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Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

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Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

Article of the Month - May 2014 by Nitin Kumar

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The
whole scenario of Krishnas avatar on this earth is filled with a rich
symbolism which not only fills one with ecstatic joy, but also presents in a
simple and vivid language the most profound aspects of Indian philosophy.
For example, consider the moment when the gods,
tormented as they were by the demons, went to the
refuge of Lord Brahma, their creator. What did
Brahma do after listening to their woes? He took
them to Lord Shiva and together they all went to Lord
Vishnu to request him for help. Now the question is:
Why did Brahma Ji take Lord Shiva also with them to
Lord Vishnu?
The answer is that Lord Vishnu saves dharma in two ways. One is by protecting
his bhaktas, which requires sattva-guna and the other is by destroying villains
which requires tamo-guna. Now, Vishnu is the presiding deity of sattva-guna
and hence he can indulge in the former action alone. However, the second act,
that of killing the enemies of dharma, requires a presence of the destructive
power of tamo-guna, whose presiding deity is none other than Lord Shiva.
Another more abstract explanation is that in Indian philosophy it is an
established principle that every individual has within himself all the three
gunas. However, he can reach to the Supreme Lord only when the tamo-guna
and rajo-guna inside him follow the sattva-guna.

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Next comes the birth of Lord Krishna. Prior to Krishna, His mother had
in her womb Balarama, who thus became Krishnas elder brother.
Balarama was the avatar of Shesha, the serpent who canopies over
Lord Vishnus head.

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In Vishnus earlier avatar as Rama, the same Shesha had

incarnated as his younger brother Lakshmana. Now the question
is, why did Shesha took birth as the elder brother, even though he
had taken the role of the younger brother in the previous avatar?
The answer to this lies in the extreme love Shesha had for his
Lord. When he was Lakshmana, being the younger he couldnt stop
Rama from going to the forest and thought that in this
incarnation, by becoming the elder brother, he would be better
able to serve his Lord.
According to the Shrimad Bhagavatam, the timing of Krishnas manifestation on
this earth was extremely auspicious. All the directions became clear and
pleasant, even though it was the rainy season. Why did the directions become
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W ho m ak e s the ...

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5/18/2014

Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

pleasant, even though it was the rainy season. Why did the directions become
so happy at the imminent arrival of the Supreme Lord? In the Indian tradition,
the directions are all thought as different devis and the guardians of these
directions as their husbands (digpati). Under the tyranny of the demon king
Kamsa, their husbands had either been imprisoned or had vacated their posts
and run away. Now with impending arrival of Lord Krishna they were sure to
be soon reunited with their loving husbands.

The Story of Savitri: The

True Essence of L...
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accom panie d by a hundre d
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A Womans Dharma: Some

Significant Aspects

Not only the directions, even the five elements making up the physical world
were extremely happy at the imminent arrival of Lord Krishna. These elements
are the earth, water, fire, wind and sky.

"The am ount of hardship she

unde rgoe s to bring up the child,
that too with ple asure , is
astounding.... Mak e ...

The Earth:

From Student to Retiree:

Relevance of Dharm...

As the time of Krishnas arrival approached, the Earth adorned

herself by revealing forth the rich jewels situated in her mines.
Why was the Earth delighted? Because at last she was going to
be united with her husband Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu has two
wives Shridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi (Earth).

The former is the presiding deity of movable wealth and the latter of the
immovable (like land). Actually, these two wealths belong to Lord Vishnu only.
When the Earth heard that her husband was coming from Vaikuntha (where he
lived with Lakshmi) to be with her, she adorned herself for welcoming him,
much like the wife whose husband comes home after a long stint abroad. The
Earth blossomed, thinking that very soon the Lord would be placing His lotus
feet on her bosom.

It should also be re m e m be re d
that it is not only one 's pare nts
but the whole socie ty that he lps
him to grow....

Did Krishna Follow Dharma?

Doubts and Resol...
"The re are se rious re se rvations
about Lord Krishna's actions in
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we re m any ve te ...

Moments Before Death:

Transfer of Karma fro...
"Finally, whe n the m om e nt of
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Actually, even though many avatars before had graced the Earth,
none had given her the level of happiness that Krishna was
going to give. As Vamana, the Lord was a brahmachari.

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divine m anife st itse lf?....
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Our Experience?
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Moksha: What the Vedas

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As the great Parashurama He had given the Earth away to the

brahmins.

"The re are diffe re nt opinions

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Actually, even though many avatars before had graced the Earth,
none had given her the level of happiness that Krishna was going
to give. As Vamana, the Lord was a brahmachari.

Inactive or Active: Karma

According to the ...
"The Gita says that the subje ct
of Karm a is e x tre m e ly
m yste rious....W e ne e d to first
unde rstand the thre e ty...

Shri Rama: What

Constitutes His True
Worship

As Rama he had married Sita Ji, the daughter of the Earth. At last, in the
Krishna avatar, she was hoping to get the happiness denied to her in the
previous avatars.

Water:
The waters of the rivers became crystal clear. Why? Because it is only in the
pure heart that God is manifested.

Fire:
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/krishna-symbolism/

"C an a flowe r said to be the

cre ation of hum an hands?...It is
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God
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guide s us to the supre m e and
pure st form of love ....The only
siste r of five broth...

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5/18/2014

Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

Fire:

Dreams: Glimpsing the All

Illuminating Illu...

Due to the fear of the demons, brahmins had stopped tending to the sacred
fires and were not performing yajnas any more. Thus no offerings were being
poured into the fires and Agni devata was hungry. Now with the advent of Lord
Krishna, his hunger was sure to be satisfied.

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Dharma

Wind:

All of m an's activity is dire cte d

towards attaining that what is
ple asant to him and pre ve nting
that which m ...

The wind started blowing in a cool and pleasant

manner, delighting and comforting in its touch. What was the
special reason for the winds happiness? The wind god Vayu
was extremely happy at the service his son Hanuman had
provided to Rama in the previous avatar of the Lord.

Hyperbole in the Vedas: A

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Now he was supremely glad that he himself was getting a chance to serve Him.
When the Lord Krishna would lie down tired after playing with his friends, this
is how the cool in wind would blow, lulling Krishna to restful sleep. This was
how the wind practised and perfected itself for the future service of the Lord.

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The Sky:

The sky was all the more delighted. The books of Vedanta had
always compared it with God, with reference to the skys oneness
and vastness. However, Vedanta had always negated the skys
blueness, calling it to be false. But now that the Krishna was
incarnating with a body coloured like that of the sky (blue), even
this remaining characteristic of the sky would be accepted by the
Lord as his attribute.

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The Four-Fold Spiritual

Wealth: A Prerequis...
"O nly a ve ry fe w pe ople are
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focuse d m e ditations k nown as
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Dharma: The Only Remedy

for Modern Man

Krishna was born in the prison where his parents

were imprisoned. At the time of his birth his father
Vasudeva was bound in chains. However, no sooner
had he taken up the baby Krishna in his hands than
all chains fell off. There is nothing miraculous about
this. By merely uttering Krishnas divine name one is
freed of all the knots binding us to the material
world. Then what surprise is there in the fact that
when he picked up Krishna, all chains binding
Vasudeva fell off and he became free.

Vasudevas immediate action after Krishnas birth was

to shift Him to the town of Vrindavana, where He would
be safe from Kamsa who had imprisoned Vasudeva and
his wife in the first place. For this purpose, he placed
the infant Krishna in a basket and set out towards
Vrindavana. The clouds, lightly rumbling, showered
Krishna with their drops. The serpent Shesha then
appeared on the scene and protected Krishna from the
drizzle by spreading out its hood over Him like an
umbrella. Shesha knew, that even though he was the
elder brother (Balarama) in the present incarnation, his
primary duty was to serve the Lord.
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/krishna-symbolism/

"No one spe nds e ve n a single

m om e nt without doing som e
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ge ne rally notice in history...

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be e n syste m atically divide d into
four sim ple cate gorie s....This
de sisting from t...

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Methodology of Int...
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m yste rie s....W hile this m antra
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ne x t m antra spe lls th...

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Purifying World of H...
"All the scripture s, whe the r it be
the Gita or the Upanishads, are
the re to give us
Sam sk ara....Sam sk aras be ...

Is There a Rebirth? The

Vedological Approach
"W hat was the ne e d for this
im m e nse unive rse of
unim aginable com ple x ity? You
ne e d practice for e ve n sim ple
a...

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Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

Soon Vasudeva reached the river Yamuna. The river, even though overflowing
and turbulent due to the rains, first rose up and then finally afforded passage
to Krishna, much like the sea, which had given Him way when as Rama He had
set out to conquer Lanka.
Why did the river Yamuna act the way it did? There are many reasons. Firstly,
she realised that the great Lord Himself, whose lotus feet is difficult to attain
for even the greatest of saints would play with those very feet on its banks.
This realisation enraptured her to no end and she wept with joy. Her eyes shed
so many tears that the river was flooded.
Additionally, Yamuna is the sister of Yama, the lord of death. Lest the Lord
think that she, being the sister of death, was lifeless, she made special efforts
to display that she was full of life.

Altering Fate: The

Transforming Power of Ka...
"C an we alte r the fruits of a
particular k arm a through
anothe r k arm a?....If one cannot
sit on the floor, he ...

The Three Bodies: Going

Beyond Them
"The Bhagavad Gita says: "Lik e
a m an discards his worn out
clothe s and we ars ne w one s, so
doe s the soul disc...

What is Puja? The

Philosophical Foundations...
"The source of all activity in an
ine rt body is an anim ate fre e
will....But why should one
worship gods?.......

Who is a Guru? The

Traditional, Scriptural ...

Why did Yamuna suddenly recede her waters? She realised that the
baby Krishna, thinking that her waters were too deep and wide, might
not enter her waters to play. Therefore, she immediately reduced her
waters to three levels: Till His throat, navel and knees. Another
reason why Yamuna opened herself like never before in front of the
Lord was that she was being tormented by the hot fumes issuing from
the mouth of the snake Kaliya, who was living within her waters.
Displaying her vast expanse of waters was her way of opening up her
painful heart to Krishna. Eventually the Lord did vanquish Kaliya and
free Yamuna.

Of course, the ultimate source of joy for Yamuna was the fact that in His
avatar as Krishna, the Lord would marry her, granting her the most special
privilege of all, that if being His wife.

References & Further Reading:

G. P. Bhatt & J. L. Shastri (tr). The Bhagavata Purana (5 Volumes): Delhi,
2002
Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda. Bhagavata Darshan (Collection of
Discourses in Two Volumes): Mumbai, 2003.
Saraswati, Swami Akhandananda (tr). Shrimad Bhagavata Purana (2
Volumes): Gorakhpur, 2004.
We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments or feedback that you may have will
be greatly appreciated. Please send your feedback to feedback@exoticindia.co.in.
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Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

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Krishnas Avatar: A Source of Joyous Symbolism

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