krishNa leelAs and their essence – 19 – Benediction received by the rishipathnis

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One day krishNa, balarAma and their friends, the cowherd boys where seated in vrindhAvanam in the forest. The cowherd boys started feeling hungry. They saw krishNa and balarAma and prayed to them to arrange food for them.

At that time, krishNa told them “From where can we get food now? We are too far from our homes. Alright. There are same rishis (sages) who have built hermitages and are doing penance towards bhagavAn. Please go to them and request for food from them. We will all share and eat the same”.

At once, those boys searched in the forest and found a hermitage. The sages were performing yAgam there. They went straight to the sages and informed that they are with krishNa and balarAma, they are hungry and are looking for food. As the sages were involved in the yAgam, they did not even respond to the boys. The boys returned to krishNa with sorrow and informed what happened there. krishNa told them “Now you go back to the same place. You will find the wives of those sages. You inform them the situation and collect food from them”.

The boys went there again. This time they went to the wives of the sages annd told “We have come from krishNa and balarAma. Please provide us some food as we are very hungry”. On hearing that, those ladies, having overflowing love towards krishNa, took many food items and started going towards krishNa’s place. Their relatives (including the husbands) stopped them. Still, they went and offered the food items to krishNa, balarAma and the cowherd boys. Seeing that, krishNa became very pleased, accepted the food items and also offered the same to others. Subsequently, the sages realised their mistake and pleaded for forgiveness towards krishNa, in their minds.

This incident is beautifully narrated by ANdAL in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi saying “vErththup pasiththu vayiRasaindhu vENdadisil uNNumbOdhu IdhenRu pArththirundhu nedunOkkuk koLLum paththa viLosanaththu uyththidumin” (Take me to bhaktavilOchanam, the place where kaNNan stayed for a  long time, sweating because of grazing the cows, tired due to hunger, his stomach pining due to hunger and awaiting the arrival of the wives of sages to bring food and tell him “This is the time to eat as much food as you want”). In paththavilOchanam, paththa implies bhaktha which means food. vilOchana means seeing. While they were hungry, he was eagerly looking for the wives of the sages who were bringing food.

Essence in this incident:

  • Though one may be expert in vEdhAntham and may be engaged in yAgams, if one lacks devotion towards bhagavAn, there is no use. But even if one has not learned SAsthram properly, if one has the nature of melting, on hearing about bhagavAn, that will be pleasing for bhagavAn.
  • Either one should understand the mercy of bhagavAn and should be devoted towards him. Or one should reform on hearing others’ instructions or seeing others’ bhakthi. If either one is not there, there is no scope for liberation.

Source – https://granthams.koyil.org/2023/09/24/krishna-leela-19-tamil/

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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