Shloka 44
The Appearance of Lord Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) and the Divine Exchange with Yoga-māyā
एतद् वां दर्शितं रूपं प्राग्जन्मस्मरणाय मे । नान्यथा मद्भवं ज्ञानं मर्त्यलिङ्गेन जायते ॥ ४४ ॥
etad vāṁ darśitaṁ rūpaṁ prāg-janma-smaraṇāya me nānyathā mad-bhavaṁ jñānaṁ martya-liṅgena jāyate
I have shown you this Viṣṇu form only to awaken remembrance of My previous births. Otherwise, if I appeared like an ordinary human infant, you would not believe that Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, had truly come.
Devakī did not need to be reminded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, had appeared as her son; she already accepted this. Nonetheless, she was anxious, thinking that if her neighbors heard that Viṣṇu had appeared as her son, none of them would believe it. Therefore she wanted Lord Viṣṇu to transform Himself into a human child. On the other hand, the Supreme Lord was also anxious, thinking that if He appeared as an ordinary child, she would not believe that Lord Viṣṇu had appeared. Such are the dealings between devotees and the Lord. The Lord deals with His devotees exactly like a human being, but this does not mean that the Lord is one of the human beings, for this is the conclusion of nondevotees ( avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam ). Devotees know the Supreme Personality of Godhead under any circumstances. This is the difference between a devotee and a nondevotee. The Lord says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances and worship Me.” A nondevotee cannot believe that simply by thinking of one person, one can achieve liberation from this material world and go back home, back to Godhead. But this is a fact. The Lord comes as a human being, and if one becomes attached to the Lord on the platform of loving service, one’s promotion to the transcendental world is assured.
FAQs
He revealed it so they would remember His prior births and recognize His supreme identity, which is otherwise difficult to perceive when He appears like a human child.
It means the “guise/mark of mortality”—Krishna’s human-like appearance that can conceal His divinity from ordinary perception.
Do not judge the Divine by external appearances; cultivate remembrance (smaraṇa) through scripture, chanting, and reflection so Krishna’s true nature becomes clear.