kṣaumaṁ vāsaḥ pṛthu-kaṭi-taṭe bibhratī sūtra-naddhaṁ
putra-sneha-snuta-kuca-yugaṁ jāta-kampaṁ ca subhrūḥ
rajjv-ākarṣa-śrama-bhuja-calat-kaṅkaṇau kuṇḍale ca
svinnaṁ vaktraṁ kabara-vigalan-mālatī nirmamantha
"Dressed in a saffron-yellow sari, with a belt tied about her full hips, mother Yashoda pulled on the churning rope, laboring considerably, her bangles and earrings moving and vibrating and her whole body shaking. Because of her intense love for her child, her breasts were wet with milk. Her face, with its very beautiful eyebrows, was wet with perspiration, and malati flowers were falling from her hair."
In the morning, Little Krishna wakes up to the sound of churning butter. Ever thrilled to see the half-awake Krishna, Yashoda greets him and the Lord walks sleepily to sit on his mother’s lap. Yashoda lovingly feeds Krishna. Suddenly she remembers that she has kept the milk on the stove. She leaves Krishna and rushes to the kitchen. Upset and angry that his mother left him halfway through the feed, Krishna kicks the pot of curd which Yashoda was churning and the curd flows on the courtyard.
Yashoda or Yashoda Mayya, embodies the deepest essence of maternal love and devotion. The name Yashoda itself, meaning "one who is the giver of fame," reflects her exalted role in the divine pastimes of Lord Krishna.
Though Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva, it was in the care of Yashoda and Nanda in the tranquil village of Gokul that he spent his early years, protected from the wrath of the tyrant Kamsa. Srimad Bhagavatam, depicts Yashoda as a figure of immense compassion and mercy. Her love for Krishna is celebrated as the epitome of Vatsalya Bhakti, the devotion expressed through the tender affection of a mother. The poet-saint Surdas vividly describes Yashoda's unyielding love, which often manifested in both tender care and stern discipline, as she navigated the divine yet mischievous antics of her beloved child. How beautifuuly Surdas describes Mother Yashoda putting her son Krishna to sleep.
yasoda hari palane jhulave
halrave dulrai manave joi soi kachu gave
mere lal ko au nindariya kahe na ani suhave
tu kahe nahi begi hi ave to to kanh bulave
kabahun palak hari mundi let hai kabahun adhar pharkave
sovat jani maun hvai kahi rahi kari kari sain batave
ihi antar akulai uthe hari jasumati madhure gave
jo sukh sur amar muni durlabh so nand bhamini pave
(Yashoda is swinging Hari on the cradle, mildly swinging, humming, singing whatever comes to her mind. She asks herself, "Why does my child not sleep?" Then she turns to her son and asks, "Why don’t you sleep on fast, even when I am calling you Kanha? Sometimes his eyelids are closed, sometimes his lips are moving. When she feels he is asleep at last, she hushes everyone around to be quiet. In between all this, her son restlessly wakes up and Mother Yashoda resumes her sweet singing. Such joy is rarely attained even by sages, as experienced by the wife of King Nanda.)
One of the most miraculous moments in the Bhagavata Purana is when little Krishna, playfully opens his mouth, and Yashoda, to her astonishment, sees the entire universe within it—the seven oceans, the divine serpent Adishesha, and even Lord Narayana himself, attended by Mahalakshmi. Overwhelmed by this divine vision, Yashoda faints, only to be revived by Sage Narada, who reveals the cosmic significance of Krishna's life to her. Yet, despite this revelation, Yashoda's love remains so pure and simple that it transcends any awareness of Krishna’s divinity.
Yashoda’s fortune lies not only in the fact that she was chosen to care for the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also in her unique ability to treat Krishna as her own child, devoid of any reverence that would acknowledge his godly status. This is the extraordinary act of Yoga-Maya, the Lord's spiritual potency, which allowed her love to overshadow any knowledge of his divine glories. In this way, Yashoda's love is the pinnacle of devotion, far beyond the reach of great sages and Vedantic scholars.
The Srimad Bhagavatam extols Yashoda's unparalleled position in several verses:
“The glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are studied through the three Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the literature of Sāṅkhya-yoga, and other Vaiṣṇava literature, yet mother Yaśodā considered that Supreme Person her ordinary child.” (SB 10.8.45)
“Neither Lord Brahmā, nor Lord Śiva, nor even the goddess of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord, can obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the deliverer from this material world, such mercy as received by mother Yaśodā.” (SB 10.9.20)
These verses highlight the unmatched mercy Yashoda received, surpassing even that granted to the greatest of gods and goddesses. The Bhagavatam further clarifies that Krishna, though accessible to the most austere yogis and scholars, is ultimately controlled only by the pure, spontaneous love of a devotee like Yashoda:
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā, is accessible to devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators (jnanis), to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances (yogis), or to those who consider the body the same as the self (materialists).”
(SB 10.9.21)
This divine love, free from the knowledge of Krishna's godhood, represents the highest form of Premamayi Bhakti, found among the inhabitants of Vrindavan, especially in the heart of Mother Yashoda.
Even the all-powerful Krishna, who instills fear in the hearts of yogis and sages, trembles before Yashoda's loving reprimands. This unique dynamic is beautifully portrayed in the scene where Krishna, frightened by Yashoda's stick, flees from her, only to be caught and gently chastised. Queen Kunti, in her prayers, marvels at this extraordinary sight, noting that Krishna, who is feared by fear personified, is himself afraid of his mother’s love.
Yashoda’s fortune is not merely in raising Krishna but in experiencing the divine through the purest and most intimate of relationships. Her love for Krishna transcends the boundaries of divinity and humanity, making her the most blessed of all beings, for she could control the unconquerable Lord through the simple, yet profound, love of a mother.
Comments