Chapter 2: Message from Vasudev
Illustrated by Rashi.
A messenger from Vasudev swam hurriedly across the Yamuna in the dead of the night. Secrecy was paramount as he stepped onto the banks, having crossed over from Mathura. He could see the lamps flickering on the rooftop of Nanda’s palace. He runs towards the palace, carefully avoiding any patches of light on his path. The celebrations at Nanda’s place had quietened down, giving Nanda a break from all the revelry as he sat in front of his pooja altar, meditating on Lord Narayana — his ‘Ista-devata.’ He felt irritated as his meditations on the four-armed deity were forcibly being replaced by thoughts of his newborn son. That dark-toned, incredibly beautiful face of his baby kept appearing as he struggled to focus his mind on the deity.
The guard announced the arrival of Vasudev’s messenger, who was immediately admitted into Nanda’s chamber. Nanda welcomed him and provided him with dry clothes and hot food, and waited patiently for him to relate his message. He was one of Vasudev’s confidants and could be trusted, and his arrival at such an odd hour was indicative of the urgency of the message. The messenger, sumptuously fed, began to narrate the message from Vasudev. Something very strange had happened only a few hours ago in Mathura.
Kamsa had rushed headlong upon hearing that Devaki had given birth to her eighth child. He was perplexed at first because it was a girl child. As per the celestial announcement, the eighth child of Devaki, supposedly his doom, would be a male child. He hesitated for a moment as Vasudev and Devaki beseeched him to let their daughter live, but he didn’t want to take any chances. Snatching the child, he dashed her on a stony platform. The girl slipped away from his hands and transformed into Devi Bhagwati — resplendent as the noon sun, eight-armed, carrying all kinds of weapons. She laughed out loud and commanded her not to kill any more children, for his doom had already taken birth elsewhere.
Kamsa was repentant. “How could I know that even Gods could lie?” said he and pleaded forgiveness from Devaki and Vasudev. He set them free, but he wasn’t a changed man. Very soon, he convened a meeting of his ministers who hatched a sinister plan to kill every newborn baby less than ten days old in his kingdom.
Even a wise man acts in accordance with his own nature; beings will follow their own nature; what can restraint do?
Geeta — Chapter 3 , Verse 33
Not just our bodies; our minds and intellect are also made of nature, albeit finer constituents of it. A real and lasting change in our inherent nature cannot come without spiritual practices done consistently over long periods of time. A man abounding in ‘Tamas’ (mode of ignorance) will choose to perform similar actions. The same will be the case with ‘Rajas’ (mode of passion) and ‘Sattva’ (mode of goodness). As the Lord says, restraint doesn’t help much. One will be impelled to perform actions dictated by one’s nature. The system of Yoga espoused in the Geeta is meant to dissolve this bondage of nature.
Why did the Yogmaya — Devi Bhagwati reveal to him the secret about the Lord’s birth? Firstly it would end Devaki and Vasudev’s ordeal, and secondly, Kamsa, hopeful of being able to finish off his arch-rival, would send many demons one after another, destined to be killed by the Lord.
Nanda was shaken and alarmed at this news. He felt anxious for his child’s safety. Vasudev had advised keeping the birth of his son a secret. He rewarded the messenger and sent him packing into the dark night just as he had come. Of course, he had no idea that his son was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudev. He considered sending a messenger as a sign of goodwill from his good friend Vasudev. He was genuinely pained at the killing of another one of Devaki’s children. He sank in fear, imagining if Kamsa ever got to his son. How could he protect his son? Little did he know that it was Kamsa who needed protection from his son. The news about his son had already spread like wildfire across the land of Braj and would easily reach Kamsa if he wasn’t discreet about the future ceremonies. He decided to keep everything behind closed doors, but his child was no ordinary child. His effect on the simple folks of Braj had already set tongues wagging. Womenfolk could only talk about him as others waited impatiently to be invited to Nanda’s palace for a glimpse.
Nanda secretly invited some prominent members of his community for the sixth-day celebrations, but the entire community turned up. The child sleeping in Yashoda’s lap had a similar effect on them. Most stood captivated and had to be ushered out of the way. The queue stretched as far as the eye could see, and it wasn’t getting any shorter with time. Folks would rejoin the queue and wait impatiently for a second glimpse. Nanda was anxious and hoped none of them was a Kamsa’s spy. His efforts to curtail the news of his son’s birth proved useless. How could he know that his son was none other than Narayana, the most famous personality in the three worlds?
Vasudev had also advised Nanda to make a trip to Mathura in the guise of paying annual taxes and to remain in Kamsa’s good books by offering him valuable gifts. Nanda started preparing for his journey as bullock carts were loaded with grains, milk products, gold, and precious jewels. He made arrangements for his palace to be heavily guarded. No one was to be granted entry except the servants and maids. He couldn’t divulge to Yashoda about the imminent danger to their son’s life, fearing she would not be able to take the news.
Nanda entered Yashoda’s chamber and picked up the sleeping child. He stood gazing at that divinely beautiful face and smelt his head. He had to leave, but his legs wouldn’t move. He couldn’t put the child down and waited for Yashoda to take him away. Why was he not satiated even after looking at him for such a long time? He longed for more as he left for his journey. He didn’t know that his son was ‘Madanmohan,’ one who could captivate Kamadeva himself.
Originally published at https://nitin-srivastava.net on April 7, 2023.
