Stories From The Bhagawatham - Krishna Avatar - Yashoda's Vision

 

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One day the children of Gokul were playing blissfully with Krishna and Balaram. Yashoda was in the midst of a household chore when Balarama came running and said, “Mother! Krishna is eating mud! A lot of mud!”

Yashoda looked at Balaram, wondering whether to believe this mischievous boy or not. But the other children came running to her and everyone said the same thing.

Krishna had apparently eaten a lot of mud.

Yashoda went running to Krishna and caught hold of him. “When will your mischief end?” She asked him angrily. “Did you eat mud? Today I am going to punish you.”

Krishna shook his head, “No, mother. I did not eat mud. I do not like it, so why would I eat it?”

“But your friends, why, your brother himself said that you ate mud!”

“They are lying.” Krishna said. “Look for yourself. Check inside my mouth and you will know who is telling the truth and who is lying.”

“Show me your mouth!” Yashoda said angrily.

Krishna opened his mouth and Yashoda went into a trance at the vision.

Inside the child’s mouth, she saw infinite universes. Objects moving and still, heaven, mountains, islands, oceans… She saw the celestial world and its lords. She saw Varuna and Agni. The moon, the stars, the five elements – earth, fire, water, air and ether floated before her inside the child’s mouth. Yashoda saw the birth of universes. The most startling of all, she saw herself in Gokula, looking inside the mouth of her child.

“Is this a dream!?” Yashoda wondered as she looked around. “No, it is not a dream. I am awake. This is surely the maya of Lord Narayana. Can everyone see this? How can I see myself in this vision!? How can I see Krishna here?”

Yashoda reached a state of brief self-enlightenment. “I bow to this divine state which is beyond the understanding of the mind, action or words.” She thought in wonder. “This is the state that governs the functioning of the whole universe. The Lord has caused this illusion in me that I am Yashoda, that I live in Gokul, that I have a husband named Nanda and that Krishna is my son. The illusion is clear to me now. I bow to the Lord who is the cause of this great illusion.”

Krishna realized what Yashoda was going through and brought her back to her senses through his yogic power. Yashoda looked at Krishna and suddenly remembered the illusion that she was living in. The divine vision that had made her forget the illusory world, slipped from her mind, and once again, she became Yashoda, Krishna’s mother, who was checking whether her son had eaten mud.

Salutations to blessed Yashoda, mother of the Lord of the universe!

Om Namo Narayana! Om Namo Bhagawathe Vasudevaaya!