Madhavaya namah

Seeing her son who was glowing with all transcendental traits, Mother Devaki glorified Him. She continued,

“O Lord, we dread Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena. You are the Lord who dispels all the fears of Your devotees. Please do not allow ignorant foolish persons to see this transcendental form of Yours, which is revered by those who meditate.

O destroyer of demon Madhu! Please do not allow the sinner Kamsa to be aware that You have taken birth in my home. Fearing your safety, I dread Kamsa.”

Devaki was overflowing with motherly love. On one hand, she was aware that the Supreme Lord had incarnated as her son, yet on the other, she feared for His safety.

“O Srihari! You are the essence behind this entire creation. Please withdraw this transcendental and worshipful form wherein You are holding the discus, conch, mace and lotus in Your four hands. People will be unable to see You in this transcendental form. Please take on a form which is best suited for the ignorant.

O Puruśottama! At the fag end of creation, You absorb this universe into Yourself. Humans will fail to believe that such Supreme Lord has incarnated from my womb”.

The Supreme Lord then addressed mother Devaki and said,

“My dear mother, in your previous birth, in the Swāyambhuva Manvantara you were born as Pṛśni. Vasudeva was born as Sutapa, the supreme Prajāpati who was totally freed from all fruitive actions.

When Lord Brahma instructed you to beget progeny, you both performed severe austerities controlling all the senses. Withstanding intense heat, freezing cold, snow and torrential rains, you both relentlessly continued your penance.”

When we sit for meditation, even the slightest wavering is to be given up. Fear of every form is to be discarded. Aversion towards anything or anyone should be abandoned. Great caution should be exercised to ensure that no thought enters the mind. Here the holy couple endured all extremities and continued their penance.

“Through Pranayama you burnt away all mental impurities. Seeking a boon from Me, you both sustained only on fallen fruits and dried leaves. With calm, pleasant minds you meditated upon Me. Both of you fixed thus your minds solely upon Me and, for 12,000 celestial years, undertook severe austerities that is impossible for others to accomplish.

O meritorious lady! It is true that I am the foremost among Gods who bestow boons. During the period of penance, with absolute dedication and devotion, both of you eternally meditated upon Me in your hearts. Deeply pleased with this and in order to fulfill your desires, I then manifested in this same form and asked you to choose a boon. Both of you prayed to be blessed with a son exactly like Me.

You were childless. You had never experienced sensual pleasures. Nevertheless, influenced by My illusionary energy, both of you failed to seek liberation. I showered the boon as per your desire and disappeared.

You then begot a son who was exactly like Me. With this, your desire was fulfilled. You then engaged in sensory pleasures.

In generosity, good character, compassion and other noble traits there is none equal to Me in this creation. You had asked for a son who is exactly like Me. But in this creation, there is none who is exactly like Me. Hence I necessarily had to incarnate. I therefore took birth as your son and became renowned as Pṛśnigarbha.

Thereafter both of you were reborn as the holy couple Aditi and Kaśyapa. I took birth as Upendra and attained great renown. For being dwarfish, I was also known as Vāmana. In this eon you both have taken birth as Devaki and Vasudeva. For the third time now I have taken birth as your son with my transcendental form.

O chaste woman! What I say is absolutely true. In your past births too I was born as your son. Only to remind you of my previous births I have shown to you this transcendental form. If I were to take birth in a human form you will never recollect my past incarnations. You will never believe that the Supreme Lord was born to you.

Both of you, while loving Me as your son, should also worship Me as the Supreme Lord. You will both obtain the final state called liberation”.

Having said this, the Supreme Lord remained silent. As the parents were lovingly watching Him, using His illusory energy He transformed into a normal human infant. The divine form transformed into a human form!

Vasudeva then readied to take the new-born from the delivery room. Exactly at that moment, the illusory energy (Yogamaya), which is devoid of any birth, took birth as the daughter of Yashoda, the wife of Nanda. Yogamaya ensured that all the citizens of the land, including the gatekeepers of the palace, forgot all sensory movements and drifted into deep slumber.

The prison cell had heavy iron doors which were locked with huge and strong iron chains. To break open these prison doors was humanly impossible. Nonetheless, just as the rising Sun automatically dispels the darkness, the moment Vasudeva held little Krishna over his head the doors of the prison cell opened on their own. The clouds in the sky thundered mildly. It then began to rain incessantly. Using his hood, serpent Adiśeṣa ensured that the little infant did not get drenched in the rain”.

Krishna. Narayana.