More on love…!!!

While all you guyz are still reeling in the effects of the beautiful song “Alaipayuthey”, here is another shot in the arm of love! It has been commonly misconceived that the daasa saahitya was full of only devotion and vairagya (asceticism, renunciation, etc). Contrary to the same, we do find innumerable compositions that celebrate the love of the gopika women with Lord Krishna. It is a pity that the daasa saahitya of kannada language has not received its due exposure and appreciation as the similar works in other languages, which indeed derived a lot of inspiration from the Haridasa movement in Karnataka. One other aspect is also the fact that the amount of credit given to the works of Purandara daasa is not given to other equally brilliant composers – Kanakadaasaru, Jagannatha daasaru, mahipati daasaru, vijayavitthala daasaru, etc.
Well matters aside, the point I am trying to make is that inspite of all these people having renounced the worldly pleasures, they were still touched by the feeling of love! Even if it was towards a divine entity! It is this feeling of intense love towards God, that enabled them to compose songs that were full of the yearning of their heart, and cries of their soul! A signal of distress for their Lord to arrive quickly and provide them the pleasure of his divine company!
One of my all time favorite songs in this genre would be “ninnanagali hogalaarevo” by Vijaya Vitthala daasaru. It has been beautifully sung by Vidyabhushana. The song is mesmerizing in its effect and fills the heart with myriad of emotions ranging from love, devotion and finally supreme submission!

 

 

 

 

[We (the gopikas) cannot leave you O! Lotus eyed one! We came here to enjoy the bliss of your company! Whilst thou, without affectionately fulfilling our desires, are imploring us to leave! After luring one with fruits, is it just to feed them the Kaalakuta poison?! (Krishna who would have lured the gopika women with the divine sound of his flute, tempting them with the pleasure of his company is now, by asking them to leave, feeding them the terrible poison of viraha or separation!)]

 

 

 

[Thou art the one immesurable and unfathomable by the human mind (Aprameya), the primal being, and the one devotedly worshipped by the Gods. O! benevolent one, do not abandon us. We may be strangers to you, but having taken shelter under your lotus feet, can you now desert us?]

 

 

 

[It is instructed in the shaastras (sacred scriptures) that women must not leave their relatives and family. We have now come to you, thinking of you as our relative for now and ever! O the one who sleeps on the mighty ocean, why do you ask us to leave you now? (The gopikas very cleaverly maneovre the argument using the scriptures too that have asked them not to leave one’s family and relatives! They regard Krishna as their family and relative, and hence refuse to leave him!]

 

 

 

 

[The blessed people worship you with various attributes having established your form deep within their heart! Having worshipped you with such devotion they attain your abode! Whilst you give us such an ephemeral pleasure! (The gopikas point out the bias that they feel the Lord is doing to them. Compared to the other blessed individuals who worship him in the depths of their heart, who are immediately taken to his supreme abode and enjoy his constant company, the gopikas (who ardently long for him) are being given only a momentary audience by Lord Krishna!)]

mOkSha icceyiMda ninnanu bhajipa janara
pakSha vahisidaMte nammanu rakShisade
biDuvare kaTaakShadiMda eekShisade
lakShmi dEvi ninage bahaLa necceyiMda bOdhisidaLe? 4

 

 

 

[The way you rush to the side of the people who sing your praises for the attainment of salvation, why don’t you protect us too by looking at us with your most benevolent sight? Is this something that Godess Lakshmi has taught you with much fervor? (The gopikas go further in imploring Krishna, suspecting that he is being a puppet in the hands of his wife, and doing her behest! The call upon him to come to their aid the way he does for his devotees, the ones who wish of salvation from his hands! They feel that it is his wife Lakshmi who has with great warmth taught him not to entertain other women!)]

 

 

 

[O faultless one, we have fallen in love with you at the mere sight of yours, and have devoted our mind, body and soul to you! The mundane people suffer from the pains of birth and death! Why don’t you fulfill our wishes the way we want and protect us O thou who bore a lotus in your naabhi!]

Isn’t this such a beautiful composition that encircles the various emotions of the gopikas deprived of their love and longing for it! The plead, they accuse, they suspect, and finally in full submission call upon their Lord, to fulfill their desires! The epitome of devotion is supremely visible in the compositions! Wonder how many more such gems are yet to be explored and realized to the modern man!