Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.45.1
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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puruṣa - uttamaḥ
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the Supreme Personality
Puruṣottama — the supremely enjoying Person, distinct from kṣara and akṣara (BG 15.16-18). The very word used precisely here, while Kṛṣṇa is acting as a son, underlines that the child in Devakī's lap is the highest puruṣa Himself.
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nijām
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His personal
Not borrowed, not external — Yogamāyā is Kṛṣṇa's own svarūpa-śakti. Gauḍīyas guard this carefully against any Māyāvāda reading that would make māyā an external veil; here it is Bhagavān's intimate potency acting for prema.
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māyām
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illusory potency
Here specifically Yogamāyā, the internal energy that arranges līlā, not mahāmāyā that binds the conditioned. Viśvanātha Cakravartī notes she is set in motion so vātsalya may cover knowledge of His godhood.
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jana
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His devotees
Viśvanātha glosses jana here as bhakta (citing diyamānaṁ na gṛhṇāti vinā mat-sevanaṁ janaḥ). The bewildering at issue is the loving forgetfulness given only to His own people, not the ignorance imposed on the godless.
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mohinīm
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which bewilders
Feminine accusative — the potency personified. The same Mohinī-form by which Kṛṣṇa bewilders demons is here turned softly toward His parents so prema, not awe, may govern the relationship.
If Vasudeva and Devakī would have seen Kṛṣṇa as almighty God, their intense love for Him as their son would have been spoiled. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not want this. Rather, the Lord wanted to enjoy with them the ecstatic love of vātsalya-rasa, the relationship between parents and children. As Śrīla Prabhupāda often pointed out, although we normally think of God as the supreme father, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can enter into the Lord’s pastimes and play the part of His parents, thus intensifying our love for Him. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura points out that the word jana may be translated here as “devotees,” as in the verse dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti vinā mat-sevanaṁ janaḥ ( Bhāg. 3.29.13 ). He further explains that jana may also be translated as “parents,” since jana is derived from the verb jan, which in the causative form ( janayate ) means “to generate or to give birth to.” In this sense of the word (as in jananī or janakau ), the term jana-mohinī indicates that the Lord was about to expand His internal illusory potency so that Vasudeva and Devakī would again love Him as their dear child.
In the forty fifth chapter, Krsna consoles Devaki and Vasudeva, sends Nanda and the cowherdmen back to Vraja, installs Ugrasena as king, goes to the gurukula and absorbs himself in study.
Understanding that his mother and father were endowed with the treasure of seeing him as a figure of power, Krsna began to consider, "Let that perception vanish, and let parental love cover it, because by that both of us will attain supreme bliss." That is the meaning of upalabdhartha. He then spread out his yogamaya potency to cover knowledge of his godly powers. Jana in the phrase jana mohinim refers to the devotees as in the verse diyamanam na grhnati vina mat sevanam jana. Thus it refers to that maya whose nature is to bewilder the devotees. Another meaning of jana mohinim is that which bewilders his father and mother (janaka and janani mohinim). Sridhara Swami says in this regard, "Though I am pleased, is giving them such knowledge of me such a rare thing? What is rarer to give love of me as a son." In this way his intention is explained. Thus Krsna’s words in the next verses should not be considered deceptive, because, by that, he is invoking their parental love.
From SB 10.44.38 (Kṛṣṇa dragged Kaṁsa’s dead body) until SB 10.45.2 (Kṛṣṇa spoke to his parents), one should discern the actual order of pastimes, just as there is importance in the order in the list starting with “Let various foods be cooked.” (SB 10.24.26) First he dragged Kaṁsa’s body on the ground so that people would believe that he was dead. Then he killed Kaṁsa’s brothers. Then he freed Vasudeva and Devakī. The parents then spoke to him with reverence. Since it was impossible for others to drag Kaṁsa’s body, huge as a mountain, to the bank of Yamunā, Kṛṣṇa did this personally. This dragging produced a channel in the ground. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says: gauraveṇātimahatā parikhā tena kṛṣyatā kṛtā kaṁsasya dehena vegeneva mahāmbhasaḥ Kaṁsa’s body produced a huge channel when Kṛṣṇa forcefully dragged it to the Yamunā. This is well known even today as Kaṁsa’s canal or Kaṁsa’s river. It joins the Yamunā at Viśrānta-tīrtha. This indicates the great size and hardness of Kaṁsa’s body. Then Kaṁsa’s wives came there and grieved. Then Kṛṣṇa saw that his parents understood his powers. Upalabdhārthau means that his parents attained a decrease (upa) in prema which recognized him as their son: they saw him as the Supreme Lord. Kṛṣṇa realized this after releasing them when they offered him respects. He thought, “This should not happen.” He then spread his māyā which bewilders people, which marks them attracted to him (nijām) as their son. yā prītir avivekānāṁ visayeṣv anapāyinī tvām anusmarataḥ sā me hṛdayān nāpasarpatu Unintelligent persons have unflinching affection for the objects of sense gratification. Similarly, may I always remember you, so that the same attachment, applied to you, never leaves my heart. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.20.19 Another meaning is “He spread his extraordinary mercy (māyām)” or that he spread mercy in the form of his parents’ vātsalya towards him. This mercy bewilders his devotees (jana-mohinīm). His devotees who saw him at that time and his devotees who hear about his pastimes now attain bewilderment due to prema. This statement indicates that such prema is the highest human goal. Śukadeva is also included in these devotees. Or he spread māyā which in some sense bewildered people. It was permissible to deceive his parents since it was previously justified in slightly different words. strīṣu narma-vivāhe ca vṛtty-arthe prāṇa-saṅkaṭe go-brāhmaṇārthe hiṁsāyāṁ nānṛtaṁ syāj jugupsitam In flattering a woman to bring her under control, in joking, in a marriage ceremony, in earning one’s livelihood, when one’s life is in danger, in protecting cows and brahminical culture, or in protecting a person from an enemy’s hand, falsity is never condemned. SB 8.19.43 This māyā made them, as parents, accept him as their son. Verse 10 describes the effect: they lifted him on their laps.
I offer respects to the Lord’s power to impel jīvas with force, which could send Nanda back to Vraja.
yasmāt kṣaram atīto ’ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ | ato ’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||18|| Because I am superior to the conditioned and liberated jīvas, I am celebrated in the Vedas and the smṛtis as the Supreme Person. BG 15.18 As the supreme Lord (puruṣottamaḥ) he was omniscient and full of all qualities such as compassion. Knowing their awareness, he spread his power of eternity knowledge and bliss (māyām) or mercy, which bewilders his devotees, causing attachment to his lotus feet.
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- Where has Kṛṣṇa veiled something from you precisely so your present relationship can continue?
- Could you accept partial vision as a gift rather than a frustration?
Kṛṣṇa draws a thin veil of Yogamāyā over Vasudeva and Devakī the way a lamp dims itself before a child whose eyes cannot bear the flame — not to hide, but so that vātsalya can come close. The same potency that throws non-devotees into ignorance gently covers His devotees' awe so they can hold Him as their son.
Across Canto 10, the same Yogamāyā that forgets Brahmā's stolen calves (SB 10.13) and re-mothers Kṛṣṇa for Yaśodā (SB 10.8) operates here in Mathurā. The Bhāgavatam shows the pattern: aiśvarya (opulence) is repeatedly subordinated to mādhurya (sweetness) by Bhagavān's own internal potency, because rasa demands intimacy, and intimacy demands the cover of forgetfulness.
Gauḍīya ācāryas read jana-mohinīm precisely this way — the māyā that bewilders His own people so that prema may flow as freely between Kṛṣṇa and His devotee as between any son and mother.
My note
Source: vedabase.io