Srimad Bhagavatam – day 573
Govindaya namah
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Little Krishna fell asleep. Placing him in a cloth swing beneath a bullock-cart, Yashoda went in to receive the guests. Mother Yashoda’s mind was overflowing with happiness seeing the grandeur with which the function was being conducted. In great elation, she was honouring all the guests. While she was thus busily engaged, infant Krishna suddenly awakened and he began to cry loudly demanding to be fed.”
Whether the Lord was truly hungry or whether this was yet another sport of His, is not known. He had begun to show his transcendental sports since the moment of his birth. Perhaps we may wonder- how can the Lord, who satisfies the hunger and thirst of every living being in the creation, be hungry?
“Demanding to be fed instantly, the infant began to wail loudly. However in the commotion due to the celebration, Yashoda who was busy attending the guests, failed to hear her son’s screams. She was busy giving charities and gifts”.
In these days moms place a walkie-talkie near the child’s crib so that they are aware when the child demands attention.
“Angered that his cries were unanswered, the infant turned more stubborn. His wails intensified and turned louder”.
It is a normal pattern seen in infants. If their cries are immediately attended to, they remain calm. If there is delay attending to them for even a few minutes, they get uncontrollably angry. They display a kind of stubbornness. It takes a long while to pacify them at such time. They refuse to be cajoled. Infant Krishna was also in a similar state of anger.
“In that anger, Krishna who was crying loudly kicked his legs violently. Even though he had tender tiny feet, the force of his kick caused the heavy cart to fly up in the air, swirl violently and then come crashing down. As the cart toppled, the heavy utensils made of brass, copper or other metals as well as the edible food and drinks which were stored in it, lay scattered everywhere”.
Do not presume that it was a worn out, flimsy cart constructed using cheap materials. It was a strong, heavy cart that could seat a large number of people and could travel through any rough terrain.
“The broken wheels, axle, hubs and spokes from the cart fell in all directions. The centre-pole was completely damaged. Hearing the deafening sound and seeing the powerful cart toppling in front of their eyes, Nanda, Yashoda and all the guests were dumbfounded. In great haste, they hurried to the cart. All of them were clueless as to how a cart could fly high up in the air”.
Within a fraction of a second the cart had been flung high up in the air with a loud deafening noise. The heavy-metalled utensils kept in the cart were strewn violently in all directions. The centre-pole of the cart, which holds the cart together and which is constructed using incredibly strong materials, had been broken.
“Unaware that the infant had kicked the cart, they discussed amongst themselves, ‘How could this cart collapse on its own?’ Perplexed, they stared at the broken cart. The children who were playing nearby and who had witnessed the event said to the elders, ‘This infant was wailing loudly for some time. He then kicked the cart causing it to collapse completely. We witnessed it. What we say is true’.
Nonetheless, neither the cowherds nor their women-folk could accept the statements made by little children. ‘How can there be any truth in the words of small children? It is impossible for a tiny infant to kick the cart so violently that it flies up in the air before breaking completely. Hence it is incorrect to believe their words’, they concluded.
The conclusion drawn by the elders was not wrong because they were unaware of the extra-ordinary capacities of the infant. They considered Krishna to be a normal human infant.
Believing that her son had been afflicted yet again by some unknown evil power, Yashoda lamented a lot. She picked her infant son and breastfed him. She regretted leaving him in the swing beneath the cart. She concluded that some demon or ghost was chasing her son”.
Even though a wicked son can exist on earth, there can never be a wicked mother. Such is her compassion. Even when her son has been condemned by the entire society, even when he is an infiltrator, a mother can never declare him wicked as it is her flesh and blood. She can never utter such words about her son.
Narayana