Devanagari
तन्मातरो वेणुरवत्वरोत्थिता
उत्थाप्य दोर्भि: परिरभ्य निर्भरम् ।
स्नेहस्नुतस्तन्यपय:सुधासवं
मत्वा परं ब्रह्म सुतानपाययन् ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
tan-mātaro veṇu-rava-tvarotthitā
utthāpya dorbhiḥ parirabhya nirbharam
sneha-snuta-stanya-payaḥ-sudhāsavaṁ
matvā paraṁ brahma sutān apāyayan
Synonyms
tat
—
mātaraḥ — the mothers of the respective cowherd boys
;
veṇu
—
rava — because of the sounds played on flutes and bugles by the cowherd boys
;
tvara
—
immediately
;
utthitāḥ
—
awakened from their respective household duties
;
utthāpya
—
immediately lifted their respective sons
;
dorbhiḥ
—
with their two arms
;
parirabhya
—
embracing
;
nirbharam
—
without feeling any weight
;
sneha
—
snuta — which was flowing because of intense love
;
stanya
—
payaḥ — their breast milk
;
sudhā
—
āsavam — tasting just like a nectarean beverage
;
matvā
—
accepting the milk like that
;
param
—
the Supreme
;
brahma
—
Kṛṣṇa
;
sutān apāyayan
—
began to feed their respective sons .
Translation
The mothers of the boys, upon hearing the sounds of the flutes and bugles being played by their sons, immediately rose from their household tasks, lifted their boys onto their laps, embraced them with both arms and began to feed them with their breast milk, which flowed forth because of extreme love specifically for Kṛṣṇa. Actually Kṛṣṇa is everything, but at that time, expressing extreme love and affection, they took special pleasure in feeding Kṛṣṇa, the Parabrahman, and Kṛṣṇa drank the milk from His respective mothers as if it were a nectarean beverage.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The mothers of the boys, upon hearing the sounds of the flutes and bugles being played by their sons, immediately rose from their household tasks, lifted their boys onto their laps, embraced them with both arms and began to feed them with their breast milk, which flowed forth because of extreme love specifically for Kṛṣṇa. Actually Kṛṣṇa is everything, but at that time, expressing extreme love and affection, they took special pleasure in feeding Kṛṣṇa, the Parabrahman, and Kṛṣṇa drank the milk from His respective mothers as if it were a nectarean beverage.
KB 10.13.22
The mothers of the boys heard the vibration of their flutes before their entrance, and to receive them, they came out of their homes and embraced them. And out of maternal affection, milk was flowing from their breasts, and they allowed the boys to drink it. However, their offering was not exactly to their boys but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had expanded Himself into such boys. This was a chance for all the mothers of Vṛndāvana to feed the Supreme Personality of Godhead with their own milk. Therefore not only did Lord Kṛṣṇa give Yaśodā the chance to feed Him, but this time He gave the chance to all the other elder gopīs.
Purport
Although all the elderly
gopīs
knew that Kṛṣṇa was the son of mother Yaśodā, they still desired, “If Kṛṣṇa had become my son, I would also have taken care of Him like mother Yaśodā.” This was their inner ambition. Now, in order to please them, Kṛṣṇa personally took the role of their sons and fulfilled their desire. They enhanced their special love for Kṛṣṇa by embracing Him and feeding Him, and Kṛṣṇa tasted their breast milk to be just like a nectarean beverage. While thus bewildering Brahmā, He enjoyed the special transcendental pleasure created by
yoga-māyā
between all the other mothers and Himself.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"O can we ever be like Yasoda and have Krsna as our child?" This verse describes how Krsna fulfilled this desire of the gopis without their knowing it. The mothers , treating their sons like God, put them on their laps and fed them breast milk. The reading "uduhya" is also sometimes found in stead of utthapya. They held their children more affectionately than before and the milk flowed from their breasts in affection more than before (nirbharam—excessively). And param brahma Krsna drank that milk thinking it the sweetest nectar. That is the indication from the word sudhasavam. That milk was filled with their intense affection. Krsna relished that milk as tasty as nectar (sudha), as intoxicating as wine (asavam) by tasting their prema, and was absorbed in joy. From before, Krsna had a desire to become the sons of these mothers. It was finally achieved in the Brahma mohana pastimes. For this reason Krsna kept their sons under the influence of his yoga maya for one year. That is why Brahma said, "In great pleasure they drank the nectar from their mothers’ breasts."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The astonishment of the mothers is described. Their characteristics are described to show how they had more affection than previously. Taking them on their laps (utthāpya) they embraced them. Or they raised the children (utthāpya) when the children bowed before them. Another version has udūhya (pressing). Śukadeva praises their good fortune with a show of awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s greatness by calling him param brahma. This happens later as well:
aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām
yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam
How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend. SB 10.14.32
In order to indicate that the mothers’ affection was greater than previous the words tvarā (as soon as), nirbharam (intensely) and sudhāsavam (sweet nectar) are used.