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Lord Krishna

चिन्तयामि हरिमेव सन्ततं मन्दमन्द हसिताननाम्बुजम् |
नन्दगोप-तनयं परात्परं नारदादि-मुनिबृन्द वन्दितम् || (मुकुन्दमाला - 8)
சிந்தயாமி ஹரிமேவ ஸந்ததம் மந்த மந்த ஹசிதாநநாம்புஜம் |
நந்தகோப தநயம் பராத்பரம் நாரதாதி முனி ப்ருந்த வந்திதம் ||(முகுந்தமாலா - 8)
Let me always think about or meditate on attractive happy blissful smiling lotus face of the Lord, who greater than every one, worshipped by saints/learned, and son of Nandagopa.
Krishna portrayed as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, Prophet and the Supreme Being.

பரித்ராணாய ஸாதூநாம், விநாஷாய ச துஷ்க்ருதாம் | தர்ம ஸம்ஸ்தாபநார்தாய, ஸம்பவாமி யுகே யுகே ||
Krishna will appear to establish dharma or order, during times of need!

நாகம் வஸாமி வைகுண்டே நயோகி ஹ்ருதயே
தத்ர நிதஸ்யாமி யத்ர காயந்தி மத் பக்தா ! நிருத்யே !!
Krishna says, "I do not live long in Vaikunda or in hearts/minds of yogis or great personalities. But I live most of the time with devotees and do what they require or request.

Krishna God of Love, Joy and Hope

Krish means one who attracts the minds of all living entities. Sri Krishna is the naturally loving and sweet or embodiment of love. Krishna was a saint, super human-being, hero, politician, conjurer and warrior. Krishna stands for 'black', 'dark' or 'dark-blue', 'All attractive', unlimited beauty, knowledge, strength, fame, riches or renunciation. Lord Krishna's beauty is described in numerous prayers, poems, and literature. His personal form is so attractive that it is considered the reservoir of all beauty. So, Krishna is described as ever youthful, artistic, heroic and lovely. His checks are brilliant and smile is attractive to everyone. The manner in which Krishna subdues Kaliya is fascinating (the dancing deity).
He was only six or seven years old during rasa dance with the cowherd girls of Vrindavana, He wanted to make everyone happy, and to awaken each soul to their relationship with the Supreme. To do this He wanted to break the limitations of pride and shame and whatever bonds keep us from an unbroken focus on God and our service to Him. Krishna and Radha became the universal symbol for the lover and the beloved. Krishna was the ideal hero, and Radha the ideal heroine.
Hope dawns at the darkest hour – Krishna was born at midnight, in pouring rain, in a prison cell and taken away from his birth mother within few minutes of his birth!! Many times, when things look really bleak and despondent, we should understand that the worst is actually over and hope springs eternal!
The moment we think of Krishna as a child, the image that is conjured up is of a very active, mischievous prankster who enjoyed every bit of his childhood. This is inspite of a myriad of demons / demonesses trying to put an end to his life! Krishna tells us that this life is not for being sad and depressed, it is one of joy and happiness
Krishna was loved by everyone because he loved every one equally – whether it was the Gopis of Brindavan or kings and princes. Krishna never forgot his childhood friends or the favours done for him. At the right opportunity and when his friends like Sudhama were in need, he always helped them with many times what they expected.
Krishna’s flute and his ability to attract people by music were legendary. Krishna puts music into life and life into music!
There is so much discrimination in India on the basis of color and creed, while Krishna was a revelation that color was irrelevant and Black is beautiful!
Bhagavad Gita is the Essence of ancient Hindu/Indian scriptures. It includes metaphysics, ethics, yogasastra, the science of reality and the art of union with reality. Work is worship – One of the central messages of the Gita is infact doing one’s job to the best of one’s ability and without any expectations!
Selected popular stories covering different disciplines (folk tales, history, philosophy, science and geography) were compiled as part of Bhagavata etc.
Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata are like popular notes prepared for exam time, short cut for reading so many books. They are literary works of India, not limited to Hindus. Some characters are made divine.

Mathura - Gokula

Mathura (in present day Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh) was the capital of the Yadavas. Kansa, Devaki's brother, had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth child, Kansa had the couple locked into a prison cell. After Kansa killed the first six children. Seventh Balarama, escaped. Krishna was born in the Rohini nakshatra and simultaneously Goddess Durga was born as Yogamaya in Gokulam to Nanda and Yashoda.
Since Vasudeva knew Krishna's life was in danger, Krishna was secretly taken out of the prison cell to be raised by his foster parents, Yasoda and Nanda, in Gokula.
Nanda was the head of a community of cow-herders, and he settled in Vrindavana. The stories of Krishna's childhood and youth tell about his mischievous pranks and his role as a protector of the people of Vrindavana. Krishna advised the people of Vrindavana to take care of their animals and their environment rather than spending their resources in unnecessary rituals for Indra. Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill and held it over the residents of Vrindavan like an umbrella, thus protecting them from heavy rain by Indra.
Kamsa his maternal uncle, sent many demon followers to Vrindavan to kill him. First he sent Putana, a child-killing witch, who assumed the form of a beautiful woman. Krishna sucked both her breast and her life-airs, killing her. He then killed Trinavarta, the wind demon, who grabbed Krishna and flew away with him. The Aghasura demon, in the form of a gigantic snake, swallowed Krishna and his cowherd boy friends. Krishna then expanded himself and killed Aghasura. Aristasura, the bull demon and Keshi, the horse demon, both fought with Krishna and were killed. Krishna overthrew and killed Kamsa, after avoiding several assassination attempts from Kansa's followers. He reinstated Kansa's father, Ugrasena, as the king of the Yadavas.

Rukmani Marriage

Bheeshmak was the king of Vidarbh with Kundanpur as capital. Rukmi, the eldest son of Bheeshmak, had fixed his sister's engagement with Shishupal, the prince of Chaidi. Bheeshmak heard the tale with full attention. His daughter Rukmani too enjoyed the tale about the life of Krishna and wanted to marry Krishna. But Rukmi had a strong opposition against lord Krishna. Ignoring the wish of his father, he was not ready to get his sister married to Lord Krishna. On the appointed day, Shishupal appeared there, in a procession, to get married with Rukmani.
But Rukmani was determined to marry Lord Krishna. She sent a love letter to Krishna through a loyal Brahmin and the Brahmin, the carrier of the letter, returned to Kundanpur with an assurance from the Lord. Rukmani after getting the assurance from the Brahmin was thus waiting for Lord's arrival.
Preparations for Rukmani's marriage with Shishupal were on with full swing in Kundanpur. Many great kings like Shalv, Jarasandh, Dantvaktra, Vidurath and Paundrak were present in the marriage procession. They had come with their armies with an intention of fighting Krishna and Balaram. After Krishna's departure, Balaram too set out for Kundanpur with chaturangini (with four wings) army, for he had known about their opponents' preparedness.
Rukmani emerged from her palace to go to the temple of Ambikadevi, soldiers were guarding her. In the temple, Rukmani prayed peacefully. On her way back, Rukmani was walking very slowly for she was awaiting Lord's arrival, which was due in any moment. Just then, Lord Krishna appeared before her. Before she could ride her chariot Lord lifted her from amidst the crowd. And in the presence of hundreds of kings, Krishna and Balaram eloped away with Rukmani.
Hearing the news that Krishna has eloped with Rukmani, Rukmi and all other kings present there boiled with anger. Accompanied by their huge armies, they decided to give them a chase. Thus chased my them, Yadnvanishis stopped and encountered the kings boldly. With a true ambition to win, brave Yadav soldiers defeated the enemies. All the kings like Jarasandh fled for their lives. Rukmi had resolved that without getting Rukmani released from Krishna's captivity, he would not show his face in Kundanpur. He chased Lord Krishna for long. But Dwarakanath defeated him and got his head shaved. Thus defeating all the kings, Lord Krishna brought Rukmani to Dwarka. There they got married formally. All the people of Dwarka celebrated festivities for many days. People presented them with lot of precious gifts. All the people were in great joy to see Lakshmi as Rukmani with her husband Lord Krishna.

Satyabama

Satrajit was a great devotee of Lord Surya and obtained a gem called Syamantak. The gem had radiance equal to the Sun. Lord Said: "Satrajit, your gem is really very beautiful. Nana (maternal grandfather) Ugrasen is the king of this region. If you present this gem to him, it will be very good. But Satrajit refused to present that gem. One day, later on, Satrajit's brother Prasenjit went hunting, wearing the gem in his neck. In the forest a lion killed him and snatched the gem. The lion was in turn killed by the ursine king Jambvant. Jambvant took the gem to his cave and gave it to his children to play with. When Prasenjit did not return from hunting, Satrajit felt sorry and accused Krishna that He had killed his brother for the gem.
When lord Krishna heard that he was being blamed for the mishap, He himself went to the forests. There he found the dead body of Prasenjit, but there was no sign of gem around the cadaver. He found only footprints of a lion leaving from there. Following the footprints, He discovered the dead lion and the footprints of a great bear. Following the footprints, He reached in the cave where Jambvant's daughter Jambvati was playing with the gem.

As soon as lord Krishna proceeded to take the gem, Jambvant arrived. A fierce duel resulted between them. They continued to fight for twenty-six days without truce. On the twenty-seventh day Jambvant requested Lord! "Please wait O Lord." Lord said: "Do you want to take rest?" "No", said Jambvant, "I have recognised you. You are none other than Lord Narayana Himself. Nobody else has the power to defeat me." Lord appeared before Jambvant as Shri Rama. Jambvant prayed and worshipped Him. He was feeling guilty that he dared to fight Lord. Lord said that He had arrived there for the gem only. Jambvant gave him the gem and also his daughter Jambvati. Lord returned the gem to Satrajit and married Jambvati formally.

Lord summoned Satrajit to His court and in the presence of the king Ugrasen, related the sequence of incidents that took place in the jungle. Satrajit felt ashamed. With a feeling of repentance he took the gem. He was getting afraid also that he made enemity with lord Krishna without reason. Hence to expiate his crime, Satrajit thought of presenting the gem Syamantak and his daughter Satyabhama to Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna accepted Satyabhama as his wife but returned the gem to Satrajit saying: "It is a gift of lord Suryadev. Keep it with you. You are required to deposit the gold that you get from it, in the royal treasure."

Akrur and Kritvarma were not pleased with the marriage of Satyabhama. So they got Satrajit killed by Shatadhanva. Shatadhanva killed Satrajit in his sleep and absconded with the gem. Lord Krishna was then away in Hastinapur. Satyabhama too reached there and informed Krishna about her father's assassination. With Balaram, Lord Krishna chased Shatadhanva. But even after killing him, they could not trace the gem. Shatadhanva had given the gem to Akrur to keep till his return. But after the death of Shatadhanva, frightened Akrur came to stay in Kashi. From the effect of the gem Akrur performed many grand Yagyas there. Lord summoned Akrur from Kashi. After welcoming and treating him in the court, Lord asked him about the gem. Akrur showed the gem in the court. But Lord returned the gem to Akrur.

Sandipani and Kalindi

Krishna and Balaram came to stay at the hermitage of sage Sandipani for formal education. There, Krishna imbibed all the virtues of a perfect youth. He was known to be the ideal student and was a favourite of both the Acharya (preceptor) and his wife. Before bidding goodbye to the ashram, Krishna asked his guru what he would like as gurudakshina (fees for the teacher). But the Guru desired nothing material.

Sandipani's wife, however, told him about their son having disappeared. He was playing at the beach one day, after which he mysteriously disappeared and never came back again. She asked Krishna to find him if he could. Krishna went to the ocean and asked the god of the ocean to hand over the boy to him. But the ocean did not possess any control over him, as he had been kidnapped by the demon Panchjanya. Krishna then went in search of Panchajanya. One he found the demon, he pleaded with him to return Sandipani's son Dutta, but the demon refused to let go of the boy. Finally, Krishna killed Panchajanya and rescued Dutta. Panchajanya's bones were ground to a powder, out of which Krishna's famous conch, the Panchajanya, was born.
Krishna returned with Dutta to the ashrama. His Guru and Gurupatni (guru's wife) were speechless when they saw their son returning to them. They had already known about Krishna's divinity and were filled with gratitude at the Supreme's grace flowing through their lives. Taking convocation bath, thereafter, Lord Krishna returned to Mathura.
Once Lord Krishna visited Indraprasth to see Pandavas. On the bank of river Yamuna, a pretty woman was observing penance. She said: "I am Kalindi, the daughter of Suryadev. I am penancing here in order to get married with Lord Krishna." Lord got Kalindi boarded on the chariot and got married to her formally.

Krishna and eight principal wives

Krishna established his own kingdom in Dwaraka. Krishna married Rukmini, the Vidarbha princess. He married eight queens, Ashtabharya—including Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana. Krishna subsequently married or provided refuge to 16,000 or 16,100 maidens who were held captive by the demon Narakasura. The first son of Queen Rukmini was Pradyumna, and also born of her were Charudeshna, Sudeshna and the powerful Charudeha, along with Sucharu, Chharugupta, Bhadracaru, Charuchandra, Vicaru and Caru, the tenth. Pradyumna fathered the greatly powerful Aniruddha in the womb of Rukmavati, the daughter of Rukmi. This took place while they were living in the city of Bhojakata.
Some Vaishnava traditions maintain that Krishna's children were born out of divine mental transmission. The ten sons of Satyabhama were Bhanu, Subhanu, Svarbhanu, Prabhanu, Bhanuman, Chandrabhanu, Brihadbhanu, Atibhanu (the eighth), Sribhanu and Pratibhanu.

Krishna - History/Scriptures/Traditions

Different Hindu theological traditions portray Krishna in various ways - a divine child; a mischievous prankster with butter smeared all over his little mouth; a gentle lover and the Supreme Godhead. These traditions worship different manifestations of Krishna, such as Bala Krishna, Vasudeva and Gopala. Krishna-bhakti Movement became popular during the 7th Century AD. Krishna then started being depicted through art channels too, such as music, dance and paintings. Different forms of Krishna too developed at around this time, giving rise to Jagannatha in Odisha, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan. The principal scriptures are Harivamsa, Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita. The Rig Veda mentions a herdsman "who never stumbles” refers to Krishna. Some texts mentions Vasudeva Krishna, as the son of Devaki and some associate Krishna with his Vrishni origins. Megasthenes made reference to Herakles (may be Krishna) in his famous work Indica.

Krishna of Vedic Period

Krishna is used in the meaning "night, blackness, darkness" in the Rigveda. Panini, the great grammarian mentions Vasudeva(Krishna). Chandogya Upanishad mentions Vasudeva Krishna as the son of Devaki and the disciple of Ghora Angirasa, the seer who preached his disciple the philosophy of ‘Chhandogya.’ Jains have ancient patriarchs which includes Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prati-Vasudeva. The name Krishna occurs in Buddhist writings as asudeva, Kanha and Keshava. Among Buddhist works Kunala Jataka mentions Krishnaa (Draupadi) and Draupadi Svayamvara are referred to in Dhumakari Jataka. Krishna himself is mentioned in Buddhist works such as Sutrapitaka and Lalitavistara. With Baladeva, Vasudeva capture most of Jambudvipa. According to Arthasastra of Kautilya, Vāsudeva was worshiped as supreme Deity by some.
Based on some astrological calculations the date of birth or Janmashtami, is in July 3228 BCE.

Krishna Literature uniting all Hindus

During chaotic times (around 4th Century C.E), Krishna was chosen as a towering personality, to spread Geeta, one text uniting all Hindus. All important stories covering different disciplines (history, philosophy, science and geography) were compiled as part of Bhagavata. Sri Krishna as a child was wonderful, as a youth he was physically most perfect and beautiful. As a fighter he was without rival, as a statesman most shrewd, as a social thinker very liberal, as a teacher the most eloquent, as a friend never failing, and as a householder the best husband. Worship of Krishna as svayam bhagavan, or the supreme being, arose from the 10th century AD. Krishna became a favorite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Jagannatha (Lord of the Universe) in Puri, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan. Krishna is also known by various other names, Govinda, "finder of cows", or Gopala, "protector of cows".
Mahakavi Subramania Bharati chose Krishna as hero. He made poems or songs representing Krishna as the friend, servant, lover and the beloved. But Bharati, in his Introduction to Bhagavad Gita, takes Sri Krishna’s advice, “the brave hero who treats joy and sorrow equally does not deserve to die and explains that the essence of the Gita is, “eternal life”

Krishna many in one

Krishna is a composite deity, developed from many traditions, some listed below:
  1. Yadava hero of Mathura
  2. Dwarakanath, ruler of Dwaraka
  3. First Sea Voyager Abhijit (victorious/ conqueror)
  4. Madhava of Central India
  5. Jeevaka of Civaka Cintamani (Sanskrit original which is lost and modified as Tamil epic)
  6. Mayaan-Nappinai, Forest deities of South Indian Tradition. (Maal, God of Mullai or forest)
  7. Jagannath of Eastern Indian tribes
  8. Krishna rishi or Badri Narayana

Malati-Madhava by Kalidasa

This is similar to Rukmani - Krishna marriage
Malati loves Madhava, but the marriage of Malati and Nandana has been finalised. According to the custom, Malati was to go just before the marriage to one of the city temples and there duly worship the Goddess. It is prearranged that Madhava and Makaranda should go beforehand into the temple and there remain hidden. Malati, goes to temple with Lavangika. Makaranda was to put on the dress of Malati and join the marriage procession and be married to Nandana. Madhava escapes taking the real Malati with him and later formally married to her.

Dwarakanath and Nubian princess

This is similar to Satyabhama. Dwaraka was attacked by pirate force from Arabia/Nubia. They stole some important jewellery and took some slaves, and sailed to their country. Dwaraka was attacked by neighbouring forces also. The prince was assigned to take revenge. Prince learnt sailing and sailed with selected fighters to track culprits. They want to get some arabian horses for the army. Prince was successful and won many of their opponents. He made friends and trade links at these places, kusadvipa. Nubian princess, an expert in horse riding and war fall in love with the Prince and got married. Nubia had many gold mines. So the princess (may be Satyabhama) used to get lot of gold. Durga known as kusadvipini, was the goddess in Nubia. Prince was made king of Dwaraka with the title Dwarakanath.

Sea Voyager Abhijit (victorious/ conqueror)

This is similar to Krishna rescuing guru's son
King marries the daughter of royal guru and he has a son. There was lot of sea trade with land of sheba (Ethiopia or Yemen). Once prince was kidnapped for ransom by pirates or an evil trader. King tries to rescue with force, but pirates leave with the prince in a ship and King was heavily injured. The queen was very depressed and critically ill due to these.  Abhijit, who is good in sea faring,  goes to royal guru study and was a student. When he completed his education after 5 years or so, he asked the guru about the fees he should pay. The guru requests him to rescue his nephew who is the prince.
Abhijit leaves with special gifts and travels to few places trying to locate the prince and arrives at east africa/arabia, where they worship zodiac and follow lunar calendar. He learns that prince had been sold to a local chief. He impresses the chief’s daughter (may be Kalindi, the dark beauty) and she falls in love with him. He easily gets the prince released.  He returns with the prince and his lover and few servants/slaves  to Karwar. The King and his teacher was very happy. Abhijit was made the King for a small Kingdom by arabian sea. Abhijit's marriage to Kalindi, is a folk tale. There is a similar folk tale in Diu region also.

Civaka Cintamani - Civaka with eight principal wives

Civaka Cintamani is similar to large part of Krishna stories.
Kattiyangaran, the treacherous minister of Hemangada, kills the royal family and usurps the throne. Queen Vijaya escapes the slaughter. She gives birth to a son and puts his father’s royal ring upon his finger. The child grows up to be Prince Jivaka. Jivaka has many adventures and regains the throne. At the end of the story, Jivaka decides to renounce his kingdom and become a Jain monk. [Jivaka Chintamani, written by a jain monk, Tirutakkatevar] The story relates to a protagonist who rises to become king through his virtue only to abandon his high position and follow a life of religious value. It depicts the arts of music and dance of the period. It is a treatise of the 4-fold object of life virtue, pleasure, wealth and bliss.
King Caccantan, who became so engulfed in spending his life in lustful pleasures with his queen that he could not manage any time for managing his kingdom. Involuntarily, King Caccantan handed over the control of his kingdom to his corrupt minister named Kattiyankaran. But after gaining power, Kattiyankaran attacks King Caccantan and prior to his death, the King sent his pregnant wife away on a flying peacock machine. Banished, the Queen gave birth to Prince Civakan, the hero of the epic, in a cremation ground. Civakan was raised by a Jain merchant and later he became a heroic figure and a leader of the Jain community. He had several adventures and love affairs and eventually married many women over the course of the various incidents.
Eventually, Civakan returned to his fatherland from where his pregnant mother was banished, in order to avenge the death of his father King Caccantan at the hands of Kattiyankaran. Civakan finally defeated Kattiyankaran and won back his ancestral throne. Civakan marries eight women in his lifetime. Civakan is a brave warrior, expert of all arts and an unrivaled lover. He is calm, considerate and gentle, full of compassion and contains kindness for all living creatures. With his royal wife, an ideal queen, he ruled for long in peace and prosperity. But the worldly attractions started to fade away. One day, at the garden, he observes that his guard attacks a monkey and takes a stolen fruit. Guard’s superior snatches the fruit from him. He feels whole life is like that, one attacking the other and taking away their possessions. Civakan renounced the mundane world and attained spiritual salvation.

Jagannath

Jagannath meaning "Lord of the Universe", is a deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. Jagannath is worshipped as part of a triad on the "Ratnavedi" (jewelled platform) along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra.

The icon of Jagannath is a carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes. Tribals like savaras were tree worshippers who called their god Jaganata, Sunnya Purusa, Nirakar and Niranjan. Nila Madhava (Blue Vishnu) was being worshipped at Nilachal (Blue Mountain). Jagannatha could be applied to any Deity which is considered supreme and is ever present in Nilachala to do cosmic play. Jagannath when worshipped alone is called Dadhi Vaman. Jagannath was widely revered as Purushottam which had close connections with Narasimha who became popular in Odisha and Andhra. Jagannath is venerated as Bhairava, the consort of Goddess Vimala, by Shaivites and Shakta sects. From the times of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Jagannath has been strongly associated with Krishna. Caste barriers never existed among devotees in Jagannath's temple and has a pan-Indian influence.

Madhura bhava

In this form devotee-bhagavantha are considered to be husband-wife form and worship is called madhura bhakti. The form is called madhura bhava. The Bhaktha seeks the companionship of God all through, and the Paramathma is always a fellow traveler with him. He limps when the pilgrim limps, walks with the Bhakta when he walks, and induces him to move on till the very end. Samsara or family existence is full of sorrow and the individual is committing daily, either through the flesh or mind or the senses, sins of the spirit or of the flesh from which there is no escape except through th bhaktimarga. This form is pure love which is equal to mother-child affection. All Haridasas has expressed this form through their songs in praise of Krishna and Yashoda.

Krishna Lila

Devotees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, meaning 'divine play', as the central principle of the Universe. The lilas of Krishna, with their expressions of personal love that transcend the boundaries of formal reverence. The bhakti movements devoted to Krishna became prominent in southern India in the 7th to 9th centuries AD.
Some of the Major Literary works are: Divya Prabandham; Gita Govinda by Jayadeva; and ilvamangala 's Krishna-Karnamritam. Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Madhvacharya and other great saints, see Krishna as the supreme God. Saint poets of the Varkari sect such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Janabai, Eknath and Tukaram promoted the worship of Vithoba a local form of Krishna. Purandara Dasa and Kanakadasa of Karnataka composed songs devoted to the Krishna of Udupi. Rupa Goswami of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, has compiled a comprehensive summary of bhakti named Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu. Narayana Tirtha's Krishna-Lila-Tarangini provided material for the musical plays of the Bhagavata-Mela by telling the tale of Krishna from birth until his marriage to Rukmini. Tyagaraja wrote a similar piece about Krishna called Nauka-Charitam. Many movies in all Indian languages have been made based on these stories.

Krishna in many forms [To TOP]

My Friend கண்ணன் -என் தோழன்
புன்னாகவராளி - திஸ்ர ஜாதி ஏகதாளம் - வத்ஸல ரசம்
பொன்னவிர் மேனிச் சுபத்திரை மாதைப்
புறங்கொண்டு போவ தற்கே-இனி
என்ன வழியென்று கேட்சில்,உபாயம்
இருகணத் தேயுரைப் பான்;-அந்தக்
“கன்னன் வில்லாளர் தலைவனைக் கொன்றிடக்
காணும் வழியொன் றில்லேன்-வந்திங்கு
உன்னை யடைந்தனன்”என்னில் உபாயம்
ஒருகணத் தேயுரைப் பான்.
கானகத்தே சுற்று நாளிலும் நெஞ்சிற்
கலக்க மிலாதுசெய் வான்;-பெருஞ்
சேனைத் தலைநின்று போர்செய்யும் போதினில்
தேர்நடத் திக்கொடுப் பான்;-என்தன்
ஊனை வருத்திடு நோய்வரும் போதினில்
உற்ற மருந்துசொல் வான்;-நெஞ்சம்
ஈனக் கவலைக ளெய்திடும் போதில்
இதஞ்சொல்லி மாற்றிடு வான்.
பிழைக்கும் வழிசொல்ல வேண்டுமென் றாமொரு
பேச்சினி லேசொல்லு வான்;
உழைக்கும் வழிவினை யாளும் வழிபயன்
உண்ணும் வழியுரைப் பான்;
அழைக்கும் பொழுதினிற் போக்குச் சொல்லாமல்
அரைநொடிக் குள்வரு வான்;
மழைக்குக் குடை,பசி நேரத் துணவென்தன்
வாழ்வினுக் கெங்கள்கண் ணன்.
கேட்டபொழுதில் பொருள் கொடுப்பான்;சொல்லுங்
கேலி பொறுத்திடு வான்;-எனை
ஆட்டங்கள் காட்டியும் பாட்டுக்கள் பாடியும்
ஆறுதல் செய்திடு வான்;-என்தன்
காட்டத்திற் கொண்ட குறிப்பினை இஃதென்று
நான்சொல்லும் முன்உணர் வான்;-அன்பர்
கூட்டத்தி லேயிந்தக் கண்ணனைப் போலன்பு
கொண்டவர் வேறுள ரோ?
உள்ளத்தி லேகரு வங்கொண்ட போதினில்
ஓங்கி யடித்திடு வான்;-நெஞ்சில்
கள்ளத்தைக் கொண்டொரு வார்த்தைசொன் னாலங்கு
காறி யுமிழ்ந்திடு வான்;-சிறு
பள்ளத்தி லேநெடு நாளழு குங்கெட்ட
பாசியை யெற்றி விடும்-பெரு
வெள்ளத்தைப் போலருள் வார்த்தைகள் சொல்லி
மெலிவு தவிர்த்திடு வான்
சின்னக் குழந்தைகள் போல்விளை யாடிச்
சிரித்துக் களித்திடு வான்;-நல்ல
வன்ன மகளிர் வசப்பட வேபல
மாயங்கள் சூழ்ந்திடு வான்;-அவன்
சொன்ன படிநட வாவிடி லோமிகத்
தொல்லை யிழைத்திடு வான்;-கண்ணன்
தன்னை யிழந்து விடில்,ஐயகோ;பின்
சகத்தினில் வாழ்வதி லேன்
கோபத்தி லேயொரு சொல்லிற் சிரித்துத்
குலுங்கிடச் செய்திடு வான்;-மனஸ்
தாபத்திலே யொன்று செய்து மகிழ்ச்சி
தளர்த்திடச் செய்திடு வான்;-பெரும்
ஆபத்தி னில்வந்து பக்கத்தி லேநின்று
அதனை விலக்கிடு வான்;-சுடர்த்
தீபத்தி லேவிழும் பூச்சிகள் போல்வரும்
தீமைகள் கொன்றிடு வான்
உண்மை தவறி நடப்பவர் தம்மை
உதைத்து நசுக்கிடு வான்;-அருள்
வண்மையி னாலவன் மாத்திரம் பொய்கள்
மலைமலை யாவுரைப் பான்;-நல்ல
பெண்மைக் குணமுடை யான்;-சில நேரத்தில்
பித்தர் குணமுடையான்;மிகத்
தண்மைக் குணமுடையான்;சில நேரம்
தழலின் குணமுடை யான்.
கொல்லுங் கொலைக்கஞ்சி டாத மறவர்
குணமிகத் தானுடை யான்;-கண்ணன்
சொல்லு மொழிகள் குழந்தைகள் போலொரு
சூதறி யாதுசொல் வான்;-என்றும்
நல்லவ ருக்கொரு தீங்கு நண்ணாது
நயமுறக் காத்திடு வான்;-கண்ணன்
அல்லவ ருக்கு விடத்தினில் நோயில்
அழலினி லுங்கொடி யான்.
காதல் விளைய மயக்கிடும் பாட்டினில்
கண்மகிழ் சித்திரத் தில்-பகை
மோதும் படைத்தொழில் யாவினு மேதிறம்
முற்றிய பண்டிதன் காண்;-உயிர்
வேத முணர்ந்த முனிவ ருணர்வினில்
மேவு பரம்பொருள் காண்;-நல்ல
கீதை யுரைத்தெனை இன்புறச் செய்தவன்
கீர்த்திகள் வாழ்த்திடு வேன்.

My Servant கண்ணன்-என் சேவகன்
கூலிமிகக் கேட்பார் கொடுத்ததெலாம் தாம்மறப்பார்;
வேலைமிக வைத்திருந்தால் வீட்டிலே தங்கிடுவார்;
‘ஏனடா,நீ நேற்றைக் கிங்குவர வில்லை’யென்றால்,
பானையிலே தேளிருந்து பல்லால் கடித்த தென்பார்;
வீட்டிலே பெண்டாட்டி மேற்பூதம் வந்ததென்பார்;
பாட்டியார் செத்துவிட்ட பன்னிரண்டாம் நாறென்பார்;
ஓயாமல் பொய்யுரைப்பார்;ஒன்றுரைக்க வேறுசெய்வார்;
தாயாதி யோடு தனியிடத்தே பேசிடுவார்;
உள்வீட்டுச் செய்தியெல்லாம் ஊரம் பலத்துரைப்பார்;
எள்வீட்டில் இல்லையென்றால் எங்கும் முரசறைவார்;
சேவகரால் பட்ட சிரமமிக வுண்டு,கண்டீர்;
சேவகரில் லாவிடிலோ,செய்கை நடக்கவில்லை.
இங்கிதனால் யானும் இடர்மிகுந்து வாடுகையில்
எங்கிருந்தோ வந்தான்“இடைச் சாதி நான்”என்றான்;
“மாடுகன்று மேய்த்திடுவேன்,மக்களை நான் காத்திடுவேன்;
வீடு பெருக்கி விளக்கேற்றி வைத்திடுவேன்;
சொன்னபடி கேட்பேன்; துணிமணிகள் காத்திடுவேன்;
சின்னக் குழந்தைக்குச் சிங்காரப் பாட்டிசைத்தே;
ஆட்டங்கள் காட்டி அழாதபடி பார்த்திடுவேன்;
காட்டுவழி யானாலும்,கள்ளர்பய மானாலும்,
இரவிற் பகலிலே எந்நேர மானாலும்
சிரமத்தைப் பார்ப்பதில்லை,தேவரீர் தம்முடனே
சுற்றுவேன் தங்களுக்கோர் துன்பமுறா மற்காப்பேன்;
கற்ற விததை யேதுமில்லை;காட்டு மனிதன்;ஐயே!
ஆன பொழுதுங் கோலடி குத்துப்போர் மற்போர்
நானறிவேன்;சற்றும் நயவஞ் சனைபுரியேன்”
என் றுபல சொல்லி நின்றான்.“ஏதுபெயர்? சொல்” என்றேன்
“ஒன் றுமில்லை; கண்ணனென்பார் ஊரிலுள்ளோர் என்னை” என்றான்
கட்டுறுதி யுள்ளவுடல் கண்ணிலே நல்லகுணம்,
ஒட்டுறவே நன்றா உரைத்திடுஞ்சொல்-ஈங்கிவற்றால்,
தக்கவனென் றுள்ளத்தே சார்ந்த மகிழ்ச்சியுடன்,
“மிக்கவுரை பலசொல்லி விருதுபல சாற்றுகிறாய்;
கூலியென்ன கேட்கின்றாய்? கூறு”கென்றேன்.“ஐயனே!
தாலிகட்டும் பெண்டாட்டி சந்ததிக ளேதுமில்லை;
நானோர் தனியாள்; நரைதிரை தோன்றா விடினும்
ஆன வயதிற் களவில்லை;தேவரீர்
ஆதரித்தாற் போதும் அடியேனை;நெஞ்சிலுள்ள
காதல் பெரிதெனக்குக் காசுபெரி தில்லை“யென்றான்.
பண்டைக் காலத்துப் பயித்தியத்தில் ஒன்றெனவே
கண்டு மிகவும் களிப்புடனே நானவனை
ஆளாகக் கொண்டுவிட்டேன்.அன்று முதற்கொண்டு,
நாளாக நாளாக,நம்மிடத்தே கண்ணனுக்குப்
பற்று மிகுந்துவரல் பார்க்கின்றேன்;கண்ணனால்
பெற்றுவரும் நன்மையெலாம் பேசி முடியாது
கண்ணை இமையிரண்டும் காப்பதுபோல்,என்குடும்பம்
வண்ணமுறக் காக்கின்றான்.வாய்முணுத்தல் கண்டறியேன்
வீதி பெருக்குகிறான்;வீடுசுத்த மாக்குகிறான்;
தாதியர்செய் குற்றமெலாம் தட்டி யடக்குகிறான்;
மக்களுக்கு வாத்தி,வளர்ப்புத்தாய்,வைத்தியனாய்
ஒக்கநயங் காட்டுகிறான்; ஒன்றுங் குறைவின்றிப்
பண்டமெலாம் சேர்த்துவைத்துப் பால்வாங்கி மோர் வாங்கிப்
பெண்டுகளைத் தாய்போற் பிரியமுற ஆதரித்து
நண்பனாய் மந்திரியாய்,நல்லா சிரியனுமாய்,
பண்பிலே தெய்வமாய்ப் பார்வையிலே சேவகனாய்,
எங்கிருந்தோ வந்தான்,இடைச்சாதி யென்று சொன்னான்.
இங்கிவனை யான்பெறவே என்னதவஞ் செய்து விட்டேன்!
கண்ணன் எனதகத்தே கால்வைத்த நாள்முதலாய்
எண்ணம் விசாரம் எதுவுமவன் பொறுப்பாய்ச்
செல்வம்,இளமாண்பு,சீர்,சிறப்பு,நற்கீர்த்தி,
கல்வி,அறிவு,கவிதை,சிவயோகம்,
தெளிவே வடிவாம் சிவஞானம்,என்றும்
ஒளிசேர் நலமனைத்தும் ஓங்கிவரு கின்றனகாண்!
கண்ணனைநான் ஆட்கொண்டேன்! கண்கொண்டேன்! கண்கொண்டேன்!
கண்ணனை யாம்கொள்ளக் காரணமும் உள்ளனவே!

My Lover கண்ணன்-என் காந்தன்
வராளி-திஸ்ர ஏக தாளம்-சிருங்கார ரசம்
கனிகள் கொண்டுதரும்-கண்ணன் கற்கண்டு போலினிதாய்;
பனிசெய் சந்தனமும்-பின்னும் பல்வகை அத்தர்களும்,
குனியும் வாண்முகத்தான்-கண்ணன் குலவி நெற்றியிலே
இனிய பொட்டிடவே-வண்ணம் இயன்ற சவ்வாதும்.
கொண்டை முடிப்பதற்கே-மணங் கூடு தயிலங்களும்,
வண்டு விழியினுக்கே-கண்ணன் மையுங் கொண்டுதரும்;
தண்டைப் பதங்களுக்கே-செம்மை சார்த்துசெம் பஞ்சுதரும்;
பெண்டிர் தமக்கெல்லாம்-கண்ணன் பேசருந் தெய்வமடி!
குங்குமங் கொண்டுவரும்-கண்ணன் குழைத்து மார்பெழுத;
சங்கையி லாதபணம்-தந்தே தழுவி மையல் செய்யும்;
பங்கமொன் றில்லாமல்-முகம் பார்த்திருந் தாற்போதும்;
மங்கள மாகுமடீ!-பின்னோர் வருத்த மில்லையடீ!

My Lover (female) கண்ணம்மா-என் காதலி
காட்சி வியப்பு -செஞ்சுருட்டி-ஏகதாளம் ரசங்கள்:சிருங்காரம்,அற்புதம்
சுட்டும் விழிச்சுடர் தான்,-கண்ணம்மா! சூரிய சந்திர ரோ?
வட்டக் கரிய விழி,-கண்ணம்மா! வானக் கருமை கொல்லோ?
பட்டுக் கருநீலப்-புடவை பதித்த நல் வயிரம்
நட்ட நடு நிசியில்-தெரியும் நக்ஷத் திரங்க ளடி!
சோலை மல ரொளியோ-உனது சுந்தரப் புன்னகை தான்?
நீலக் கட லலையே-உனது நெஞ்சி லலைக ளடி!
கோலக் குயி லோசை-உனது குரலி னிமை யடீ!
வாலைக் குமரி யடீ,-கண்ணம்மா! மருவக் காதல் கொண்டேன்.
சாத்திரம் பேசு கிறாய்,-கண்ணம்மா! சாத்திர மேதுக் கடீ!
ஆத்திரங் கொண்டவர்க்கே,-கண்ணம்மா! சாத்திர முண்டோ டீ!
மூத்தவர் சம்ம தியில்-வதுவை முறைகள் பின்பு செய்வோம்;
காத்திருப் பேனோ டீ?-இது பார். கன்னத்து முத்த மொன்று!

My lover (male) கண்ணன்-என் காதலன்
செஞ்சுருட்டி-திஸ்ர ஏக தாளம்-சிருங்கார ரசம்
தூண்டிற் புழுவினைப்போல்-வெளியே சுடர் விளக்கினைப் போல்,
நீண்ட பொழுதாக -எனது நெஞ்சத் துடித்த தடீ!
கூண்டுக் கிளியினைப் போல்-தனிமை கொண்டு மிகவும் நொந்தேன்;
வேண்டும் பொருளை யெல்லாம்-மனது வெறுத்து விட்ட தடீ!
பாயின் மிசை நானும்-தனியே படுத் திருக்கையி லே,
வாயினில் வந்ததெல்லாம்-சகியே! தாயினைக் கண்டாலும்-சகியே!
சலிப்பு வந்த தடீ!
வளர்த்துப் பேசிடு வீர்; நோயினைப் போலஞ்சி னேன்;-சகியே!
நுங்க ளுறவையெல் லாம்.
உணவு செல்லவில்லை;-சகியே! உறக்கங் கொள்ளவில்லை;
மணம் விரும்பவில்லை;-சகியே! மலர் பிடிக்கவில்லை;
குண முறுதி யில்லை;-எதிலும் குழப்பம் வந்த தடீ!
கணமும் உள்ளத்திலே-சுகமே காணக் கிடைத்த தில்லை.
பாலுங் கசந்ததடீ!-சகியே! படுக்கை நொந்த தடீ!
நாலு வயித்தியரும்-இனிமேல் நம்புதற் கில்லை யென்றார்;
பாலந்துச் சோசியனும்-கிரகம் படுத்து மென்று விட்டான்.
கனவு கண்டதிலே-ஒருநாள் கண்ணுக்குத் தோன்றா மல்,
இனம் விளங்க வில்லை-எவனோ என்னகந் தொட்டு விட்டான்,
வினவக் கண் விழித்தேன்;-சகியே! மேனி மறைந்து விட்டான்;
மனதில மட்டிலுமே -புதிதோர் மகிழ்ச்சி கண்ட தடீ!
உச்சி குளிர்ந்ததடீ;-சகியே! உடம்பு நேராச்சு
மச்சிலும் வீடுமெல்லாம்-முன்னைப்போல் மனத்துக் கொத்த தடீ!
இச்சை பிறந்ததடீ-எதிலும் இன்பம் விளைந்த தடீ;
அச்ச மொழிந்த தடீ;-சகியே! அழகு வந்த தடீ!
எண்ணும் பொழுதி லெல்லாம்-அவன்கை இட்ட விடத்தினி லே
தண்ணென் றிருந்ததடீ!-புதிதோர் சாந்தி பிறந்ததடீ!
எண்ணி யெண்ணிப் பார்த்தேன்;-அவன்தான் யாரெனச் சிந்தை செய்தேன்;
கண்ணன் திருவுருவம் -அங்ஙனே கண்ணின் முன் நின்ற தடீ!

My family deity கண்ணம்மா-எனது குல தெய்வம்
ராகம்-புன்னாக வராளி
பல்லவி
நின்னைச் சரணடைந்தேன்-கண்ணம்மா! நின்னைச் சரணடைந்தேன்!
சரணங்கள்
பொன்னை உயர்வைப் புகழை விரும்பிடும்
என்னைக் கவலைகள் தின்னத் தகாதென்று(நின்)
மிடிமையும் அச்சமும் மேவியென் நெஞ்சில்
குடிமை புகுந்தன,கொன்றவை போக்கென்று (நின்)
தன்செய லெண்ணித் தவிப்பது தீர்ந்திங்கு
நின்செயல் செய்து நிறைவு பெறும்வணம் (நின்)
துன்ப மினியில்லை.சோர்வில்லை,தோற்பில்லை,
அன்பு நெறியில் அறங்கள் வளர்ந்திட(நின்)
நல்லதுதீயது நாமறியோம் அன்னை
நல்லது நாட்டுக! தீமையை ஓட்டுக! (நின்)

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