Gopala Sundari

There is a tradition to worship Krishna as Gopala Sundari. The mantra for worship in that manner has 33 beejaaksharams and is made up of Sri Rajagopaala Mantra's 18 letters and the 15 letters of Sri Pancha Dasakshari of Sri Vidya. Infact, the Lord of Raja Mannargudi (Dakshina Dwaarakai), Sri Rajagopalan is meditated upon as Sri Vidya Raajagopalan and is said to have Sri Chakram under the lotus feet of his archaa murtham at this temple. His alankaaram as Mohini (Madana Gopala Sundari ) during His Brahmothsavam is well known. Sri Leela Sukhar worshipped this Madana Gopala Sundari form (Dhyana Slokam 3-104 of Krishna Karnaamrutham).

Gopala Sundari Yantram

(Dhyana Slokam 3-104 of Krishna Karnaamrutham)Kodanda maikshava makhanda mishum cha poushpam ,Chakrabhja pasa sruni kanchana vamsa naalam,Bhibrana mashta vidha bahubir arka varnam,Dyayedwarim madana gopa vilasa vesham. 3-104

Afterwards we have to meditate on the form of Krishna, Who holds the unbreakable Kodanda bow, The arrow made of flowers, the holy wheel, the conch, the rope, The goad and the flute made of gold in his eight hands, Who is of the red colour of the rising sun god, And has put on the form of God of love who is a cowherd. This is considered as the manthra of eight handed madana Gopala Sundari.

Other references of Gopala Sundari in Krishna Karnaamrutham:

Lavanya veecheerachithanga bhoosham,Bhooshaa padaropitha puya barhaam,Karunya darala kadaksha maalaam,Baalaam bhaje vallava vamsa lakshmin. 3-18I salute that girl child who is the Lakshmi of the Vamsa clan, Whose prettiness is only due to shining body parts, Who is decorated only by the peacock feather, And whose look is filled with mercy. (This is a rare prayer addressed to Gopala Sundari , the feminine aspect of Krishna)

Maalabarha manogna kunthala bharam vanya prasoonokshithaam,Shailyadrava kliptha chithra thilakaam sasvan manohaarineem,Leela venu ravamyathaika rasikaam lavanya Lakshmi mayeem,Baalaam bala thamala neela vapusham vande param devathaam. 3-66I salute that divine Goddess, who is in her youth and is blue in colour, Whose bewitching hair is decorated by peacock feathers and flower garland, Who is decorated by forest flowers, who is always pleasant to the mind, Who puts red decorative thilaka from the paste made of mountain stone Who gets enraptured in the nectar of the music from the flute, And who is Lakshmi, the personification of great beauty. Note. This is another prayer addressed to Bala Gopala Sundari.

Kodandam masrunam sugandhi vishikham chakrabja pasangusam,Haimim venulathaam karaischa dadhatham sindhoora unjarunam,Kandharpadhika Sundaram smitha mukham gopangana veshtitham,Gopalam sathatham bhajami varadam trilokya raksha manim. 3-98I meditate always on the Gopala*,Who holds the bow, scented flower arrows, Wheel, conch , goad , and a golden flute, Who is reddish like saffron, Who is prettier than God of love, Who has an ever smiling face, Who is surrounded by Gopi lasses, Who is a protection for the three worlds, And one who gives boons to those who ask. *This prayer is addressed to Bala Gopala Sundari.

About Sri Leela Sukhar:The author of Sri Krishna Karnamrutam, is originally called as Bilvamangal. He got the special title of Leela Sukar, since he was immersed in Krishna as Suka was in Brahman. He was born in Kerala in a village called Parur and his period is 1220 - 1300 AD.

He was quite learned in Vyakarana, alankara and other Sanskrit kavya aspects. He was born as a Saiva and he had during his final years embraced Sannyasa in Tekkola Math near Thrissoor. This Math was founded by Padmapada, Sri Sankara's disciple.

Bilvamangala has said: I am a Saiva by birth and I am meditating Siva Panchakshari. But my mind always dwells on the green coloured Krishna, ever with a smiling face. He prayed to Krishna as a form of Gopala Sundari in Gopala Sundari Mantra. 15 lettered Sri Vidya Mantra and 18 lettered Rajagopala Mantra

are said to merge in Gopala Sundari Mantra. Gopala Sundari is Sri Lalita Parameswari, with sugar cane bow, flower arrows, disc, conchshell, ankusa and pasa and flute. This form is the combined form of Mother Lalita and Krishna.

Bilvamangala thus adopted the way of Sri Ramakrishna, where Krishna and Mother Lalita are worshipped as one form.

Bilvamangala has described this meditation of Gopala Sundari in one of his verses in the book.

Down in kerala it is practised by few! vidAtrAnandabhairava r^ishiH, daivI gAyatrI cchandaH, gOpAlasundarI devatA, and a manthra which is a combination of a krishna manthra and saubhagya panchadashi.! The methods followed are pretty much similar to that of shodashi.

Excerpts from Sri Vaishnava Forum:

(rAAJA) Mannargudi , the KshEthram is ALSO KNOWN AS DakshiNa DhwArakai .

It is an ancient temple going back to 1,000 years . It is not a dhivya desam sung by AzhwArs but is what is known as an abhimAna sthalam . This sthalam has nurtured Carnatic Music for a long time. Mutthuswamy Dikshithar has composed a Krithi on this Sri Vidya Raajagopalan .

It is believed that a "SrI Vidhyaa Chakram" has been placed at the time of consecration under the Moolavar Peetam. This SrI (Vidhyaa) Chakram is not the one that is worshipped by SrI VidhyA UpAsakAs , who perform NavAvaraNa Meru Poojaa. At MannArgudi , the sakthi of the Lord is linked to the MahA Lakshmi Yantram known also as Sri VidhyA Yantram, named after the wife of Lord Hayagriva , the Sakala VidhyA Moorthy .

P/S : There is another Yanthram known as Madana Gopala SundariMantram with 18 BheejAksharam , which is different from the 15 BhhejAkshari Mantram worshipped by Lalitha Tripura Sundari UpAsakAs.

Excerpts from Kamakoti Mandali:This is the dhyAna of Bhagavan Sri Krishna in the form of gopAla sundarI or shrIvidyA rAjagopala, where Sri Lalita and Sri Rajagopala are worshipped as one with a mantra that is a combination of Srividya and Rajagopala ashTAdashAkSharI.

There are two approaches to the worship of this mantra, one taught by hiraNyagarbha to dakShiNAchArins and the other taught by Bhagavan Anandabhairava to the vAmAcharins. The Rishi, Chandas, dhyAna, AvaraNa etc vary in these two systems.

In the case of dakShiNAchAra again, there are two forms of this vidyA, one called gopAlasundarI or madanagopAlasundarI and the other called shrIvidyA rAjagopAla or madana gopAla kRShNa. Both these are combinations of shrIvidyA and rAjagopala mantras. Though these two terms are used inter-changeably, they are different. This is pointed out clearly in gopAlasundarI kalpa of Rudrayamala.

In the case of gopAla sundarI, the primary mantra is shrIvidyA, and rAjagopAla mantra is complimentary to the former. The visualization of Lord in this form is half-male and half-female [somewhat like ardhanArishwara]:

”I meditate on that splendid Brahman in the form of Sri Krishna, who is half red [aruNa varNa or the color of the rising sun - this is the left half signifying Sri Lalitambika] and half blue [of the color of a dark cloud - this is the right half signifying Sri Gopala], decorated on the forehead by a peacock feather, who is both male and female in form [ardhanArIshwara swarUpa], and who sports in his hands: flute, pAsha, ankusha, sugarcane bow and arrow of flowers”. Thus, an identity between Sridevi and Srihari is indicated.

In the case of shrIvidyA rAjagopala or madana gopAla, the Lord sports the Ayudhas of Sridevi, has a red complexion like her but is male in form. Here is the perfect materialization of the phrase “pumrUpA krShNavigrahA” – “When in male form, I am Sri Krishna”. Also, rAjagopAla mantra is primary in this case.

kodaNDamaikShavamakhaNDamishum cha pauShpamchakrAbjapAshasRNikAnchanavamshanALam |vibhrANamaShTavidhabAhubhirarkavarNamdhyAyeddharim madanagopavilAsaveSham || [Sri Krishna Karnamritam]

”I meditate on Sri Madana Gopala, who is of the complexion of the rising sun, and who sports in his eight hands: sugarcane bow, arrow of flowers, sudarshana chakra, gadA, lotus flower, pAsha, ankusha and golden flute”.

The same is described below:

prasUnabANAmkitamikShuchApamchakrAbjapAshAnkushapanchanaLam |dharam karairaShTabhirarkavarNamshrIkrShNarUpam praNamAmi rAmam || [Sri Rama Karnamritam]

Sri Bhagavannama Bodhendra, author of Sri Rama Karnamrutam, thinks so: ‘Sri Krishna, in his form as Srividya Rajagopala, is sporting bow [of sugarcane] and arrow [of flowers]. Now, are not these trademarks of Sri Ramachandra? So, this form of Lord indeed is non-different from my beloved Sri Ramabhadra! Hence, I offer my namaskramas to Sri Raghunayaka, who appears in the form of Madana Gopala’.

Technically however, it should be noted that there is a separate form of the Lord known as shrIvidyA rAma:

”I visualize on a throne of the form of Srichakra, with Garuda forming the Bindu, seated is Sri Rama, sporting jnAna mudrA in his right hand. He embraces with his left hand, Bhagavati Sita seated on his left lap, who in turn is sporting a lotus in her lotus hands. By meditating on this form of Rama and by reciting his mantra, one can realize the unity between the self and the Brahman”.

From the shrIvidyA perspective, these three mantras, along with mahA vaikuNTheshwara [mahAgopAla pradhAna] and shrIchakradhara [shrIvidyA pradhAna], form the vaiShNava angas of parA ShoDashI.

The mantra for Vidya Rajagopala Yantra is:

Om Kleem Vidya Rajagopala Moorthaye Namah

UsesThis is Lord Krishna Mantra, recitation of this Mantra good for maintaining good relationship with wife or partner.

Gopaala Sundari----------------------------------------------------------------------

'kaDachilalliteshani pumruupaa krishNa vigraH ' - some times Lalitha is seenin the form of Krishna.

There are innumerable forms of Devi described in Veda, Agama and PuraaNas.No other deity in the Hindu pantheon has such countless forms. She being theuniversal mother with bound less mercy, manifests in a number of forms toenable one to meditated in any of these that one likes to visualize. Thoughthe ultimate reality is beyond all forms and conception, its out of immensecompassion that the he manifests with a swaroopa embracing kalyaNa guNas.There is a special roopa of devi described in tantric texts as a fusion ofgoopla and lalita named 'Gopaala Sundari'.

The supreme manifestation of devi as the universal mother is Lalita. Whenyou say a sahasranAma or a trishati on Devi with out a prefix, it refersonly to Lalita's. She is 'shrI mahA rAGYI', the supreme empress. She istripurasundarii who rules over the entire universe with Brahma,VishhNu andShiva are mere functionaries in her empire. Rig-Veda celebrates her as thesupreme power in all beings.

'ahaM rudrebhir basubhishcharAmyaham Aditairuta vishvadevaiH ahaMmitrAvaruNobhA vibharmyahamindrAgnI ahamashvinobhA ..'

Like wise the most celebrated masculine form of the saguNa brahma is Sri mannaaraayaNa. He is parama purusha the first and fore most among devatas.

naaraayaNaparo yogo naaraayaNapara.m tapaH |naaraayaNapara.m j^naana.m naaraayaNaparaagatiH ||

Out of several incarnations of Sri mannaaraayaNa, Sri Krishna is consideredas the poorNaavatara as he brims with all kalyaNa guNas. We find a beautifulshloka by leela shuka, which reads as,

satyaM satyaM durlabhaM daivateshhutatkaishoraM tachcha vaktraaravindaM |tatkaaruNyaM te cha liilaakaTaakshaaHtatsaundaryaM saa cha mandasmitashriiH ||

(I swear, I swear, there is none equating Krishna with such an enchantingbeauty, lotus face, kaaruNya, liilaa kaTaakshaa, saundarya and that smile(saa cha mandasmitashriiH), indeed there is none.)

These two supreme principles manifest in a single swaroopa named 'GoopaalaSundari', needless to say this is the most enchanting of all swaroopAs.She is shyamala and he is shyamalaanga. She is rAjarAjeshwari and he isrAjagopAla. There exist several puraanic evidences to state that they areone and the same. The following shloka from krishNa karNamrutam beautifullydescribes the form that result when Devi and Krishna unite.

kodanDamaikshavamakhaNDamishhuM ca paushhpaMcakraabjapaashasR^iNikaaJNcanavaMshanaalam |vibhraaNamashhTavidhabaahubhirarkavarNaMdhyaayeddhariM madanagopavilaasaveshham ||

dhyaayeth hariM madana gopa vilaasa veshham - I meditate upon hari in theform of madana gOpAla,arkavarNaM - who with the color of a rising sun,vibhraaNam - holdsakhaND aiksha kodanDa - a strong sugar cane bow,ishhuM ca paushhpaM - an arrow of flowers,cakra abja paasha sR^iNi kaaJNcana-vaMshanaalam - cakra, shanka, lotus,wipe, AN^kushA and a golden flute,AshhTa baahubhiH - in his eight arms.

The Mantra dedicated to Sri gopaala sundari has 33 beejaaksharams, which isa fushion of Pancha Dassakshari (15) and Sri Rajagopaala (18) ashhtaDassakshari.

It's a traditional practise to equate Gopaala sundari to shyamala ormeenakshi. Meenakshi being visualized as Sri mannaaraayaNa is nothing new.There is a special ramaayaNa which says meenakshi assumed the form of rama &sundareshwara as seetha. So nandi deva incarnates as Anchaneya (shriichandrasekharendra sarasvatii mahAsvamigaL has elaborated on thistopic).Mutthuswami diikshitar in one his songs on somasundareshwara

(madurai) says 'nandi ropa Anchaneyadi nutam' - The one served by nandi inthe form of Anchaneya (implies, he took the form of jaanaki).

One the other hand, sri chakra of devi is seen at the lotus feet of gopaalain dakshina dwaaraka (mannargudi). He is named as sri vidya raaja gopaalaand decorated as madana Gopaala Sundari during Brahmothsavam. There is aspecial krithi of diikshitar dedicated to the sri vidya swaroopam of rajagopala.

These fusion principles serve as standard testimony towards mutual toleranceand bakti. Let shyamala and shyamaanga bestow their grace on us and empowerus to always meditate upon their lotus feet.