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
Noong sandaling iyon, O pinakamainam sa mga Kuru, si Devakī na iginagalang na parang lahat ng diyos ay nagsalita sa kanyang dalawang anak na sina Kṛṣṇa at Rāma. Dati niyang narinig nang may pagkamangha na ibinalik Nila mula sa kamatayan ang anak ng kanilang guro. Ngayon, sa pag-alaala sa sarili niyang mga anak na pinaslang ni Kaṁsa, siya’y napuno ng dalamhati at, luhaan ang mga mata, nakiusap nang kaawa-awa kina Kṛṣṇa at Balarāma.
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.