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   Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                                    The Rope Trick
 

                         The toddler at home is now a year old. His mobility 
hitherto had been somewhat restricted due to his crawl, but now that he has 
learned to walk, albeit unsteadily, there is no stopping him. And with the 
additional mobility appears to have arrived mischievousness too. You are no 
more able to find things at their allotted places, breakages and spillages are 
on the increase due to the kid's constant activity and he keeps trying to get 
out into the wide world outside, rebelling against the confines of the home. If 
the main door is kept open for a second, he slips through with ease and is 
recaptured only after a long and anxious search. He doesn't allow his mother to 
cook in peace, picking up and throwing down various ingredients like salt, 
sugar etc. and insisting on sticking his finger into the fire. What do you do 
with such an endearing but infuriating brat? I have seen several mothers resort 
to tying up the toddler, with a length of rope that permits him a radius of 
movement but keeps him out of mischief's way. Bawl out he might, but he is set 
free only after the mother has finished her chores and is free to battle with 
his effervescence once more.

 

                       Where do you think the toddler learnt mischief? And 
where do you think the mother learnt the aforesaid way of keeping him out of 
monkey business?

                       There might be any number of tales of the Lord, for He 
has taken innumerable avatArAs, many times over. Each of His exploits is unique 
and endearing, conferring upon the listener/reader devotion and merit. However, 
the Krishnavatara remains the most popular, the one people generally identify 
with and are able to shower their love and affection upon. For, it is extremely 
difficult to love or be one with a fish, a boar, a lion or the Perfect Monarch 
who is fit only to be put on a pedestal and worshipped. The Krishnavatara, on 
the other hand, is all about a real, flesh and blood person who also appears to 
be so, who apparently has all the weaknessees and temptations that we ourselves 
had in childhood and whose exploits still enthrall us, millennia after they 
were enacted. Krishna is the neighbourhood boy with whom you can swap stories, 
have fun with, play truant from classes with, love and remonstrate with, in 
whose daredevil company you can steal neighbours' jealously-gurarded fruits 
with impunity and escape retribution by a hair's breadth. He is the one who can 
introduce you in full measure to the thrills of childhood, the minor pleasures 
forbidden by straightlaced parents. It is He who can tell you with precision 
which neighbour's tree is ripe with fruit, who has gone out of station, leaving 
his grounds open for boisterous play and so on.

 

       Among all the endearing exploits of the Krishna sisu, the one most 
eulogised and chronicled must indeed be the episode of His being tied up to the 
grindstone. Azhwars and Acharyas wax eloquent while recounting this tale, moved 
beyond measure by the thought of the Parabrahmam permitting itself to be bound 
hand and foot by a humble cowherdess. "etthiram uralinOdu iNaindu irundu Engiya 
eLivE!" marvels Sri Nammazhwar, painting a vivid picture of the tearful 
ParamAtmA tethered to the grindstone like cattle.

 

And why was the Lord tied to the stone? As was His wont, Emperuman had stolen 
all the milk, butter and curds that could possibly be stolen in a day, from all 
the households of Nandagokulam and consumed them all in the company of fellow 
urchins. Yasoda, who usually defended Her son vociferously against the constant 
litany of complaints that almost all the Gopis of Gokulam had against Her 
darling son, found herself silenced for once by the combined assault of the 
aggrieved YAdava damsels. Convinced at last of the truth in their complaints, 
Yasoda, in her desperation, decided to try out a novel punishment which she 
hoped would make Krishna cease and desist from His nefarious endeavours. She 
decided to restrict His movement, considering this to be perhaps the greatest  
penalty she could inflict on the brat, who loved to be on the move always, 
intent upon all types of mischief.

 

However, one aspect of the matter is indeed puzzling. Krishna was the darling 
of all the Gopis and had the run of their kitchens. He could have had all the 
milk and butter He desired, just for the asking. None in Gokulam could deny the 
boy his heart's desire, for everyone was well and truly mesmerised by His 
looks, conduct and exploits-"MAlE seyyum MaNALaNai" says Sri Kodai Nacchiar, 
attesting to the infatuation the Gopis had for the Lord. Thus, there was 
absolutely no need for Sri Krishna to steal anything from anyone. Whoever would 
take by stealth something that is available for the asking! 

 

Yet, if Sri Krishna did steal dairy products, it was only out of His desire to 
display the trump card with which He ensnares everyone, viz., His Soulabhyam 
and Souseelyam. It was out of a desire to subject Himself to the mock 
chastisement meted out by unlettered cowherdesses, whose hearts were full of 
love, affection and devotion for Him. It was indeed out of a desire to be 
tied-up hand and foot and even be beaten by these simple but loving souls-"Ayar 
kozhundAi avarAl pudayuNNum en MAya pirAn" enthuses Sri Nammazhwar, marvelling 
at the endless accessibility and Souseelyam of the mighty Parabrahmam, normally 
 beyond the grasp of the most powerful of men ("agrAhya:" says Sri Vishnu 
Sahasranamam), which consented to be immobilised by a mere rope wielded by a 
simple cowherdess. Finding such traits impossible of display in Paramapadam 
(where none would even dream of tying up the Lord, leave alone of beating Him), 
Emperuman decided to make the most of His sojourn on earth by indulging in all 
sort of horseplay, moving as one with cows and their masters. Tired of the 
constant paeons of praise showered upon Him by the nitya sooris of Sri 
Vaikuntam, the Lord made up His mind to listen to choice words of abuse, for a 
change-"VeNnai unNdAn ivan endru Esa nindra Emperuman". And tired of meting out 
punishment to all according to their misdeeds, He decided to undergo some of it 
Himself, for a change. It was all this that was behind the Lord's constant 
theiving expeditions-"Muhu: pravrittam navaneeta chouryE" says Swami Desikan in 
YadavAbhyudayam.

 

It was not as if the brat could be tied up at will. Many were the occasions 
when the infuriated Yasoda failed miserably to catch Him, even after chasing 
Him across half of Gokulam, sweat pouring from her brow and breasts heaving 
with the exertion of running after the spirited brat. "ThAi eduttha siru 
kOlukku uLaindu Odi" says Azhwar, recounting with glee the ease with which 
kutti Krishnan gave the slip to His mother, pursuing Him with a small stick, in 
the fond hope of spanking Him.

 

At His playful best, Sri Krishna would allow Himself at times to be caught by 
Yasoda and dragged back home, for being tied up to the grindstone. And when the 
victorious Yasoda tried to truss Him up, He would make it impossible for her to 
do so by cutting all the ropes at home into small pieces, in advance. As a 
result, Yasoda would search in vain for something to bind Him with and would 
have to release Him, admitting failure.  At other times, not to be defeated by 
His machinations, Yasoda would tie together various pieces of  rope and 
manufacture one long enough to go round Krishna's slender waist. However, 
Krishna would make Himself suddenly and incredibly fat, making the rope length 
extremely inadequate to tie Him with. 

 

Yasoda thus found it impossible to bind the brat, whatever strategy she 
adopted. And in desperation, as is the wont of simple women, she sat down to 
have a good cry. When Krishna saw tears streaming out of his mother's eyes, He 
couldn't bear the sight for even a second and contracted His waist, so that 
even the smallest of ropes could pass several times around His midriff. It was 
thus that Yasoda was able  tie Him up. Though several Azhwars recount this 
episode with relish, it was left to Sri Madhurakavi to reveal the secret that 
it was not Yasoda who tied the Lord up, but the Emperuman who permitted Himself 
to be bound by the smallest of ropes which would normally be inadequate to tie 
even a little hand-"kaNNi nuN siru thAmbinAl kattuNNa paNNiya peru MAyan". The 
Lord, whom the Upanishad credits with a mammoth figure, larger than the largest 
imaginable ("mahatO maheeyAn") made Himself smaller than the smallest, 
permitting His perspiring mother to tie Him up with ease, affording her victory 
which had eluded her for long.

 

Here is the beautiful sloka from YAdavAbhyudayam, with a bewitching pen- 
portrait of this endearing episode-

 

"Aneetam agrE nija bandanArttham dAmAkhilam samhitamapi apoorNam

 vilOkya nirviNna dhiyO jananyA: sankOcha shaktyA sa babhoova badhya:"

 

The last two words, "babhoova badhya:", are an almost verbatim translation of 
"kattuNNa paNNiya". Rather than giving Yasoda the credit for tying Him up, 
Swami Desikan highlights His soulabhyam, with the indication that He permitted 
Himself to be tied-up.

 

It is from this episode that Emperuman derived the tirunAmam "DAmOdara:" and it 
is said that the Lord wears with relish the marks of the rope which passed 
around His midriff, as indelible evidence of His Bhakta parAdheenatvam. The 
irrepressible Parabrahmam could be tied and trussed up like a hen, because the 
bonds were made not out of mere cord, but of the stronger-than-steel strings of 
love and devotion. Sri Nammazhwar has a special fascination for DAmOdaran and 
calls Him the Primordial Cause-"DAmOdaranai tani mudalvanai". Azhwar marvels at 
the size of the rope that must have been required to tie up the Lord's belly, 
swollen with accomodating all the worlds-"DAmOdaranai tani mudalvanai gyAlam 
uNdavanai". And yet because the rope was fashioned out of pure maternal love, 
despite being very small ("nuN thAmbu"), it acquired the required degree of 
elasticity to go round His monstrous midriff.

 

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

Dasan, sadagopan

 

  

  

s 

   



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



 

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