“Who knows, maybe tomorrow all of you and even I will have to enter a battlefield.
“You should never forget the experience of the lakhs of warriors who died at Kurukshetra. Lakhs of you here might have to face even more heart-rending circumstances in future. That is why I am going to repeat only a selected part of the advice that I imparted to Arjuna on the battlefield to understand the philosophy of life. Remember, life is not all about enjoyment of endless material pleasures. Every human being possesses five senses. Let’s take the example of the tongue which gives the experience of taste. There are countless fruits with a variety of tastes in this world. If one obstinately insists on tasting every single one of them at least once in life, then even one entire life won’t be enough for that. The same is the case with the other senses.
“The only and easiest way to understand life efficiently is to do one’s duty without expecting anything in return. It is indeed difficult to put into practice but it is as beneficial as a bitter medicinal herb that works wonders.
“I don’t want to tell you anything more than that at this point. But I intend to do two things for sure. The first thing is a radical reform to improve the Sudharma royal assembly. I recommend that the aged members of the Sudharma assembly be relieved from duty. Prince Balaramadada will appoint the new ministers.
“The most important thing that I am going to do today concerns my best friend, my brother Uddhava. I find him perfectly suitable for it among lakhs of you Yadavas. In the presence of and with the permission of all my Yadava brothers and sisters I confer the epithet of ‘Avadhuta’ upon him.
“Avadhuta means one who is detached from all kinds of desires, like the lotus leaf – a truly emancipated soul. A Sanyasi also yearns for Moksha. But an Avadhuta has no desire even for that!”
With his declaration thousands of assembled Yadavas showered a roaring round of applause. Dada arose from his seat and approached me. I instinctively stood up due to my respect for him. Then quite unpredictably he removed the fresh white Vaijayanti garland around his neck and put it around my neck. Looking at the assembly hall he said, “I could never forget the Kadamba garland that this Avadhuta Uddhava had put around my neck on Yamuna’s shore when we met for the first time on the day I came from Gokul to Mathura!”
Countless exalted Yadavas gave a big hand again. Slogans arose from all sides, ‘Hail Avadhuta Uddhavadeva… glory to you!’ “Say something Avadhuta Uddhavadeva! Go ahead and speak.” Everyone insisted.
Respectfully honouring the request of all dear Yadavas I bowed down humbly and said, “First, let me offer obeisance to my dear dada and your Lord of Dwaraka. All my life I was seeking the answer to the question ‘Who am I’. I couldn’t find the right path to self-realization. Many times, I was stuck at a particular point of contemplation. Today I have come to know exactly who I am. What dada says is true. I lived my life to attain the epithet of ‘Avadhuta’. I earnestly yearned for it. I have the exact same feeling right now, on hearing the word ‘Avadhuta’ from dada’s mouth that he must have felt at the time when he was addressed as ‘Vaasudeva’ by the right person, grandsire Bhishma. I am privileged to accept the epithet of ‘Avadhuta’ affectionately conferred upon me by him after testing me. But honestly, I don’t think I am worthy enough to wear this Vaijayanti garland that he put around my neck, for more than a few moments. That right is solely his as I know very well who has given it to him. From today I sincerely accept the responsibility of all the duties that he has assigned to me as ‘Avadhuta’. But this Vaijayanti garland which belongs to him and is loved by his best friends and devotees, I humbly offer at his feet.” I quickly removed the Vaijayanti garland from my neck and put it at dada’s feet. Dada smiled, picked it up and held it close to his heart. Once again exhilarated Yadavas gave a big round of applause.
The news came from Hastinapura that grandsire Bhishma lying on the bed of Shara grass had breathed his last on Kurukshetra at the auspicious time when the sun began its journey for the summer solstice. Yudhishthira had been visiting him for some time every day and had received guidance from him about the duties of a king. Just like Arjuna had felt blessed by hearing the advice of the Gita from dada, Yudhishthira felt blessed by obtaining the advice of grandsire Bhishma. His four brothers had accompanied him. They also got to hear it.
The Pandava brothers had performed the final rites of grandsire at Kurukshetra itself, near the shore of Brahma sarovar. All the brothers were now occupied with the preparations for Yudhishthira’s coronation. When dada heard the news, he dispatched Satyaki to Hastinapura. Now, after performing his daily duties, every evening he began to go without fail to the Aindra gate on the west side and would sit on the stone seat located near it with me. During one such meeting, he said to me, looking at the continuously roaring waves of the western ocean, “Avadhutaa, you must have wondered how come I did not go for the funeral of grandsire Bhishma! But I cremated Karna, the king of Anga with my own hands on the hill?
“Let me tell you why so, because only you have the capacity to understand it. All three of us spent our lives as Jalapurusha. Veracious grandsire Bhishma who had taken the profound vow of lifelong celibacy was an emancipated soul right from his birth. He had no need for any formalities of Jalanjali! But Karna who was engulfed by Duryodhana’s cunning political friendship needed it. That is why I offered it only to Karna from among the lakhs of soldiers in the Great War. Brother Udho, only you can understand that if Kunti aatya wouldn’t have abandoned him after his birth – if he wouldn’t have come in the company of Duryodhana during his lifetime then – then grandsire Bhishma would have addressed him also ‘Vaasudeva’ just like he addressed me!” With each and every word of his I got lost in my thoughts looking at the waves of the western ocean. His thoughts were just as endless as the waves.
Seeing me silent, dada held my arm and shaking me he said, “Oh Avadhutaa! Where are you lost? Satyaki has gone to Hastinapura with my message and instruction. You have to go to Gokul – just like you went to the people of Gokul with my message when I came from Gokul to Mathura for the first time.”
How many unprecedented milestones had he passed in his life! And yet he had not forgotten the curds, milk and butter that he had tasted from the innocent gopis of Gokul. He was not completely cut off from his childhood friends who played many games with him in the forests of Gokul forgetting their own parents and their homes. I kept looking into his long, fish-shaped, dark and deep eyes. He smilingly said, “Udho, brother, you and only you have to go to Gokul – as my representative – as Avadhuta – as me!”
As per dada’s instruction the next day I left through the Shuddhaksha gate for Mathura with Daruka, in the Garudadhwaja chariot. Taking sojourns in places like Saurashtra, Dasharna, and Bhojapuranagar, crossing river Yamuna I arrived at Mathura. How much it was transformed now! Today I strongly realized that what Vaasudeva Krishna had been telling was so true. The world around us keeps changing constantly. It is characterized by growth and progress. Mathura had flourished a lot as there were no longer any threats of Magadha attacks. Maharaja Ugrasena was way too old to attend the royal council anymore. The king appointed by him was looking after the administration of Mathura. After meeting Maharaja Ugrasena and taking a tour of our royal palace once, I entered Gokul along with Daruka and the chariot, by boat. Now everywhere I could see Gopas of the second and third generation after Nandababa. Our Garudadhwaja chariot harnessed with four white horses stood in front of the western gate of the same old residence of Nandababa. A young gopa from the third generation conveyed the news of my arrival to Nandababa who was now very tired and stooped. Hearing the news of my arrival Nandababa and Yashodamata came to the western gate of the residence with a group of gopas. Yashodamata with a wrinkled body and face and with her hair turned completely white stood in front of me holding her hand above her eyes. She had already left Nandababa behind. Narrowing her tired eyes under her hand she kept staring at me for a long time. Then she said in a trembling voice, “He – he is not o
ur Kanhaiya!” Nandababa also seconded her opinion saying, “Definitely not. He is not our Kanha. He would never don such – such saffron clothing!”
I promptly moved forward and touching their feet I said, “I am not your Kanha- Kanhaiya. He is doing well in Dwaraka. I am his chulat bandhu, Uddhava. He is so occupied with the administrative duties of Dwaraka that he has no time. I have come here as per his instruction. I had come once before also a long time ago. He has sent a message – Don’t worry. I am fine. Very soon I will come to visit you!”
Hearing my words the faces of that aged couple instantly glowed with joy. A large crowd of gopas who had assembled in front of me whispered among themselves, ‘Kanha is coming soon – the great Lord of Dwaraka is coming!’ While hearing their whispers I only kept thinking of one thing that dada had said. He had said that sometimes the illusion of the truth of life is more fascinating than the truth itself, it can be really life-giving.
By this time the news of my arrival had already spread all over small Gokul. I took a seat on a platform covered by a blanket in the main square of Nandababa’s residence. Daruka was sitting next to me. Just then a gopa woman of about the same age as our Revativahini entered with searching eyes. Her hair had also turned gray now. As soon as she came in front of me she did not get confused like the others, and said to me, “Paramsakha Avadhuta, do you recognize this sakhi of your dada?” I quickly moved forward and touched the feet of the gopa woman and said, “Not recognizing you is like not recognizing my own reflection in the mirror! Dada has sent his message of wellbeing to you. What is your message for him?”
She smiled slightly. Her smile reflected a tinge of dada’s smile. She was Radhika! She said, “Tell him that even I am fine by his grace. I have stopped waiting for him long back. My heart is in Dwaraka all the time!
“I have taken care of his gift with all sincerity so far. Now tell him to take care of it himself.” She pulled out a flute from the folds of her dress and handed it to me.
The next day I visited each and every place in Gokul associated with the divine memories of dada. In the end, I came to the same place on the shore of Yamuna where he had played with friends and had raised a Shivapindi of sand along with Balidada.
Now on that place was a small stone Shiva temple built by Nandababa in commemoration of that.
After staying in Gokul for two days I returned to Dwaraka after two weeks of travel by the same road that I had taken to reach Gokul. I presented a detailed report of everything that had happened in Gokul, to dada. I handed over his beloved flute that his gopa-sakhi Radhika had given me. Holding it in his hand he came to the treasury of Dwaraka while talking to me. The treasury-chief had carefully kept the silver bracelet of his grandfather in a wooden casket. He stopped there for a moment and said, ‘Brother Avadhuta, listen to this.’ He closed his fish-shaped eyes and becoming one with the flute he played such canorous tunes one after another, it felt as if many rolls of fine-textured fabric were unrolling in front of my closed eyes. Then he put the flute in the same wooden casket and closed it. We went back to his chamber while chatting. The Srisopana came into sight. Now the staircase made up of glistening gold-plated sheets looked very tall and grand.
He called for an attendant and summoned Gargamuni and Vipruthu’s son Sukrita who had now become the Chief Minister. Climbing one step at a time both of us came into his chamber. He was not speaking at all. He was lost in some particular thought.
In a short while Gargamuni arrived with Vipruthu’s son. He greeted both of them with a smile and shared his plan with them. He said, “Chief Minister, summon architect Maya from Indraprastha along with his team. Gargamuni, we have to make some changes in the structure of this staircase. We have to add some steps to it in memory of some great warriors of the Great War of Bharata. You should look after the preparations personally.”
Both of them left to fulfil the duties assigned to them by dada.
A notable change had taken place on the island of Queens’ mansions since dada returned from Kurukshetra. There was a notable change in the temperament of his wives except for Rukminivahini. The biggest transformation had taken place in our Bhamavahini. She had completely given up her obstinacy and adamant ways which was quite hard to do. She had learned to talk and behave exactly like Rukminivahini. Such behaviour was complementary to her inborn beauty. But still dada’s most favourite wife was only Rukminivahini.
Since coming back to Dwaraka from Kurukshetra dada had not visited the island of Queens’ mansions even once. Rukminivahini now lived in original Dwaraka most of the time. Her seven sisters had also undergone noticeable transformations. Though Bhamavahini’s parental home was located in original Dwaraka she did not visit it for months together. She was occupied with the lives of her five married sons – Bhanu, Subhanu, Swarbhanu, Prabhanu, and Brihadbhanu. She constantly kept thinking of how to get her five younger sons – Bhanumata, Chandrabhanu, Atibhanu, Sribhanu and Pratibhanu – married to appropriate brides with the assistance of Rukminivahini. But she still insisted on one thing though. She frequently kept telling dada to visit the island of Queens’ mansions
Rukminivahini’s daughter, dada’s favourite Charumati – Charu was of marriageable age now. She looked strikingly beautiful like our Subhadra in her youth. Rukminivahini’s sons Pradyumna, Charudeshna and Sudeshna were in the quest of a suitable valiant Kshatriya husband for her. All the younger sons of Rukminivahini– Charudeha, Sucharu, Charugupta, Bhadracharu, Charuchandra, Vicharu and Charu – had now gained expertise in handling weapons like the spear, iron club, sword, and bow and arrow.
Jambavativahini’s parental home was located on Mount Hrikshawana. That mountain was located near the Aanarta kingdom neighbouring Dwaraka. Her eldest son Samba was very good-looking but not as innocent as his name suggested. He was very naughty. He and his brothers – Sumitra, Purujita, Shatajita, Sahastrajita, and Vijaya would frequently visit their grandfather Jambavana on Mount Hrikshawana. Notably, they and all his younger brothers – Chitraketu, Vasumata, Dravida and Ritu were exceptionally proficient in bow and arrow skills. The eldest brother Samba had the habit of pulling pranks on his two-three youngest brothers by wearing artificial masks of wild animals like tigers, lions, elephants, and boars.
Dada’s family was as huge as his acclaim. Among my vahinis, Bhadravahini and Mitravindavahini were his aate bhaginis. Mitravindavahini was the daughter of the Avanti king Jayasena and aatya Rajadhidevi. Her sons Vrika, Harsha, Anila, Grudhra, Vardhana, Unnada, Mahasha, Pavana, Vanhi and Kshudhi would frequently cross the creek of Dwaraka and visit their grandparents in the Avanti kingdom as it was quite close. Before the Great War of Bharata these visits to their grandparents’ home were never objected to. But after the war she particularly stopped all her sons from visiting their grandparents’ home. All her sons were also well versed in weaponry.
Bhadravahini was the daughter of Kekaya king Dhrishtaketu and aatya Shrutakirti. She and Lakshmanaavahini, both were from the Panchanada region. Lakshmanaavahini was the daughter of the Madra king Brihatsena. Obviously, both of them used to visit each other frequently. Bhadravahini’s first five sons – Sangramjita, Brihatsena, Shura, Praharana, and Arijita were always in the company of Lakshmanaavahini’s first five sons – Praghosha, Gatravaat, Sinha, Bala, and Prabala. These ten sons of Panchanada always practised mace fights, wrestling and sword fighting together. They would fight a lot with each other but would calm down when their elder brothers Sangramjita and Praghosha scolded them. As Bhadravahini’s younger sons – Jaya, Subhadra, Vaama, Aayu, and Satyaka and Lakshmanaavahini’s five younger sons – Urdhwaga, Mahashakti, Saga, Oaja and Aparajita were about the same age they used to spend time together. This group of the younger sons would never meddle with the group of the elder sons. This younger group was more interested in topics like chariots, elephants, horses and camels. Whenever Nakula and Sahadeva came from Indraprasth to visit Dwaraka this group of younger sons of Bhadravahini and Lakshmanaavahini always pestered them with various questio
ns about horses. Whenever mighty wrestler Bhimsena visited Dwaraka they would simply follow him around just to observe his towering, muscular body without saying anything, like a shoal of small fish following a giant whale.
Satyavahini from the Kosala kingdom had now withdrawn her interest in dance. She had cautiously made it a point to make sure that her ten sons were not falling behind in warfare training just as she was focused on her dance practice. Her first five sons – Vira, Chandra, Ashwasena, Chitragu and Vegavata were interested in the protection and breeding of cows. Sometimes they would take the initiative to organize thrilling bullock cart races of the Yadavas. Satyavahini’s five younger sons – Vrisha, Aama, Shanku, Vasu and Kunti would enthusiastically assist their elder brothers in organizing the races. Yes, dada himself had named one of his sons Kunti after Kunti aatya. Many kingdoms followed such a custom of naming their sons and daughters.
Kalindivahini whose parental home was located on the banks of the Yamuna had a very different temperament from all the other vahinis. She had won dada over on the merit of her penance. Her first five sons – Shruta, Kavi, Vrisha, Vira and Subahu spent most of their time in the company of Aacharya Sandipani and Gargamuni. Their younger brothers – Bhadra, Shanti, Darsha, Purnamaasa and Somaka would occasionally get so absorbed in the gymnasium that they would avoid going to aacharya and Gargamuni. Then the five elder brothers would pull them out of the gymnasium and coerce them to come to Aacharya Sandipani with them.
Bhamavahini got weary of pleading with dada to visit the island of Queens’ mansions. Even the other six vahinis tried to do that. Dada would listen to everybody, smile and say ‘I will, I will’. Notably, Rukminivahini did not urge him even once. She knew very well that he would visit the island of Queens’ mansions only when he wanted to. In her very first meeting with him when he returned from Kurukshetra she had realized how much her husband had transformed psychologically after the war. She herself had moved to original Dwaraka and was living in the royal palace built for her. She had instructed all her sons including Pradyumna to always be in the service of the Lord of Dwaraka. She had also told her seven sisters to keep visiting dada frequently. After all she was the most senior among them. She was really different from all the other wives of dada. She had become like dada’s breath!
Srikrishna- the Lord of the Universe Page 97
