ॐ केशवाय नमः - Oṁ Keśavāya Namaḥ

Keśava-māsa, or Mārgaśīrṣa

The ancient Vedic name of the month we are currently in is Mārgaśīrṣa, derived from the asterism (a small group of stars within a constellation) called Mṛga-śira, which is part of what Western astronomers refer to as the constellation of Orion. Mṛga means deer, and śira means head, or more specifically, the top of the head. According to śāstras, this nakṣatra, or lunar mansion, presides over the upper body.

The Sātvatas, or Vaiṣṇavas, have long referred to this month as Keśava and it is the ninth month of both the Vedic and Hebrew calendars. In Hebrew, it is called “Kislev” and is associated with other Hebrew words like “kesel, kisla – hope, positivity”.

“Oṁ keśavāya namaḥ,” Vaiṣṇavas say, as we apply tilaka to our foreheads, atop what yogīs call the ājñā-cakra, the seat of the subconscious and intution, or what is more popularly referred to as “the thire eye”. According to the yoga-śāstras, this cakra is depicted as a white lotus with two petals, presided by Śiva and Devī. This is where the iḍā and piṅgala-nāḍīs meet the suṣumṇā-nāḍī before all three rise to the sahasrāra-cakra.

Keśava in the poetry of Śrī Madhvācārya and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī

In his Dvādaśa-stotram’s fifth hymn, which extols each of the twelve names of Viṣṇu we utter when we apply our tilaka, Śrī Madhvācārya-pāda unveils the unique significance of the name Keśava:

keśava keśava śāsaka vande
O Keśava, Keśava, the chastizer, I bow to you

pāśadharārcita śūra-vareśa ||
Worshipped by the noose-carrier (Varuṇa), You are Lord of the demigods

In the beginning of his Dvādaśa-stotram, Śrī Madhvācārya has another verse describing what can be interpreted either as Varuṇa-deva, Brahmājī or any of the other demigods bowing at Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s feet:

namāmi nikhilādhīśa-kirīṭāghṛṣṭha-pīṭhavat |
hṛt-tamaḥ śamanev ’rkābhaṁ śrī-pateḥ pāda-paṅkajam || 2 ||

Dvādaśa-stotram (1.2)

I bow to Your lotus feet, O Śrīpati! The masters of the universe thoroughly scrape the crests of their crowns as they bow before the pedestal on which rest Your feet—those feet which are like the Sun as they dispel darkness from the hearts of Your devotees.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda seems to echo Śrī Madhva’s words and mood in his Stavamāla:

nandāpahāra-cakitasya kirīṭa-śṛṅga
bhṛṅgāvalī-paricitaṁ salileśvarasya |
hṛdyaṁ sanandana-durāpa-parāga-gandhaṁ
vande mukunda tava deva padāravindam ||

O Mukunda! O Deva! I worship your lotus feet, which look like very beautiful clusters of bumblebees atop the crests of the crown of Varuṇa, who is terrified for having abducted Your father Nanda Mahārāja. Even the scent of those feet is very difficult to attain by Sanandana and other sages.

In his elaborate poetic masterpiece, Śrī Govinda-virudāvalī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī writes a beautiful song dedicated to Śrī Keśava:

tvaṁ jaya keśava keśa-bala-stuta
Glory to You, Keśava, who are praised by Ka (Brahmā), Īśa (Śiva), and Bala (Ananta)

vīrya-vilakṣaṇa lakṣaṇa-bodhita
Your valor is insurpassable and You are recognized by the symbols on Your feet

keliṣu nāgara nāga-raṇoddhata
You are expert at playful pastimes and ready to battle the Kāliya serpent

gokula-nandana nanda-nati-vrata-
You delight Gokula and are diligent in Your devotion to Your father, Nanda

sāndra-mud-arpaka darpaka-mohana
You give Your devotees intense bliss and bewilder Cupid

he suṣamā nava-mānavatī-gaṇa-
O beautiful one, the young haughty ones (the Vraja gopīs)…

māna-nirāsaka rāsa-kalāśrita
…find their māna dispelled (just by looking at You) and You commence the Rāsa dance

sa-stana-gaurava-gaura-vadhū-vṛta
…surrounded by those golden damsels with proud and beautiful breasts

kuñja-śatoṣita toṣita-yauvata
You preside in hundreds of groves, where You are satisfied by the Vraja gopīs

rūpa-bharādhika-rādhikayārcita
The most beautiful among them, Rādhikā, pleases You the most (as You worship and decorate Her)

bhīru-vilambita lambita-śekhara
As you dance, surrounded by Her sakhīs, Your turban unravels and hangs down

keli-kulāla-salālasa-locana
Your eyes are weary with exertion, but seeing their dancing, You are enticed again

roṣamadāruṇa-dāruṇa-dānava-
Your angry, intoxicated, reddish glance, even to the harsh Dānavas…

muktida-lokana loka-namaskṛta-
…grants salvation and so You are venerated by all the worlds

gopa-sabhāvaka bhāvaka-śarmada
You are the protector of all the gopas and delighter of all the devotees

hanta kṛpālaya pālaya mām api vīra ||
O abode of mercy! O valiant one! Please deliver even me.

The Deliverance of Nanda Mahārāja from the Abode of Varuṇa

In this same vein, in Śrī Kṛṣṇa Saṁhitā (8.26), Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura lends powerful insight to the pastime Śrī Madhvācārya refers to in association with the name Keśava—that of Śrī Kṛṣṇa delivering Nanda Mahārāja from the abode of Varuṇa:

varuṇālaya-samprāptir-nandasya citta-mādakam |
varjjanīyaṁ sadā sadbhir-vismṛtir hyātmano yataḥ ||

The Ṭhākura’s own expanded translation explains: “The unconditional ānanda (bliss) of the jīvas is observed in Vraja as Nanda. Certain misguided persons consume intoxicants in order to enhance or increase this ānanda, which results in the enormous anartha of ātma-vismṛti (forgetting one’s self). Nanda’s abduction to the abode of Varuṇa represents the fifteenth obstacle to the Vaiṣṇavas’ spiritual development. Persons who have attained the moods of Vraja never consume any form of intoxicant.”

Varuṇa-deva has a daughter named Varuṇī, who manifests from the trees to serve Śrī Baladeva during His Rāsa pastime:

varuṇa-preṣitā devī
vāruṇī vṛkṣa-koṭarāt
patantī tad vanaṁ sarvaṁ
sva-gandhenādhyavāsayat

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.65.19)

“Sent by the demigod Varuṇa, the divine vāruṇī liquor flowed from a tree hollow and made the entire forest even more fragrant with its sweet aroma.” [BBT translation]

It can be inferred from this that Varuṇa-deva presides over not just the waters of the ocean, but also the “waters” of the brain, over the various chemical secretions that produce altered states of consciousness. This lends nuance to the understanding of what “the throne” of Varuṇa is—the seat of consciousness—where Nanda, the personification of pure ānanda, was cordially seated when he was kidnapped.

In Śrī Gopāla-campūḥ (20.25–29), Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī describes how Nanda Mahārāja was unconscious when Kṛṣṇa arrived in Varuṇa’s abode to rescue him and as Kṛṣṇa’s bodily fragrance entered his nostrils, he stirred and came back into external awareness. As he opened his eyes and saw Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful face, he began to weep, and as the tears covered his vision, he began to think it was a dream. Kṛṣṇa then touched the tala (soles) of Nanda Mahārāja’s feet and, embracing him repeatedly, raised him to his feet, saying, “Tāta (father)! It is I, your lālā, Kṛṣṇa. I am here.” The two of them had reached a state of vyagratā (anxiety and confusion), with Kṛṣṇa’s concern for His abducted father and His father’s confusion in the situation. Kṛṣṇa felt somewhat embarrassed to be in this state with all of Varuṇa’s servants standing around watching. To check Nanda’s tears and His own, Kṛṣṇa said to His father, “Tāta, paritaḥ samavadhīyatām,” which translates roughly to: “Father, pay attention, we are surrounded by people watching.”

Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlās are infinite and eternal and are more than just remote episodes of an ancient tale. As clearly laid out in Śrī Kṛṣṇa Saṁhitā, each of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes represent an interaction He has with the sādhaka or sādhikā to purify him or her of various anarthas. And Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa comes to the conditioned souls as the bhakta-bhāgavata, His empowered representative.

When, amid the tumultous birthing of the ‘60s counterculture in America, many young seekers were awash in psychedelics and other intoxicants as they searched for true joy and meaning in their lives, the fear-dispelling lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared to them as Śrī Abhaya-caraṇāravinda Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda. He dove into the depths of a world submerged in the murky, turbulent waters of māyā and embraced those unconscious souls, raising them to their feet, getting them established on the path of bhakti-sādhana, and bringing them back home, back to Godhead, to the land of Śrī Vṛndāvana, to the feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara, whence he had come.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His associates are repeatedly entering the waters of this material realm to seek us out and deliver us, to bring us back into proper awareness and set us on the path to deliverance. So perhaps this is the deeper significance of the name Keśava alluded to by Śrī Madhvācārya—“Śāśaka – the chastiser, or discipliner.” Perhaps this is why Vaiṣṇavas teach us to offer obeisance to Śrī Keśava as we apply tilaka to the space between our eyes, in order to focus our attention and bring us out of the deep sleep of ignorance.

And lo! Keśava too covers Himself with the golden dust of Vraja, as He comes home in the evening, following the cows:

padāṅka-tatibhir varāṁ viracayantam adhva-śriyaṁ
calat-tarala-naicikī-nicaya-dhūli-dhūmra-srajam
marul-lahari-cañcalī-kṛta-dukūla-cūḍāñcalaṁ
vraje vijayinaṁ bhaje vipina-deśataḥ keśavam

(Verse six of Śrī Keśavāṣṭakam by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)

padāṅka – footprints; tatibhiḥ – by many; varām -  excellently; viracayantam – makes; adhva-śriyam – the beauty of the road; calat – wandering; tarala – graceful; naicikī – excellent cows; nicaya – multitude; dhūli – dust; dhūmra - grey-purple; srajam – garland; marut – the wind; lahari – waves; cañcalī – flickering; kṛta – causes; dukūla – garments; cūḍa – crest of peacock feathers; añcalam – hem;

I worship that Keśava as He returns to Vraja from the forest, deftly beautifying the roads with countless footprints [distinct with the auspicious markings of a flag, thunderbolt, etc.], while the restless cows run ahead, kicking up so much dust that it covers His garland of forest flowers, making it look a dark reddish gray. The dust covers His pītāmbara as well and the tips of His peacock feather crown, both of which are rustling gently in the breeze.