Putana lila katha

Topics covered:

• Krishna as Putana-Ghatana (Pastime & Significance).
• Who is Putana?
• Putana enters Gokula.
• BG 4.8 paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam dharma-saḿsthāpanārthāya sambhavami yuge yuge to deliver the pious to annihilate miscreants.
• “ Avatar”.
• Kamsa consults his demoniac counselors.
• The Plan – Persecutions.
• Killing of Male Infants.
• Sri Krishna’s Birth Ceremony.
• Nanda & Vasudeva meet.
• Vasudeva’s warning of disturbance in Gokula.
• Nanda Maharaja’s Deliberation.
• Vasudeva’s warning of Potential Disturbance in Gokula.
• Warning was friendly and sincere.
• The value of timely warnings and good advice.
• Nanda takes shelter of Vishnu.
• Fear as an impetus for bhakti.
• Being fearless in superior protection.
• Fearless under Krishna’s Feet.
• Who is Putana?
• Kamsa consults demoniac ministers.
• Kamsa decides to send Putana to Gokula to kill Krishna.
• Putana – a khechari witch & one of Kamsa’s many demoniac associates.
• Khecari witches can fly in the sky on uprooted trees.
• Skilled in the black art of killing small children.
• What is black art? – Left Tantra.
• Scriptures provide guidelines for all activities, both good and bad to facilitate the desires of the conditioned souls.
• Krishna’s Holy Name mitigates all ghostly effects. But, Krishna uses anxiety to draw devotees towards Him.
• Putana enters Gokula without permission – how?
• Goal – to feed Krishna poisoned milk.
• Disguised as a beautiful cowherd woman – Descriptions.
• She appeared like the Goddess of Fortune with a lotus flower in her hand, come to see Krishna.
• Her beauty mesmerized everyone & she was left unchecked.
• Danger of Material Beauty.
• Putana enters Nanda Maharaja’s house and sees Baby Krishna..
• Her understanding …
• Putana senses the supreme destructive potency of the child.
• Krishna gives intelligence, remembrance and forgetfulness ( nsarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto – BG 15.15 ).
• God is Supremely powerful & transcendental in all circumstances.
• This applies whether in the spiritual world or the material world.
• He is God either as a baby or as a cowherd or as a prince or as a boar, etc. as His various descents show.
• Krishna does not have to meditate to become God. He is eternally God.
• Putana enters Gokula.
• Krishna displays His baby pastimes Krishna’s pastime with Putana Closes His eyes Why? …
• Putana’s hesitation.
• He did not like to see Putana’s face.
• Killing a woman, brahmana, child and cows is a sin – Vedic rules.
• Krishna saw Putana as a nurse.
• VEDA – 7 MOTHERS: Original Mother, Brahmana’s Wife, Guru’s Wife, King’s Wife, Cow, Nurse, Earth.
• Putana took Krishna on her lap.
• She was holding death personified.
• Both Rohini and Yasoda were there but could not understand.
• Thought of her as having motherly affection.
• Putana smeared powerful poison on her breasts and pushed her nipples within Krishna’s mouth.
• Krishna while sucking the milk also sucked out her life air.
• Putana cried loudly “leave me” and perspiring and trembling fell to the ground, regaining her original witch form.
• Mile body came crashing down.
• Anxiety of Gokula’s Inhabitants.
• Gopis shocked.
• Krishna’s Yogamaya potency.
• They rushed to Krishna.
• Vatsalya.
• Prayers for protection.
• With cow’s tail & circumambulation, cow urine, cow dung and dust raised by walking of cows.
• Purification of body.
• By the chanting of Vishnu’s Holy Names – Significance of Tilaka.
• Anxiety of Gokula’s Inhabitants Purification.
• Performance of Achamana – sipping water while chanting.
• Tilaka and the different forms of the Lord protecting the various limbs in the body – 12 tilaka markings.
• Body – Through Bathing Mind – Through Mantra.
• Anxiety of Gokula’s Inhabitants.
• Why are the cow and bull so importantly revered?
• Krishi go rakshya – agriculture & cow protection.
• The cow is mother – nourishment through milk.
• Panchagavya for worship & cow’s role in countering spirits.
• Bull as tiller of field – backhone of subsistence.
• 33 million devatas reside in the body of the cow
• Anxiety of Gokula’s Inhabitants Krishna Himself personally shows the value of cow protection ( KRISHNA AS GOPALA, GOVINDA, GO-BRAHMANA HITAYA CA )
• Krishna’s Unlimited Mercy.
• Krishna took Putana like His mother.
• The Lord bestows the Highest benefit even to His enemies.
• Putana attained liberation or Sayujya Mukti.
• We should be favorable towards Krishna.
• Putana’s dead body burnt.
• Fragrance of aguru from her body.
• Purification by contacting Krishna.
• Inhabitants of Gokula prayed for Krishna’s safety and blessed Him.
• Spontaneous affection for Krishna.