Sages say that Krishna is the param purush or the supreme personality. Is this Krishna the same naughty bal-gopal who is the delight of his mother and the despair of the cowherdesses of Vrajbhoomi?
Even as great mystics grapple with the inherent complexities in the idea of God, damsels cavort in the kunjavana with the playful flautist.
There is sweetness in the bliss of realisation of the Ultimate, just as there is sweetness in the surrender to the omnipotent lord. Again, there is tremendous sweetness in the nectar of Krishna’s leela, which is at once absorbing and entertaining.
He is the lord of sweetness (Madhuraadhipati) whose every aspect and antic is sweet. Merely by association with him, the fruits, flowers and berries in the charmed forests become sweet. So do the waves and the ripples in the water where he bathes, or the dust of his feet.
In the hymn Madhurashtakam, devotional philosopher Vallabhacharya writes, “Geetam madhuram peetam madhuram bhuktam madhuram suptam madhuram roopam
madhuram tilakam madhuram madhuradhipater akhilam madhuram
(It is beautiful when he sings, drinks, eats, sleeps… his form is graceful as is the auspicious mark on his forehead — everything about Shri Krishna is sweet, for he is the lord of sweetness.)”
The poet-saint Jayadeva never tires of describing the alluring form of Krishna and its effect on the entranced gopikas. The birds sing more melodiously, the breeze wafts more fragrantly when the sandalwood smeared, blue-hued figure, decked in yellow robes and the vanamala (garland) is engrossed in his kreeda or effortless games.
Most lullabies of Indian mothers involve Lord Krishna. In infancy, mischievous boys are often compared and called Kanha, Kanhaiya, Gopal and so on. “Natkhat Nandlal” has inspired classical compositions and folk songs with equal intensity. There is powerful imagery involved in visualising Krishna — the peacock feather atop a riot of curls, the baby robes and ornaments, a magical flute clasped in the chubby hands, the feet never still, always seeking to escape punishment for the latest prank…
Vatsalya Rasa or the emotion of motherly love towards a child is reflected in our Janmashtami traditions as we pull the strings of flower-bedecked jhoolas, a smiling baby Krishna on all fours peeps out of the velvety folds. Our minds are filled with the sight of the vata-patra-shayee (reclining on the banyan leaf) infant, for whose body the lotus metaphor is repeatedly used (karaaravindena padaaravindam, mukhaaravindena…) His tiny fingers lift his little foot into his rosebud mouth — the same mouth inside which his mother Yashoda saw all of Creation, much to her jaw-dropping amazement.
Raji P. Shrivastava can be reached at raji_1992@yahoo.co.in