FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.9.18

స్వమాతు: స్విన్నగాత్రాయా విస్రస్తకబరస్రజ: । ద‍ృష్ట్వా పరిశ్రమం కృష్ణ: కృపయాసీత్ స్వబన్ధనే ॥ ౧౮ ॥
sva-mātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā
[sva-maatuh svinna-gaatraayaa]
visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ
[visrasta-kabara-srajah]
dṛṣṭvā pariśramaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ
[drishtvaa parishramam krishnah]
kṛpayāsīt sva-bandhane
[kripayaaseet sva-bandhane]
Word-for-word
sva - mātuḥ — of His own mother (Kṛṣṇa’s mother, Yaśodādevī) svinna - gātrāyāḥ — when Kṛṣṇa saw His mother perspiring all over because of unnecessary labor visrasta — were falling down kabara — from her hair srajaḥ — of whom the flowers dṛṣṭvā — by seeing the condition of His mother pariśramam — He could understand that she was now overworked and feeling fatigued kṛṣṇaḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead kṛpayā — by His causeless mercy upon His devotee and mother āsīt — agreed sva - bandhane — in binding Him .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sva-mātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā
sva - mātuḥ
of His own mother (Kṛṣṇa’s mother, Yaśodādevī)
svinna - gātrāyāḥ
when Kṛṣṇa saw His mother perspiring all over because of unnecessary labor
visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ
visrasta
were falling down
kabara
from her hair
srajaḥ
of whom the flowers
dṛṣṭvā pariśramaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ
dṛṣṭvā
by seeing the condition of His mother
pariśramam
He could understand that she was now overworked and feeling fatigued
kṛṣṇaḥ
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
kṛpayāsīt sva-bandhane
kṛpayā
by His causeless mercy upon His devotee and mother
āsīt
agreed
sva - bandhane
in binding Him .
Important Words
  • svinna-gātrāyāḥ — perspiring all over
    Compound: svinna (sweating) + gātra (body). The body marker of authentic labor. Gauḍīyas: the Lord responds not to refined technique but to honest sweat — sevā that has cost something.
  • pariśramam — fatigue, overwork
    From pari + √śram. The same root as śrama in verse 3 — Yaśodā's labor has now reached pariśrama, complete exhaustion. Gauḍīya pattern: labor → exhaustion → mercy.
  • kṛpayā — by His causeless mercy
    Instrumental of kṛpā. The Bhāgavatam names the agent of the binding: kṛpā, not Yaśodā's rope. Gauḍīya doctrine: every step from sādhana to siddhi is closed by kṛpā, never by śakti alone.
  • sva-bandhane — in being bound
    Compound: sva (Himself) + bandhana (binding) — locative: in His own binding. He consents to His binding. Gauḍīya: this is sva-vaśya — He is master of His own subordination.
  • kṛṣṇaḥ — Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
    Not 'Hari,' not 'Bhagavān' — the verse names Him Kṛṣṇa here, the all-attractive. SB 1.3.28: kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. The svayaṁ-bhagavān has elected to be bound.
Because of mother Yaśodā’s hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Kṛṣṇa saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.
Purport

When mother Yaśodā and the other ladies finally saw that Kṛṣṇa, although decorated with many bangles and other jeweled ornaments, could not be bound with all the ropes available in the house, they decided that Kṛṣṇa was so fortunate that He could not be bound by any material condition. Thus they gave up the idea of binding Him. But in competition between Kṛṣṇa and His devotee, Kṛṣṇa sometimes agrees to be defeated. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s internal energy, yoga-māyā, was brought to work, and Kṛṣṇa agreed to be bound by mother Yaśodā.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Because of mother Yaśodā's hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Kṛṣṇa saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.
Commentary

"As you cannot tie up his waist even with all the ropes of the house, then it must be concluded that it is his good fortune that it should not be. Listen Yasoda, give up this attempt!" Though the village women advised in this way, Yasoda was insistent. "Even if evening comes, and I tie together the rope of the whole village, I must find out just once the extent of my son’s waist." If Yasoda, with desire to do good to her son, and being stubborn, would not give up her attempt to bind the Lord, then between the Lord and the devotee, the devotee’s stubbornness prevails. Thus, seeing his mother becoming tired, the Lord gave up his own stubbornness, and by his mercy allowed himself to be tied. His mercy is the king of all saktis, illuminating all else. It melts the heart of the Lord as if it were butter. Mercy’s appearance made the satya sankalpa and vibhuta saktis suddenly disappear. The shortage of two fingers was filled by effort (parisrama) and mercy (krpa). The effort and fatigue due to service and worship ( the steady faith of the devotee --bhakta nistha), and the mercy of the Lord arising from seeing that effort and fatigue ( the steady quality in the Lord--sva nistha)--these two caused the Lord to be bound. As long as these are not there, the rope remains two fingers too short. When these two are there, the Lord is bound. The Lord himself showed to his mother how only love can bind him. This is what the pastime illustrates.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Kṛṣṇa, who performs pastimes to attract all minds, by mercy, agreed to be bound. Seeing his own mother (sva) with greater affection for her than he had for himself, he became merciful, unable to tolerate seeing her suffer, and accepted to be bound up, though it was difficult. The word mātuḥ (of his mother) indicates the main reason, her great motherly affection. Giving up his nature of infantile stubbornness, he became bound just by a second piece of rope, since his vibhūtā-śakti lost hostility to being tied by the rope when he became fixed on being merciful. No other rope was needed. She had become tired because she had to deal with a child strong as a young elephant and had to search for rope.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Most Kṛṣṇa, who performs pastimes to attract all minds, by mercy, agreed to be bound. Seeing his own mother (sva) with greater affection for her than he had for himself, he became merciful, unable to tolerate seeing her suffer, and accepted to be bound up, though it was difficult. Sva indicates she had stronger affection than Devakī for Kṛṣṇa as her son. Or seeing her great endeavor, seeing her perspire, and being pained by her efforts, out of mercy, he allowed himself to be tied up by his mother. The garland had fallen from her hair and was strewn about. Or both hair and garland were in disarray.

Related values & verses
Related values
Udyama (Industriousness / Effort)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Prema (Divine Love)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)
Related verses
SB 10.9.15 SB 10.9.16 SB 10.9.17 SB 10.9.19 SB 10.9.20 SB 10.9.21 BG 5.7 BG 12.2 BG 15.20 BG 12.6 BG 16.4 BG 12.10
Concepts
Maya
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Kṛṣṇa, the unbindable Supreme, lets Himself be bound by Yaśodā's exhausted love — vātsalya-bhakti conquers what no rope can.
Practical Applications
  • Notice today where Kṛṣṇa is already responding to the sweat and strain of someone's love for Him in your life — and honor it instead of explaining it away.
  • Pour yourself fully into one act of sevā until your hair, like Yaśodā's, comes undone — labor past the point where you would normally stop conserving yourself.
  • Refuse the impersonalist reflex that says the Absolute cannot be moved; speak to Kṛṣṇa today as a Person who chooses to be conquered by sincere affection.
Analogy

Imagine an emperor watching his own mother kneel on the floor trying to mend his torn coat with exhausted hands — and the emperor, who could command a thousand tailors, sets down his sceptre and holds the coat steady for her. Kṛṣṇa, seeing Yaśodā's sweat, agrees to be bound. The unbindable surrenders to the binding because the binder is tired.

Stories
Kṛṣṇa carrying Sudāmā's gift

When Sudāmā, the poor brāhmaṇa friend, came to Dvārakā with a small packet of broken rice tied in a torn cloth, Kṛṣṇa snatched it from him, ate it greedily, and made Sudāmā wealthier than kings (SB 10.80–81).

The Lord could have refused; the rice was nothing. But the love that tied that packet moved Him. Same logic as the rope here: it is never the gift's material that binds Him; it is the bhakta's exertion that does.

Yoga-māyā's hand

Gauḍīya commentators (Viśvanātha Cakravartī) note that the rope's failure and final success are both arranged by yoga-māyā, Kṛṣṇa's internal energy. The shortfall makes Yaśodā labor; the binding rewards the labor. The whole scene is engineered by His own śakti for the devotee's rasa.

This is the structure of every Vraja-līlā: yoga-māyā stages obstacles so that bhāva may grow, then resolves them so that bhāva may rest.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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