Table Of ContentThe Boodhi-lila of Braj:
Its Background and Present Performance
CIHIEDllALK.\,\;SYAKAR
DuringtheresurgenceofVaishanavisminthesixteenthcentury,Brajamandal-thearea
around MathuraandVrindavan- becameby happy fortune chanceaveryimportant
centreofthefaith.Duetothewidespread influenceoftheBhagavatreligionandthepopu
larity ofJayadeva's Geetagovindam, many holy men and scholars travelled to the Braj
regionwiththepurposeofsettlingdown inthelandwhere Krishnawasbelievedtobeborn,
andwhereallhis lilashad takenplace.Amongthescholarsandvisionaryartistswhomade
theDraj country thecentre oftheirdevotionalactivitieswereShankaradeva from Assam
(whowasheresometime between 1490and 1531),Madbavendra Pori(discipleandsonof
Chaitanya, at the end ofthe fifteenth century) from Orissa, Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya
fromtheGodavariplainsinAndhra,ChaitanyaMahaprabhuhimselffromGauda,i.e.,Bengal
(around1520),MahaprabhuHitaharivanshaoftheRadbavallabhsect(in1532),ShriHariram
\!yas fromOrchha(around 1534), and Shri Narayanabhana fromtheTelenganaregionof
Andbra (around1545).Inthenexttwenty-fiveyears,sixofCbaitanya'sdisciplesalsotrav
elledtoBraj.TheminglingofsomanygreatsoulsintheBrajregiontookplacewithinashort
spanofsixtytoseventyyears. TheircollectivefaithgaveVaishnavismagreatboost, and
theirartisticachievementsmadeacriticalandmomentouscontributiontotheculturalheri
tageoftheBrajregion,aswellastothemedievalliteratureassociatedwithit.
TheRaslilatraditionofBrajhasnotbeenfreefromsectarianclaims.Whereasthefollow
ersoftheNimbarkasectgiveGhamandadeva(orGhamandideva)thecreditforstartingthe
Raslila,thefollowersoftheGaudiyatraditionregardNarayanacharyaorNarayanabhanaas
itsoriginator.Accordingtoapopularbeliefamongthepractitionersof'Ras,
Theproposaltostart RaswasinitiallymootedbyShri Val1abhacharyaandSwami
Haridas atthe VishIant GhatofMathura.Theychosefourboysfromamongtheir
MathurChaturvediBrahmindevotees,andRaswasperformedbythemrightthenand
there.ItissaidthatacrowndescendedfromtheheavenswhenAcharyajiexpressedhis
desiretopresentRas.ThiscrownwasplacedontheheadoftheactorplayingLord
Krishna.Butbecausethisactordisappearedinthecourseoftheperformance,the
Raslilacouldnotbecompleted.ShriVallabhachaJ')'aandSwamiHaridasthengaY~
GhamandadevajitheresponsibilityofreconstitutinganewRasgroup.Ghamandac!e:3Jl
wentto Kamala village and startedtheRastherewith thehelpoftwoBrahmins,
Udayakaran and Khemkaran. The Mormukut temple and the samadhi of
GhamandadevajiexistinKarhalaeventoday.'
Becauseofthiscommonbelief,theclaimofthefollowersofGhamandadevajicannotbefully
SangUINatal Vol.XXXIX, No.2. 2005
CHHEDILALKANSYAKAR
disregarded.Atthesametime.onecannotignorethecontributionofNarayanabhattatothe
evolutionofthe Raslila, Underthecircumstances,it will bereasonable tostate thatwhile
MahaprabhuVallabhacharyacanbecreditedwithstartingtheRaslilaandGhamandadevaji
withdevelopingit.itstransformationintoarichtheatrical formofthe Brajregion,complete
with histrionics,dialogue, dance, music,and songs inthe local Brajabhasha islargelythe
contribution ofNarayanabharta.
Narayanabhattawasbornin1531intoafamilyofTailangBrahminsbelongingtoMadurai.
HisfatherBhaskarabhatta hadbeeninitiatedintothe MadhvasecI. Becauseofhispassion
ate loveforBrajamandal,Narayanabhatta wasdrawn to the region whilestill in histeens.
Here,while livingatRadhakund, hewasinitiated intoSri Chaitanya'sfaith byKrishnadutt
BrahmachariandthereafterbecameafollowerofSriChaitanya'.Narayanabhattawasagreat
Sanskritscholar, and he wrote altogether twenty-four books. After leaving Radhakund,
GoswamiNarayanabhattastayedatUnchagaonnear Barsana. Heestablishedthetempleof
BaldevinUnchagaon,andofShrijiinBarsanain1569.TheseatofBrajapithadhish(headof
theBrajorder)establishedbyhimatUnchagaonisstillinexistenceand isoccupiedhyShri
DeepakrajBhatt,whoisadescendentofNarayanabhaltahimself.'
RadhaofBarsanawas regardedasadaughterby Narayanabharra,and wasworshipped
byhimassuch.MeerabaiwantedNarayanabhattatoacceptherashisdiscipleandpleaded
withhimtodoso.ButNarayanabhattafelt thatsinceMeeraregardedKrishnaasher hus
bandintheconjugalsense,givingherdiksha would amounttoafatheracceptingarivalfor
hisdaughter(i.e.,for Radha).Therefore Narayanabhana, the worshipper ofRadha inher
formastheBelovedofKrishna,instructed hisdiscipleMathuradastoinitiateMeerabai.At
the same time, he also decreed that both Mathuradas and Mccrabai must leave the Braj
region,andmustworshipKrishnaonlyinhisformasDwarikadhish.Thereafter,Mathuradas
establishedthePrempithinTijara-s-asmalltownintheAlwardistrictofRajasthan-in1555;
here,theidolofBankebihariwhichwas worshippedby Meera herselfisstill present.The
resanetiticationoftheplaceofMeera's initiation,thereconsecrationofthe idols,and the
anointingof'LalitMohanOjha,adescendentofMathuradas,asthePithadhishofthePrempith
templetookplaceon IJune2002.'
The resurrection of the cultural heritage of Braj is the singular contribution of
Narayanabhana.BeforehisarrivalinBrajamandal,theartand culturesurroundingRadha
Krishnalorewereonthewane. AllevidenceofKrishnalilahad beenlost.Withthehelpof
SOme remnants ofrecordsand hissubsequentstudy,Acharya Narayanabhaltawasableto
reconstructand re-establishthecultural geographyofBraj.Thushe rediscoveredBarsan"
Nandgaon,thepilgrim'spath,etc.Hethen fixedtheplaceswhere Raslilacouldbeheld,and
establishedthenormsgoverningitsperformance.ThesequenceofKrishnalilasissetdo"TI
inhisbookBrajolsavachandrika.Thebookdeclaresthattheselilasshouldbeplayedatthe
sameplaceandOnthesamedayasthey were originallyperformed.Fortheperformanceof
theIilas,hetookthehelpof'RarnraiandKalyanrai,twoBrahminresidentsofKarhalavillage.
HealsosoughtthehelpofthedancerVallabb,whohadretiredfrom theemperor'scourt.The
THE BOODHI·LILAOF BRA)
41
AcharyawashimselfanaccomplishedVeena-player'.Withthiskindofcollaborativeeffort,
NarayanacharyawasabletogiveaclassicallystructuredformtotheRaslila.Inthefollowing
shlokas excerpted In the work Rasltlanukaran aur Shri Narayanabhatta ('Shri
NarayanabhattaandtheProcessofRaslila'),writtenbyBabaKrishnadas,thewaytostarta
Raslilaisdescribedthus:
3lI'.l~: !IfitbVlI~19uJl~ifT:I
~WW\...~~r.m."I
~"'l~
'"""""'" """"""
~~.,.h:_~"r
(Narayanacharya,inspiredbythedirectionsofShriKrishna,madeonegood·lookingllrnhminboyKrishna,
anotherRadha,andtheres'Gopis.ThusheinitiatedeveryoneandstartedtheRaslilaeverywhere]
~~"'~
<IIl>r-t m "<IIl'>{"r-'ti't.$,r"t""'"""_'• r,
~ r
"""'"""'IT'\$rt~, 'tWI,~.~I"" II
""'lI'f<lm~"
I
...~~"U_",!," l'
(OnthedayKrishnahaddonehislila,onthatverydayandatthesameplacethesonofBhaskarabhatta
startedthelilawithboysdressedasKrishnaandothers. Andthenceforth.intheforestsandgardens
andgrovesandriversofBraj,Raslilahasbeenheld.]
WhileinBraj,thelandofKrishnatheSupremeRasika,theRaslilawasgainingaclassical
form,in Benaras,the landoftheSupremeDancerNataraja,the tableausofRamlilawere
comingup.Theinitiatorofone wasNarayanabhattaandoftheother,Narayanadas'. Itwas
asifLordNarayanahimselfhadsetinmotiontheIilasofHistwomajoravatarasatthesame
timebytwopersonswiththesamename!Itwasanextraordinarycoincidence,butitwasalso
areflectionofatimeofwonderfulinterminglingofan withemotion,lovewithdevotion,and
passionwith compassion.
•
There is still asymbolic adherencetothe rulessetbyNarayanabhaltaintoday'sIi/as.
Everyyear,fromtheeighthdayof'thebrightfortnightofthemonthofUhadrapadatothefirs'
dayofthe waningmoon intheAshvinmonth,i.e., forninedays,therasa-soakedearthof
Barsanabecomesthecentreofadramaofdevotion,andtheRas/ila,alongwithscenesfrom
theKrishnalila, is performed in Nature'sownopen-airtheatre,withthewoods,gardens,
groves and hills serving the stage, and with a blazing Sun God lookingdown upon the
performance.BecausethispanicuJarchainoflilasisveryold,andthechancesofitschang
ingOrbeingmodernizedareveryremote,itisknownastheBoodhi-lila,i.e.,theAgedLila.
Forcenturies,thistraditionsetbytheBrajapithadhish waskeptalivebytheRasdharis
[Rasperformers)ofKarhalavillage.AccordingtoSwamiBrajabhushanofChiksaulivillage,
whoisatpresenttheorganizeroftheBoodhi-lila,hebadheardfromhiseldersthatearlier,the
Boodhi-li/awasorganizedbytheforefathersofHaridwariBabaofKarhala.Becauseofdiffer-
42 CHHEDILAL KANSYAKAR
Thepeacock dance
THE BOODHI-LILA OF BRAJ 43
encesamong three Raslila parties in the modem period, itwas decided that oneofthem
wouldperformeveryyearbytums.Butwhentheirdifferencesstillcouldnotberesolved,the
maner was taken to court.As per the court's direction, the responsibility ofstaging the
Boodhi-lilawasgiventoRasdhariFatehramjiofChiksaulivillage.Moolchand,Fatehramji's
son,carriedonthetradition,andatpresentBrajabhusban,whobasinheritedtheresponsibil
ity,holdsthecharge'.ThepresentwriterbadacbancetowitnesstheBoodhi-lilain2001,and
thisarticleisarecordofwhathethensaw.
Boodhi-lilabeginsdailyataboutnineinthemorningandcontinuestilltwointheafter
noon.It isperformed witboutelaboratearrangements orsecurity.Thefirstperformanceis
beldonthedayofRadhashtami intbemonthofBhadrapada(whichfellon26August2(01).
Onthatday, which marksthe birth ofRadharani,agrandfunctionisheldatthetempleof
ShrijiinBarsana. Barsanaisfilled withdevotees,notonlyfromBraj,butfromalloverthe
country.Thebig fair and large crowds on thisoccasionarereminiscent ofthedaysofthe
LathmarHoli.Inspiteoftbelargecrowdsandtbefair,thefirstsequenceoftheBoodhi-lila
sequence is heldin Gopalkuti locatedin the Gabwar wood, whicb fallsonthetraditional
pilgrims'pathofBraj.
IntheGahwarwood,atMorkuti,wbicbissituatedbigherthanGopalkuti,isthetempleof
LordMor-Bihari.TheMer-lilawasperformedhereonthesecondday(27August).Radha
searches for the mor (peacock) among the groves. In response to ber silent prayer,
Sbyarnsunder(Krishna) appears asadancingpeacock:
""""'"'....-.ItI
<mT"Irtl~~"
(Krishnacameasapeacock
CalledbythebelovedRadba)
TheboyplayingtheroleofKrishnaworeaspecialdressmadeofpeacockfeathers,and
dancedonhiskneesforalongtime.Later,thisdancewasperformedinthetempleinfrontof
thedeity.In the days to follow,thispeacockdancewasseenalsoatotherlocations.After
dancinginthetempleofMor-Bihari,ShriKrishnaclimbedatoptbetempleandthrewdown
laddoosto thecrowd ofdevotees standing below amongtheboulders. Laddoosthatwere
notcaughtbythe devotees broke and scattered hitting theboulders.It wasamovingand
beautiful sight. The sun shonedown sharply,as though itwanted to enjoythesceneand
partake ofthe laddoos. After the laddoo sequence, the lila moved on to Radhakund.
Narayanabhana, theconceptualizerof Raslila,stayedatthis veryplacewhenhecame to
Braj,and itwashere thathewrntehisseventreatisesinSanskrit.
e~ngratula
OnNavarni(theninthlunarday)atShriji'stemple,ontheotherhand.songsof
tionweresungoneaftertheother.Intheevening,a'felicitationfunctIOn'tockplaceanfrontof
thedeitiesinthecourtyardofthetemple.Adhandianddhandindancedandsangcongratula
torysongs,andweregivenmoneyandgiftsbythetempleandbythedevote:'andspectatorsj
Eventhough this sequence ofdance andsongbythedhandianddhandinISnotan integra
44 CHHEDILAL KANSYAKAR
partoftheBoodhi-lila,itisconsideredtobeaninvaluablepartofBrajculture.
Onthethirdday(28August),therewasaYugal-lilainBilasgarh.Onthefourthday,lbelila
movedtothekunjorgroveofNagababancarBarsana.Sadly,thekunjexistsonlyinnamenow.
Houseshavebeenconstructedallaround,andonlya smallrectangularpatchisleftforthe
Raslila.TheMakhanchori-lilaisbeldhere.Thepeople living inthebighousesallaround
considerthecomingofKrishnaastheirgoodfortuneandhelpinmakingarrangementsforthe
lilawithsinceredevotion.Afterthis,thelastpart ofthelila,whichstarts inthecourtyardof
Shrijitemple,isheldatSankriKhor.SankriKhorisanarrowpathonthepilgrim'sroutenear
Barsana.Thereisanaturalpassbetweentwohillocksthroughwhichnotmorethanoneperson
canpassatatime.Duetotheconstantcomingandgoingofpilgrims,thestonesliningthispath
havebecomesosmoothandslipperythatanewtravellerfindsitdifficulttowalkonthem.On
seeingthisplaceonecannotbutthinkthatitwasperhapsatsuchaspotthatKrishnaandhis
friendsstoodguard, sothatnotonegopicouldpassbywithoutgivingthematributeofmilk.
Ononesideofthisnarrowvalleybetweenthe hillocks, there isa shady thoughsmalI
platformonwhichShriKrishnastandswithhisfriends.OntheothersideareRadhaandthe
gopis. Thenstartsanargumentbetweenthe twogroups as to whether thecontributionof
cow'smilkshouldbemade.Anexchangeofwittyreparteegoesonbetweenthemforalong
time.Meanwhilethegopis,seizingan opportunity,tie the braid ofMansukh(afriendof
Krishna's)toatree.Somebodyonthegopis'sidethenrecitesversesinBrajabhasha.Though
theverseswerenotaudiblebecauseofthenoise,itwasobviousthattheycontaineddescrip
tionsofthevirtuesofthegopis,andcondemnationofKrishna's behaviour.Thepersonwho
readtheverseswasnotapartofthelila.Onenquiry,herepliedthathewasaresidentofRangili
Galiandthathehadinheritedtherighttoreadthoseverses.Theday'senjoyablelila,Chutia
bandhan('TheTyingoftheBraid'),wascompletedhereundertheblazingmiddaysun.
ThenextsequenceoftheBoodhi-lila,theVyahalo-lila,isheldinUncbagaon.lnthisplay.the
weddingofKrishnawithRadha'sfriendLalitatakesplace.Onthethirteenthlunarday,Dan-lila
takesplace,againatSankriKhor,ThegopisdescendintothenarrowvalleyoftheSankriGhati
withpotsofcurdontheirheads.Krishnaasksforadonation-apertionofcurdormilk.The
gopisareunwilling.Theyarefedupofalwayshavingtodonatemilk,andbavecometosankri
Khorthisdaydeterminedtogivenothing.Thereisaheatedexchangebetweenthetwosides.
EventualIy,Krishnaandhiscompanionsbreakthegopis'pets withtheirsticks.Asthecurd .
splanersallover,thedevoteesrushforwardtotakewhattheyregardastheirprasad,i.e.,food
blessedbyLordKrishna.In BrajolsavachandrikawrittenbyNarayanabhatta,thispot-break
inglilaisdescribedthus:
Then,onthemorningofthethirteenthlunardayofthebrightfortnightofthemonthof
Bhadra,onthelopoftheSankri Khorhill, adialoguetakesplacebetween thetwo
groups.Next,asthegopisenterSanlcriKhorwithpotsofdoh;ontheirheads,thefirst
partoftheBhagavatisrecitedfromthehillnamedVishnu.ThenShriKrishna,standing
withastickinhishand,asksfordan.Thelilaisdoneaftermidday,andafterwardsthe
potsarebrokenandthedoh;iseaten.9
THE BOODHI-LILA OF BRA! 45
On thethirteenthday itself,the residentsofChiksauliand Manpur villages playhostto
theplayersofthelila, andanofferingofmilkandcurdismadetothemineveryhorne.
On the next two days-c-Anant Chaturdashi and Ashvin Purnima-Raslila is held in
Kadamkhandi and the Maharas inKarhala, one after theother.Karhala isregarded asthe
birthplaceofRaslila.
IntheBoodhi-lilathiswritersawin2001,apartfromthebeautifulsettingsgivenbynature,
everything else was quite ordinary. It ispossible that inearlier times theorganizers were
Rasdharis whohad troupesoftheirown, butthepresentorganizer,Brajabhushanji, isalay
householderand not aRasdhari. Intheabsence ofresources, heisbarelyabletosustainthe
Boodhi-lilatradition,whose responsibilityhebasinheritedfromhisforefathers.In200I,the
Rasmandali broughtoverfrom Vrindavan hadonlyfourplayers-Radha, Krishna,andtwo
Gopis-e-otherthantwoolderparticipants,Wheneverrequired,somememberofthechorusgot
upandplayedasmallrole.Thedressandmake-up oftheplayerswerenottooelaborate,but
therewasnolackoflivelinessandwitintheboyplayingtheroleofKrishna.Thestandardof
theaccompanyingsingerswasunexpectedlyhigh.Thereweremanyaccomplishedsingersin
thegroup who sang songs oftheAshtachhapandother Braj poetssoulfully.
Boodhi-lilastarts inthe morningevery day andendsintheafternoon.Consequentlythe
spectators, organizers, andparticipantsareforcedtobeartheheatoftheblazingsun.Asper
tradition, the meal ofthe day for the participants ofthe lila isarranged by the priest and
caretakeroftheshrinewhere theday's lilaends.
IntheBoodhi-lilaofBraj,thereisahappyblendingofafestivalofnatureandtraditional
theatre.ItispossiblethatthepracticeofchangingthevenuewitheverysceneintheRamlila
ofBenarashad its beginningshere. JagdishChandraMathur, thewell-known authorityon
folktheatre,hascomparedthistheatre withthemedievalmysteryplaysandmiracleplaysof
10
England.
Thisserial lila,whichembodiesthecharmofBraj,isanincomparablepartofourcultureand
oftheartistic heritageofBraj. But because ofthe neglectofthepeople andtheabsenceof
resources, itexiststodayonlyinitsvestigialform,
Thewatersofthestreamofourculture,whichhavenourishedourcivilizationforages,
have todayreducedto atrickle. Becauseofthe pressures ofourtimes and thespread and
influenceoftheelectronicmedia,ourfolktraditionsaredryingup.Weneedamongustoday
apersonality as brilliant as Narayanabhatta-a man who embodies joy, and who has the
intellectualcapacitytorebuildournow-defuncttraditionalculture-tostemthisculturalrot.
m'"-'fmU<"1'3"ll'ff"'"""""'"-.it'"I
<R\%<f'l;1(""" II"
(ForthislovelyBrajamandal,BhattaNarayan
Createdthelilasandgavethedirections)
(Translated from theHindi byKumkum Lal)
CHHEDILALKANSYAKAR
46
NOTES
I. from Ramnarayan Agrawal's article titled 'Raslila ka Uday aur Vikas' (p. 881), published inthe
Kanhaiyya Lal PoddarAbhinayagrantha, p.881.
2. Miracle Plays ofMathura. N. Hein (1972), p.226.
3. From Kamaleshwar's articletitled 'Madhavacharya, Mathuradas, Meerabai, aur Miratki
vegairah...' (p. 8) published in 'Vimarsh', Hindus/an, Patna, 7 July 2002.
4. ibid.
S. InJanakiprasad's bookSri Narayanacharya, he has been called Narada: "Sarvalilanukaranam
karayamas Narada".
6. MiraclePlays ofMathura, p.226.
7. TraditionalIndian Theatre. Kapila Vatsayan, p.98.
8. Basedonaconversation withSwami Brajabhushaninhis home in Chiksauli village on26August
2001.
9. Paramparashee/Natya, Jagdish Chandra Mathur, Rashtrabhasha Parishad, Patna, p.28.
10. ibid..
II. Dhruvadas
