Shloka 1
Kṛṣṇa Comforts His Parents, Restores Ugrasena, Studies with Sāndīpani, and Returns the Guru’s Son
श्रीशुक उवाच पितरावुपलब्धार्थौ विदित्वा पुरुषोत्तम: । मा भूदिति निजां मायां ततान जनमोहिनीम् ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca pitarāv upalabdhārthau viditvā puruṣottamaḥ mā bhūd iti nijāṁ māyāṁ tatāna jana-mohinīm
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Seeing that His parents were beginning to perceive His transcendental opulences, the Supreme Lord, Puruṣottama, thought, “This must not be,” and thus expanded His Yoga-māyā, which bewilders His devotees.
If Vasudeva and Devakī would have seen Kṛṣṇa as almighty God, their intense love for Him as their son would have been spoiled. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not want this. Rather, the Lord wanted to enjoy with them the ecstatic love of vātsalya-rasa, the relationship between parents and children. As Śrīla Prabhupāda often pointed out, although we normally think of God as the supreme father, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can enter into the Lord’s pastimes and play the part of His parents, thus intensifying our love for Him.
FAQs
This verse states that Kṛṣṇa can expand His own māyā to bewilder people, even after His parents momentarily understood His supreme identity—showing His Yogamāyā serves His līlā and protects ordinary social dealings.
Because their clear recognition of His divinity could disrupt the natural sweetness of parental affection and the ordinary flow of His earthly pastimes; therefore He spread His deluding potency so the world’s interactions could continue normally.
It encourages humility: spiritual insight can come and go, and one should deepen devotion and steadiness rather than demand constant extraordinary perception—continuing one’s duties while remembering the Lord’s supremacy.