Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.9.12
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
arbhaka-vatsalā
—
the most affectionate mother of the child
Compound: arbhaka (child) + vatsalā (affectionate). The very name of Yaśodā's rasa: vātsalya. Gauḍīyas place this among the five primary rasas; arbhaka-vatsalā is its presiding deity-name.
-
baddhum
—
to bind
Infinitive of √bandh. The chapter's central act, named here for the first time. Gauḍīyas: the Lord who is unbindable (verse 13–14) consents to be bound — and the binder must be ignorant of His unboundedness for the binding to take place.
-
dāmnā
—
with a rope
Instrumental of dāman. This single instrumental gives Kṛṣṇa His most famous name: Dāmodara — He whose udara (belly) is bound by a dāman. The chapter is the etymology of an entire epithet.
-
a-tat-vīrya-kovidā
—
without knowledge of His supreme potency
Compound: a- (not) + tat (His) + vīrya (potency) + kovidā (knowing). The Bhāgavatam explicitly marks her non-knowing. Gauḍīya doctrine: vātsalya requires this veiling; full aiśvarya would collapse the rasa into reverence (śānta or dāsya).
-
tyaktvā
—
throwing away
Absolutive of √tyaj. She throws away the stick. Authority drops; love takes over. Gauḍīya: the highest correction in vātsalya is binding, not striking — Yaśodā's instincts know this without instruction.
Mother Yaśodā wanted to bind Kṛṣṇa not in order to chastise Him but because she thought that the child was so restless that He might leave the house in fear. That would be another disturbance. Therefore, because of full affection, to stop Kṛṣṇa from leaving the house, she wanted to bind Him with rope. Mother Yaśodā wanted to impress upon Kṛṣṇa that since He was afraid merely to see her stick, He should not perform such disturbing activities as breaking the container of yogurt and butter and distributing its contents to the monkeys. Mother Yaśodā did not care to understand who Kṛṣṇa was and how His power spreads everywhere. This is an example of pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
"Don’t beat me!" Yasoda answered, "If you don’t like getting beaten, why did you break the yogurt pot today?" " I won’t do that anymore! But throw the stick down." Mother Yasoda then began to worry. "Maybe in distress, fear, or anger, he will run away to the forest." Deciding on a way to prevent this, she acted. She threw away the stick and decided to tie him up. She was ignorant of her son’s power to spread himself everywhere (a tad virya kovida), because she was completely absorbed in his sweetness.
She was affectionate because he was a boy, and moreover he was her son. She did not know his powers since the affection in her heart eclipsed everything else (atad-vīrya-kovidāḥ). Or she knew his uncontrollable fickleness (tad-vīrya-kovidāḥ). She desired to tie him up. Kila indicates certainty or success.
She was affectionate because he was a boy, and moreover he was her son. She did not know his powers since the affection in her heart eclipsed everything else (atad-vīrya-kovidāḥ). Or she knew his uncontrollable fickleness (tad-vīrya-kovidāḥ). She desired to tie him up. In both cases, she desired to tie him up because of affection for the boy. Or she had doubts whether she could tie him up because of his great strength (tad-vīrya-kovidāḥ). Still she desired to tie him up. Why? Out of affection she thought herself to be his mother and he was her child. She thought she was stronger. Or out of affection she thought she must destroy his fickle nature. She thought of nothing else. Kila indicates certainty or that it is well known.
- NRM SB 10-09-12-23
- BJP SB 10-09-12-23 - 2004-06-11
- Padaseva Pr SB 10-09-12 Oriya
- Tamohara Pr SB 10-09-12 - 2012-06-15 ISKCON Alachua
- Vraja Bihari Pr SB 10-09-12 - The Eight Opulences that Krishna Relinquished - 2012-06-05 ISKCON Chowpatty
- BKG SB 10-09-12 - Our desires and abilities to know Krsna are covered by material emotions - 2019-07-18 New Goloka
- DMS SB 10-09-12 - Damodara Lila-4 - 2004-11-12 Wellington
- PrahladAnS SB 10-09-12 - Supersoul in our heart is guiding us - 2023-11-19 ISKCON Slovenia
- PrahladAnS SB 10-09-12 Slovenian Translation - Naddu%C5%A1a v srcu nas vodi - 2023-11-19 ISKCON Slovenia
- VarsanaSw SB 10-09-12
- Notice when your service to Kṛṣṇa is mixed with awe of His greatness, and today try one act of service done simply out of affection — like cooking or cleaning for Him as you would for a loved one at home.
- Refuse to let intellectual analysis of the Lord's powers crowd out the heart's simple attachment; spend five minutes today addressing Kṛṣṇa as a person you love, not a concept you study.
- When a child, a junior, or a dependent shows fear today, set down your 'stick' (your authority, your sharp word) before correcting — bind them with affection first, instruction second.
A queen, told that the toddler clinging to her sari is in fact the emperor of the empire, would step back and bow. Yaśodā is not told, and even if told would not remember. Her vātsalya is a deliberate not-knowing — the heart's refusal to let aiśvarya intrude on intimacy. Gauḍīyas call this the Lord's greatest gift: the privilege of forgetting He is God.
In SB 10.8, when bāla-Kṛṣṇa opens His mouth, Yaśodā sees the entire cosmos inside — universes, demigods, even her own self. Yet Kṛṣṇa, by His yoga-māyā, immediately withdraws the vision; she returns to seeing only her son.
The Lord deliberately erases the aiśvarya so that her vātsalya can continue. Gauḍīya commentary reads this whole chapter as the fruit of that erasure: she binds Him precisely because she does not know who He is.
My note
Source: vedabase.io