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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Fun with a Pun

 

All of us envy poets. They are facile communicators, often converting prosaic 
matters into exciting ones. What the rest of us say in pages of verbose prose, 
these gifted poets manage to convey in a few well-chosen words. On the other 
hand, the simplest and shortest of tales is often spun out by them into works 
of epic proportions, adding to the enjoyment and entertainment of readers. 
Exaggeration, embellishment, flowery styles, ornamentation-all these are poets' 
own strategies, which endear them to connoisseurs of literature.

 

If these are the accomplishments of even mundane poets, need we say anything 
about the distinction of divine bards? Sri Valmiki, the venerated Azhwars, 
Acharyas from Sri Alavandar to Swami Desikan and Sri Manavala Mamunigal, have 
all resorted to poetry to portray their devotion and to enlighten ignorant 
mortals. What sounds good in prose sounds even better and appealing in poetry, 
as any litterateur would attest. 

 

While poets employ numerous creative strategies to capture the heart of the 
reader, the one adopted by Sri Venkataadhvari Kavi of Arasaanipaalai, is indeed 
interesting. He creates two fictitious characters in his "Visva Gunaadarsa 
Champoo", two Gandharvaas by name Krisaanu and Visvaavasu. These celestials 
travel in the skies, commenting upon various places and people of interest they 
observe on different parts of earth. Krisaanu is a die-hard cynic, finding only 
black spots in whatever and whomever he sees, while Visvaavasu sees only the 
positive side of things. Together, the pair serves to bring out various facts 
about people and places, with Krisaanu listing out their shortcomings and 
Visvaavasu their plus points. The tirades of Krisaanu the disparager, often 
serve to emphasize the good things in men and matters.

 

Let us enjoy what the pair has to say about Sri Krishna, while the Gandharvas' 
flight takes them over Mathura.

 

Speaking of the Yamuna, Visvaavasu pays obeisance, to the river which has been 
sanctified by the embrace of Sri Krishna ("tooya peru neer Yamunai turaivan"), 
to the Gopis inhabiting the sand dunes of the river, waiting patiently for 
Krishna to come and hold them in His strong arms, and to Sri Krishna Himself, 
who is the object of these Gopis' undying adoration. 

 

Intervening, the detractor Krisaanu tells Visvaavasu to halt his praise of 
Krishna, who is at best a terrible thief and cheat, a Casanova trifling with 
the affections of Gopis. To illustrate Krishna's duplicity, Krisaanu quotes two 
instances, where He took advantage of word play, to do exactly the opposite of 
what He was told to do. 

 

 Sri Krishna has the habit of barging into other people's homes, appropriating 
for His own use the pots of butter, milk and curds gathered by Gopis with 
considerable strain and labour. Adding insult to injury, He not only consumes 
all these delicacies, but also bangs down the empty pots with considerable 
force, shattering them to pieces. His raids are not only nocturnal, but carried 
out brazenly in broad daylight too, when the inhabitants of the selected house 
are away or asleep. And the damage caused is substantial, as the brat always 
moves about in gangs, of which the other unholy members too have no less an 
appetite for butter and curds. To avoid the little monster from accessing dairy 
products, clever Gopis fashion slings and suspend the pots of butter and curds 
from the ceiling, far beyond the reach of the short Krishna. However, this 
hardly stops the ingenious infant, who fashions a human ladder to climb and 
reach the pot. He puts His beautiful hand inside the vessel, scoops out a 
handful of butter and stuffs it into His pearly mouth. 

 

The long-suffering Gopi, who is the day's victim, returns much before 
anticipated and catches Krishna and His accomplices red-handed. She marches 
Krishna to His mother, with tell-tale smears of butter very much in evidence on 
all parts of His black tirumeni, making it impossible for the devious brat to 
deny His crime.

 

The pained Yasoda asks Krishna, "Have I not told you not to pilfer dairy 
products from others' houses? If I have told you once, I have told you a 
hundred times-"Maa navaneetam luntee:" ("Maa"-Don't,  Navaneetam-Butter, 
"luntee"-steal----Don't steal butter). The wily Krishna says, "Mother! I did 
exactly as you said". The astounded Yasoda scolds her brat, "What do you mean? 
I told you not to steal butter and You have done exactly the opposite. On top 
of it, you have the temerity to tell me that you have done what I said!". 
Krishna reiterates, "Indeed, I did exactly as I was told, Mother. You said, 
"Maanava neetam luntee:" ("Maanava neetam"-that obtained by humans, 
"luntee:"-steal). Thus, it was you who told me to steal that which was obtained 
by Gopis and I did exactly that!". 

 

Thus, by splitting and realigning the words in Yasoda's dictum, "Maa navaneetam 
luntee:", representing an injuction not to steal butter, Krishna turned the 
sentence into "Maanava neetam luntee:", which He conveniently interpreted as an 
approval for pilfering dairy products.

 

"It is such wily one that you want to adore!" says Krisaanu, highlighting 
Krishna's dexterity at wordplay. The detractor goes on to quote another 
instance of Krishna's play with words, to extricate Himself from an extremely 
inconvenient situation. 

 

Yasoda has warned Krishna to be home by sunset and not to overstay. She has 
told Him to rid Himself of all mischief and misdemeanour, to turn over a new 
leaf and to be a good boy with whom none can find fault-"Maa bhoot 
aparaadhika:" ("Maa-Don't, "Bhoot"-become, "aparaadhika:"-culprit). However, 
the very next day after delivering this homily, she finds Krishna missing all 
night and returning only the next morning. When an inquiry is held, Krishna 
again protests that He was only carrying out orders-"I did exactly as I was 
told, Mother!". Yasoda can never get used to her brat's wiles, despite being 
constantly exposed to them. She asks patiently, "Did I not tell you to eschew 
all mischief? Then why do I find you at it again?" Krishna reiterates, "Mother! 
You told me to be with Raadha always. I hence spent the whole of yesterday with 
her, at her home, as you told me to. Did you not tell me, "Maa (don't) bhoot 
(be) apa (without) Raadhika: (Raadha)?". Since you told me never to part 
company with Radha, that is what I did, and now you are blaming me for adhering 
to your word!". 

 

The word "aparaadhika:" was cleverly split by Krishna into "apa" and 
"Raadhika:", giving Him carte blanche to stay with Radha.

 

Replying, the good Visvaavasu tells Krisaanu, "Stop villifying the glorious 
Paramaatma, who is the personification of sanctity, righteousness and all 
auspicousness. It is He who has come down to earth and moves among mortals, for 
washing away their baggage of sin. It is He who confers on His devotees 
happiness and all that is good for them, and ultiamately ensures their 
emancipation. You may call Him a thief-but what He steals is our sin, ridding 
us of our accumulated misdeeds of innumerable births".

 

The dialogue between the two Gandharvas concludes with a glowing tribute to Sri 
Krishna-

 

"Kamsam dhvamsayate, Muram tirayate, hamsam tathaa himsate

 Baanam ksheenayate, bakam laghayate, Poundram param lumpate

Bhoumam kshaamayate, balaat balabhido darpam paraakurvate

Klishtam sishta ganam pranamram avate, Krishnaaya tubhyam nama:"

 

"O Krishna! You destroyed the wicked Kamsa, slayed the terrible Mura, killed 
the Hamsa asura, slaughtered Baanaasura, vanquished Poundraka Vasudeva (who 
claimed himself to be the true Paramatma, sporting a conch and discus), killed 
Narakaasura and cured Indra of his pride and arrogance. And it is You who 
afford protection to all those who surrender to you heart and soul. We bow our 
heads in obeisance to You."

 

No poet considers his words worthwhile, unless he sings the glorious praises of 
Sri Krishna. 

 

Sri Venkataadhvari Kavi was an exceptionally talented poet, who could make 
words dance to his tunes. Apart from the "Visva Gunaadarsa Champoo", he has 
authored another remarkable work, "Sri Raaghava Yaadaveeyam", in which each 
sloka sings the praise of not only Sri Rama, but Sri Krishna too. The 
uniqueness of this work is that each verse, when read straight, relates the 
story of Sri Rama, while a reversal of the couplet portrays the glories of Sri 
Krishna.  Here is the first sloka, for a sample-

 

"Vandeham Devam tam Sreetam rantaaram kaalam bhaasaa ya:

  Raamo Raamaadhee: aapyaaga: leelaam aara Ayodhye vaase"

 

Read straight, this sloka pays tribute to Sri Rama, who, with His heart pining 
for Sri Mythily, travelled across the Sahyaadri Hills, returned victorious to 
Ayodhya after slaying Ravana and delighted for long thereafter in the company 
of His Consort.

 

If you read the sloka in reverse, that is, beginning with the last word of the 
second line of the verse and going on to the first, it reads as follows-

 

"Sevaa dhyeya: raamaa laalee gopyaaraadhee maaraamoraa:

 Ya: saabhaalankaaram taaram tam sreentam vande aham Devam"

 

Read in the reverse, this verse says, "I bow down to Sri Krishna, whose broad 
chest is the home of Sri Mahalakshmi, who is to be contemplated through penance 
and sacrifice, who delights in the company of Sri Rugmini and other Consorts, 
who is the object of adoration for Gopis, and who is adorned with brilliant and 
lustrous ornaments."

 

What a beautiful and unique compostion! The 30 slokas of this work "Raaghava 
Yaadaveeyam" double as 60 if we take the reverse readings into account and 
provide a magnificent portrayal of two avataara purushas simultaneouly. 
Admittedly, there have been earlier works too, simultaneouly dealing with the 
praises of two heroes, but they mostly employ the double entendre ("slesham") 
to achieve their objective. Sri Venkataadhavari's work is perhaps the only one 
using the "Anulomam" and "Pratilomam" method (straight and reverse readings) to 
narrate the stories of two different divine personalities. The poet's 
comprehensive mastery over words, grammar and metre are evident in each and 
every verse of the beautiful work. 

 

The difference between secular poetry and the devotional, is the latter's 
ability to melt hearts and move even the most hard-hearted of men. The 
aforesaid verses are but a small sample of the exceptionally uplifting 
literature that is available in all languages, which has acquired the same sort 
of immortality as its subject. Irrespective of what standards men may adopt for 
defining literature, only that which deals with the Lord can ever qualify for 
the name and stand the test of time-for, He is the only one worthy of 
adulation-"Stavya:"-as the Vishnu Sahasranamam says.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

 

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