Text 7
śrī-garga uvāca
yadūnām aham ācāryaḥ
khyātaś ca bhuvi sarvadā
sutaṁ mayā saṁskṛtaṁ te
manyate devakī-sutam
śrī-gargaḥ uvāca — Garga Muni said; yadūnām — of the Yadu dynasty; aham — I am; ācāryaḥ — the priestly guide, or purohita; khyātaḥ ca — this is already known; bhuvi — everywhere; sarvadā — always; sutam — the son; mayā — by me; saṁskṛtam — having undergone the purificatory process; te — of you; manyate — would be considered; devakī-sutam — the son of Devakī.
Garga Muni said: My dear Nanda Mahārāja, I am the priestly guide of the Yadu dynasty. This is known everywhere. Therefore, if I perform the purificatory process for your sons, Kaṁsa will consider Them the sons of Devakī.
Garga Muni indirectly disclosed that Kṛṣṇa was the son of Devakī, not of Yaśodā. Since Kaṁsa was already searching for Kṛṣṇa, if the purificatory process were undertaken by Garga Muni, Kaṁsa might be informed, and that would create a catastrophe. It may be argued that although Garga Muni was the priest of the Yadu dynasty, Nanda Mahārāja also belonged to that dynasty. Nanda Mahārāja, however, was not acting as a kṣatriya. Therefore Garga Muni said, “If I act as your priest, this will confirm that Kṛṣṇa is the son of Devakī.”