SrI: SrImathE satakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama: SrI vAnAchala mahAmunayE nama:
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krishNa remained in this world for hundred years and gave his blessings to many persons. After that he decided to ascend to his divine radiant abode. Let us enjoy how he ascended to paramapadham, now.
After the completion of mahAbhAratham war, dhritharAshtra’s wife gAndhAri cursed that yAdhava clan will also be destroyed just as it occurred to her children. krishNa accepted that. When krishNa decided to mercifully ascend to paramapadham, the impact of that is seen in the yAdhava clan. All the yAdhavas forgot righteousness and started engaging in worldly pleasures. Once, when some sages were coming, they tied a wooden pestle to sAmba’s stomach and sarcastically asked the sages “What child is he going to deliver?” Understanding their intent, the sages cursed, saying “He will deliver a pestle and that will destroy your clan”. The yAdhavas became scared and broke the pestle into very tiny pieces and scattered those pieces into the ocean. Those pieces grew into wild grass on the shores. One of those pieces, a metal, was swallowed by a fish and that sharp piece eventually reached a hunter named jara.
Here in dhvArakA, bad omens were observed. krishNa told everyone that it was better to leave the place. One by one, people started leaving the place. As the yAdhavas were heavily drunk and bewildered, a great fight ensued amongst them. Most of them picked up the wild grass and started attacking and killing each other. Some of them started attacking balarAma, which caused krishNa and balarAma to attack and kill them. balarAma sat and started meditating and ascended to paramapadham. krishNa left the place and went to a place named prAbhAsa thIrtham and started meditating peacefully in a sitting posture. The hunter jara arrived there at that time and looking at krishNa’s divine feet from a distance, he mistook it for a deer’s head. He aimed an arrow, with the sharp piece of the pestle, at its end, and shot krishNa’s toe. After coming close, he understood his mistake and begged for forgiveness from krishNa. But krishNa consoled him and told him”I am finishing my leelA through you and ascending to paramapadham”. He then started ascending to paramapadham with his divine form. At that time, dhAruka, krishNa’s charioteer arrived there and felt very sad. krishNa blessed him by placing his divine feet on his head and left.
He returned to dhvArakA and announced krishNa leaving for paramapadham. Everyone became very sad. arjuna brought women and elders safely out of dhvArakA. Subsequently, the ocean surrounded dhvArakA and consumed the city.
nammAzhwAr shows the way krishNa ascended to paramapadham in his thiruvAimozhi “pOy viN misaith thana dhAmamE puga mEviya sOdhi” (on completion of his task, he ascended to his distinguished abode on the paramAkASam).
Essence in this incident:
- The main reason for bhagavAn’s incarnation is his desire which is due to his compassion towards the protection of AthmAs. All other reasons which are told, are incidental. Similarly when he ascends to paramapadham, the main reason is his desire. gAndhAri’s curse, hunter shooting him etc are incidental only.
- Though yAdhavas were relatives of krishNa, they did not realise his true nature and only considered their bodily relationship with him. Hence bhagavAn gave them the happiness of being with him and finished them at the apt time, with just that happiness. Only a few like vidhura, akrUra realised his true nature and got lasting happiness.
- bhagavAn, while ascending to paramapadham, did that with his divine form. Though in his incarnations, his body may appear like that of humans (or other species in other occasions), it is divine form only.
Source – https://granthams.koyil.org/2023/11/04/krishna-leela-59-tamil/
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