Turmeric back

 Explaining a Periyazhvar verse, Manavala Mamunigal gives an example to show Lord Krishna’s saulabhya. The Gopikas went to the river to bathe. They wanted to check if the turmeric pieces they were going to use for their bath would leave a lovely yellow colour on their skin. Usually, turmeric is rubbed on a stone to check its quality. But the rocks on the river bank were already covered with turmeric marks. So the Gopikas rubbed their turmeric pieces on Krishna’s back to check the quality. Imagine the Supreme One allowing them to treat Him thus! No wonder Lord Krishna is the One who comes to mind when we speak of the quality of saulabhya.

When Krishna told the Gopas and Gopikas to make their offerings not to Indra but to Govardhana hill, Indra was furious. He caused it to rain continuously for a week. But Krishna did not punish him. An Acharya has given a beautiful explanation as to why He spared Indra, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse.

When a mother has a second child, when the first is still very young, the first child becomes jealous of the attention the mother gives the newborn. Naturally, the mother pays more attention to the newborn, because it needs her help. The elder child, unable to understand why it is no longer the focus of her attention, shows its displeasure by throwing tantrums. The mother does not punish the child, because she knows the reason for its behaviour. Likewise, in the case of Indra, the Lord had helped him many times. But now He was with the Gopas and Gopikas and was showering His affection on them. This made Indra envious of them, and his trying to trouble them was his way of displaying his anger against these new friends of Krishna. So, the Lord, like a mother who understands and forgives her child, forgave Indra.