Janmashtami 2024

August 26, 2024

Birth of Krishna.

Verse and commentary provided by Dr. V.N. Muthukumar:

विभुं वेणुनादं चरन्तं दुरन्तं स्वयं लीलया गोपवेषं ददन्तम् ।
गवां बृन्दकानन्ददं चारुहासं परब्रह्मलिङ्गं भजे पाण्डुरङ्गम् ॥

The all-pervasive unfathomable One
appears as a cowherd – created
by His own māyā.
With a lovely smile on His face,
He plays the flute,
bringing great happiness
to His cows.
To That Supreme brahman
Who sports as pāṇḍuraṅga,
I bow.

(pāṇḍuraṅgāṡṭakam, 7 – attributed to Adi Shankara, ca. 7th century CE)

Among the many manifestations of ῑśvara, that of Krishna is unique. Throughout His life, He is loved in many ways – as a son, child, cowherd, friend, lover, etc. Yet, He is always recognized as the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad Gita (4.6), Krishna Himself says,

अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् ।
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ॥

(Although I am birthless and undecaying by nature, and the Lord of all beings, (yet) I assume a birth by controlling my own māyā.)

Commenting on this verse, the revered Adi Shankaracharya clarifies the meaning of the Lord’s “own māyā” – My own … the māyā of Vishnu, under whose spell the whole world exists, and deluded by which one does not know one’s own Self – Vasudeva (the all-pervasive) … by subjugating that māyā, I appear to become embodied … (and) not like an ordinary man (who takes birth because of the results of his past actions).

This theme recurs in the pāṇḍuraṅgāṡṭakam – a stotra composed by the venerable Adi Shankaracharya in praise of Lord Panduranga, the presiding deity of Pandharipura. Tradition has it that Adi Shankaracharya visited this temple during his peregrinations through Bharat.

The figure of Krishna in the image below graces the archway outside the Gopalkrishna Temple in Borim, Goa.