Madhwa Vijaya - 4
Sarga 2 Part 2
On his way back from worship, Bhattaru heard the auspicious sounds of drumbeats, whether from a distant wedding procession or from the distant Deva loka, he immediately knew that a son was born.
He showered his love on the beauteous infant, upon reaching home, offering gratitude to Mukunda all the while. Then he began to cast the horoscope of the infant who was the treasure trove of positive attributes.
The child was named Vaasudeva, which was representative of devotion to the lord, as well as a play of the sound ‘va’ which meant to spread awareness, and ‘Asudeva’, another name for Vaayu devaru.
Moodillayaru, who gifted a cow to meet the requirement of milk of the child Vaasudeva, was rewarded by being taught the foremost of scriptures by Madhwaacharya himself, when he was reborn as his son’s son.
Once, Bhattaru carried the flawless, wide-eyed child, as bright as the rising moon and as precious as a priceless gem and presented him to the lord.
Placing the toddler at the feet of the idol, he sought the lord’s benediction and protection from evil, on behalf of the child. Then he, along with his relatives, left to their house.
In the forest that lay between the temple and their residence, as the group approached the witching hour, a few evil spirits were at play. When one weak-spirited person in the group threw up blood upon witnessing this horrifying sight, another exclaimed, “It’s a wonder that the child has been spared!”
As an answer to this, a spirit possessed a person in the group and spoke thus, “We kill everyone who disturbs us at this hour. If your group has been spared, it is only because of the presence of this child. This is no mere child, he’s the lord of the universe!”
Ever reluctant to be parted from her baby, on one occasion after offering her breast to the baby, Bhattaru’s wife appointed her daughter to be in charge while she went out.
When the baby began to cry, the sister tried her best to soothe him, “O cute faced baby, do not cry. Mother will quickly return with whatever you desire…”
When the crying continued and the mother was nowhere in sight, the girl carried the baby around, to pacify him, in vain.
Feeling helpless, she finally decided to feed the baby with something, and she gave him hot, boiled horse gram. Then she feared the consequences of her act, for the baby had had nothing but his mother’s milk till then.
Hurrying towards the house, fearing that the baby would be crying for milk, the mother saw the baby lying contentedly.
When her daughter related the incident to her, Bhattaru’s wife fumed with anger and berated the girl for feeding the infant something that even a healthy adult finds difficult to digest. But when the baby continued to be in a contented condition, the mother was surprised beyond measure.
But the mother of the three worlds* displayed no surprise when her mighty son drank and digested poison**!
*Laksmi
**During the churning of the ocean of milk, Vayu devaru drank most of the haala-hala poison that emerged, leaving behind a little for Rudra devaru to drink
The mother put the baby to her breast and the father chanted prayers for his well-being. Not only did the parents cuddle the baby, but also the various visitors, for the innocent faced baby had bewitched one and all.
The Goddess Saraswathi, waited upon by the Devas, worshipped by the entire world, at first invisible, made her presence felt a little shyly, and then a little more, when the baby began to babble and then began its baby talk.
The baby gradually began to crawl, and then began to stand up. Then he slowly took a few baby steps falteringly… Pavamaana, through whose grace the entire world lives, indulged in such games as 'learning to walk/ talk’ etc.
Unknown to his family, the toddler once ventured onto plains and fields, tugging at the tail of his favourite bull.
The bull with its magnificent horns, sculpted body and powerful feet that trod the ground, glistened in the company of a resplendent Vaasudeva, who looked like the rising sun.
The parents anxiously looked for him everywhere wondering where he was, and worried that he might have slipped and fallen into a well.
When a local lad exclaimed, “Your boy has gone out holding a bull’s tail”, it was met with disbelief. Yet they witnessed the strange sight of a one year old child returning home in the evening, holding on to the bull’s tail.
The joy the elders experienced when they saw the child safe and sound, was comparable to a penniless person coming into possession of a wish fulfilling stone “chintamani” or of a true seeker being granted moksha itself. They ascribed the safe return to the benevolence of God.
He was a little older, when he called his father for a meal, and he heard his father mutter, “The rich Shetty will not let me eat till I pay up for the ox he sold”…
The child Vaasudeva, clutching a few tamarind seeds while at play, handed them over to the Shetty who had come for his loan to be repaid. And to the astonishment of the Shetty, what he held in his hand were gold coins amounting to the exact amount owed by Bhattaru.
Later when Bhattaru managed to accumulate enough to repay the Shetty, the latter declined, saying he had been paid by Vaasudeva. How lucky was the Shetty to have received the greatest blessing in the form of the seeds from the divine, in the tiny form of a child!
People were as fond of and as enamoured by the beautiful Aasudeva, who bore the name ‘Vaasudeva’, as they might have been of Vasudeva’s son Vaasudeva Hari!
Even though the true form of this Hari-daasa was not revealed, his presence filled the people’s hearts with joy, just as people open their eyes and lotuses open up their petals when the sun rises, even if the sun is hidden behind clouds.
End of Sarga 2