On #MothersDay, let's look at 2 unique mothers, Devaki and Yashoda.
Each had a share of the joy of being mother to Krishna.
One gave birth to Him, the other brought Him up.
2 Azhvars bring out the contrast between these 2 mothers.
Let's look at them on #MothersDay2023
Periyaazhvar in his Tirumozhi sings about the joy of being Yashoda.
In his songs, Yashoda calls everyone to come and see the beauty of Krishna, from lotus feet to curly hair. (Padaadi Kesa)
Yashoda invites everyone to admire the 10 toes that rival precious gems, the ankle wearing silver, the knees on which Krishna crawls and the thighs on which He slayed Hiranyakasipu.
As Yashoda's son, Krishna is the Yadava Simha. But He is also Narasimha.
Moving up, Yashoda praises the beauty of the ocean-coloured Krishna's stomach, around which she once tied a rope, making Him the Damodara.
She praises His chest that bears the Kaustubha, the shoulders that destroyed Asuras, and the hands that bear Shanka and Chakra.
Moving up to Krishna's neck, Yashoda recalls the time He showed her the entire universe inside His throat.
She calls everyone to admire its beauty.
She exalts Krishna's incomparable face, a face that she washes with specially crushed turmeric, a face marked by distinctive eyes, prominent nose, the enchanting smile on his lips
Yashoda praises Krishna's eyes, eyebrows, ears, all the way to His hair to complete the Paadadi Kesa description.
Through her, Periyazhvar sings the beauty of Krishna sitting, standing, getting up, walking, playing, dancing and so on.
Yashoda sings about the special kind of joy she experiences when Krishna sneaks up on her and hugs her from behind.
Ah the blessing to be mother to the Lord Himself!
But you know who does not get to share this blessing?
That's right!
Devaki.
Despite giving birth to Krishna, Devaki does not witness Him growing up. Imagine how pained she must have been.
To have been mother to Krishna, and yet not so.
So, Kulasekhara Azhvar sings Devaki's lament into poem.
Devaki sings a lullaby to her sweet Krishna, whom she saw only on the day of His birth and not since.
She sings to her child who is blue as the ocean (as Yashoda described), with lotus eyes, and gait like an elephant calf.
And laments she's not blessed to sing this to Him.
Devaki describes what Krishna must have done as He grew up, playing with the toys hung above his cradle, folding His legs as He slept with his palm closed.
She laments that she never got to see all this.
A blessing that Yashoda enjoyed.
Devaki is sad, not just for herself, but also for Vasudeva, Krishna's father.
She complains that if someone were ask Krishna for His father, the child would point not at Vasudeva who carried Krishna across Yamuna, but at Nandagopa.
Devaki describes all that Yashoda described, Krishna's chest, shoulders, the lotus eyes and curly hair, but weeps that she does not have the fortune to have seen all this.
Even when enveloped in the darkness of her prison cell, Devaki imagines Krishna walking towards her.
She sees His Nethi Choodi (forehead ornament) slide as Krishna bends His head towards her, exclaims at His resemblance to Vasudeva, is excited to hear Krishna's speech.
But...
But, Devaki says it is not she who was blessed with any of this.
She laments that all benediction went to that divine woman Yashoda.
"The joy of your feet kicking me, I do not have.
The blessing of eating the leftover after feeding you, I do not have.
O, what grave sin must I have done! Why did my mother beget an unfortunate mother as me?"
"Govinda, I would hold you in my arms, as you drink from my breast, holding it in your tender arm. As you look at me and smile through those eyes, I would lose myself.
But all I've lost is the blessing to lose myself thus in your eyes."
"To see you dip your hands into butter and spot the streak of curd smearing the corner of your lips,
To bring a rope to tie you, to watch you pretend to be afraid and cry to be let away,
Oh that is bliss beyond the binaries of joy and sorrow.
But it is Yashoda who enjoys it."
"To watch you turn Govardhana into an umbrella,
or dance with the Gopis,
Or how you slew Asuras disguised as a calf and wood apple tree,
Or your majestic dance on the hood of Kaliya,"+
+"You even blessed Pootana who fed you milk mixed with poison,
But I, your mother, am denied the blessing of witnessing your Leela.
Will you bless me with that, if there is a way?
I continue living with the consolation that you have a good mother in Yashoda."
Concluding Devaki's lament, Kulasekhara Azhvar tells us about her wish.
She wishes for Krishna to somehow bless her with witnessing His childhood.
Did Krishna grant His mother's wish?
Let's go to Goa to find out.
Goa?
The Sthala Purana of the Devaki Krishna temple in Goa, tells us that Krishna blessed His mother with a vision of Him as a child.
She immediately took Him in her lap, and experienced the bliss of having brought Him up, thus fulfilling her role as a mother.
Through the joy of Yashoda and Devaki, let us celebrate the blessing of motherhood, this #MothersDay
Thank you for reading.
All paintings are by @keshav61 🙏🙏
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