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kannapiraan perra vennaik kalvi-7

From the Bhakti List Archives

L&T-ECCG-Buildings & Factories • January 24, 2000 


Dear Srivaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

Before we really take up the next topic, continueing with more references on
the navaneetha nruthyam-

Ya Esha lOkathrayasoothraDhaara: paryaayapaathraaNi charaacharaaNi/
Anarthayath adhbhutha chEshtithOsou nanartha khElam navaneetha kaankshee//
4-27 yadhavaabhyudhayam of Swami desikan

meaning: Sri krishna danced beautifully in front of his mother yasOdhaa- in
turn he wanted butter as pay for his dance -[navaneetha kaankshee- person
desirous of butter- says swami desikan]. 
*	One who is the base [aadhaaram] for creation sustenance and
destruction of all the three worlds,  
*	One  who is best manipulator for all living beings like plants
animals and what not [charaacharaaNi]
*	One who carries out amazing deeds 
that person upon danced beautifully in front of the mother asking for butter
in turn for the dance he did.

"VadhanE navaneetha gandhavaaham
VachanE thaskara chaathuree DhureeNam!
NayanE kuhanaasru maasrayEthhas 
charanE kOmala thaaNdavam kumaaram!!- 2.15 says "leela sukhar" the great
krishna bhaktha.

Meaning: Hey folks- prey to the young boy Sri krishna who
*	has the smell of butter in his face, 
*	the cleverness of a thief in his words, 
*	false tears in his eyes, 
*	beautiful dance in the feet-

The face has butter smell (veNNai aLaintha kuNungu), hands hold butter and
in the legs beautiful dance- "navaneetha naatyam'.

We saw in earlier posts, kaNNan learning not only veNNaik kalvi but also
music and dancing, as part of his veNNaik kalvi. kaNNapiraan also learnt
kaLavu (stealing) as part of his veNNaik kalvi. 

Of course, kaLavu- stealing- is also a kalai and in the list of "aaya
kalaigaL 64"- the 64 types of arts. One has to learn stealing also to be a
complete "gnaanavaan"- "wizard". "KaLavum kaRRu maRa"- (learn stealing also
and forget) is the famous tamil proverb. So kaNNapiraan learnt this as kalvi
and that too at a very young age. 

I also get a doubt that, this veNNaik kalvi is really "kalvi or veNNaik
kaLavu". Is it part of his kalvi or kalviye kaLavukkagavaa? (Is getting
butter education for butter stealing). Of course kaNNan's stealing butter is
a fine subject- kalvi for us. Kannan's stealing of butter is enjoyed by all
bhakthaas without exception. 

One bhaktha went a step ahead to say "when we read his kalavu our "kalaviyal
paavangal tholaiyum"- our sins due to stealing get removed by reading his
butter stealing episode.

See his slokam-
SthEyam harEr harathi navaneethachouryam
Jaarathvam asya guru thalpa krutha aparaaDham!
Hathyaam dhasaanana hathir madhu paana dhosham
Yath poothanaa sthanapaya: sa punaathu krushna:!!- 3.90 leela sukar

Meaning: For those 
*	who think of krishna's baala leelai of stealing butter, this
thinking itself removes the very idea of stealing and destroys all sins of
stealing other's properties. 
*	Who think of krishna's love making with gopees remove the sins of
committing adultery with guru's wife.
*	Who think of raama killing raavaNa are relieved of sins of
committing murder
*	Who think of krishna's drinking puthana's breast milk remove sins of
alcoholism.

[Note: Of course these words are not be taken as "first one can carry out
all these acts, then by thinking on krishna and raama, all their sins will
be removed". For sins committed wantonly and knowingly, the quantum of
paapam gets multiplied in geometric proportions. So the above verse is to be
taken that for offences committed not knowingly, salvation from these sins
will be given by reading and hearing about the lord's acts as listed].

Let us read in detail "krishna's veNNaik kaLavu" so that our sins committed
unknowingly are also removed.  

In the slokam quoted above 2-15 of leela sukhar, there is a reference for
krishna having the cleverness of a thief in his words. The proof is also
given by same bhaktha - see the conversation, taking place between a gopee
and krishna 

Kasthvam baala balaanuja: kimiha thE manmandhira aasankayaa
Yuktham than navaneetha paathar vivarE hastham kimarththam nyasE:!
Maatha: kanchan vathsakam mrugayithum maa gaa vishaadham kshaNaa DhithyEvam
varavallavee prathivacha: krishnasya pushNaathu na:!! 
2.81- leela sukhar. 

Meaning: Gopi- "hey child, who are you?
Krishna- Maa, I am Balaraaman's younger brother.
Gopi- what do you want here?
Krishna- I came here wrongly thinking this is my house.
Gopi- That is OK, but why do you put your hand in the butter pot?
Krishna- Oh mother, I missed one calf somewhere. I am looking for that calf.
I thought it may be there in the butter pot. Do not get worried in a second
for this.

Leela sukhar concludes saying that let such a krishna save us. Krishna
wanted to steal butter from the pot but caught red handed. But he
instantaneously answers that he is looking for a calf in butter pot to the
gopee who held him by his hand. 
Is this not ample proof of krishna's vaak chaathuryam. - kavi's chathuryam
of enjoying every bit of krishna.

See the cleverness of child krishna in seeking help from the jewels he is
wearing. Even jewels have to respond positively to his request. Read Swami
DEsikan says in his yadhavaabhyudhayam

thrasyan mukundhO navaneethachouryaath niBhugnagaathrO niBhrutham sayaana:/
nijaani ni:sabdhadhasaam yayaachE badhDhvaanjalim baalaviBhushaNaani// 4-29 

meaning: The lord Sri krishna, who bestows mOksham wealth etc, on his
subjects (like us) requested the jewels, he was wearing, not to make sound
and expose him. He, after stealing butter and eating it, feared if gopees
come to know of loss of butter, they would beat him. So, he laid himself on
the floor with his face down folding his legs and hands, so that he could
not be identified easily.

Comment: See the cleverness of the child krishna. Is it so easy- can he be
not identified by his megha vaNNam which differentiates him easily from
other boys? this is absolutely "poi vesham" and Swami enjoys sri krishna for
his poi vEsham.- in gopaala vimsathi swami says "maaya manusha vesha".

Now see a reference from Silappadhikaaram - madurai kaaNdam- titled
aaichchiyar kuravai- 
ARuporuL ivan enRE amarark kaNam thozhudEththa
Urupasi onRinRiyE ulagu adaiya undanaiyE
UNdavaai kaLavinaal uRi veNNei uNda vaai
VaNduzhaai maalaiyaai maayamO! marutkaiththE!

Meaning: "Hey Sri krishnaa, you are the fullest, complete, first and
foremost in all respects among all", thus praised the dEvaa folk. "You, with
no hunger to quell, ate the entire galaxy, (world or cosmos?). The mouth of
you is same, which swallowed the galaxy, and also which ate the stolen
butter from the rope hanger (uri). O krishnaa you, who wears the tulasi
garlands which attract bees, what a wonder, and your deeds are quite
surprising.

See how a jain "IlankovadigaL" enjoys in writing about krishna- may be he
has inserted this not from bhakthi angle, but as a sort of folklore being
enacted by a troupe on its way to madurai, when the heroine is finding the
omen little inconvenient- apasakunam. But the fact that it is appearing as
part of this kaavyam is really amazing- for a krishna bhakthaa references on
krishna from any source are OK.

See another contemporary krishna baktha "uri Enthiya thiraL veNNaiyai
thirudum siru viralaal giri Endiya Hari Madhava" -Periasamy Thooran -a tamil
laureate sings in the very famous song "muraleedhara gopaala" in the raaga
"maund"- soulfully sung by Dr. MLV.

Meaning: Oh hari, oh madhavaa- with your little sized fingers you carried
the mountain govardhana giri -these little fingers are the same -siru
viralgal- which stole the butter held in the rope carrier (uri) also. Small
sized fingers do very big works with ease and finesse. That is krishna.

Note: Since the post has become long and there are more references on this
butter stealing we will continue to dwell on this topic in next part also.

Dasan Vasudevan M.G.