Text 23
śrī-śuka uvāca
athainam ātmajaṁ vīkṣya
mahā-puruṣa-lakṣaṇam
devakī tam upādhāvat
kaṁsād bhītā suvismitā
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; atha — after this offering of prayers by Vasudeva; enam — this Kṛṣṇa; ātmajam — their son; vīkṣya — observing; mahā-puruṣa-lakṣaṇam — with all the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu; devakī — Kṛṣṇa’s mother; tam — unto Him (Kṛṣṇa); upādhāvat — offered prayers; kaṁsāt — of Kaṁsa; bhītā — being afraid; su-vismitā — and also being astonished by seeing such a wonderful child.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, having seen that her child had all the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Devakī, who was very much afraid of Kaṁsa and unusually astonished, began to offer prayers to the Lord.
The word suvismitā, meaning “astonished,” is significant in this verse. Devakī and her husband, Vasudeva, were assured that their child was the Supreme Personality of Godhead and could not be killed by Kaṁsa, but because of affection, as they thought of Kaṁsa’s previous atrocities, they were simultaneously afraid that Kṛṣṇa would be killed. This is why the word suvismitā has been used. Similarly, we are also astounded upon thinking of whether this movement will be killed by the asuras or will continue to advance without fear.