Chapter 47 - Uddhava’s Discourse on the Real Nature of the Lord

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

[Full title: Uddhava’s Discourse on the Real Nature of the Lord, Return to Mathura]

Śrī Śuka said:

1-2. Observing that follower of Kṛṣṇa (viz. Uddhava) with (knee) long arms and eyes like (a pair of fresh-blown) lotuses clad in yellow (silk) raiment and wearing a garland of lotuses, with a lotus-like cheerful countenance, brightened with ear-rings set with resplendent jewels, all the damsels of Vraja, beaming with broad smiles, became extremely eager and curious to know who was that charming personality with fascinating looks, wearing dress and ornaments like those of Lord Kṛṣṇa, whence he came and his who’s who. They surrounded him who had taken shelter under the lotus-feet of the Lord Kṛṣṇa of hallowing renown.

3. Ascertaining that he was the emissary of the spouse of goddess Lakṣmī (Kṛṣṇa) carrying a message for them, they bowed down to him with modesty. They received him courteously with bashful smiles, glances and sweet words. When he was comfortably seated, they enquired of him in great confidence (privately):

4. “We learn that you are the attendant of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Yadus, who have arrived here and that your honour has been deputed by the Lord forbringing about the happiness of his parents.

5. Otherwise, we do not see that there is anything worth remembering for him in the Gokula. The ties of affection of relatives and kinsmen are extremely difficult to dissociate even for sages.

6. In the case of others (who are not relatives) the friendship is contracted for achieving a purpose and it lasts till the purpose is accomplished, as in the case of love shown by men to (good-natured, guileless) women or by black bees to flowers.

7. Courtezans abandon a penniless (lover); subjects, an incompetent king; students who have completed the course of Vedic studies, their preceptors and the priests in sacrifice, the sacrificer who has paid their fees for performance of sacrifice.

8. Birds leave off the trees the fruits of which are exhausted; guests, the house after finishing their meals; beasts, a forest that is burnt down; a paramour after enjoying the women though attached to him.”

9. When Uddhava, the emissary of Kṛṣṇa arrived at Vraja, the Gopīs whose body, mind and speech were completely devoted to Lord Govinda (Kṛṣṇa) disregarded the worldly usages and etiquettes (in behaving with strangers).

9(A).^[1] Padaratnāvalī’s Text differs (vide the footnote).

10. Remembering vividly every now and then the sportive activities of their Kṛṣṇa during his infancy and childhood, they glorified his deeds in songs and also wept, casting off their sense of bashfulness.

11. A certain Gopī who was musing over her union with Kṛṣṇa, saw a bee about her and imagining that it was the messenger deputed to her by her Beloved Kṛṣṇa, addressed it as follows^[2]:

The Gopi said:^[3]

[Note: Padaratnāvalī States that this address of a black bee is equally applicable to Uddhava. Thus Kitava-bandhu in v. 12 means ‘A friend or relative of Kṛṣṇa who was a thief (stole butter etc.)]

12. Oh bee!^[4] Oh friend of a rogue (Kṛṣṇa, a treacherous paramour)! Don’t touch our feet (and try to win our favour by submissive bows) with your beard-like tentacles tinged with the saffron of the wreath (of Kṛṣṇa) that was pressed down upon the (Saffron-painted) breasts of our rival women (of Mathura). Let Kṛṣṇa, the chief of Madhus whose messenger you are, as described above carry with him, the favours of the proud ladies (of Mathura). (Why his attempt to court rustic women like us!) which will become a butt of ridicule in the assembly of Yadus.

13. Being infidel like you who (after sucking the honey) immediately desert the (innocent, good-natured) flower, he made us drink but once the seductive, enchanting nectar of his lips. He instantly abandoned us. Alas! What a pity? How is it that the (notoriously fickle) goddess of wealth continues to serve his lotus feet (I presume that) her mind must have been transported by the fascinating talk of Kṛṣṇa of hallowed renown.

14. (Thinking that it is to gain her favour that the black-bee is humming a song of Kṛṣṇa’s glory, she retorts).

Oh six-legged one!^[5] Why are you singing here, in such details, in front of us, homeless forest-dwellers, the glory of the Ancient-most^[6] person Kṛṣṇa the Lord of Yadus. (It is already too well known to us). Go hence. Let all his episodes be glorified in song in the presence of the female friends of Kṛṣṇa (the friend of Arjuna). Those lady-loves of Kṛṣṇa the agonies of whose breasts (and heart) are soothed by his embrace and other erotic acts will bestow on you your desired object.

15. Are there any women on the earth, in the celestial region or in the nether-world who are difficult to be won over by him with his alluring crafty sweet smile and the tempting dancing of his eyebrows? What are we after all to him, the dust on whose feet is adored by goddess Lakṣmī?^[7] However (go and convey my message to him) that the epithet uttama- śloka (one of the most glorious renown) befits him who is on the side of the helpless and forlorn people like us.

16. (The black bee approached her feet as if to beg pardon). Get away. Take away your head from my feet. I know you thoroughly. Being an emissary of Mukunda(an expert in fraudulent courting) you are trained in the fine art of conciliation and winsomeness by means of sweet words. It is here at Vraja that he (ungratefully) deserted us who have abandoned our husbands, children, prospects of happiness in the next world (by conforming to social morality) for his sake. Inconstant at heart as he is, what is there to be gained by such reconciliation?

17. (In his previous incarnation as Dāśarathi Rāma) Cruel-hearted by nature, like a hunter (desirous of eating the flesh of his kill), he (surreptitiously) hit with an arrow Vāli, the king of monkeys. Being dominated by one woman (his consort Sītā), he deformed another woman (Śūrpaṇakhā) who approached him with amorous purpose. Like a crow eating up bali (boiled rice etc. offered in bhūta-yajña), he (as Vāmana) ate up (accepted the worship offered by) King Bali and (ungratefully) bound him down (and threw him in a cave in the subterranean world.) Now enough of any friendship with that person of black complexion (Kṛṣṇa). But the wealth of his episodes is too (precious and sweet) to forgo.

18.^[8] In this world, many persons who have but once enjoyed a particle of his delightful sportive deeds which are (sweet as) nectar to the ears, have shaken themselves free from conflicting pairs of qualities (like love and hate, pleasure and pain). Reducing themselves to non-entities^[9], they have at once forsaken their homes and members of their families in a bereaved state, and have adopted the ascetic way of life like that of birds (i.e. the way of life of haṃsa ascetics) and practice control of sense-organs^[10].

19. Oh messenger of Kṛṣṇa! Let other topics be discussed. For, like female deer, the gullible female mates of black-antelopes, which (mistakenly) believe in the enticing musical notes of the hunter (and get into a trap or are hit with an arrow), we innocent maid-servants of Kṛṣṇa trusted in his crafty professions of love as genuine, and have many times^[11] seen and suffered from the acute pangs of love created by his amorous touch of nails.

20. Oh friend of our Darling Lord! Are you redeputed by our Beloved that you have come again? You are an honourable guest. Dear black-bee! Please seek whatever you would like to have from me. Oh gentle-natured bee! As his consort Lakṣmī is always by his side and has a place on his bosom, how are you going to take up from here to the side of the Lord, separation from whom is very painful and difficult.

21. Oh gentle black-bee! Is the son of our Gopa-chief (i.e. Nandad now at Mathurā back from his preceptor’s house? Does he remember his father’s house (i.e. his parents Nanda and Yaśodā)? Does he ever refer to us his maidservants, in his talk? Would that (he return to Gokula and) place his arm fragrant with the (pigment of) aguru—sandal on the crown of my head (to soothe me)”

Śrī Śuka said:

22. Having heard this (expression of ardent love for Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava consoled those Gopīs who were eagerly desirous of seeing Kṛṣṇa, with the messages of their Darling and addressed them as follows:

Uddhava said:

23. Oh Gopīs! You have completely achieved all the objects in human life (e.g. dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) and are adored and praised by the world, inasmuch as your hearts are dedicated to the glorious Lord Vāsudeva.

24. Devotion unto Kṛṣṇa is engendered^[12] by charitable gifts, observance of vows, austerities, performance of homa (sacrifice) muttering of a mantra or God’s name, Vedic (scriptural) studies, self-control and such other meritorious acts.

25. It is fortunate of you that you, respectable ladies, have established such an unsurpassably supreme (standard of) devotion into the glorious Lord of hallowing renown as is extremely difficult even for sages.

26. You deserve congratulations as you have renounced (attachment to) your sons, husbands, your own persons, kith and kin as well as your homes, and have sought after the Supreme person Kṛṣṇa.

27. Oh highly blessed Gopīs! Due to your separation from the Lord, you have accomplished an unflinching, absolute devotion unto Lord Adhokṣaja (Kṛṣṇa). You have certainly rendered a great favour unto me by giving me a glimpse of your ardent devotion to the Lord.

28. Let the message of your dear Lord which will bring delight to you be heard (alternatively). It is to convey this message that I, as a confidant of the Lord, have come here.

The Glorious Lord said:

29. As I pervade all as their Inner Soul, there cannot be any separation between you and me. Just as the five elements—the ether, air, fire, water and earth—are found in all beings, similarly, I abide (as the support) in the mind, vital breath, elements, conative and cognitive senses and qualities.

30. By the force of my Māyā Potency and in association with bhūtas (elements), the senses and the guṇas, I create myself (in various forms) within myself, protect them, and destroy them.

31. The Self (ātman) is absolutely pure, distinct, untainted and unconcerned with guṇas, an embodiment of consciousness and knowledge. He appears (as Viśva, Taijasa and Prājña) in the states of sleep, dream and wakefulness through mental states (and not directly) which are the creations of Māyā.

32.^[13] Ever alert and vigilant, a person should try to control that mind with which he broods over the objects of senses which are unreal like the objects seen in a dream, and runs after the senses (sense-object) even during wakefulness.

33. According to the opinion of the spiritually wise, the study of the Vedas, the Yoga (with its eightfold path), the Sāṅkhya teaching (discriminating between the soul and the non-soul), renunciation (saṃnyāsa),—austerities, control (over the senses), truthfulness—all these have mind-control as their goal, even as all the rivers terminate in the ocean.

34. It is with a view to attract your mind constantly to me while you eagerly meditate upon me, (and thus to secure our mental nearness) that I, though your beloved, am staying far away beyond the ken of your eyes.

35. The mind of women is not so much ardently drawn to and absorbed in their beloved while he lives near, just before their eyes, as and when he is staying far away.

36. As you have completely dedicated your entire heart resigning all its activities to me, and are constantly contemplating on me, you will attain me within a short time.

37. Those ladies who being detained at Vraja (by their husbands etc.) could not participate in the Rāsa) in the forest, have attained to me by contemplating on my exploits, Oh blessed ladies”.

Śrī Śuka said:

38. Having heard the message of their most beloved Lord, the damsels of Vraja whose recollections of Lord Kṛṣṇa were revived by it, became highly delighted and spoke to Uddhava.

The Gopīs said:

39. Luckily the tyrant Kaṃsa, the deadly enemy and persecutor of Yadus is killed along with his followers. It is a matter of good fortune that the immortal Lord (Kṛṣṇa) is living happily with his relatives who have obtained all their objects (through his grace).

40. (Some asked): Does Kṛṣṇa, the elder brother of Gaḍa who was adored by us with affectionate, bashful smiles and loving glances, impart the same delight to the women of the city (Mathura), Oh gentle Uddhava?

41. (Others asked): Highly expert in erotics and beloved of excellent women as he is, how can he fail to (be won over) and bound down by their love when he is greeted with words (expressing love) and amorous gestures by them.

42. (Someone asked): Does the Lord of cows (or of Gokula ever remember us, the rustic women, causally, in some context in the assembly of the urban women of Mathura, during his free talk of his past life, Oh pious one!^[14]

43. (Others asked): Does he ever remember those nights (at Vraja) when in Vṛndāvana grove lovely with blooming lilies and jasmines and resplendent with the full moon, he sported with us, his beloveds, and when in the ring of the Rāsa dance resonant with the jingling of anklets his charming stories were sung by us?

44. (Some asked): Will Kṛṣṇa, the descendent of Daśārha ever come here to enliven us who are tormented with grief on account of separation from him, by the life-giving touch of his limbs, like Indra refreshing woods (scorched with heat of summer) with rain-clouds.

45. (Others exclaimed): Why should Kṛṣṇa (bother to) come here at all when he has obtained a kingdom, slain

all the enemies, will have married a number of princesses and is living happily in the company of his friends.

46. (Others gave out the fact of the matter)

What purpose of the Supreme Soul, the Consort of Lakṣmī (Kṛṣṇa) be served by us, the forest-dwellers or by others (princesses), when he himself has all his desires accomplished and is perfect (within himself).

47. Even the public woman Piṅgalā^[15] has observed that ḍesirelessness is the real happiness. Knowing that as we do, our longing and hope to meet Kṛṣṇa is difficult to overcome.

48. Who could detach one’s mind from the secret talks one had with the Lord of hallowing renown from whose person Śrī seldom dissociates herself, even though he does not long for her?

49-50. What a pity! The river Yamunā, the mount Govardhana, the woodlands of Vṛndāvana, the cows, the musical notes of flutes—all associated with Kṛṣṇa with Balarāma as his companion—poignantly remind us again and again of Kṛṣṇa, the son of the Gopa Nanda, through his foot-prints which are the asylum of the goddess Lakṣmī. Alas! It is simply impossible to forget him, Oh Uddhava.

51. Our hearts have been fascinated and spirited away with his seductive gait, enchanting laughter, sportive glances, and honeyed words. How can we forget him, Oh Uddhava?

52. Oh Lord! Oh Consort of goddess Lakṣmī! Oh Lord of Vraja who destroyed our afflictions! Oh Lord of cows! Be pleased to lift up Gokula that is submerged in the sea of grief.

Śrī Śuka said:

53. Thereupon, the Gopīs whose agonies of separation from Kṛṣṇa, were removed by the message of Kṛṣṇa, realized that Kṛṣṇa the Supra-sensuous Lord was within them—nay was identical with them—and they worshipped Uddhava with due respects.^[16]

54. Uddhava stayed there for some months alleviating the grief of those cowherd women. He brought delight to the settlement of those cowherds (Gokula) by glorifying in songs the delightful stories of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s sportive activities.

55. For as many days, Uddhava stayed at Nanda’s Vraja, (they were so absorbed) in talking about Kṛṣṇa, those days of the residents of Vraja flitted away as if they were so many moments only.

56. Observing devoutly the river Yamunā, Vṛndāvana, mount Govardhana, the valleys and the blossoming trees, (where Kṛṣṇa roamed and sported and) which reminded the people of Vraja of Kṛṣṇa (causing thereby a longing to see him) that Servant of Hari spent that time in joyfulness.

57. Uddhava was highly pleased to notice the intense mental anguish of the Gopīs (as described above^[17]) caused by their (longing for and) absorption of their minds in Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava paid his respects to them and (in justification of the bowing down to Gopa women by a Kṣattriya like himself and sang (of their glory) as follows:

58. “Only these Gopa women have really vindicated their worthiness of possessing a human body (life as a human being) since their heart is steeped in Supreme Love (and devotion) to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the protector of cows—a stage which those who are scared of saṃsāra (and aspire after liberation from it i.e. mumukṣus), the sages (who are muktas i.e. freed from the bondages of saṃsāra) and we (the devotees of the Lord) aspire. To a person interested in the stories of the Infinite Lord, what importance is there to the kinds of birth as a Brāhmaṇa (viz. physical heredity from Brāhmaṇa parents, ceremonial birth by means of investiture with the sacred thread and initiation in the sacred Gāyatrī mantra and ritualistic birth with consecration for sacrificial performance)^[18] OR, Of what use is the repeated birth as four-faced god Brahmā if one has no fascination or liking for the stories of the Infinite Lord^[19].

59. What a contrast is this! (On the one hand) these rustic forest-dwelling women condemned for adultery^[20] (in the eyes of the public as they abandoned their husbands and offered themselves to Lord Kṛṣṇa) and their deep-rooted intense absolute devotion to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Soul, on the other. Certainly, the Almighty Lord himself bestows the highest beatitude upon his devotees who, even though ignorant, always remember him and resort to him, just as nectar, the king of medicines when used (unknowingly by an ailing patient, cures him).

60. Oh! How covetable was the blissful Grace that was showered on the cowherd women of Vraja at the time of Rāsa dance when all their cravings and longings for getting themselves embraced by the mighty arm of the Lord were amply satisfied—A grace never enjoyed even by goddess Śrī who is always closely associated with his person, nor by the celestial damsels whose fragrance and splendour of complexion is like lotuses—What need be said of others? (Much less can others expect it).

61. How strongly I desire to be one of these shrubs, creepers, plants or herbs of Vṛndāvana which have the good luck to come in contact with the dust on the feet of these cowherd women who forsook their relatives so difficult to abandon, and the traditional path followed by the noble and the good (which is equally difficult for chaste women to give up) and took to the path of devotion that leads to Lord Kṛṣṇa who is sought after by the Vedas.

62. The Gopīs dispelled all the agonies of their heart by embracing Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus-feet placed on their bosoms during Rāsa dance—the lotus-feet of the Lord which are adored by the goddess Śrī, god Brahmā and others who have accomplished all their desires, and by masters of yoga in their hearts.

63. I bow down again and again the dust under the feet of the damsels of Nanda’s Vraja, whose loud singing of the stories of Lord Hari sanctifies the three worlds.

Śrī Śuka said:

64. Then, after taking leave of the Gapīs [Gopīs?], Yaśodā and Nanda and bidding good-bye to Gopas, Uddhava, the scion of Daśārha, became ready to depart (on his return journey) and mounted his chariot.

65. When he just got out of his house, Nanda and others brought in their hands different presents (presumably for Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma) and with eyes dimmed with tears of love, spoke to him affectionately as follows:

66. “May all our mental activities be concentrated on the lotus-feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. May our speech (oral activities) be ever engaged in uttering the name of the Lord and may our body (physical activities) be engaged in bowing to him (and doing such worshipful services).

67. Wandering whithersoever (or in whatever species of birth) we be, as a result of our karman (actions) or by the will of the Almighty Lord, may our love be constant in the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in consequence of our auspicious deeds and charitable gifts (performed by us in our past lives)”

68. Thus honoured by the cowherds through their devotion to Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava returned to Mathura protected by Kṛṣṇa, Oh King Parīkṣit.

69. Lying prostrate before Kṛṣṇa, he reported to Kṛṣṇa the effusion of intense devotion of the people of Vraja (unto him), and handed over the presents (sent by the cowherds) to Vasudeva, Balarāma and King Ugrasena.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Padaratnāvalī’s text reads differently:

When Uddhava, the emissary of Kṛṣṇa, arrived at Vraja, he perceived that the Gopī’s thereof had dedicated their mind, body of speech to Govinda so completely that they had lost the sense of worldly manners and etiquettes.

[2]:

SG. and the annotators of Gauḍīya school of Vaiṣṇavism assert that this Gopī was Rādhā. SG quotes the Agni Purāṇa. to support this view but the quotation is untraceable in the Gurumandal Calcutta edition. of the Agni Purāṇa.

[3]:

Irrespective of the name of Gopī who sang this ode to the black bee, it is one of the best poetic outbursts of a love-lorn heart in Sanskrit literature. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas regard this as the expression of “divine ecstasy” in the mahābhāva stage. This expression of intense love is called Citrajalpa and is discussed in their works on rhetorics. As VT. points out, this stage is superior to Mokṣa in blissfulness.

[4]:

madhupa—One who has kissed the nectar-like sweet lips—Bhāgavata Candrikā

[5]:

Ṣaḍaṅghrī—Oh Uddhava you have mastered six darśanas, you attend to sixfold duties, you have trampled underfoot the six objects of enjoyment which obstruct the path of devotion.—Padaratnāvalī

[6]:

Purāṇa—

(i) purā pūrvam eva ṇam nirvṛtti-rūpam
sukha-rūpam.. sāmprataṃ duḥkha-karam /

Which formerly gave pleasure to us but now brings grief—SG.

(ii) pure vartamānam ‘Kṛṣṇa who is staying in the town’—Padaratnāvalī

[7]:

caraṇa raja...ka: We are however not among the gullible women who fall a victim to his temptations. The term uttama-śloka is applicable to the partisans of the helpless—Bhāgavata Candrikā

(ii) We are after-all forest dwellers. We only hear that the term uttama śloka is used for one who espouses the cause of the indigent and the helpless but that is not our experience (for he has no interest in us). Padaratnāvalī

SG. is interesting. The gist is as follows:

Only low women (kāḥ striyaḥ) or all women fall a victim to him by his craftiness in enticing women. Goddess Lakṣmī may be worshipping the dust on his feet but none of us will stoop so low. Only a person of glorious renown deserves singing which he is not. Or He has become so close-fisted (and hard-hearted) that he does not see us. (This is of course ironical).

[8]:

The SK wording of the text appears apparently a censure but it is a praise of the Lord in the deeper sense.

[9]:

Go away out of sight like birds—SG.

[10]:

bahavaścaranti: Just as birds fly through the support of the sky, the ascetics do so through the support of Lord Hari. These ascetics maintain their body for the Spiritual Knowledge.

bhikṣu-caryām: indriya-grāma-nigraham /—SG.

[11]:

Female deer suffer but once when hit by an arrow, but our sufferings are life-long.

[12]:

v.l., bhaktir na ṣādhyate ‘Is not engendered’—Bhāgavata Candrikā

[13]:

Not traced in Padaratnāvalī

[14]:

The adj. implies that Uddhava being pious must tell the truth.—SG

[15]:

Piṅgalā—Name of a prostitute in Mithilā. Once she was disappointed as none came to her in spite of her waiting, she realized the bliss of transcending desires and hopes. Avadhūta regarded her as his preceptor.

vide, infra 11.7.34, 11.8.22-44.

[16]:

They worshipped Uddhava regarding him as if he was Lord Kṛṣṇa himself.—Padaratnāvalī

[17]:

vide Supra vv 4-21 and vv 39-52

[18]:

This explanation is based on the 1st way dissolving the compound in the text:

ananta-kathā-rasasya: Ananta+kathā+rasa.

[19]:

This will be the interpretation if the compound in text mentioned above is dissolved as Ananta+kathā+a-rasa—Bhāvāratha Dīpikā

[20]:

SG. regards this as a comparison between Gopīs and Uddhava who call themselves: vayaṃ vyabhicāra-duṣṭāḥ—we who are averse to pious deeds.