Yashoda

Yashoda was the foster mother of Lord Krishna and the wife of the cowherd King Nanda. She is famed and worshipped for her great motherly love for Lord Krishna, and in this way she was able to develop a very close relationship with this lovable incarnation of Divine Love. As though He was her own son, She looked after Lord Krishna in His childhood and there are many stories of how she had to deal with his naughtiness!

One day while Krishna was playing with His playmates and His brother Balarama, all of Krishna's friends joined Balarama in complaining to Mother Yashoda. "Mother," they said, "Krishna has eaten earth." When she heard this, Yashoda who was always full of anxiety over Krishna's welfare, rushed to Lord Krishna and picked him up. She made him open his mouth and was ready to tell him off. Her eyes fearful, she spoke to him, "Dear Krishna, why are you so restless that you have gone somewhere and eaten dirt?" Lord Krishna replied, "My dear Mother, I have not eaten dirt. All my friends who made this complaint are telling lies. If you think they are being truthful, you can look into my mouth and examine it." Mother Yashoda challenged Krishna, "If you have not eaten earth, then open your mouth wide." Because His Mother asked, Krishna immediately opened His mouth, just like any ordinary boy would do. But when Yashoda looked into Lord Krishna's mouth she had a profound spiritual experience that made her understand Lord Krishna's true Divine nature. She saw contained within His mouth the complete beautiful creation. She saw outer space in all directions, mountains, islands, oceans, seas, planets, air, fire, moon and stars. Indeed, mother Yashoda saw within the mouth of her child everything necessary for the cosmic manifestation. Upon seeing all this, she became struck with awe. It is very rare for anyone to have such an extraordinary darshan, or vision of God. Her soul was very blessed indeed, but after the experience, Lord Krishna made her forget it, so that she could again see and accept Him as her child.

Hearing the name Yashoda, we are reminded of the motherly love of the Divine Mother, who looks after all Her children perfectly and equally with pure, selfless love. Through her association with a Divine Incarnation she had the opportunity to reach great heights in spirituality and attain enlightenment.