One evening, Krishna looks at the gopas and says, “Let’s take the calves (the govatsa) for an outing tomorrow. Instead of coming home for lunch, we’ll have our lunch in Vrindavan itself. That way, the calves will not feel tired.”
The gopas are excited. They love these special outings that Krishna organizes. So they assemble quickly, with their bundles of packed lunches when Krishna blows his horn the next day. Armed with their slingshots, sticks and flutes, the gopas set off merrily to Vrindavan with their govatsas.
The gopas feed the most delicious fruits to their calves. They paint their bodies with bright mineral colours, play with their tails, make garlands out of the wildflowers and put them around the necks of their govatsas. They then adorn themselves with peacock feathers and play, tease, argue, fight and patch up with one another.
Some gopas love their govatsas. A lot. So they speak to them very earnestly and tell them how Krishna always protects them from the monsters that Kamsa sends to Vraj. The calves pay no heed to the gopas. They munch merrily on the grass.
Other gopas leave their govatsas under Krishna’s care to explore dark caves along the way. When they hear the echoes of their voices, they are frightened. So they return to Krishna’s side meekly and start minding their calves. And yet another handful of gopas are busy aping the gait of the cranes, chasing the langurs, swatting the flies that bother their calves and singing along with the koyals at the same time.
Agha, the brother of Baka and Putana witnesses the entire scene grimly. Kamsa has deployed him on a mission. He has to avenge the death of his siblings by killing the avatara, Krishna first. Kamsa says, “You can feast on the foolish gopas and the tender flesh of the govatsas as a bonus after you kill Krishna.” Agha nods his head. The idea appeals to him.
Agha uses his occult powers and transforms into a huge python. He rests his lower jaw on the forest floor of Vrindavan and his upper jaw touches the skies. The bravest of gopas wonder how they missed out on exploring such a mysterious cave earlier and decide to explore it.
They hand over their calves to the other not so brave gopas and march right into Agha’s mouth. The other gopas don’t want to miss out on the fun. So they muster their courage and follow the gopas along with their govatsas. And then finally Krishna follows them.
The devas in the heavens too shudder in fright. In Mathura, Kamsa has an evil smile on his face when he hears the news. The gopas realize their folly the minute they feel the hot air and foul smell emanating from Agha’s mouth. And they step back in awe and watch Krishna – as he stands right in the middle of Agha’s mouth and blocks it completely by increasing his size.
They witness Agha gasping for breath in stunned silence. And shut their eyes and ears when he meets with a ghastly end erupting into a volcano of blood, flesh and bone. They heave a huge sigh of relief and discuss Krishna’s newest adventure amongst themselves with glee.
The naïve gopas then look at their calves and say, “Were you scared when you saw Krishna’s gigantic size? Krishna is awesome, isn’t He?” But the govatsas pay no heed to them. For they have found another patch of fresh luscious grass. And they continue to chomp on it with a blank look in their eyes.
Krishna declares He is hungry after all that work. So they all sit down under a shady tree and start eating the packed lunch that their mothers had packed for them. Krishna relishes the curd rice, pickle, rotis and sweets that his friends give him. And peace prevails for a short time.
But the gopas and Krishna soon realize that there is something eerie about the silence. It sounded strange. That is when they realize that all their calves, their precious govatsas are missing. Krishna has a ball of curd rice and mango pickle in his hands. He is about to eat it. But He gets up immediately and says, “You eat. I’ll be back with them soon.”
Krishna goes deep into Vrindavan in search of the govatsas. But does not find them. Anywhere. When he returns to the spot where He was having his lunch with the gopas, He observes that the gopas are missing too. He realizes that Brahma has spirited the gopas and the govatsas away to Satyaloka to prove his superiority as the Creator of the world.
Krishna decides to teach Brahma a lesson. He uses his Maya Shakti and creates replicas of the gopas and govatsas. Krishna ensures that every small detail of each gopas and every calf is taken care of. And Krishna returns to Vraj, at the usual time, with a new set of gopas and govatsas.
The parents of the gopas find nothing amiss because Krishna has done his job perfectly. But they do wonder why they suddenly feel so close and safe when they are with their children and govatsas. Apart from this small yet significant difference, life continues normally in Vraj for one whole year. No one knows about Agha or the missing gopas and govatsas.
Brahma looks at the sleeping boys and calves in Satyaloka and knows he does not have the gumption to meddle with their lives and incur Krishna’s wrath. A fleeting moment alone has passed in Brahma’s realm. But a year has passed in Vraj. And Brahma wonders what Krishna is doing to locate the missing gopas and govatsas. So he looks down at Vrindavan. But Brahma is astonished to see life continuing normally in Vraj. He shakes his heads briskly and looks at them closely again.
That is when he notices that they have blue bodies and are wearing Pitambaris. Why? He is even able to see peacock feathers fluttering over their heads and flutes tucked into their waists. He is amazed to find the same swaroop in the govatsas too.
Krishna shatters Brahma’s pride completely with his Maya Shakti. But Krishna forgives Brahma when he returns the missing gopas and govatsas to him safely too. The gopas and the govatsas are blissfully unaware of all that Krishna has done for them. A year later, Krishna returns to the same place with the same ball of curd rice and pickle in his hand.
He has a twinkle in his eyes when he says, “Our govatsas are busy munching on some fresh luscious grass close by. That is why they are so quiet. Let them eat to their heart’s content. And then we will all return home. Ah. I’m tired. We did have a long but exciting day today, isn’t it?”
The gopas sigh happily. Life with Krishna was fun and exciting. Always. They trudge back home tiredly. And thanks to Brahma’s prank, they narrate every single detail about how Krishna killed Agha to their mothers – exactly a year later.
Through this beautiful leela, Krishna symbolically tells us that He protects even those who are as naïve as gopas and as simple as govatsas in His own unique way. Always. So we express our gratitude to Krishna by adorning, feeding and worshipping cows on Govatsa Dwadashi.
Govatsa Dwadashi marks the beginning of the Diwali celebrations and is celebrated one day before Dhanteras.
Photo given by: Shri. Bansiji.
Do click here to know more about such rituals for Krishna.
Please click here to know more about the Nidhi Swaroops of Pushti Marg.