Introduction to Section 10.3

The Āḻvār, who longed, in the preceding song, for the felicity of divine service unto the Lord at Tiru-Aṉantapuram, accompanied by the pious band of Śrī Vaiṣṇavas, was struck down by a deep sense of frustration, when his aspiration did not materialise. So deep was his frustration indeed, that it led him to suspect the frightful possibility of the Lord perpetuating his bondage and prolonging his stay in this abode. Of course, such an apprehension is not out of place, when one sees the notoriety of the material contact (body), with its great potentiality for mischief, on the one hand, and the Lord’s unbridled independence (Svātantarya), on the other. The Āḻvār, however, expresses his apprehension, in an indirect way in this decad, instead of putting it to the Lord point-blank. He cloaks his own misgivings by referring to the misgivings, entertained by the shepherdesses of Virundāvan, who started nagging Kṛṣṇa, the naughty cow-herd boy, even in the early hours of the morning, the pre-dawn period. No doubt, He was still lying in bed on the crucial morning but He used to leave his bed, by about this time, and take the cattle out for the pasture. The same sequence prevails this morning also, that is, the cool breeze is blowing, the Koels have started cooing, the peacocks are strutting about and the herds of cows and calves are seen spread out, all over the place. So great is His loving care for the Cattle that He would surely follow and tend them, relegating to the background His concern for the Gopis who cannot, however, brook His separation, even for a short while. And so, the Gopīs conclude that Kṛṣṇa would not make any exception on this particular morning and stay behind. Their minds get agitated over the certainty of Kṛṣṇa’s departure from their midst, to such an extent that they start experiencing the pangs of separation even when He is very much by their side. One of them would lustily plead with Him that He shall not leave them and go out into the fields, firstly, because they cannot bear being apart from Him for a whole day, which actually looms like ages in their aching minds, and secondly, because of the lurking danger to His life at the hands of Kaṃsa’s evil spies and agents who keep on masquerading, in one form or another, all over the place.

This decad, however, ends on a jubilant note, with a sense of clarity induced by the Lord’s assurance to the Gopīs that He shall not depart from their midst. He tells them: “What indeed is the amazing extent of your love for Me! You should pine for Me, only when I am away from you but I am still by your side”. So saying, the Lord casts His bewitching smiles on the Gopīs, in token of His appreciation of the exuberance of their love for Him. Reference to the red lips, sporting this smile which is quite reassuring, is made in the tenth song of this decad. With this assurance, the Āḻvār’s misgivings also stand cleared up, a clarity induced by the Lord Himself.

If our ancient preceptors referred to IX-9, as ‘Evening brawl they did label this decad, as ‘Morning squabble’.