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 roofready
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 invain
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 foodwas 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 ragsthey
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 heardher
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. Anidea
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. Evenif
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 bondsof
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 apoor
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 ofthe
palace made him hesitate for a moment at its portals, mindful of his own
extremely humble appearance, in vivid contrast to the beautiful clothesworn
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 likelyto
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 ina
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 aboutto
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 thateven
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 measureby
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 cometo 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 Lordfor
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? IfHe
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 thathis
modest hut had disappeared and there stood in its place a palatial residence
fit for royalty. Nor were his wife and children, instantly recognisablefrom
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 ofland
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 ashe
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 upahritambhaktai:
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