There are many saints in our Bhakti corpus who were wayward and unscrupulous, but later became great saints practising detachment to the material world and attaining the Supreme. The stories of Yogi Vemana and Tulasi Das are telling examples of such a total turnaround.
Sri Krishna Karnamrutham is a famous, popular and mellifluous Sanskrit verse. It was composed by Lila Suka or Krishna Lila Suka or Bilva Mangala, a great poet belonging to the 11th Century. Mangala initially led a debaucherous life. How he turned into a great devotee is an interesting and inspiring account. Mangala had a concubine, Chintamani. She was a highly disciplined woman and an staunch devotee of Lord Krishna. On the day of her father’s ceremony, she refused to give him company. But Mangala, who pined for her, could not bear the separation even for a moment.
That night, he climbed the wall of her house, mistaking a snake for a rope in his passionate state.
The snake bit him and he fell down unconscious. Chintamani came running and revived him.
After the effect of the venom waned, Chintamani, perturbed by the overtly sexual temperament of Mangala, decided to teach him some life philosophy.
She stood in front of him in nude, in an ugly and grotesque form, and told him not to waste his life on the ephemeral body blindly craving for physical love, but instead direct that deep love for the devotion of Krishna.
She preached him Krishna bhakti and then great enlightenment dawned on Mangala.
From there, he went on to serve a teacher, Somagiri, who initiated her to Shri Krishna mantra. Mangala, in a state of total transformation, practised Krishna bhakti to such an extent that he became a sage.
Mangala had written the great treatise of 300 shlokas entitled Sri Krishna Karnamrutham.
So, every shloka of this divine verse sounds ambrosial to the ears of the listeners.
Hence, it is Sri Krishna Karnamrutham. He also composed hundreds of other shlokas, which are full of devotion to Lord Krishna.
Lila Suka was not merely a poet, but a great scholar of grammar and philosophy. He also penned a philosophical work Prusha karam.
Among his works, Sri Krishna Karnamrutham got him great fame. It sings of Lord Krishna’s life and its special features.
Even today, many recite this great work daily. Mangala left his mortal existence at Krishna’s abode, Brindavan.