Chapter Seven
The Killing of the Demon Tṛṇāvarta
TEXT 4
śrī-śuka uvāca
kadācid autthānika-kautukāplave
janmarkṣa-yoge samaveta-yoṣitām
vāditra-gīta-dvija-mantra-vācakaiś
cakāra sūnor abhiṣecanaṁ satī
SYNONYMS
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued to speak (at the request of Mahārāja Parīkṣit); kadācit—at that time (when Kṛṣṇa was three months old); autthānika-kautuka-āplave—when Kṛṣṇa was three or four months old and His body was developing, He attempted to turn around, and this pleasing occasion was observed with a festival and bathing ceremony; janma-ṛkṣa-yoge—at that time, there was also a conjunction of the moon with the auspicious constellation Rohiṇī; samaveta-yoṣitām—(the ceremony was observed) among the assembled women, a ceremony of mothers; vāditra-gīta—different varieties of music and singing; dvija-mantra-vācakaiḥ—with chanting of Vedic hymns by qualified brāhmaṇas; cakāra—executed; sūnoḥ—of her son; abhiṣecanam—the bathing ceremony; satī—mother Yaśodā.
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When mother Yaśodā’s baby was slanting His body to attempt to rise and turn around, this attempt was observed by a Vedic ceremony. In such a ceremony, called utthāna, which is performed when a child is due to leave the house for the first time, the child is properly bathed. Just after Kṛṣṇa turned three months old, mother Yaśodā celebrated this ceremony with other women of the neighborhood. On that day, there was a conjunction of the moon with the constellation Rohiṇī. As the brāhmaṇas joined by chanting Vedic hymns and professional musicians also took part, this great ceremony was observed by mother Yaśodā
PURPORT
There is no question of overpopulation or of children’s being a burden for their parents in a Vedic society. Such a society is so well organized and people are so advanced in spiritual consciousness that childbirth is never regarded as a burden or a botheration. The more a child grows, the more his parents become jubilant, and the child’s attempts to turn over are also a source of jubilation. Even before the child is born, when the mother is pregnant, many recommended ritualistic ceremonies are performed. For example, when the child has been within the womb for three months and for seven months, there is a ceremony the mother observes by eating with neighboring children. This ceremony is called svāda-bhakṣaṇa. Similarly, before the birth of the child there is the garbhādhāna ceremony. In Vedic civilization, childbirth or pregnancy is never regarded as a burden; rather, it is a cause for jubilation. In contrast, people in modern civilization do not like pregnancy or childbirth, and when there is a child, they sometimes kill it. We can just consider how human society has fallen since the inauguration of Kali-yuga. Although people still claim to be civilized, at the present moment there is actually no human civilization, but only an assembly of two-legged animals.
TEXT 5
nandasya patnī kṛta-majjanādikaṁ
vipraiḥ kṛta-svastyayanaṁ supūjitaiḥ
annādya-vāsaḥ-srag-abhīṣṭa-dhenubhiḥ
sañjāta-nidrākṣam aśīśayac chanaiḥ
SYNONYMS
nandasya—of Mahārāja Nanda; patnī—the wife (mother Yaśodā); kṛta-majjana-ādikam—after she and the other members of the house had bathed and the child had been bathed also; vipraiḥ—by the brāhmaṇas; kṛta-svastyayanam—engaging them in chanting auspicious Vedic hymns; su-pūjitaiḥ—who were all received and worshiped with proper respect; anna-ādya—by offering them sufficient grains and other eatables; vāsaḥ—garments; srak-abhīṣṭa-dhenubhiḥ—by offering flower garlands and very desirable cows; sañjāta-nidrā—had become sleepy; akṣam—whose eyes; aśīśayat—laid the child down; śanaiḥ—for the time being.
TRANSLATION
After completing the bathing ceremony for the child, mother Yaśodā received the brāhmaṇas by worshiping them with proper respect and giving them ample food grains and other eatables, clothing, desirable cows, and garlands. The brāhmaṇas properly chanted Vedic hymns to observe the auspicious ceremony, and when they finished and mother Yaśodā saw that the child felt sleepy, she lay down on the bed with the child until He was peacefully asleep.
PURPORT
An affectionate mother takes great care of her child and is always anxious to see that the child is not disturbed even for a moment. As long as the child wants to remain with the mother, the mother stays with the child, and the child feels very comfortable. Mother Yaśodā saw that her child felt sleepy, and to give Him all facilities for sleep, she lay down with the child, and when He was peaceful, she got up to attend to her other household affairs.
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