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Copy of: Sri Gopala Vimsathi of Swami Desikan : Part 2

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V. Sadagopan • September 7, 1996 


Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group :
Part 2 of the translation of 
Sri Gopala Vimsathi is attached.
Inview of the limits on the length of
files I can transmit thru Compuserve ,
My postings have to be sent in different
sections. 
Please bear with me on this until I find a way 
out of this limitation .
V.Sadagopan
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DATE:	9/6/96 10:14 AM

RE:	Copy of: Sri Gopala Vimsathi of Swami Desikan : Part 2

Verse 3 : Parama Purusha with the scent of Vedas in his breath

AAMNAAYA GANDHI RUDITA SPHURITAADHAROSHTAM
  AASRAAVILEKSHANAMANUKSHANA MANDHAHAASAM I
GOPAALADIMBHAVAPUSHAM KUHANAAJANANYAA:
  PRAANASTHANANDHAYAMIVAIMI PARAM PUMAAMSAM II

I visualize and revere Sri Gopala as the Supreme Lord ,
who took the form of the child born in the cowherd family . 
He was not an ordinary baby. As he feigned fear 
at  the sight of the approaching evil Puthanaa , he alternately
cried and smiled . When he cried, his upper and lower 
lips quivered from that exertion. At that time, his sweet
breath carried the fragrance of the Vedas . He also smiled in between 
his crying spells. His smile was over the thought of what he 
planned to do next with the deceitful Puthanaa. He not only helped 
himself  with the poisonous milk  from her breast , 
but also sucked her life through the very same act of 
responding to her cunning  invitation to breast feed him . He drank 
at one swoop Puthana's milk and her life force and blessed her 
this way . This certainly is no ordinary child !

Verse 4 : Dance for Navaneetham  at his mother's house 

AAVIRBHAVATHVANIBHRUTHAABHARANAM PURASTAATH
    AAKUNCHITAIKA CHARANAM NIBRUTHANYAPAADAM I
DADHNAA NIMANTHAMUKARENA NIBADDHATAALAM
   NATHASYA NANDHABHAVANEH NAVANEETHANATYAM II

At the house of his parents, Yasodha was strenously 
churning milk to produce butter as  part of the daily chore.
Krishna, the bhagyam of Yasodha listened to these rhythmical
sounds coming from her efforts and began a special dance 
to amuse her and to receive gobs of butter as a present for
his performance. For this special dance , he planted one of 
his foot firmly and he moved the other foot around in different 
directions .The gold necklaces, jewelery  and  the ankle bells 
on his holy feet produced then a most delightful  musical sound ,
which matched the laya patterns emanating from his mother's 
efforts at churning milk . May  that vision of this  butter dance of 
Lord Gopala appear before my eyes ! (Navaneetham is freshly 
churned butter mixed with sugar ). 

Verse 5 : Lord's fright at the sight of his chasing mother 

HARTHUM KUMBEH VINIHITA KARA:
   SWAADHU HAIYANGAVEENAM 
DHRUSHTVAA DHAMAGRAHANACHATULAAM
  MATHARAM JAATHAROSHAAM I
PAAYADHEESHATH PRACHALITHAPADOH
  NAAPAGACCHAN NA THISHTAN
MITYAAGOPA : SAPADHI NAYANEH
  MEELAYAN VISWAGOPTHAA II

(Here , Swami Desikan enjoys the scene just before  
the Lord being  caught in the act of stealing
butter from a hidden vessel by his angry mother) .

May the special pose that this protector of the Universe ,
who acted like an innocent child born in the family of 
cowherds of Gokulam, nurture the inhabitants of his 
world !  His mother normally stored freshly churned 
butter in shallow earthern vessels (Chattis ). Gopalan 
routinely raided the kitchen and stole those gobs of 
butter. Yasodha thought that she could hide the butter 
in deep  water pots to mislead her child. Gopalan 
defeated his mother in her  efforts to save the butter and 
won the game. When his mother stepped out of the kitchen 
for a moment , he put his hands into the pot and helped himself.
As he was enjoying himself, his mother arrived suddenly 
suspecting something was going on behind her back. 
She saw Gopalan stealing buter again and  ran towards him
 with a rope in hand to tie him
down as a punishment. Gopalan was bewildered by the 
sight of his angry mother. For a moment , he wanted to
run away to escape his mother. He lifted his foot to run.
His feigned fright at his mother however  made him stop. He stood still
pretending that he did not know what to do next . He closed his eyes
at the thought of the impending calamity of being caught
and punished by his mother . Heappeared 
as though he was averting that danger by closing his eyes. 
It is common for ordinary human beings to close their eyes  ,
when they face serious danger out of a sense of utter helplessness . 
Our  Lord , who is the protector of His  universe adopted this posture 
as if he was a mere mortal . May the thought of the simplicity 
that he adapted for this occasion protect all of us in our daily lives !
this 
  


   
. 
        
thought of waht he was going to do