Shloka 28
Vasudeva and Devakī Glorify Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; The Recovery of Devakī’s Six Sons from Sutala
अथ तत्र कुरुश्रेष्ठ देवकी सर्वदेवता । श्रुत्वानीतं गुरो: पुत्रमात्मजाभ्यां सुविस्मिता ॥ २७ ॥ कृष्णरामौ समाश्राव्य पुत्रान् कंसविहिंसितान् । स्मरन्ती कृपणं प्राह वैक्लव्यादश्रुलोचना ॥ २८ ॥
atha tatra kuru-śreṣṭha devakī sarva-devatā śrutvānītaṁ guroḥ putram ātmajābhyāṁ su-vismitā
そのとき、クル族の最勝者よ、万神に等しく崇められるデーヴァキーは、二人の息子クリシュナとラーマに語りかける機会を得た。彼女は、二柱が師の子を死から連れ戻したと驚きをもって聞いていた。今やカンサに殺された自らの子らを思い、涙に濡れた目で、哀れみ深くクリシュナとバララーマに懇願した。
Vasudeva’s love for Kṛṣṇa had been disturbed because his awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s opulences conflicted with seeing Him as his son. In a different way, Devakī’s love was somewhat distracted by her lamentation for her dead sons. So Kṛṣṇa arranged to relieve her of the mistaken idea that anyone else but Him was actually her son. Since Devakī is known to be worshiped by all great souls, her show of maternal affection must actually have been an effect of the Lord’s Yoga-māyā, who increases the pleasure of His pastimes. Thus in text 54 Devakī will be described as mohitā māyayā viṣṇoḥ, “bewildered by the internal energy of Lord Viṣṇu.”
FAQs
This verse shows Devakī remembering her murdered sons and speaking in helpless sorrow, with tears—highlighting the deep human pain within Kṛṣṇa’s divine pastimes.
After being reunited with her divine sons, Devakī recounts Kaṁsa’s atrocities; remembrance of her lost children naturally rises, and she expresses her grief before Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.
It validates honest grief while pointing to bringing one’s sorrow into the presence of the Divine—speaking it, remembering, and seeking shelter in devotion rather than suppressing pain.