krishna The Butter Bandit

Why incarnate as Yadavan?

There are many esoteric meanings in Krishnavataram. Lord Krishna performed many divine acts (leelai) during Krishnavataram.

The Lord’s first leelai was when He chose to incarnate in the lineage of Yadu the son of Yayati and Devayani.

Devayani was the daughter of Sukracharyar, the preceptor of the Asuras. She with her father lived in the kingdom of an Asura king. The King treated Sukracharyar with respect. The king had a beautiful daughter called Sarmishtai. Devayani grew up in the company of Sarmishtai and her friends. Devayani did not fit in with the group as she felt that Sarmishtai held a superior position in their group since she was the princess. One day the girls went for a swim. After returning to the river bank, Sarmishtai wore Devayani’s clothes by mistake. As Devayani was secretly holding a grudge against Sarmishtai, she exploded and yelled at Sarmishtai, ‘don’t you have any sense? How dare you take my clothes? You may be the princess but it does not give you the right to take those things which belong to others!’

Sarmishtai felt very angry when she heard Devayani’s words.

‘I took your clothes in error. Even if I had intentionally taken your clothes it’s not a crime for, after all it was purchased by your father with the salary paid by my father!’

Sarmishtai did not stop with her arguments but pushed Devayani into a deep well and left to the palace with her friends.

Devayani called for help and King Yayati who was passing through that area heard her cry. He found her inside the well and helped her out by grabbing her arm.

Devayani saw the handsome king. She wished to become a queen to teach Sarmishtai a lesson. She said to Yayati, ‘you have grasped my arm and as I am an unmarried girl, you have to accept me as your wife!’

‘I only grabbed your arm to help you out of the well. I can’t wed every girl I help. I don’t even know anything about you.’

‘I am the daughter of Sukracharyar; my name is Devayani.’

‘If you are Sukracharyar’s daughter you are a Brahmin. It is prohibited by shastras for a Kshatriya man to marry a Brahmin girl though a Kshatriya woman could marry a Brahmin man. I can’t go against the shastras in order to marry you.’

At that moment Sukracharyar arrived there searching for Devayani. Sukracharyar spoiled Devayani by letting her have whatever she wished to have. Devayani complained to her father and informed him that she had to marry the king.

‘What you say about the shastras prohibiting a Kshatriya man from marrying a Brahmin girl is correct but I can use my powers to make sure that you are not affected by any sins but if you disappoint my daughter, you will have to face my wrath!’

Yayati did not wish to be cursed by Sukracharyar. He agreed to wed Devayani. The Asura King gave many gifts since his preceptor’s daughter was getting married. Devayani made an extraordinary request to the king.

‘Along with all these gifts, I wish to take your daughter Sarmishtai as my personal maid servant!’

Sukracharyar added that he will not stay as the King’s preceptor if the king refused to assign Sarmishtai as Devayani’s maid servant.

The Asura King acceded to Devayani’s request because of his respect for Sukracharyar.

Sukracharyar was worried even though the king had acceded to his request. He knew that Sarmishtai was beautiful and knew how to conduct herself regally. Over time Yayati could fall in love with the fashionable Sarmishtai and Devayani would be hurt. He therefore called Yayati aside and warned him,

‘If you are ever unfaithful to my daughter, you will have to face my wrath!’

Devayani and Yayati lived happily and had four sons. The eldest son was named Yadu. One day Yayati went on a hunting trip and Sarmishtai accompanied him. Yayati fell in love with Sarmishtai and secretly married her. They had four sons and the eldest son was called as Puru.

After a few years Devayani came across Sarmishtai’s sons and realized that they resembled Yayati. She soon found out the truth and rushed to her father and complained to him.

Sukracharyar was seething with anger. ‘May Yayati turn into a decrepit old man!’ he cursed.

Yayati heard about this curse. He went to Sukracharyar.

‘Your curse will only make matters worse for your daughter since she has to live with an old man,’ said Yayati. ‘Please reverse your curse.’

‘Alas! I do not have powers to reverse a curse but if any of your sons are willing to exchange their youth for your old age, you will become youthful again.’

Yayati said, ‘I must warn you. I will give my kingdom only to my son who relieves me of my old age. Do you have any concerns?’

‘There are four types of sons,’ said Sukracharya. ‘The first type is the best son for he knows automatically his parent’s wish and fulfills it. The second type of son can find out about their parent’s wish from their body language and then makes it come true. The third type will fulfill wishes when parents ask him to do so. The fourth is the lowest as he is disobedient. I agree with you that the kingdom shouldn’t be given to the disobedient son.’

Yayati first approached Devayani’s son Yadu. As Yadu refused, the other sons of Devayani refused as well.

Next Yayati approached Puru who readily exchanged his youth with his father. Thus Yayati crowned Puru and cursed Yadu that he should never wear a crown or be treated as a royal personage.

Why did Lord Krishna choose the lineage of the disobedient Yadu? The Lord chose Yadu’s lineage to show the greatness of Yadu to everyone.

When Yayati approached Yadu with his request, Yadu discussed with his brothers.

‘We all know that our mother has ill-treated our step mother Sarmishtai. This world and its wealth are not permanent. By yearning for worldly wealth we will only commit further sins. I feel that we should step down and let Puru get a chance to accept the kingdom. This is the only way by which we can correct the mistake made by our mother.’

Thus Yadu refused in order to give Puru the opportunity to become the king. He sacrificed his rightful hold over the kingdom and he also had to bear all the ill words uttered by his father as well as other people. Thus Yadu performed a supreme sacrifice. To recognize the greatness of Yadu, the Lord chose to incarnate in Yadu’s lineage.

Yadu always donated to the needy. He never refused donation to anyone. If a person sought $500,000 from Yadu, Yadu would grant $2,000,000! Such was the quality of Yadu. Lord Krishna’s father Vasudevar imagined in his mind and donated 10,000 cattle to the Brahmins when the Lord incarnated. We would think that as he was only imagining he could have even donated 2,000,000 cattle. The reason was that, at that time Vasudevar was in prison; he calculated the value of his property and made a vow to make actual donation when he was released from prison. Likewise, after Kamsa was killed, Vasudevar donated 10,000 cattle. Lord Krishna’ foster father Nanda Gopan was known for his charitable donations as mentioned by Andal Nachiar in her pasuram Ambarame thannire. Lord Krishna appreciates people who make charitable donations. This was another reason for choosing the Yadu dynasty.

Why incarnate as a cowherd?

His second leela was when He chose to be a cowherd. Bhumi Devi approached Lord Brahma in the form of a cow and asked help to reduce her burden. Bhumi was unable to bear the burden because the numbers of evil doers had greatly risen. They started to stray away from the shastras and prevent the righteous people from following the shastras as well. Due to the increase in the adharmic activities, Bhumi was unable to bear the burden. Lord Brahma then took her and the Devas to see the Lord. They arrived at the shores of the milky ocean and meditated upon the Lord by repeatedly chanting the Purusha Suktam Manthram. Pleased with their meditation, the Lord appeared before them on top of Garudazhwar.

‘The number of people with evil tendencies has increased on Earth. There are many Asuras who roam on Earth tormenting the righteous people. Bhumi Devi is unable to bear the burden. We pray to you to incarnate and remove the Asuras from Earth.’

‘I will fulfill your wish,’ the Lord said. ‘Since Bhumi has

approached me in the form of a cow, I will incarnate amongst cowherds. I will place two keshams in the womb of Devaki. The white kesham will incarnate as Balarama & the bluish black kesham as Krishna.’

In the above verse, kesham is often interpreted by many as hair thus concluding that the Lord plucked a strand of grey hair & black hair from His head. The Lord is always youthful and hence has no grey hairs. The actual meaning for kesham could be understood by examining the meaning of the Lord’s name Hrishikesha. The usual meaning provided by many for Hrishikesha is, the one who controls our senses is Hrishikesha but Kesham also means effulgence in Sanskrit. Hence, Hrishikesha means the one who makes others happy by showering His effulgence on them. This name refers to the Lord giving His powers to the Sun and the moon, thus, pleasing us with Sun light and moon light. This explanation is found in the Vishnusahasranama commentary by Sri Chinmayananda and by Sri P.Sankaranarayanan in the Sri Vishnusahasranama stotram commentary. This is also explained in the Vishnupuranam Puranam commentary by Sri Vishnu Chitta also known as Engal Azhwan; the verse is shown below.

केशौ-तेजसी  कःआत्मा तस्मिन् शेते इति केशः।मोक्षधर्मे केशवनामनिर्वचने

सूर्यस्य तपतो लोकानग्नेस्सोमस्य चैव हि।

अंशवो ये प्रकाशन्ते  मम ते केशसंज्ञिताः।। इति।।)

Kesau-tejasi ka:atma tasmin shete iti kesa mokshadharma kesavanaamanirvachane

Suryasya tapatho lokaanagressomasya chaiva hi Amsavo ye prakaasante mama te kesasamgnitha ।। iti ।।

Thus kesham refers to aura or effulgence. The white kesham which became Balarama was the Lord’s white coloured aura and Krishna appeared from the Lord’s bluish-black coloured aura.

Bhumi Devi is often represented as a cow. From Bhumi we get all the wealth like food, herbs, metals, gems etc. Thus, Bhumi must be milked like a cow. A cow gives its milk to everyone and not just its calf. Like that Bhumi Devi showers her wealth on all her residents. To show us that the Lord will help us milk Bhumi, He incarnated as a cowherd. He protected Bhumi by reducing her burden by killing all the evil doers. Swami Desikan mentions in his poem Yadavabhyudayam that , ‘the blameless Lord promised to incarnate to rid the Asuras.’ Swami Vedanta Desikan calls the Lord as blameless because the Lord decided to go against the Asuras because of their accumulated karmas. If they had done good deeds, He wouldn’t have sided with the Devas in order to remove the Asuras from Earth. 

Krishnavataram

Festivities In Mathura

The entire city of Mathura looked very festive. Princess Devaki had wedded prince Vasudeva in the morning and the streets around the palace and the temple were decorated with bright rangoli. It was just an hour before sun set; the weather was mild. The streets were crowded with tourists and merchants from nearby villages selling their wares. Yashoda looked at the bustling marketplace near the temple. The temple was encircled by seven streets; the Brahmins lived in these streets. The sweet smell of burning wood from the daily agnihotra filled the air. There were huge gateways interconnecting the seven streets that encircled the temple. The street adjacent to the temple was filled with vendors selling flowers. The entire area around the temple was filled with fragrant perfume of jasmine, rose, lotus, Spanish Cherry (Magizham poo), Screw Pine (Thazham poo), Ylang-Ylang (manoranjitham), Indian Magnolia (shenbagappoo) and holy basil (tulasi). In addition to the flowers, they were selling fresh sandalwood paste, rose water, etc. for the worship. The environment was serene yet busy. Anxiety just seemed to fade out of people’s heart.

Yashoda entered the temple premises with her husband, King Nanda Gopa and their friends. They had journeyed from Gokulam to participate in the wedding ceremony. (Gokulam was a large village; its citizens were mainly dairy farmers.) There was a huge garden to the right side of the entrance. Flocks of parrots, doves and sparrows had returned to roost on the trees. The air reverberated with the chatter of the roosting birds. A cuckoo broke into a beautiful melody. A couple of peacocks were walking with pride near the temple pond. The coral rays of the setting sun bathed the garden in its warm glow. The surrounding looked as if it had been stolen from heaven. It looked like the garden of Devendra or Kubera. Yashoda did not cast her eyes on the picturesque view; not even when she stopped to wash her feet in the pond. She walked along with the rest of the people in a hurry to see her beloved lord. Eyes that had looked at him will not find beauty in anything else! She moved forward with great anticipation, ‘how would Lord Vishnu be decorated today? Would she and her friends be able to get a good glimpse of Him?’ She didn’t get the chance of visiting this temple every day as she lived miles away in Gokulam. She had been looking forward to this visit for weeks. Her arms were laden with offerings of flowers, incense and sandalwood. With every step her anticipation increased and her heart brimmed with love. Tears of joy trickled down her eyes and she walked faster through the walkways and gateways leading to the main sanctum.

Yashoda climbed the steps to reach the main hall.  To the right side of this hall was a large door way which led into a smaller hall with the sanctum. The roofs of both halls were supported by beautiful granite pillars. The pillars were carved with enchanting figurines. To the left side of the entrance was a huge hall used for religious gatherings. Yashoda saw that this hall was brimming with people. From the banners she learnt that they were gathered to listen to the lectures on Vamana Avatar. People sat on either side of the great hall. They had left a passage in the middle. From the great hall the sanctum and the deity were visible. In the front row on the left hand side of the passage Yashoda saw the wedding party. The lecture was about to commence. Nanda signaled the group to find a place to sit. Yashoda and Nanda found seats in the front row on the right hand side. From here, Yashoda had a very good view of the sanctum. She could feel His divine presence. The deity was dressed in yellow silk. He wore a huge garland made up of fresh jasmine, rose petals, lotus petals, Spanish Cherry (Magizham poo), Screwpine (Thazham poo), Ylang-Ylang (manoranjitham), Indian Magnolia (shenbagappoo) and holy basil (tulasi). He wore a tall crown embedded with only pearls. His ornaments were all made of pearls.  He wore pearl necklaces, pearl belt, pearl anklets and so on. The white pearls and the yellow garment complimented his beautiful black complexion. He wore different ornaments every day. His ornaments were made of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds and other precious gems. All the jewelry was made with gold.  He held the Sudarsana chakra, His conch, mace and a lotus in each of His four hands as ornaments. He shone in the heavenly glow of the oil lamps lighted inside the sanctum. Yashoda’s eyes filled with tears of joy at this sight. With her eyes fixed on the lord she listened to the story of Vamana Avatar with profound devotion.

The Auspicious Sign

Devaki sat in the front row with her husband. They were surrounded by other relatives. She was feeling apprehensive. She felt butterflies in her stomach and had a foreboding of danger. She tried to dismiss her premonition as wedding jitters. How can there be any danger? Her cousin brother Kamsa maintained a strong army. Kamsa’s father-in-law King Jarasandha had brought his troops with him as well. Kamsa himself had agreed to drive Devaki and Vasudeva to their new home. Kamsa had made plans to protect the wedding party with his troops the next day en route to Vasudeva’s palace. Jarasandha had agreed to lend his troops to Kamsa as well. Amidst the military protection Devaki felt that there should be no reason to worry. She felt her worries melt away inside the temple and   listened to the narrative attentively.

The narrator was describing the appearance of Lord Vishnu as child Vamana. The narrator said, ‘The Lord appeared at noon on the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of Bhâdra. The moon was in the house of Sravana; all the planets, the stars, the sun and moon were in a beneficial position. The exact moment was called as Vijaya. He didn’t take birth but appeared before Kashyapa and Aditi! The key word here is appeared. He appeared as an infant wearing ornaments and weapons. ’

Devaki’s heart brimmed with maternal love when she heard the narrator describe the appearance of the Lord as Vamana. The description of the Lord kindled her love for Him. She felt as if in the remote past she had witnessed the appearance. (Devaki & Vasudeva in their previous birth were Aditi & Kashyapa, the parents of Lord Vamana) She saw the divine infant in a vision!

The narrator continued, ‘He appeared wearing makara kundalam; gold earrings shaped like sharks. His helmet was decked with precious gems. He was holding His discus, conch, mace and a lotus flower in each of His four hands. His 32 teeth looked like 32 moons! On His chest was the beautiful Srivatsa mark. His complexion was dark like the storm clouds; His colour was the blend of three water bodies; rain water, river water and well water. His eyes were long and beautiful like lotus petals.. It looked as if He was a beautiful pond that contained thousands of lotuses; His eyes and lips resembled lotus petals, His feet and palms were tinted in a beautiful shade of lotus pink. His beautiful navel (nabhi kamalam) was a giant lotus that had once given birth to Brahma. His entire body felt soft to the touch like that of lotus petals. He was wearing yellow silk garments. His locks were curly and were jet black. It looked as if His locks had been made from threads obtained from the darkness of a new moon night. He was decked from head to toe in precious ornaments. He wore the beautiful kausthuba gem. The air reverberated with divine music. Even though it was noon it looked dark outside as His glow was like that of one billion suns and in comparison the sun light was dim. It was very bright inside Kashyapa’s ashram that in comparison it looked very dark outside. Aditi and Kashyapa stood mesmerized. The next second He hid His divine appearance from them and appeared before them as child Vamana; short in stature and as a brahmachari.’

Devaki felt unexplained warmth and joy flow through her. She thought, ‘how I wish I were blessed like Aditi and the Lord appeared as my son. If only I could hold Him in my arms!’

Yashoda felt immense joy as well. She thought, ‘did Aditi ever spend time with her divine child? Would she have fed Him? Played with Him? Showed Him the moon, told Him bedtime stories? Was He a naughty child? There can be no joy greater than raising Him!’

Yashoda turned towards the sanctum and she beheld a divine vision! The Lord stood there but instead of His four arms He had two; His left hand was on His hip and on His right palm He was holding a pat of butter. He appeared to Yashoda as a toddler! This divine child was dressed in red silk infant clothing! Yashoda couldn’t believe her eyes! She gazed at this vision mesmerized. She thought, ‘why is everyone making this child stand here? Can’t they understand that His legs would ache?’ She looked at the heavy garland He was wearing and was shocked. As if in a trance, she was about to get up and run towards the sanctum; she wanted to relieve His beautiful shoulders from the heavy garland when the vision vanished! She found the Lord as before dressed in yellow silk. He wore a huge garland made up of fresh jasmine, rose petals, lotus petals, Spanish Cherry (Magizham poo), Screwpine (Thazham poo), Ylang-Ylang (manoranjitham), Indian Magnolia (shenbagappoo) and holy basil (tulasi). He wore a tall crown embedded with only pearls. His ornaments were all made of pearls. He wore pearl necklaces, pearl belt, pearl anklets and so on. The white pearls and the yellow garment complimented His beautiful black complexion. He held the Sudarsana chakra, His conch, mace and a lotus in each of His four hands as ornament. Yashoda’s eyes searched the sanctum for the child, ‘Where did that cute child go?’

Note:

(The idol of Lord Vishnu worshiped in the temple of Mathura was later moved to the city of Dwaraka by Lord Krishna. At the end of His incarnation when Lord Krishna left for His abode of Vaikuntam, Dwaraka was submerged and was lost inside the Arabian Sea. The idol of Lord Vishnu from the temple of Dwaraka floated in the deluge waters just like during the great deluge when the Lord appeared as an infant and floated on top of a banyan leaf. Lord Krishna instructed Vayu (Wind God) and Guru (Brihaspati - Jupiter) to search for the idol and to construct a temple in the place where they find the idol. Vayu & Guru found the idol in the South Indian state of Kerala. The place where they found the idol, they built a temple. As the idol was found by Guru and Vayu, the temple town came to be called as Guruvayur and the Lord was named as Guruvayurappan. Even today the Lord can be worshiped as a toddler during the Nirmalayam Seva. After the Nirmalayam Seva He grants dharshan to His devotees as Narayana with four shoulders. In India, most people treat children with respect as they see the form of Lord in children.)

The lecture came to an end with the description of Trivikrama Avatar. The wedding party led by Devaki and Vasudeva went into the sanctum to pray. Devaki’s eyes filled with tears of joy. The priest burnt camphor in a lamp and circled the camphor lamp three times in a clockwise direction. He illuminated the Lord’s feet using the camphor lamp so that the devotees can worship the Lord’s feet. He then illuminated the Lord’s chest, the abode of Goddess Mahalakshmi. Finally the Lord’s disc and conch were illuminated.

Note:

(This is done to encourage a devotee to surrender themselves to God; Lord’s feet are illuminated as they are our only refuge. Goddess Mahalakshmi residing in the Lord’s chest is illuminated to dispel our doubts about His supremacy. She also makes sure that He listens to our prayers. His weapons, the disc and conch are illuminated to dispel our fears.)

Everyone was given three spoonful of water steeped with holy basil leaves and flowers which had been offered in worship. Devaki was given the cast made of sandalwood paste of the Lord’s right hand called Abhayahasta. (The life of Devaki and Vasudeva was going to change and become perilous but like a light at the end of the tunnel, Lord Krishna would incarnate as their son to uplift them.)

The Prophecy

The next day dawned. The overcast sky seemed to reflect Devaki’s foreboding. Preparations were in progress for the journey. Kamsa returned to his quarters after his early morning workout which involved rigorous wrestling practice followed by horse riding. After taking a quick shower, he would   personally supervise all preparations.   On his way to his quarters, he was met by Jarasandha. Impatience seemed to dance in the eyes of Jarasandha. His voice confirmed his mood. ‘I have been waiting for you,’ he said and continued, ‘I am leaving for Magadha today.   Before I leave we have to discuss about your future. It is time you took over the reins of governing from King Ugrasena. Our plans to combine the military forces of Magadha and Mathura to gain dominance over other kingdoms will not be possible until you take