Mother Yashoda Binds Lord Krishna

Verse 1 (bhagavata.10.9.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच एकदा गृहदासीषु यशोदा नन्दगेहिनी । कर्मान्तरनियुक्तासु निर्ममन्थ स्वयं दधि ॥ १ ॥

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

Shri Shuka said: One day Nanda's wife Yashoda, finding the household maidservants occupied with other tasks, began to churn the yogurt herself.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.10.9.2)

यानि यानीह गीतानि तद्बालचरितानि च । दधिनिर्मन्थने काले स्मरन्ती तान्यगायत ॥ २ ॥

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

As she churned, she hummed whatever songs she knew of His childhood deeds, remembering them as she sang.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.10.9.3)

क्षौमं वासः पृथुकटितटे बिभ्रती सूत्रनद्धं पुत्रस्नेहस्नुतकुचयुगं जातकम्पं च सुभ्रूः । रज्ज्वाकर्षश्रमभुजचलत्कङ्कणौ कुण्डले च स्विन्नं वक्त्रं कबरविगलन्मालती निर्ममन्थ ॥ ३ ॥

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

Wearing a silken sari tied about her broad hips, her two breasts damp with milk from love of her son and trembling as she worked, her bangles and earrings swaying with the labor of pulling the churning cord, her lovely brow beaded with sweat, jasmine blossoms slipping loose from her braided hair — so did Yashoda churn.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.10.9.4)

तां स्तन्यकाम आसाद्य मथ्नन्तीं जननीं हरिः । गृहीत्वा दधिमन्थानं न्यषेधत् प्रीतिमावहन् ॥ ४ ॥

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

Longing to nurse, Hari came to His churning mother, and taking hold of the churning-rod, stopped her — and this brought her the greatest delight.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.10.9.5)

तमङ्कमारूढमपाययत् स्तनं स्नेहस्नुतं सस्मितमीक्षती मुखम् । अतृप्तमुत्सृज्य जवेन सा यया- वुत्सिच्यमाने पयसि त्वधिश्रिते ॥ ५ ॥

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

Taking Him onto her lap, she let Him nurse at her breast, which flowed with tenderness, smiling as she gazed upon His face — but when the milk on the stove began to boil over, she left Him there still unsatisfied and hurried off.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.10.9.6)

सञ्जातकोपः स्फुरितारुणाधरं सन्दश्य दद्भिर्दधिमन्थभाजनम् । भित्त्वा मृषाश्रुर्दृषदश्मना रहो जघास हैयङ्गवमन्तरं गतः ॥ ६ ॥

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

Growing angry, biting His trembling red lip between His teeth, He shattered the yogurt-churning pot with a stone, and, His tears entirely feigned, went off alone into a room to eat the freshly churned butter.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.10.9.7)

उत्तार्य गोपी सुशृतं पयः पुनः प्रविश्य संदृश्य च दध्यमत्रकम् । भग्नं विलोक्य स्वसुतस्य कर्म त- ज्जहास तं चापि न तत्र पश्यती ॥ ७ ॥

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

Having taken the boiled milk down from the stove, the cowherd woman came back, and seeing the shattered yogurt-pot, understood it at once to be her son's doing; she laughed, though He was nowhere to be seen.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.10.9.8)

उलूखलाङ्घ्रेरुपरि व्यवस्थितं मर्काय कामं ददतं शिचि स्थितम् । हैयङ्गवं चौर्यविशङ्कितेक्षणं निरीक्ष्य पश्चात् सुतमागमच्छनैः ॥ ८ ॥

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

There she found her son perched upon an upturned wooden mortar, freely handing out butter from the hanging pot to a monkey, His eyes darting anxiously about for fear of being caught in the act; and she crept up quietly behind Him.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.10.9.9)

तामात्तयष्टिं प्रसमीक्ष्य सत्वर- स्ततोऽवरुह्यापससार भीतवत् । गोप्यन्वधावन्न यमाप योगिनां क्षमं प्रवेष्टुं तपसेरितं मनः ॥ ९ ॥

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

Seeing her come with a stick in hand, He climbed down at once and fled as if in fright; and the cowherd woman ran after Him — after Him whom even yogis, driving their minds through austerity, are never able to enter and attain.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.10.9.10)

अन्वञ्चमाना जननी बृहच्चल- च्छ्रोणीभराक्रान्तगतिः सुमध्यमा । जवेन विस्रंसितकेशबन्धन- च्युतप्रसूनानुगतिः परामृशत् ॥ १० ॥

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

Though her slender waist bore the weight of her full, swaying hips and slowed her steps, and though her braid came loose in the chase, scattering flowers behind her — still, in the end, the mother caught her son.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.10.9.11)

कृतागसं तं प्ररुदन्तमक्षिणी कषन्तमञ्जन्मषिणी स्वपाणिना । उद्वीक्षमाणं भयविह्वलेक्षणं हस्ते गृहीत्वा भिषयन्त्यवागुरत् ॥ ११ ॥

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

Taking that offender by the hand — He weeping, rubbing His kohl-lined eyes with His own hand until the black smeared across His face, His frightened eyes glancing up at her — she caught hold of Him and, feigning further threat, scolded Him.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.10.9.12)

त्यक्त्वा यष्टिं सुतं भीतं विज्ञायार्भकवत्सला । इयेष किल तं बद्धुं दाम्नातद्वीर्यकोविदा ॥ १२ ॥

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

Seeing her son so frightened, the mother, so tender toward her child, threw down the stick, and, unaware of His true power, resolved instead to bind Him with a rope.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.10.9.13)

न चान्तर्न बहिर्यस्य न पूर्वं नापि चापरम् । पूर्वापरं बहिश्चान्तर्जगतो यो जगच्च यः ॥ १३ ॥

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

He for whom there is no inside and no outside, no before and no after — who is Himself the before and after, the without and within of this universe, and who is the universe itself —

Verse 14 (bhagavata.10.9.14)

तं मत्वात्मजमव्यक्तं मर्त्यलिङ्गमधोक्षजम् । गोपिकोलूखले दाम्ना बबन्ध प्राकृतं यथा ॥ १४ ॥

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

— that unmanifest, transcendent Lord, now appearing in the form of a mortal child, the cowherd woman, believing Him nothing more than her own son, bound with a rope to the mortar, just as she might bind an ordinary child.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.10.9.15)

तद् दाम बध्यमानस्य स्वार्भकस्य कृतागसः । द्व्यङ्गुलोनमभूत्तेन सन्दधेऽन्यच्च गोपिका ॥ १५ ॥

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

As she bound her offending child, that rope proved short by the width of two fingers, so the cowherd woman joined another length to it.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.10.9.16)

यदासीत्तदपि न्यूनं तेनान्यदपि सन्दधे । तदपि द्व्यङ्गुलं न्यूनं यद् यदादत्त बन्धनम् ॥ १६ ॥

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

That too proved short, so she joined on yet another; and that too fell short by two fingers — whatever rope she took up next, it always came up short by exactly that much.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.10.9.17)

एवं स्वगेहदामानि यशोदा सन्दधत्यपि । गोपीनां सुस्मयन्तीनां स्मयन्ती विस्मिताभवत् ॥ १७ ॥

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

Thus Yashoda joined together every rope in the house one after another; the other gopis, watching, broke into smiles, and Yashoda herself, smiling along with them, was filled with astonishment.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.10.9.18)

स्वमातुः स्विन्नगात्राया विस्रस्तकबरस्रजः । दृष्ट्वा परिश्रमं कृष्णः कृपयासीत् स्वबन्धने ॥ १८ ॥

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

Seeing His mother's body drenched in sweat, her hair-flowers falling loose, exhausted by her labor, Krishna, moved by compassion, at last allowed Himself to be bound.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.10.9.19)

एवं सन्दर्शिता ह्यङ्ग हरिणा भृत्यवश्यता । स्ववशेनापि कृष्णेन यस्येदं सेश्वरं वशे ॥ १९ ॥

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

Thus, O dear one, Hari revealed how He submits Himself to the will of His servants — Krishna, who is entirely self-controlled, and under whose sway lies this whole universe together with all its rulers.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.10.9.20)

नेमं विरिञ्चो न भवो न श्रीरप्यङ्गसंश्रया । प्रसादं लेभिरे गोपी यत्तत्प्राप विमुक्तिदात् ॥ २० ॥

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

Neither Brahma, nor Shiva, nor even Shri, who dwells forever at His side, ever obtained from that Giver of Liberation the grace that this cowherd woman received.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.10.9.21)

नायं सुखापो भगवान्देहिनां गोपिकासुतः । ज्ञानिनां चात्मभूतानां यथा भक्तिमतामिह ॥ २१ ॥

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

This Bhagavan, the cowherd woman's son, is not so easily won by embodied souls, nor even by those who have realized the self through knowledge — as He is won here by those filled with devotion.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.10.9.22)

कृष्णस्तु गृहकृत्येषु व्यग्रायां मातरि प्रभुः । अद्राक्षीदर्जुनौ पूर्वं गुह्यकौ धनदात्मजौ ॥ २२ ॥

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

While His mother was occupied with household tasks, Lord Krishna now caught sight, right before Him, of the twin arjuna trees — once the Guhyaka sons of Kuvera.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.10.9.23)

पुरा नारदशापेन वृक्षतां प्रापितौ मदात् । नलकूवरमणिग्रीवाविति ख्यातौ श्रियान्वितौ ॥ २३ ॥

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

In an earlier time, known as Nalakuvara and Manigriva and blessed with great fortune, these two had, because of their pride, been turned into trees by the curse of Narada.