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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.8.33

సా గృహీత్వా కరే కృష్ణముపాలభ్య హితైషిణీ । యశోదా భయసమ్భ్రాన్తప్రేక్షణాక్షమభాషత ॥ ౩౩ ॥
sā gṛhītvā kare kṛṣṇam
[saa griheetvaa kare krishnam]
upālabhya hitaiṣiṇī
[upaalabhya hitaishinee]
yaśodā bhaya-sambhrānta-
[yashodaa bhaya-sambhraanta-]
prekṣaṇākṣam abhāṣata
[prekshanaaksham abhaashata]
Word-for-word
sā — mother Yaśodā gṛhītvā — taking kare — within the hands (being anxious about what Kṛṣṇa might have eaten) kṛṣṇam — Kṛṣṇa upālabhya — wanted to chastise Him hita - eṣiṇī — because she was anxious for the welfare of Kṛṣṇa, she became very much agitated, thinking, “How is it that Kṛṣṇa has eaten earth?” yaśodā — mother Yaśodā bhaya - sambhrānta - prekṣaṇa - akṣam — began to look very carefully within Kṛṣṇa’s mouth in fear, to see if Kṛṣṇa had eaten something dangerous abhāṣata — began to address Kṛṣṇa .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sā gṛhītvā kare kṛṣṇam
sā
mother Yaśodā
gṛhītvā
taking
kare
within the hands (being anxious about what Kṛṣṇa might have eaten)
kṛṣṇam
Kṛṣṇa
upālabhya hitaiṣiṇī
upālabhya
wanted to chastise Him
hita - eṣiṇī
because she was anxious for the welfare of Kṛṣṇa, she became very much agitated, thinking, “How is it that Kṛṣṇa has eaten earth?”
yaśodā bhaya-sambhrānta-
yaśodā
mother Yaśodā
bhaya - sambhrānta - prekṣaṇa - akṣam
began to look very carefully within Kṛṣṇa’s mouth in fear, to see if Kṛṣṇa had eaten something dangerous
prekṣaṇākṣam abhāṣata
abhāṣata
began to address Kṛṣṇa .
Important Words
  • hita - eṣiṇī — seeking the welfare (of Kṛṣṇa)
    Hita (welfare) + eṣiṇī (seeker, feminine). The verse's central characterization of Yaśodā: not 'mother' in a generic sense but a specific spiritual function — one who seeks Kṛṣṇa's hita. Gauḍīya: this is vātsalya's true definition; ordinary mothers seek their own delight in the child.
  • bhaya - sambhrānta - prekṣaṇa - akṣam — with eyes whirling, agitated with fear
    Bhaya (fear) + sambhrānta (whirled, agitated) + prekṣaṇa (looking) + akṣa (eye). Four-step compound, each step intensifying. Rasa-shastra tags this as a sāttvika-bhāva (involuntary bodily sign) of vātsalya — eye-whirl from anxiety for the loved one.
  • upālabhya — wanting to chastise
    Gerund of upa-ā-√labh. Same root as 10.8.31's upālabdhum. There she did not desire to chastise; here she does — the verse-pair shows vātsalya in both moods, lenient and stern, both equally real.
  • abhāṣata — began to address
    Imperfect of abhi-√bhāṣ — 'to address fully'. The mother is about to speak to her son. Gauḍīya: the speech that follows (10.8.34) is one of the great vātsalya-dialogues of Vraja; abhāṣata frames it as direct discourse, not narration.
Upon hearing this from Kṛṣṇa’s playmates, mother Yaśodā, who was always full of anxiety over Kṛṣṇa’s welfare, picked Kṛṣṇa up with her hands to look into His mouth and chastise Him. Her eyes fearful, she spoke to her son as follows.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Upon hearing this from Kṛṣṇa's playmates, mother Yaśodā, who was always full of anxiety over Kṛṣṇa's welfare, picked Kṛṣṇa up with her hands to look into His mouth and chastise Him. Her eyes fearful, she spoke to her son as follows.
Commentary

Yasoda held Krsna by the hand for fear that he would run away. She scolded him, but her intention was for his benefit (hitaisini). In this case scolding and beating are nourishers of prema, not faults. This is the usual habit of the mother towards her son, and is not unjust. His eyes were filled with fear. This fear in the Lord is an ornament appearing through prema, not a fault.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Fearing he would flee, she grabbed him in her hands. She was anxious for his benefit. She wanted to benefit him by scolding and punishing him. This indicates the most astonishing nature of such prema. Only she was qualified to do this since he was her son. Kṛṣṇa’s eyes were glancing around with fear of getting beaten for doing a great wrong which had caused fear and suffering to her. Seeing his fear, she spoke to him, but did not beat him.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

She caught his hand to dispel his fear. She was qualified to scold him because it was for his benefit, out of great affection for him. To avoid fear that he would be beaten for giving his mother fear and sorrow, not able to tolerate his fearful glances, she just spoke to him.

Related values & verses
Related values
Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Tejas (Inner Radiance / Vigour)Vinaya (Humility / Modesty)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Dana (Charity / Generosity)
Related verses
SB 10.8.30 SB 10.8.31 SB 10.8.32 SB 10.8.34 SB 10.8.35 SB 10.8.36 BG 17.3 BG 3.11 BG 14.1 BG 5.7 BG 15.9 BG 2.21
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Yaśodā's anxious love is itself Kṛṣṇa's mercy — He lets Himself be held and chastised by one whose vairāgya from self has matured into pure care.
Practical Applications
  • Notice today where your 'compassion' is really self-protection, and choose one moment to act for someone's actual welfare even when it costs your composure.
  • Before reacting to a child or junior's mischief, pause and ask whether your fear is for them or for your own image, then speak from hitaiṣiṇī — wishing their good.
  • Refuse the modern reflex of cool detachment; let yourself be moved by Kṛṣṇa's pastimes the way Yaśodā is moved, reading SB 10.8.30–36 aloud once today.
Analogy

A mother feeling for a swallowed coin in her child's mouth — every nerve focused, anxiety mistaking itself for love and being right to do so. Yaśodā lifts Kṛṣṇa in exactly that posture, and her hita-eṣiṇī (welfare-seeking) is the very vātsalya the līlā exists to express.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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