Slokam 1

The Paramathma, tied to the mortar is extolled by the Gods, observing Him from above, as Damodara.  “Damodara: Means “rope around the belly”, derived from Sanskrit दाम (dama) “rope” and उदर (udara) “belly”. 

By binding the “little” Paramathma to the Mortar, Yashoda thinks she can hold Him in one spot and keep Him out of mischief!! The Paramathma who unbinds all of us from the miseries of worldly existence,  can never be bound into inaction.  If the Paramathma stops acting, the forces of misery and deprivation will set in on us in no time.  We often bind the Paramathma to mortars, by ignoring or turning away from Him and not abiding by His guidance. We tie Him up and jump into the world of material attractions.  We then experience pleasure for a brief time, before the consequences of the pleasant experience follows and brings grief and dissatisfaction. We then immediately learn the lesson that binding the Paramathma into “inaction” by ignoring His advice is not the right thing to do.  This may be repeated quite a few times until we are completely able to pull away from the temptations of this world and into the realm of eternal reality.  This pulling away from the material world will happen as a result of learning through experience and understanding that the material world exists only to test our inner achievements and will disappear when we outgrow the physical realm of our consciousness.

The slokam mentions that the Parmathma, even while tied to the mortar, eyes the two kakubha trees that are close by.  The Paramathma does not have even one moment to remain tied in inaction!

The Paramathma’s every moment has a meaning and an intent to an action to change lives.  As one who has complete knowledge of the past and future, and  is totally aware of the present, in all its dimensions the Paramathma’s every action and every thought is directed towards maintaining and promoting our liberation from bondage. May we not put hinderances in His path with our ignorance, insecurities and fears.