SLOKA
SLOKA
SLOKA
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May the foe of the demon Mura, who was seen lifting the Govardhana mountain,
with joy by YasodA, with prolonged love by the gopis, with doubt by Indra,
with offerings of flowers by the evolved souls, with concern by the earth
goddess, with envy by the other cowherd boys, with pity by the people of the
city and the others with smile, purify us.
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SlOkam 54
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Madhusudhana Sarasvati, the famous advaita vedAntin says the same thing as
made out in the sloka 28.
dhrae=iSmÚNtrakazStiSmNydNtStdNveòVy<
tÖav ivij}aistVyimit.
atha yadidam asmin brahmapure daharam punDareekam veSma
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dahara: asmin anta: AkaaSa: tasmin yat anta: tat anveshTavyam
tatvAva vijij~nAsitavyam iti. --chAndogya Upanishad 8-1-1
In this city of Brahman, (meaning the Sareera) there is a mansion in the form
of a small lotus, (the heart). In this there is a small space. That which is inside
the space (called daharAkaaSa) should be investigated and understood.
The small space here does not refer to magnitude but subtleness, which is why
it is mentioned as AkaaSa. The space inside any container or a room etc, is the
same all-pervading space outside. There is no such thing as small space or large
space the words used only denote the conditioning, that is the container and not
the contained.
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SlOkam 55
The words below are in accordance with the musical chant and not by proper
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sandhi below.
vikretu-kAmA-kila gopa-kanyA
murAri-pAdAr-pita cit-ta vrtti:
dadhyA-dikam moha-vaSaat a-vocat
govinda-dAmo-dara mA-dhaveti
(One should repeat this line two or three times to bring in the mood of the
verse).
This is a beautiful sloka full of metrical charm and can be recited in a sing song
fashion. There are more of this nature though not ascribed to Leelasuka, of the
same form. The most poignant of them which brings tears in chanting, is as
follows.
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In front of Kurus and PaaNDvAs, her clothes and hair being pulled by
DuSSaasanA, Drauapdi, who had no other resort, called out loudly, Govinda,
dAmodara and Madhava.
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SlOkam 56
Whether it be the mortar or the mind of sages or the budding breasts of the
gopis, these three alone serve as the binding posts to the elephant cub called
MurAri on earth.
The three examples given denote the three paths of salvation. The sages attain
the Lord by meditating on Him, and He comes and stays is their mind bound by
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their concentration. This is j~nAnayoga. The gopis love Him to such an extent
that He finds it difficult to go away from them, bound by their love. This is the
experience of all devotee saints which is bhaktiyoga. KrishNa was bound in the
mortar in order to free the sons of Kubera. It showed that even the Lord
could not forget His karma or His avatArakArya. He also acted in accordance to
His birth doing His svadharma but without attachment, thus illustrating what
He was going to preach later in the Gita. So this is karmayoga as He says later:
Meaning:
There is nothing for Me to do in all the three worlds because there is nothing I
should achieve by that but still I work incessantly.
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SlOkam 57
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because this is the first sloka of bAlamukundashTakam, author not known. Any
way since this has been included in the book I have, I am including this.
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SlOkam 58
May the admonition, dhU dhUkrtam, by YasodA to KrishNa, hearing His words
while He was dreaming, "welcome, Sambhu be seated here, Oh Brahma,
padmAsana, be seated on the left, Kartikeya, krauncAre, are you well, Indra,
surapate, are you happy, Kubera, vitteSa, why are you not seen nowadays,
saying, "what is this child, kim kim bAlaka, why are You prattling?", protect us.
KrishNa was sleeping, or seemed to be so, and assuming His real self of Lord
nArAyaNa, He was conversing with the other devAs who had come to see Him.
This was looked upon by YasodA as a child's prattle in sleep and she admonished
Him saying, "why are you prattling, sh. sh" etc. Leelasuka says that let that
admonition protect us.
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SlOkam 59
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mAta:- Mother
May KrishNa Who, closing His eyes, AmeelyAkshiyugam and telling His mother,
“night has come, give me milk”, niSaapyupagatA dehi and pulled her upper
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garment vakshojAmSuka karshNodyatakara:, with His hand again and again,
muhu: protect us, pushNatu na:
Another delightful scene from the childhood leelAs of KrishNa in the form of
conversation between Him and His mother.
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SlOkam 60
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“KrishNa, drink this milk from the golden cup, kArparikam paya: piba, while
BalarAma, musalee, has gone to the sand hills of Yamuna, kaaLindee
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pulinodareshu to play, khelitum, Your hair will grow well, vardhishyate te SikhA”.
May KrishNa, Who, hearing this clever speech of YasodA, SrutvA yaSodA gira:,
naively, bAlatayA, touched His tuft, svaSikhAm sprSan, after drinking half the
milk ksheere ardhapeete, and felt happy, pramudita:, protect us.
YasodA was trying to coax KrishNa to drink the milk she had for Him in a
golden cup and told Him to drink it while BalarAma is away to play in the sand of
Yamuna, so that His hair will grow well, even better than BalarAma. KrishNa in
childish innocence touched His hair to see whether it has grown even after
drinking half the cup of milk and showed His joy on hearing the clever words of
His mother. Leelasuka is only next to PeriAzvAr, in enjoying the child hood of
KrishNa.
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88
SlOkam 61
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When KrishNa opened His mouth with smile, lasat smere prapulle mukhe, the
KailAsa Mountain looked like butter, kailAso navaneetati, the earth like the mud
eaten earlier by Him, kshitiriyam prak jagdha mrlloshTati, and the Milky Ocean,
ksheerodo api, like the milk drunk by Him, nipeeta dugdhati, to YasodA who
thinks that it is due to indigestion, ajeerNadhiyA, and scared by it, drDham
cakitayA, said "some woman has cast an evil eye, drshTA kayA, let it go away,
dhU dhU, my child may you live long, vatsaka jeeva jeeva ciram". May that
KrishNa protect us.
This must be the subsequent occurrence to the incident when YasodA looked
into the mouth of KrishNa when He was reported to have eaten mud. This is
described in a subsequent sloka.
It is the mAya of the Lord to make YasodA think that the Universe seen in His
mouth were butter, mud and milk undigested in order to take away the
experience of seeing the Universe from her memory.
Mistaking the KailAsa Mountain for butter, the earth for mud and the Milky
Ocean for the milk which she thought were found in His mouth not being
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digested, YasodA became worried and said "dhU dhU" to ward off the evil
effects of some woman casting an evil eye on her child. And also she performed
a benediction on Him by saying, "long live my child".
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90
SlOkam 62
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May the luster of the teeth, dantadyuti:, of smiling KrishNa, smerAnanasya
Saure:, with His lips marked with milk drops, adhare ksheeNakaNAnvitA
nipatitA, while He was breastfeeding, pibata: paryAyapeeta stanam, with eyes
closed a little, kincit kuncita locanasya, feeding on one and wiping the other just
fed with drops of milk sticking to it, prasnuta dugdhabindum aparam hastena
sammArjata:, and being fondled on His chin with one finger by His mother,
matrA ekAnguLi lAlitasya cubuke, protect us.
91
SlOkam 63
%Äu¼Stnm{flaepirlsTàalMbmu´am[e-
rNtibRiMbtimNÔnIlinkrCDayanukair*ute>,
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was wearing. She bent Her head as though with shyness in order to see the
reflection and experienced the happiness.
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93
SlOkam 64
musalee - BalarAma
Saying thus, when He opened His mouth, iti vidArite SiSumukhe, His mother
saw the whole world in there, drshTvA samastam jagat, and was amazed,
jagAma vismayapadam. That Kesava may protect us.
This sloka looks like the predecessor of the sloka 61 as explained earlier.
KrishNa ate mud and BalarAma complained about it to YasodA. When she asked
Him, He said it was a lie and opened His mouth where she saw all the worlds and
was amazed when He again covered her with His mAya and she forgot the whole
thing. Though she saw all the world again she mistook a undigested butter etc.
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SlOkam 65
The star RohiNI, out of anger, towards her co-wife, sapatnee roshAt, the star
svAti, who was the mother of pearls, muktAphalAnAm jananee, and hence gave
birth to the blue sapphire, neelam ratnam asUta, that became the adornment of
the bosom, krtAspadam gopavadhUkuceshu of the gopis.
This is a charming poetic fancy. Leelasuka says, RohiNI, the star under which
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KrishNa was born, chose to be so, out of jealousy for the star svAti which
causes pearls to be formed. Leelasuka says that it is co-wife envy as both are
supposed to be the wives of the Moon, who had married the 27 daughters of
Dhaksha who became stars.
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SlOkam 66
Seeing KrishNa dancing and also His reflection in the gem studded pillar which
looked real and clear, the deer eyed YasodA divided one lump of butter in to
two thinking there were two KrishNas.
KrishNa was dancing, nrtyantam, and He was reflected in the jeweled pillar,
maNisthambhagatam, who appeared very clear, atyanta vilokaneeyam. Thinking
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that it was KrishNa in person, krshNam sakshAt iva agre, YasodA divided the
one lump of butter which she brought for Him in to two, dvidhA vitene
navaneetam ekam.
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SlOkam 67
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so she was looking at His face for a long time
with love. She was saying, “wake up KrishNa, It
is morning already”. And seeing Him open His
eyes, she blesses Him saying, “long live KrishNa
for hundreds of hundreds of autumns”,
meaning, a very long time. She looks upon Him Supreme Purusha
as her child not knowing that He was the ever
existent Supreme Purusha.
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SlOkam 68
dae:[a l¾apdmiÉm&zÚ»maraeiptaTma
The tatkratu nyAya is that what one thinks of, so He becomes. But in the case
of Lord KrishNa, this nyAya does not work because when we think of Him as
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feeding at the breast of Pootana we never lapse back in to breast feeding, that
is, never will be born again, and to think of Him as bound removes our bondage.
Similarly to think of His amorous activities towards the gopis destroys kAmam
in our minds.
Swami Desika in another place in the same work says, ‘bAlam taruNya:, taruNam
ca bAlA:, tam anvarajyanta samAnabhAvA:’. The young girls and the young
women looked upon KrishNa as of their own age. So this sloka showed that
KrishNa appeared to everyone in the form they see Him in.
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100
SlOkam 69
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May KrishNa, who was seen by Radha, rAdhayA veekshita:, with jealousy and
suspicion, sershyam SankitayA ca, talking in His sleep remembering His previous
avatAra, vyAhrta pUrvajanma caritam, saying, "LakshmaNa, these clouds
torment me, ete khedayanti ambudA, who is separated from Sita, jAnakee
virahitam, and these cruel, krUra:, winds coming through the Kadamba trees,
kadambAnilA:, attack Me enough in vulnerable places, marmANi ghaTTayanti
alam" give us comfort.
KrishNa was sleeping and Radha who came to Him saw Him talking in His sleep.
Presumably remembering his RamAvatAra, He was telling LakshmaNan that the
clouds give Him sorrow instead of joy because He was separated from Sita
and the breezes , which blow through the kadamba trees carrying their smell
increase His grief of separation. Hearing this, Radha, suspecting that He was
dreaming of some other woman, felt jealous. Perhaps it was the exact intention
of KrishNa as He could not have been imagined sleeping like an ordinary mortal
any time.
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SlOkam 70
#Tw< vairtraiÇkei¦rvta‘úMyaphasaÏir>.
oshTham munca hare bibhemi bhavatA pAnairhatA pUtanA
kanThASlesham amum jaheehi daLitau Alinganena arjunau |
mA dehi cchuritam hiraNyakaSipu: neeto nakhai: pancatAm
ittham vArita rAtrikeLi: avatAt lakshmyA apahAsAt hari: ||
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May Hari, whose love play in the night, rAtri keLi:, was prevented, vArita,
jokingly, ApahAsAt, by RukmiNI, saying, "Let go my lips, munca oshTham,
because I am afraid of You, bibhemi, who drank the life of PUtana, pAnairhatA
pUtanA with Your mouth. Do not embrace my neck, kanThASlesham jaheehi,
because You uprooted the twin trees, daLitau arjunau, with Your hands as
though embracing them, Alinganena. Do not scratch me with Your nails,
cchuritam mA dehi, because these nails have killed HiraNyakasipu,
hiraNyakaSipu: neeto pancatAm nakhai:". protect us.
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SlOkam 71
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YasodA started telling KrishNa a story and KrishNa was listening to it by saying
‘hum’
KrishNa- hum - ok
YasodAa - tau pitu: vAcA pancavaTee taTe viharata: - when They both went to
forest at the words of His father and lived in PancavaTee
KrishNa - hum - ok
KrishNa said, saumitre kva dhanur dhanur dhanur iti vyagrA gira: - “Lakshmana,
where is my bow? the bow, the bow” (He became Rama in that instant
remembering His former avatAra. May He protect us.)
103
SlOkam 72
bAlopi SailoddharaNAgrapANiH
104
neelopi neerandhratama: pradeepa:
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He appears to be reveling in the company of gopis as a kAmuka, to those who do
not understand Him, but He is the saviour of those who get entangled in the net
of kAmakroda etc.
This sloka implies that KrishNa was simply acting a role and not influenced by it,
as He himself points out in Gita, ‘tattvavit tu mahAbAho, guNa
karmavibhAgayo:, guNaa guNeshu vartanta iti matvA na sajjate’, which means,
the one who knows the vision of the guNaas and its works, do not get attached
to them through knowledge that the guNaas are doing their functions.
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SlOkam 73
jalaiÉramj"nay idgMbray,
zaËRlidVynoÉU;[ÉUi;tay
"navaneeta Krishna!"
106
SlOkam 74
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May the unclad divine child, devo divya digambara:, of YasodA, Who is having a
cup of tasty, Ahitarasam, pAyasam, pAyasabhaktam, in His right hand with joy,
dakshiNe mudA, in His left hand, savye, having a ball of fresh butter,
haiyangaveenam, like the white moon during autumn, SArada candra
maNDalanibham, in His neck wearing the nail of the tiger as an ornament,
kaNThE kalpita puNDareeka nakham and shining brilliantly with His light,
uddAma deeptim vahan, give us happiness, saukhyam diSatu.
KrishNa as a young child seen in the last sloka is further described here. He is
having a cup of pAyasm in His right hand with glee. In His left hand He is
holding butter which is white and fresh resembling the moon in autumn. His
chest is adorned with an ornament containing the nail of a tiger. The word
puNDareeka has a meaning of tiger also, besides lotus.
The word haiyangaveenam means butter taken from the milk of the previous
day, made into curd.
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SlOkam 75
108
SlOkam 76
sMbaxe surÉI[amMbamayasyNtmnuyaNtIm!,
I surrender to that boy KrishNa, Who, going in the midst of cows, with long
hair and mud-smeared body is followed by His mother, who wishes to catch Him,
getting tired in the effort.
KrishNa as young boy was going among the cows, sambAdhe surabheeNAm, to
the forest. His mother, ambA, out of love and concern for Him always tried to
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stop Him under some pretext or other. So she followed Him, anuyAntee, to
catch Him giving some reason for doing so, but He was going fast and she got
tired, following Him.
Leealasuka says that KrishNa tired her out, AyAsayanta, by going fast so that
she could not catch Him. His hair was hanging low, lambAlaka, and His body was
covered with mud, tanuvilagna jambAlam.
This idea of YasodA unwilling to let KrishNa go with the cows is portrayed by
PeriAzhvAr in ten pAsurams describing the anguish of YasodA who regrets for
having allowed KrishNa to go to the forest to tend the cows instead of letting
Him play in the house eating butter etc.
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110
SlOkam 77
AiÂtipÁDacUf< siÂtsaEjNyv‘vIvlym!,
The scene now changes to portray KrishNa, the flute player. He has peacock
feather on His crown, ancita pincA cUDdam, surrounded by the friendly gopis,
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sancita saujanya vallavee valayam, who have assembled to hear Him play the
flute which He places on his lower lip, adharamaNi nihita veNum, that looks like
a gem.
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SrI Nrusimha!
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SlOkam 78
à’adÉagdey< ingmmhaÔeguRhaNtraxeym!,
That which is the embodiment of the merit earned by PrahalAda, which resides
in the cave of the mountain called VedAs, known as Narasimha, compliant to the
devAs, is my object of meditation.
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bhAgadheya. A lion always resides inside a guha, cave. For this man-lion the
residing guha, guhAntara Adheyam is in the mountain called VedAs, nigama
mahAdri. The Lord (Brahman) is known through the VedAs which are the
mountain containing the cave. It is guhya or secret because just by learning the
VedAs one cannot understand Brahman but only through contemplation. So it is
guhya. The guha here is the heart. He is known as Narahari,
naraharipadAbhidheya. He is referred to as vibudha vidheyam as He took the
form of a man-lion to comply with all the requirements to kill Hiranyakasipu.
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SlOkam 79
Leelasuka was basically from saivite family which he himself mentioned in sloka
24. So here he extols both KrishNa and Siva. The alliteration in samsAre - kim
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sAram - kamsAre: , and the use of andhakAra in two meanings shows the poetic
skill of Leelasuka. andhakAra means darkness and when split as andaka + kAre:
means of the enemy of andhaka, Yama.
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SlOkam 80
klznvnItcaere kmla†Š……mudciNÔkapUre,
May my mind revel in the son of Nanda, nandakumAre, Who stole the butter
from the pot, kalaSa navaneetacore, Who was like the full moon, candrikApUre,
to the lilies, kumuda, of the eyes of Lakshmi, kamalAdrk, and Who was the
paramour of the gopis, gopasundarijAre.
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115
SlOkam 81
116
mAta: - mother,
KrishNa was found with His hand in the pot of butter in a house of a gopi who
questioned Him and He said He came there thinking it was His house and put
His hand inside the pot to search for a calf which was missing. This is the
delightful navaneetachora referred to by Leelasuka in the previous sloka.
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118
SlOkam 82
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KrishNa, You play in the mire in the yard, ajira kardame, of the cowherds, but
shy away from the sacrifices lajjase viprAdhvare, performed by the priests.
You converse with the cows hearing their humkara, brUshe gokulahumkrtai:, but
keep silent when You hear the learned, praising You, cidAam stuti Satai:
maunam vidhatse. You serve the fickle-minded gopis, dAsyam gokula
pumScaleeshu kurushe, but do not wish to be the Lord of the self-controlled
sages, svAmyam na dAntAtmasu. From this it is known, j~nAtam, that Your
Lotus Feet, taAnghripankajayugam, can only be secured, premNaa acalam by
love.
m[f[{kfK ;RpfpidEm.
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Anaal mandhai pasuvOdu kanRinam soozndhAlum
mannanukku iruppiDamE
It means, KrishNa is adamant towards the sages who do penance to see Him
but wherever there are cows and calves, KrishNa is found there.
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120
SlOkam 83
Salutations to that light, tejase, which is the son, dAyAda, of YasodA, and
which grew, vyavardhata, by looking and enjoying, bhojam bhojam, the lotus-
face, mukhAmbhojam, of Radha.
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SlOkam 84
There are other incarnations of the Lotus-eyed Lord all being auspicious. But
except the KrishNavatAra no other incarnation was able to give moksha to
cows, cowherds and cowherd maidens.
Leelasuka is reiterating the idea expressed in the sloka 82 here. KrishNa is not
only attained by love alone but also gives the devotee the highest fruit of
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devotion, that is, salvation. The cowherds and their womenfolk attained mukti
by sheer love for KrishNa. Leelasuka says that even the cows attained salvation
thus.
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SlOkam 85
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I worship the form of KrishNa, dark like fresh cloud, which displays the
complete beauty of childhood, with His forehead adorned with jewel, His
anklets sounding, His waist being decorated with a girdle of sounding bells,
wearing on His neck the nail of a tiger, surrounded by the cows with their
calves calling them at the time of milking in the morning.
KrishNa goes to milk the cows in the morning, prAtardoha mahotsava. The
calves which are taken to be fed with the milk of the cows are calling, ambA
rava ujjrmbhite, their mothers. KrishNa in the midst of the cows, madhye
gokulamaNDalam, appears beautiful, dark as a fresh cloud, navaghana SyAmam,
adorned with ornaments on His body. He is wearing anklets which make sound,
raNannUpuram and so does His girdle on His waist fitted with small bells,
katiraNat satkinkiNeemekhalam. His forehead is adorned with a jewel, phAle
bAlavibhUshaNam, and He is wearing the nail of tiger around His neck, kanThe
vyAghranakham. He looks like a perfect picture of childish beauty,
SaiSavakaLaa kalyANakArtsnyam.
123
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124
SlOkam 86
sjljlxnIl< dizRtaedarlIl<
krtlx&tzEl< ve[unadErsalm!,
ìjjnk…lpal< kaimnIkei¦lael<
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I worship the young cowherd, gopAlabAlam, Who is dark like the rain bearing
cloud, sajalajaladhaneelam, Who displayed His wonderful leela, darSitodAra
leelam, Who held the mountain in His hand, karataladhrtaSailam, Who oozed out
the sweet juice of His music from the flute, veNunAdairasAlam, Who was the
protector of the clan of cowherds, vrajajanakulapAlam, Who reveled in playing
with the gopis, kAmineekeLilolam, and Who was wearing beautiful garland,
kalitalalitamAlam.
The alliteration in this sloka and the next is beautiful. The three slokas
starting with this one end with the refrain naumi gopAlabAlam, "I worship the
young Cowherd".
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SlOkam 87
iSmtliltkpael< iõGxs¼Itlael<
liltick…rjal< caEyRcatuyRlIlm!,
ztmoirpukal< zatk…MÉaÉcel<
I worship the young Cowherd, Who has tender smiling cheek, smita lalita
kapolam, revels in sweet music, snigdha sangeetalolam, has graceful locks of
hair, lalita cikurajAlam, Who plays a charming and clever thief, caurya
cAturyaleelam, Who is like death to the enemies of Indra,
SatamakharipukAlam, Who wears a garment shining like gold,
SaathakumbhAbhacelam and Who is of hue like blue lily, kuvalayadaLa neelam.
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SlOkam 88
muri¦inndlael< muGxmayUrcUf<
di¦tdnujjal< xNysaEjNylIlm!,
prihtnvhel< pÒsÒanukUl<
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I worship the young Cowherd, Who revels in the sound of the flute, wears
pretty peacock feather on His crown, Who shatters the hosts of asuras, Who is
friendly to fortunate devotees, Who plays afresh to do good to others, Who is
beneficial to Brahma and Who is dark like a fresh rain bearing cloud.
KrishNa loves to play on the flute, muraLi ninadalolam, and He is adorned with
pretty peacock feather on his head, mugdha mAyUra cUDam. His hue is of a
fresh rain bearing cloud, navajaladharaneelam. He destroys the crowds of
asuras, daLita danuja jAlam. Yet He is a friend to those who have the merit
earned in their past lives dhanya saujanya leelam, and have become His
devotees. He always does new leelAs to do good to others, parahitanavahelam.
This is proved by His actions through out His incarnation as KrishNa and also in
other incarnations. This includes Brahma Who abides in a lotus, padmasadma.
The Lord had to take different incarnations to prove true the words of Brahma
when He gave different and difficult boons to the asuras. Also the Lord had to
instruct Brahma in creation by teaching him the VedAs.
127
SlOkam 89
srsgu[inkay< si½danNdkay<
zimtsklmay< sTylúmIshaym!,
zmdmsmuday< zaNtsvaRNtray<
128
Brahman in bhakthi yoga is the Lord who has infinitely auspicious qualities and
the counter-correlate of all imperfections as defined by Ramanuja in
Sribhashya, his commentary on BrahmasUtra.
The Lord has mAyA under His control. KrishNa has said this Himself in the
Gita,
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æamyNsvRÉUtain yÙaêFain mayya.
ISvara: sarvabhUtAnAm hrddeSe arjuna tishThati |
bhrAmayan sarvabhUtAni yantrArUDhAni mAyayA || --Gita:18.61
The Lord abides in the heart of all beings, spinning them round and round,
mounted on a wheel as it were, by His power.
sama is the control of mind and dhAma is that of senses. The Lord is the
meeting point of both as only by sama and dhAma, He could be attained.
He is the place where all the obstacles on the spiritual path cease.
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--MuNDaka Upanishad: 2-2-8
On realizing Brahman, the knots of his heart are loosened, his doubts dispelled
and his karma exhausted.
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SlOkam 90
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netram, face like full
moon, pUrNenduvaktram of
attractive form, kamaneeya
gAtram, Who is the friend of
Indra, puruhUtamitram, and
Who is the receptacle of mercy,
kAruNyapAtram, and pure,
pavitram. This is a sloka of
lilting metre.
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SlOkam 91
May KrishNa Who entered in to the river Yamuna and tamed the arrogant
serpent and who is intent on redressing the insult to the devAs fulfil my wish.
As the previous sloka had the lilting laya, this one has beauty of alliteration
when the words are pronounced without splitting.
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"Kaliya Mardana!"
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serpent Kaliya danced on them and quelled the pride of Kaliya, madamayam
uragam adamayat. Also Leelasuka refers to KrishNa as the one Who is always
intent on redressing the insult done to the devAs, amaratiraskrtiSamana para:,
by the asuras.
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SlOkam 92
"PeetAmbaradArI!"
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SlOkam 93
For the deer-eyed damsels during their water sport vArivihArakAle, when their
garments were taken away murAriNaa mushitAmSukAnAm, by KrishNa, their
hands karadvayam vA, or their tresses kacasamhatih vA or closed eyes
prameelanam vA, replaced their clothes.
When KrishNa took away the clothes from the bank of Yamuna when the young
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girls of Gokula were playing in the water, they tried to cover themselves with
their hands or with their tresses or simply shut their eyes to hide their shame.
This sloka describes the episode of GopivastrApaharaNam.
It is interesting here to see how Swami Desika explains this leelA of KrishNa in
his GopAlavimSati.
The wonderful lover of all, wins (all hearts), He who robbed the Gopis of their
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clothes on the bank of Yamuna and ascended the graceful branch of the
Kunda tree and with a playful smile demanded that they should entreat Him
with folded hands when they asked for their clothes bashfully.
The commentators explain this episode as follows. Leaving the clothes on the
shore means leaving our vAsanas and enter in to the river of KrishNaanubhava.
The Lord is Mukunda, One who gives moksha, hence shredding the body
consciousness and approaching with pure heart secures moksha. He laughed at
them when they tried to cover themselves as though saying "I am the inner
self of all and hence what are you trying to hide from Me".
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SlOkam 94
mInayNte=ip tasamitrÉscl½aénIlalkaNta
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May KrishNa, Who is wearing the
yellow silk garment, peetAmbara:,
to Whose lotus feet, anghridvaya
saraseeruhe, the charming curls
moving excitingly, atirabhasacalat
cAru neelAlakAntA:, on the
forehead of the gopis are the
bees, bhrngAyante, and in whose
lustre emitted by His pearl nose
ornament, nAsA cAru muktAmaNi
rucinikara, which flows like the
Ganges in heaven, vyomagangA,
the darkest glances of
gopis, which shine and fickle
lasat asitatara Alola leelA
katAkshA:, move like the fish,
meenAyante, protect us.
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This sloka displays a beautiful poetic fancy. The glances of gopis are imagined
as the fish that move forever in the Ganges, which is the light emitted by
the pearl worn by KrishNa on His nose. The dark curls on the forehead of the
gopis are visualised as the bees that hover around the lotuses, the feet of
KrishNa.
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SlOkam 95
nNdenankÊNÊÉeinRjsutap{yen pu{yaTmna,
gaepalavi¦muGxhartr¦ae gaepIjnal»«it>
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Let the sapphire, beautiful and matchless, born in the mine of the womb of
Devaki, bought by the blessed, puNyAtmanA, cowherd Nanda from Vasudeva,
paying the price of his own daughter, which formed the central gem of the
pearl necklace, namely the group of cowherds and the ornament of the gopis,
stay in our heart.
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SlOkam 96
yNÇaNt>iSwtÊGxÉa{fmpk«:yaCDa* "{qarvm!,
payadagtgaeipkanynyaegR{fU;)UTkark«t!.
peeThe peeTha nishaNNabAlakagaLe thishThan sa gopAlaka:
yantrAntasthita dugdhabhaaNDdam apakrshya AcchAdya ghaNTaaravam |
vaktropAnta krtAnjali: krtaSira: kampam piban ya: paya:
pAyAt AgatagopikAnayanayo: gaNDooshaphUtkArakrt ||
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May KrishNa, Who, standing on the shoulder of the boy who was sitting on the
stand on the plank, pulled the milk pot from inside the contraption that held it
and silencing the bells attached to it and was drinking the milk with cupped
hands, shaking His head and who spat the mouthful on the eyes of the gopi who
came there, protect us.
KrishNa was drinking milk from a pot in the house of a Gopi. The pot was placed
in a high contraption, yantrAntasthita:, used to store milk, curd etc. KrishNa
put a plank and a seat on it and made a boy sit crouched on it, and climbed on
his shoulders, peeThe peeTha nishaNNabAlakagaLe, to reach the pot. In order
to silence the bells that were tied to it He stopped them, AcchAdya
ghaNTaaravam from ringing. He pulled the pot, apakrshya, near His mouth and
was drinking the milk with His cupped hands, vaktropAnta krtAnjali:, shaking
His head with delight, krtaSirahkampam, when the gopi came in. Before she
could do anything KrishNa spat the mouthful of milk on her eyes, Agata
gopikAnayanayo: gaNDooshaphUtkArakrt, and escaped while she was wiping her
eyes.
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story often quoted by the pauranikas. KrishNa once entreated the bells tied to
the curd pots not to ring while He was drinking the curd. The bells agreed. But
the moment started to eat the curd, all of them started ringing. Then KrishNa
asked them the reason for betraying His trust in them and they all replied that
when the food is being offered to the Lord it is customary to ring the bells!
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SlOkam 97
yenaSmakmÉUdnNysulÉa Éi´ÉRvÖei;[I
Leelasuka says that to have devotion towards KrishNa is the result of merit
accumulated in our past lives. We must have surely done nothing but good
deeds in past lives like yaj~na, dhAna, tapas and sevA to acquire the attitude of
devotion to KrishNa, which is not easy to attain as KrishNa Himself says in the
Gita,
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bahUonAm janmanAm ante j~nAnavAn mAm prapadyate |
vAsudeva: sarvam iti sa mahAtmA sudurlabha:|| --Bhagavad Gita 7-19
Meaning:
A man of wisdom attains Me after several births. The great soul who considers
that Vaasudeva is everything is rare indeed.
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SlOkam 98
When You are pleased with me, tvayi prasanne, where is the need of my good
qualities, mama kim guNena. If You are not, tvayi aprasanne, what is the use of
having good qualities, mama kim guNena? When a woman has the love of her
husband, vadhUnAm vare rakte, there is no need to decorate herself with
kumkum, leaves or flowers, nirarthaka: kunkuma patra bhanga:, and if it is not
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Leelasuka says here that however we accumulate merit and follow the virtuous
path, the Lord must be pleased with it, which will happen only through our
ananyabhakthi. Otherwise all these measures are of no use. He cites an example
that when woman has the love of her husband she does not have to take the
trouble of decorating herself to please him. On the other hand if the love is not
there no amount of effort to make her attractive will fetch result.
I cannot be known through study of the vedAs, nor by penance nor by giving
away gifts nor by performing sacrifices. I am not attainable except by bhakti.
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SlOkam 99
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May KrishNa Who wears the yellow silk garment, on whom the gopis of Gokula
sing gleefully in the early morning, their teeth outshining the moon by their
whiteness, induprabhA rundhantya nijadanta kAnti nivahai:, the end of their
garments swiftly swirling keeping time with the jingling of their bracelets while
churning the curd, protect us.
When they are churning, mathnantyah, they sing joyfully, sAnandam gAyanti,
about the exploits of KrishNa. The end of their garments swirl swiftly,
vyAvalgat vasanAncalA: javAt, with the motion of the churning rod and their
bracelets are making jingling sound. The movement of the clothes and the
bracelets are keeping the same time-beat, pANikankaNa jhaNath
kArAnukAram, says Leelasuka.
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SlOkam 100
A<saliMbtvamk…{flÉr< mNdaeÚtæUlt<
Aalaela¼‚i¦p‘vEmuRri¦kamapUryNt< muda
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I comprehend KrishNa, the enchanter of the three worlds, Who is playing the
flute under the Kalpaka tree, with His body bent gracefully in three places,
letting out music with His fingers moving rapidly, with His lower lip pouched a
little, His eyebrows slightly raised, with slanted and moving eyes, with
the ornament on His right ear hanging down and touching His shoulder.
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bhrUlatam, and His eyes are slanted and moving, sAci prasArekshaNam.
This brings to mind the pAsuram of PeriAzhvAr, the second of the ten
beautiful pAsurams describing KrishNa playing the flute.
Bending His face and shoulders to the left, two hands together with His brow
raised, His stomach expanded like a pot and with pouted mouth when Govinda
played the flute.
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SlOkam 101
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May Hari, who appeared like a mountain to the wrestlers when He entered the
wrestling ring, as a child to others, as the god of love to the women, as an
ordinary mortal to the cowherds, as the Supreme Lord Who has the whole
Universe as His body to Indra in heaven, as the angry god of death to Kamsa
who was shaking with fear and as the object of meditation to the yogis and
cause of joy to the devAs, protect us.
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himself who was looking at Him with fear, bhayacakitadrSaa KrishNa appeared
as the god of death, kruddha: kAla:, Yama, who is advancing with anger towards
Him. To the sages He was the Brahman, Whom they meditated on, yogibhi:
dhyeyamUrti:, for salvation.
The Lord appears to all beings as they fancy, both devotees and others alike.
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SlOkam 102
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Sandhyavandana, may you be blessed, salutations to you, the ritual of taking
bath, snAna. Oh devAs and pitrs, I am not able, nAham kshama:, to do tarpaNa
etc. Please forgive me, kshamyatAm. I am going to sit somewhere, kvApi
nishIdya, and contemplate again and again, smAram smAram, on KrishNa, the
head jewel of the clan of YaadavAs, yAdavakula uttamsam, and the enemy of
Kamsa, kamsadvisha: and destroy my sins, agham harAmi. I think that it is
sufficient, tat alam manye and why do I need, kim anyena me, any other means
of salvation?
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SlOkam 103
This sloka is more or less similar to the sloka 92 in meaning and it makes one
wonder whether one of the two is an interpolation. This is a well known sloka
though it is not sure whether it was attributed to Leelasuka. In this AsvAsa
there are a few slokAs which are either attributed to others or not in-keeping
with the aesthetic charm of the calibre of Leelasuka. For instance we find the
sloka ‘he gopAlaka he krpAjalnide’, which is obviously the composition of
Kulasekhara AzhvAr in his MukundamAla. Such slokAs have not been included in
this writing.
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SlOkam 104
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The sound of music from the flute of the child KrishNa, vamSee ninAda: SiSo:,
is triumphant, vijayate, while it enchants all the worlds, lokAn unmadayan,
resonant with the vedAs, Sruteen mukharayan, exhilarating the trees,
kshoNeeruhAan harshayan, melting the mountains, SailAn vidrAvayan,
attracting the animals, mrgAn vivaSayan, giving joy to the cows, gobrndam
Anandayan, amazing the cowherds, gopAn sambhramayan, immersing the sages
in meditation, muneen mukulayan, spreading the seven notes everywhere,
saptasvarAn jrmbhayan, and expounding the meaning of praNava,
OmkArArtham udeerayan.
The music from the flute was sabdabrahmAmrtam as nArAyaNa Bhattadri calls
it in keSAdipAdAnta stotram, the last sarga of nArAyaNeeyam. This is what is
the meaning of the word Sruteen mukharayan in the above sloka. In
KrishNavAtAra, from the moment KrishNa started uttering syllables as a child
till the Geetopadesa every sound that was associated with Him was that of the
vedAs, including the sound made by the cows in BrindAvan, as Swamy Desika
puts it in his Yadavabhyudaya. As the well-known sloka says ‘SiSurveti
paSurvetti vetti gAnarasam phaNee’, (the taste of music is known to an infant,
an animal and a serpent), music by itself is capable of elevating the soul of all
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beings. Is there anything surprising when it comes from the Lord Himself? It is
the Veda itself and the exposition of OmkAra as Leelasuka puts it.
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PeriAzhvAr describes this vividly in the ten pAsurams about the veNugAnam of
KrishNa as ‘marundu mAn kaNangaL mEykai maranthu meyndhapullum kadaivAi
vazhi sOra’, the deer enchanted by the veNugAnam, mrgAn vivaSayan as
Leelasuka puts it, forgot even to chew the grass they grazed which fell from
their mouths and they stood like the picture in a painting. ‘ezhudhu
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chiththirangal pOla ninranavE’. Even the trees were exhilarated, kshoNeeruhaan
harshayan, says Leelasuka, which PeriAzhvAr expresses as ‘marangaL ninRu
madhu thAraigL pAyum, malargaL veezhum vaLar kombugaL thAzhum, irangum
koombum thirumAl ninRa pakkam nOkki avai seyyum guNamE’. The trees shower
honey, and the flowers fall from the branches, which bend down and turn
towards the direction where Krishana was.
In Srimad BhAgavatam it is said that the sages took the form of birds and
listened to the music of the flute of KrishNa from the branches of the trees
and the rivers flow slower, hearing the music and exhibit their excitement by
the whirlpools and offer lotus flowers to the feet of KrishNa with waves as
their hands.
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beautiful sloka in Yadavabhyudaya.
mukundavaktranilavAdyamAna:
veNurbabhau veda iva dviteeya: |
rAgAvadheenAam rahasA yadekam
geetAtmano tasya nidAnam Aseet || --Yadavabhyudaya 8.47
The flute played by KrishNa appeared like a second Veda. VedAs teach the
ending of rAgadvesha and impart the secret knowledge of the Upanishads,
which are given out by KrishNa in Gita, rAgAvadheenAm rahasa geetAtmana:
nidAnam. There is a pun on the words to compare the flute-playing with the
VedAs. Referring to the music of the flute it was also a secret call,
rahasA, for the gopis who reached the limit of love, rAgAvadheenam in the
form of music, geetAtmanA.
Also Swami Desika says that the music from the flute created a state similar
to that of samAdhi for all beings, man, bird and beast so that all became like
sages.
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tadvamSanAda: subhago anugacchan
agresaram saurabham AgamAnAm
ayatnanishpanna manassamAdheen
AbrahmakAn Atanuveva jantUn ---Yadavabhyudaya 8.48
To top all this, Sri ThyAgarAja has put it in a nutshell in his krthi
‘sAmajavaragamana’, by the words, ‘vedaSiro mAtrja saptasvara nAdAcala deepa
sveekrta yAdavakula muraLeevAdana vinoda mohanakara’. He addresses
KrishNa, as an wonderful enchanting flute player of the clan of YaadavAs as the
light that illuminated the mountain of nAdA, formed by the saptasvaras which
originated from the mother OmkAra, the peak of the VedAs.
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