TEXT 53
yasoda nanda-patni ca
jatam param abudhyata
na tal-lingam parisranta
nidrayapagata-smrtih
SYNONYMS
yasodaYasoda, Krsnas mother in Gokula; nanda-patnithe wife of Nanda Maharaja; caalso; jatama child was born; paramthe Supreme Person; abudhyatacould understand; nanot; tat-lingamwhether the child was male or female; parisrantabecause of too much labor; nidrayawhen overwhelmed with sleep; apagata-smrtihhaving lost consciousness.
TRANSLATION
Exhausted by the labor of childbirth, Yasoda was overwhelmed with sleep and unable to understand what kind of child had been born to her.
PURPORT
Nanda Maharaja and Vasudeva were intimate friends, and so were their wives, Yasoda and Devaki. Although their names were different, they were practically nondifferent personalities. The only difference is that Devaki was able to understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had been born to her and had now changed into Krsna, whereas Yasoda was not able to understand what kind of child had been born to her. Yasoda was such an advanced devotee that she never regarded Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but simply loved Him as her own child. Devaki, however, knew from the very beginning that although Krsna was her son, He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Vrndavana, no one regarded Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When something very wonderful happened because of Krsnas activities, the inhabitants of Vrndavanathe cowherd men, the cowherd boys, Nanda Maharaja, Yasoda and the otherswere surprised, but they never considered their son Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes they suggested that some great demigod had appeared there as Krsna. In such an exalted status of devotional service, a devotee forgets the position of Krsna and intensely loves the Supreme Personality of Godhead without understanding His position. This is called kevala-bhakti and is distinct from the stages of jnana and jnanamayi bhakti.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Tenth Canto, Third Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled The Birth of Lord Krsna.

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