{"id":77989,"date":"2019-09-02T04:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T02:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=77989"},"modified":"2019-09-02T04:00:40","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T02:00:40","slug":"complaints-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=77989","title":{"rendered":"Complaints Of Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

By Gauranga Darshan Das<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s pastimes are most enchanting, but when His devotees narrate them,
\nthey taste even more nectarean, being mixed with their love.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it ironic to see a rich man steal like a petty thief? Isn\u2019t it even more astonishing to see him steal food<\/em>, as if he were a hungry, poverty-stricken man?! What if God acts like this?<\/p>\n

Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the supreme proprietor of all the material and spiritual worlds, and is the husband of the goddess of fortune. He was the son of the king of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana, Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, and was lovingly raised by queen Ya\u015bod\u0101. Yet He was accustomed to stealing
\n in the houses of vraja-gop\u012bs, <\/em>the ladies of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. And what does He steal? Not gold or wealth, but some milk and butter!<\/p>\n

K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s naughty pranks know no bounds. Although the gop\u012bs<\/em> relish them, they rebuked Him externally. They went to mother Ya\u015bod\u0101 and lodged complaints against K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. At times Ya\u015bod\u0101 defended her darling K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. The following is just a sample verse
\n from the Bhag\u0101vatam<\/em> (10.8.29) that the gop\u012bs<\/em> spoke to Ya\u015bod\u0101, describing the stealing activities of naughty K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n

vats\u0101n muncan kvacid asamaye kro\u015ba-sanj\u0101ta-h\u0101sa\u1e25<\/em>
\n steya\u1e41 sv\u0101dv atty atha dadhi-paya\u1e25 kalpitai\u1e25 steya-yogai\u1e25<\/em>
\n mark\u0101n bhok\u1e63yan vibhajati sa cen n\u0101tti bh\u0101\u1e47\u1e0da\u1e41 bhinnatti<\/em>
\n dravy\u0101l\u0101bhe sag\u1e5bha-kupito y\u0101ty upakro\u015bya tok\u0101n<\/em><\/p>\n

Releases calves at odd times
(vats\u0101n mu\u00f1can kvacid asamaye)<\/h4>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em> said in agitation, \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a comes to our houses and releases the calves (vats\u0101n<\/em> mu\u00f1can<\/em>).\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 said, \u201cWhat is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s fault in this? He cares for the calves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em>, \u201cBut He does it when it is not milking time (kvacid<\/em> asamaye<\/em>). The calves naturally drink all the milk, and when we go for milking the cows, we don\u2019t get any milk!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101, \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is just a child. He has done this out of ignorance. There are many people in the house. Can they not prevent it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em>, \u201cNo, this boy comes when they are busy in various household engagements, and then releases our calves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you frighten Him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mellows down anger with a smile (kro\u015ba-sa\u00f1j\u0101ta-h\u0101sa\u1e25)<\/h4>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em>, \u201cWhen we become angry (kro\u015ba-sa\u00f1j\u0101ta<\/em>) at Him and shout, \u2018Beat Him, tie Him up\u2026\u2019 He merely smiles (h\u0101sa\u1e25<\/em>). Smitten by His intoxicating smile, we just helplessly watch Him do His dirty work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 asked, \u201cBut, why does He release the calves at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eats milk products by stealing
\n(steya<\/strong>\u1e41<\/strong> sv<\/strong>\u0101<\/strong>dv atty atha dadhi-paya<\/strong>\u1e25<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Laughing, the gop\u012bs<\/em> imitate K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s answer, \u201c\u2018I want to drink milk<\/em>!\u2019\u201d They
\n described, \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a releases the calves to make people run here and there. And then He enters our houses, steals whatever He likes and eats (steya\u1e41<\/em> atty<\/em> atha<\/em>) our tasty (sv\u0101dv<\/em>) milk and curd (dadhi-paya\u1e25<\/em>).
\n Yet, we are unable to do anything, while He drinks the milk and curd even as He relishes the spoils of His thievery right in front of our eyes! He just sits there and eating, not even posturing to running away, while we stand there watching His antics
\n bewildered by His smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 said, \u201cOh you are so unkind! Why didn\u2019t you just give Him some milk before He takes it by Himself? The boy must be hungry. Why don\u2019t you just let Him eat till His belly\u2019s full?\u201d<\/p>\n

With smiling brows, the gop\u012bs<\/em> said, \u201cHis belly is always full, since He is always being fed by you. It is not a question of hunger. He has a taste for stealing! He wants stolen milk only, not the milk which we give Him. If we give Him milk, He
\n will not drink it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 said, \u201cFine! But what is the loss if He takes little milk from your storehouse?\u201d<\/p>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em> replied, \u201cHe takes the tastiest milk (sv\u0101dv<\/em>) that we set aside for our husbands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 defended K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, \u201cIt is not possible for an untaught, innocent child to steal from you, for you are very clever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Invents ways of stealing
\n(kalpitai\u1e25 steya-yogai\u1e25)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em> described K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s expertise in stealing, \u201cInnocent!<\/em> Your son is uncannily intelligent. He has invented (kalpitai\u1e25<\/em>) innovative methods of stealing (steya-yogai\u1e25<\/em>) unseen or unheard of. He is so skillful that
\n He releases our calves even whilst we are directly watching, mystifying us with His smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 said, \u201cThis is the result of piety of your ancestors that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is enjoying at your homes what is not given by you misers. Why don\u2019t you accept this joyfully?\u201d<\/p>\n

Distributes Butter to Monkeys (mark\u0101n bhok\u1e63yan vibhajati)<\/h4>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em> said, \u201cWe are happy if He eats our butter, even with His friends. But before He eats it, He divides it (vibhajati<\/em>) and gives it to the monkeys to eat (mark\u0101n<\/em> bhok\u1e63yan<\/em>). But the monkeys had overeaten already
\n and their bellies were already full.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breaks pots
(sa cen n\u0101tti bh\u0101\u1e47\u1e0da\u1e41 bhinnatti)<\/h4>\n

\"\"The gop\u012bs<\/em> continued, \u201cSo they don\u2019t eat. Even if one monkey does not eat the butter (sa<\/em> cen<\/em> na<\/em> atti<\/em>), K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a also does not eat it! He would say, \u2018Without you, what is the use of My eating? I will not eat.\u2019\u201d Then, in distress, He simply breaks the pots (bh\u0101\u1e47\u1e0da\u1e41<\/em> bhinnatti<\/em>). And sometimes, since
\n He has eaten already, He does not eat the stolen food but still breaks the pots and blames others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u015bod\u0101 said, \u201cIf you know all this, why don\u2019t you hide the pots? By not doing so, you are making my playful child agitated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becomes angry
(dravy\u0101l\u0101bhe sag\u1e5bha-kupito)<\/h4>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em> replied, \u201cWe tried hiding our pots. But if K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a can\u2019t find the eatables (dravya<\/em> al\u0101bhe<\/em>), He (sa<\/em>) becomes angry at the residents of the house (g\u1e5bha-kupito<\/em>). He becomes furious when the gop\u012bs<\/em> do not follow His order to give butter to the monkeys that have come to the door. He would say, \u2018Stay there, and I will come tomorrow morning with a flaming coal in my hand. If you don\u2019t give Me yogurt, I will burn your house down along with the elders and children.<\/em>\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Pinches babies
(y\u0101ty upakro\u015bya tok\u0101n)<\/h4>\n

The gop\u012bs<\/em> continued, \u201cThen He would pinch and irritate the babies (upakro\u015bya<\/em> tok\u0101n<\/em>) or scratch them with His nails, and run away (y\u0101ty<\/em>).\u201d<\/p>\n

In this way, there was no end to the complaints of the gop\u012bs<\/em> about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Sometimes, as the gop\u012bs<\/em> spoke, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a would be present there, but displayed very gentle behavior, as if He were so innocent and the gop\u012bs\u2019 <\/em>complaints were
\n all lies.<\/p>\n

Sometimes mother Ya\u015bod\u0101 defended K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in front of the gop\u012bs, <\/em>but sometimes she also chastised K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a to discipline Him and teach Him good conduct. That was her absorption in her eternal mood as the mother of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme Godhead, acting
\n as the Supreme Thief. By stealing butter, however, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was actually stealing the butter-like hearts of the gop\u012bs.<\/em> He was not hungry for milk, but was hungry for the milk of their motherly love.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was actually the greatest pleasure of the gop\u012bs<\/em> to see K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a stealing from their homes. In fact, they prepared all kinds of milk products in anticipation that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a would come and steal them. Although the gop\u012bs<\/em> relished the stealing
\n activities of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, they rebuked Him externally. These simple gop\u012bs<\/em> were very much appreciative of Ya\u015bod\u0101\u2019s fortune in being K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s mother. But they thought she must be bereft of the pleasure of witnessing K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s stealing pastimes, for
\n He wouldn\u2019t steal butter in her house. To give the same pleasure to Ya\u015bod\u0101, the gop\u012bs<\/em> went to her house to narrate K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s pastimes of stealing in the garb of complaining against Him.<\/p>\n

K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s pastimes are most enchanting, but when His pure devotees like the gop\u012bs<\/em> or \u015aukadeva Gosv\u0101m\u012b in the Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em> narrate them, they taste even more nectarean, being mixed with the love of these devotees. Thus, Mother Ya\u015bod\u0101 experienced
\n a greater pleasure upon hearing about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s stealing pastimes from the gop\u012bs<\/em> than the gop\u012bs<\/em> did by witnessing them firsthand. The gop\u012bs\u2019<\/em> apparent angry complaints were nothing but expressions of their loving affection
\n for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme butter thief (makhana-cora<\/em>) who steals everyone\u2019s pure heart.<\/p>\n

This article is based on the commentaries of <\/em>\u015ar\u012bla<\/em> Prabhup\u0101da, <\/em>\u015ar\u012bla<\/em> Vi<\/em>\u015bvan\u0101tha<\/em> Cakravarti<\/em> Th\u0101kura and <\/em>\u015ar\u012bla<\/em> J\u012bva<\/em> Gosv\u0101m\u012b on <\/em>\u015ar\u012bmad<\/em> Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em> 10.8.29.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gauranga Darshan Das <\/strong><\/p>\n

Krishna\u2019s pastimes are most enchanting, but when His pure devotees like the gop\u012bs or Sukadeva Gosvami in the Bhagavatam narrate them, they taste even more nectarean, being mixed with the love of these devotees. Thus, Mother Yasoda experienced a greater pleasure upon hearing about Krishna\u2019s stealing pastimes from the gop\u012bs than the gopis did by witnessing them firsthand. The gopis\u2019 apparent angry complaints were nothing but expressions of their loving affection for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme butter thief (makhana-cora) who steals everyone\u2019s pure heart. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77992,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77989\/revisions\/77992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}