Shloka 2
Dāmodara-līlā: Mother Yaśodā Binds Kṛṣṇa; the Two-Fingers Mystery; Prelude to the Yamala-Arjuna Deliverance
श्रीशुक उवाच एकदा गृहदासीषु यशोदा नन्दगेहिनी । कर्मान्तरनियुक्तासु निर्ममन्थ स्वयं दधि ॥ १ ॥ यानि यानीह गीतानि तद्बालचरितानि च । दधिनिर्मन्थने काले स्मरन्ती तान्यगायत ॥ २ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca ekadā gṛha-dāsīṣu yaśodā nanda-gehinī karmāntara-niyuktāsu nirmamantha svayaṁ dadhi
Śrī Śukadeva said: One day, seeing that the maidservants were busy with other household duties, Mother Yaśodā, the lady of Nanda’s home, began churning the yogurt herself. As she churned, she remembered Kṛṣṇa’s childhood pastimes and, in her own way, composed songs and softly sang of them to herself.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, quoting from the Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, says that the incident of Kṛṣṇa’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by mother Yaśodā took place on the Dīpāvalī Day, or Dīpa-mālikā. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kārtika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay. It is to be understood that among all the cows of Nanda Mahārāja, several of mother Yaśodā’s cows ate only grasses so flavorful that the grasses would automatically flavor the milk. Mother Yaśodā wanted to collect the milk from these cows, make it into yogurt and churn it into butter personally, since she thought that this child Kṛṣṇa was going to the houses of neighborhood gopas and gopīs to steal butter because He did not like the milk and yogurt ordinarily prepared.
FAQs
This verse shows Mother Yaśodā churning yogurt while remembering Kṛṣṇa’s childhood deeds and singing about Him—teaching that daily duties can become bhakti when joined with smaraṇa (remembrance) and kīrtana (singing).
With the servants occupied elsewhere, Yaśodā herself churns—setting the intimate Vraja scene where her parental love naturally expresses itself through singing Kṛṣṇa’s bāla-līlā, leading into the Dāmodara pastime.
While doing routine tasks, consciously recall Kṛṣṇa’s names and pastimes—listen to or sing bhajans, or mentally repeat the holy name—so work becomes an offering rather than a distraction.