-Brian
Mendonça
Sreyan
svadharme vigunah
Paradharmo svanustithat
Svadharme
nidhanam sreya
Paradharmo
bhayavaha.
-Bhagavad Gita 3.35
When Lord
Krishna gives the advice above to the perplexed Arjuna he calms the latter.
‘Must I fight the Kauravas, when they are my kin?’ Arjuna asks. And Krishna the
charioteer on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, gives his wise counsel. Do thine own duty / To live in someone
else’s duty is to die in me / To die in your own duty is to live in me. (Translation
of the above quoted lines).
This avatar of Krishna has fascinated me. In
his simplicity he counsels Arjuna to discern the right path. For in that does
his redemption lie. By engaging the Kuru army in battle, he is following his
dharma as a prince.
The other
image of Krishna is that of him as the beloved of Radha. He sports with the
maidens in the gardens of Brindavan, much to the consternation of Radha. This
goatherd, this boy with his flute enchants the seasons and beguiles the time
away. As he leads the cows home the day comes to rest.
And then
there is the baby Krishna replete with lore. From the moment he was born at
midnight to slay the evil Kamsa his destiny was written. He it is who asks his
mother Yashoda for the moon. She takes the baby Krishna out into the courtyard
and shows him the reflection of the moon in the silver plate she holds.
All these
avatars of Krishna are recalled when Janmashtami is celebrated.
Children dress
up in costume to represent any character with which Krishna is associated.
Members of the public come in droves to see the little kids perform and bring
alive the life of Krishna. In his
lovable impetuosity, the child Krishna is the makhan chor (stealer of butter). Later he is the stealer of Radha’s
heart. Later there is the much awaited Dahi
handi where boys form a pyramid to climb up and crack an eathern pot filled
with flowers and cash. The pot may be suspended as high as the first floor of a
building or even the fourth floor.
Many congregate
to Mathura to walk the land that Krishna did. He is believed to have been born
at the site where the Krishna Janmabhoomi mandir stands. In the vicinity is the
Shahi Eidgah mosque. The place was crawling with armed policemen when I visited
it. The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was brought down by kar sevaks in 1992 and the VHP had the Shahi Eidgah in its sights
in 1997. Here is what I was inspired to write.
Mathura
-Brian
Mendonça
Cheek by jowl
The masjid stands
Arms protecting
The baby Krishna.
Somwhere in the distance
Subhadra weeps
As a thousand widows
Sift a bowl of rice.
Of toranas
and stupas
The sandstone is silent
As the Grateful Dead
Meets Chaitanya
Balarama-Kanhaiya-Janardhana
Lord who must I choose?
I have no growse*
In this Athens of India.
(Mathura-Brindavan
2000)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*F.S.
Growse: Founder of Mathura museum in 1874. Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Goa on Sunday, 9 September 2018. Pix of the widows of Vrindavan; courtesy indiatoday.in
Comments