that rogue krishna

That rogue Krishna.

                There is a very interesting story about the nineteenth ashtapadi  in Jayadeva's   Geetha Govindam

                       It is in the tenth Sargam, Chathura Chathrubhujam.  The Ashtapadi starts with "Vadasi yadhi kinchidapai .."

                      The devotee poet Jayadeva was spending the morning visualizing the amorous deeds of his Master for ever, Krishna.  He has reached a stage in the lyric where the crafty Krishna has managed to mollify Radha's   love laden anger towards him  after somehow persuading her to come to his presence along with her Sakhi.  The girl (Radha) is excited,  full of love for the black scoundrel but is indeed displeased with him for his amorous forays with other girls.  The fellow with the glib tongue capable of controlling the entire world with Geetha, finds it indeed very difficult to capture back the endearing mood of Radha.

                        Jayadeva is observing the conversation in the screen of his mind. The master lover Krishna  is pleading with his dearest love, ' Radha please abandon your anger which has originated out of some misunderstanding(?),  please give me a smile to make cool my heart which is being burned by Kamadeva.  If you want to give vent to your anger you attack me with your teeth or nails, you  cause any physical injury to me but do put an end to this anger." 
                   Ultimately  it flashes to Jayadeva that his master and the rogue, Krishna  is suggesting  to his lady  love that she should place  her  beautiful leg which are so beautiful and capable of curing him of the poison inflicted by cupid,  on his head  as if it  is an ornament.( What a rogue! he is ready even to be kicked on the head by Radha to gain her favours..terrible fellow..it will be difficult to see a person like this in  any literature of the world). 

                        Yes, such words flashed in the mind of Jayadeva   but his pen will not move.  How can he write such a thing about his darling Krishna. For Jayadeva everything else in the world, be it Radha, or himself or anything else  is  only subservient to Krishna.  How can he digest the idea of a puny  cowherd girl place her legs on the head of His master.  He stopped his writing.  He raked his brain  again again  to compose another padam(phrase)  to substitute this.  But even after many attempts he simply failed to go ahead.

                           An idea struck  him.  His head would become more clear if had had a bath  and calling  his wife Padmavathi to keep the  palmleaves  and the  pen aside, he went for a bath. 

                             How could Jayadeva guess that the crafty fellow with four hands ( the world cannot suffer him even with two hands)  was just waiting outside the house and was watching the scene.  The sweet sorcerer  just waited till Jayadeva was away safely  near a stream taking his bath.  He entered the house  in exact disguise of Jayadeva.  The  amazed wife Padmavathi  asked why he had  returned without taking bath ( the fellow is such a consummate actor that even the wife of Jayadeva  could not divine the disguise).  He explained to her that he had forgotten to put in words some flash ideas  which he could not wait till he finished his bath.  He called for the Ashtapadi Script and coolly wrote

'Smara garala ghantanam mama sirasi mandanam dehi padha pallavamudhaaram,

Jwalathi mama daaruno madhanakadhanaanalo harathu tadupaahitha vikaaram,

 Priye  charuseeley…

                           After finishing writing this,  the false Jayadeva said,  I have applied oil on my head now for a long time and a few drops have trickled down to my eye-lashes.  Show the tip of your dress, I want to wipe the  oil away.               
Padmavathi obliged lovingly and the impersonator leaves.

                                 In due course, the poet Jayadeva came back from the bath and saw the palm-leaves and pen all spread out  and to his utter dismay he saw the words which he had avoided recording for a thousand times were neatly  penned   in his manuscript.  He was enraged.  He demanded Padmavathi how this had happened.  She recalled his sudden  return from bath  and the  hurried scribbling and quick departure again for bath.  To indicate his  temporary return and departure, she showed him the spot on her dress where he had wiped his eyes  off to clear the dripping oil.  What they saw there was not  marks of oil drops but the beautiful mark of the Divine eye of Krishna. 

                      Jayadeva was overwhelmed with remorse.  He was  serving the  vagrant rogue Krishna all the time in his life but it was given to Padmavathi  to have a darshan and conversation with the eternal Parabrahmam.

                    And the  verse penned by the rogue Himself is retained in the Ashtapadi.  Krishna  has really offered to be kicked by Radha  for his adulterous behavior  and he really got it recorded. 

What an impossible rogue he is…  But can any of us help it?  We will go on loving him.

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/