It was summer holidays again. And as usual my sister and I were waiting for our Grandmother to come home with her bundles of sweet goods and stories. My Grandmother always had a very interesting way of explaining things to children. Most of the religious, traditional and mythological stuff we know today came from her. It was time for the sandhya (evening) Deeparadhana at home and my mother was making preparations for the same. My grandmother's prayer was mostly "maanasa pooja" which comprised of meditation and naama smaranam. She is a great inspiration to us.
That evening, mother told us that our grandmother was about to tell us something very interesting. My sister and I sat beside our Grandma with all ears and great curiosity. She started with a brief but, captivating story of baby Lord Krishna followed by a small sloka.
Kasturi tilakam lalaata palake vakshasthale kausthubham
Nasagre navamaukthikam karathale venum kare kankanam
Sarvange hari chandanan cha kalayan khante cha mukthavali
gopastri pariveshthitho vijayathe gopala choodaamani
The above sloka explains how Lord Krishna looks. Yashoda (foster-mother of Lord Shri Krishna) bathed baby Krishna and dressed him up daily. Shri Krishna is decorated with Kasturi tilakam on his forehead, kausthubham (an ornament) on his Vakshasthalam, navamaukthikam (ornament) on his nose, flute in his hands, kanakanam (bracelet) on his wrist. His entire body is covered with sandal paste. He has an ornament on his neck. Oh! Shri Krishna, You are the giver of Mukthi. Victory to you.
After explaining the sloka she told us that she wanted to teach us Bhagavad Gita before she left for Hyderabad. I asked her "Ammamma (grandma) what is Bhagavad Gita?" She said "Bhagavad Gita is a nectar of life given by Lord Shri Krishna to us for our welfare. It consists of answers to many questions that arise from time to time in our life. Bhagavad gita means song of God." By then it was dinner time and we planned on starting the lessons from the next day.
That evening, mother told us that our grandmother was about to tell us something very interesting. My sister and I sat beside our Grandma with all ears and great curiosity. She started with a brief but, captivating story of baby Lord Krishna followed by a small sloka.
Kasturi tilakam lalaata palake vakshasthale kausthubham
Nasagre navamaukthikam karathale venum kare kankanam
Sarvange hari chandanan cha kalayan khante cha mukthavali
gopastri pariveshthitho vijayathe gopala choodaamani
The above sloka explains how Lord Krishna looks. Yashoda (foster-mother of Lord Shri Krishna) bathed baby Krishna and dressed him up daily. Shri Krishna is decorated with Kasturi tilakam on his forehead, kausthubham (an ornament) on his Vakshasthalam, navamaukthikam (ornament) on his nose, flute in his hands, kanakanam (bracelet) on his wrist. His entire body is covered with sandal paste. He has an ornament on his neck. Oh! Shri Krishna, You are the giver of Mukthi. Victory to you.
After explaining the sloka she told us that she wanted to teach us Bhagavad Gita before she left for Hyderabad. I asked her "Ammamma (grandma) what is Bhagavad Gita?" She said "Bhagavad Gita is a nectar of life given by Lord Shri Krishna to us for our welfare. It consists of answers to many questions that arise from time to time in our life. Bhagavad gita means song of God." By then it was dinner time and we planned on starting the lessons from the next day.
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