Krishna's Mercy

Pious Activities

“How had mother Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja become so fortunate that they enjoyed the complete childhood pastimes of Krishna, which are still glorified by saintly persons? What had they done in the past by which they were elevated to such an exalted position?” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.47 Purport)

Understanding In An Instant

“One may be a karmi, a jnani, a yogi and then a bhakta or prema-bhakta. But the ultimate stage of realization is prema-bhakti, as actually demonstrated by mother Yashoda.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.45 Purport)

Hugs and Kisses

“Mother Yashoda regarded the vision of the universal form within Krishna's mouth as an arrangement of yogamaya, like a dream. As one forgets everything after a dream, mother Yashoda immediately forgot the entire incident.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.44 Purport)

Forgetfulness With a Purpose

“Although mother Yashoda understood the whole philosophy of life, at the next moment she was overwhelmed by affection for her son by the influence of yogamaya. Unless she took care of her son Krishna, she thought, how could He be protected? She could not think otherwise, and thus she forgot all her philosophical speculations.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.43 Purport)

Letting Go

“For the moment, she was rather disappointed, thinking, ‘My endeavors to protect my son by charity and other auspicious activities are useless. The Supreme Lord has given me many things, but unless He takes charge of everything, there is no assurance of protection. I must therefore ultimately seek shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.42 Purport)

Not The Easy Way Out

“When the immediate cause cannot be ascertained, let us simply offer our obeisances at the lotus feet of the Lord. Mother Yashoda concluded that the wonderful things she saw within the mouth of her child were due to Him, although she could not clearly ascertain the cause.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.41 Purport)

Is This A Dream

“When mother Yashoda saw this wonderful manifestation within the mouth of her child, she began to argue within herself about whether it was a dream.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.40 Purport)

To Her Liking

“When a person is given varieties of food, there may be a hundred and one varieties, but if one likes ordinary shaka, spinach, he prefers to eat that. Similarly, although Krishna was full of opulences, now, by the order of mother Yashoda, He opened wide His mouth like a human child and did not neglect the transcendental humor of maternal affection.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.36 Purport)

All-Loving

“Without disturbing the ecstasy of His mother's affection, Krishna opened His mouth and displayed His own natural opulences.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.36 Purport)

No Ordinary Liar

“Krishna presented Himself as an innocent child to increase the transcendental ecstasy of maternal affection. As described in the shastra, tadana-bhayan mithyoktir vatsalya-rasa-poshika. This means that sometimes a small child speaks lies. For example, he may have stolen something or eaten something and yet deny that he has done so.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.35)