Devanagari
अहं ममासौ पतिरेष मे सुतो
व्रजेश्वरस्याखिलवित्तपा सती ।
गोप्यश्च गोपा: सहगोधनाश्च मे
यन्माययेत्थं कुमति: स मे गति: ॥ ४२ ॥
Verse text
ahaṁ mamāsau patir eṣa me suto
vrajeśvarasyākhila-vittapā satī
gopyaś ca gopāḥ saha-godhanāś ca me
yan-māyayetthaṁ kumatiḥ sa me gatiḥ
Synonyms
aham
—
my existence (“I am something”)
;
mama
—
my
;
asau
—
Nanda Mahārāja
;
patiḥ
—
husband
;
eṣaḥ
—
this (Kṛṣṇa)
;
me sutaḥ
—
is my son
;
vraja
—
īśvarasya — of my husband, Nanda Mahārāja
;
akhila
—
vitta — pā — I am the possessor of unlimited opulence and wealth
;
satī
—
because I am his wife
;
gopyaḥ ca
—
and all the damsels of the cowherd men
;
gopāḥ
—
all the cowherd men (are my subordinates)
;
saha
—
godhanāḥ ca — with the cows and calves
;
me
—
my
;
yat
—
māyayā — all such things addressed by me are, after all, given by the mercy of the Supreme
;
ittham
—
thus
;
kumatiḥ
—
I am wrongly thinking they are my possessions
;
saḥ me gatiḥ
—
He is therefore my only shelter (I am simply instrumental) .
Translation
It is by the influence of the Supreme Lord’s māyā that I am wrongly thinking that Nanda Mahārāja is my husband, that Kṛṣṇa is my son, and that because I am the queen of Nanda Mahārāja, all the wealth of cows and calves are my possessions and all the cowherd men and their wives are my subjects. Actually, I also am eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord. He is my ultimate shelter.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
It is by the influence of the Supreme Lord's māyā that I am wrongly thinking that Nanda Mahārāja is my husband, that Kṛṣṇa is my son, and that because I am the queen of Nanda Mahārāja, all the wealth of cows and calves are my possessions and all the cowherd men and their wives are my subjects. Actually, I also am eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord. He is my ultimate shelter.
KB 10.8.42
She then said, “Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Him under whose illusory energy I am thinking that Nanda Mahārāja is my husband and Kṛṣṇa is my son, that all the properties of Nanda Mahārāja belong to me and that all the cowherd men and women are my subjects. All this misconception is due to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. So let me pray to Him that He may protect me always.”
Purport
Following in the footsteps of mother Yaśodā, everyone should follow this mentality of renunciation. Whatever wealth, opulence or whatever else we may possess belongs not to us but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate shelter of everyone and the ultimate owner of everything. As stated by the Lord Himself in
Bhagavad-gītā
(5.29)
:
bhoktāraṁ yajṣa-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jṣātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.”
We should not be proud of our possessions. As expressed by mother Yaśodā herein, “I am not the owner of possessions, the opulent wife of Nanda Mahārāja. The estate, the possessions, the cows and calves and the subjects like the
gopīs
and cowherd men are all given to me.” One should give up thinking of “my possessions, my son and my husband” (
janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti
). Nothing belongs to anyone but the Supreme Lord. Only because of illusion do we wrongly think, “I am existing” or “Everything belongs to me.” Thus mother Yaśodā completely surrendered unto the Supreme Lord. For the moment, she was rather disappointed, thinking, “My endeavors to protect my son by charity and other auspicious activities are useless. The Supreme Lord has given me many things, but unless He takes charge of everything, there is no assurance of protection. I must therefore ultimately seek shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja (
Bhāg.
7.9.19
),
bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha:
a father and mother cannot ultimately take care of their children.
Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti
(
Bhāg.
5.5.8
). One’s land, home, wealth and all of one’s possessions belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although we wrongly think, “I am this” and “These things are mine.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"The Lord is my son’s maintainer and protector. If that is so, then what is the use of my ignorant concept of I and mine?" Giving up her false conceptions and surrendering the Lord, Yasoda speaks. "I think that I am the protector of Nanda’s wealth. I think I am the queen of all the cowherd men and women and the cows. I think I am the mother of this child who is the life of the residents of Vraja, I am his nourisher, and by worship of devas and brahmanas through meditation and charities, by daily worship of Visnu, I by myself can give protection to my son. This is all misconception. As all of Vraja’s wealth is given by the mercy of Visnu, I should not be proud. Similarly since by his mercy the child was protected at every moment from the demons like Putana, I should not think that I, as a mother among the common cowherds, with impure sentiments, am his protector." This type of logic is temporary, not permanent in Yasoda. It is similar to the temporary desire of the confirmed materialist to give up wife and family because of some temporary spiritual urge.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Therefore I surrender to him.
Examining her external conditions, she strengthens her belief about her natural position in three lines. In the fourth line she examines her internal position and in fear, surrenders to the Lord. I see my son as high or low because of my bad intelligence (kumatiḥ), caused by the Lord’s inconceivable māyā. Therefore I should surrender to him since I have no bhakti. Or, if I am in illusion, I must surrender to him. All her words by astonishment and other emotions simply nourish her prema, just as everything turns salty by being in the ocean.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Therefore I surrender to him.
All her knowledge has been created by the Lord’s māyā. After confirming his powers, she surrendered to the Lord to destroy her illusion. Considering the real truth, all relationships are temporary. Understanding these relationships were false, she indicated her foolishing (kumatiḥ). Or rejecting the three options starting with a dream, she accepted the fourth option. But then to destroy that idea she surrendered to the lord of the universe. By directly perceiving relations, the first three options (dream, devatās illusion and bewilderment of intelligence) are discarded. Thinking him to be the supreme lord with the universe within him (the fourth option), is also illusion. That is my bad thought. The Lord is my goal. The Lord should remove this bad thought and confirm that Kṛṣṇa is my son.