cottage. Sudhama 
continued his life of blissful contemplation of Sri Krishna and His kalyANa 
guNAs, and in time, attained the Lord's lotus feet for an eternal life of 
joyous service.



"Patram pushpam phalam tOyam yO mE bhaktyA prayacchati

tadaham bhaktyupahritam asnAmi prayatAtmana:"



"anyat poorNAt apAm kumbhAt anyat pAdAvanEjanAt

anyat kusala samprasnAt na cha icchati JanArdana:"



"YA; kriyA; samprayuktA: syu: EkAnta gata buddhibhi:

tA: sarvA; shirasA dEva: pratigrihNati vai svayam"



"aNu api upahritam bhaktai: mama bhOgAya jAyatE

bhooryapi abhaktO upahritam tanna mE bhOgAya jAyatE"



Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



Dasan, sadagopan



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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