yasodaya gadham ulukhalena
gokanthapasena nibadhyamanah
sammardayan panitlena netre
ruroda mandam navanitacaurah

With a cow's halter Yasoda firmly ties the butter
thief to her wooden mortar
where he rubs his eyes with his hands and
quietly cries.

--Bilvamangala Thakura


Babhru das

0On Thu, 29 Nov 2001, Bill Reed wrote:
> yasodaya gadham ulukhalena
> gokanthapasena nibadhyamanah
> sammardayan panitlena netre
> ruroda mandam navanitacaurah
> With a cow's halter Yasoda firmly ties the butter
> thief to her wooden mortar
> where he rubs his eyes with his hands and
> quietly cries.
> --Bilvamangala Thakura


For those who just can't get enough, here's another version (which
appears as verse 12 of his Govinda-damodara-stotram):

yasodaya gadham ulukhalena
go-kantha-pasena nibadhyamanam |
ruroda mandam navanita-bhoji
govinda damodara madhaveti ||

Being firmly tied up to the grinding mortar with a cow's rope by
mother Yasoda, the big plunderer of butter softly whimpered. "Govinda,
Damodara, Madhava."

And yet another similar verse (Bilvamangala-stava, 1.66):

bhaje mahah kamagavinavina-
haiyangavinasana-baddha-trsnam |
ulkhale srnkhalitam rudantam
karmantara-vyagra-dhiya jananya ||

"I worship that Supreme Greatness, whose mother--attending to more
important matters--has tied Him to a wooden mortar, where He pouts and
whimpers, hungry for the fresh butter of the Kamadhenus."


The later Braja poet Suradasa often follows many of Bilvamangala
Thakura's prominent themes; so here's one more, in a Braj-bhasa song by the
(blind) poet Suradasa:

jasoda ukhala badhe syama /
mana-mohana bahira hi chode, apu gai grha-kama //
dahyau mathati mukha te kacchu bakarati, gari dai dai nama /
ghara ghara dolata makhana corata, satarasa mere dhama //
braja ke larikana mari bhajatu hai, jahu tuma hu balarama /
sura-symama ukhala saum bandhe, nirakhata braja ki bama //

Yasoda tied syama to the mortar.
She simply left Manamohana outside--and went to do her household
chores. [Inside, and still peeved] she churns butter, calling Him names,
and fairly mutters curses under her breath:
"Roving house to house, stealing butter, [even though excellent
foodstuffs of all] six tastes are [always available right here in] my
house! Beating up the boys of Braja, He runs off! You too,
Balarama--scram!"
[Now all] the ladies in Braja see Sura's Syama, tied up to the
grinding mortar!