FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.7.19

భూమౌ నిధాయ తం గోపీ విస్మితా భారపీడితా । మహాపురుషమాదధ్యౌ జగతామాస కర్మసు ॥ ౧౯ ॥
bhūmau nidhāya taṁ gopī
[bhoomau nidhaaya tam gopee]
vismitā bhāra-pīḍitā
[vismitaa bhaara-peeditaa]
mahā-puruṣam ādadhyau
[mahaa-purusham aadadhyau]
jagatām āsa karmasu
[jagataam aasa karmasu]
Word-for-word
bhūmau — on the ground nidhāya — placing tam — the child gopī — mother Yaśodā vismitā — being astonished bhāra - pīḍitā — being aggrieved by the weight of the child mahā - puruṣam — Lord Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa ādadhyau — took shelter of jagatām — as if the weight of the whole world āsa — engaged herself karmasu — in other household affairs .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bhūmau nidhāya taṁ gopī
bhūmau
on the ground
nidhāya
placing
tam
the child
gopī
mother Yaśodā
vismitā bhāra-pīḍitā
vismitā
being astonished
bhāra - pīḍitā
being aggrieved by the weight of the child
mahā-puruṣam ādadhyau
mahā - puruṣam
Lord Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa
ādadhyau
took shelter of
jagatām āsa karmasu
jagatām
as if the weight of the whole world
āsa
engaged herself
karmasu
in other household affairs .
Important Words
  • mahā-puruṣam — Lord Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa
    Mahā (great) + puruṣa (Person). One of Viṣṇu's titles. The Bhāgavatam emphasizes that the Supreme is Mahā-puruṣa — a Person, not an impersonal principle. Yaśodā's mind, under stress, runs to a Person, not to brahman-as-abstraction — even though that Person is in fact her son.
  • ādadhyau — took shelter of (in meditation)
    From ā-dhyai, to meditate upon, to take into the heart. The verb names smaraṇa — Vaiṣṇava remembrance. Caitanya Mahāprabhu placed smaraṇa among the nine limbs of bhakti. In Yaśodā, smaraṇa erupts spontaneously under bhāra — the heart's reflex when the body's strength fails.
  • bhāra-pīḍitā — aggrieved by the weight
    Bhāra (weight, burden) + pīḍita (pressed, afflicted). Yaśodā's distress is physical, but the verse uses bhāra in a way the Gītā often uses it — as the weight of saṁsāra itself. The mother's bodily lesson mirrors the soul's situation: only when crushed by bhāra does smaraṇa awake.
  • vismitā — being astonished
    From vi-smṛ, literally 'to forget away' — but in standard usage, astonished, struck out of one's frame. Vismaya is the entry-rasa to adbhuta. Yaśodā's vismaya is the third in a chapter-long sequence (cart, weight, mouth) by which Yoga-māyā lifts and re-drops her vātsalya-veil.
Feeling the child to be as heavy as the entire universe and therefore being anxious, thinking that perhaps the child was being attacked by some other ghost or demon, the astonished mother Yaśodā put the child down on the ground and began to think of Nārāyaṇa. Foreseeing disturbances, she called for the brāhmaṇas to counteract this heaviness, and then she engaged in her other household affairs. She had no alternative than to remember the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa, for she could not understand that Kṛṣṇa was the original source of everything.
Purport

Mother Yaśodā did not understand that Kṛṣṇa is the heaviest of all heavy things and that Kṛṣṇa rests within everything ( mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni ). As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) , mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: Kṛṣṇa is everywhere in His impersonal form, and everything rests upon Him. Nonetheless, na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: Kṛṣṇa is not everywhere. Mother Yaśodā was unable to understand this philosophy because she was dealing with Kṛṣṇa as His real mother by the arrangement of Yoga-māyā. Not understanding the importance of Kṛṣṇa, she could only seek shelter of Nārāyaṇa for Kṛṣṇa’s safety and call the brāhmaṇas to counteract the situation.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Feeling the child to be as heavy as the entire universe and therefore being anxious, thinking that perhaps the child was being attacked by some other ghost or demon, the astonished mother Yaśodā put the child down on the ground and began to think of Nārāyaṇa. Foreseeing disturbances, she called for the brāhmaṇas to counteract this heaviness, and then she engaged in her other household affairs. She had no alternative than to remember the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa, for she could not understand that Kṛṣṇa was the original source of everything.
Commentary

Disturbed, she placed Krsna on the ground. How has he become so heavy she wondered in dismay. Maybe some raksasa had done this. With this fear, she took shelter of Narayana, he Lord of the universe. Glancing upward to Vaikuntha, in meditation she said, " O Lord, You have given this son. You must protect him." Then in anxiety, she went to call some brahmanas to perform svastyayana karma.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The meaning of Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary is that Kṛṣṇa made himself heavy so that Yaśodā would put him down. Thus he avoided giving her injury. The word mṛtyu in his commentary cannot mean death but only injury, since Yaśodā cannot die. He explains that she was pained by the weight of the universe within his belly, since he possesses all powers. This power of containing the universe within himself is also established in the Dāmodara pastime, though he was tied up eventually. She placed him on the ground, fearing that the bed could not bear the weight. She could not bear the weight because of his manifestation of power. She surrendered to the Lord of the universe and engaged in auspicious rites such as svastyayana out of affection for him alone, for it is said yad-dhāmārtha-suhṛt-priyātma-tanaya-prāṇāśayās tvat-kṛte: so what is left for you to give these devotees of Vṛndāvana, whose homes, wealth, friends, dear relations, bodies, children and very lives and hearts are all dedicated only to you? (SB 10.14.35)

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Afflicted by his heaviness she placed him on the ground. She lost her smile (vismitāḥ), worrying about some danger. Or she became astonished at the sudden increase in weight. She remembered (ādadhyau) the lord of the universe or Nārāyaṇa who supports the weight of the universe, who came into her mind because of the extraordinary weight, in order to protect her son, since she was a cowherd woman, with natural affection for her son. Recovering after a short time, she engaged in household duties for her son.

Related values & verses
Related values
Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Asteya (Non-stealing / Honesty)Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)
Related verses
SB 10.7.16 SB 10.7.17 SB 10.7.18 SB 10.7.20 SB 10.7.21 SB 10.7.22 BG 12.5 BG 2.47 BG 6.35 BG 7.1 BG 7.8 BG 3.1 YS 2.45
Concepts
Karma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Yaśodā cannot lift Kṛṣṇa because He carries the universe — when life turns unbearably heavy, the dhīra remembers the Lord rests on no one but Himself.
Practical Applications
  • Notice the one burden today that feels heavier than it should, and instead of bracing harder, set it down and turn to Kṛṣṇa as Yaśodā turned to Nārāyaṇa.
  • Refuse the reflex of seeking only material counter-measures (the brāhmaṇas, the fix, the workaround) before first remembering the lotus feet of the Lord who already holds the weight.
  • Speak one honest sentence aloud today acknowledging that you are not the source — Kṛṣṇa is — and let that admission shape your next decision.
Analogy

When the lamp itself becomes heavier than the lamp-stand can bear, the wise householder does not strain the stand — she sets the lamp down and calls the priest. Yaśodā places Kṛṣṇa on the ground and turns to Nārāyaṇa: she does not yet know that the Lord on the ground and the Lord she remembers are one.

Stories
Draupadī's call to Govinda

When Duḥśāsana began to disrobe her in the Kuru assembly, Draupadī first tried to hold the sari herself. Only when her arms failed did she raise both hands and cry, govinda dvārakā-vāsin kṛṣṇa gopī-jana-priya — and the unending cloth descended (MBh Sabhā-parva).

Yaśodā's instinct in 10.7.19 is the same shape: when material capacity fails, remember Nārāyaṇa. The verse names the moment in every devotee's life when self-effort is exhausted and surrender becomes the only remaining act.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 7