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Plate 75

Mother Yaśodā Chases Kṛṣṇa

K' mosaton an upikderdloven wooden vrindintmotanand pistriburcd yogaur andlurertorhe monkeys as He liked. Because of having stolen the milk products, He glanced all around with

great anxiety, suspecting that He might be chastised by His mother. Mother Yaśodā, upon seeing Him, very cautiously approached Him from behind. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw His mother, stick in hand, He very quickly got down from the top of the mortar and began to flee, as if very much afraid. Although yogis try to capture Him as the Supersoul by meditating and performing great austerities and penances, they fail to reach Him. But mother Yaśodā, thinking that Kṛṣṇa was her son, began running after Him to catch Him.

While running after Kṛṣṇa, mother Yaśodā had to reduce her speed, for her heavy breasts over- burdened her thin waist. As she followed Kṛṣṇa very swiftly, her hair became loose, and the flowers in her hair began falling behind her. finally she captured her son, Kṛṣṇa. When caught by mother Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa became more and more afraid and admitted to being an offender. As she looked upon Him, she saw that He was crying, His tears mixing with the black ointment around His eyes, and as He rubbed His eyes with His hands, He smeared the ointment all over His face. Mother Yaśodā caught her beautiful son by the hand and mildly began to chastise Him. She was always overwhelmed by intense love for Kṛṣṇa, not knowing who Kṛṣṇa was or how powerful He was. Because of maternal affection for Kṛṣṇa, she never even cared to know who He was. Therefore, when she saw that her son had become excessively afraid, she threw the stick away and decided to bind Him so that He would not do any further mischief.

Painting by DIRGHĀ-DEVĪ DĀSĪ (1977)

Mother Yaśodā Chases Kṛṣṇa