Appan Avatharittha KathAmrutham : JanmAshtami day

From the Bhakti List Archives

• September 12, 1998


BahudhAnya Samvathsara KrishNa JayanthI day 
********************************************
Dear Sri KrishNa BhakthAs :

Tonight we celebrate the Lord's arrival 
in Mathurai as the son of DEvaki PirAtti and 
VasudEvA .Tonight , we perform Sri KrishNa Jayanthi
AarAdhanam for the Lord , who gave us Bhagavadh GitA .

I will use this occasion to comemorate His avathAram 
as celebrated by Srimadh Bhagavatham , PeriyAzhwAr and 
Srimadh NaarayaNIyam .I will add some select slOkams about 
the greatness of KrishNA as enjoyed by Sri LeelA Sukhar
in his KrishNa KarNAmrutha Slokams .

Chapter 3 of Dasama Skandham of Srimadh BhAgaavatham 
celebrates the Lord's birth . Srimadh NaarAyaNIyam 
salutes the birth of the Lord in the 38th Dasakam .
PeriyAzhwAr describes the joyous scene at Gokulam ,
where the GopAs and Gopis celebrated the Lord's birth .
These verses are housed in the first 20 paasurams of 
Periya Thirumozhi .This AzhwAr enjoyed immensely 
the Bala kreetais of Kuttik KaNNan in exquisite 
PiLLait Tamizh and recognized the divya desam of
ThirukkOshtiyUr as Gokulam , where the Lord was
adored by YashOdhA PirAtti as her dear child .  

Time and the site of  AvathAram 
********************************

In the first slOkam of Sri GopAla Vimsathi ,
Swami Desikan gives us a clue about the time of
the avathAram : JayanthI sambhavam dhAma 
VaijayanthI vibhUshaNam ( I salute the divine 
effulgence revered as KaNNapirAn , who has 
Vyjayanthi mAlai around His neck and who was
born on Sri JayanthI).

Sri JayanthI is the time , when RohiNi Nakshathram
joins with KrishNa Paksha Ashtami during the month 
of Simha SrAvaNam ( AavaNi Month ) .Srimadh BhAgavatham
describes this time as the most auspicious and favorable
time , when the star RohiNi was in ascendance ( atha 
sarvaguNOpEtha: kaala: parama sObhana:) .At such an 
auspicious moment , in the middle of the dark night 
during the rainy season , Our Lord was born of the divinely 
beautiful Devaki , like the pourNami chandran 
rising on the eastern sky :

nisIthE tamudhbhUthE jaayamAnE JanArdhanE 
DevakyAm deva rUpiNyAm VISHNU: sarva guhAsaya: 
aavirAsIdh yathA prAchyAm disIndhuriva pushkala: 
                 ---Srimadh BhAgavatham : 10.3.8

The divine beauty of the child KrishNA and Its 
VishNU chinnams are celebrated by Srimadh BhAgavatham 
this way :

tamadhbhutham baalakam ambhujEkshaNam 
chathurbhujam sankha gadhAryudhAyudham I
Srivathsa Lakshmam galasObhi kousthubham
pIthAmbharam sAndhra payOdha soubhagam II
     ---Srimadh Bhaagavatham : 10.3.9

(Meaning ) :  Lotus-eyed , four-armed ,
adorning the conch , mace and other divya aayudhams ,
the newly born child had the shining Srivathsam
birth mark on its chest and the effulgent 
KousthubhA gem around its neck .The beautiful
child had a golden yellow cloth around its waist 
and had the hue of the dark blue cloud of the rainy 
season .The father VasudEvA saw the beautiful black ,
curly tresses of hair on the child's head , a diadem ,
ear rings containing precious gem stones , bracelets 
on its arms , armlets and golden waist girdle . The 
luminous appearance of this beautiful and extraordinary
child with all the alankArams , aabharaNams and 
natural beauty are described in the above slOkam
and the one below .

mahArha vaiDUrya kirIta kundalathvishA 
parishvaktha sahasra kunthaLam I
uDDhAma kaanchyangadha kankaNAdhibhir-
virOchamAnam VasudEva eikshEhta II 
      ---Srimadh Bhaagavatham:10.3.10

VasudEvA and DEvakI saw all the signs and 
symbols of Divinty (MahA purusha LakshaNam )
and began to eulogize this divine child .
VasudevA saluted this unique child this way :

vidhithOsi Bhavaan saakshAth Purusha: prakruthE: Para:I
kEvalAnubhavAnandha svarUpa: sarva bhuddhi dhruk II

(Meaning): I recognize  who Thou art ! You are 
the supreme being ( Purusha: ) Himself , who 
transcends prakruthi and are of the nature of 
pure consciousness-bliss and sarva saakshi .

Mother DEvakI eulogized Her child , the Lord 
this way : 

rUpam yath tath prAhu: avyaktham aadhyam 
Brahma jyOthirnirguNam nirvikAram I
satthAmAthram nirvisEsham nirIham
sa tvam SaakshAth Vishnu: adhyAthm adhIpa: 
      ---Srimadh BhAgavatham : 10.3. 24

(Meaning ) : O my child ! Thou art truly 
MahA VishNu , the divine light , what the sages
describe as the primordial , the unmanifest ,
the giganatic , the effulgent light beyond the 
three guNAs , the eternal , the purest , 
changeless and the desireless one .

Devaki recognizes Her divine child as the master
of PrakruthI and the principle behind the whole 
time doctrine and the driver of the Kaala chakram serving 
as the basis of the dynamics of the Universe . She is
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this concept and
recognizes her child as the JagadhAdhAran and 
performs prapatthi to that divine child { --MahIyAmstham
thvEsAnam KshEma dhAma PrapadhyE ). 

Devaki continues with her salutations and reveals 
His avathAra rahasyam this way : " That Thou , who
bearest the whole universe within Thyself at the time 
of Thy cosmic sleep , hast been born of my womb 
(mama garbhagOabhUdhahO ) is only Thy imitation 
of human ways to hide Thy identity .

Thereafter , the Lord hid His VishNu svarUpam and 
transformed Himself into the form of an ordinary ,  but
beautiful child . He asked VasudEvA to transport Him
to Gokulam immediately and exchange Him with the girl 
( VishNu MaayA ) born to yasOdhA and her husband , 
NadagOpAlan , who was the chieftain of the shepherd clan .

Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri describes movingly the journey 
of the Lord to Gokulam on that rainy night on the head of
VasudEvA in a basket . AdhisEshA served as an umbrella
to protect the Lord from the pouring rain as VasudEvA 
journeyed across the way cleared by the river YamunA 
to Gokulam :

sEshENa bhUripaNavaaritha vAriNAtha
svairam pradarsitha paThO maNi dhIpitEna I
tvAm dhArayan sa kalu dhanyatama: prathasthE
sOyam tvamIsa mama nAsaya rhOgavEghAn II

Here Bhattdhiri says : The great bhAgyasAli , VasudEvar
carried You , the Lord to Gokulam . At that time , Adhi Seshan 
protected You , our Lord from the rain with his hoods and 
the light from the gems on his hoods illumined
the path safely for VasudEvar to reach Gokulam .

PeriyAzhwAr describes the joyous scene at Gokulam 
for the next dozen days until the child's naamakaraNam 
ceremony took place and He was given the name of KrishNA .
Sage Gargar ( Acharyan to Yadhu vamsam )came to 
NandagOpan's house and selected the name of KRISHNA
for the divine child . He combined the dhAthu of 
"Krushi" and the aksharam, "Na " to recognize the Lord as 
the embodiment of Sath and Aanadha rUpam , which destroys 
the sins of the universe . When Bhattadhiri asked 
GuruvAyurappan , whether Gargar chose the name of KrishNa 
for Him following the above etymology , the Lord nodded
His head to indicate His concurrence . 

We will conclude this salutation to the Lord , who took 
KrishNAvathAram to bless us with the charama slOkam 
to redeem us with the words of Leelaa Sukhar in his
KrishNa KarNAmrutham slOkams :

** hastha nyastha nathApavargam akhila udhAram
kisOrAkruthi : ( This doctrine in the form of
a small child has in its hand Moksha palan 
for those , who seek refuge in Him ). 

** LeelA Sukhar says that the aspects of KrishNA's 
beauty is not surpassed by any other 
Dhaivams this way :

tath kaisOram taccha vakthrAravindham 
tath kAruNyam thE cha leelAkatAkshA: 
tath soundharyam saa cha mandhasmitha SrI :
sathyam sathyam dhurlabham DhaivathEshu 

That the Lord of Gokulam and BrindhAvanam is
the embodiment of sweetness and bliss is 
recognized by LeelA sukhar thru the following slOkam :

madhuram madhuram vapurasya vibhO:
madhuram madhuram vadhanam madhuram I
madhugandhi mrudhusmitham yEdhath ahO
madhuram madhuram madhuram madhuram II

(Meaning ):The Vapu : ( ThirumEni) is delectable ;
the vadhanam ( Thiru mukha madalam ) is 
delectable to enjoy; That vadhanam has the 
fragrance of sweet honey ( madhu gandhi ) 
and mrudhusmitham ( shines with the delectable
smile ) .I do  not know how to describe this 
delectable ( blissful ) KrishNa tattvam except to 
say it is Madhuram , Madhuram , madhuram . 

As the midnight is rapidly approaching on
this BahudhAnya samvathsaram's KrishNa JayanthI
AarAdhanam time , I conclude this posting with 
the chamakam like salutation to our Lord KaNNan :

prEmadham cha mE kaamadham cha mE
vEdanam cha mE vaibhavam cha mE I
jeevanam cha mE jeevitham cha mE 
dhaivatham cha mE dEva naaparam II

(Meaning ) : Oh Deva Deva! You are the One , 
who blesses me with prEmai (anbhu ) ; You 
are the One , who fulfills my wishes and 
desires ( Kaamadham ) ; You are the One , who 
blesses me with Jn~Anam ; You are indeed my
imperishable wealth ; You are my life and 
aayus . I have no God other than You .

Om NamO BhagavathE VaasudEvAya 
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan