Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Damodar Lila: Why Balaram could not untie Krishna

Balaram was furious. Someone informed him that Krishna has been bound by ropes to a grinding mortar.

“How dare can anyone tie Krishna by ropes? Who has the audacity to even think of punishing Krishna? I will first free Krishna and then will punish that person.”

On the day when Krishna was bound by mother Yashoda to the wooden mortar Balram along with his mother Rohini had gone in the morning to meet the elder brother of Nanda Maharaj. 

So he was not there when Krishna was being punished.  When he returned, he came to know that Krishna has been bound by ropes to a grinding mortar.

Balaram was extremely angry. But someone softly uttered in Balaram’s ears, “Mother Yashoda has punished Krishna.”

Balaram immediately became quiet. He was now fearful too, “Hope mother Yashoda did not hear what I said else I will also be punished.”

Meanwhile Krishna was in tears. He was looking everywhere for help.

Nanda Maharaj was not around. Krishna’s cowherd friends wanted to help but were helpless. He knew the elder gopis from whose house he stole butter daily will not go against Yashoda. And to his agony the younger gopis were silently smiling.

But as soon as he saw Balaram he became hopeful. With tearful eyes he looked at Balaram and said, “Mother has punished me. Please free me.”

Balaram said, “Upon hearing your plight I rushed in to help you. You know if there would have been any demon I could have crushed him within seconds.

Krishna was disheartened. “You are my brother. You should help me. You are my first expansion. If you won’t help me then who will help me. I beg you.”

Balaram too became sad seeing Krishna’s suffering. He said, “Ok. Let me try again.”

Balaram went to mother Yashoda to convince her that she should free Krishna.

Meanwhile Yashoda had got busy in her household duties after tying Krishna to the mortar. Balaram went to her and told,

You know to whom you have tied by ropes. If I tell you about the glories of Krishna you will be astonished!

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the source of all the material and spiritual worlds. Just by his desire the sun shines, the wind blows, the waves rise in the ocean. From the pores of his body millions of universes emanate.  

Sages and yogis do penance for thousands of years just to have a glimpse of him. You are so fortunate that he is born to you and he plays in your courtyard.

And you have bound him by ropes!

Its a great offense to the Supreme Lord Krishna. You should immediately untie him.”

When Krishna heard his brother speaking so eloquently, he was overjoyed. “My elder brother is so intelligent and smart. He is logically pleading my case. I think he will be able to convince mother now.”

Meanwhile Yashoda who had to do many household works was getting irritated. She said to Balaram, “So Krishna is the Supreme Lord. And what about you?”

“Seems she has understood about Krishna’s greatness so now let me reveal to her about my glories,” thought Balaram.

He confidently began extolling his virtuous qualities,

“I am the first expansion of Krishna. As Ananta Sesa I hold the entire universe on my millions of hoods. The wish of the Lord is my command.

If he desires, then I can immediately destroy any demons.

When my Lord Krishna had performed his pastime as Lord Rama then I was his younger brother Lakshman. As Lakshman I killed so many demons. 

Wherever Krishna performs his pastimes I accompany him. I am the…”

Now Yashoda had become really irritated.

She picked up a stick and said, “So all the Gods have no other work but to appear in my house. Just go away from here.”

“You are committing a big mistake.” Balaram warned.

Yashoda now sternly told Balaram, “Just let me do my work else you will also meet the same fate. Krishna will remain tied to the mortar. And if you don’t go now will tie you too.”

Balaram immediately ran away from there and said to Krishna, the supreme Lord, “I cannot do anything, and I don’t want to be punished because of you.”

Krishna, the Supreme Lord, was so sad. He was wondering, “Who will free me now?”

Related articles:

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Damodar Lila:When Yashoda punishes Krishna, the Supreme Lord

Damodar lila – Controlling the controller with the ropes of love

Damodarastakam Song

Damodar lila – Controlling the controller with the ropes of love

• Damodar Lila:When Yashoda punishes Krishna, the Supreme Lord
• 11 reasons why Kartik month is the holiest month
• Damodarastakam

Damodar Lila: Why Yashoda punishes Krishna, the Supreme Lord

What is Damodar Lila? Why Yashoda punishes Krishna in Damodar Lila? Why Krishna came to be known as Damodar? Why did mother Yashoda tie Krishna to a grinding mortar? What mischievous activity had Krishna done?

These are the questions which all the devotees have in their mind. In fact, many who know this Damodar pastime of Krishna also love to read it again and again. And they also speak about it again and again because it gives unlimited joy to the heart.

Let us pause for few minutes and travel to Vrindavan and with our own eyes see this beautiful Damodar pastime of the Lord.

Yashoda decides to make best butter for Krishna

“What best should I do for my Krishna today?” Mother Yashoda always contemplated on this most important topic. Like a responsible mother she wanted to give best to her child. For example, Nanda Maharaj had 9 lakh cows. But Yashoda had chosen few cows among those 9 lakhs cows. And the milk of these cows where used to prepare various items for Krishna.  These cows were so fortunate. They were serving Krishna. These cows were given flavoured grass and their milk too carried the flavour.

One day when her little Krishna was deep asleep and other ladies in the house were occupied in different activities she immediately decided to prepare butter and yogurt which Krishna liked a lot. She used to get many complains from the gopis in Vrindavan that Krishna steals butter from their house. It disturbed her a lot. 

How can a mother tolerate her son eating at others house? In fact, he was not eating at others house but was stealing butter from others house. It was a serious issue and was unacceptable for a responsible mother like Yashoda.

“Today I will prepare the best butter which cannot be found anywhere in the entire universe. And when Krishna will taste it he will like it so much that he won’t then even think of touching butter at other gopis’ house.”

Meanwhile other gopis in Vrindavan were also preparing butter and were desperately waiting for Krishna to come and steal butter from their houses. “What if Krishna does not come today?”  The mere thought disturbed them too much. “And what if Krishna comes and there is no butter?” The thought made them anxious and they hurriedly began churning the milk.

Yashoda – the lyricist, the music director and the singer

But mother Yashoda had a different plan today. She was determined to implement it.  Putting aside all her work she began to churn the milk of the best of the cows. She was confident that her plan would succeed.  While churning she started remembering Krishna, thinking about Krishna’s pastimes she began smiling and singing.

Everyday she used to compose many songs based on many pastimes of Krishna in the land of vraja. She was the lyricist, music director and singer. This was one of the best ways to be absorbed in Krishna for her when Krishna was away playing or was occupied somewhere else.  

A song on how Krishna played in the courtyard of her house, how in fear he used to come and embrace her, how in hunger he cried for food, how sometimes he used to become angry when his demands were not met, how he played with his friends, how he danced to give joy to everyone, how he slept, how the uncouth demons like Putana, Aghasura, Sakaṭasura, Tṛṇavarta who came to harm Krishna got killed.  

When she sang her bangles, earrings and ankle bells moved rhythmically, the churning rod too made melodious sound. Dressed in yellow sari she was joyfully singing giving pleasure to everyone. 

Mother Yashoda is teaching us how to always remember Krishna even while engaged in many works.  Life’s purpose is to always remember Krishna and never forget Krishna.

Krishna demands milk

Meanwhile the Supreme Lord who was sleeping in the other room immediately got up. As Yashoda cannot be separated from Krishna similarly Krishna cannot live without Yashoda.

Krishna got up from the bed and ran towards her mother and embraced her.  He held the churning rod and demanded his mother’s complete attention. “I am hungry I need milk” was his demand. The words of little Krishna filled Yashoda’s heart with love.

She immediately left churning the milk, took him on her lap and began feeding him her milk. Krishna was satisfied, mother Yashoda was so pleased.

Milk decides to commit suicide

But someone in the corner of the house was devastated. There was a pot of milk which was put on the fire for boiling. The milk was so excited thinking that Krishna will drink it. The milk was waiting desperately for that momentous moment when it will get an opportunity to serve Krishna.

But seeing that Krishna has already begun drinking the milk of his mother it felt so sad.  The milk thought, “The purpose of life is to serve Krishna but since I cannot serve Krishna now, so let me commit suicide. Let me jump out of the pot and burn myself in the fire.”

The milk started overflowing which caught Yashoda’s attention. She had no other choice but to attend the milk. Reluctantly she put Krishna aside and ran to save the life of the milk.

Krishna’s anger

And this angered Krishna. “How dare my mother leave me like this. Am I not enough valued in the house?” He was a pampered child and always wanted undivided attention of Yashoda.

I need to teach my mother a lesson. He was extremely angry. Feeling neglected his eyes were filled with tears, in anger he bit his red lips with his teeth. He could not hold himself any longer. He picked up a stone and broke the container of yogurt. As soon as the pot broke, he ran away from there.

He went to the other room. He climbed on the grinding motor which was upside down. Nearby was a pot filled with butter. He began eating butter and began feeding butter to the monkeys and the monkeys were enjoying the feast.  He was also constantly looking towards the door whether Yashoda is coming or not.  

The milk’s repentance

Meanwhile as soon as mother Yashoda came to attend the overflowing milk, the milk felt ashamed at its own action, “What have I done. Yashoda was so nicely serving my sweet Lord and my Lord was so happy. I interrupted the loving exchange between the supreme Lord and his supreme devotee.  I am an offender.” Thinking this it stopped overflowing.  

Meanwhile Yashoda hurried back to see Krishna. But Krishna was not there. There was a broken pot and a piece of stone and yogurt everywhere. She understood what has happened. “Krishna has become too mischievous. He needs to be corrected.” She thought.

Yashoda chasing Krishna

The butter smeared little footprints gave her the direction. And as soon as the monkeys sensed that Yashoda is about to enter the room they ran away from there. Sensing trouble the crows too ran away from the house.  And now Krishna was all alone.  

“My friends are so ungrateful,” he thought.  But he did not have much time. He jumped from the grinding mortar and ran away from there. Yashoda was in no mood to leave Krishna. She followed him.  She even picked up a stick. Seeing stick and the grit of Yashoda Krishna was so fearful.

He ran with all his might.  All the maidservants left their household work and came to see what was happening.  No one tried to stop Yashoda or catch Krishna. They did not want to align themselves either with Krishna or Yashoda, they were neutral.

The news spreads in Vrindavan

Meanwhile in entire Vrindavan the message had gone that Krishna is being punished by Yashoda. Whoever heard this left all their work – urgent or not urgent did not matter – and came to the house of Nanda Maharaj to see what is happening.

Krishna’s little friends wanted to help Krishna but were helpless. The elderly gopis were confused – whether to take side of Krishna or of Yashoda. Yashoda is their friend and Krishna is so dear to them. But later they thought that Yashoda is his mother and a mother knows what is best for her child. But Krishna is in difficulty, so they also wanted to help him.  However none of them took any action, they just stood to enjoy the fun.  

Will Yashoda be able to catch Krishna? And if caught what punishment is he going to get? Everyone had this question in their mind.

Meanwhile Yashoda was putting in her best efforts to catch Krishna.  While she was running her hair loosened and the malati flowers from her hair started falling.  Yashoda was getting tired and Krishna felt the pain of his mother and so he finally agreed to be caught by her. 

Srila Prabhupada explains, “Yogis, mystics, want to catch Krishna as Paramatma, and with great austerities and penances they try to approach Him, yet they cannot. Here we see, however, that Krishna is going to be caught by Yashoda and is running away in fear. This illustrates the difference between the bhakta and the yogi. Yogis cannot reach Kṛishna, but for pure devotees like mother Yashoda, Kṛishna is already caught.”

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.9.9 Purport

But when Krishna saw the stick in her mother’s hand, his eyes got filled with tears of fear. Yashoda did not want to frighten her child but wanted to correct him. Like all the parents she wanted her child to be disciplined, obedient and of impeccable character.

Yashoda thought, “Now is the right time to make him understand about the righteous and unrighteous behaviour. Let me tie him up. He will at least understand that if he commits any mistake he will be punished and so in future he won’t be mischievous. She also thought since he is in fear so he may run away from the house but if bound by rope he won’t flee.” 

She threw the stick and took a rope to tie Krishna.  

Yashoda punishes Krishna by binding him to a grinding mortar

Mother Yashoda meanwhile got a rope to tie Krishna, the Supreme Lord. But when she tried to bind Krishna she found that the rope was two fingers short. So she brought another rope, tied it to the first rope and began to tie Krishna. Again the rope was short by two fingers.

She brought another rope and tied it to the original rope. Again it was short by exactly two fingers. She instructed the maidservants to bring more rope and they all immediately collected all the ropes in the house and tied with each other.

Meanwhile all the vrajvasis who were enjoying everything began laughing at the plight of mother Yashoda. Mother Yashoda was increasing the length of the rope but was unable to tie little waist of Krishna. 

Whenever she tried the rope was short by two fingers. Yashoda was confused but refused to give it up.  She was getting tired too. Many gopis sympathised with Yashoda. They too ran to their houses to bring the ropes. In fact almost all the available ropes of vraja was used now but Krishna was still not bound. Yashoda was extremely tired. She was sweating and breathing heavily.

Krishna could not see his mother in this condition, his heart melted. Her devotion won Krishna’s heart.  And so he finally agreed to be bound by the ropes.   

The two fingers represent – our endeavour and Krishna’s mercy. 

We are limited beings, Krishna is unlimited. We are infinitesimal and Krishna is infinite. With our efforts we cannot catch Krishna. But our efforts attract Krishna’s attention. And when he sees that we are sincerely and selflessly putting in our best efforts then Krishna bestows his mercy upon us and then we attain Krishna’s love and Krishna becomes ours.  

Krishna is the Supreme Lord. He is creator, maintainer and destroyer of the entire universe. He is the source of everything.  No one can ever conquer him. But that Supreme Lord is conquered by mother Yashoda by her pure love. 

Sukhdev Goswami says in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.9.20, “Neither Lord Brahma, nor Lord Siva, nor even the goddess of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord, can obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the deliverer from this material world, such mercy as received by mother Yashoda.”

While being tied to the mortar, Krishna also delivered the sons of Kuvera – Nalakuvara and Maṇigriva – who were cursed to become trees by the sage Narada.

“Those superexcellent pastimes of Lord Krishna’s babyhood drowned the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy. To the devotees who are attracted only to His majestic aspect of Narayana in Vaikuntha, the Lord herein reveals: “I am conquered and overwhelmed by pure loving devotion.” To the Supreme Lord, Damodara, my obeisances hundreds and hundreds of times.”

Sri Damodarastaka Verse 3

Krishna got the name Damodar

The form of little Krishna tied by a cow rope to a wooden grinding mortar is called “Damodar”. “Dam” means rope and udar means belly. So “Damodar” means one who has a rope around his belly.

This Damodar pastime occurred on the day of Diwali.

This pastime is also called Ukhal Bandhan lila. Ukhal means grinding mortar and bandhan means to be bound. Ukhal Bandhan means Krishna was bound to Ukhal.

This pastime of Krishna is so pleasing to the heart. Great sages and saints meditate on this beautiful Damodara pastime of Krishna and experiences unlimited bliss.

This pastime occurred during the month of Kartik.  Devotees during this entire Kartik month offer ghee lamp to the beautiful Damodar deity of the Lord.

Scriptures tell us that if during the month of Kartik, we offer ghee lamp to Lord Damodar and sing Damodarastakam prayer then we will be able to attain great spiritual results. Our hearts will get cleansed of all the impurities and we will attain love of Krishna.

So, let us meditate on this sweet pastime of the Lord and worship him by offering lamp and by singing the Damodarastakam prayer.

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Heart like Butter

Important lessons to learn from Ramayana

With just his tail, Hanuman effortlessly burned the entire city of Lanka. But he too wasn’t successful in burning the lust and ego of Ravana, the powerful king of Lanka. 

In fact, Ravana’s real well-wishers such as his brother Vibhishana and his chaste wife Mandodari had tried their best to counsel him several times against kidnapping Sita, wife of Lord Rama.

Ravana did not just refuse to listen to them but he even humiliated them.  Upon being reminded by Vibhishana that kidnapping someone else’s wife is an immoral act and he would suffer the consequences for this nefarious deed Ravana became mad with anger at his brother and threatened to kill him.

He finally forced Vibhishana to leave his kingdom.  Ravana thought he would succeed in killing Rama and would then forcibly enjoy with Sita.

Hanuman was just one of the soldiers of Lord Rama and had almost decimated the entire Lanka. Any sensible person would have easily gauged the strength of his opponent seeing the power of just one of the soldiers of his opponent.

But lust and ego had created such a thick covering over Ravana’s intelligence that he was not able to see his imminent disaster. 

Just like Ravana we too want to enjoy the property of the Lord claiming to be ours.  And when reminded that everything moving and non -moving in this world belongs to Lord we refuse to accept it and we start making plans to defeat the plans of the Lord.

The material energy of the Lord keeps on demonstrating as how helpless we are in front of her. We see devastation everywhere in the form of flood, famine, earthquake, tsunami, war, deadly diseases and death.

But like Ravana we refuse to learn from it and always think that with my efforts and prowess we will be able to subjugate the material world and will enjoy it by becoming the controller.

Lord Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and for him to kill Ravana wasn’t difficult. He is the creator and maintainer of all and when required he destroys everything.  But just like a father who always hopes that one day his disobedient son would get reformed and will finally return home, similarly Lord Rama the Supreme father was hoping that may be Ravana would give up his demoniac mentality and would come back to him.

And this is why he waited and through Hanuman and Angad sent him messages that he should act righteously else his end is certain.

Since the dawn of creation we have seen that the purpose of the Lord’s appearance has never been just to annihilate the miscreants, this he can do very easily as he is the most powerful Personality in the entire creation.

But most importantly Lord comes here to invite us back to the spiritual kingdom, our original home.  And he is ever ready to take us back forgiving and forgetting our past misdeeds. 

When Vibhishana left Lanka and came to take shelter of Lord Rama then Lord Rama’s generals like Sugriva and others were against Lord giving shelter to the brother of his enemy.

But Lord Rama happily welcomed Vibhishana and said that even if Ravana comes to him then he would accept him without any hesitation. This shows the magnanimity of the Supreme Lord. 

In fact in all his incarnations as Lord Krishna, as Lord Rama or as Lord Chaitanya he has exhibited this quality.  When he appeared as Lord Krishna he said that “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do no fear”. (Bhagavad Gita 18.66).

He invited all to his abode and said that those who come to his kingdom will never take birth again in this material world.

Bhagavad Gita 15.6

When he appeared as Lord Chaitanya then he freely distributed his mercy to all, he even delivered ruffians like Jagai and Madhai by transforming their hearts.

Lord Chaitanya was so concerned about the well-being of all that he would ask Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakura to go to everyone’s house and beg people to chant the names of Krishna so that people could be delivered from the miseries of material existence.

Lord appears in this world to remind us about the spiritual abode wherein life is eternal and bliss is unlimited. He also sends his dear devotee to educate us that we can never be happy if we try to enjoy separately from Lord. 

Ravana refused Rama’s invitation and met with annihilation.  

History clearly shows that no one till now has ever succeeded even remotely in living happily by going against the laws of Lord – Ravana, Duryodhana, Hiranyakasipu are few such examples.

We too have choice, we can be either on the side of the Lord or we can go against the will of the Lord.  

If we go against the Lord then suffering is inevitable but if we are on the side of the Lord then victory, glory and happiness are guaranteed. 

The concluding verse of Bhagavad Gita 18.78 says that wherever there is the Supreme Lord, Krishna, there will also be certainly opulence, victory, extraordinary power and morality.

(Published in Dandavats)

How to please Goddess Durga during Durga Puja

Candidasa was a devoted worshipper of Goddess Durga while his brother was a pure Vaisnava who would worship Shaligram. Candidasa was rich but his brother was poor.

Candidasa had a very big and beautiful garden, he used to offer the flowers from the garden to Durga Devi. His brother too desired to offer these beautiful flowers to his Shaligram.

Once he mentally offered a beautiful and colourful flower of the garden to his Shaligram. And it so happened that on that day Candidasa offered the same flower to Goddess Durga.

Goddess Durga Appears in front of Candidasa

As soon as the flower was offered Durga Devi appeared in front of Candidasa and said, “I am extremely pleased with you Candidasa. What benediction you want?”

Candidas was surprised, “I worship you daily but why are you so pleased with me today.”

“It is because you have offered me the flower which has been offered to Shaligram i.e. Lord’s maha prasadam.   By seeing that prasadam flower I became pleased, so I appeared before you.”

Candidasa immediately inquired, “Is it that you get pleased when one worships the Supreme Lord Krishna?”

Goddess Durga in a compassionate voice said, “Yes, the Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes and He is the original source of all creation. I get extremely pleased when anyone worships the Supreme Lord Krishna. So if you want to please me worship the Supreme Lord, Krishna.”

Candidasa understood the ultimate truth and he became a great devotee of Krishna and this pleased Goddess Durga, the consort of Lord Shiva.

Candidasa later composed many songs in which he described the transcendental feelings of separation of Srimati Radharani and Krishna.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would love to hear the composition of Candidasa.

Who is Goddess Durga?

In the spiritual world, there are three potencies – samvit, sandhini and hladini.

• Samvit potency helps the residents of the spiritual world to recognize their relationship with Krishna.
• Sandhini potency ensures variegatedness in the spiritual world.
• Hladini potency provides ultimate pleasure to Krishna. Srimati Radharani is the hladini potency, she is the source of all the pleasures.

The hladini potency transforms into the personality of Goddess Durga in this material world.

Here she has the responsibility of reforming those souls who have rebelled against the laws of the spiritual land and have come to this mortal material world.

This world which we call wonderful and delight to live in is compared to a prison. Here life is uncertain, misery is inevitable, relationship is temporary and death a certainty.

As prisoners are given a uniform, similarly we have been given a uniform – uniform of a human body, animal body, plant body etc.

And as long as we have this ephemeral body made of flesh, bones, mucus, blood etc. and we are in this material world we are under the jurisdiction of Durga devi.

She on behalf of the Supreme Lord takes complete charge of this material world, she acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord just as shadow follows the substance.

Characteristics of Goddess Durga

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura explains, “The world, in which Brahmā takes his stand and hymns the Lord of Goloka, is Devī-dhāma consisting of the fourteen worlds and Durgā is its presiding deity. She is ten-armed, representing the tenfold fruitive activities. She rides on the lion, representing her heroic prowess. She tramples down Mahiṣasura, representing the subduer of vices. She is the mother of two sons, Karttikeya and Gaṇesa, representing beauty and success. She is placed between Lakshmi and Sarasvati, representing mundane opulence and mundane knowledge.  She is armed with the twenty weapons, representing the various pious activities enjoined by the Vedas for suppression of vices. She holds the snake, representing the beauty of destructive time.” (Brahma Samhita 5.44 purport)

Prisoners of Choice

The unwillingness to live amicably with the family and friends of the spiritual world make us unfit to be part of the spiritual world.

Once imprisoned in this mortal material world, we forget our original constitutional position and start considering ourselves as one of the material products.

So, we suffer terribly under the influence of the material modes owing to this unholy contact. The vicious cycle of birth, old age, disease and death perpetuates our miseries.

In fact the more we identify ourselves with this material world and the material body, and the more we endeavour to enjoy in this ephemeral world the more we suffer.

The Supreme Lord never wants any of His children to get illusioned by the external energy and suffer in this world.

The Supreme Lord is compelled to sentence the spiritual beings to the material prison house so that he learns his lessons and get reformed.

A doting father sometimes has to put his disobedient child under the care of a strict teacher so that his child gets disciplined. Even the external energy who is a devotee of the Lord does not like to inflict suffering upon us.

Why Durga Devi punishes the living entities?

It’s a thankless task for the external energy but she happily assists the Supreme Lord so that the rebellious souls get reformed.  The actual disease which is the cause of all the sufferings for all the living beings in this world is because of being illusioned by the external energy of the Lord.

Carrying her trident she looks for the rebellious souls

Like a loving mother, Goddess Durga continuously gives a clarion call to all the forgetful souls to return back to the kingdom of Krishna.

But the stubborn souls who desire to enjoy independent of the supreme Lord and loves to disobey the laws of Krishna needs to be punished.

And Durga carrying her trident looks for such rebellious souls to punish them.

She never punishes those living entities who lives as per the guidelines of Vedic scriptures and sincerely worships Lord Krishna.

What does the trident which Durga Devi carries represent?

The trident which she always carries with her represents the threefold material miseries:

• adhytamika: miseries due to our body and mind
• adibautika: miseries due to other living entities
• adidaivika: miseries due to natural calamities

Without any exception everyone of us at every moment suffer due to one, two or all the three of these miseries. 

One of the most celebrated incidents related to Goddess Durga is her killing the demon Mahisasura with her trident.

Mahisasura also symbolically represents our demoniac mentality and Durga through the sharp edges of her trident strikes hard to vanquish our evil mentality.

The purpose is not to punish us but to make us understand that the more we go away from Krishna’s spiritual care the more we suffer in this world.

She always tries to tell us, “This isn’t your home. Go back to your original home. Krishna is waiting for you.”

Her chastisement forces a soul to eventually think,

‘Although I explored all means to enjoy but why suffering always follows me like a shadow. Why am I forced to be in a womb for nine months in an upside-down position in complete darkness? Why I get diseased? Why I am growing old? Why every moment someone is dying? Although I don’t want to die but why I am not allowed to live here forever.”

Once awakened the living entity immediately wants to get out of this horrendous world and immediately wants to be part of the spiritual world.

Best way to please Goddess Durga

Durga being the energy of the Supreme Lord can never be conquered or fooled. She is extremely powerful and when she strikes with her trident then nothing can save us.

Durga Devi can give us material benediction but with it comes tons of sufferings.

The only way to escape from Durga’s powerful trident is by promising her that we don’t want earthly pleasures but we seriously want spiritual happiness.

And as soon as we start endeavoring for it by practicing loving devotional service to Krishna, Goddess Durga is delighted, she immediately withdraws her trident and showers her love upon us.

She doesn’t want to imprison us in this world forever. And those who are imprisoned she wants to release them as soon as possible.

She tests our dedication to the Supreme Lord, she checks if our heart has been thoroughly purified of all material diseases such as lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego.

And when she finds that our heart has developed deep love for Krishna then she immediately releases us from this prison house.

Durga Devi becomes happy when she sees us chanting Krishna’s holy names

It is explained that in this age of Kali Yuga, the Supreme Lord incarnates with all His powers and all His opulence in the sound vibration of the Holy Name, “Kali kale Naam rupe Krishna Avatar.”

So the best way to practice devotional life is by chanting the holy names of Krishna like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

We should chant this mantra with love, with devotion and with determination. Goddess Durga, the guardian of this world, will assess our dedication and our intention regularly.

She even tested Haridasa Thakura’s devotion to Krishna.

Haridasa Thakura passed the test with flying colours because he used to be completely absorbed in chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. In fact he had taken a vow to chant the mantra 3 lakh times a day.

If we too want to please mother Durga then we have to become serious in our devotion to Krishna.

Durga Puja is not about playing movie songs and dancing on those songs. It is not about eating delicious foods and having fun.

The best way to celebrate Durga Puja is to understand who goddess Durga is and how she could be pleased.

And the best way to please her is to follow the footsteps of Candidasa.

How are you planning to please Goddess Durga? Let me know in the comments below!

This article has been published on Dandavats and also in BTG (Back to Godhead) magazine of ISKCON.

 

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Damodarastakam

The month of Kartik is special for the devotees of Lord Krishna. Devotees take many spiritual vows during this month and one of the most important spiritual activities is offering ghee lamp to Lord Damodar and singing Damodarastakam.

Damodarastakam history

It is found in Padma Purana which was composed by Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa. This has been spoken by Satyavrata Muni in a conversation with sages Narada and Saunaka Rishi. The eight verses beautiful describes the pastimes of Krishna and illustrates that how we can achieve complete perfection in life if we surrender our life to Lord Damodar.

Read: 11 reasons why Kartik month is the holiest month

The Song

namāmīśvaram sac-cid-ānanda-rūpam
lasat-kuṇḍalam gokule bhrājamanam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānam
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā

“To the supreme controller, who possesses an eternal form of blissful knowledge, whose glistening earrings swing to and fro, who manifested Himself in Gokula, who stole the butter that the gopis kept hanging from the rafters of their storerooms and who then quickly jumped up and ran in retreat in fear of Mother Yasoda but was ultimately caught – to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.”

rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mṛjantam
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātańka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāńka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graivam dāmodaram bhakti-baddham

“Upon seeing His mother’s whipping stick, He cried and rubbed His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes were fearful and His breathing quick, and as Mother Yasoda bound His belly with ropes, He shivered in fright and His pearl necklace shook. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.”

itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣam nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvam
punaḥ prematas tam śatāvṛtti vande

“Those superexcellent pastimes of Lord Krishna’s babyhood drowned the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy. To the devotees who are attracted only to His majestic aspect of Narayana in Vaikuntha, the Lord herein reveals: “I am conquered and overwhelmed by pure loving devotion.” To the Supreme Lord, Damodara, my obeisances hundreds and hundreds of times.”

varam deva mokṣam na mokṣāvadhim vā
na canyam vṛṇe ‘ham vareṣād apīha
idam te vapur nātha gopāla-bālam
sadā me manasy āvirāstām kim anyaiḥ

“O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for liberation, nor eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon. My only prayer is that Your childhood pastimes may constantly appear in my mind. O Lord, I do not even want to know your feature of Paramatma. I simply wish that Your childhood pastimes may ever be enacted in my heart.”

idam te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair
vṛtam kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitam bimba-raktādharam me
manasy āvirāstām alam lakṣa-lābhaiḥ

“O Lord, the cheeks of Your blackish lotus face, which is encircled by locks of curling hair, have become reddened like bimba fruits due to Mother Yasoda’s kisses. What more can I describe than this? Millions of opulences are of no use to me, but may this vision constantly remain in my mind.”

namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnam batānu
gṛhāṇeṣa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ

“O unlimited Vishnu! O master! O Lord! Be pleased upon me! I am drowning in an ocean of sorrow and am almost like a dead man. Please shower the rain of mercy on me; uplift me and protect me with Your nectarean vision.”

kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktim svakām me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me ‘sti dāmodareha

“O Lord Damodara, in Your form as a baby Mother Yasoda bound You to a grinding stone with a rope for tying cows. You then freed the sons of Kuvera, Manigriva and Nalakuvara, who were cursed to stand as trees and You gave them the chance to become Your devotees. Please bless me in this same way. I have no desire for liberation into Your effulgence.”

namas te ‘stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ‘nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam

“O Lord, the entire universe was created by Lord Brahma, who was born from Your abdomen, which was bound with a rope by Mother Yasoda. To this rope I offer my humble obeisances. I offer my obeisances to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani and to Your unlimited pastimes.”

Note: Damodarastakam verses & meaning is from: http://www.krishna.com/damodarastakam

Kartik month (Kartik maas) 2025 begins on 7th Oct and ends on 5th Nov.

Related articles: Damodar Lila: When Yashoda punishes Krishna, the Supreme Lord

How words shape our world

The words filled with sweetness makes the heart of others dance in joy.  But the bitter words said to others cut their hearts into pieces. The bullets fired from the most sophisticated weapon may harm a person physically but the harsh words said to others torn apart a person emotionally.

And the emotional pain is more difficult to bear than physical pain. If we are not careful with the choice of our words then it will put us in great difficultly. It can turn a friend into an enemy, create a great rift between husband and wife and most of the people will prefer not to associate with us.  

We all feel great urge to speak. But many of us do not think enough before we speak. So, we say something for which we regret later. Sometimes we do not have enough maturity and understanding to understand what to speak and what not to speak. 

A toad croaks, sometimes loudly, believing that his sweet sound will attract the opposite gender but instead it attracts the deadly snake.

Similarly, materialistic men and women may speak a lot believing that it makes them a hero amongst the common masses, but they do not know that their nonsensical words are attracting the agents of death.

So, some school of thoughts advise people to take a vow of silence (mauna vrata) because they feel that it is better not to speak than to speak nonsense.  

Mark Twain once remarked, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

But as a sentient being it is not possible to live like a dumb forever.So the solution is not in not speaking but in knowing what to speak and also how to speak. 

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 17.15 to Arjuna, “Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.”

When we speak words which are truthful but sweet and said with a desire to do good to others can transform the life of a person.  

It is said that it is not just what we say which impacts a person but how we say also plays a significant role.

So while expressing our thoughts we should also be cautious about the psychophysical condition of a person.

The books of wisdom tell us that one of the best ways by which we can control our urge to speak and also sanctify our words is by continuously speaking those words which glorifies the names, forms and qualities of the Lord and of his devotees. 

Srila Prabhupada says, “The meaning of controlled speech conveyed by Srila Rupa Goswami advocates the positive process of Krishna – katha, engaging the speaking process in glorifying the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna” (Nectar Of Instruction, purport 1)

If we speak the words which glorifies Krishna then it not just purifies our consciousness but gives an opportunity to others to relish the names of Krishna and it brings ultimate joy to everyone.  

How to derive maximum pleasure from our senses

Our senses which are mostly uncontrolled are compared to deadly serpents. Just as a bite of a snake kills a person similarly the wild senses many a times drive a person crazy to the extent that the person destroys himself. So scriptures ask us to take steps to subdue our senses.  But controlling senses isn’t that simple. Even great personalities in the past have been brutally defeated by their senses.

Let us take the example of sage Viswamitra. In dense jungle, in summer, in winter, in rain without food and water he was performing penance for thousands of years.  Menaka, the gorgeous heavenly lady, was asked by Indra, the king of heaven, to break the severe penance of the determined sage who had totally withdrawn himself from all worldly activities. And she accomplished her mission effortlessly.

She used a weapon which was extremely lethal and rarely has anyone survived its attack.  In that dark forest the cry of the ferocious animals did not frighten the brave sage.  But as soon as the sound of Menaka’s tinkling anklet entered his ears, his eyes which till now was absorbed in meditation lustily & frantically began looking for her and within no time his thousands of years of effort went in vain.

This incident teaches us that how powerful our senses are, how our senses can make us insane at any moment and how just by withdrawing the senses from sense objects may not help us to control the senses.

Sacred literatures tell us that the best way to control our senses is by engaging it in devotional activities. Once our senses get higher spiritual taste it won’t then hanker for lower material sensory pleasures which ultimately open floodgates of misery. 

King Ambarish, a great devotee of Lord Krishna, by his own example taught us how each senses can be used in Krishna’s service.  “He fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, engaged his words in describing the abode of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing the pastimes of the Lord, his eyes in seeing the form of the Lord, his body in touching the body of the devotee, his nostrils in smelling the flavor of the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, his tongue in tasting the tulasi leaves offered to Him…” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.18-20).

Initially our senses will resist our efforts to engage it in spiritual activities as it will not experience much pleasure in it. It is said that for a person suffering from jaundice the taste of sugarcane juice is bitter. But if he continues taking it as a medicine, he gets cured and in the healthy state he starts enjoying the juice. Similarly, now we are spiritually sick but if we continue taking the medicine of devotional activities our poisonous senses will eventually get purified. And in a spiritually healthy state our senses will not make us miserable but will relish being in service of Krishna and giving us unlimited pleasure.

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj teaches an invaluable lesson to a cook

Once HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj was passing through the deity kitchen in the temple. One lady who was doing some service in the deity kitchen saw Maharaj and she immediately came out and offered him her obeisances. Maharaj said that you are fortunate that you have got an opportunity to cook for the deities. The lady appeared little morose and said, “I am not directly cooking for the deities but I am just an assistance to other ladies who are cooking.”

Maharaj immediately said, “It means you are more fortunate,” and he left.

The lady was confused. She could not comprehend as why maharaj said so because those who directly serve the Lord are always considered more fortunate than others who are not directly serving the Lord.  Many thoughts were coming to her mind. She thought may be maharaj spoke in that way so that she does not feel inferior to others. Instead of speculating she decided to consult a senior devotee.

When the senior devotee came to know about the entire incident, he told her that maharaj has taught her one of the most important principles of Krishna consciousness. In the spiritual world the highest position is of a servant and not of a master.  In the spiritual world no one wants to come in the limelight, but everyone wants to assist others in their service of Krishna.  Everyone feels extremely happy when they see other devotees getting mercy of Krishna. He explained that in the kingdom of God there is no fight for name and fame, power and positions.  So you are blessed that you are assisting other devotees in their service to Krishna. Krishna will be so pleased with you.

In one of the lectures of Bhagavad Gita, Srila Prabhupada says, “You have to learn how to become servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. The more you become in the lower position—servant, servant, servant, servant, servant, hundreds times servant, servant—then more you are advanced.” Lecture on BG 2.2 — London, August 3, 1973

So if we have to attain Krishna’s love then we should not try to become servant of Krishna but try to become servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna.  As long as we are in material consciousness it would be difficult to even think of becoming servant of any other devotee but if we try to study the life of great devotees of Krishna we find that they all relished their devotional life by serving devotees.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, “I am not a brahmaṇa, I am not a kṣhatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis.”  CC Madhya 13.80