Śrīmad Bhāgavatam |Canto 10 Chapter 9

Mother Yaśodā Binds Lord Kṛṣṇa

VERSE 10.9.1-2

śrī-śuka uvāca

ekadā gṛha-dāsīṣu
yaśodā nanda-gehinī
karmāntara-niyuktāsu
nirmamantha svayaṁ dadhi

yāni yānīha gītāni
tad-bāla-caritāni ca
dadhi-nirmanthane kāle
smarantī tāny agāyata

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ekadā — one day; gṛha-dāsīṣu — when all the maidservants of the household were otherwise engaged; yaśodā — mother Yaśodā; nanda-gehinī — the queen of Nanda Mahārāja; karma-antara — in other household affairs; niyuktāsu — being engaged; nirmamantha — churned; svayam — personally; dadhi — the yogurt; yāni — all such; yāni — such; iha — in this connection; gītāni — songs; tat-bāla-caritāni — in which the activities of her own child were enacted; ca — and; dadhi-nirmanthane — while churning the yogurt; kāle — at that time; smarantī — remembering; tāni — all of them (in the form of songs); agāyata — chanted.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: One day when mother Yaśodā saw that all the maidservants were engaged in other household affairs, she personally began to churn the yogurt. While churning, she remembered the childish activities of Kṛṣṇa, and in her own way she composed songs and enjoyed singing to herself about all those activities.

VERSE 10.9.3

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

SYNONYMS

kṣaumam — saffron and yellow mixed; vāsaḥ — mother Yaśodā was wearing such a sari; pṛthu-kaṭi-taṭe — surrounding her large hips; bibhratī — shaking; sūtra-naddham — bound with a belt; putra-sneha-snuta — because of intense love for her child, became wet with milk; kuca-yugam — the nipples of her breasts; jāta-kampam ca — as they were very nicely moving and quivering; su-bhrūḥ — who had very beautiful eyebrows; rajju-ākarṣa — by pulling on the rope of the churning rod; śrama — because of the labor; bhuja — on whose hands; calat-kaṅkaṇau — the two bangles were moving; kuṇḍale — the two earrings; ca — also; svinnam — her hair was black like a cloud, so perspiration was dropping like rain; vaktram — throughout her face; kabara-vigalat-mālatī — and mālatī flowers were dropping from her hair; nirmamantha — thus mother Yaśodā was churning the butter.

TRANSLATION

Dressed in a saffron-yellow sari, with a belt tied about her full hips, mother Yaśodā 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 mālatī flowers were falling from her hair.

VERSE 10.9.4

tāṁ stanya-kāma āsādya
mathnantīṁ jananīṁ hariḥ
gṛhītvā dadhi-manthānaṁ
nyaṣedhat prītim āvahan

SYNONYMS

tām — unto mother Yaśodā; stanya-kāmaḥ — Kṛṣṇa, who was desiring to drink her breast milk; āsādya — appearing before her; mathnantīm — while she was churning butter; jananīm — to the mother; hariḥ — Kṛṣṇa; gṛhītvā — catching; dadhi-manthānam — the churning rod; nyaṣedhat — forbade; prītim āvahan — creating a situation of love and affection.

TRANSLATION

While mother Yaśodā was churning butter, Lord Kṛṣṇa, desiring to drink the milk of her breast, appeared before her, and in order to increase her transcendental pleasure, He caught hold of the churning rod and began to prevent her from churning.

VERSE 10.9.5

tam aṅkam ārūḍham apāyayat stanaṁ
sneha-snutaṁ sa-smitam īkṣatī mukham
atṛptam utsṛjya javena sā yayāv
utsicyamāne payasi tv adhiśrite

SYNONYMS

tam — unto Kṛṣṇa; aṅkam ārūḍham — very affectionately allowing Him to sit down on her lap; apāyayat — allowed to drink; stanam — her breast; sneha-snutam — which was flowing with milk because of intense affection; sa-smitam īkṣatī mukham — mother Yaśodā was smiling and observing the smiling face of Kṛṣṇa; atṛptam — Kṛṣṇa, who was still not fully satisfied by drinking the milk; utsṛjya — putting Him aside; javena — very hastily; — mother Yaśodā; yayau — left that place; utsicyamāne payasi — because of seeing that the milk was overflowing; tu — but; adhiśrite — in the milk pan on the oven.

TRANSLATION

Mother Yaśodā then embraced Kṛṣṇa, allowed Him to sit down on her lap, and began to look upon the face of the Lord with great love and affection. Because of her intense affection, milk was flowing from her breast. But when she saw that the milk pan on the oven was boiling over, she immediately left her son to take care of the overflowing milk, although the child was not yet fully satisfied with drinking the milk of His mother’s breast.

VERSE 10.9.6

sañjāta-kopaḥ sphuritāruṇādharaṁ
sandaśya dadbhir dadhi-mantha-bhājanam
bhittvā mṛṣāśrur dṛṣad-aśmanā raho
jaghāsa haiyaṅgavam antaraṁ gataḥ

SYNONYMS

sañjāta-kopaḥ — in this way, Kṛṣṇa being very angry; sphurita-aruṇa-adharam — swollen reddish lips; sandaśya — capturing; dadbhiḥ — by His teeth; dadhi-mantha-bhājanam — the pot in which yogurt was being churned; bhittvā — breaking; mṛṣā-aśruḥ — with false tears in the eyes; dṛṣat-aśmanā — with a piece of stone; rahaḥ — in a solitary place; jaghāsa — began to eat; haiyaṅgavam — the freshly churned butter; antaram — within the room; gataḥ — having gone.

TRANSLATION

Being very angry and biting His reddish lips with His teeth, Kṛṣṇa, with false tears in His eyes, broke the container of yogurt with a piece of stone. Then He entered a room and began to eat the freshly churned butter in a solitary place.

VERSE 10.9.7

uttārya gopī suśṛtaṁ payaḥ punaḥ
praviśya saṁdṛśya ca dadhy-amatrakam
bhagnaṁ vilokya sva-sutasya karma taj
jahāsa taṁ cāpi na tatra paśyatī

SYNONYMS

uttārya — putting down from the oven; gopī — mother Yaśodā; su-śṛtam — very hot; payaḥ — the milk; punaḥ — again; praviśya — entered the churning spot; saṁdṛśya — by observing; ca — also; dadhi-amatrakam — the container of yogurt; bhagnam — broken; vilokya — seeing this; sva-sutasya — of her own child; karma — work; tat — that; jahāsa — smiled; tam ca — Kṛṣṇa also; api — at the same time; na — not; tatra — there; paśyatī — finding.

TRANSLATION

Mother Yaśodā, after taking down the hot milk from the oven, returned to the churning spot, and when she saw that the container of yogurt was broken and that Kṛṣṇa was not present, she concluded that the breaking of the pot was the work of Kṛṣṇa.

VERSE 10.9.8

ulūkhalāṅghrer upari vyavasthitaṁ
markāya kāmaṁ dadataṁ śici sthitam
haiyaṅgavaṁ caurya-viśaṅkitekṣaṇaṁ
nirīkṣya paścāt sutam āgamac chanaiḥ

SYNONYMS

ulūkhala-aṅghreḥ — of the mortar in which spices were ground and which was being kept upside down; upari — on top; vyavasthitam — Kṛṣṇa was sitting; markāya — unto a monkey; kāmam — according to His satisfaction; dadatam — delivering shares; śici sthitam — situated in the butter pot hanging on the swing; haiyaṅgavam — butter and other milk preparations; caurya-viśaṅkita — because of stealing, were anxiously looking hither and thither; īkṣaṇam — whose eyes; nirīkṣya — by seeing these activities; paścāt — from behind; sutam — her son; āgamat — she reached; śanaiḥ — very slowly, cautiously.

TRANSLATION

Kṛṣṇa, at that time, was sitting on an upside-down wooden mortar for grinding spices and was distributing milk preparations such as yogurt and butter to the monkeys as He liked. Because of having stolen, He was looking all around with great anxiety, suspecting that He might be chastised by His mother. Mother Yaśodā, upon seeing Him, very cautiously approached Him from behind.

VERSE 10.9.9

tām ātta-yaṣṭiṁ prasamīkṣya satvaras
tato ’varuhyāpasasāra bhītavat
gopy anvadhāvan na yam āpa yogināṁ
kṣamaṁ praveṣṭuṁ tapaseritaṁ manaḥ

SYNONYMS

tām — unto mother Yaśodā; ātta-yaṣṭim — carrying in her hand a stick; prasamīkṣya — Kṛṣṇa, seeing her in that attitude; satvaraḥ — very quickly; tataḥ — from there; avaruhya — getting down; apasasāra — began to flee; bhīta-vat — as if very much afraid; gopī — mother Yaśodā; anvadhāvat — began to follow Him; na — not; yam — unto whom; āpa — failed to reach; yoginām — of great yogīs, mystics; kṣamam — who could reach Him; praveṣṭum — trying to enter into the Brahman effulgence or Paramātmā; tapasā — with great austerities and penances; īritam — trying for that purpose; manaḥ — by meditation.

TRANSLATION

When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw His mother, stick in hand, He very quickly got down from the top of the mortar and began to flee as if very much afraid. Although yogīs try to capture Him as Paramātmā by meditation, desiring to enter into the effulgence of the Lord with great austerities and penances, they fail to reach Him. But mother Yaśodā, thinking that same Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, to be her son, began following Kṛṣṇa to catch Him.

VERSE 10.9.10

anvañcamānā jananī bṛhac-calac-
chroṇī-bharākrānta-gatiḥ sumadhyamā
javena visraṁsita-keśa-bandhana-
cyuta-prasūnānugatiḥ parāmṛśat

SYNONYMS

anvañcamānā — following Kṛṣṇa very swiftly; jananī — mother Yaśodā; bṛhat-calat-śroṇī-bhara-ākrānta-gatiḥ — being overburdened by the weight of her large breasts, she became tired and had to reduce her speed; su-madhyamā — because of her thin waist; javena — because of going very fast; visraṁsita-keśa-bandhana — from her arrangement of hair, which had become loosened; cyuta-prasūna-anugatiḥ — she was followed by the flowers falling after her; parāmṛśat — finally captured Kṛṣṇa without fail.

TRANSLATION

While following Kṛṣṇa, mother Yaśodā, her thin waist overburdened by her heavy breasts, naturally had to reduce her speed. Because of following Kṛṣṇa very swiftly, her hair became loose, and the flowers in her hair were falling after her. Yet she did not fail to capture her son, Kṛṣṇa.

VERSE 10.9.11

kṛtāgasaṁ taṁ prarudantam akṣiṇī
kaṣantam añjan-maṣiṇī sva-pāṇinā
udvīkṣamāṇaṁ bhaya-vihvalekṣaṇaṁ
haste gṛhītvā bhiṣayanty avāgurat

SYNONYMS

kṛta-āgasam — who was an offender; tam — unto Kṛṣṇa; prarudantam — with a crying attitude; akṣiṇī — His two eyes; kaṣantam — rubbing; añjat-maṣiṇī — from whose eyes the blackish ointment was distributed all over His face with tears; sva-pāṇinā — with His own hand; udvīkṣamāṇam — who was seen in that attitude by mother Yaśodā; bhaya-vihvala-īkṣaṇam — whose eyes appeared distressed because of such fear of His mother; haste — by the hand; gṛhītvā — catching; bhiṣayantī — mother Yaśodā was threatening Him; avāgurat — and thus she very mildly chastised Him.

TRANSLATION

When caught by mother Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa became more and more afraid and admitted to being an offender. As she looked upon Him, she saw that He was crying, His tears mixing with the black ointment around His eyes, and as He rubbed His eyes with His hands, He smeared the ointment all over His face. Mother Yaśodā, catching her beautiful son by the hand, mildly began to chastise Him.

VERSE 10.9.12

tyaktvā yaṣṭiṁ sutaṁ bhītaṁ
vijñāyārbhaka-vatsalā
iyeṣa kila taṁ baddhuṁ
dāmnātad-vīrya-kovidā

SYNONYMS

tyaktvā — throwing away; yaṣṭim — the stick in her hand; sutam — her son; bhītam — considering her son’s great fear; vijñāya — understanding; arbhaka-vatsalā — the most affectionate mother of Kṛṣṇa; iyeṣa — desired; kila — indeed; tam — Kṛṣṇa; baddhum — to bind; dāmnā — with a rope; a-tat-vīrya-kovidā — without knowledge of the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead (because of intense love for Kṛṣṇa).

TRANSLATION

Mother Yaśodā was always overwhelmed by intense love for Kṛṣṇa, not knowing who Kṛṣṇa was or how powerful He was. Because of maternal affection for Kṛṣṇa, she never even cared to know who He was. Therefore, when she saw that her son had become excessively afraid, she threw the stick away and desired to bind Him so that He would not commit any further naughty activities.

VERSE 10.9.13-14

na cāntar na bahir yasya
na pūrvaṁ nāpi cāparam
pūrvāparaṁ bahiś cāntar
jagato yo jagac ca yaḥ

taṁ matvātmajam avyaktam
martya-liṅgam adhokṣajam
gopikolūkhale dāmnā
babandha prākṛtaṁ yathā

SYNONYMS

na — not; ca — also; antaḥ — interior; na — nor; bahiḥ — exterior; yasya — whose; na — neither; pūrvam — beginning; na — nor; api — indeed; ca — also; aparam — end; pūrva-aparam — the beginning and the end; bahiḥ ca antaḥ — the external and the internal; jagataḥ — of the whole cosmic manifestation; yaḥ — one who is; jagat ca yaḥ — and who is everything in creation in total; tam — Him; matvā — considering; ātmajam — her own son; avyaktam — the unmanifested; martya-liṅgam — appearing as a human being; adhokṣajam — beyond sense perception; gopikā — mother Yaśodā; ulūkhale — to the grinding mortar; dāmnā — by a rope; babandha — bound; prākṛtam yathā — as done to a common human child.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning and no end, no exterior and no interior, no front and no rear. In other words, He is all-pervading. Because He is not under the influence of the element of time, for Him there is no difference between past, present and future; He exists in His own transcendental form at all times. Being absolute, beyond relativity, He is free from distinctions between cause and effect, although He is the cause and effect of everything. That unmanifested person, who is beyond the perception of the senses, had now appeared as a human child, and mother Yaśodā, considering Him her own ordinary child, bound Him to the wooden mortar with a rope.

VERSE 10.9.15

tad dāma badhyamānasya
svārbhakasya kṛtāgasaḥ
dvy-aṅgulonam abhūt tena
sandadhe ’nyac ca gopikā

SYNONYMS

tat dāma — that binding rope; badhyamānasya — who was being bound by mother Yaśodā; sva-arbhakasya — of her own son; kṛta-āgasaḥ — who was an offender; dvi-aṅgula — by a measurement of two fingers; ūnam — short; abhūt — became; tena — with that rope; sandadhe — joined; anyat ca — another rope; gopikā — mother Yaśodā.

TRANSLATION

When mother Yaśodā was trying to bind the offending child, she saw that the binding rope was short by a distance the width of two fingers. Thus she brought another rope to join to it.

VERSE 10.9.16

yadāsīt tad api nyūnaṁ
tenānyad api sandadhe
tad api dvy-aṅgulaṁ nyūnaṁ
yad yad ādatta bandhanam

SYNONYMS

yadā — when; āsīt — became; tat api — even the new rope that had been joined; nyūnam — still short; tena — then, with the second rope; anyat api — another rope also; sandadhe — she joined; tat api — that also; dvi-aṅgulam — by a measurement of two fingers; nyūnam — remained short; yat yat ādatta — in this way, one after another, whatever ropes she joined; bandhanam — for binding Kṛṣṇa.

TRANSLATION

This new rope also was short by a measurement of two fingers, and when another rope was joined to it, it was still two fingers too short. As many ropes as she joined, all of them failed; their shortness could not be overcome.

VERSE 10.9.17

evaṁ sva-geha-dāmāni
yaśodā sandadhaty api
gopīnāṁ susmayantīnāṁ
smayantī vismitābhavat

SYNONYMS

evam — in this manner; sva-geha-dāmāni — all the ropes available in the household; yaśodā — mother Yaśodā; sandadhati api — although she was joining one after another; gopīnām — when all the other elderly gopī friends of mother Yaśodā; su-smayantīnām — were all taking pleasure in this funny affair; smayantī — mother Yaśodā was also smiling; vismitā abhavat — all of them were struck with wonder.

TRANSLATION

Thus mother Yaśodā joined whatever ropes were available in the household, but still she failed in her attempt to bind Kṛṣṇa. Mother Yaśodā’s friends, the elderly gopīs in the neighborhood, were smiling and enjoying the fun. Similarly, mother Yaśodā, although laboring in that way, was also smiling. All of them were struck with wonder.

VERSE 10.9.18

sva-mātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā
visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ
dṛṣṭvā pariśramaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ
kṛpayāsīt sva-bandhane

SYNONYMS

sva-mātuḥ — of His own mother (Kṛṣṇa’s mother, Yaśodādevī); svinna-gātrāyāḥ — when Kṛṣṇa saw His mother perspiring all over because of unnecessary labor; visrasta — were falling down; kabara — from her hair; srajaḥ — of whom the flowers; dṛṣṭvā — by seeing the condition of His mother; pariśramam — He could understand that she was now overworked and feeling fatigued; kṛṣṇaḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛpayā — by His causeless mercy upon His devotee and mother; āsīt — agreed; sva-bandhane — in binding Him.

TRANSLATION

Because of mother Yaśodā’s hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Kṛṣṇa saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.

VERSE 10.9.19

evaṁ sandarśitā hy aṅga
hariṇā bhṛtya-vaśyatā
sva-vaśenāpi kṛṣṇena
yasyedaṁ seśvaraṁ vaśe

SYNONYMS

evam — in this manner; sandarśitā — was exhibited; hi — indeed; aṅga — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit; hariṇā — by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhṛtya-vaśyatā — His transcendental quality of becoming subordinate to His servitor or devotee; sva-vaśena — who is within the control only of His own self; api — indeed; kṛṣṇena — by Kṛṣṇa; yasya — of whom; idam — the whole universe; sa-īśvaram — with the powerful demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā; vaśe — under the control.

TRANSLATION

O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, this entire universe, with its great, exalted demigods like Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā and Lord Indra, is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet the Supreme Lord has one transcendental attribute: He comes under the control of His devotees. This was now exhibited by Kṛṣṇa in this pastime.

VERSE 10.9.20

nemaṁ viriñco na bhavo
na śrīr apy aṅga-saṁśrayā
prasādaṁ lebhire gopī
yat tat prāpa vimuktidāt

SYNONYMS

na — not; imam — this exalted position; viriñcaḥ — Lord Brahmā; na — nor; bhavaḥ — Lord Śiva; na — nor; śrīḥ — the goddess of fortune; api — indeed; aṅga-saṁśrayā — although she is always the better half of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; prasādam — mercy; lebhire — obtained; gopī — mother Yaśodā; yat tat — as that which; prāpa — obtained; vimukti-dāt — from Kṛṣṇa, who gives deliverance from this material world.

TRANSLATION

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.

VERSE 10.9.21

nāyaṁ sukhāpo bhagavān
dehināṁ gopikā-sutaḥ
jñānināṁ cātma-bhūtānāṁ
yathā bhaktimatām iha

SYNONYMS

na — not; ayam — this; sukha-āpaḥ — very easily obtainable, or an object of happiness; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dehinām — of persons in the bodily concept of life, especially the karmīs; gopikā-sutaḥ — Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā (Kṛṣṇa as the son of Vasudeva is called Vāsudeva, and as the son of mother Yaśodā He is known as Kṛṣṇa); jñāninām ca — and of the jñānīs, who try to be free from material contamination; ātma-bhūtānām — of self-sufficient yogīs; yathā — as; bhakti-matām — of the devotees; iha — in this world.

TRANSLATION

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, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.

VERSE 10.9.22

kṛṣṇas tu gṛha-kṛtyeṣu
vyagrāyāṁ mātari prabhuḥ
adrākṣīd arjunau pūrvaṁ
guhyakau dhanadātmajau

SYNONYMS

kṛṣṇaḥ tu — in the meantime; gṛha-kṛtyeṣu — in engagement in household affairs; vyagrāyām — very busy; mātari — when His mother; prabhuḥ — the Lord; adrākṣīt — observed; arjunau — the twin arjuna trees; pūrvam — before Him; guhyakau — which in a former millennium had been demigods; dhanada-ātmajau — the sons of Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods.

TRANSLATION

While mother Yaśodā was very busy with household affairs, the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, observed twin trees known as yamala-arjuna, which in a former millennium had been the demigod sons of Kuvera.

VERSE 10.9.23

purā nārada-śāpena
vṛkṣatāṁ prāpitau madāt
nalakūvara-maṇigrīvāv
iti khyātau śriyānvitau

SYNONYMS

purā — formerly; nārada-śāpena — being cursed by Nārada Muni; vṛkṣatām — the forms of trees; prāpitau — obtained; madāt — because of madness; nalakūvara — one of them was Nalakūvara; maṇigrīvau — the other was Maṇigrīva; iti — thus; khyātau — well known; śriyā anvitau — very opulent.

TRANSLATION

In their former birth, these two sons, known as Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, were extremely opulent and fortunate. But because of pride and false prestige, they did not care about anyone, and thus Nārada Muni cursed them to become trees.