Chapter 13: Krsna and Kanva Brahmin

Illustrated by Ritu

Kanva Brahmin lived in a small hut in Madhuvan. He lived all alone and subsisted upon the fares provided by the forest. He would offer the roots and fruits collected by him to his ‘Ista Devata’, Lord Narayan, and partake of them as ‘prasad.’ Dense bushes covered the narrow pathway to his hut deep within the forest. None dared to go in and disturb his meditations, and he avoided venturing out of the woods. He had lived for five years this way. On the day of ‘Dwadashi’ (the twelfth lunar day), he, by divine inspiration, while collecting items for his pooja, sauntered towards the banks of Yamuna.

A few gopikas at the ‘ghat’ were engaged in talking about the activities of Nanda’s son. Kanva, who disregarded all chatting as fruitless activity, couldn’t control his curiosity when talks about Krsna reached his ears. He approached the womenfolk and asked them, “Whom are you all talking about? Who is this extraordinary child that you so describe?” The gopikas told him they were singing praises of the son of Nanda and Yashoda. Kanva was pleasantly surprised. Nanda and Yashoda had been his foremost patrons earlier, and he had seen their struggles to obtain a child. He was happy for them and decided to pay them a visit.

The thrilled couple welcomed the high-order brahmin and accorded him all the respect and rites befitting his arrival. The brahmin, feeling satisfied, told Nanda that he had heard about his son and had come to bless him. Nanda signaled Yashoda to bring Krsna, who, as usual, was all covered in dust. Yasoda quickly uses her sari to clean him up and puts him down at the feet of Kanva Brahmin. Kanva was awestruck at the singular beauty and charm of the dark-hued boy and realized why everyone in Braj was singing his praise. He blessed the child and got up to take his leave. Both Nanda and Yasodha, aware of their duties towards a Brahmin, implored him not to leave before breaking his Ekadasi fast. He agreed, realizing their intent to serve him.

Yashoda quickly arranged the ingredients and built a makeshift fireplace in the cow shed for the brahmin to cook the rice ‘kheer’. Brahmins of high order strictly avoided eating food prepared by others. Yashoda went away after making necessary preparations as was customary, as even’s one’s shadow falling on food was considered to make it impure. Brahmins in the days of yore maintained exceptional purity within and without. Kanva made rice kheer and offered it to his Lord. He sat in meditation and invoked Lord Narayan to partake of the kheer.

Kanva opened his eyes and saw Krsna eating the kheer he had offered to the deity. He at first felt love at the child eating his kheer but soon realizing that his offering to the Supreme Deity was spoilt, called out to Yashoda and said, “Look what your son has done? Maybe it was for the best. I shall leave now and break my fast at home.” Yasoda was shocked and berated Krsna. She beseeched the brahmin to not leave her home without breaking the fast and to prepare kheer once more. She promised to hold on to her son until the brahmin had eaten. She quickly arranged for the ingredients again and, as promised, took Krsna in her lap and held on to him tight. Yashoda had kept vigil the previous night of Ekadasi and quickly fell asleep holding Krsna in her lap. Her hold loosened as sleep took over.

Krsna leaped forward, entered the cowshed, and began eating the kheer as soon as Kanva offered the kheer to the Lord. Kanva thought the time had held still as he opened his eyes and saw the child eating the kheer. He took time to realize that Krsna had again spoilt his offering to the Lord a second time. He got up and wanted to leave when Yashoda woke up and realized what had happened. She was profusely apologetic and, touching her head to Kanva’s feet, begged for forgiveness for her son and asked him to prepare the kheer one last time. She took Krsna, went to Upananda’s house, and held him captivated inside a locked room. Nanda himself stood guard at the cowshed entrance this time.

Kanva prepared kheer a third time. Krsna jumped up as soon as Kanva invoked the Lord and ran towards the cowshed. The door flew open on its own, and he gave Yasoda a big scare as she chased him to the entrance of the cowshed, where Nanda caught hold of him. Yashoda could breathe again when she saw that Nanda had stopped Ksna from entering the cowshed. She was furious and asked Krsna why he had been troubling the simple brahmin since morning. Krsna said, “ I go and eat his kheer only because he calls me and asks me to eat it.” Yashoda was perplexed at this answer but didn’t pay attention to it. All she cared about was that the brahmin broke his fast, and she was glad that Krsna couldn’t enter the cowshed this time.

How could she fathom the omnipresence of Krnsa, whom she looked upon as her son? How could she know that Krsna, who was everywhere and everything at the same time, could not be bound by anyone? He was sitting in the cowshed partaking of the kheer while being held by Nanda outside.

I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings; I am the Beginning, the Middle and also the End of all beings. Among creations, I am the beginning, the middle and also the end, O Arjuna.

- Geeta Ch 8, Verse 20

Kanva opened his eyes once again to the familiar scene, but this time, the Lord removed his Maya, and he saw the Supreme Lord partaking of the kheer. Krsna said, “You had been praying for many lifetimes for my darshan, so I am here at your calling to eat your offering.” Kanva was ecstatic and pleaded ignorance at his previous behavior. He took the kheer as prasad and, after eating it, smeared what was left on his entire body. He came out of the cowshed, inundated in tears, rolling on the ground, saying, “Blessed is Nanda, blessed is Yashoda.” The perplexed couple asked him if he could break his fast. Kanva said, “Today, I have broken off the chains of Maya.”

Originally published at https://nitin-srivastava.net on June 29, 2023.