Miscellaneous - Religion   

Pangs of separation

CHENNAI: Though the incarnations of the Lord have been for specific purposes such as destruction of evil forces and the establishment of dharma, their perennial value lies in their potential to awaken the realisation of His greatness in the individual in search of salvation. The Supreme Being becomes accessible to humanity in a much wider and deeper manner during His incarnations, for apart from the immediate impact of the incarnations on the contemporaneous times and people, there is also a steady influence by way of inspiring devotion in generations of humanity.

The richness of experience in these incarnations has also impacted the imagination and empathetic fervour of the devout such as the Azhwars who have given vent to their feelings about the Supreme Being who descended in human form as Rama or Krishna, pointed out Sri K. B. Devarajan in a lecture.

The Azhwars possessed a tremendous quality of empathy that they were able to enter into the consciousness of the many people who were fortunate enough to live and mingle with the Lord during His incarnation. While Nammazhwar donned the role of a lady love yearning for the Lord, Kulasekara Azhwar was adept at empathising with Dasaratha or Devaki and sang moving hymns to describe their state of mind at crucial instances.

He captures the anguish of Dasaratha when caught in the predicament of separation from his beloved son Rama as much as he feels for Devaki’s unfortunate position as a mother who is forced to send her son, the divine incarnate, to the custody of foster parents. Devaki had only heard of the enchanting and enjoyable feats of the Lord as child Krishna in Gokul, such as the holding of the Govardhan, the killing of the serpent Kaliya or the enactment of Rasa Lila. After the killing of Kamsa when she sees Lord Krishna she expressed a desire to witness these and it is said that the Lord provided a repeat performance for her.

In both the incarnations the Lord fulfilled His role as a son. His vow of upholding His father’s words was the highlight in the Ramayana. As Lord Krishna He obeyed Vasudeva’s request to hide His conch and discus with which He was born in the prison.

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