Bhagavatam tenth canto study 17 – 10.3.26-31 Devaki acknowledges Krishna as the provider of the supreme safety and strives for his safety

Hare Krishna 10.3.26 this is chapter birth of Lord Krishna And Devaki is now offering her prayers To Krishna to Krishna who has just appeared from her womb 10.3.26 At that time Which Is avyakta bandho.
It’s interesting the word now There is a very different ways in which the lord is referred to but he’s called a dina bandho He’s called the friend of the fallen Hmm he’s called as even the krpana vatsala the lover of even the fallen souls one who gives mercy on them But here a word is used for him avyakta bandho avyakta bandho means What would avyakta is unmanifest? Bandho means the friend So here what is being referred to is Prabhupada translates this as the inaugurator of the material energy that means Now god is not a being who exists within time sometimes atheists ask the question if God you say that god created everything then who created god? that question itself indicates a lack of understanding of god’s supreme position because God is not a being who is created in time. He is a being who exists beyond time and because of him the Time manifests So he exists transiently. So the time is also a feature of material energy and he is the manifest he is the Lord of material energy who exists beyond material energy.
So just as he Exists beyond space he exists beyond time also And in that sense time space and time which are characteristics the material energy. He is their inaugurator So at that time when matter exists In an unmanifested inactive form He is its activator So he is in that sense just as krishna has mercy On the fallen conditioned souls who are asleep and whom he awakens to that spiritual awareness To similarly matter which is existing in unmanifested state He brings it He makes it brings it to its state of awareness by his power So he is He says that Time flows from the smallest units to the highest units because kala can start from seconds or microseconds or whatever lower you want to go and can go up to years and millennia And all this time which brings about the transformation of this world Cheshtamahus cheshtate ye na vishvam So All the actions of this world happen by the activation of time nimeshadhir vatsaranto mahiyams nimeshadi nimesha refers to a very tiny Unit of time the time that is required for us to blink an eye for the eye to blink that is called nimesha So it signifies the smallest of time Vatsaranto So up to the end of a year mahiyams So all these division of time that is there It is it is very powerful which brings about all transformation But it is all under your control oh lord Kshema means auspiciousness so Kshema dham means one who is the reservoir one of the shelter of auspiciousness So she says the essential mood of this verse is that Time extends from small units to large units and time by its own cycle sometimes brings Good fortune and sometimes bring bad fortune But you oh lord are the reservoir of our good fortune You are the lord of time and you are the lord of good fortune also You are kshema bando kshema dham and therefore unto you I surrender now that you have appeared I’m sure that you will be giving good fortune in our lives so we have to understand the times when bhagavatam says that Krishna is the lord of all the three divisions of time past present and future That means that even when distress is going on and going we are going through distress At that time krishna is still the lord krishna is still playing his flute krishna is still reigning supreme in our hearts and he is Also kshema dham he will bring auspiciousness Even if there is a dark night by krishna’s grace, there will be light at the end of the tunnel by krishna’s grace we will find that He will bring good out of the bad So for devaki so many bad things have happened And now she’s confident that the lord has appeared and the lord will bring good out of the bad for her She continues in text 27 now Ajam He’s again talking from a cosmic perspective and coming to a specific perspective gradually so that Mrityu vyala refers to the serpent Of death, you know death is often considered to be a serpent That’s a common comparison in the bhagavatam and this is not just a snake that bites Sometimes there are snakes which swallow So like that death is a snake that kills a biting or smaller swallowing And if somebody sees a serpent coming toward them, they will flee So like that all living beings They’re all running away in fear of death But For all such living beings who are in different planets fear That although they even flee not just from one place to another place they flee even to other planets In the hope of getting fearlessness but They do not attempt they do not gain They do not get fearlessness Why because everywhere it’s temporary From this world’s perspective that devatas live for a long time and they are called amara But that devatas were literally amara. They were actually immortal Then they would not live in such fear of the demons thinking that these demons will kill us So they are simply immortal in the sense that they live for a long time And their immortality is also dependent on getting their nectar by which they drink Which by which they can sustain they can prolong their life span So she says that the living beings may run from one place to another in the hope of greater security and what to speak of some people say they live in a third world country like India or asia or africa and they think if we go to the first world we go to The west or westernized world then we’ll be safer.
So they are doing the same thing over here. What are they doing? They are They are in fear they are running away to some more secure place But wherever we go there is danger. There is death You cannot get fearlessness anywhere the only place will get fear is It’s only if they get the shelter of your lotus feet and how will we get this It is Only by your grace which we manifest Through your representatives Prabhupada says that So he says that that this that to make people to make people Fortunate to give people good fortune.
That is our business So preaching is not simply trying to Convert people to join one religious organization. It is not simply a religious conversion It is actually a bestowal of spiritual fortune and we as When we are trying to share krishna bhakti, we have the opportunity to give this supreme fortune to share with others So it is only when people become sheltered in you that At that time when they become sheltered in you that they can sleep peacefully That Actually only you people can be sheltered and now he’s saying that actually now that you have appeared Whereas the living beings were fleeing from death Now death is fleeing from you And the living entities are going to are going to be fearless and tranquil They are going to be serene So this is how dramatically The normal situation in the material world can change by the grace of the lord So living beings flee from death But when the supreme living being appears death flees from him and thus this is the great mercy that You You bestow on all living beings you dramatically change their fortune and now she will make her specific request considering her grave situation that that she is in So text 28 So So that terrible demon Who is the son of So he is actually Our relative but he’s no longer acting as a relative. He’s acting in a very demoniac deadly way As the son of So, please protect us From him So Ha means to destroy Asi means you do that.
So you destroy Trasa means distress so You are the destroyer of the distress of your devotees So, please destroy this This please deliver us from this distress, what is the distress the distress of this demon comes That that transcendental form The form of Vishnu, which is actually seen only in great meditation That It is said that the form of Vishnu is seen only in deep meditation by the great souls And without that that form cannot be seen So But those with material vision Protection, please don’t let that form be seen So she knows that he’s Vishnu at the same time. She’s thinking that if Kamsa understands that this Vishnu So I mean he will try to attack you so please make this form invisible so it’s amazing At one level she is saying that you save us from the terrible fear of Kamsa But at the same time she’s also fearful that that Kamsa may kill you Therefore don’t manifest this form before Kamsa so there is this dual emotions which are there in Devaki. One is she appreciates Krishna as the lord and she wants She knows that Krishna has come to deliver the whole world from material existence but simultaneously she also sees Krishna as her son and she thinks that Already my earlier sons were killed and if this son he sees he’s having these divine characteristics.
He’ll definitely kill this child therefore Please don’t manifest this Vishnu form before Kamsa. He will He will kill you also So now interestingly Vishwananda Goswami says in his Vaishno Toshini that she is saying save us She is not saying kill Kamsa We are afflicted So you please save us from this distress. She’s not saying that although she refers to Although she refers to Kamsa as a cruel person as of but still she’s not specifically making a request kill Kamsa after all Kamsa Is her cousin or almost like a brother and she’s saying that She’s saying that Now, of course if Kamsa has to be killed, he will be killed by Krishna in due course But that is not what she’s requesting.
She’s requesting simply She’s not vengeful that Kamsa has killed so many of my sons. So now he should be killed She is simply saying that actually let let you be protected. Let you not have to suffer in any way So text 29 अधीरधी जन्मते मै असव पापो So Now that you are born Now considering that पापो, that extremely sinful Kamsa That That that oh Madhusudana, oh killer of the Madhu demon Please arrange so that he will not understand That So अधीरधी means that my consciousness My dhÄ«, my intelligence has become even more unsteady.
I have become I have become more and more anxious Since you have appeared because I am worried what will Kamsa do to you Therefore, please let him not understand that you have appeared from my womb जन्मते मै असव पापो That you are appearing from me. Let this not be understood So Actually, she’s thinking that He’s my child and what will happen to his child So now It is a beautiful subtext conversation which is going on. He says that oh mother.
What is your fear? He says that if you say that Let me make this form unmanifest as I said earlier So do not show this form he says if I disappear then Even if I go away, you will have future children. He will kill your future children So he says that now he says Devaki says actually my fear is not for myself. It is for you But then he says that although I know that you are Vishnu and there is not anger for you from Kamsa, but still Seeing you as having come as my child.
My mind has become unsteady Because of fear from you. So she simply is feeling that अधीरधी That My mind has become even more anxious. I do not want that you be taken away by Kamsa’s men That Kamsa should not do anything Brutal to you the way he has done to my earlier children so that is the point which Her stress is that she be protected So text 30 now So Now she’s saying that you have manifested in a Vishnu form That these are all transcendental symbols of Vishnu’s you are manifested And you are manifested in the forearm form So, please withdraw this form please hide this form Which is actually an extraordinary form Which is beyond this loka, which is which is not natural to this world a child doesn’t come with four arms and sometimes even if there’s some genetic defect because of which a child has a Six fingers or seven fingers in a particular hand even if we can assume that some child is born with four hands but no child is born with with Shankha Chakra Gadapadma with conch disc club lotus because These are extraordinary So, you know, there is no way if you manifest this form I can conceal your extraordinariness So therefore you please conceal this form that He that so that she can hide him somewhere It’s interesting that we will see later that Vasudev had promised Kamsa that I will give you all my children And he had at great expense to himself stuck to that promise But now that Krishna has appeared and for the service of Krishna for the protection of Krishna he Will apparently not stick to that promise.
He will not directly speak a lie But he will also not hand over that child As per Krishna’s plan, he will do something else And what that something else is That will be indicated In the future verses so it takes 31 She has earlier used the word Vishwatman That you are the supreme personality of Godhead. You are the lord of the whole universe So That actually You within your body you contain the whole universe So That Nisha is night until end So when the end supreme night comes in the name of devastation comes at that time Everything rests in you So that lord Who within whom everything rests? How could that lord rest within me? How could that lord rest within me? So So people will make fun of me people will think how can that lord appear in my womb So in this way, they will actually not be able to believe this and I will become an object of ridicule now, it’s interesting What is going on over here is a devotee concerned that I will become an object of ridicule Why would a devotee be concerned of anything like that, but here something more is happening over here Her point is That actually You are the supreme lord You are actually the Supreme Person who can do anything but you but I am an ordinary human being And if you appear through me People will not believe People will ridicule me for this But sridhar swami explains that swaishnavathakshini sadhana goswami quotes this that she’s again reiterating her request in a different way So krishna may say why are you afraid that kamsa will kill me? Let me stay in this form I’ll stay in this form and i’ll kill kamsa so And you have So she says that but how is this possible that actually? People will think that I am simply making bombastic claims You know, there are skeptics at all times in all places And skeptics refuse to believe Anything transcendental and she’s saying such skeptical people will not accept that She is the supreme that she has given birth to the supreme So they will ridicule her they’ll make some claims. They’ll make this.
You’re just making up things for yourself so similarly In this particular situation devaki is saying that you will not be that you will not be understood and therefore, oh lord Please do not manifest here Please do not manifest your form over here