Bhajan- Muddugare Yashoda- Annamacharya

Saint Annamacharya is a poet–Saint of the fifteenth century. This song Muddugare Yashoda is a bright, simple song composed by him in Telugu. Here, Annamacharya draws upon the nine gems known as navaratnas to praise the young Krishna. In this process he makes references to many popular incidents from Krishna’s childhood and adolescence.

The navaratnas are a collection of nine gemstones that have a unique cultural significance in India and beyond. They are: the ruby, the pearl, the red coral, the emerald, the yellow sapphire, the diamond, the blue sapphire, the hessonite and the cats eye.

The Poet-Saint describes Lord Krishna as the pearl of the courtyard of Yashoda, the Ruby in the palm of every shepherd-woman, the strong Diamond that vanquished the stubborn Kamsa and the Emerald bead that radiates through the three worlds. He goes on to say that to Rukmini in amorous love-play, his lips seem as bright red as the coral; that in lifting the Govardhana hill, he is firm like the hessonite; and that in between his conch and discus, his face shines eternally like the cat’s eye.

He is the yellow Sapphire that spread over the Serpent Kalinga; He is the Blue Sapphire, reigning over the Venkata Hills. And he stands out as the Divine jewel among the treasures of the milky ocean.