How to Win Over the Lord?

The fighting was at its peak in the Kurukshetra war. Dronacharya had just been killed, and his son Ashwatthama was in a rage. In his fury, desperate to wipe out the Pandava army, he hurled the most powerful weapon in his arsenal – the Narayanaastra.

More dangerous that either the Brahmaastra or the Pashupataastra, this Narayanaastra made the sky dark, and a strong wind ripped through the battlefield. Against the darkness, thousands of chakras, gadhas, arrows and other weapons appeared like lightning in the sky, ready to rain death on the Pandava side.

The Pandavas, as always, turned to their one and only refuge Krishna, for guidance.

He knew that astraa too well, for, didn’t it bear His name?

“All of you throw down all your weapons! Remove the tiniest thought of resisting the weapon from your minds! Fall to the ground in surrender to the weapon!” came His strange order.

Unresisting, all of the Pandava army immediately obeyed the order. And what a surprise! The weapons hovering in the sky began to slowly disappear.

But suddenly, there was a rain of arrows from the sky on the pandava Bhima.

Why?

Because he held his gadha (mace) high, unbending, challenging the might of the Narayanaastra.

As always, Krishna stepped in to save the situation. 

He pulled Bhima to the ground and forced him to bow his head and fold his hands in prayer.

Immediately, the sky cleared, the sun shone bright again, and all the weapons from the sky disappeared.

Ashwatthama was stunned. The most powerful weapon in his arsenal had failed against the Pandavas!

What was the reason?

The Narayanaastra is the weapon of Lord Narayana. It is indeed the most powerful weapon in the world. Yet, there is something stronger than that, something that renders even the Lord powerless.

Sharanaagati. Surrender.

When we surrender to the Lord, He becomes powerless.

No longer is He able to look at our doshas (faults) and our papas (sins).

Karuna floods His heart, and He forgives all and accepts us unconditionally.

The gesture of prayer with hands folded in supplication is called “Anjali mudra”.

“Am jalayati iti anjalihi” – that which makes the Lord melt, is anjali.

Rishi Bharadwaja says

“Anjalihi parama mudra, kshipram deva prasaadini”

“The anjali is the best of all gestures and speedily secures on us the loving favour of the Lord”

Let us make it a practice to offer the anjali mudra to the Lord, and surely He will grace us with His blessings.

And perhaps with His grace, if we are able to surrender unresistingly when people of this world rain down the weapons of their angst  on us, maybe our lives will also become easier!

The Most Expensive Fruit

 “Tasty juicy naagapalam! Come and buy my nectarine naagapalam!”

Krishna was thrilled to hear the familiar call of the fruit-seller of Gokul. Always, Father Nandagopan would buy his son’s favourite jamun fruit from this lady. Today, he was too busy with other work and so, he instructed little Krishna to handle the business himself.

“Run to the backyard, Kanna, and bring some grains to give the fruit-seller. In return, she will give you as many fruits as you want!”

Baby Krishna sped to the backyard and dipped both His tiny hands into the sack of grains. In a hurry to savour His favourite fruits, He ran with the grains in His cupped hands to the courtyard of the house, unaware that most of the grain was spilling to the ground.

Finally reaching the fruit-seller, with a huge flourish, He emptied whatever little grain was in His hands into her fruit basket.

“Give me the naagapalam, Grandma!” He demanded.

“Oh, I will, but only if You give me something in return,” said the old woman with a calculating look on her face.

“But I already gave you the grains that my father said I should give!” complained little Krishna.

Gesturing for the little boy to step closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially, the fruit-seller voiced her very specific demand.

“Grant me moksha, and I will give you the naagapalam that You so love!” she whispered.

Krishna blinked His eyes in surprise. Never in the history of His entire creation had anyone made such an outrageous demand!

“Naagapalam in exchange for moksha!! Do you think moksha comes so cheap, Grandma?” He asked, a tender smile tugging at the corners of His lips. “Besides, how do you know that I can grant you moksha?”

“Don’t think that You can fool me with Your sweet words, O Lord! When You were emptying the grains from Your tiny hands into my basket, I glanced at Your palms. You think I didn’t see the sign of the chakra on Your right palm and the shankha on Your left palm? I may be old, but I’m smart enough to know what that means!”

“Well, what does it mean, Grandma?”

“That You are the Lord Srimannarayana Himself who has descended from Srivaikuntha! Now tell me, do you think I’m foolish enough to lose this opportunity to get the coveted prize of moksha from You?”

“You have won my heart, Grandma! Ok, done! Your wish for moksha is granted!”

And so it came to pass that an unlettered, simple old fruit vendor of Gokula attained liberation from the cycle of birth and death to gain eternal service of the Lord in Srivaikuntham.

That which eludes the great jnanis poring over the Vedas and Upanishads, the great yogis engaged in arduous penance and the deities like Brahma and Indra with all their opulence, was attained by this innocent fruit-seller of Gokula. 

How? 

By the sheer force of her love for the Lord!

Can we learn to foster such love for Him in our hearts, too?

Note: This narration is based on an account of this episode in Part 378 of the Srimad Bhagavatam series of Sri U. Ve. Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy. I'm assuming it is based on the Azhwars' (Tamil saints') experience of the Lord's leelas, because in the actual text of the Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 10.11.11), the story is that in exchange for the fruits, Krishna filled the fruit seller's basket with jewels and gold. However, for the true bhakta, it is moksha that is the ultimate desire, and not any worldly jewel or gold!