All mothers complain about the naughtiness of their children. But which mother does not want her child to be naughty? In fact, all mothers just enjoy it. More tantrums the child throws, more the mother likes it! Imagine a child very serious like an adult. He is no longer a kid 😉
Though Devaki had given birth to Krishna, it was Yashoda who had the good fortune to watch him grow up. Poor Devaki missed that opportunity. And Krishna was not an ordinary child. He kept doing some mischief or the other, all the time.
Most religions view God as someone who is the master. You are supposed to be his subordinate bowing your head to him always. That is a form of devotion wherein you behave with the God as some slave behaves with his master. Indian scriptures term it as Daasya bhaava – devotion like a slave. That is just one of the many ways of relating to God. There are other forms of relating to God.
The Bhagavata elaborates on many forms of relations that one can have with God. Some of these may be offending to people practicing non-Indian religions. But not for Indians. They view God not just as a master, but also as a friend, a companion, a parent and even as a child.
The current story of Yashoda’s interaction with Krishna is an example of worshipping the God in Vaatsalya bhaava - treating the God as your child with you being his mother. The way a cow looks at its calf, literally! That is the most beautiful relation one can think of. Many saints in India did adopt that form of devotion to God. And Yashoda was specially suited since she was a woman for whom being a mother was quite natural.
Bhagavata narrates stories of Krishna growing up. And Yashoda’s playing her motherly role, totally unaware of the fact that her kid was none other than God.
One day, Yashoda had laid Krishna in a cradle hung from a tree outside the house. Krishna was happily playing, laughing and enjoying his role as a kid. Suddenly a cart, which was parked close to the cradle, toppled down and almost fell on the cradle. If the cart had really fallen on the cradle, the weight of the cart would have crushed the cradle along with child Krishna in it.
Before any such thing could have happened, the child Krishna just kicked the cart with his foot! The cart sprang up into the skies. It summersaulted several times before coming down. And when it finally came down, it crashed into pieces, quite away from the place where baby Krishna was sleeping.
The cowherds who were a witness to whatever had happened, came running. Yashoda was terrified. They did not understand how such a small child could have done such a wonderful feat. They thanked God for saving the kid, not knowing that the kid was none other than the God in human form 😉
They later started gossiping that the cart must have been some wicked demon who had come in disguise to kill Krishna. They even gave a name to that demon – Shakatasura – a demon in the form of a cart!
As Krishna grew up, he became naughtier. He seemed to go beyond control.
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| Yashoda saw the entire universe inside Krishna |
One day, the cowherd boys came running to Yashoda with a complaint that Krishna was eating dirt. Yashoda was quite worried What would happen to Krishna if he ate dirt.? Would he not fall sick? She was quite concerned. She caught hold of Krishna who was trying to run away from her. Krishna denied eating dirt. Yashoda commanded Krishna to open his mouth to check for herself.
What did she see inside Krishna’s mouth?
Yashoda saw the entire solar system with all the planets circling around the Sun! Not just the solar system, there were many more stars and galaxies all within Krishna. In fact, the entire universe was inside Krishna, as if. Afterall, He is the God who is everywhere and everything is within him!
Yashoda was perplexed. She kept wondering “Is this my kid or some magician?” She almost fainted.
But when Yashoda came out of her shock, she forgot everything. She forgot whatever she witnessed inside Krishna. She was back to her motherly role 😉
In this way
“Yashoda played with her kid who was none other than God.
She played, foolishly thinking that she is his mother and he is her kid.
But he was the one who had come to uplift the entire world.
He was the gem among kids.
Yashoda played with kid…
This kid who is subtler than even the atom and larger than the largest. The kid who was beyond all measures.
Yashoda played with the kid…”
This is how one of the greatest poet saints of India, namely Purandara Dasa describes the way Yashoda played with child Krishna. The song is in Kannada language, rendered beautifully by popular singer Padmini Dinesh**.
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| Krishna caught stealing butter |
On another occasion neighboring cowherd girls came with a complaint that Krishna comes to their house and steals all their butter. Butter was something so precious to these cowherds since they make a living by selling it. Yashoda was quite embarrassed.
She summoned Krishna and asked him why he did that. But Krishna flatly denied that he ever went to their houses or stole their butter. He said that those cowherd girls just needed some excuse to come and see him in his house. Afterall, he was so charming 😉
Mother and son indulged in interesting arguments.
Krishna says:
“No mom, I never ate any butter.
How could I? You keep me busy all the time.
At day break, you send me with other cowherd boys to the pasture lands to tend the cows. I spend time there till evening, playing my flute. Where do I have time to go to anyone’s house?”
But Yashoda was not convinced. So, Krishna tries another excuse.
Krishna says:
“Look at me mom, I am such a tiny kid with small hands. How can I reach the pots filled with butter, that are hung so high from the roof?”
But there was telltale sign of his having eaten butter. There was still some butter sticking to his lips. When asked to explain, Krishna had an explanation even for that.
Krishna says:
“The cowherd boys are so jealous of me that they smeared some butter on my lips after they themselves ate all the butter. They wanted to put the blame on me!”
But Yashoda was still not convinced. She was not prepared to let go Krishna.
Krishna tried many more excuses and none worked.
Now Krishna uses his last weapon.
Krishna says:
“Mom, now I understand why you are accusing me with all this kind of things. Maybe you are having a doubt in your mind that I am not really your son but someone else’s.”
No mother can ever stand such a comment. Yashoda was quite upset with such an accusation. Tears started flowing from her eyes. She was no longer worried about Krishna eating the butter. She could not even harbor the thought of not being his mother. So, she herself accepted that Krishna never ate any butter.
Now it was Krishna’s turn. He could not see his mother crying. So, wiping the tears from his mother’s eyes he finally admitted
“Yes, my dear mom. I did eat butter”
Many later poets were inspired by such narratives and wrote heartwarming devotional songs which are called Bhajans. In fact, the conversation that I just narrated, is based on a beautiful Bhajan written by one of India’s greatest poet saints, namely Soordas. The Bhajan that you just heard in the background was the one rendered beautifully into music by popular Indian Bhajan singer Anup Jalota*. The song was in Bhrij language.
Please join me again next week, for more such wonderful incidents from Krishna’s childhood life. Have a taste of an altogether different form of devotion to God that you may not be hitherto familiar with. I will also sprinkle the narratives with wonderful Indian music.
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