Srimadh Bagawatham - The King and The Brahmin

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/05/srimadh-bagawatham-eight-queens-of-lord.html#gpluscomments

Lord Krishna was invited by the King of Mithila called as Bahulāśva. The King was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. Despite being a monarch the king was humble and treated everyone equally as he saw the Lord residing in the hearts of all.

At Mithila there also lived a Brahmin who was learned. He lived by seeking alms. He never accumulated any wealth and followed all the Vedic procedures properly. He was also a great devotee of the Lord. One day the Brahman heard announcements about the Lord’s visit to Mithila. He wished to invite the Lord to his Yagna Sala.

The Lord left Dwaraka on His chariot driven by Daruka. He was accompanied by the following sages. Nārada, Vāmadeva, Atri, Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, Paraśurāma, Asita, Aruṇi, Sukar, Bṛhaspati, Kaṇva, Maitreya and Cyavana.

The streets of Mithila thronged with crowd. The streets were washed and women drew beautiful rangoli on the streets. On either side many banana trees were tied as a symbol of auspiciousness. People gathered on either side of the streets waiting eagerly for the Lord. Soldiers tried to maintain peace and quiet by patrolling the streets. Many merchants made use of the opportunity and set up stalls to sell their goods. For even during the time of Krishna avataram there were many people who concentrated not on the Lord but, on accumulating material wealth.

The Brahmin Śrutadeva managed to edge closer to the front line along the street. He waited anxiously for the Lord. ‘Would I get a chance to speak with the Lord? What would He say? Will He accept my invitation?’ He thought as he eagerly waited for the Lord's arrival.

The King was also ready with offerings of argya for the Lord. The sun had just set and in the evening twilight hour the men and women waited straining their necks to see if the Lord had arrived.

To the joy of everyone they heard the drum beat announcing the Lord’s arrival and yonder they saw men on horses with torches lighting the way. Behind them on the beautiful golden chariot driven by Daruka the Lord was seated. In that hour of the day, He looked so radiant that the people thought that the Sun had risen again! Behind the chariot walked the company of sages chanting verses from the Vedas.

The king walked forward with joy to receive the Lord. The king stopped near the place where Śrutadeva was waiting. They both thought that the Lord had come to bless them out of compassion.

As the Lord stepped down from the chariot to accept the king’s reception, grabbing hold of the opportunity, Śrutadeva said in a very feeble and trembling voice, ‘My Lord, would you bless me by visiting my Yagna Sala?’

Śrutadeva hoped that the Lord would ask him to make an appointment with the Lord’s assistant for the visit.

The Lord heard the invitation of both the king and the poor Brahmin. Both were His dear devotees. If He accepted only the king’s invitation the Brahmin would think that the Lord would only bless the wealthy. If He accepted the Brahmin’s invitation the king would feel that the Lord only favours Brahmins.

The sages following the Lord heard both the invitations. To  their wonder, He accepted both invitations and taking up two forms went with both the king and the Brahmin. The Brahmin did not see the Lord leave with the king and the king did not see Him leave with the Brahmin!

Turning towards the Brahmin the Lord said, ‘come, take me to your Yagna Sala now.’

Overcome by joy, Srutadeva rushed ahead to make arrangements for the Lord’s visit. He never expected the Lord to visit him on that very day. He ran to his home to ask his wife to wash the floors, draw rangoli, make arrangements to offer fruits and  flower to the Lord. The Lord followed Śrutadeva with the other sages.

In the meantime, the Lord reached the palace of Bahulāśva. The king welcomed the Lord and offered the best of everything to the Lord. The king personally washed the Lord’s feet and sprinkled the water from the Lord’s feet on his head with devotion.

The king offered excellent sandal wood paste, water steeped with fragrant herbs, tulasi leaves and saffron. He offered a garland made of the most exotic flowers and a meal cooked with love and devotion especially for the Lord. Every single arrangement had been personally made by the king paying attention to detail with love and at most care. After dinner, the king placed the Lord’s feet on his lap and massaged the Lord’s feet.

The king asked Lord Krishna to instruct him on karma Yoga and the proper way by which to govern his kingdom.

The Lord arrived at Śrutadeva’s home. Śrutadeva danced in joy not knowing what to do next. He ran inside to call his wife and then ran back outside to welcome the Lord. As the Lord stood inside his humble abode which lacked furniture, the Brahmin ran here and there looking for some kind of seat to offer to his guests. Not finding anything, he brought forth the kusa grass and scattered it on the floor. He then washed the Lord’s feet along with his wife and sprinkled the water from the Lord’s feet on his head.

‘This is a rare treat! We are overjoyed to receive you here,’ said the Brahmin with tears in his eyes.

‘It is very easy to have me visit your home but you are truly blessed today because all these sages have also come to your home. A person can even see me but, it is very difficult to have darshan of these sages and that too together at one place. Hence, worship all the sages with the same devotion you have shown me and seek their blessing,’ instructed Lord Krishna.

Śrutadeva worshiped the sages with love and devotion. After attending to everyone, he requested the Lord to instruct him on the way to attain Mukthi. Thus, Lord Krishna taught Śrutadeva one of the Brahma Vidhya required to reach the Lord.

To Be Continued

 

Srimadh Bagawatham - The Eight Queens Of Lord Krishna

 Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/05/srimadh-bagawatham-rukmini-kalyanam.html

Thayar takes up many incarnations for our
benefit. At Paramapadam, she also exists simultaneously as Bhumi Piratti and Neela
devi Nachiar. She does this to illustrate the Lord’s Supreme Qualities. As Sri Devi
Nachiar, she represents the Lord’s qualitiy of compassion. As Bhumi Piratti she is
the symbol of tolerance and as Neela Devi Nachiar she is the symbol of generosity.
She takes many forms to ease our anxiety when we approach the Lord. We are
afraid to approach the Lord because of the sins we have committed. She allyas our
sins when she simultaneously takes up many forms to surround Him and force Him
to forgive us. At Kanchipuram the Lord can be worshiped in the company of 6
thayars. From six sides she influences Him to forgive us and to accept us.
Rukmini Piratti is the incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi Thayar. She also took
many forms during Krishnavataram. As eight queens, she served the Lord as His
ashta mahishis. Mahalakshmi Thayar is the emperess of the Universe and she can
exist in all places and she has the authority to grant Mukthi to anyone who seeks
her. In spite of her Supreme status, out of her love for the Lord, she personally
serves Him. The lord equally loves her and accepts her kaimkaryams by taking up as
many forms as she had taken to be with Him.
We will see the way in which Lord Krishna married the eight queens.
Rukmini Piratti’s brother Rukmi had arranged Piratti’s wedding with Shishupalan
the prince of Chedi. Piratti came to know about this a day before the wedding was
to take place. She had given her heart to Lord Krishna after hearing about His
glories. Rukmi knew that she wished to marry Lord Krishna and yet he planned for
Shishupalan to marry her. Piratti immediately sent a letter to Lord Krishna through
a Dwija. The compassionate Lord arrived just before the wedding and carried her
away while she was returning to the palace after worshiping Goddess Ambhika. As
soon as the Divine Couple reached Dwaraka, they were married.
Jambhavathi’s father Sri Jambhavan knew the Lord as Trivikrama and as Lord
Rama. When Lord Krishna came in search of the Syamanataka gem, Jambhavan
mistook Him to be a thief and wrestled with Him. After 18 days, the Lord appeared
before Jambhavan in the form of Lord Rama. Jambhavan felt bad that He had
wrestled with the Lord. He offered Jambhavati thayar’s hand in marriage to the
Lord and returned the gem to the Lord as a wedding gift.
After Lord Krishna returned to Dwaraka with His new bride and the gem, Satrajit
felt bad about accusing Him. He offered the hand of his daughter Satthya
Bhama in marriage to the Lord.
Once, Arjunan saw a beautiful maiden along the banks of River Yamuna. She
appeared to be alone mediating in solitude.
‘Oh maiden, who are you? You appear with the effulgence of Goddess Sri!’
‘I am Kalindi the daughter of Lord Surya. I am meditating at this place to attain
Lord Krishna as my husband,’ said the Goddess.
‘I can help you. I can take you to Lord Krishna,’ offered Arjunan.
He escorted Kalindi Devi to Indraprastha and placed her in the custody of King
Yudhishtirar. King Yudhishtirar arranged for Lord Krishna to wed kalindi.
Lord Krishna’s aunt had a daughter called Mitra Vindha. She fell in love with Lord
Krishna when He used to visit her. She expressed her desire to wed the Lord but
her brothers Vindhan and Anuvindhan were against Lord Krishna.
‘Why would you want to Krishna? Have you seen him? He is dark whereas you have a
golden complexion. Even if you marry Him, you won’t be the Ruling queen as He first
married Rukmini. Forget about Krishna and marry Duryodana. He is handsome and
more cultured!’
Mitra Vindha refused to listen to them. Her parents strongly supported her as
they wanted her to be happy. They arranged for a swayamvaram and invited all the
kings including Krishna and Duryodana. Her brothers hoped that she would see the
difference between duryodana and Krishna and choose Duryodana as her husband.
The day soon dawned; Mitra Vindha entered the hall with a garland. On either side
of the hall all the eligible kings were seated. She looked at none of the kings
gathered at the hall but made a bee line to where Lord Krishna was seated and
garlanded Him. Lord Krishna immediately accepted her hand, placed her in His
chariot and drove away. Arjunan was happy that Duryodanan was humiliated and
stood up to defend Lord Krishna against Duryodanan.
The king of Madras had a daughter called Lakshmana. He arranged a contest.
There was a pond on which the reflection of a fish was seen but when a person
looked above the pond, there was no sign of the actual fish. He promised to give
the hand of his daughter in marriage to the prince who shoots the actual fish.
Many kings including Arjunan tried and failed. Lord Krishna with just one arrow
shot the fish and married Lakshmana.
The King of Kekeyas had a daughter called Badra. She desired to marry Lord
Krishna. Her brother Santardhanan was fond of Lord Krishna. He formally
approached King Vasudevar and arranged a wedding between Lord Krishna and
Badra.
After lord Krishna’s incarnation Neela Devi Nachiar incarnated as the daughter of
Yashoda’s brother Kumban near Nepal. As she incarnated after the Lord, she came
to be called as “pinnai” and as she is always good the prefix “nal” was added to her
name thus changing her name to Nappinai.
‘Krishna, we are going on a trip!’ said yashoda to Krishna one day.
‘Is Balarama comin with us as well?’
‘Of course Balarama is coming with us.’
‘Where are we going?’ asked krishna eagerly.
‘We are going to your uncle Kumban’s house to see your cousin Nappinnai.’
A few days later Yashoda along with Krishna and Balarama arrived at the house of
her brother. She was elated to see her pretty neice.
‘How nice would it be if my Krishna married Nappinnai!’ said yashoda.
‘I would like that very much but alas I have made a foolish vow!’ sighed Kumban.
‘As soon as Nappinnai was born I purchased seven identical male calves from the
market.
I wanted to raise these seven bulls with my daughter and wanted to give her hand
in marriage to the young man who would control these seven calvese!’
‘You didn’t do anything wrong,’ said yashoda, ‘you have just followed the practice of
our ancestors.’
‘But, the next day when I visited the barn, I was surprised to see that the calves
had grown into adult bulls overnight ! The bulls started to torment the people and I
am unable to find a person who could control them. My Nappinnai is only three
years old and I have to deal with these bulls till she comes off age!’
‘Uncle don’t worry,’ said Krishna, ‘I can tame those bulls this very second!’
Kumban laughed at the sweet child but was terrified when Krishna went in search
of the bulls. ‘Yashoda stop your son! I am afraid that He might get hurt!’
As Yashoda and Kumban rushed to the barn followed by Balarama, they found that
Krishna had killed all seven bulls with one blow!
‘What a marvel!’ exclaimed Kumban as he hoisted Krishna on to his shoulders with
joy. He kissed the top of Krishna’s head.
As promised he gave Nappinnai in marriage to Krishna but as they were only
children, Kumban allowed Yashoda to take Nappinnai with her so that she could
raise the two together.
Yashoda returned home with joy as she had now gained a daughter.
This story is mentioned by Swami Desikan in Yadhavabudhayam.
To the eyes of Yashoda and Nanda Gopan Nappinnai and Krishna appeared as
children while existing as Perumal and Thayar in solitude. Lord Krishna married
Nappinnai Piratti. In the Srimadh Bagawatham her name is mentioned as “Satya” the daughter of the pious King, Nagnajit.

Continued On:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/05/srimadh-bagawatham-king-and-brahmin.html

Srimadh Bagawatham - Rukmini Kalyanam Part 2

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/04/srimadh-bagawatham-rukmini-kalyanam.html

 

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The letter opened with,

śrī-rukmiṇy uvāca

śrutvā guṇān bhuvana-sundara śṛṇvatāḿ te

nirviśya karṇa-vivarair harato 'ńga-tāpam

rūpaḿ dṛśāḿ dṛśimatām akhilārtha-lābhaḿ

tvayy acyutāviśati cittam apatrapaḿ me

Rukmini Piratti wrote, ‘I heard about your divine qualities and then about your beautiful form I fell in love with you. I have fixed my shameless mind upon you!’

Perumal has to be first known by listening to the upanyasams by Acharyans. Maitreyar Maharishi instructed his wife that “atma va are…” in order to know Paramatma one must first hear about Him.

Piratti shows that Perumal is the only one who has the capacity to bear/protect the jeevatma. Thus He is the jeevatma’s true husband.

kā tvā mukunda mahatī kula-śīla-rūpavidyā-

vayo-draviṇa-dhāmabhir ātma-tulyam

dhīrā patiḿ kulavatī na vṛṇīta kanyā

kāle nṛ-siḿha nara-loka-mano-'bhirāmam

Rukmini Piratti in her letter to Lord Krishna asked Him to marry her. Piratti states that she belongs to a good lineage and is hence best suited to marry Him.

tan me bhavān khalu vṛtaḥ patir ańga jāyām

ātmārpitaś ca bhavato 'tra vibho vidhehi

mā vīra-bhāgam abhimarśatu caidya ārād

gomāyu-van mṛga-pater balim ambujākṣa

‘Please come immediately and make me your wife. The kshatriyas leave burnt offerings outside the temple of Kotavai Devi before going for war. If a lion comes to smell the offering then they take it as a good omen. If a jackal smells it then they will lose the battle. Please make sure that I am not carried away by the jackal’

pūrteṣṭa-datta-niyama-vrata-deva-vipra

gurv-arcanādibhir alaḿ bhagavān pareśaḥ

ārādhito yadi gadāgraja etya pāṇiḿ

gṛhṇātu me na damaghoṣa-sutādayo 'nye

‘I know you will come because I have followed all the niyams like Ekadashi fasting, performed charitable work out of the allowance given to me by my father and I respectfully worship all the deities and Brahmanas. I have done all the above with the sole intention of pleasing you.’

Piratti has explained Bagawad Geetha in just 7 slokas. She tells us that we must perform Karmas with the sole intention of pleasing Perumal.

śvo bhāvini tvam ajitodvahane vidarbhān

guptaḥ sametya pṛtanā-patibhiḥ parītaḥ

nirmathya caidya-magadhendra-balaḿ prasahya

māḿ rākṣasena vidhinodvaha vīrya-śulkām

‘The wedding is to take place tomorrow. Please come with an army including your commander in chief so that while they fight with the Chedi army we can get married. Don’t worry as you will be victorious! Marry me by kidnapping me.’

antaḥ-purāntara-carīm anihatya bandhūn

tvām udvahe katham iti pravadāmy upāyam

pūrve-dyur asti mahatī kula-deva-yātrā

yasyāḿ bahir nava-vadhūr girijām upeyāt

‘I am restricted to my inner quarters except in the morning when the bride is allowed to walk to the temple of Goddess Ambhika. Wait for me in your chariot near the temple. Carry me away only after I have worshiped the Goddess and come out of the temple. This way you wouldn’t have to fight with my relatives.’

yasyāńghri-pańkaja-rajaḥ-snapanaḿ mahānto

vānchanty umā-patir ivātma-tamo-'pahatyai

yarhy ambujākṣa na labheya bhavat-prasādaḿ

jahyām asūn vrata-kṛśān śata-janmabhiḥ syāt

‘The great Lord Siva bears the waters of Ganga in his locks because the river originated from your feet. Such is your glory. If you do not carry me away, I will continue to perform penance in every birth following this one till you come to accept me.’

After reading the letter Perumal immediately started for Vidarbha along with Garudazhwar. His charioteer Darukan drove Perumal’s chariot. Bala Ramar heard the sound of Perumal’s chariot. After ascertaining the reason for Perumal’s trip, Balaramar immediately started after Perumal with a huge army so that he can assist Perumal.

As Perumal neared the city limits of Vidarbha, Garudazhwar urged Perumal to travel faster so that they can inform the anxious Piratti.

‘We can let her know from here itself,’ said Perumal as He sounded the Panchajanyam. He then shook His tulasi garland so that the sound from the conch and the fragrance of tulasi reached Rukmini Piratti and eased her anxiety.

As per Piratti’s instruction, Perumal waited till piratti worshiped Goddess Ambika and as she exited the temple He caught hold of her hand, pulled her into the chariot and drove away.

Meanwhile Balaramar arrived with the army and fought with the army of Sisupalan. Rukmi came to know about the incident and took a shortcut route to intercede Perumal and Piratti. With Piratti’s permission, Perumal defeated Rukmi and shaved Rukmi’s head and one half of the moustache to teach him a lesson.

The Divine couple wed after reaching Dwaraka.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/05/srimadh-bagawatham-eight-queens-of-lord.html