Krsna Book Audio Dictation - Chapter 09
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Ninth Chapter heading: "Benedicting the Gopīs."
Once upon a time, mother Yaśodā, seeing her maidservant engaged in different duties of householder affairs, she personally took charge of churning butter. And while she was charming butter, she was also singing the childhood pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa and was enjoying such feelings.
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When mother Yaśodā was churning butter, at that time she tightly wrapped the end of her sārī, and on account of her intense love for her son, milk was automatically leaking from her breasts, which were moving because she was laboring very hard. And while she was churning with her two hands, the bangles and bracelets on the hand were tinkling on account of being dashed against each other. The earrings and the breasts being shaked, there were drops of perspiring on the face, and the flower garland which was on her head was dispersed hither and dither. And on this picturesque sight of mother Yaśodā, Lord Kṛṣṇa as a child appeared before her because He felt hungry, and by increasing the feeling of love of His mother, He wanted His mother to stop churning, indicating that her first business was to suck Him her breast first. He indicated in such a way that the mother was informed that she must suck her breast to Kṛṣṇa at first, and then she should churn again.
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At that time mother Yaśodā took her son on the lap and pushed the nipples of her breast within the mouth of Kṛṣṇa, and while Kṛṣṇa sucking the milk was smiling, she was enjoying the beauty of the face of her child. Just at this time the milk pan which was on the oven all of a sudden become swollen. Mother Yaśodā, just to stop the overflow of the milk on the ground, immediately left aside Kṛṣṇa and went to the oven to get down the milk pan. When mother Yaśodā left Kṛṣṇa in that state, He became very much angry, and His lips and eyes became red on account of anger. He pressed His teeth on the lips, and taking a stone piece immediately broke the butter pot, and taking butter out of it, and with false tears on His eyes, began to eat the butter in a secluded place.
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In the meantime, mother Yaśodā returned to the churning place after setting the overflowing milk pan in order, and when she returned back, she saw that the earthen pot in which the churning yogurt was kept was broken, and she could not find his (her) boy on the spot. She could conclude that it was the work of his (her) son who broke the pot and began to smile, because she thought within herself, "The child is very clever that after breaking the pot He has gone away from this place, fearing that I may punish Him."
When she, however, sought hither and thither, she could find that there was a big wooden grinding mortar which was kept upside down, and she saw her son was sitting on that grinding mortar and was engaged in feeding the monkeys, taking out butter which was hanging on the swing. She also saw Kṛṣṇa was looking hither and thither in fear of His mother, because He was conscious at that time that such action would not satisfy His mother.
Mother Yaśodā, after seeing her son so engaged, very silently began to proceed from the back side of his (her) son. The son, however, could find out that His mother was coming with a stick in her hand, and immediately the son got down from the grinding mortar and began to flee away out of fear of His mother. Mother Yaśodā also began to follow Him all sides, just to capture the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never approached even by the expert meditational exercise of the mind of great yogīs. In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is never caught hold of by yogīs or jṣānīs, was just playing like a little child of a great devotee like mother Yaśodā.
Mother Yaśodā, however, could not follow so hastily as her child was running fast on account of her thin waist and heavy body. Still, she tried to follow the child as fast as possible, and in this way the bunch of her hair becomed loosened, and the flowers fixed up in the hair began to fall down on the ground. And although she felt a tiresome, still, somehow or other she could reach her naughty child and capture Him.
When mother Yaśodā captured Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa was almost on the point of crying, and He was trying to smear over His eyes, which were anointed with black eye cosmetic. The child was repeatedly seeing the face of His mother while turning down, and His eyes became too much restless on account of fear. Mother Yaśodā could understand that Kṛṣṇa was being afraid unnecessarily too much, so for the benefit of her child, she wanted to stop such fearfulness.
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Being the topmost well-wisher of her child, mother Yaśodā began to think within herself if the child would be too much fearful of her, "I do not know what would happen to Him." Thinking this, mother Yaśodā immediately threw away the stick in her hand. But in order to punish her child, she thought of binding her (His) hands with some rope, without knowing the influence of her little child—that it was impossible for her to bind the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mother Yaśodā, although she was thinking Kṛṣṇa as her petty child, she did not know that the child has no limitation. There is no inside or outside of the child, neither beginning or end. He was unlimited and all-pervading. Practically, He was Himself the whole cosmic manifestation.
Still, mother Yaśodā, thinking of Kṛṣṇa as her child, although He was beyond the reach of all senses, she endeavored to bind up the child with the wooden grinding mortar. But when she was thus binding the offensive child, she found that the rope she gathered was shorter by two inches. Therefore she gathered more ropes from the house and added to it, but at the end she saw again the same shortage. In this way, she collected all the ropes available at home, but when the final knotting was required, she saw that it was still shorter. Thus mother Yaśodā, while smiled, became astonished how it was happening.
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While mother Yaśodā was trying to bind her son, she became too much tired and she was perspiring, and on account of her being fatigued the garland on her head fell down. Lord Kṛṣṇa at that time appreciated the hard labor of His mother, and therefore being compassionate on His mother agreed to be bound up by the ropes of mother Yaśodā. In other words, Kṛṣṇa's playing as human child in the house of mother Yaśodā was His own selected pastime. Otherwise nobody can control the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the pure devotee surrenders himself unto the lotus feet of the Lord, either He may protect the devotee or vanquish the devotee, the devotee forgets his own position, similarly, the Lord also feels transcendental pleasure by submitting Himself under the protection of His devotee. This was exemplified by Kṛṣṇa's surrender unto His mother, Yaśodā.
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Kṛṣṇa is the supreme bestower of all kinds of liberation to His devotees, but the benediction which was bestowed upon mother Yaśodā was never experienced even by Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva or mother…, goddess of fortune.
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as the son of mother Yaśodā or the son of Mahārāja Nanda, is never so completely become known to the yogīs and jṣānīs as He is easily available to His devotee, whether He is appreciated as the supreme reservoir of all pleasure by such yogīs and jṣānīs. After finishing this business, when mother Yaśodā engaged herself in the household affairs, at that time Kṛṣṇa, bound up with the wooden mortar, could see in His front a pair of trees known as a pair of arjuna trees. The great reservoir of pleasure, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, thus thought Himself that "Mother Yaśodā first of all left Me without feeding Me sufficiently her breast milk, and therefore I broke the pot of yogurt and distributed the stocked butter in charity to the monkeys. Now she has again bound Me up with the wooden mortar. I shall do something more mischievous than before." And thus He thought of breaking down two very tall trees known as pair of arjuna trees.
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There was a history behind those pair of arjuna trees. In his previous life, they were born as the sons of Kuvera, and their name was Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva. Fortunately, they become within the vision of the Lord. In their previous life they were cursed by the great sage Nārada in order to bestow upon them the highest benediction of seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa. This benediction of cursing was bestowed upon them on account of their being too much forgetful by intoxication. This story will be narrated in the next chapter.
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Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta summary study of Kṛṣṇa, the Ninth Chapter, in the matter of Benedicting the Gopīs.