Search:
Bhakti List Archives

nacciyar thirumozhi nine

From the Bhakti List Archives

Ramani Naidu • December 23, 2002 


DAY NINE - NACCIYAR THIRUMOZHI
THIRD THIRUMOZHI

In the Krishna Avatar Narayana is supposed to have stolen the dress of the
shepherdesses when they were taking bath in the pond. He then climbs up the
kuruntha tree and makes fun of them. The shepherdesses plead of him to give
them their dress back. The third Thirumozhi describes this scene.

They had been to the pond much before the sun rose. They are not able to
leave the pond even much after the sun has risen. Give us our dress back.
We will not come again to this pond, they plead with Krishna. How is it you
are here at the pond? DonÂ’t be in a hurry because it is too early for us to
be in a love relationship with you. Give us our dress you have kept on the
branches of the kuruntha tree. It is a childish game on your part to make us
stand naked in the waters of the pond. There are many taking bath here. We
stand here with tear filled eyes. We are not able to control our tears.
Give us our dress back. See, the fish bite our legs. See, the stems of the
lotus tickle us so sharply that it is like the sting of the poisonous
scorpion. Give us our dress back. The houses of ours is too far away. We are
here in the waters suffering like this. Drop down our dress from the
branches of the tree. It is not we alone being here. It is not right that we
have to suffer this for all to see. Give us our dress back. The cold water
makes our bodies shiver. Your pranks make our hearts shiver in pain. Give us
our dress back.

They pray to Him. They praise Him as their elixir. They promise Him that
they would give Him all that he wants and they would go away unseen by
anyone. They call Him the King of the Monkeys half in jest and half in
praise. They threaten Him saying that the game will become serious if their
brothers happen to come there and see their plight. They cry in pain talking
about the fish bite and the sharp feel of the lotus leaves on their unclad
legs. They find fault with Him saying that it does not become of Him to play
thus with them. They even ask Him if it was to annoy them that He had
escaped from the prison in KamsaÂ’s palace during the night and came to live
with them. For all this, Krishna was not to give them their dress back.

One of the usual aspects of Alwar literature is singing in praise of the
beauty of His form. In these ten songs also we see that aspect. He is the
One who sleeps on a bed of the Snake; He is the One who wears the garland of
the honeyed basil flowers; He has the Black Form; He is the One who slept
during the deluge with his pristine eyes closed.

The greatness of the avatars is also spoken. He had destroyed Lanka with His
bow and arrows. He is the King of the monkeys. He is the one who had danced
the kutakkuthu. He is the one who had escaped from the treacherous Kamsa. He
is the One who sucked the life of the monstress along with the milk from her
teats.

Of these references, Indira Parthasarathy has to say this about the
Kutakkuthu.
Kutakkuthu is a kind of dance of the shepherds. With one pot on each hand
and one each on the shoulders and quite a few arranged one above the other
on the head, the dance will be performed. The pots on the hands will be
thrown up and caught even as the dancer moves to the tune of the trumpets.
Cilappathikaram speaks of 6 kinds of Kuthu. Madhavi is supposed to have
performed 12 kinds of Kuthu. Kutakkuthu is one of them. This is
aesthetically quite appealing to the spectators. It is said that Krishna had
designed this dance form. Besides suggesting an aesthetic form to God as the
one who dances and sings, this concept also brings out all the physical
faculties together to a perfect tune. The God becomes human in dancing in
the midst of the shepherds. Krishna dances amidst men and women to inspire
their imagination. The philosophic explanation will indicate that it is not
only the cit and the acit that look up to God but it is God also looking
down upon the cit and the acit.”

Dramatic element is there in these songs too.

Why does she say that she prays to him along with her friend? Bathing in the
pond is figurative for union in love. What prevents you from enjoying
yourself with me? That is KrishnaÂ’s question. See, the sun has risen, they
say. That is alright. You have cheated me in leaving me behind as you came
down here to the pond. Please excuse, with folded hands, He says. They
cannot obviously do so with one arm. They cannot obviously use both their
arms since they have to cover their nudity at least with one of their arms.
So they use the right and left arms of each other to make one pair in
prayer.

What do they mean to say with “Since it is not proper, Boy of manifold
mischief, hurry not!”? What if I have come here by whatsoever means? I have
come here you see! Come and let us be together, He says. It is not yet time
for it. Wait, they say. We will give you all that you want later on. For the
time being, give us our dress back.

Why do they say, “Not only are we your aunt’s daughters here. See, others
have also arrived.”? You come to a secluded place like this and indulge in
all these mischief. Why do you do so? That is their question. He says that
he does so to make them all related to Him by marriage. Hey see! It is not
only we who can be related to You by marriage that is here. There are others
like your aunts and their mothers. They say.

Look at the maternal indulgence referred to in, “Yesodha speaks not
upbraiding you, Leaving you to your pranks.”






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



--------------------------------------------------------------
           - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -
To Post a message, send it to:   bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com
Group Home: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhakti-list
Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/
 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/