Shloka 17
Dāmodara-līlā: Mother Yaśodā Binds Kṛṣṇa; the Two-Fingers Mystery; Prelude to the Yamala-Arjuna Deliverance
एवं स्वगेहदामानि यशोदा सन्दधत्यपि । गोपीनां सुस्मयन्तीनां स्मयन्ती विस्मिताभवत् ॥ १७ ॥
evaṁ sva-geha-dāmāni yaśodā sandadhaty api gopīnāṁ susmayantīnāṁ smayantī vismitābhavat
ఇలా యశోద ఇంట్లో ఉన్న తాళ్లన్నీ కలిపినా కృష్ణుడు కట్టబడలేదు. చుట్టుపక్కల వృద్ధ గోపికలు నవ్వుతూ ఆనందించగా, యశోద కూడా శ్రమిస్తూ చిరునవ్వు నవ్వి, అందరూ ఆశ్చర్యంలో మునిగిపోయారు.
Actually this incident was wonderful because Kṛṣṇa was only a child with small hands. To bind Him should have required only a rope not more than two feet long. All the ropes in the house combined together might have been hundreds of feet long, but still He was impossible to bind, for all the ropes together were still too short. Naturally mother Yaśodā and her gopī friends thought, “How is this possible?” Seeing this funny affair, all of them were smiling. The first rope was short by a measurement the width of two fingers, and after the second rope was added, it was still two fingers too short. If the shortness of all the ropes were added together, it must have amounted to the width of hundreds of fingers. Certainly this was astonishing. This was another exhibition of Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable potency to His mother and His mother’s friends.
FAQs
This verse highlights the wondrous nature of the Lord’s līlā—despite Yaśodā’s practical efforts, the ropes remained insufficient, indicating that Kṛṣṇa is ultimately bound only by pure loving devotion, not by material means.
The gopīs smile in affectionate amazement at Yaśodā’s intense motherly love and at the extraordinary sight of the Supreme Lord behaving like a child in Vraja.
Sincere effort matters, but spiritual progress matures through heartfelt devotion and humility—cultivating loving service, prayer, and steadiness rather than relying only on external capability.