VISHNU PURAN BOOK. V. CHAP. XI.XI.XII

 

VISHNU PURAN BOOK. V. CHAP. XI.XI.XII

 

Indra, offended by the loss of his offerings, causes heavy rain to deluge Gokula. Krishna holds up the mountain Govarddhana to shelter the cowherds and their cattle.

 

INDRA, being thus disappointed of his offerings, was exceedingly angry, and thus addressed a cohort of his attendant clouds, called Samvarttaka: "Ho, clouds," he said, "hear my words, and without delay execute what I command. The insensate cowherd Nanda, assisted by his fellows, has withheld the usual offerings to us, relying upon the protection of Krishna. Now, therefore, afflict the cattle, that are their sustenance, and whence their occupation is derived, with rain and wind. Mounted upon my elephant, as vast as a mountain peak, I will give you aid in strengthening the tempest." When Indra ceased, the clouds, obedient to his commands, came down, in a fearful storm of rain and wind, to destroy the cattle. In an instant the earth, the points of the horizon, and the sky, were all blended into one by the heavy and incessant shower. The clouds roared aloud, as if in terror of the lightning's scourge, and poured down uninterrupted torrents. The whole earth was enveloped in impenetrable darkness by the thick and volumed clouds; and above, below, and on every side, the world was water. The cattle, pelted by the storm, shrunk cowering into the smallest size, or gave up their breath: some covered their calves with their flanks, and some beheld their young ones carried away by the flood. The calves, trembling in the wind, looked piteously at their mothers, or implored in low moans, as it were, the succour of Krishna. Hari, beholding all Gokula agitated with alarm, cowherds, cowherdesses, and cattle all in a state of consternation, thus reflected: "This is the work of Mahendra, in resentment of the prevention of his sacrifice, and it is incumbent on me to defend this station of herdsmen. I will lift up this spacious mountain from its stony base, and hold it up, as a large umbrella, over the cow-pens." Having thus determined, Krishna immediately plucked up the mountain Govarddhana, and held it aloft with one hand in sport, saying to the herdsmen, "Lo the mountain is on high; enter beneath it quickly, and it will shelter you from the storm: here you will be secure and at your ease in places defended from the wind: enter without delay, and fear not that the mountain will fall." Upon this, all the people, with their herds, and their waggons and goods, and the Gopis, distressed by the rain, repaired to the shelter of the mountain, which Krishna held steadily over their heads; and Krishna, as he supported the mountain, was contemplated by the dwellers of Vraja with joy and wonder; and, as their eyes opened wide with astonishment and pleasure, the Gopas and Gopis sang his praise. For seven days and nights did the vast clouds sent by Indra rain upon the Gokula of Nanda to destroy its inhabitants, but they were protected by the elevation of the mountain; and the slayer of Bala, Indra, being foiled in his purpose, commanded the clouds to cease. The threats of Indra having been fruitless, and the heavens clear, all Gokula came forth from its shelter, and returned to its own abode. Then Krishna, in the sight of the surprised inhabitants of the forests, restored the great mountain Govarddhana to its original site [*1].

 

Footnotes

 

^527:1 It seems not unlikely that this legend has some reference to the caves or cavern temples in various parts of India. A remarkable representation of it occurs upon the sculptured rocks of Mahabalipur. It is related much to the same purport in the Bhagavata, &c. S'is'upala, ridiculing the exploit, asserts that Govarddhana was nothing more than an ant hill.

 

    

 

CHAP. XII.

 

Indra comes to Gokula: praises Krishna, and makes him prince over the cattle. Krishna promises to befriend Arjuna.

 

AFTER Gokula had been saved by the elevation of the mountain, Indra became desirous of beholding Krishna. The conqueror of his foes accordingly mounted his vast elephant Airavata, and came to Govarddhana, where the king of the gods beheld the mighty Damodara tending cattle, and assuming the person of a cow-boy, and, although the preserver of the whole world, surrounded by the sons of the herdsmen: above his head he saw Garuda, the king of birds, invisible to mortals, spreading out his wings to shade the head of Hari. Alighting from his elephant, and addressing him apart, S'akra, his eyes expanding with pleasure, thus spake to Madhusudana: "Hear, Krishna, the reason why I have come hither; why I have approached thee; for thou couldest not otherwise conceive it. Thou, who art the supporter of all, hast descended upon earth, to relieve her of her burden. In resentment of my obstructed rites I sent the clouds to deluge Gokula, and they have done this evil deed. Thou, by raising up the mountain, hast preserved the cattle; and of a verity I am much pleased, O hero, with thy wondrous deed. The object of the gods is now, methinks, accomplished, since with thy single hand thou hast raised aloft this chief of mountains. I have now come by desire of the cattle [*1], grateful for their preservation, in order to install you as Upendra; and, as the Indra of the cows, thou shalt be called Govinda [*2]." Having thus said, Mahendra took a ewer from his elephant Airavata, and with the holy water it contained performed the regal ceremony of aspersion. The cattle, as the rite was celebrating, deluged the earth with their milk.

 

When Indra had, by direction of the kine, inaugurated Krishna, the husband of S'achi said to him affectionately, "I have thus performed what the cows enjoined me. Now, illustrious being, hear what farther I propose, with a view to facilitate your task. A portion of me has been born as Arjuna, the son of Pritha: let him ever be defended by thee, and he will assist thee in bearing thy burden. He is to be cherished by thee, Madhusudana, like another self." To this Krishna replied, "I know thy son, who has been born in the race of Bharata, and I will befriend him as long as I continue upon earth. As long as I am present, invincible S'akra, no one shall be able to subdue Arjuna in fight. When the great demon Kansa has been slain, and Arishta, Kes'in, Kuvalayapida, Naraka, and other fierce Daityas, shall have been put to death, there will take place a great war, in which the burden of the earth will be removed. Now therefore depart, and be not anxious on account of thy son; for no foe shall triumph over Arjuna whilst I am present. For his sake I will restore to Kunti all her sons; with Yudhishthira at their head, unharmed, when the Bharata war is at an end."

 

Upon Krishna's ceasing to speak, he and Indra mutually embraced; and the latter, mounting his elephant Airavata, returned to heaven. Krishna, with the cattle and the herdsmen, went his way to Vraja, where the wives of the Gopas watched for his approach.

 

Footnotes

 

^528:1 Gobhischa chodita; that is, 'delegated,' says the commentator, 'by the cow of plenty, Kamadhenu, and other celestial kine, inhabitants of Goloka, the heaven of cows:' but this is evidently unauthorized by the text, as celestial cattle could not be grateful for preservation upon earth; and the notion of Goloka, a heaven of cows and Krishna, is a modern piece of mysticism, drawn from such sectarial works as the Brahma Vaivartta P. and Hari Vans'a.

 

^528:2 The purport of Indra's speech is to explain the meaning of two of Krishna's names, Upendra and Govinda. The commentators on the Amara Kosha agree in [p. 529] explaining the first, the younger brother of Indra, ### conformably to the synonyme that immediately follows in the text of Amara, Indravaraja; a name that occurs also in the Mahabharata: Krishna, as the son of Devaki, who is an incarnation of Aditi, being born of the latter subsequently to Indra. Govinda is he who knows, finds, or tends cattle; Gam vindati. The Pauranik etymology makes the latter the Indra (### quasi ###) of cows; and in this capacity he may well be considered as a minor or inferior Indra, such being the proper sense of the term Upendra (Upa in composition); as, Upa-purana, 'a minor Purana,' &c. The proper import of the word Upendra has, however, been anxiously distorted by the sectarian followers of Krishna. Thus the commentator on our text asserts that Upa is here synonymous with Upari, and that Upendratwa, 'the station of Upendra,' means 'rule in the heaven of heavens, Goloka;' a new creation of this sect, above Satya-loka, which, in the uncorrupt Pauranik system, is the highest of the seven Lokas: see <page 213>. So the Hari Vans'a makes Indra say, 'As thou, Krishna, art appointed, by the cows, Indra superior to me, therefore the deities in heaven shall call thee Upendra.' The Bhagavata does not introduce the name, though it no doubt alludes to it in making the divine cow Surabhi, who is said to have come from Goloka with Indra, address Krishna, and say, 'We, instructed by Brahma, will crown you as our Indra.' Accordingly Krishna has the water of the Ganges thrown over him by the elephant of Indra, and Indra, the gods, and sages praise him, and salute him by the appellation of Govinda. The Hari Vans'a assigns this to Indra alone, who says, 'I am only the Indra of the gods; thou hast attained the rank of Indra of the kine, and they shall for ever celebrate thee on earth as Govinda.' All this is very different from the sober account of our text, and is undoubtedly of comparatively recent origin.

 

    

CHAP. XIII.

 

Krishna praised by the cowherds: his sports with the Gopis: their imitation and love of hire. The Rasa dance.

 

AFTER S'akra had departed, the cowherds said to Krishna, whom they had seen holding up Govarddhana, "We have been preserved, together with our cattle, from a great peril, by your supporting the mountain above us; but this is very astonishing child's play, unsuitable to the condition of a herdsman, and all thy actions are those of a god. Tell us what is the meaning of all this. Kaliya has been conquered in the lake; Pralamba has been killed; Govarddhana has been lifted up: our minds are filled with amazement. Assuredly we repose at the feet of Hari, O thou of unbounded might! for, having witnessed thy power, we cannot believe thee to be a man. Thy affection, Kes'ava, for our women and children, and for Vraja; the deeds that thou hast wrought, which all the gods would have attempted in vain; thy boyhood, and thy prowess; thy humiliating birth amongst us; are contradictions that fill us with doubt, whenever we think of them. Yet reverence be to thee, whether thou be a god, or a demon, or a Yaksha, or a Gandharba, or whatever we may deem thee; for thou art our friend." When they had ended, Krishna remained silent for some time, as if hurt and offended, and then replied to them, "Herdsmen, if you are not ashamed of my relationship; if I have merited your praise; what occasion is there for you to engage in any discussion concerning me? If you have any regard for me; if I have deserved your praise; then be satisfied to know that I am your kinsman. I am neither god, nor Yaksha, nor Gandharba, nor Danava; I have been born your relative, and you must not think differently of me." Upon receiving this answer, the Gopas held their peace, and went into the woods, leaving Krishna apparently displeased.

 

But Krishna, observing the clear sky bright with the autumnal moon, and the air perfumed with the fragrance of the wild water-lily, in whose buds the clustering bees were murmuring their songs, felt inclined to join with the Gopis in sport. Accordingly he and Rama commenced singing sweet low strains in various measures, such as the women loved; and they, as soon as they heard the melody, quitted their homes, and hastened to meet the foe of Madhu. One damsel gently sang an accompaniment to his song; another attentively listened to his melody: one calling out upon his name, then shrunk abashed; whilst another, more bold, and instigated by affection, pressed close to his side: one, as she sallied forth, beheld some of the seniors of the family, and dared not venture, contenting herself with meditating on Krishna with closed eyes, and entire devotion, by which immediately all acts of merit were effaced by rapture, and all sin was expiated by regret at not beholding him: and others, again, reflecting upon the cause of the world, in the form of the supreme Brahma, obtained by their sighing final emancipation. Thus surrounded by the Gopis, Krishna thought the lovely moonlight night of autumn propitious to the Rasa dance [*1]. Many of the Gopis imitated the different actions of Krishna, and in his absence wandered through Vrindavan, representing his person. "I am Krishna," cries one; "behold the elegance of my movements." "I am Krishna," exclaims another; "listen to my song." "Vile Kaliya, stay! for I am Krishna," is repeated by a third, slapping her arms in defiance. A fourth calls out, "Herdsmen, fear nothing; be steady; the danger of the storm is over, for, lo, I lift up Govarddhana for your shelter." And a fifth proclaims, "Now let the herds graze where they will, for I have destroyed Dhenuka." Thus in various actions of Krishna the Gopis imitated him, whilst away, and beguiled their sorrow by mimicking his sports. Looking down upon the ground, one damsel calls to her friend, as the light down upon her body stands erect with joy, and the lotuses of her eyes expand, "See here are the marks of Krishna's feet, as he has gone alone sportively, and left the impressions of the banner, fife thunderbolt, and the goad [*2]. What lovely maiden has been his companion, inebriate with passion, as her irregular footmarks testify? Here Damodara has gathered flowers from on high, for we see alone the impressions of the tips of his feet. Here a nymph has sat down with him, ornamented with flowers, fortunate in having propitiated Vishnu in a prior existence. Having left her in an arrogant mood, because he had offered her flowers, the son of Nanda has gone by this road; for see, unable to follow him with equal steps, his associate has here tripped along upon her toes, and, holding his hand, the damsel has passed, as is evident from the uneven and intermingled footsteps. But the rogue has merely taken her hand, and left her neglected, for here the paces indicate the path of a person in despair. Undoubtedly he promised that he would quickly come again, for here are his own footsteps returning with speed. Here he has entered the thick forest, impervious to the rays of the moon, and his steps can be traced no farther." Hopeless then of beholding Krishna, the Gopis returned, and repaired to the banks of the Yamuna, where they sang his songs; and presently they beheld the preserver of the three worlds, with a smiling aspect, hastening towards them: on which, one exclaimed, "Krishna! Krishna!" unable to articulate any thing else: another affected to contract her forehead with frowns, as drinking with the bees of her eyes the lotus of the face of Hari: another, closing her eyelids, contemplated internally his form, as if engaged in an act of devotion. Then Madhava, coming amongst them, conciliated some with soft speeches, some with gentle looks, and some he took by the hand; and the illustrious deity sported with them in the stations of the dance. As each of the Gopis, however, attempted to keep in one place, close to the side of Krishna, the circle of the dance could not be constructed, and he therefore took each by the hand, and when their eyelids were shut by the effects of such touch, the circle was formed [*3]. Then proceeded the dance to the music of their clashing bracelets, and songs that celebrated in suitable strain the charms of the autumnal season. Krishna sang the moon of autumn, a mine of gentle radiance; but the nymphs repeated the praises of Krishna alone. At times, one of them, wearied by the revolving dance, threw her arms, ornamented with tinkling bracelets, round the neck of the destroyer of Madhu: another, skilled in the art of singing his praises, embraced him. The drops of perspiration from the arms of Hari were like fertilizing rain, which produced a crop of down upon the temples of the Gopis. Krishna sang the strain that was appropriate to the dance. The Gopis repeatedly exclaimed, "Bravo, Krishna!" to his song. When leading, they followed him; when returning, they encountered him; and, whether he went forwards or backwards, they ever attended on his steps. Whilst frolicking thus with the Gopis, they considered every instant without him a myriad of years; and, prohibited in vain by husbands, fathers, brothers, they went forth at night to sport with Krishna, the object of their affection. Thus the illimitable being, the benevolent remover of all imperfections, assumed the character of a youth amongst the females of the herdsmen of Vraja; pervading their natures, and that of their lords, by his own essence, all diffusive like the wind: for even as in all creatures the elements of ether, fire, earth, water, and air, are comprehended, so also is he every where present, and in all.

 

Footnotes

 

^532:1 The Rasa dance is danced by men and women, holding each other's hands, and going round in a circle, singing the airs to which they dance. According to Bharata, the airs are various both in melody and time, and the number of persons should not exceed sixty-four.

 

^532:2 The soles of the feet of a deity are [p. 533] usually marked by a variety of emblematical figures: this is carried to the greatest extravagance by the Buddhists, the marks on the feet of Gautama being 130: see Trans. R. As. Soc. III. 70. It is a decoration very moderately employed by the Hindus.

 

^533:3 This is a rather inexplicit statement, but the comment makes it clear. Krishna, it is said, in order to form the circle, takes each damsel by the hand, and leads her to her place: there he quits her; but the effect of the contact is such, that it deprives her of the power of perception, and [p. 534] she contentedly takes the hand of her female neighbour, thinking it to be Krishna's. The Bhagavata is bolder, and asserts that Krishna multiplied himself, and actually stood between each two damsels: 'The Rasa dance, formed of a circle graced by the Gopis, was then led off by the lord of magic, Krishna having placed himself in the midst of every two of the nymphs.' The Hari Vans'a intimates the same, though not very fully: 'Then all the nymphs of the cowherds, placing themselves in couples in a row, engaged in pleasant diversion, singing the deeds of Krishna.' The Pankti, or row, is said by the commentator to mean here, the Mandala, or ring; and the couples' to imply that Krishna was between every two. He quotes a verse to this effect from some other Vaishnava work: 'Between each two damsels was Madhava, and between each two Madhavas was a nymph; and the son of Devaki played on the flute:' for, in fact, Krishna is not only dancing with each, but also by himself in the centre; for this the commentator on the Hari Vans'a cites a passage from the Vedas: ###. Literally, 'The many-formed (being) assumes (various) bodies. One form stood apart, occupying triple observance.' Now if the verse be genuine, it probably refers to something that has little to do with Krishna; but it is explained to apply to the Rasa; the form of Krishna being supposed to be meant, as wholly distinct from the Gopis, and yet being beheld by every one of them, on each side and in front of her. In the meditation upon Krishna, which is enjoined in the Brahma Vaivartta, he is to be contemplated in the centre of the Rasa Mandala, in association with his favourite Radha; but the Mandala described in that work is not a ring of dancers, but a circle of definite space at Vrindavana, within which Krishna, Radha, and the Gopis divert themselves, not very decorously. This work has probably given the tone to the style in which the annual festival, the Rasa Yatra, is celebrated in various parts of India, in the month of Kartika, upon the sun's entrance into Libra, by nocturnal dances, and representations of the sports of Krishna. A circular dance of men and women, however, does not form any prominent feature at these entertainments, and it may be doubted if it is ever performed. Some of the earliest labourers in the field of Hindu mythology have thought this circular dance to typify the dance of the planets round the sun (Maurice, Ancient History of Hindus, I. 108. II. 356); but there is no particular number assigned to the performers by any of the Hindu authorities, beyond its limitation to sixty-four. At the Rasa Mandala of the Brahma Vaivartta, Radha is accompanied by thirty-six of her most particular friends amongst the Gopis, but they are each attended by thousands of inferior personages, and none [p. 535] of the crowd are left without male multiples of Krishna. The only mysticism hinted at in that Purana, is, that these are all one with Krishna: the varied vital conditions of one spirit being represented by the Gopis and the illusory manifestations of Krishna: he himself being supreme unmodified soul.

 

    

The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson