LORD KRISHNA’S FEMALES

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

Lord Rama, the seventh avatar, of the Treta Yuga, was straight as a wand and was devoted to one woman, his wife Sita. However, Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar, of the Dwapara Yuga, has been shown as a colourful personality with innumerable liaisons with women. Yet, the two avatars are equally popular in India. Rama sent away Sita based on some alleged rumours emanating from a dhobi but this story happened only in the Uttarakhand which was not originally part of Valmiki’s epic and is a later concoction.

Comparing Rama and Krishna, I am reminded of what some Southern musicians tend to say. They claim that Carnatic music is like Rama, straight and pure, whereas Hindustani music is like Krishna, colourful and not pure! Yet, unlike North Indians, South Indian men often carry Gods’ names and common amongst them would be Ramachandran, Ramanathan, Radhakrishnan, Balakrishnan etc! So, even the South is really unbiased while choosing Rama or Krishna.

KRISHNA AND RADHA

Krishna was married to Rukmini and Satyabhama. However, Radha, a gopi, was his consort. Like the divine status attributed to Krishna, the human avatar, Radha is also attributed a divine status, and the love between them was essentially divine and spiritual.

In the story of Krishna found in Mahabharata (estimated time: circa 3000-1000 BC) and Bhagavata Purana (circa 900 BC), the name of Radha, the favourite gopi, never occurs at all. It is stated that the young cow-herd Krishna spent a lot of time with gopis, the cow-herd girls, in Vrindavan. It is said that Skanda Purana mentions a few names of gopis and mentions Radha and Chandravalli as the most prominent amongst them and Radha as the very best.

It is only thanks to the Brahmin poet Jayadeva (Orissan, circa 1200 AD) that we have the epic Sanskrit poem “Gita Govinda” which has depicted Radha, the gopi, as a divine consort of Krishna, and has described their divine love. In fact, Radha has been given a higher divine status than that of Krishna, by Jayadeva. “Gita Govinda” became instrumental in giving a huge boost to the bhakti movement in India.

Jayadeva was born in the traditionally Krishna-adoring village of Kenduli Sasan near Puri, Orissa. He was known for his scholarliness, and was known to have mastered the Shastras and the Puranas at a young age. He married Padmavati, a court dancer. He was competent in the art of dances too. The reason Gita Govinda became popular in the whole of India was that it was traditionally and dramatically being performed in the Puri Jagannath temple which was a major pilgrim centre. The poetic work of Gita Govinda has been set to music, and each Ashtapadi (group of eight lines) is sung to a different raga. The Radha-Krishna theme from the epic poem dictates the Odissi dance form and has also influenced dance forms such as Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi and Kathakali.  

Obviously, Jayadeva drew his inspiration for the Krishna-Radha love story from Book 10 of the Bhagavata Purana. The said Purana, basically on the 10 avatars, consists of 12 cantos/books in all, totally running into 18000 verses, and the bulky book number 10 handles the adventures and lilas of the young Krishna in Vrindavan which includes the affairs with gopis. The gopis are all devoted to the young Krishna and they would abandon their work to be with him. Essentially this is a sort of spiritual longing for the divine kid.

Chaitanya (1486-1534) of Bengal gave an immense boost to the Radha-Krishna bhakti movement. He was born in District Nadia, West Bengal. He was called “Gaura” as he was very fair, and also called “Nimai” as he was born under a neem tree. He was raised as a Sanskrit  scholar. As a youngster, he was given to chanting Krishna’s name. After a visit to Gaya, he ceased to be a scholar and became a fervent devotee of Krishna. To him, Krishna and Radha were just one unified entity. After becoming a sannyasin, he travelled all over India spreading the bhakti for Krishna. He spent his last 24 years at Puri, known for the Jagannath (Krishna) temple. His followers are called “Gaudiya Vaishnavas” and they regard him as an avatar of Krishna who combined in himself Radha too.

KRISHNA AND 16000 GOPIS

Here is an extract that I have lifted from the Net: “The Skanda Purana states that out of many thousands of gopis, sixteen thousand are predominant; and out of 108 gopis, eight are still more prominent; out of eight gopis Radharani and Candravalli are prominent; and out of these two gopis, Radharani is the most prominent. Because Radha possesses all the charm and sweetness, She is the better of the two.”
The Skanda Purana seems to depict the thousands of Gopis as serviteurs of Radha and Krishna, the divine couple; they decorate Radha and promote her togetherness with Krishna. When there is a dispute between Radha and Krishna, they would take Radha’s side.

The tenth book of Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam/S.B.) contains a very large description of Krishna’s exploits with the 16000 gopis and of his other exploits as a youngster in Vrindavan, although Radha’s name is not mentioned. This has been mentioned by me earlier. The gopis were obviously awe-struck with him as he could get rid of poison from Yamuna river, could tame the serpent Kaliya and perform other feats. Were the 16000 gopis married to Krishna?

The answer to the last question is a matter of interpretation of the relevant passages in the S.B. SB 10.59.42-43 is reproduced below:

"After all this, Bhagavan [Krishna] married those
women in different houses simultaneously, according
to the appropriate rites. The imperishable one
assumed as many forms as there were women.
He lived with them, without leaving, in those incomparable residences.
Krishna is immersed in His own pleasure, but He took pleasure with His
wives, while performing His household duties, just like anybody else.
He performs deeds that are beyond comprehension."
(SB 10.59.42-43)

It would be difficult to believe that Krishna lived simultaneously in 16000 households with the gopis. Obviously it has to be taken that he lived in their hearts. That was nothing but a spiritual marriage.

Krishna was only 10 years old when he left Vrindavan for Mathura, leaving the gopis behind. The love of the gopis for the boy Krishna in Vrindavan was obviously divine love.

KRISHNA AND RUKMINI

Rukmini, the daughter of the king of Vidharba, was in love with Krishna, the king of Dwarka. However, Rukmi, her brother, wanted her to marry his friend Sisupala. By a prior arrangement, Krishna kidnaps her when she had just finished a temple visit in Amravati. (I was an IAS trainee at Amravati and the temple is still there!). Rukmi tries to rescue her but Krishna defeats him in battle. Rukmini marries Krishna and becomes the Queen of Dwarka. The kidnapping and marriage are described in the Bhagavata Purana. In Puranas, Rukmini is considered to be the avatar (incarnation) of Lakshmi.

KRISHNA AND SATYABHAMA    

While Rukmini was the Chief Queen, Satyabhama was Krishna’s second queen and second wife. Satyabhama is regarded as the partial avatar of Bhudevi (Mother Goddess). When the demon King Narakasura (ruling Pragjothishyapur, present Assam), defeated  Lord Indra and abducted 16000 gopis, both Krishna and Satyabhama went over to fight him. Satyabhama had a special role in killing Narakasura in her capacity of an incarnation of mother goddess, since as per a boon Narakasura could not be killed by anybody excepting his mother. After releasing the 16000 gopis, Krishna “married” them to eradicate any tarnish from them.

The “tulabharam story” establishes that Rukmini and Krishna had a greater mutual love and devotion than what was between Krishna and Satyabhama. Satyabhama used to brag about her hold on Krishna, and Narada wanted to lay a trap for her with the idea of weighing Krishna against her jewellery. Satyabhama brought in her unlimited supply of jewellery and yet Krishna, seated on one side of the scale, could not be counterpoised. However, one tulasi leaf brought in by Rukmini did the trick when it was placed on the scale.

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GENERAL REFLECTIONS ON PANCHATANTRA AND HITOPADESA

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

I was familiar with “Panchatantra” from my young days but had been stranger to “Hitopadesa” for half my life. Simply put, if “Panchatantra” were to be ‘special ghee masala dosa’, then “Hitopadesa” would be comparable to some ‘special ghee saadaa dosa’.

We should come out of the wrong notion that Panchatantra was meant for children. It was meant for educating three princes, who were sons of a king, in the art of kingly rule and political science. It so happens that some of the delightful fables in the treatise are simple and can be appreciated by children. Each fable carries a moral. We should reckon that children are more interested in stories than in highfaluting morals which can be imbibed only on attaining a certain maturity and with empirical experiences.

Panchatantra literally means five texts and indeed the collection/compilation/compendium/treatise consists of five major stories or chapters  (with lots of interwoven fables and sub-stories). Indians are the most ancient and most reputed story-tellers of the world, beating all other ancient civilizations such as the Greek, Persian and others. And Panchatantra fables are the oldest fables known to be extant.

Some scholars believe that this treatise in Sanskrit was composed in the 3^rd century BCE, based on older oral traditions that were prevalent. The author was an 80 year old sagacious Brahmin called Pandit Vishnu Sharma. The story goes that at that time a king was not happy with the level of learning of his three sons and was worried on that account. On the recommendation of his advisors, the king sent for the sagacious Pandit Vishnu Sharma who agreed to educate the three princes suitably within six months free of charge although he was offered a hundred pieces of land. The three princes moved out of the palace and stayed with Pandit Vishnu Sharma who successfully gave them the needed education in political science and state-craft within the allotted six months, through the means of fables involving birds and animals as the main actors, each fable having an important moral. Some writers needlessly refer to the princes as all duffers. All children cannot be duffers and education in state-craft in any case is a fine thing for the princes. Usually the eldest fellow will become the king and the younger brothers would be sent out as governors.

The Sanskrit Panchatantra was both in prose and poetry. Prose was mainly used for the narrative. Poetry was used to depict maxims,morals,sayings,proverbs and the like. The treatise was translated first into Middle Persian (called Pahlavi) in 570 CE by Borzuya who was the Persian King’s physician. Thenceforth, it went into Arabic translation in 750 CE. Thereafter, it got translated over centuries into various European languages. The first English translation was in 1570 CE, by one Sir Thomas North, who gave the book the unfortunate title “The Fables of Bidpai”. Who is this Bidpai fellow? Bidpai is an anglicized form of the word “vidyapati” (meaning teacher) which stood for the author Pandit Vishnu Sharma. “Bidpai” later became “Pilpai” or “Pilpay” into English and other European languages! The calamity caused is that the westerners will show a blank face even as of today if you say “Panchatantra” but if you say “Tales of Pilpay” they will know what it is! Here are a couple of “Bidpai/Pilpay books” you can buy today in a western bookshop!

1)    The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai (Yesterday's Classics)by Maude Barrows Dutton, Boyd E. Smith, E. Boyd Smith 2) Pilpay's Fables by Richard Francis Burton, Susheila Goodwin

It is so sad that Pilpay has replaced the original title “Panchatantra” in the west. But when it comes to terms like Vedas and Upanishads this kind of distortion has not happened and any educated westerner would know them.

HITOPADESA

I have already mentioned that Hitopadesa is the “saadaa dosa” version of Panchatantra masaalaa dosa, carrying some variations. This book/treatise in Sanskrit (with prose and poetry combined) is a derivative in a simpler format from the ancient Panchatantra and was written in the 12^th century CE by one Narayana  who was patronized by a king called Dhavalachandra. Hitopadesa simply means beneficial advice in Sanskrit.

Strangely, Hitopadesa has become more popular in the west than the Fables of Pilpay (panchatantra)! Most of the fables are common to both books. Indians seem less aware of Hitopadesa than of Panchatantra. The famous Indologist Charles Wilkins who first translated Bhagawatgita, first translated Hitopadesa into English.
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If one is not wanting a scholarly approach, one would be better off to read up publications/books of the simple panchatantra tales meant for children rather than read a translation of the original work. There is great amusement in it without having to bother the intellect. Googling for the tales is a good idea too. I however have a book titled “The Panchatantra – Wisdom for Today from Timeless Classic” by Sunita Parasuraman (Jaico/2011/Rs.295/pp.271). It claims to be a more friendly translation of the original than the archaic English translation by Arthur Ryder in 1925. Unfortunately, Sunita has not converted everything into easily readable prose. The maxims and morals are kept by her still in English poetic form which is too knotty to follow and could have been rendered into simple English prose. If you see any poetry in any translation work, just avoid it!

The book “Hitopadesa of Narayana” by M.R.Kale (Motilal banarsidas/1896/reprint 2010/pp.289/Rs.175) that I have is a very good book containing three sections. The first section reproduces the original work in Sanskrit. The second section is a whole translation in English prose, avoiding the knottiness of poetry. The third section contains explanatory notes in English with regard to the Sanskrit text.

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In my next blog I shall dwell upon the more detailed and intricate aspects of the stories and fables in the Panchatantra and Hitopadesa which the readers could find interesting.
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Before closing this blog, let me give you an insight, and tell you that all the worst things have been said about women (and not men) in the form of maxims in Hitopadesa. There is no let up on the attacks on women with respect to their conduct and morals! I shall compile and present to you some of those hideous maxims! It looks like women had a lot of liberties and hence the husbands had to be watchful of them in those old times. Here is a wonderful story, which I have highly condensed, from Hitopadesa about a loose married  woman.

The beautiful young lady was the wife of a merchant. The merchant goes out of town. The wife was seeing a magistrate and also his dashing son. In the husband’s absence, the magistrate’s son gets into the lady’s bed. Suddenly, the magistrate himself turns up there, and the lady quickly sends the son to hide in the barn! The magistrate now gets into the lady’s bed. And suddenly the merchant-husband comes home cutting short his trip. What does the wife do now? She takes a huge stick and pretends to hit the magistrate in her husband’s view.

She explains to her husband that the magistrate was mad and wanted to kill his son who incidentally came into her gate and whom she had to hide in the barn. The merchant was happy with the wife’s act to save the son’s life! The moral of this story is given out as “one must do quick thinking and act according to circumstances”! Surely this story is never meant for children!

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I AM A MASS MURDERER

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

I admit to being a mass murderer and I will explain if you have the patience. I don’t do it often. It happens when I am impatient or something has to be rushed.

Are vegetarians capable of indulging in mass murders? Hitler was a vegetarian, and I am also a vegetarian. He was a teetotaler and I am also very nearly there except that I like to drink some port wine occasionally. He was a non-smoker like me. And he was a painter too like me! So, Hitler and I are the same types!  And we both are mass murderers! He killed 6 million Jews mostly in his gas chambers! How does one have a “vegetarian heart” to digest that? Rather a non-vegetarian be and not kill anyone, right?

I admit I am a bit disorganized, although organized for the most part. A part of my disorganization consists in my carrying my coffee tumbler to the computer table in my bedroom. There is no fun in drinking coffee alone at the dining table, you will agree. The coffee is drunk slowly as I pound the keyboard or browse, and then the empty tumbler lies unattended for a few hours on the computer table! Can you imagine then the fate of the tumbler? The tumbler gets infested with hundreds, if not thousands of ants!

These ants are very very tiny and are nothing like the ants I have grown with as a young boy ages ago in Chennai. The Chennai small ants were bigger yet, either brown with a fierce bite (which would invite my immediate retaliation with murder) or the black ones walking and running around softly without a “sting attached”. Of course, huge black biting ants were to be seen too, mostly on the outdoors, biting you just when you were about to pluck a mango after climbing the mango tree.

Two hours after my coffee drinking, when I am about to clear the tumbler, meaning the act of depositing of the same in the kitchen sink, I find myself unable to touch the tumbler which is infested with the tiny, tiny ants. Some of them are dead, soaked into the coffee layer at the bottom of the vessel. I wonder again, rather everytime, as to how the ants gather like this at short notice. Do they permanently live in my bedroom behind the computer table? I have no idea! What happens to these ants when I go out of town for a few days?

I notice that the maid Gauri has come. She would have to wash the tumbler but I hesitate to kill the hundreds of ants. There is a Buddha cum Mahavira in me! Let the tumbler lie till ants finish with their drunken deed and either disappear or get dead in the vessel! I cannot tell you how many lakhs of ants I have saved from Gauri’s kitchen wash-basin mass murder!

But there are occasions I have been impatient. I hate it when a tiny cockroach sometimes sneaks into the tumbler to give company to ants. I rush the tumbler immediately straight to the bathroom wash basin and give it a soak under running waters. The most definitive idea is to get rid of the repugnant little cockroach. But in this process I do the mass murder of ants! I hate that murder business. I wonder how these tiny cockroaches exist despite periodical application of the “Kokron” powder. What do these creatures live upon when I am not in the house? Thankfully, it would seem that these ugly, hateful insects are not many. Assume you have hundreds of cockroaches coming into the tumbler instead of hundreds of ants. God, I would have quit the house. That way God seems to know his numbers!

Why are we all averse to cockroaches? Perhaps, some are not, particularly some South East Asians who eat them. But we Indians hate these creatures. To an extent house lizards control the roaches and surely lizards are more welcome in the house than the cockroaches. I am aware that our gentler sex is prone to jumping on the stools at sighting lizards close at hand.

My killer methods at bigger roaches, which now seem nonexistent in the house, have been many. I have tried boiling water if ready. That sounds barbaric I know. Sometimes an old shoe comes in handy. The squashed thing leaves an unsightable mess, however. Neem oil is effective too – just a sprinkle on the body sends the insect to heaven. Good old Flit was good as long as it lasted.

After my morning coffee and evening coffee, I often think of removing the tumbler at once. But the trouble is that the thought is not followed up by action. So, my mass murdering occasionally of hundreds of ants continues while I also conscientiously do save lakhs of ants from premature death which I am capable of dispensing!

There are 22000 species of ants and 4500 species of cockroaches, and I would like to know why God went for such large variety.

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MEN WHO BECAME GOD

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

It is indeed extraordinary, as we all know it, that the major religions in the world have had their birth in the Asian continent. And religions concern themselves with gods. And here gods, with varying names, are generally the creators, the unseen and the almighty. What is interesting is that some spiritual heads that lived and walked amongst the earthly beings have been given the status of gods.

In Christianity, the God is not human. Jesus who lived in flesh and blood is regarded as the son of god. In Islam, god is Allah, and Mohammad (570-632 AD) was his mouthpiece, a Prophet. Hinduism has envisaged ten avatars in human form. They are worshipped as deities but strictly speaking the Hindu godhead is just one para-Brahman.  Our Vedic gods like Indra, Varuna, Surya etc and the Pauranic Gods like Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha and our goddesses like Laxmi, Saraswathy etc have particular roles, attributes, personal history, and specific areas where they discharge their benedictions.  We thus have multiple deities which are worshipped but the Supreme Deity is one.

The “Shinto” religion (shin=gods; to=ways) that is several thousand years old and is still popular in Japan is nothing but nature-worship. I have visited some lovely Shinto temples in Japan.  There are 8 million gods in Shinto religion covering seas, rain, fertility, healing, hills, trees, rocks etc.  Though polytheistic, Shintoism is basically animistic and there are no gods’ images as such. Shintoism has no founder and was greatly influenced by Buddhism. The resulting fusion is known as “Shinbatsu” (shin=Shinto; batsu=Buddha). From the Meiji Restoration of 1868 till 1945, Shinto was the declared State Religion of Japan.

But then which are the men that have become gods or demi-gods? Five major names here are Zoroaster of Persia, Buddha and Mahavira of India, and Lao-Tzu and Confucius of China. How strange it is that all of them were contemporaries! Let us consider their dates:
Zoroaster    628-551 BC
Mahavira     599-527 BC
Buddha       583-463 BC
Lao-Tzu      604- NA  BC
Confucius    551-479 BC

Mahavira (whose real name was Nataputta Vardhamana) and Buddha (Siddharta Gautama) who are deified and worshipped in temples, never met each other though they came from and preached in the same region. However, Lao-Tzu and Confucius who are also deified and worshipped in temples, are said to have met each other. Zoroaster is considered a Prophet and Zoroastrian temples are meant to worship fire and not his image.        

We all have a good idea about the life of Mahavira and Buddha and about their preaching. We have an idea about how their images look like in temples dedicated to them. Mahavira’s statues are normally in sitting padmasana postures with hand upon hand, and sometimes the Digambar images could be standing postures. In paintings, Mahavira is sometimes shown in a peculiar milkman (goduhasan) posture in which he attained entertainment.

(above: Mahavira in padmasana, with hand over hand)

(above: Mahavira's milkman posture at enlightenment)

The Buddha images are also usually in padmasana but varying mudras are possible such as (1) bhumisparsha mudra (right hand touching the ground in token of calling earth as witness when his enlightenment took place) (2) abhaya mudra (3) dhyana mudra (4) varada mudra etc. Standing buddhas are not as common. The reclining Buddha image is popular in South East Asia and that is the posture in which he attained nirvana (death).

LAO-TZU
Lao-Tzu was strictly speaking  a philosopher. His philosophy (and religion) is called Taoism (Tao=way). He was a Government Librarian effectively. Taoism is an inward-looking religion and basically handles mind, spirituality and attitudes, and the nature of universe and life. “Tao” pervades the universe and is the source of all beings. The balance of life is made by yin and yang (negatives and positives). Lao-Tzu believed that search for any kind of knowledge is useless. He condemned corruption in the government which reminds us about what is happening with us in India of today! Taoists believed in paradises without rulers. Taoists eschewed passion, ambition and sought self-effacement. Under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism,

Taoism changed in character and it developed a belief in heaven and hell and in immortal soul. Lao-Tzu was elevated to the position of God during the rule of some Dynasties and temples were built for him. Taoism and temples for Lao-Tzu are comparatively more rampant in Taiwan than in main China.

How is the image of Lao-Tzu depicted? He is depicted with an old face, a bald head and with a long beard. He spent such a long time in his mother’s womb that he was born old. This is essentially allegorical in order to depict his wisdom. He is shown to be riding a buffalo, concerning which there are interesting stories.

(above: Lao Tzu as old, bald man, on a buffalo)

CONFUCIUS

Confucius is the Latin name for Kung Fu Tzu. He was a Minister, who gave up his job and opened schools. He was basically an ethical thinker. He spoke mostly about “Li”, reverence for nature, life and ancestors. He laid down rules for correct relationship in five categories (1) Between father and son (2) husband and wife (3) elder and younger brother (4) two friends (5) ruler and subjects. Morals and virtues were held out to be paramount in everyone’s life. Confucius was opposed to monastic order and ascetic practices and saw no need for preachers. However, he was in favour of rituals and sacrifices to god including animal sacrifices.
Temples for Confucius came up and animal sacrifices therein became common practice.

How is Confucius depicted and what does his image look like? His representation generally pertains to the moment when he met Lao Tzu. In humility, while standing, he crosses his hands upon his chest. As a wise man he is shown to have a beard, but he is not bald or very old as Lao Tzu is shown. The temples for Confucius have only tablets representing him.

(above: Confucius with folded hands upon the chest in humility)

We have now entered a new era of human gods with temples for Rajnikant, MGR, Tendulkar and others springing  up here and there!

(pics from Net)
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NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL OF PARIS AND TWO FABULOUS TALES

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

While visiting Paris, three monuments you should not miss to see are the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre Coeur Basilica [meaning Sacred Heart (of Jesus) Basilica] situated on a hillock and overseeing the city, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame [Our Lady (Mary, mother of Jesus)]. The Cathedral, built over a long period stretching from 1163 to 1345, is right in the middle of the city, adjoining the Seine river, and is an imposing monument in the Gothic architectural style, with two towers rising to 226 feet and a spire rising to 300 feet.

 (Notre Dame cathedral by night -photo from Net)

During my two years’ stay in Paris in mid 1970s, I have been to see the awesome Cathedral a few times. I found the door always closed and could never make an entry into it even once for reasons I cannot recollect now but I suppose it was undergoing some sort of renovation work. But I remember I used to sit on one of those benches placed around its expansive front-yard. I used to gaze at the monument and try to absorb its immensity and beauty. The gargoyles and statues were captivating to see. During foreign trips in Europe, I would make it a point to visit cathedrals in order to listen to wonderful organ music played in non-pareil ambience and to marvel at the sights of the lovely tinted glass work and of the statuary. Sadly I could never enter the portals of Notre Dame.

In historic terms, the Notre Dame of Paris has been witness to several significant events. The coronation ceremony of Napoleon and Josephine took place there in 1804. Many other royal crowning and royal weddings too have taken place within its precincts over the centuries. However, there are two fabulous tales concerning Notre Dame which none would not want to know: (1) The story of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, a book of fiction written by the great French novelist and writer Victor Hugo (of the “Les Miserables” fame too) and (2) The real life story of teacher-pupil love between Abelard and Heloise.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

(the movie poster - from Net)

The most beautiful of the reigning heroines of those days Gina Lollobrigida played the role of the beautiful gypsy girl in the movie of 1956 called “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in which Anthony Quinn played the role of the hunchback. I have seen this lovely movie a few times for want of reading the book itself! The movie  is even available on Youtube in 12 parts.

Victor Hugo was commissioned by his publisher to write a novel relating to Notre Dame Cathedral in a few months but Hugo took nearly two years and the book was out in 1831. Why was Notre Dame chosen for the novel? Well, Hugo was very familiar with the history and  architecture of the Cathedral and was always fascinated by it.

A very brief outline of the story of the novel could be given here. In actual fact the central character of the novel is the beautiful young woman “Esmeralda”, a gypsy, rather than the hunchback named “Quasimodo”  who worked in the cathedral and whose main job was to ring the huge bell located in the tower. The beautiful and kind Esmeralda captures the hearts of many men including Frollo, the priest in charge of the cathedral; the hunchback and the ugly Quasimodo who worked for Frollo; Captain Phoebus of the King’s Archers and Gringoire, a struggling poet.

Frollo asks Quasimodo to capture Esmeralda for satisfying his own lust. But Captain Phoebus captures Quasimodo during the kidnapping process. As a result Quasimodo is flogged and pilloried in the public place. He was dying of thirst and Esmeralda gives him water and saves his life, reason enough for the hunchback to fall in love with her.

Frollo becomes jealous of Captain Phoebus as he was about to have physical relation with Esmeralda and attempted to kill him. However, Esmeralda got the charge for the attempted murder of Phoebus and she was to be publicly hanged. Before the hanging, Quasimodo abducts her and takes her into the cathedral where she could not be acted upon under the “law of sanctuary”. The King however removes her immunity. And there is tragedy in different ways to Frollo, Quasimodo and Esmeralda which need not be detailed here.

No reading of the book can give you the impression that you would get by seeing the movie. The actions inside of the cathedral as well as the insides of the cathedral that are shown are fascinating with the high stairs, the huge bell, the statues, the tinted glasses etc. I wonder whether they created a set in the Pinewood studios (UK) or at Hollywood. Esmeralda and Quasimodo are top indelible names from world literature.

WORLD FAMOUS LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN ABELARD AND HELOISE

The teacher Abelard and the student Heloise were real life passionate French lovers as famous as Romeo and Juliet of the English fictitious play. They lived in the 12^th Century France. Notre Dame cathedral did not exist then and yet there is a reason why I brought in this story here which I shall explain in due course.

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) earned great fame even early in life as a remarkable teacher, a significant philosopher and a fine theologian. Students from all over Europe came to Paris to hear his lectures. Abelard on a couple of occasions eclipsed his own master, William of Champeaux, in philosophical disputations.  Notre Dame was a church before the cathedral came in there, and Abelard even obtained a post in the church.

Heloise (1101-1161) was a beautiful young lady who came to stay with uncle Fulbert, a Canon of Notre Dame church, Paris. She was 22 years younger to Abelard and was a student with extraordinary merit. And Abelard became her personal teacher and not only that, he stayed in her uncle’s house. Abelard and his student Heloise fell in deep and passionate love. Abelard even wrote about how he managed to seduce her and in due course her uncle Fulbert managed to find out that the two were in illicit relationship. Fulbert separated the two and yet they met in secrecy.

Heloise became pregnant and she was sent away to Brittany (in France) where she gave birth to a son. Different kinds of stories exist with regard to whether and how Abelard married Heloise. And different versions of story relating to how Abelard was attacked and was castrated also exist. Abelard became a monk, and far away Heloise became a nun. They wrote letters to each other for nearly twenty years touching on love, philosophy, theology etc.  The letters have been published for the benefit of the public. Abelard also wrote a kind of autobiography titled “Historia Calamitatum”, talking about his calamities as a philosopher before becoming a monk and his calamities after he became a monk. Several of Abelard’s theological propositions and interpretations were attacked by several monks who became his enemies.

Today, the common tomb of both Abelard and Heloise is to be found in the well-known Paris cemetery called Pere- Lachaise. Yet there again there is a controversy about whether their real remains were interred there. Abelard and Heloise were two extraordinarily gifted and brilliant persons and it was the sign of the times that their passionate love was  disapproved and their lives converted  into tragedies.


(Abelard and Heloise - in a painting - from the Net)
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YEHI WO JAGAH HAI IN MY VOICE

Original singer: Asha Bhosle
Here is my rendition/version.
Vs gopal
26 Nov 2012

This lovely and melodious number was from the movie YE RAAT PHIR NA AAYEGI (1966). Music was by O.P.Nayyar and lyrics were by S.H.Behari . The on-screen actors were Sharmila Tagore and Biswajeet.

LYRICS (lyricsmasti.com)

Yehi Vo Jagah Hai, Yehi Vo Fizaaein
Yahin Par Kabhi Ap Hamse Mile The
Inheh Ham Bhala Kis Tarah Bhul Jayein
Yahin Par Kabhi Ap Hamse Mile The
Yehi Vo Jagah Hai ….

(1) Yahin Par Mera Hath,Mein Hath Lekar
Kabhi Na Bichhadane Ka, Vada Kiya Tha
Sada Ke Liye Ho Gae Ham Tumhare
Gale Se Laga Kar Hamein Ye Kaha Tha
Kabhi Kam Na Hongi Hamari Vafaen
Yahin Par Kabhi Ap Hamse Mile The
Yahi Vo Jagah Hai ….

(2) Yahin Par Vafa Ka, Naya Rang Bhar Ke
Banai Thi Chahat Ki, Tasavir Tumne
Yahin Ki Baharon Se, Phulon Ko Chun Kar
Sanvaari Thi Ulfat Ki, Taqadir Tumane
Vo Dil Apako Yad Kaise Dilayein
Yahin Par Kabhi Ap Hamse Mile The
Yahi Vo Jagah Hai 

THE BEAUTIFUL COURTESAN AMRAPALI IN BUDDHA’S LIFE

THE BEAUTIFUL COURTESAN AMRAPALI IN BUDDHA’S LIFE

V.S.Gopalakrishnan

If there was an Anarkali in Jehangir’s life, there was an Amrapali in Buddha’s life in a very different way altogether. These two famous female names are separated by more than 2000 years. Both women were very beautiful. Both were named after fruits, the first after pomegranate (anar) and the second after mango (amba).

Buddha’s life was long (80 years) and his encounters with women were few. His mother Maya died seven days after his birth, and he was brought up by Maya’s sister Prajapati Gotami. As a young prince named Siddharth, he was inattentive to all the allurement in the form of attractive females of the Court. He was married at 16 to his cousin Yasodhara and had a son named Rahul before he left his family and home in Kapilavastu at the age of 29 in pursuit of the Truth.

It took six years of undiminished ardour and inexplicable arduousness before Siddharth Gautama attained enlightenment at the age of 35. And then he preached as he wandered continuously until his death at the age of 80 in Kusinagara. As he wandered and as he preached, his disciples swelled in number and they formed the “sangha” (order). Before we come to the story of Amrapali, we have some grounds to cover.

NATURE OF WANDERINGS:

Buddha and his monks covered a good portion of the Gangetic plains moving on foot from place to place. They would stay at a place normally for three days for carrying out their preaching to the lay public and then move on to another place. Kings and merchants provided them with gardens and special residential facilities at many places. The gardens were “gifted” not personally to Buddha but to the “Sangha” for their activities. The villagers assembled in the gardens to listen to the discourses of Buddha. Food for Buddha and the members of the Sangha was provided by the King or prince or merchants or by the populace. Magadha, Kosala, Vaishali, Vajji etc were the kingdoms and regions that the wandering Buddha covered relentlessly.

Jetavana (Jeta garden) was perhaps the best known amongst the beautiful gardens provided to Buddha’s entourage and it was close to Sravasthi, capital of the Kosala kingdom. (I visited Sravasthi on 2/2/1963, nearly 50 years ago! Please see the Note at the bottom). There is a fascinating story of how a very rich merchant named Anaathapindika (meaning “feeder of orphans”) managed to buy that enchanting garden from the reluctant owner prince named Jeta! The rich merchant Anaathapindika, whose real name was Sudatta, was the “chief lay disciple of Buddha”, and he held an elaborate and grand ceremony for presenting the Jeta garden to the Sangha.

Perhaps the second-most important monastic resort of Buddha was the “bamboo grove” in Rajgriha, capital of Magadha, provided by king Bimbisara. Buddha’s monks used to get divided into groups and march in different directions so that they could cover as many villages as possible. Buddha had to compete with, so to say, five other similar spiritual preachers with their own band of disciples that broke off from ritualistic and Vedic Hinduism! The wanderings covered eight months in a year and for the remaining four months covering the monsoon season, all monks of the order joined up with the Buddha in order to stay put in one place. The monsoon time of four months was a difficult time to move around and yet intense meditation and discourses continued with the Order during these months.

BUDDHA ALLOWING FORMATION OF THE ORDER OF NUNS:

When the enlightened Buddha initially visited his father , King Suddhodana and foster mother Prajapati Gotami , it so happened that Gotami pleaded with her son to allow her and other Sakya women to become nuns. Buddha did not want women to become nuns. He replied to her:  "Strive for perfection in your homes, clothed in the white robes which women wear, and aspire not to the yellow robes and hard life of the monks. Lead pure and virtuous lives, so shall you find peace and happiness."

But a few years later, when Buddha was nearly 40, he suddenly received a message that his father was seriously ill and dying. Buddha rushed to Kapilavastu to see his father . He was 97 and died in a few days. After the cremation Buddha went back on to his preaching mission.

As king Suddhodana was gone, Prajapati Gotami and many other Sakya women including Buddha’s wife Yasodhara decided to make one more attempt at becoming nuns. They shaved their head, put on yellow clothes and went all the way to Magadha to see Buddha. Buddha again did not accede to their request. His cousin Ananda who was his chief disciple happened to notice the dejected Prajapati Gotami crying outside the door. Ananda pleaded her cause before Buddha but without avail. Exasperated, Ananda asked Buddha whether women were not meant to achieve nirvana. Buddha relented, admitting that women could also achieve nirvana and were entitled to become nuns. It is said that Prajapti was thus the first woman to become a Bhikkuni (nun). However Buddha laid many more restrictions on the nuns than on the monks and treated the former category as slightly inferior.

AMRAPALI: 

Any account of Amrapali, the famous dancer and courtesan, does not usually provide the above background which I thought fit to incorporate since she also ends up as a bhikkuni.

Amrapali was born of unknown parentage and as a baby she was found at the foot of a mango tree in a garden in Vaishali. Vaishali was the large and prosperous Capital city of the Lichhavi republic –one of world’s first republics - which was part of the Vajjian Confederacy. Amrapali was also known as Ambapali and amba means mango which explains how she was discovered and named.

Amrapali grew into a young woman of extraordinary beauty and charm. Her company was sought by many young nobles and rich men, and under these circumstances she was formally given the status of “nagarvadhu” which nearly meant “city courtesan”. This was said to be an ancient practice which was meant to prevent rivalries and jealousies if a very beautiful woman became wife to one man!

Having heard of the beauty of Amrapali, King Bimbisara of the adjoining Magadha kingdom attacked Vaishali. During this war, he had a liaison with Amrapali incognito, and later a son was born to them who was named Vimal Kaundinya (Pali: Vimal Kondanna). Amrapali discovered Bimbisara’s identity, made him stop the war and asked him to leave Vaishali which he did. The story goes that when Vimal grew up, he became a monk.

King Bimbisara’s son was Ajatashatru and between them there was no love lost. Ajatashatru imprisoned his father and took over the reins. His mother Queen Vaidehi secretly fed the King and when Ajatashatru discovered this, he was about to kill his mother when he was prevented from doing so by the advice of a Minister and  a Physician. King Ajatashatru of Magadha also invaded Vaishali and it happened that when he was injured he was treated by Amrapali who fell in love with him. But Vaishalians came to know about it and they had her imprisoned. Ajatashatru was so infatuated with her that in the process of securing her freedom he ravaged the city, and angered by this, Amrapali finally rejected him.

And then comes the story of the Buddha on one of his usual visits to Vaishali along with his disciples. Amrapali was keen to have the privilege of serving food to Buddha. She managed to meet him and express her wish to him. Buddha accepted the invitation although this was not liked by many others. Buddha and his retinue stayed in the famous mango grove belonging to Amrapali. Thereafter, totally captivated by Buddha’s mission, Amrapali gifted to the sangha the mango grove which she possessed. She became Buddha’s disciple, one of the bhikkunis.

There is also a story sometimes told about a very young and handsome monk whom Amrapali wanted to host and feed. She chanced to see him passing by and she was drawn to him irresistibly. The monsoon was to start soon and so she offered him accommodation and food for four months. The young monk accepted the offer subject to clearance from his Master, the Buddha. When he narrated the events to Buddha, the Buddha saw no objection to it. Many other monks were jealous and expressed their skepticism to the Master to the effect that the young monk could fall a victim to carnal pleasure. The Buddha however discounted this. And it so happened that the young monk remained steadfast in his ways and it was Amrapali who got converted to a spiritual bent of mind. This story is stated to predate Buddha’s visit to her.
There are always some variations in the different stories recounted about Amrapali. The original sources are ascribed to some Pali texts and one of them is Ambapalika Sutta.

The life of Buddha has several extraordinary and paranormal aspects. The story goes that his parents were childless for 20 years and he was conceived in his mother’s womb as a result of a dream by her in which a white elephant secured entry into her womb. There are several miracles happening and several heavenly bodies descending to earth, as his life is narrated. However, it is well established by history that such a great man indeed was born in India nearly 2600 years ago. And the story of Amrapali has also been integral to Gautama’s story and the former is absolutely enchanting and incredible.

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Notes:
1)      My short diary note for 2/2/1963 reads:
“Later in the afternoon, drove from Balrampur to Sravasti, a sacred Buddhist place, 11 miles away. Visited the well-maintained Chinese temple and the ill-kept Burmese pagoda. The serpentine course of the placid Rapti (river) was a grand site from near the Angulimal temple”.
2)      The name Gautama/Gotama/Gotami etc signifies descent from Gotama rishi.

3)      The correct Sanskrit form of the Pali name “Pajapati Gotami” is “Prajavati Gautami”. I have used “Prajapati Gotami” which is also used by some.
4)      “Amrapali” was a movie of 1966 starring Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt.