Once Krishna and His fellow cowherds got so carried away in their games that they did not notice how far they had come from home. The food their mothers had given them had long been eaten up. Romping around the pasture lands had made them hungry all over again. Their cows were too happy grazing, but for the boys there was nothing to eat.
As always, they turned towards Krishna to do something. Krishna looked around for a while. Then, with His familiar smile, He pointed to a direction in the horizon from in which curls of smoke were seen rising. “There,” He said to them, “Go there and you will find delicious food aplenty. Ask them in My name.”
Ancients Speak
Suman K Sharma
Hearing Krishna’s words, the cowherds ran in the direction, with fire in the belly. In a clearing, they saw a number of Chauba Brahmins participating in a yagya. Stacked around the sacred fire were mounds of choicest delicacies and fruits of an amazing variety. The sight and smells of the so many eatables made their mouths water.
The oldest among Krishna’s friends made brave to approach the nearest man and addressed him courteously, “Most Venerable Panditji, Pranam! We see that you have gathered piles after piles of food here. Could you give each of us a small portion? We are having cramps of hunger. Krishna told us to ask you for food.”
“And who might be Krishna, my lad?” asked the Brahmin arrogantly.
“You don’t know Krishna? He has killed several asuras and tamed the Kaliya Nag, ridding the Yamuna of his poison. There is not a household in Vrindaban where our Krishna is not welcome with open arms.” The cowherd replied disconcertedly.
“Oh that Krishna! Foster son of Nanda, isn’t he? He should have known that we are performing a yagya here. Oblations are being made to the devatas. Gods have to be pleased first. Only then we can think of satisfying our hunger or that of anyone else’s. But how would Krishna know of the rituals laid down in the Shastras! He is only a cowherd.”
The cowherds went back to Krishna dejectedly. Unknown to them, the news of the Brahmin’s unfeeling conduct had reached the housewives of the village. The Brahmin women put together tastiest dishes and brought them to Krishna and His friends.
Krishna told them that He as well as His companions were of Ahir-Yadav caste and did not deserve the hospitality of Brahmins. Rather than whiling away their time with simple cowherds, the women should join their learned husbands in the yagya. The housewives replied that no yagya would be fruitful if their guests went away on empty stomachs from the village. They insisted that the boys should eat what they had brought them. Then Krishna and the Gopas happily partook of the food offered by the Chauba wives.
The story is a take on the ancient India’s code ‘Ateethidevobhav’ – a guest is god-like. In contrast to the orthodox Brahmin who callously dismisses the Gopa, the housewives of the Chauba village adopt a more pragmatic attitude towards the hungry boys, earning the goodwill of the Ahir-Yadav community in bargain. Whether Indians in Krishna’s times were diehard casteists is beside the point, the happy ending is that a band of young boys seeking nourishment were not sent away empty handed.
Forget appeasing unseen gods; please manifest God instead – that’s the point.
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