The epic Mahabaratham is replete with rich moral
stories and life instances. It
extols the living of Lord Krishna at
every stage of his life – right from his birth in prison cell, to moving across
river Yamuna during the heavy downpour; to his growth of every stage at
Gokulam, his plays at Vrindavan to the Great battle at Gurukshetra and more……….and
one among the many is ‘Lord Krishna dancing on the hood of the deadly
Kalinga’. Periyazhwar in his
‘Periyazhwar Thirumozhi’ sings: “காளியன்
பொய்கை கலங்கப் பாய்ந்திட்டு * அவன் நீள்முடியைந்திலும் நின்று நடம்செய்து*”
Kaliya [also Kalingan] was a poisonous Naga living
in the Yamuna River, in Vrindavan. Over
the years, the water had turned totally poisonous, thereby causing trouble to
fish, cattle, birds and all living things.
Legend had it that Kaliya had chosen that place as Garuda was prevented
from entering there. Lord Krishna was playing with cowherd colleagues, when the
ball fell into the water source. Krishna
playfully jumped into it. Kāliya with
his anger, rose up emitting poison and
wrapped himself around Krishna's body.
The folk around and all others were mortally afraid and started
praying. Lord Krishna subdued him, sprang into Kāliya's head and danced on its
head. The serpent king’s wives came and
prayed to Lord Krishna with folded hands.
Kāliya, too, recognizing the
greatness of Krishna, surrendered, promising he would not harass anybody. Lord Krishna pardoned him and showed him the
divine path, once he vowed to eschew violence and fell at His Lotus Feets.
By the
accounts we hear in Tamil, somehow always had an impression that ‘Kaliyan
poigai’ was a pond where the serpent Kaliya lived. In North, the belief is
little different – at Vrindavan [Brindavan] – a few kilo meters away from
Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna, people firmly believe that it was at a particular spot at Yamuna river,
that Kaliya lived and Kalinga Narthanam ~ the dance atop the hood of Kalinga
took place at Yamuna river. One can
easily reach this place preferably hiring a cycle rickshaw from Ranganji Mandir
in Vrindavan winding through narrow gullies, which probably retain the same
charm as of the days of Lord Krishna and Balarama, when they played around.
As of date, the Yamuna at this place is not clean,
made worser by bridge construction activities going on. At this very place, is a small temple where
it is written as the place of ‘Naga Kaliya’ and the idol of Lord Krishna on
Kalinga Narthana posture is being worshipped ~ and I had an unforgettable
experience here during my visit in 2012. Before
that you read this report that appeared in Times of India, Chennai edition
titled ‘Take off your glasses, Prez, or the monkeys will’
Residents of Vrindavan in Mathura have a piece of
advice for President Pranab Mukherjee -he should take off his spectacles, or
wear contact lenses, when he visits the temple town on November 16.
That is because the monkeys at the famous Banke
Bihari temple, which he is scheduled to visit, are known to have a particular
fascination for snatching eyeglasses. The threat from the simians is so real
that the district administration has deployed 10 langurs to keep the monkeys at
bay during the visit. The temple, said to be built in 1862 by Swami Haridas, is
infested with monkeys adept at snatching cameras, prasad, food items, and above
all shades and glasses, from visitors at lightning speed.
Sachin Gupta, a businessman from Kanpur who
recently visited the temple, had a scary experience. “I was about to fall from
the stairs as a big monkey snatched my glares. As I stood numb, the monkey wore
my shades and actually posed in front of the crowd who were all amused. A few
minutes later, it crushed my glasses and threw them towards me. “Snehlata Jai
Singhani, a 68year-old devotee who had her spectacles snatched by a simian
recently, has a word of caution for the President. “I will advise him to wear
contact lenses or keep his spectacles inside the pocket during his visit.“
President Mukherjee will be visiting
Mathura-Vrindavan on November 16 to lay the foundation for the world's tallest
Chandrodaya temple. The district administration and police authorities are
working overtime to ensure a smooth visit. “As the President wished to visit
Banke Bihari temple, we have ensured special security in every nook and corner
near the temple. Besides CCTVs and additional police personnel, 10 langurs have
also been brought in to curb the monkey menace in the city , especially near
the temple,“ district magistrate Rajesh Kumar said.
Residents, who are forced to keep their doors and
windows locked all the time due to marauding simians, have a grudge against the
district administration though. “If langurs can be deployed for the President,
then why not for the locals and other tourists,“ asks Rajesh Mishra of Govind
Nagar. Local businessmen have raised the issue with civic body and district
administration many times, but to no avail. During his visit, President
Mukherjee will be accompanied by UP governor Ram Naik, CM Akhilesh Yadav and
scores of other politicians.
Now getting back – as me and my family got down to
Kalinga Narthana spot at Yamuna, the rickshawalla advised me to be careful
about monkeys. In places like
Sholinghur, we have seen hundreds of monkeys and I was wary of not keeping our
bags or camera in open. As I was walking
in the narrow lane nearer ‘Naga Kaliya’ mandir – I saw a big monkey couple of steps
in front of me – before I could realise, I saw it on a moat to my right, then
on a branch of tree and in a split second, it was on me. Yes, it was sitting on
me with legs on both shoulders and with its hands removed the spectacles, I was
wearing. Dumb-found, I was late to react, which perhaps saved from any possible
injuries. The monkey removed the specs, sat on a building nearby and slowly
chewed of all non-metal content of the eye-glass. With the prodding of the
rickshawman and other locals, I offered the monkey couple of biscuit packets –
the monkey then threw the specs down – it was no longer the eye-piece that I
used to wear – with a mangled frame and scratched glasses (man)handled by a
monkey – I abandoned the relatively new glasses which I had bought less than 5
months earlier for Rs.7000/- +
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
14th Nov. 2014.
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