Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.6.37-38
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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padbhyām bhakta - hṛdi - sthābhyām
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by His two lotus feet, situated in the hearts of devotees
Adjacent compounds — padbhyām (by the two feet, instrumental dual) + bhakta-hṛdi-sthābhyām (situated in the devotee's heart). Bhāgavata declares: Kṛṣṇa's feet stand inside the devotee's hṛdaya as their permanent residence. Gauḍīya hṛdaya-vāsa-doctrine; Caitanya makes much of this in the Śikṣāṣṭakam.
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jananī - gatim
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the position of a mother
Compound — jananī (mother) + gati (destination). Not merely svarga but jananī-gati — promotion to a maternal relationship with the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha. Gauḍīya rasa-vicāra: there are mothers of Kṛṣṇa in Vaikuṇṭha (Devakī, Yaśodā), and Pūtanā is enrolled — at the borders — into that company.
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yātudhānī api
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although she was a (mere) witch
Adjacent particle phrase — yātudhānī (witch, feminine) + api (although). The api is the load-bearer of the verse: it underscores how unlikely the recipient was. Gauḍīya doctrine: no soul is structurally disqualified from Kṛṣṇa's mercy — disqualification is only ever functional, not constitutional.
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kṛṣṇa - bhukta - stana - kṣīrāḥ
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whose breast-milk was drunk by Kṛṣṇa
Long compound — Kṛṣṇa + bhukta (drunk) + stana (breast) + kṣīra (milk). Names the cows by the act of their service. Bhāgavata identifies devotees by what they offered, not by what species they were.
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anumātaraḥ
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(cows, who are) like mothers
Compound — anu (following, near) + mātṛ. 'Co-mothers, following-mothers.' The cows are not metaphorical mothers — Bhāgavata grants them the mātṛ-status grammatically. Foundational for the Vaiṣṇava insistence that go-mātā is to be served, not slaughtered.
These verses explain how devotional service rendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly, becomes successful. Pūtanā was neither a devotee nor a nondevotee; she was actually a demoniac witch instructed by Kaṁsa to kill Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, in the beginning she assumed the form of a very beautiful woman and approached Kṛṣṇa exactly like an affectionate mother, so that mother Yaśodā and Rohiṇī did not doubt her sincerity. The Lord took all this into consideration, and thus she was automatically promoted to a position like that of mother Yaśodā. As explained by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, there are various roles one may play in such a position. Pūtanā was immediately promoted to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, which is also sometimes described as Svarga. The Svarga mentioned in this verse is not the material heavenly planet, but the transcendental world. In Vaikuṇṭhaloka, Pūtanā attained the position of a nurse ( dhātry-ucitām ), as described by Uddhava. Pūtanā was elevated to the position of a nurse and maidservant in Goloka Vṛndāvana to assist mother Yaśodā.
In two verse is expressed the greatness of Putana’s attainment through the mercy of the Lord. Putana whose body was treaded upon by the feet of Krsna which are situated in the heart of the devotees and worshiped by those worthy of worship (devatas) and from whose breast Krsna drank milk, though being a rakasi, attained the supreme abode as a mother of the Lord. Those feet are situated only in the hearts of the devotees (bhakta hrdi sthabhyam) but Putana was not a devotee,-- she was not even a non devotee. She was an enemy of Krsna. Those feet are worshiped by entities worthy of worship such as Brahma and Siva (vandabhyam loka vanditaih), but Putana did not worship those feet, nor did she not worship those feet (she did worse). Rather at the time of her death she tried to dislodge those feet from her chest, and unable to do so, with her hands she began to beat them with all her strength. He stepped on her with his feet with force, not just touching her (samakramya samyak—completely). She attained svarga. This is explained in Bhagavatam 11.7.1 " Brahma, Siva and the loka palas now pray to live in vaikuntha dhama (svarga)." And in 10.14. 35 Brahma says, "Putana attained you along with her vamsa." According to these two verses, svarga must mean vaikuntha, not the temporary heavenly sphere called svarga. What is that vaikuntha? Janani gatim--what mother Yasoda attained. It was Goloka. So Putana attained Goloka, but a position predominated by happiness and reverence. She did not attain the place predominated by service in prema. One cannot say that she attained the status of a mother. 10.6. 36 says that place is reserved for those who are anuragi (rakta). And verse 38 says that the cows and motherly gopis who fed Krsna milk during the brahma mohana lila attained a higher destination than Putana. How could Putana, whose enmity was equal to Kamsa’s though she imitated the dress and emotion of a gopi, attain the same status as Yasoda? Therefore Uddhava says that she attained a status like a nurse (gataim labhe dhatry ucitam). Thus in the present verse some interpret the word janani (mother) in the present verse to be dhatri (nurse). But even then one should not say that she was a direct nurse, but rather attained a form like a nurse in a Goloka filled with sukhaisvarya.
“If she was so evil, how did she attain Kṛṣṇa?” If one sees his powers, it is not astonishing. Though this can be said, two verses show that something more astonishing also happened by giving the details. He stepped on Pūtanā with his feet which are situated in the hearts of devotees (but not directly contacted) and not others-- with his feet suitable to be worshipped by all people including even great devotees like Brahmā and Śiva, though even they cannot serve him directly and touch those feet. But when he drank from her breast, she attained Kṛṣṇa. How astonishing! The cause is his mercy, evoked because she imitated the mood of a mother. Sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā: You have already arranged to give yourself to Pūtanā and her family members in exchange for her disguising herself as a devotee. (SB 10.14.35) aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast? SB 3.2.23 She attained Kṛṣṇa’s planet (svargam). Svarga means the place of highest happiness (not the heavenly planet) as in the following verse. Brahmā bhavo loka-pālāḥ svar-vāsaṁ me ’bhikāṅkṣiṇaḥ: Brahmā, Śiva and all other planetary rulers are now praying for me to resume my residence in Vaikuṇṭha. (SB 11.7.1) She did not attain a place in the material world: ya etat pūtanā-mokṣaṁ kṛṣṇasyārbhakam adbhutam śṛṇuyāc chraddhayā martyo govinde labhate ratim Any person who hears with faith and devotion about how Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, killed Pūtanā, and who thus invests his hearing in such childhood pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, certainly attains attachment for Govinda, the supreme, original person. SB 10.6.44 She attained Kṛṣṇa for it will be said sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā: you have already arranged to give yourself to Pūtanā and her family members. (SB 10.14.35) That place called Gokula is not part of the material world. Kṛṣṇa Upaniṣad says gokulaṁ vanavaikuṇṭham: Gokula is Vaikuṇṭha with forests. Brahma-saṁhitā says gokokulākhyaṁ mahat padam: this highest place is called Gokula. Brahma-samhitā describes that the walls are made of cintāmaṇi. The place of Kṛṣṇa called Goloka is famous: goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma bhūto govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi I worship the Supreme Lord Govinda who, though regarding all the inhabitants as his very self, resides only in Goloka. Brahma-saṁhitā 5.37 She attained the position of a mother (jananī-gatim). This means that she attained the position of a nurse who can care for the Lord like Yaśodā. Obtaining a position as a mother of some other form of the Lord is ruled out, for it will be said “You offered yourself to her.” (SB 10.14.35) Lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ: she attained the position suitable for a nurse and none other. (SB 3.2.23) “But it says in the verse that she attained the position of a mother, not a nurse.” No, it is also said that Pūtanā attained the position of a nurse, since the verse indicates the greater fortune of the cows and mothers fed Kṛṣṇa milk (during the Brahmā-mohana pastime). The cows are secondary and the mothers are the primary subjects. Instead of nu mātraḥ the words can be taken as anumātaraḥ (secondary mothers). Or the meaning can be “What to speak of the cows who acted as mothers.” By this expression Yaśodā is placed above all others. This may also be concluded since Kṛṣṇa only pretended to drink Pūtanā’s milk. This is indicated by using the work kṣīra (milk) in the last line. He did not drink milk from Pūtanā’s breast whereas he drank milk from the cows and gopīs.
It is astonishing that such a women could attain the highest goal. Again this is praised. She attained the goal like a mother because the Lord tread on her limbs and drank from her breast. She was tred by the Lord’s feet which are the object of meditation for the devotees and are suitable for praise by Brahmā and others. But they are not capable of meditating on those feet. He directly stepped on her limbs (samākramya), and was held in her lap as if she were Devakī or a mother. She attained a goal similar to those who act as mothers and have Kṛṣṇa drink their milk, just as he drank cows’ milk. Uddhyava says: aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema Oh! Evil Pūtanā, who offered her poisonous breast to Kṛṣṇa to drink with the intention of killing him, attained the position of a nurse in the spiritual world. How else is so merciful? I surrender to him! SB 3.2.23 Did she go to Vaikuṇṭha? No. She attained Svarga. It is said: ya etat pūtanā-mokṣaṁ kṛṣṇasyārbhakam adbhutam śṛṇuyāc chraddhayā martyo govinde labhate ratim Any person who hears with faith Kṛṣṇa’s remarkable pastime of liberating Pūtanā attains attachment for Govinda. SB 10.6.44 Or she attained the goal of a mother. That is indicated because Svarga also means the planet of Viṣṇu: sad-veṣād iva pūtanāpi sa-kulā tvām eva devāpitā yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte Thinking of this, my mind becomes bewildered. You awarded yourself even to Pūtanā and her family members because she wore the disguise of a nurse. Sb 10 1.435 Attaining the Lord (tvām) means she attained the happiness of a relationship with him. She attained a goal different from that of other demons. What to speak of the cows whose milk Kṛṣṇa drank all (nu) and mothers who gave their milk to him? They attained Svarga of course. By repetition of the statement there is no doubt about her attainment. In attaining this goal at death by giving her breast, though she was full of faults and violence, the other cause is the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Actually she attained the goal because the Lord was most merciful on seeing her great suffering on dying. Uddhava says: kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema Who else is so merciful? I surrender to him! SB 10 3.2.23 She attained the goal like a mother because of giving her breast and acting with affection. That is the conclusion. Or Yātudhānis attain Svarga. What then to speak of the cows attaining the position of mothers? Nu indicates conjecture. It was because they were mothers. Or were the cows secondary mothers (anumātaraḥ)? No, their breast milk was drunk by the Lord.
- Offer one ordinary act of care today — feeding someone, tending a cow, serving a guest — explicitly to Kṛṣṇa, trusting He receives even imperfect offerings.
- Notice when you dismiss your own bhakti as 'not sincere enough' and remember Pūtanā: Kṛṣṇa weighs the form of the service, not only the motive behind it.
- Refuse to write anyone off as beyond reclamation; if even Pūtanā attained jananī-gati, pray for the hardest heart you know rather than condemning it.
Pūtanā promoted to the position of a Vaikuṇṭha-mother by offering her breast — and cows, who offer their milk with real affection, must surely be ranked above her — is the master gardener who, finding even a poisonous nettle near his rose, transplants it to the prized bed because it leaned briefly against the rose: how much more honor for the jasmine that climbed the trellis on purpose? Kṛṣṇa's reward-economy is an order of magnitude beyond ours.
After the Govardhana-līlā, the heavenly cow Surabhi descended and bathed Kṛṣṇa with her own milk, declaring Him Govinda (SB 10.27). The cows' relationship to Kṛṣṇa is not mere supply — it is mātṛ-bhāva, conscious maternal love.
Verses 37–38 invoke exactly that: kim u gāvaḥ anumātaraḥ. If the demoness's accidental nursing won Vaikuṇṭha, the cows' deliberate nursing belongs in His personal abode. Gauḍīya pastoral theology hangs go-rakṣya off this verse: cows are not livestock, they are anumātṛ — close-mothers — of Govinda.
My note
Source: vedabase.io