Shloka 53
The Appearance of Lord Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) and the Divine Exchange with Yoga-māyā
यशोदा नन्दपत्नी च जातं परमबुध्यत । न तल्लिङ्गं परिश्रान्ता निद्रयापगतस्मृति: ॥ ५३ ॥
yaśodā nanda-patnī ca jātaṁ param abudhyata na tal-liṅgaṁ pariśrāntā nidrayāpagata-smṛtiḥ
Exhausted by the labor of childbirth, Yashoda was overwhelmed with sleep and unable to understand what kind of child had been born to her.
Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva were intimate friends, and so were their wives, Yaśodā and Devakī. Although their names were different, they were practically nondifferent personalities. The only difference is that Devakī was able to understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had been born to her and had now changed into Kṛṣṇa, whereas Yaśodā was not able to understand what kind of child had been born to her. Yaśodā was such an advanced devotee that she never regarded Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but simply loved Him as her own child. Devakī, however, knew from the very beginning that although Kṛṣṇa was her son, He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Vṛndāvana, no one regarded Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When something very wonderful happened because of Kṛṣṇa’s activities, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana — the cowherd men, the cowherd boys, Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodā and the others — were surprised, but they never considered their son Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes they suggested that some great demigod had appeared there as Kṛṣṇa. In such an exalted status of devotional service, a devotee forgets the position of Kṛṣṇa and intensely loves the Supreme Personality of Godhead without understanding His position. This is called kevala-bhakti and is distinct from the stages of jñāna and jñānamayī bhakti.
FAQs
This verse says Yaśodā understood that a child had been born, but due to exhaustion and sleep she could not discern the specific signs or details of the extraordinary event.
The verse explains it was because she was physically exhausted and her memory was obscured by sleep—an element consistent with the Lord’s līlā unfolding naturally in Vraja.
It reminds us that fatigue and inattentiveness can cloud perception; cultivating alertness and steadiness helps one recognize sacred meaning and important moments as they arise.