Srikrishna- the Lord of the Universe

by Shivaji Sawant

  Kadambini Dharap received a rich cultural heritage from her father, renowned Marathi author Shivaji Sawant, well known for his many literary works. She has done Masters in English literature from University of Pune. She also holds the degree of Bachelor of Communication and Journalism (BCJ) from Ranade Institue. She loves to write poems in Marathi, English and Hindi and has published her own book of poems titled ‘Kinara houn aapanach’ in 2011. She lives in Redmond, Washington, USA with her husband Parag Dharap and two sons, Soham and Siddhant.

  Madhura Phadke is an avid reader and language enthusiast. She has been a Marathi language teacher, a Japanese language faculty at the University of Pune and a corporate translator. She is interested in mythology and her ability to translate while preserving the original essence has enabled a wider audience to enjoy this book, Yugandhar.

  All rights reserved along with e-books & layout. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher and the licence holder. please contact us at Mehta Publishing House, 1941, Madiwale Colony, Sadashiv Peth, Pune 411030. ✆ +91 020-24476924 / 24460313

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  SRIKRISHNA The Lord Of The Universe

  by SHIVAJI SAWANT

  © Mrunalini Sawant

  Translated in English Language by Kadambini Dharap

  Co- Translator

  Madhura Phadke

  Publisher :

  Mehta Publishing House, 1941, Sadashiv Peth, Madiwale Colony, Pune 411030. INDIA

  Cover Design : Chandramohan Kulkarni

  Ebook : Vinod Amale, Cell : +91-9421155793

  Publishing Date : Aug., 2017

  P Book ISBN : Available

  E Book ISBN : 9789386888242

  E Books available on :

  play.google.com/store/books

  m.dailyhunt.in/Ebooks/marathi

  www.amazon.in

  By the grace of Bhagvan Srikrishna

  The Lord of the Universe!

  In loving memory of my illustrious father.

  Late Shri. Shivaji Sawant!

  In gratitude of my determined mother

  Ms. Mrinalini Sawant!

  From the bottom of the heart

  To the Divinity within and without!

  Translator’s Preface

  The epic of Mahabharata has been an integral part of the Indian ethos for ages. With his versatile, multifaceted character, Lord Srikrishna, the protagonist of the great war of Mahabharata has been appealing to and inspiring the Indian psyche since long, and still continues to do so. The character of Srikrishna has been the subject matter of many a great literature in India as well as abroad. No wonder, my father, late Shri. Shivaji Sawant was fascinated by this great personality and chose it as the subject matter for his Marathi novel ‘Yugandhar’.

  The intent of this translation, is not only to convey the story of Srikrishna’s phenomenal life but also his profound, insightful teachings in the Bhagvadgita, to the young generation and give them a glimpse of the unique life and culture of ancient India.

  The translation process has been a challenging one indeed, for me and my co-translator Madhura Phadke, but we enjoyed every moment of it. Translating a novel from one language to another, is also a process of imparting the spirit of one era to another, one culture to another. There are obvious limitations while translating the values and traditions of the ancient Indian culture to the English language of the modern era. We have tried our best to keep the rendering close to the original book. Certain untranslatable words with strong cultural roots have been left as is with an explanation included in the glossary, for example – Aachaman, Arghya, Gurudakshina, and so on. While spelling the male and female names with identical pronunciations the letter ‘a’ has been added to the end of the female name to differentiate between the genders, such as Krishna (male) and Krishnaa (female), Uttara (male) and Uttaraa (female). To convey the familial relationships, in the Indian context as closely as possible we have retained the original Marathi words describing such relationships, for example, kaka, mama, bhacha and so on. Special names of trees such as Ashwattha, Audumbara, Kadamba and flowers like Jaswanda, Champaka etc. have been retained.

  We sincerely urge the readers to refer to the glossary to enhance their reading experience while relishing the joy of reading.

  Acknowledgements

  Translating my father’s novel has been an incredible journey for me. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the people who provided support to me throughout this journey.

  First of all, my heartfelt thanks to Sunil Mehta of Mehta Publishing House for publishing this book.

  Heartfelt thanks to Madhura Phadke, my co-translator. Without her assistance, it wouldn’t be possible to complete this monumental task. Many thanks to Uma Joshi Bodas, my school friend, for connecting me with Madhura.Thanks to Sonia Khare for providing her professional services in editing this book, and giving me many tips to make it reader friendly. Sincere thanks to well known Marathi author, Vaijayanti Kale, for giving me her valuable input.

  All my lovely friends in Seattle - Deepa Joglekar, Ashwini Deodhar, Shruti Pant, Sheetal Darekar, Pragati Deshpande, Vinita Mohite, Savita More, Jyoti Rasal, Bhagyashree Deshpande, and Bharati Shilamkar, thank you for boosting my confidence and having faith in me.

  Thank you very much Chandrakant Limaye kaka and Shubhada kaku, Shubhanan Limaye, Vinayak Vaidya kaka and Vijaya kaku for giving me your precious time and feedback.

  And of course, my mother, Mrinalini Sawant, brother, Amitabh Sawant, vahini, Soha Sawant, thank you so much for being there for me every step of the way.

  My husband, Parag Dharap, mother-in-law, Alka Dharap, father-in-law, Mahadeo Dharap, thank you for your kind encouragement. It means a lot to me.

  Above all, I would like to thank the readers of this book. Hope you all like it.

  Contents

  Srikrishna

  Rukmini

  Daruka

  Draupadi

  Arjuna

  Satyaki

  Uddhava

  Srikrishna

  I must bare my heart today! You seem surprised? Don’t be so surprised! You know me very well as a ‘mediator’, and a dexterous negotiator blessed with excellent oratory skills. But I am not here for any kind of mediation today, and I am certainly not going to give any clever explanation. Why then am I going to speak at all? How and for what reason?

  You have been listening to my ‘Gita’ for ages, and have perused my ‘Uddhavagita’ for years. But there is another ‘Gita’ – the ‘Krishnagita’ – the story of my life, and I want to share it with someone; with everyone in fact. Alas, no one has ever recognized that desire of mine.

  “There never was a time when you and I did not exist; there will be no such time in the future ever.” These were my words to my dear friend Arjuna in the Gita! Today again I assert that my words were intended not only for Arjuna, but for every ‘species’, male and female, and these words hold true, eternally. I exist as a part of every manifestation of life for eternity.

  This is the age of ‘science’ for you and for me as well; not that of mere information but that of authentic knowledge of the material world. Science claims today that ‘time’ is infinite. There is neither a beginning nor an end to it.

  I have clearly stated in the Gita ages ago, that I Myself AM the Kala! Then is it not obvious that I have the right to communicate freely with you today as I di
d in the past and will continue to do in the future too? Just give it a careful thought, and you will certainly agree with me.

  So, the material and vibrant world around us constantly keeps changing with Time infinite. Undulation is its nature. So, what is this theory of undulation after all? It holds that the entire life on earth including mankind gradually reaches the summit of evolution and in the course of time hits rock bottom. However, this vibrant life pervaded by weightless energy, is eternal and boundless . It is infinite and inexhaustible, characterized by growth and development. Shouldn’t we, therefore, alter our approach today to comprehend the dynamic life around us?

  In the tenth chapter of the Gita I have elucidated the principle of ‘Srikrishna’ within me by giving numerous illustrations. The present world requires a different language to comprehend it. Don’t you agree? So, I am going to communicate with you today in that new language.

  However, in exactly what capacity am I going to speak to you today? Am I going to speak as a man with powers of miracles, who effortlessly eliminated many Asuras and Rakshasas disguised in various shapes and sizes, even in his childhood? Or as a ‘naughty imp’, who inexcusably stole the clothes of gopis engrossed in bathing? Am I going to speak as the warrior, who started as the leader of the gopas and went on to become the leader of the entire Yadav community? Or as the ‘little devil’, who, despite the abundance of curd, milk, butter and such at his home, stole the same from the homes of gopis? As the sorcerer, who envelops himself with lovely epithet of an ‘Avatar’? Or as the conjurer, who miraculously saved Draupadi’s honour by providing her vesture at the precise moment? As the axis around which the epic saga of Mahabharata revolves? Or as the capricious playful maniac, who initiated the unwarranted, apocalyptic war of millions of valiant warriors? Am I speaking as the sole protagonist of that saga?

  That is why I want to protest as I frankly engage in this conversation today. Till today, you have astutely kept me at a distance from yourselves. You have turned me into a mere idol of a deity placed in a shrine; just to be worshiped.

  You have no qualms in accepting me to be an ‘incarnation of Lord Vishnu’. You didn’t doubt it then, you do not doubt it now, and you wouldn’t doubt it in future as well! For hundreds of years I have been asserting that I exist inside each one of you but you just refuse to understand and accept that!

  Now, let’s be honest! Don’t you think this conversation between you and me is in fact your dialogue with yourself? Please, don’t consider me as the ‘Vaasudeva’ – ‘The Supreme Being’ in a distant shrine; who is inaccessible to you. Instead think of me as the ‘Achyuta’ – the unwavering spirit of divinity – in the shrine of your heart, chatting with you.

  It has been ages since we had a heart-to-heart talk. More than almost five thousand years! It is high time we should speak openly and freely. I am intent on speaking and you are all agog to hear me. The main problem I face is – how to go about it?

  The story of my life is teeming with thrilling adventures. My life was like a sprawling Audumbara tree, full of branches loaded with clusters of raw, green, and florid, ripened fruits! That’s what my life was like; and not like an Ashwattha tree. Literally thousands of male-female characters ran their course around it. Oh, so many branches laden with clusters of countless events!

  The journey of my life hasn’t been an easy and straight one. Many wise sages and ascetics decorated it with the figment of their imagination and beautified it to their taste.

  The saga of my life has been enshrouded in many layers accumulated over the last five thousand years. I am determined today to scrape off, as much as I can, all these layers concealing my true identity. People have endowed me with those layers unintentionally, and due to sentimental reasons. I have decided to be forthright and speak the bare truth. Veracity is my congenital habit. For that, first come many fundamental questions posed to you as well as to myself, and then comes seeking their logical and perfect answers. Now you tell me, what else is there in my Gita? Doesn’t it contain the most difficult questions and their simple, interesting answers?

  For thousands of years I have been answering various questions posed by all of you. You considered me to be a great, ingenious philosopher only because my answers convinced you. That may be alright. But you have unwittingly converted this philosopher into a holy Avatar! Let me ask you one question, only one question to each one of you, as the master of that philosophy. Will I get a plausible answer to that? At least today?

  What have all of you done to the saga of my life in the course of the last thousands of years? My ardent devotees as well as my staunch rivals – all of you have tarnished my reputation. Innocent devotees deemed me as ‘God’ for their own convenience and rivals disposed of me by calling me names like ‘deceitful’ and ‘crafty’.

  That is why, today, I have to deliberately remove all the murky layers accumulated on the clear blue lake of my life over thousands of years. I will do it with my own hands. Only for my own peace of mind. Therefore, I am not going to tell you the traditional and bookish ‘Life story of Srikrishna’ that you have been reading and memorizing for generations! Being reticent without sharing my life story as it actually happened is no longer in my control. What could happen at the most is that a trivial incident may be completely excluded, or the sequence of events may get jumbled. Maybe a small reference could be omitted altogether. That hardly matters anyway.

  At present I am lying here under a huge, ancient Ashwattha tree sprawling with abundant branches in the precincts of ‘Bhalaka tirtha’ in Saurashtra. Why did I come here? Till date I used to personally groom my beloved four snow-white, robust horses – Meghapushpa, Balahaka, Shaibya and Sugriva. It was not merely ‘karmayoga’— my most favourite chore, but also ‘premayoga’— innate affection for my most favourite swift animal. I have just collected thorny wild creepers from the forest for grooming them. I am tightly holding the thorny bunch in my right fist which is adorned with a topaz ring. Caressing this topaz are the eternal young rays of the blazing sun. Each and every cell in my blood is thoroughly familiar with these rays; ever since before my birth!

  It is summer time. The melodious susurrus of the Ashwattha leaves is permeating through the forest. I can hear it clearly. I am leisurely resting my head in the shade of the tree trunk. My tall, dusky blue complexioned figure which is more than a century old – hundred and nineteen years to be exact – is serenely resting here. Oh, so much has this bluish body of mine seen, experienced, created, confronted and inculcated! Was it just my body that did all this? No, it was actually the manifestation of the universal, immortal principle called ‘Sri’. The eternal principle called ‘Vaasudeva’ within the body!

  The fresh ‘Vaijayanti’ garland woven with white flowers, artistically twined with bunched lush green leaves is resting around my neck. Along with it many pearl necklaces bedecked with divine ‘Kaustubh’ beads and numerous golden ornaments are resting on my chest. Underneath is the gold-plated iron armour that I have deliberately worn after quite a long time. My beloved divine white conch ‘Paanchajanya’, which I have blown many times with all my might and which is usually tied in the blue shawl around my waist is also resting leisurely on the ground now. I clearly feel the warm trickle of sweat running down along the golden armlets fastened on both my arms. Some stray rays of the sun, sneaking through the Ashwattha foliage are leisurely spread over my yellow silk dhoti. A few bold wild-grass blades are glued to the blue silken shawl wrapped around my waist. I can clearly see my left leg covered with the yellow silk dhoti, resting horizontally on the partially bent right knee. Also visible is the rosy sole of my left foot. Yes! I can even see the Suchi arrow pierced deep in the tirelessly itinerant imperial sole of my foot which has just been shot by the hunter ‘Jara’! I am deeply aware of the touch of warm drops of blood dripping down my sole, streaming along the yellow silk dhoti. I can clearly see the pool of my hot, unique blood accumulated around my right heel resting on the ground.

  At this moment,
the blood gushing from my sole has opened up the cocoon of my childhood memories. Streams of memories, full of intense vibrant energy! Just like the streams of blood! A myriad of streams of countless memories! The first gushing stream of blood I can see is touching the tender, fragrant memory in the deepest recesses of my heart, connected straight to Gokul!

  My beloved Gokul! What was it like? There were about seventeen-eighteen more Gokuls located in the land of Vraja. Mine was the prominent one amongst those. It was free of any kind of pollution whatsoever, fresh and full of natural beauty. This land was not occupied only by the gopa community. It was in fact a small bustling town located in the Brahmavarta basin of rivers Ganga and Yamuna, in Aaryavarta. During those times Aaryavarta had an enormous expanse from Dandakaranya to Gandhara. A multitude of professionals like farmers, goldsmiths, woodcutters, plasterers, washer-men, fishermen, potters, ironsmiths, cobblers etc. lived harmoniously in Gokul. Even they were considered a part of the ‘gopa’ clan.

  My dear Gokul was spread over a sizable stretch of about three-four yojanas. The crescent-shaped holy river Yamuna with abundant water coursed around it in a semicircle. The entire Gokul was girded by a robust protective fence of bamboo canes and teakwood sticks — a precautionary measure to protect our cattle from the wild beasts like tigers, lions, wolves, foxes and hyenas. Besides, the watchdogs provided additional protection to the cattle. Diligent gopas had toiled tirelessly to tame the various breeds of these wild canines. Some of them had a reddish and dusky complexion with an elongated body and narrow waist, and a few others were greyish. A long, deep trench was located beyond the fence on the southern side. It was dug by our forefathers long back and then itself they had it plastered with burnt limestone and clay. Every morning and evening the cow dung, cow urine and hay was dumped in it. This trench was covered with broad wooden lids that had strong wooden handles for opening and closing them.