Premika Bhavanam, Chennai
25.12.2000 - Monday

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Sri Swamigal has been rendering ‘Upanyãs’ (discourses), in Tamizh, in Premika Bhavanam. This is being brought to you here.

There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãs’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamigal.

Sri Swamigal,

" Next song is

‘Katrruk karavaik kanangal palakarandhu
Chetrrãr tiralazhiyach chenru cheruccheyyum
Kutrramon rillãda koovalartham porkodiye!
Putrrara valkul punamayile! Podarãi,
Sutrrattuth thozhima rellãrum vandunin
Mutrram pugundu mukilvannan perpãda,
Sitrrãdhe pesãdhe selvappen dãtinee
Etrruk kurangum porulelo rembãvai.’

Click here for Thiruppãvai (11) in Tamil

‘Katrruk karavaik kanangal palakarandhu’ - All are young calves. But they are milking well! How can calves give milk? Here the Swami says, ‘ All of them are cows and not calves. Due to Krishna’s touch they have remained young! And so they appear to be calves!’ He has touched them. Krishna’s touch has kept them young! When Swami speaks about it his mind roams around all similar episodes. This is how a Mahãtma’s heart is. He recalls the episode in Ramayana wherein Dasaratha explains to Kaikeyi (Dasaratha’s wife) why Rama should not be sent to the forest but be retained in the palace. ‘A wife desires her husband to be young looking. When Rama comes in to see me my heart blooms seeing his beauty and charm and as he walks out then, too, I enjoy his beauty and this joy reduces my age considerably and I look young! So, Kaikeyi! Would you not be happy to see me young? So, it is only right to retain him here in Ayodhya!’ ‘So, if Dasaratha could turn young seeing Rama can’t the cows remain young with the touch of Krishna?’ questions the Swamy.
Then again ‘if Ahalya could be cleansed off the curse on her with the touch of Rama’s Lotus Feet can’t the cows in Vrindãvan remain young with the touch of Krishna?’
‘If the dried up trees sprouted with the sound of the ‘venu’ (flute) of Krishna then can’t the cows remain young with the touch of Krishna?’
‘If the smell of sandal could arise from the burning body of the slayed ‘putana’ (a demoness who was sent by Kamsa to kill baby Krishna) then can’t the cows of Vrindãvan remain young with Krishna’s touch?’
‘Katrru karavai kanangal pala karandu’ - Thus the thought of the ‘Vyãkyãna Chakravarthi’ has proceeded! Likewise we cannot count the number of cows here in this Gokulam.

Vrindãvan was filled with cows. It had a very big herd. Even Krishna does not know how many cows there were in there. The term ‘Gokulam’ refers to the place where the herds are taken care of. Though in the broad sense Gokulam refers to Vrindãvan, it was in reality a place reserved in every kingdom for the upkeep of the herds. The cowherds lived in Gokulam taking care of the herds. They had their own leader. Like ‘agraharam’ in a village, where the Brahmins lived. A Siva temple at one end and a Vishnu temple at the other with houses in between is called an ‘agrahãram’. This is the sort of atmosphere that prevailed in villages. It is with the temple that a village/town is judged.

Mahãtmas have divine vision (‘divya drishti’) and when they visit a place they are able to recognise the particular God whose ‘sãnnidhya’ (presence) prevails there. And they also know the past, present and the future of that place. A Mahãtma realized the Presence of Lord Vishnu in a place. In his ‘dhyãna’ (meditation) he saw ‘Uppiliyappan’ marry ‘Bhoomi’ thãyãr. The Mahãtma saw ‘Bhoomi Pirãtti’(consort of Lord Uppiliyappan) and (her father) Mãrkandeya Maharashi. So, Uppiliyappan temple was established here for the ordinary people to enjoy. Here, the people enjoy the Lord in ‘arcchãvatãr’. Four streets run around the temple and there are twelve ‘cherigal’ (dwellings). ‘Agrahãram’ is only a general term.

Similarly, Gokulam is a general term. The place was usually a fertile land on the banks of a river, with a mountain nearby so as to facilitate grazing. Such places were called ‘Gokulam’. Yadavas lived there. All kingdoms had a Gokulam. Even in Mahabharata, ‘Virãda parvã’ contains a description of Arjuna’s life in hiding in a Gokulam. It was at this time that Bhishma and Dronachãriya wage a war against the Prince of this Gokulam.

There were innumerable cows in the Gokulams with a local prince. So, here, too, in this Gokulam of Krishna there is a big herd of cows. And these cows that seem like calves give milk. And the milk is offered to Bhagavãn.

I narrated the incident in ‘Koorathãzhwãr’s’ life when he throws away all his wealth and proceeds to Kancheepuram saddened that Goddess Mahalakshmi referred to his wealth than his devotion to his Lord and Guru Sri Ramanuja. Koorathãzhwãr calls his wife, “We will not hold these properties anymore. It is this wealth of mine that seems to be bigger than my devotion to my Ãcchhãrya. So, let us throw it all away and go to my Guru.” His wife’s name was Ãndãl. Throwing away his wealth, Koorathãzhwãr first goes to Kanchi and then to Sri Rangam. While travelling by foot, Koorathãzhwãr finds his wife holding on to something. He questions her and finds out that it is a golden measure! He snatches it from her and throws it away! They both then proceed to Sri Rangam and take ‘Unchavriti’ (beg for food) there. He is in dire poverty but the physical closeness of the ‘Ãcchãrya’ (Guru) and his affection keeps him very happy. Nothing else matters to him.

The couple is childless and the wife yearns for a child. So she requests the husband to seek his Guru’s blessings to this end. But he scoffs at her, “My Guru is a ‘kalpaka vriksha’ (the divine tree of bounty) and if I ask Him for this kind of a blessing it is akin to seeking a loin cloth from him! So, I will not seek such a blessing from Him”. One day the couple went without food, as there was not a single grain at home. At night, when the wife was massaging his feet she heard the loud sound of the Temple Bell announcing the ‘aravanai pãyasam sevai’ - Offering of sweetened milk pudding to Lord Ranganatha. They were poverty stricken but Koorathãzhwãr did not mind about this state. He was totally indifferent to it. On hearing the Temple bell, the grief-stricken wife thought, “My husband is lying here without food. But Bhagavãn is having ‘pãyasam’! Is this justified?” There in the Temple Bhagavãn, through one of the priests, instructed that the Pãyasam be taken to Koorathãzhwãr. The latter was surprised on receiving it and when Ãndãl confessed the thoughts that had crossed her mind, he was very angry with her. “Is this not an insult to Bhagavãn? You may take this. I will not have this ‘pãyasam’.” She drank the ‘pãyasam’ and subsequently gave birth to two sons. One was called Parãsara Bhattar and the other Veda Vyasa Bhattar.

Parãsara Bhattar entertained a child’s attitude towards Bhagavãn. That He (the Lord) was his mother and father. At this time there was a big scholar called ‘sãrva bhowma’. He challenged Sri Ramanuja for a debate. Parãsara Bhattar who was only five years of age then, did not like Sri Ramanuja being challenged. So the child went up to this scholar and called him for a debate. The proud scholar agreed and gave the child the benefit of posing the question first. The child held a handful of sand and asked him, “Please, tell me how much sand is being held in my hand?” The scholar could not reply and the child said, “A handful!” The defeated scholar felt ashamed and quit the place.

‘Chenru cherrucheyyum’ - the Yadava prince goes for wars. So he has a lance (‘vel’) in his hand - ‘Nin Kaiyil vel potrri.’ Why is Krishna holding a lance? To protect the cows from the wild animals. And also to protect His people from other enemies. So, Bhagavãn, at first, as a child killed those enemies who came to Him but later he searched out for them and killed them. He is powerful (‘parãkramasãli’).
‘Kutrramonrilãda kovalartam porkodiye!’ - Why hit the enemies? Why did he use violence to destroy enemies? Only through ‘himsa’ (violence) can ‘ahimsa’ (non-violence) be established. Dharma is very subtle. Destroying enemies is ‘Raja neeti’ (The rule governing the Kingdom). But there are rules/regulations ('dharma') even in waging wars. A woman should not be killed, one who is weaponless should not be attacked, the battle should not be waged after Sun set and one who runs away from the battlefield should not be attacked. These are the ‘dharma’ of a war.
‘Porkodiye!
Putrrara valkul punamayile! Podharãi’ A snake will not move about much. This is because the heat of the earth will remove the shine off its body. It will lose its shine (‘polivu’). The snake that stays in its hole is full of shine. ‘Punamayile’ - A peacock is healthy only in its own home (‘swadesa’). There is 'dharma' even for birds. If you keep a peacock in a cage it will live but will not be happy. It will not show any joy in living. Only in its own place will it be happy. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa speaks of many birds. How does he know all these? In Kamba Ramayana, Kambar speaks of the peacock. He says that the peacock lays several eggs. The first is the ‘annã’ (elder brother) and the next one ‘tambi’ (younger brother). Only when the elder peacock spreads its wings (on seeing the rain bearing clouds) will the younger ones in the order of their seniority of birth open out their wings! Vedanta Desikan says that when a snake eats rats nothing happens to them but they die if they eat a mouse (‘moonjur’)! How do these Mahãtmas know about the habits of animals and birds? The peacock likes to stay in its own place, a snake in its hole. It is quite interesting to note these. Peacock is happy to see the rain bearing clouds. The snake’s skin is very soft. If it happens to move on a hot surface the skin gets burnt up. When the stones deep inside a well are removed you will find snakes there. It is because of the chillness of the stone that the snakes stay there. The snake’s hole is very chill, as if air-conditioned. These two are happy in their places of dwelling.
‘Putrara valgum punamayile! Podãrãi’ - ‘Oh! Friend! Who is like the snake in its hole! One who is as beautiful as the peacock that wanders about in the forest! Come out! Why are you delaying? Why are you not joining us?
‘Sutrratut tozhimãrellãrum’ - ‘All our friends are here. All of us have been calling out to you since long. But you have not responded’.
‘Vandunin mutrram pugundu mukilvannan perpãda,’ - We know what can draw you out. It is Nãma Sankirtan (the names of the Lord).
‘Mukilvannan perpãda’ - singing the Names of the Lord.
‘Mutrram pugudu’ - now the friends have moved in a little. The door is slightly open. Even now there is no movement.
‘Sitrrãde, pesãde, selvappenn dãtinee
Etrruk kurangum porulelo rembãvai.’ - We are unable to scold or curse you because you are our loving friend. There is some strong reason for your sleep. Has Krishna promised to take you out all alone? Is there any such plan between you two? Are you waiting for us to move away? Do you fear that we will see Krishna if we remain here? The day has dawned and you have not yet woken up. Is this the reason? Why don’t you tell us the reason? How is it that you are sleeping without the slightest movement and response to all our cries? What does this mean?” "

"GOPIKÃ JEEVANASMARANAM
GOVINDA! GOVINDA!"

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NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.

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