A question used to often occur in my mind that ‘Kanha ate soil’—whether it is an ordinary incident or an extraordinary? With the growing age, after reading books, epics, meeting scholars and watching some religious serials on television, I concluded that it was not an ordinary incident.
When the God incarnated in the form of Sri Krishna in the lap of mother Devaki, and from there passing through the arms of father Vasudev, He lay in a basket and reached Gokul. Having consecrated the River Yamuna by the touch of His foot, He lay beside the mother Yashoda at her bed and then came in the cradle. When He grew up a little and started rolling over and toddling, He sanctified the mother earth by standing over it. As He touched the mother earth, she jumped up with joy and happiness and ran for welcoming, extending respect, having darshan and worshiping the God. Owing to this activity, there was some storm-like movement on the earth. When mother Yashoda realised this abnormal movement, she having left Kanha ran towards kitchen and backside of the house. Meanwhile, Kanha too came out of the house rolling over and toddling.
Dialogue between Sri Krishna and mother earth
Mother earth appeared before Sri Krishna in the form of a Goddess and offered sashtang pranam to the God. Kanha then asks, “Who are you, devi?” “Your creation, earth, my God,” came the answer. Kanha again asks, “Why have you come?” Mother earth says, “God, since you have blessed me with your divine and holy touch, I have come to have your darshan, extend welcome and also worship you.” Having said this, the mother earth became quiet and a feeling of sadness enveloped her face. The God asks, “Goddess, why are you looking sad?” Mother earth says, “God, since I am made of soil, I am confused what should I worship you with, as water belongs to Varun Dev, air belongs to Pawan Dev, vegetables, fruits and flowers belong to Vishwakarma, foodgrains belong to human and all other things belong to nature?” The God says, “Devi, perform worship with whatever you have and with what you are made of. That is hallowed in itself.” Then mother earth became happy and performed puja by offering soil to the God. The God too accepted that happily. It was an astonishing, fascinating and captivating incident that I read in many books.
Kanha ate soil
At that time Gopikas, passing through the place, wondered to watch as to how Kanha reached out of the house in such a stormy weather. When they reached closer, they saw Kanha happily eating the soil. Owing to their eternal devotion and affection to the child-form of the God, they rushed to mother Yashoda and said, “See, your, no no, our, Kanha is eating soil.”
Message to protect the earth
This incident makes it clear that at the time of the worship by mother earth the God clearly gave the message of protecting the earth at the time of His incarnation. He clarified it from his own mouth in the Gita at the battlefield of Kurukshetra:
Yada yada hi dharmasyaglanirbhavati Bharatah,
Abhuthanamadharmasya, tadatmanam srijamhayam.
Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya ch dushkritam,
Dharma sansthapanarthaya, sambhavami yuge yuge.
Here the meaning of ‘Bharat’ is literal and spiritual. It means the land with knowledge, character and human values and whenever atrocities grow or there is any harm to these things, the God incarnated in a particular form to destroy the evil forces and to restore the knowledge, character and human values.
Sita as daughter of earth
When this ordinary-looking but beautiful and extraordinary incident of eating the soil by Sri Krishna comes to the mind, another question arises in the mind. When the God incarnated in the form of Sri Ram lakhs of years ago, He incarnated in the lap of mother Kaushalya, but mother Sita incarnated as dharati putri (daughter of earth). This was also an extraordinary incident.
Protection of dharati putri Sita by Ram
When we go deep into the matter, we find that Sri Ram performed the unique work of granting salvation to mother Ahilya and mother Sita—Sita means ‘daughter of earth’, denotes woman and signifies culture—all three are forms of mother. The kidnapping of mother Sita by Ravana was the height of atrocities by him. Sri Ram took every kind of step to protect and liberate the mother Sita and eventually killed Ravana, the global symbol of atrocities. After killing Ravana, Sri Ram told Lakshmana:
Api swarnamayi lanka, na me Lakshmana rochate,
Janani janma bhumishcha, swargadiapi gariyasi.
Through this shloka, Sri Ram gave the message that janani (mother) and janmabhoomi (mother land) are greater than swarga (heaven) and swarna (gold). Why did he say this? The reason is very clear. Swarga (pleasure) and swarna (prosperity) are earned by men through their conduct and labour, but the mother and motherland are granted only by the God. Nobody gives a request letter to whom and where one has to be born. Sri Ram completed his last journey through River Sarayu and mother Sita through mother earth itself.
All are human sent by the God but at the earth nation is the identity
It is an eternal and beautiful principle of the God that everybody comes as a human being from the house of God. But our identity on the earth is not decided by our group of people, caste, religion, language, party, profession etc., but we all are identified with the piece of mother land, which we got as a country and with the woman’s womb, i.e. mother, which is called our ancestors and culture. This is an eternal truth, which the God explained in the above shloka.
The message of two incarnations of the God in the form of Sri Ram and Sri Krishna is the protection of earth or the nation and its culture and values of human life. If we in the form of the nation are powerful, safe, honoured, full of character and independent, only then can we restore peace and happiness all over the world. This is the truth of the incarnations of the God. It is the yugdharma (religion of time) to be followed by all today and forever.
(The writer is Member, National Executive of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.)
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