Shloka 21
Pūtanā-mokṣa — The Witch Pūtanā’s Attempt and Kṛṣṇa’s Deliverance
गोप्य: संस्पृष्टसलिला अङ्गेषु करयो: पृथक् । न्यस्यात्मन्यथ बालस्य बीजन्यासमकुर्वत ॥ २१ ॥
gopyaḥ saṁspṛṣṭa-salilā aṅgeṣu karayoḥ pṛthak nyasyātmany atha bālasya bīja-nyāsam akurvata
Die Gopīs vollzogen zuerst das Ācamana, indem sie einen Schluck Wasser aus der rechten Hand nahmen. Dann reinigten sie Körper und Hände mit dem Nyāsa-Mantra und legten dasselbe Mantra als Bīja-Nyāsa auf die Glieder des Kindes.
Nyāsa-mantra includes ācamana, or first drinking a sip of water kept in the right hand. There are different viṣṇu-mantras to purify the body. The gopīs, and in fact any householders, knew the process for being purified by chanting Vedic hymns. The gopīs executed this process first to purify themselves and then to purify the child Kṛṣṇa. One executes the process of aṅga-nyāsa and kara-nyāsa simply by drinking a little sip of water and chanting the mantra. The mantra is preceded with the first letter of the name, followed by anusvāra and the word namaḥ: oṁ namo ’jas tavāṅghrī avyāt, maṁ mano maṇimāṁs tava jānunī avyāt, and so on. By losing Indian culture, Indian householders have forgotten how to execute the aṅga-nyāsa and are simply busy in sense gratification, without any advanced knowledge of human civilization.
FAQs
In this verse, bīja-nyāsa refers to invoking protective seed-mantras by touching specific limbs; the gopīs performed it out of vātsalya-bhakti, seeking the child Kṛṣṇa’s safety through sanctified, devotional protection.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī narrates to King Parīkṣit; the context is the aftermath of the Pūtanā incident, where the gopīs take protective measures for baby Kṛṣṇa.
It teaches that devotion is practical care—purifying oneself, praying sincerely, and taking protective, mindful steps for those entrusted to us, while remembering God as the true protector.