Appeasement of Radhika Page 4
She’d snuggle up to him.
Running around
She would accost him.
Playing by the sandbanks,
Ila would nuzzle up to him,
Never leaving his side
Never passing up a chance
To touch him.
Thus did adore young Ila her beloved Krishna.
Her friends would marvel,
‘God! This girl sure is naughty!’
17. The ragas were mastered
And the veena too,
Bharata’s Natya Shastra
And mudras true
And rasa—the essence of the kavyas
Rhyme and metre
The art of writing
Style, sophistry, elegance true
And passion—
Bandhas both
Did Radha teach Ila
With patience tenderly, gently.
18. Then did Radha pray
To the gods above
For robust breasts and limbs long.
Fragrant oils did she massage
For glossy, glistening tresses.
With local potions did she anoint Ila.
‘Dear Lord! May she attain puberty soon!’
19. Nurturing and feeding Ila
With care was Radha,
Captivated by her protégé’s youth and growing beauty.
Gazing at her she’d joke:
20. ‘You? Competition? Fie!’
But compelled, she would glance at Ila
Caressing her cheeks playfully
Kissing her fondly
Over and over again.
21. Thus did Radha care
Warding off the evil eye and bad omens,
Ensuring nothing untoward befell Ila
Who grew luxuriantly like a lovingly tended plant
In the garden of Manmatha,
God of love.
22. And then none too soon
Did puberty arrive
Sweeping away innocence and naïvete
In its wake.
Her fingertips grew red, the body fragrant
Her speech mellifluous like birdsong
And chattering parrots pecked at her red lips,
Mistaking it for ripe fruit
Braid as black as Rahu,
Framing her round moon-like face
Her romavalli like bees streaming towards
Suraponna flowers
Feet like swans, swinging gait elegant and measured
Smiling eyes flashing, sharing secrets with her ears …
Thus did this young child register
Changes within
Aware of the power of youth
As she bloomed into womanhood.
23. Her breasts,
Shaming lofty mountains,
Sizeably grew
On the bashful maiden,
As though on Manasarovar
Had erupted twin gilded buds.
24. As Krishna’s face glowed like moonlight,
Hers softened like the lotus flower.
As Krishna’s tresses merged with the darkness
Her face shone bright, outshining the stars.
As Krishna’s chest expanded with manhood,
Her breasts rose in anticipation.
25. As Krishna’s broad shoulders strengthened,
Her arms stretched gracefully like creepers.
As Krishna’s youthful beauty grew,
Her voice took on the sweetness of a nightingale’s.
‘Rare,’ thought the god of love to himself,
‘Is such a perfect couple!’
26. Like a polished faceted gem
Like a laden creeper growing strong
Like a polished statue burnished gold
The young girl glowed, gorgeous in her youth.
27. And then the auspicious day did dawn
To announce Ila’s coming of age
When, dressed and embellished,
Young maidens tittered merrily
Where sumptuous banquets were laid out.
28. ‘Let us give Yashoda the news
For surely she will bestow gifts!’
‘Let us call Rohini and ask,
These surely are signs of maturity?’
‘Let us gather friends and family,
Inform her uncles,
Set an auspicious date.’
‘Let us inform Garga Muni
That this young bud has blossomed.’
‘Let us anoint her with flowers, with fragrances,
Feed her potions and dates!’
29. When Ila did hear
These whispered words,
Her eyes did brim with tears.
Oh, so shy!
Noticing this, Radha admonished the others,
‘Why, pray, are you all gossiping about this young girl?’
30. So, one brushed Ila’s tresses through
While another piled her hair high in a coiffure.
One marked her iridescent forehead with bright vermilion
While another sprinkled a mist of perfume.
One knotted her silk skirt at her tiny waist
While another tied her blouse.
Jewels sparkled brightly at her neck and ears
As fragrance wafted through the room.
Under Radha’s watchful eye
Was lithe Ila thus dressed,
Ready now to battle
The god of love himself.
31. Seated on a decorated stool
Surrounded by young girls, married women, musicians,
Her lissom body anointed with sandalwood paste
Bathed in cool, scented waters
Her long hair sun-dried and plaited
Silk petticoats swishing
Gossamer orange sari draped
Bedecked with jewels, adorned with jasmine
She sat thus
Sipping milk and nibbling on fruit, jaggery and sweet til too.
32. As the trumpets rose and fell
Sounds of music filled the air,
Radha accompanied by older women
Led the rituals.
Placing auspicious yellow rice
At the corners of Ila’s new sari,
She offered sindur and kasturi
To friends and family gathered to witness
This passage of rites.
33. And the ceremony continued
For five days long …
Finally, exhausted and fatigued, the young maiden
Lay on a jasmine-strewn bed,
Soft and fragrant amidst neem leaves.
As young keen-eyed girls
Sticks in hands to ward away evil spirits,
Stood vigil.
34. With mantras and tantras
Sprinkling holy water and vibhuti
Did priests secure the house
Warding off the evil eye with magic potions
Ensuring protection to the lovely Ila.
35. The following morning, as was the custom, Radha distributed gifts and the traditional pittu to the prominent people in town, piling them high on carriages; and on the fifth and final day, she distributed auspicious haldi and kumkum, coconuts and betel leaves to all present as the girl was made to sit on a raised platform.
36. Giggling and laughing, the girls bathed the beauty
With fragrant sampangi oil.
Fragrant like jasmine,
Tender as a quivering leaf
In the hands of Manmatha, she sat.
37. Dipping her hands in perfumed oil,
One maiden dried Ila’s dripping hair
As another plaited it.
One anointed her with kasturi tilakam
As another dusted her body with scented powder.
One tied a red silk skirt,
Another put on her blouse.
One draped a shimmering golden sari,
Another decked her with ornaments of gold.
38. One showed her the mirror to inspect
As another applied sa
ndal paste.
Thus did Radha organize the festivities
With efficacy, with elation.
39. Beautiful and fragrant like a shower of jasmine
Did her friends bring the bedecked Ilavati
To bejewelled ivory chairs and cushioned seats
Where sat old crones like Anasuya
Singing songs and blowing conches
Signalling thus the ‘nuptials of Ila with Madhava’.
40. With love and dedication
Did Radha labour,
Preparing her beloved Krishna too
For the ceremony ahead.
41. Flushed face dripping sweat
Forehead smudged with vermilion and musk
Jingling bangles marking time
Eyes darting, watchful and attentive
Slender waist weighed by abundant breasts
Heavy and heaving
The waistband loosening
Sensuously
Long braids beating against ample hips
Sighing softly but content
Did Radha massage champak oil
On her Lord and lover Krishna.
42. Bursting like melons
Pendulous breasts
Brushed against him
As maidens combed out
Keshava’s curly tangled tresses.
43. One applied haldi to Krishna’s body
As though anointing him
As though the love welling up in her heart
Was itself being applied to him.
44. Another walking with elephantine grace
Applied sandal paste carefully
With dedication deep
While other graceful maidens handed her the paste.
45. With enormous bowls of scented water
Did Radha bathe him.
A performance
Akin to the very coronation
Of the King of Love.
46. One dried his hair
Perfuming it with smoky, scented sticks
Another combed his tangled tresses
One knotted his hair
While another placed
Perfume-drenched flowers
One helped him into his dhoti
Another bent down to straighten the pleats.
One applied kasturi tilakam to his forehead
And adorned him with jewels
As another rubbed sandalwood paste to his neck
Thus did each maiden
Serve her Lord God
Adorning him
Adoring him.
47. Bright and incandescent
Like gifts from the ashta dikpalakas,
Pearl earnings shone brilliantly
Adorning his ears.
48. Overwhelmed by Krishna’s radiance
Subdued by his lustre
The moon settled at his feet
Like a diamond in his lotus anklets.
49. The glittering emerald pendant
Of two parrots green
On Krishna’s broad chest
Left even Kamadeva
Overwhelmed.
50. A dazzling diamond
On Krishna’s chest looked
As though the very stars
Radiated from his chest.
51. The blue kaustubha mani
The golden-hued pitambara
On the auspicious body of the dark Lord
Only enhanced
His ever-glowing form.
52. Beautiful maidens, in their attempts to amuse and entertain Krishna, would constantly cite Radha using her as a ploy to bend him to their will.
53. ‘But Radha presses her nails thus
She places the necklace so
Radha wears her red stones like this
And so should you.’
The maidens babbled happily
Surrounding him, shielding him
From the evil eye.
54. Thus dressed and adorned with sparkling jewels, Krishna shone bright like the moon and the twinkling stars that illuminated the night sky, ready to meet his beloved Ila.
55. Rose he then, holding Radha’s hand,
Slipping his feet
Into proffered slippers.
And led to sit amongst his own
On an elevated seat, fragrant with flowers,
To await his bride.
56. The time then arrived
The moment opportune
As ordained by the heavens,
And excited fair maidens
Scrambled hither and thither,
Urging Ila to appear
For her Lord awaited …
And so
Step out she did
Head bowed, bashful and graceful.
57. Her swirling silk skirt
The rustling pleats of her sari
Catching the light
Like the shimmering moon.
The folds of her blouse
Holding the promise of
Full breasts,
Gold anklets tinkling
Did the lotus-eyed bride come forward
To the king of the Yadus.
58. When the propitious moment arrived,
Garga and the other rishis
Set out to perform the nuptial rituals.
Chants arose and drums beat aloud
As delighted gods watched from the heavens above
Showering flowers and rose petals
As assembled guests looked on, enchanted.
59. Rites completed
Did Hari and Ila
Stand as man and wife
With gathered friends and relatives
Partaking of wedding delicacies.
60. Joyous and proud,
Did Nanda greet everyone.
A kind word here, a gentle smile there,
Gifts for one and all.
Thus he did
Thank his guests.
61. Cheerfully did Krishna
Accept tambulam and payasam,
Slipping into jewel-studded slippers
Offered by his new bride.
62. Leaving the wedding hall,
Went he to rest
On a spacious bed strewn
With fragrant flowers afresh …
Musical instruments softly played
As curtains of lace swayed
Soft pillows plumped and puffed
And elaborate mirrors adorned the room
That Krishna entered.
63. Decked in auspicious orange
Draped in crimson red
Anointed with sandalwood
Long hair plaited and bejewelled
Kasturi bindi on her forehead
Fragrant with jasmine and javvaji
Doe eyes lined with pitch-black kohl
Was young Ila, as dressed by Radhika.
64. Thus the mirror did reflect
The image of Goddess Lakshmi rising
Above the surf
From the depths of the ocean blue
This most gorgeous of God’s creations.
65. ‘O killer of the demon Kaitabha!
Will this young girl’s lips withstand your kisses?
O Lion amongst cowherds
Will her tender breasts bear your scratches?
O wrestler of Canura
Will her young adolescent thighs withstand your vigour?
O elephant killer
Will her tender body ever survive?’
Blushing and embarrassed
Face flushed red
Head bent low
Shy Ila stood surrounded
By women joking and teasing
Concerned Radhika drew her close
Offering her comfort and counsel.
66. ‘When your lover embraces you,
Press gently holding him against your breast.
As he kisses your cheek,
Turn away shyly but softly touch his lips with yours.
When he enters you,
Arouse him moving against him vigorously.
If he tir
es while making love,
Get on top
Take over quickly
Encourage and persuade.
Never forget: He is the ultimate lover
A real expert, extremely skilled is he.
So love him tender
Love him true
And make him love you.
That’s my advice
But you know better.
67. ‘True love knows no boundaries
Nor set rules.’
Thus did Radha prime young Ila
Quoting from the Kama Shastras.
‘Go now, go quickly, the auspicious time has come,
Prepare to be loved,
Delay no longer.’
68. Slowly and tenderly,
Like leading a sensuous elephant
Did Radha gently escort Ila
To a waiting Krishna, and said:
69. ‘My lord! The anklets on her feet ring
Like those on an elephant’s legs
The bells on her girdle chime
Like bells around a cow’s neck
The down on her stomach
Like sandalwood flows
Her firm, rounded breasts
Like shapely, upturned pots …
This here is your bride, Krishna,
Coming to you
Her radiant beauty aglow
Expectant and eager
Waiting for a glimpse of you.
70. ‘Her breasts are sensitive like buds coming abloom
Unlike mine
They won’t bear your scratching them.
Her lips are green like young leaves,
Unlike mine
Which are mature like coral,
Don’t bite too hard.
Her thighs are soft like banana stems
Unlike mine
Which are used to grappling with you
Her body is like a climbing vine
Unlike mine
Which is tough as gold.
She is not me, and I am not her
A novice is she, new to the game
A mere child
Nowhere your equal in the game of love.
But you know that.
Do you need my advice to handle women?
You’re the expert, a skilled lover true.
71. ‘Merely touch her tender body
Don’t squash!
Merely run your tongue over her lips,
Don’t bite!
Merely brush against her cheeks lightly
Don’t scratch!
Merely caress her nipples with your fingertips
Don’t squeeze!
Merely hold her gently
Don’t crush her!
Approach her
Gently, tenderly, caringly
Don’t be violent or rough!
But impertinent am I! To try and teach
You the most skilled of lovers?
I know as you do
That love knows no rules
When you are together,
Immersed in each other
Would you heed my advice?’
72. With these words did Radha hand
To Hari his new bride
Even as Ila clung to Radha,
Who freed herself and left.
‘I’ll be back soon,’ she said,