Sri Krishna is born only to bless Goda and Gopikas

Tiruppavai-25

Madabhushi Sridhar

9 January 2024

OruththiMaganaai-PpirandhuOriravil

OruththiMaganaaiOliththuValara

Tharikkilaanaagi-Th-thaanTeenguNinainda

KaruththaiPizhai-ppiththukanjanVayittril

NeruppennaNinraNedumaley! Unnai

AruththuthuVandhom Parai TharudhiYaagil

ThiruththakkaSelvamumSevakamumYaampaadi

VaruththamumTheerndhuMagizhndhu-el or empaavaai

English Poem

Born to a divine woman in one night.

Travelled to another mother in hiding.

Overcoming all the attacks of demon,

who planned to harm you in many ways, You

Instilled killing fire of fear in Kamsa’s mind,

O Supreme Self, We all wantonly came,

Seeking your unlimited grace, to serve you,

To sing your glory, O Krishna.to get relieved of all pains. 

Sri Krishnavatharam is a comprehensive phase of Vishnu.  It is not like descending on earth to perform just one transaction of securing a devotee elephant caught by crocodile -Gajendra Moksha or instantly born out of pillar Narasimha to save Prahlada. Sri Krishna had varieties of purposes to serve in a prolonged life. While Rama had to fight the demons in his youth, Krishna’s battle with demons beginsright fromHis birth itself.  Though born with super-natural powers i.e., four hands and Sankha and Chakra, he has to hide all that and move secretly out of prison. Krishna blessed the divine mother with His birth but had to leave herthe next minute and move to another blessed mother far from the city. They fear to speak about the birth of a boy, the name of the motherdue to the fear of Kamsa who ordered his evil forces to kill the infants of a few weeks age.  Gopikas and Goda were so immersed in the story of Krishna that they feel the tremors of Kamsa’s threat to the life of Krishna even during their Vratam.  Devaki and Vasudeva could not enjoy the bliss of having Vishnu as their son aswere tense and always worried about hiding him from Kamsa. They had to give up just born son to Yashoda inVrepalle.

Yashoda is an equally blessed personality to bring up Vishnu as a child. But she also was frightened with the series of attacks on Krishna within a few days of his birth. Poothana, Sakataasura and several other such demons come to attack in a sequence. Yet,fearless Krishna went on givingtense situations to Kamsa and his gang.

Also read: What is this Mangalam and why?

Goda’s team of devotees plead with Krishna saying: “You need not descend for us. We do not generate any necessity to come to a particular place to save us. We, on our own reach you. We have no demands or needs at all. It is enough if we have your darshan. We want you, and nothing else.”

Sri Krishna responds: “You claim that you do not want anything but Parai?”

Gopikas&Goda: “You wanted to give parai. If you give, we will takeit. We do not want to say no, as You may think that we are independently deciding. We desire to sing your glory. You are so rich that even Mahalakshmi could ask for some wealth from You. The moment we saw you we are relieved of pain caused by separation from you. All these days we could not even take your name, fearing Kamsa.  Now we donot have that fear. We happily sing your name and fame. That is enough for us”.

Parai is a music instrument, which is mentioned at two or three pashurams. It begins with the promise of Sri Krishna to gift Parai to Gopikas. The word has another meaning, Parai the other divine space beyond this visible materialistic world, which is filled with bliss and nothing else. When they reach Lord Sri Krishna, they ignore the promise of this gift and say, “we do not need anything. After your divine darshan, every other thing is so small and useless that none would ask for it”. 

Devaki and Yashoda are two Divine Mantras

Vishnu is ‘Antaryami’, invisibly protects usall. If he comes out and appears beforeus, we may not identify him. We may even argue that he is not the God. This is one of the Bhakti Sutra, which Goda explained in 25^thPashuram.

Also read: Like a lion, Krishna walks towards Simhasan

To explain the virtue of Devaki and Yashoda, Jeeyar Swamy and Sri BhashyamAppalacharyaexplainthat the nectar emerged when Angels and Asuras churned the ocean of Milk. But Dasaratha got such nectar from the sacrifice called Putra Kameshthi and got four great sons.

Here, Devaki, Vasudeva, Nanda and Yashoda performed penance for long to have a wonderful kid –Sri Krishna.  

Devaki has the fruit of penance as her child in the womb. He is born with four hands holding Conch (Sankha), Disc (Chakra) and mace (Gada). Devaki was afraid of Kamsa’s cruelty after knowing the birth of eighth son, and requests Him to hide his two extra hands and become an ordinary child. She reconciles to the reality that she cannot have the pleasure of watching the growth of Krishna, overcomes the pangs of separation of her lovely son to hand over Him to husband to be taken to somewhere, away from Madhura. Vasudeva takes Him out of jail and Mathura, crosses Yamuna, to reach Nanda’s Vrepally, all the way on foot, silently places the Child in the bed of Yashoda and takes the just born child of Yashoda to Mathura jail. It all happens peacefully as all the people around were found asleep at both the places Mathura Jail and Nanda’s palace. The route was cleared and furious Yamuna gives the way to Vasudeva.

Also read: All tools of knowing Krishna are Vedas

Though she had the divine blessings to give birth to Narayana Himself, Devaki could not enjoy the fantastic childhood of enchanting Balakrishna. Yashoda has that fortune, which is unimaginable and immeasurable. We cannot find any personalitiesparallel to Devaki or Yashoda anywhere, anytime. One gave birth to Krishna, and the othercontrolledtheParabrahman who commands all the 14 Universes.

Godamma and her team sing the glory of Krishna, who was born to one mother (Devaki), and brought up as the son of another mother (Yashoda). The demon Kamsa was poised to kill the infants to protect himself from eighth son of Devaki. Both of them fear even to name the child. Goda also fears and hence does not take his name in this Pashuram also. She begins the song with expression “one who is born to a mother and transformed to another mother….”, so that Kamsa does not know about it. But the little Krishna retaliated by created a terror in Kamsa’s mind that caused fire in his stomach, ever since the divine voice warned Kamsa that eighth son of Devaki would cause his death. Kamsa was tense, fearful, spends entire time planning to avoid his death and in the process dies every day and finally succumbs to fist strokes of Krishna.

Kamsa, born out of Rape?

We all know Ugrasena as a very pious and generous king. How could he give birth to a demon like Kamsa? One Asura called Vimaluduin guise (body) of Ugrasena cheated his wifeand raped her. Thus, Kamsa was born out of rape by a demon, with cruel qualities. He grew intoapowerful demon, marries daughter of Jarasandha and usurps the kingdom from his father and imprisons him. He was notorious administrator who terrorised the subjects of his rule.

Goda says “We are here to sing of your Glory and if you bestow grace on us and fulfil our wishes, we will rejoice for ever, relieved of all our sorrows. 

After He wakes up, Goda sings five songs glorifying the virtues of Krishna. This is the second of those five verses. In all these five verses she is invoking the great qualities of Krishna with appropriate episodes of his life. They hesitate to tell the desire till the end of vrata. But they ask for bestowing the grace and fulfil the desires.

Sri krishna has two mothers. Similarly, the Narayana philosophy is revealed in two Mantras – one is Narayana Ashthakshari – eight syllable Mantra, and the second – Dwadashakshari – Mantra of 12 syllables. In Ashthakshari the Narayana concept brightens, while in Vasudeva Mantra it is dormant. Other scholars say one mother is Gayatri Mantra and the other mother is Narayanakshari.

Also read: Only 33 Deva’s, not 33 crore!