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Lord Krishna needs no introduction! He is that supreme name of power and prosperity which is known to all. His multi-faceted personality has caught the fancy of everyone and as a result of this, poets write poems on his beauty, artists create love-struck Krishna paintings, and his devotees swing to the rhythm of his chant. Some people are mesmerised by his charm while others are confused about his magnanimous aura. In either case, Lord Krishna’s appeal leaves its charismatic mark on everyone. Every move of his has turned into a fable and it is almost impossible for anyone to list all his amazing stories.

However, there is one particular story of Lord Krishna that is a perfect blend of unconditional love, deep fears of human and the thirst of a god for true adoration. Many artists have created beautiful Krishna paintings based around this story. There are numerous conclusions that one can draw after reading this interesting, yet intriguing, story of the lord himself.

Krishna’s Misery and His Longing for Unconditional Love:

This story is of the time when Lord Krishna was flourishing in each and every aspect of his life. He had an amazing kingdom whose citizens were ready to do anything for their beloved king. He had eight beautiful wives who loved him with all their heart and were ready to take every trouble which might come his way. He possessed every materialistic item present on the face of earth. Versifiers were writing the most amazing poems for him while illustrators were capturing his beauty in the form of Krishna paintings. He was surrounded by the wisest ministers who were ready to give up their lives for him. However, one day Krishna gets extremely sick. The entire kingdom is baffled and everyone is panicking. The most knowledgeable doctors, healers and therapists are present by Krishna’s side in order to understand the source of his illness and to treat him. But, to everyone’s surprise, even the most accomplished medics aren’t able to cure him. When nothing works, then the guru of Lord Krishna chooses to take things under his own control. He calls Narada, the Vedic and wandering sage, and tells him that Krishna’s ailment isn’t physical, his soul is longing for love and the only thing which has the ability to cure Krishna is the dust from the feet of eight women who love him unconditionally.

Narada is confused after listening to this statement from the guru and he smirks cynically as he wonders that this Krishna, who is surrounded by love from every possible way, needs more unconditional love. Narada isn’t able to come in terms with what the guru just said. But, because he’s given a task, he has to complete it. Narada assumes that this is going to be the easiest job that he has ever done and he heads straight to the castle where Krishna’s eight wives lived. The queens are enraged after listening to this demand of Narada’s. How dare he ask them to give the dirt of their feet for the man whom they love the most in the entire world? The furious queens, who are fuming with anger, get Narada thrown out of the castle. Confused with what just happened, Narada goes to the next eight women in the kingdom only to get rejection from their end. The ladies told him that they loved their Krishna with all their heart but how could they do this when the queens themselves refused. Narada then went to the next eight women and then next and then next eight and everywhere he gets the same answer. Now, Narada realises the words of guru and what he meant by the thirst of Krishna’s soul for love.

After facing numerous rejections from the women who claim to love Krishna unconditionally, Narada finally reaches the land where Krishna spent his youth. He went to the gopis, the women with whom Krishna had grown up and who loved him completely. As soon as the gopis see Narada, they gather around him and start bombarding him with questions, such as how is Krishna; does he still look the same; is he still that notorious, and queries of similar nature. Narada stops them in between and tells them that their Krishna is seriously ill. The only thing which can save him is the dirt of the feet of eight women who love him unconditionally. Without hesitating for even a single moment, one of the gopis pulls out her veil while the others start rubbing the dirt off their feet on to that veil. The gopis hand it to Narada and say that tell Krishna that we love him. 

That is what you call the thirst of the soul!