Verse Text
yathā vā –
viṣṇur nityam upāsyate sakhi mayā tenātra nītāḥ kṣayaṁ
śaṅke pūtanikādayaḥ kṣiti-ruhau tau vātyayonmūlitau |
pratyakṣaṁ girir eṣa goṣṭa-patinā rāmeṇa sārddhaṁ dhṛtas
tat-tat-karma duranvayaṁ mama śiśoḥ kenāsya sambhāvyate ||7||
Translation
Another example: Because I and my husband have worshiped Viṣṇu constantly, Pūtana and other demons have been destroyed. The two arjuna trees were uprooted by the wind (and Viṣṇu protected Him). I saw with my own eyes that Govardhana was held up by my husband, along with Balarāma’s help, because of worshipping Viṣṇu. How would it be possible for my baby to perform all these difficult tasks?
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Verse 6 shows the greatness of Yaśodā’s vātsalya-rasa. The Bhāgavatam confirms this:
nemaṁaviriṣco na bhavo na śrīr apy aṅga-saṁśrayā
prasādaṁ lebhire gopī yat tat prāpa vimuktidāt
Neither Lord Brahmā, nor Lord Śiva, nor even the goddess of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord, can obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the deliverer from this material world, such mercy as received by mother Yaśodā. SB 10.9.20
Now verse 7 shows clearly the purity of her love. It shows Yaśodā’s supreme simplicity in relation to Kṛṣṇa, as she explains everything in terms of protection by Viṣṇu. Or it can be taken as a joking conversation. The meaning is this. “Because the lord of the cowherd men, along with me, worshipped Viṣṇu, Pūtana and other demons have been destroyed. The two arjuna trees were uprooted just by the wind, not by Kṛṣṇa.” Thinking in this way, she concluded that Viṣṇu has protected her son. Govardhana was actually lifted by the chief of the cowherd men by the strength of his worshipping Viṣṇu as well, along with Balarāma. The hint here is that if her son could lift the mountain, then why not Balarāma also (rāmeṇa sārddham). This attitude is also expressed clearly in ancient depictions of Kṛṣṇa holding Govardhana with the assistance of others. Śrīdhara Svāmī has also explained this.
The sūtra concerning compounds says tena saheti tulyayoga: saha can combine with a word in the instrumental case to form a compound, provided the two persons are equally affected by an action. (Pāṇini 2.2.2) Thus, saha (with) has two distinct meanings: without the two persons being equally affected by the action and with the two being equally effected by the action. In the latter case, where both parties are equally affected, a compound is formed (saha putrena becomes saputraḥ) Thus, the words mayā sārddham and rāmeṇa sārddham, by not forming compounds, indicate that the two parties exist together without being equally affected. (Thus Nanda worshipped Viṣṇu in the presence of Yaśodā, but Nanda accrued the majority of the result—Viṣṇu’s mercy, and Nanda lifted the hill in the presence of Balarāma, but Nanda did most of the work—by Viṣṇu’s mercy.) Thus, Kṛṣṇa’s protection was accomplished by explaining that Nanda’s daily worship of Viṣṇu was the cause.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
Once Mother Yaśodā addressed one of her friends in this way: “Nanda Mahārāja (the leader of the cowherd men) and I worshiped Lord Viṣṇu, and as a result of this worship Kṛṣṇa has been saved from the clutches of Pūtanā and other demons. The twin arjuna trees were, of course, broken due to a strong wind, and although Kṛṣṇa appeared to have lifted Govardhana Hill along with Balarāma, I think that Nanda Mahārāja actually held the mountain. Otherwise how could it have been possible for a little boy to lift such a great hill?” This is another example of ecstasy in parental love.