॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Tuesday, 18 April 2023 - X a.22- In this chapter called "गोपीचीरहरणम्", Bhagavan plays a game of hiding the young Gopi damsels' clothes when they are bathing in the Yamuna. Let's read what happens!
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हेमन्ते प्रथमे मासि नन्दव्रजकुमारिकाः । चेरुर्हविष्यं भुञ्जानाः कात्यायन्यर्चनव्रतम् ॥
आप्लुत्याम्भसि कालिन्द्या जलान्ते चोदितेऽरुणे । कृत्वा प्रतिकृतिं देवीमानर्चुर्नृप सैकतीम् ॥
गन्धैर्माल्यैः सुरभिभिर्बलिभिर्धूपदीपकैः । उच्चावचैश्चोपहारैः प्रवालफलतण्डुलैः ॥
कात्यायनि महामाये महायोगिन्यधीश्वरि । नन्दगोपसुतं देवि पतिं मे कुरु ते नमः ।
इति मन्त्रं जपन्त्यस्ताः पूजां चक्रुः कुमारिकाः ॥
T: With the onset of the cold season, the very young Gopi damsels (Kumarikaa is a term applied to a pre-teen girl) began a ritual (Vrata) cycle of worshipping Devi Katyayani. They ate only sanctified food, that too very little. Every day during the Vrata, they rose very early, and bathed at dawn in the Yamuna. They came out and made out of the river clay an image of Katyayani, and worshipped her with flowers, sandal paste, incense and waving of lamps. They made many offerings like fruits and rice. Their prayer was this:
"Oh, Divine Goddess Katyayani, Oh, Maya of Bhagavan who control this universe as Shakti, the goddess of all great Yoginis, kindly grant me the blessing that I shall wed Sri Krishna, the scion of King Nanda!"
This Vrata going on among the Kumarikas came to the knowledge of Sri Krishna. He was most touched by the great fervour of the Kumarikas' prayer. He decided to play a little game with them!
At this juncture, let us remember that Bhagavan is beyond the three Gunas, and has neither passion nor lust nor a morbid sadistic pleasure in tormenting young girls. He is beyond the shortcomings of the flesh. Whatever Sri Krishna does is a part of his play or Leela, with a hidden motive of ennobling and uplifting the devotees.
भगवांस्तदभिप्रेत्य कृष्णो योगेश्वरेश्वरः । वयस्यैरावृतस्तत्र गतस्तत्कर्मसिद्धये ॥
तासां वासांस्युपादाय नीपमारुह्य सत्वरः । हसद्भिः प्रहसन् बालैः परिहासमुवाच ह ॥
अत्रागत्याबलाः कामं स्वं स्वं वासः प्रगृह्यताम् । सत्यं ब्रवाणि नो नर्म यद्यूयं व्रतकर्शिताः ॥
T: Bhagavan Sri Krishna, whom Vyasa refers to here as the Lord of all the masters of Yoga (compared to Devi who is the goddess of all great Yoginis), went to the Yamuna bank one early morning with his associates. He wanted to play a little game. He picked up the clothes neatly deposited by the girls on the Yamuna bank, while they were happily playing the waters. He climbed a Neepa tree and sat on a branch with the bundle of their clothes. In a teasing manner that evoked much laughter among the boys, Sri Krishna called out to the girls, laughing: "Oh girls! Come over and take your clothes from me. I am not joking. I also know you are engaged in a tough ritual Vrata for many days!" Sri Krishna said, "These Gopas will attest that I always speak the truth. So I really mean this. Either you come one by one and collect your clothes from me, or come in a group. Oh, beautiful ladies, I have no objection. "
Vyasa says गोप्यः प्रेमपूरिताः जातहासाः the Gopi girls were bursting with affection for Sri Krishna. They were looking at one another and smiling as they protested: "Oh, Govinda! Don't you see us shivering in the neck-deep cold waters of the Yamuna!? Please don't tease us like this! We are your slaves! If you don't at once return our clothes, we shall go and complain to King Nanda about what his blessed son has been doing!" Sri Krishna shook his head. "Go, tell my father Nanda! Let us see what he will do. Is it not better that you come and pick up your clothes now, if you are really devoted to me!?"
Having no alternative, the Gopis came out of the water, shivering, covering their private parts, and supplicated to the Lord to give them back their clothes! The Lord, again, smilingly, said, " Oh, girls, you have indeed undertaken and completed a very demanding ritual. But you should not have violated the ritualistic regimen by bathing naked in the waters - this is an offence against both Lord Varuna and the Devi! So you atone for it by lifting up your arms in prayer now." The Kumarikas readily did what their beloved master said. Sri Krishna was most gracious and at omce gave them all their clothes back, happily.
Sage Shuka narrates to Parikshit that on the face of it, the Gopis had been teased and tormented and had become the laughing stock in this game of Sri Krishna. But indeed, they were all so much in love with him that they took no offence at all. They even considered that their clothes had become sacred by his touch. After adjusting their attires and grooming themselves, looking at their best, they simply stood around Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna now spoke something profound to them:
सङ्कल्पो विदितः साध्व्यो भवतीनां मदर्चनम् । मयानुमोदितः सोऽसौ सत्यो भवितुमर्हति ॥
न मय्यावेशितधियां कामः कामाय कल्पते । भर्जिता क्वथिता धानाः प्रायो बीजाय नेष्यते ॥
याताबला व्रजं सिद्धा मयेमा रंस्यथा क्षपाः । यदुद्दिश्य व्रतमिदं चेरुरार्यार्चनं सतीः ॥
T: "Dear ladies, pure at heart, I know your affection for me. You have obeyed me and I assure you that I have accepted your love and your wishes will come true. Indeed, one who loses oneself in love for me loses all attractions for this world outside because their desires become powerless just like grainseeds once roasted and cooked which do not sprout into saplings. Now, all of you go back to your homes. Very soon, you will all have the occasion to enjoy my company to your heart's wish, as that was the prayer you had made to Devi!"
Note: People want to play Krishna in their love lives. That is really stupid. Krishna was not a mere man given to the pleasures of the flesh. He was Bhagavan come down in a human form. He did not sport with Gopis to enjoy them physically. He transformed them who first felt for him a biological attraction to devotees. This has to be said every time we read of Krishna and the Gopis.
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Sri Krishna moved about in Vrindavana with his cowherd friends grazing cattle. He looked at the majestic trees covering them with their cool shade and said:
हे स्तोककृष्ण हे अंशो श्रीदामन् सुबलार्जुन । विशालवृषभ तेजस्विन् देवप्रस्थ वरूथप ॥
पश्यतैतान् महाभागान् परार्थैकान्तजीवितान् । वातवर्षातपहिमान् सहन्तो वारयन्ति नः ॥
अहो एषां वरं जन्म सर्वप्राण्युपजीवनम् । सुजनस्येव येषां वै विमुखा यान्ति नार्थिनः ॥
T: "Come, Oh, Stokakrishna, Amshu, Sridama, Subala, Arjuna, Vishalavrishabha, Tejasvi, Devaprastha, and Varuthapa! See these blessed souls in the form of these majestic trees! They are standing, each one by himself, silently and in fortitude, giving their service to all! They withstand the rigours of the sun, rain, and hailstone, winds, silently, so we are in turn protected by them from the very same rigours! Their life is indeed sanctified as they provide for all other living beings selflessly. No one returns empty-handed when they come to these trees because they give readily plenty of flower, fruit, leaf, bark, root, bulb, and so on!"
As Sri Krishna was remarking thus, a group of Gopa boys approached him. Their faces and body language made it clear that they were all hungry and desperate to eat something!
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
