TEXT 9
tam tiksna-cittam ativama-cestitam
viksyantara kosa-paricchadasivat
vara-striyam tat-prabhaya ca dharsite
niriksyamane janani hy atisthatam
SYNONYMS
tamthat (Putana Raksasi); tiksna-cittamhaving a very fierce heart for killing the child; ati-vama-cestitamalthough she was trying to treat the child better than a mother; viksya antaraseeing her within the room; kosa-paricchada-asi-vatlike a sharp sword within a soft sheath; vara-striyamthe very beautiful woman; tat-prabhayaby her influence; caalso; dharsitebeing overwhelmed; niriksyamanewere seeing; jananithe two mothers; hiindeed; atisthatamthey remained silent, without prohibiting.
TRANSLATION
Putana Raksasis heart was fierce and cruel, but she looked like a very affectionate mother. Thus she resembled a sharp sword in a soft sheath. Although seeing her within the room, Yasoda and Rohini, overwhelmed by her beauty, did not stop her, but remained silent because she treated the child like a mother.
PURPORT
Although Putana was an outsider and although she personified fierce death because the determination within her heart was to kill the child, when she directly came and placed the child on her lap to offer the child her breast to suck, the mothers were so captivated by her beauty that they did not prohibit her. Sometimes a beautiful woman is dangerous because everyone, being captivated by external beauty (maya-mohita), is unable to understand what is in her mind. Those who are captivated by the beauty of the external energy are called maya-mohita. Mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam (Bg. 7.13). Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah (Bhag. 7.5.31). Here, of course, the two mothers Rohini and Yasoda were not maya-mohita, deluded by the external energy, but to develop the pastimes of the Lord, they were captivated by yogamaya. Such maya-moha is the action of yogamaya.

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