Shloka 51
The Appearance of Lord Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) and the Divine Exchange with Yoga-māyā
नन्दव्रजं शौरिरुपेत्य तत्र तान् गोपान् प्रसुप्तानुपलभ्य निद्रया । सुतं यशोदाशयने निधाय त- त्सुतामुपादाय पुनर्गृहानगात् ॥ ५१ ॥
nanda-vrajaṁ śaurir upetya tatra tān gopān prasuptān upalabhya nidrayā sutaṁ yaśodā-śayane nidhāya tat- sutām upādāya punar gṛhān agāt
Reaching Nanda’s Vraja, Śauri Vasudeva found all the cowherd men fast asleep. He placed his own son upon Yaśodā’s bed, took up her daughter—an expansion of Yoga-māyā—and then returned to his dwelling, the prison house of Kaṁsa.
Vasudeva knew very well that as soon as the daughter was in the prison house of Kaṁsa, Kaṁsa would immediately kill her; but to protect his own child, he had to kill the child of his friend. Nanda Mahārāja was his friend, but out of deep affection and attachment for his own son, he knowingly did this. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that one cannot be blamed for protecting one’s own child at the sacrifice of another’s. Furthermore, Vasudeva cannot be accused of callousness, since his actions were impelled by the force of Yoga-māyā.
FAQs
This verse shows Vasudeva reaching Nanda’s Vraja and placing Kṛṣṇa in Yaśodā’s bed—an act done to protect the Lord’s appearance and to fulfill the divine plan for Kṛṣṇa’s Vraja-līlā away from Kaṁsa’s danger.
The verse indicates Vasudeva took Yaśodā’s newborn daughter—understood in the Bhāgavata narrative as Yogamāyā—who would later manifest to thwart Kaṁsa’s attempt to kill the child.
Even amid fear and uncertainty, sincere duty performed in remembrance of God and trust in divine arrangement brings protection and opens the path for dharma and devotion to flourish.