Bhagavatham Stories

The journey through the rain-soaked night brought Vasudeva to the cowherd settlement of Vrindavan, to the home of Nanda and Yashoda. Yashoda, the chief cowherd wife, had just given birth to a daughter, an expansion of the divine Mahamaya, the cosmic illusion. The divine arrangement was that Krishna would be exchanged for this child, so that Kamsa, seeking to destroy Krishna, would instead find and slay the maya-devi (the goddess of illusion), believing he had eliminated the prophesied threat. In this way, through the sacrifice of an expansion of divine energy, countless souls would be saved. The divine orchestrates its arrangements on levels far beyond human comprehension, ensuring that even the attempts of the wicked inadvertently serve the ultimate plan of creation and salvation.

When Vasudeva arrived at Nanda's home, he found the doors open, as if waiting for him. Nanda and Yashoda were in deep sleep, as if touched by a divine hand that had granted them rest in preparation for what was to transpire. Vasudeva beheld the beauty of Yashoda and was filled with reverence at the thought of what she was about to become—the earthly mother who would nurture and raise the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He gently placed the infant Krishna, who had just been born moments before, in the cradle beside Yashoda. Then, with hands that trembled with the weight of what he was doing, Vasudeva lifted the newborn daughter and placed her in the basket in which he had carried Krishna. He stood there for a moment, looking at the divine child he had been privileged to carry for such a brief time, knowing that the next phase of Krishna's divine pastimes was beginning.

Yashoda awoke as if on cue, and beheld the most beautiful child she had ever seen. She did not consciously know that this was the Supreme Lord, yet her heart recognized the truth through the language of love. She felt an overwhelming affection for this child that transcended all logic and reason. She had just given birth to a daughter, yet when she saw Krishna, she felt that this son had come to her through divine grace. She cradled him in her arms, and in that moment, began the relationship that would become legendary throughout all of existence—the relationship between Krishna and his earthly mother, Yashoda. Through Yashoda's love, Krishna would experience the fullness of maternal affection, and through serving Krishna, Yashoda would achieve the ultimate spiritual realization that all souls seek.

Vasudeva's return journey to the prison was marked by the same supernatural assistance that had accompanied his outward journey. He walked back through the storm, carrying the infant daughter, his heart focused entirely on his responsibility to Devaki. When he arrived back at the prison and entered the chamber where his beloved wife was waiting, he found her awake, her eyes bright with a mixture of grief and transcendent joy. Without words, they understood the divine arrangement that had transpired. Devaki beheld the form of the maya-devi that had been placed in her arms—not with disappointment or sadness, but with the understanding that this too was part of the divine plan. She held this divine being with all the love and tenderness she would have offered to her son.

Hours later, as dawn broke over Mathura, Kamsa received news that Devaki had given birth. His paranoia and fear, grown to demonic proportions over the years, drove him into an immediate frenzy. He raced to the prison chamber, his heart pounding with the terror of the unknown and the desperation of a man pursuing a fate he was powerless to prevent. He found Devaki, exhausted from childbirth, cradling in her arms what appeared to be a newborn infant. Without pause or investigation, consumed by his demonic nature, Kamsa seized the child and raised her high, intending to dash her against the stone wall. But in that moment, the divine maya-devi revealed her true form—she blazed with divine light, her thousand eyes opening across the sky, her cosmic form expanding to fill all space, her voice thundering with celestial authority: "The one you seek has already been taken to safety. Your fate is sealed."

With these words, the maya-devi vanished into the sky, her laughter echoing across the three worlds as a reminder that the attempt of the wicked to thwart divine purpose is itself part of divine play. Kamsa stood frozen, his hands empty, his face contorted with rage and frustration. The prophecy remained unfulfilled by his efforts; the child he sought was beyond his reach. Yet he did not know that even now, on the other side of his kingdom, in the simple cottage of a cowherd, the Supreme Lord was lying in his cradle, ready to begin the pastimes that would illuminate all the worlds with the light of divine love. Devaki and Vasudeva, witnessing the revelation of the maya-devi and the escape of their divine child, were filled with a sorrow at separation and a joy at knowing their child was safe that transcended all ordinary human emotion. They had been privileged to give birth to and briefly hold the Supreme, and now, through renunciation, they were offering him to the world and to the will of destiny.