The cowherd queen of Gokul who raised the Lord as a naughty child and was given what sages could not get: to bind him.
Appears in
Yashoda sees the universe in his mouth — Skandha 10, adhyaya 8 — Told her toddler ate mud, a mother opens his mouth to check — and sees the whole universe, herself and her village inside it.
Tied with a rope — Skandha 10, adhyayas 9-10 — Every rope Yashoda ties is two fingers short — until she is exhausted, and the child lets himself be bound.
Embodies
Divine play — A god who steals butter, hides from his mother and dances in the moonlight — the text insists the play is the revelation.
Devotion as the highest dharma — The Bhagavatam's own thesis (1.2.6): the highest dharma is devotion with no motive, which nothing can interrupt.
Questions to explore
What did Yashoda do in a past life to become Krishna's mother?
Why does the Bhagavatam say even Brahma and Shiva did not receive Yashoda's grace?
