Shyam: An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata

by Devdutt Pattanaik

Vyasa

He also composed

narratives (purana)

to convey Vedi...

Krishna embodies the enlightened householder: he who lives as a householder but thinks like a hermit, is engaged in everything but possessive of nothing.

While Abrahamic traditions speak of God creating the world out of nothingness, in Hindu tradition creation is an act of waking up from a deep slumber and finally gaining full awareness.

In Hindu mythology, devas who live above the sky are constantly fighting asuras who live below the earth. They have been wrongly translated as gods and demons, first by Persian artists of the Mughal era (who painted asuras black) and later by British Orientalists.

They are actually two different kinds of deities, born of Brahma.

Curses and boons are narrative tools to explain the law of karma or causality in Hindu mythology.

Avatar and dharma are both social concepts; avatar is the means by which divinity engages with the world while dharma ignites the human potential to rise above animal instinct of self-preservation.

From Manu descended two dynasties of kings: the solar and the lunar. Unlike the lunar, the solar dynasty was upright and did not let desire override good sense. Upright Ram belongs to the solar line of kings and his story is told in the Ramayana. Self-indulgent Yayati belongs to the lunar line of kings. His descendants are the Bharatas whose story is told in the Mahabharata.

In Hindu mythology, the expression for jungle law (might is right) is matsya nyaya, or fish justice, where small fish are at the mercy of bigger fish.

Saving the small fish from the big fish is a metaphor for civilization.

Manu, who saves the small fish, is the founder of Hindu civilization. The principle by which human beings evoke their humanity and establish a society that cares for the individual is called dh...

This story captures the idea that God is present in the world, and the world is present within God.

‘All villains are essentially victims, my sons, if only we hear their story. The horrid Kamsa of Mathura was a child born of rape, cursed by his own mother who killed herself rather than raise him. The tyrant Jarasandha of Magadha was cast out at birth, as he was thought to be dead. Such children, born in trauma, cannot be normal. They will always see the world as a threat.’ Nanda then hugged his two boys. ‘You are raised in love. Made to feel safe and wanted. You must never see the world as a threat. More importantly, you must never make the world a threat for others.’

He had to learn how to make allies and manage enemies using the fourfold technique known as sama-dama-danda-bheda—negotiation, force, bribery and division.

When people also grab what they want, they are rakshasas. But when they exchange resources, they follow the path of the rishi, for it means they see each other’s needs, not just their own. When you first give something in order to get something, you are a generous yajaman. If you demand something before you give something, you are a devata. As children you can be devatas, but to grow up means to be a yajaman. When you are able to give without expecting anything in return, you are the greatest yajaman.’

‘A good king creates an ecosystem where everyone can find food and security for themselves. A good king helps everyone be a yajaman; feed others first, before themselves.

Every villain you face is at heart a victim. So even if you must fight them, do not hate them. That is the way of dharma.’

More importantly, he uses his strength and cunning for the benefit of the other. When a human being uses strength and cunning only for his own survival, he is no different from an animal.

‘The spirit of dharma is about subverting the law of the jungle, so that the strong take care of the weak. That is what my mother told me.’

‘Shyam is gone. Everything around us will go one day. When the things we desire leave us, there is suffering. Such is the nature of this world. It is maya, an illusion. Do not bother with it too much. Seek freedom from all illusions, seek moksha. Don’t indulge your senses with bhoga, yoke your emotions with yoga. Such detachment will draw you away from the turbulence of your head and heart and bring you in touch with the stillness and serenity of your soul. And in the undying soul you will find a Shyam who is not just your son or brother or friend or lover, but a Shyam who is God.’

‘Peace does not come when you shut your eyes to the world. Peace comes when you appreciate the true nature of the world and discover your true self,’ said Shyam.

Krishna who withdraws from the battlefield is called Ranchhodrai, the one who withdrew from battle. This form of Krishna is worshipped in Dwaravati and Dakor in Gujarat. It is ironical since this region is associated with Rajputs, who prefer death to dishonour. Krishna, however, finds no shame in tactical withdrawal and living to fight another day.

‘Shyam saw how it is impossible to change the destiny of friends, or children. Let these tales teach you that you cannot control everything in this world. Sometimes it is best to accept and be a witness.’

‘You are neither Kunti’s biological son, nor Adiratha’s foster-son. You are Karna. Just as I am more than Devaki’s biological son and Nanda’s foster-son. Warrior, charioteer, cowherd—these are artificial identities imposed by society. You are not merely your skills either. You are more than an archer. I see you, Karna: you are someone who has the power to stop a war. That is most important, even more than justice. As lawyers we can always argue who is right and who is wrong, but no man can bring back the dead. Let us not get people killed. Let us not create widows and orphans.’

Before the battle could begin, Arjuna asked Shyam to take him between the two armies.

Arjuna, known for his skill in archery, his incredible focus, suddenly expanded his vision and gained perspective of the situation before him.

‘The notion of who is family and who is not family is arbitrary, based on artificial boundaries. For the limited mind, those who fight for us or those who give us happiness are family; for the limitless mind, everyone is family. There is no other.

In nature, the strong overpower the weak in order to improve their chances of survival. But in culture, the strong must protect the weak. That is dharma.

To fight the mighty, who do not care for the meek, without hating them is dharma. To uphold dharma is the duty of warriors.’

But animals are loyal to a pack, a herd, a hive; human beings can choose which side they fight on. And the choice must be based on dharma: Is the meek being denied his livelihood by the mighty, as the Pandavas were in this case by the unreasonable, uncompromising, mean-spirited Duryodhana?

Shyam watched the Pandavas celebrate the death of Karna, whom they kept insulting as ‘charioteer’s son’. Little did they know that he was their elder brother, elder than all the Kauravas and Pandavas, elder than Balarama even. He observed how human beings functioned with limited knowledge. If they knew more about Karna’s life this celebration would turn into tragedy. The truth would be revealed, but only after the war.

In the Ramayana, Ram kills Indra’s son Vali for the sake of Surya’s son Sugriva. This is reversed in the Mahabharata when Krishna helps in the killing of Surya’s son Karna for the sake of Indra’s son Arjuna.

Limited knowledge makes Karna a social inferior, an upstart in the eyes of the Pandavas. Thus we are drawn to the idea that all hatred and hierarchy is based on limited knowledge (mithya). Limitless knowledge (satya) comes when the mind (mana) is expanded (brah) infinitely (ananta). Thus brahmin means one who seeks to be brahman, the infinitely expanded mind containing limitless knowledge.

Krishna is popular as one who twists arguments to get his way. But anyone who twists arguments is not Krishna. To be Krishna, the arguments have to lead towards dharma, where the meek take care of the meek, and where we fight for the meek without hating the mighty.

‘For you, Yudhishtira, this is a march towards dharma. I live in dharma every moment of the day and so aesthetics matter at the same time as justice and ethics and morality. They are all simultaneous, not sequential. You will realize this when dharma is not a mere objective, but a way of being.’

Krishna keeps bending and breaking rules (niti) and traditions (riti), unlike Ram who upholds rules and traditions. Rules exist to tame the animal within and enable human beings to overpower jungle law (matsya nyaya). When rules allow the animal within to thrive, they fail in their very purpose. More important than the rule is the intent underlying our action when we follow, or break, the rule.

Ram who follows the rules is called maryada purushottam, the rule-following perfect man. Krishna who breaks rules is called leela purushottam, the game-playing perfect man. A perfect man is neither one who follows rules or bends rules of a game, he is one who upholds dharma, takes care of the weak without appreciating the insecurities of the mighty.

The war is not about vengeance. It is not about hating the enemy. It is about dharma, about outgrowing the beast within so that we can provide and protect the meek without hating the mighty. Neither Krishna-Vishnu nor Shiva takes sides. They both want to evoke the human potential in all people—Vishnu through love, and Shiva through detachment.

Krishna fights for dharma, but he does not reject the law of karma. A good deed can have bad consequences. He ends with the curse of Gandhari that will wipe out his entire clan. In the Ramayana, Ram establishes Ramrajya but his own wife and children live in the forest. In the Mahabharata, the victory of the Pandavas does not bring joy to Krishna either. The idea of God being cursed and so bound to the material world and its law of karma is a recurring theme in Hindu lore. The war claims the Kauravas and the children of the Pandavas. And so in the ‘Stri Parva’ of the Mahabharata, all women weep for the violence of men. God as judge is a Christian and Islamic concept not found in Hinduism.

Only this time, it was a longer discourse. More chapters. More allegories. And not only his personal views, but a recounting of conversations between other people, who sought the same knowledge. Here karma yoga was explained; the importance of duties performed without expectation of result. Here gyana yoga was explained; the understanding that beyond the visible mortal deha resides the invisible immortal dehi. But there was no bhakti yoga. Shyam did not reveal his cosmic form and there were no conversations on trust. That had made sense on the brink of the war, not during peacetime, after victory.

The talking head A quarrel broke out between Bhima and Arjuna as to who was the greater warrior, the one who killed all the Kauravas, or the one who brought down Bhisma and Karna. In Shyam’s absence, the Pandavas were told to ask the head on top of the mountain, who had seen the entire eighteen-day battle from a vantage point. When asked who was greater, Bhima or Arjuna, the talking head said, ‘Who is Bhima? Who is Arjuna? Who are the Pandavas? Who are the Kauravas? I saw only stupid greedy kings killing each other and the earth drinking their blood. The earth cow, whose udders had been rendered sore by the ambitions of the men who were supposed to be her stewards, healed herself on their blood. Gauri, the cow, had turned into Kali, the tigress. She was Shyama, and Shyam was her cowherd.’

In all Hindu temples, there is always a head placed on top of the gateways and arches with its tongue sticking out to remind us that the world is not just as we see it. There are many ways to see the world. In Jain philosophy this is called the doctrine of plurality (anekanta-vada).

‘From the earth, I learned tolerance; from the wind, how movement creates breath; from fire, that the ashes of all things look the same; from water, about refreshment; from the sea, the restraint of its shorelines; from the sun, the cyclical nature of things; from the moon, the shifting moods of life; from the swan that was caught by the fowler and separated from its mate, that relationships can end for no fault of ours; from the kite that is attacked by larger eagles for the meat on its talons, the power of letting go; from the beehive attacked by the bear, the danger of hoarding; from the butterfly that collects honey without hurting the flower, the wise way to satisfy hunger; from the wandering snake, the importance of never resting; from the python, waiting for opportunities to come our way; from the moth drawn to fire, the male elephant that loses control of his senses when sexually aroused by the smell of the female, the deer trapped by the hunter’s music, the fish caught by worms hanging from the fisherman’s bait, how our sense organs—eyes, nose, ears, mouth—entrap us in the world of suffering; from the baby that cries when hungry and gurgles when happy, how emotions are temporary and bound by need; from the clinking bangles on the cook’s hand, how isolation is better than company if one seeks silence; from the damsel whose happiness needed the appreciation of lovers, the power of autonomy; from the arrowsmith who failed to notice the king, the power of concentratio...

‘This story of Shyam made you live,’ sighed Parikshit. ‘Now, it will help me die. I was angry after the serpent bit me, cutting short my life, but not any more. I understand karma clearly. We can control what we give, not what we get. Even Shyam, who gave justice to the Pandavas, had to receive the curse of Gandhari.’

For when the mind expands, when the heart opens, we are truly unconditionally generous and seek nothing in return.

For him, in wisdom, everyone is family. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.

The story of Parikshit dying of snakebite and finding peace from Shuka’s narration of the Krishna-charita is a key theme of the Bhagavata Purana.