Vrindavan Dham Project Call of the Lord

Anupama Nair

I am writing a topic close to my heart i.e., about Lord Krishna. It is the grace of the Lord that we have managed to survive the pandemic. If you and your family is safe from Corona for more than a year, it is the blessing of the Lord. So, it is now our time to give back to the lord by cleaning places close to his heart — Mathura and Vrindavan.

Now I am going to tell you about the importance of the two cities on the life of the Lord. In Hinduism, Mathura is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Mathura is the capital of the kingdom of  Surasena ruled by Kamsa, the maternal uncle of Krishna. He is worshipped as the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and also as the supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love. He is one of the most popular and widely revered among all Indian gods. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami, which falls in late August or early September every year. The name "Krishna" originates from the Sanskrit  word ‘Kṛṣṇa’, which is primarily an adjective meaning "black", "dark", or "dark blue". The waning moon, in Sanskrit is also called Krishna Paksha, relating to the adjective, meaning "darkening". 

Krishna became the motivation of numerous bhakti cults, which have over the centuries formed a wealth of religious poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna’s story are the epic Mahabharata and Bhagwat Purana. Krishna was the eighth child of Kamsa’s sister Devaki and Vasudev. It is said Devaki was Kamsa’s beloved sister till he heard an oracle say “the eighth child of Devaki is born to slay you”. An enraged Kamsa imprisoned Devaki and Vasudev and killed seven children of the couple. He was awaiting the birth of the eight child to kill it too. But fate had decided something else. On the night Devaki gave birth there was a huge storm and by Lord’s will everybody was sleeping in the prison. Historians estimate the birth of Lord Krishna as 3220 BC, however, nothing is confirmed. Taking advantage of this and with help from Sheshnag to protect the Lord from rain, Vasudev went to Vrindavan and left the baby with the chief of the clan Nanda and took away the daughter of Nanda and Yashoda. He replaced the girl in the prison. When Kamsa tried to kill the girl Yog Maya, who flew from his hands and said “the one who is supposed to kill you is living elsewhere”. Kamsa sent his guards all over his kingdom to locate all new-born babies. He killed all of them but could not locate Krishna.

This is where Vrindavan comes in. It is one of the most holy places in India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi  region, and is where, Lord Krishna spent most of his childhood days as the son of Nanda and Yashoda. The town hosts many temples which is, dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna. My childhood i.e., the time before internet and mobile phones and one hundred plus TV channels and OTT platforms, was spent listening to stories of Lord Krishna from my grandmother or reading Amar Chitra Katha. He is a “makhan chor, natkat balak, and energetic imp with the literal ability to move mountains. He’s also very romantic and plays the bansuri (flute) with divine grace. 

The child Krishna was adored for his mischievous pranks and he also performed many miracles and slew demons like Putana who came to kill him. He was the apple of the eye of his parents. He used to steal butter from ever house in Gokul, so lovingly called “makkan chor” or thief of butter. He had a group of friends. Let me now tell you the story of Krishna giving darshan to Yashoda of his Divine Form or Vishwa Roopa. Vyasa stated in Mahabharata that devarishi Narada once visited Krishna at Vrindavan. Krishna was playing in the sand and was seen swallowing it. Mother Yashoda, on seeing it, was furious with Krishna for disobeying her and punished him by tying him to a grinding stone. Upon witnessing this act Narada stated as per a Tamil poet “ enna tavam cheidanai yasoda engum nirai parabhrammam ammavenr-azhaikka (Yashoda, what sacrifice did you do, that the almighty himself calls you dear, Mother”)? Upon this request, it is said that Krishna opened his mouth in front of Yashoda, who sees the Seven Oceans and the entire Universe and also Lord Narayana seated on Adishesha, attended upon by his consort Mahalaksmi. On seeing this , Mother Yashoda faints, to be revived by Krishna and attended by Narada, who explains to her about Krishna's life.

Another story is of  Krishna lifting the ‘Govardhan Hill’ when he was only a small child. Once, when the people of Braj including Nanda were planning for the Puja of Lord Indra, Krishna, a child then, questioned them as to why they were doing so. Nanda explained to Krishna that this was done every year to please Lord Indra so that he continued to grace the people of Braj by providing rain as and when required. But little Krishna debated that they were farmers and they should only do their duty or ‘Karma’ to the best of their abilities, by concentrating on farming and protecting their cattle, rather than performing pujas or conduct sacrifices. Finally convinced by Krishna’s logic, the villagers did not perform the puja. Furious with the inhabitants of Braj for listening to the little child Krishna, he decided to punish them by sending terrible rain clouds to flood the land of Vrindavan. As terrible rains and thunderstorms destroyed the land and submerged it under water, the frightened and helpless inhabitants of Vrindavan approached Lord Krishna for help. Krishna, who understood the situation perfectly well, lifted up the entire Govardhan Hill at once with his left hand, and held it up like an umbrella. All the inhabitants of Vrindavan, along with their cows and other household possessions, took shelter under Govardhan Hill. For seven days they stayed under the hill, safe from the terrible rains and surprisingly undisturbed by hunger or thirst. They were also astounded to see the huge Govardhan Hill resting perfectly balanced on Krishna’s left finger.

As a youth, the cowherd Krishna became renowned as a lover, the sound of his flute prompting the gopis to leave their homes to dance ecstatically with him in the moonlight. His favorite was the beautiful Radha.

I am writing a topic close to my heart i.e., about Lord Krishna. It is the grace of the Lord that we have managed to survive the pandemic. If you and your family is safe from Corona for more than a year, it is the blessing of the Lord. So, it is now our time to give back to the lord by cleaning places close to his heart — Mathura and Vrindavan. In the last part I spoke about the birth of the Lord and his life in Vrindavan. Now the story continues…

Later, Krishna and his brother Balarama returned to Mathura to slay the wicked Kamsa when Krishna was only eleven years old. He never returned to Vrindavan to see Yashoda or Radha. His grandfather Ugrasen was made the King. After living in Mathura for many years, he realized Mathura was not safe. Sri Krishna moving to Dwarka (Gujarat ) is misjudged by some people, who  think Sri Krishna ran away from Mathura afraid of Jarasandha and Kalyavan (both had boons which prevented Krishna from killing them). That is why he got the name Ranchod. It is not true as Krishna moved to save the Yadavas.

It was Bhima, the second Pandava (son of Kunti, sister of Vasudev), his cousin who killed Jarasandha but Kalyavan followed the Lord to Dwarka to kill him. Krishna now acted like running away from him and ran into a cave in which King Muchukunda was sleeping. The King had got a boon from Devas that  whoever woke him up would be burned into ashes. Kalyavan mistook the sleeping King for Krishna and woke him up. He met his end when he was turned into ashes.

The Kingdom of Dwaraka came to an end due to the curse of Gandhari, the mother of Duryodhana after the Kurukshetra War. She shouted at Krishna as to why, in spite of her being his staunch devotee, and  Pandavas and Kauravas, being created and sustained by Lord Krishna himself, he lets the debacle happen. Why couldn't he have averted the war itself? On seeing, his all knowing smile even at such a time, she cursed the entire Yadava family to be killed in the next 36 years and Krishna himself to be killed. Sri Krishna granted her curse to come true. Krishna returned to Dwaraka and took good care of his subjects. During this time, the Yadavas attain wealth and prosperity. The Yadavas were considered to be quarrelsome people and in the lap of luxury, they lost  their morals and humility. Soon after a fight took place between Yadavas and all were killed except  Daruka, Balarama and Krishna. The city created by the Lord is now under the sea.

Krishna started thinking about the ways and means to attain samadhi and for Gandhari’s curse to be true . He remembered the words of Rishi Durvasa. Long time ago as per the wish of saint Durvasa, he applied Payasam (liquid food prepared with milk, sugar and rice) throughout the Rishi’s body. As his legs were resting on ground, he could not apply it to his feet. Durvasa observed it and said: “Krishna! You have not applied Payasam to my foot. Your death is in your foot.” Many years later, Krishna was lying down under a tree and went into Yoga Samadhi. At that time a hunter Jara entered that forest. He thought, the moving foot of Krishna as a deer and shot a lethal arrow that pierced into Krishna’s feet. As soon as the hunter reached Krishna, he realized his mistake and pleaded the Lord for forgiveness. Lord Krishna consoled him and told him how his death was inevitable. Some believe that Jara was the Vanara King of Kishkinda, Bali in his previous birth. The previous incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Sri Ram killed Bali hiding behind a tree. Bali cursed him and said “in your next birth, I will kill you similarly”. So, the two curses came true. The lesson we learn is be it god or human, curses might come true.

Due to the Lord’s grace and will, I was lucky enough to see all the cities associated with the Lord – Mathura, Vrindavan and Dwaraka. After hearing these stories and the greatness of the Lord isn’t it our duty to help clean and purify these cities? Ujwal Braj Mathura along with Women’s Movement, recently launched a project hailed as “Project Vrindavan Dham”. This project is helped by many visionaries and philosophers and spiritual seekers. Mrs. Hema Malini is the Brand Ambassador. “Project Vrindavan Dham” is primarily an ecological revival of the holy city of Vrindavan. The plan involves, tree plantation, cleaning beautification of the city and last but not the least rejuvenation of water bodies.

It is my duty to remember the generous people who donated generously to the Project. I have spoken to one such donor who donated generously to the project. He is  Mr. Sanjay Thakker and it was my privilege to talk to him.

Q: How did you hear about the Project?

A: I heard about the project from a friend, who is associated with the project.

Q: Where you impressed by the Project?

A: Yes. I was. After hearing about the Project from my friend I wanted to do my bit, whatever I can.

Q: What prompted you to donate generously to the Project?

A: From my childhood I was a believer of Lord Krishna. I grew up hearing the leelas of the Lord. All our holy cities have become polluted. After, hearing about the purification of river Ganga in Benares and Prayag Raj, I heard about this Project and wanted to see a cleaner Yamuna and Vrindavan. So. I donated for this Project.

Q: Would you want to hear about the progress of the Project?

A: Yes, very much. I wish the Project a huge success

Q. What is the message to the public?

A. We all grew up hearing the stories of Krishna. Isn’t it our duty to do our bit for the Lord who showered his grace on all of us during the Corona Pandemic? I urge everyone to do whatever they can.

I thank Mr. Thakker from the bottom of my heart, and hope more people come forward and help beautify the holy city of Vrindavan. My best wishes for the Project.

(Dedicated to Lord Krishna for inspiring me to write this story, Late Uncle Pai for Amar Chitra Katha and late B.R Chopra for the serial Mahabharat and also Project Vrindavan Dham)