Text 42
ahaṁ mamāsau patir eṣa me suto
vrajeśvarasyākhila-vittapā satī
gopyaś ca gopāḥ saha-godhanāś ca me
yan-māyayetthaṁ kumatiḥ sa me gatiḥ
aham — my existence (“I am something”); mama — my; asau — Nanda Mahārāja; patiḥ — husband; eṣaḥ — this (Kṛṣṇa); me sutaḥ — is my son; vraja-īśvarasya — of my husband, Nanda Mahārāja; akhila-vitta-pā — I am the possessor of unlimited opulence and wealth; satī — because I am his wife; gopyaḥ ca — and all the damsels of the cowherd men; gopāḥ — all the cowherd men (are my subordinates); saha-godhanāḥ ca — with the cows and calves; me — my; yat-māyayā — all such things addressed by me are, after all, given by the mercy of the Supreme; ittham — thus; kumatiḥ — I am wrongly thinking they are my possessions; saḥ me gatiḥ — He is therefore my only shelter (I am simply instrumental).
It is by the influence of the Supreme Lord’s māyā that I am wrongly thinking that Nanda Mahārāja is my husband, that Kṛṣṇa is my son, and that because I am the queen of Nanda Mahārāja, all the wealth of cows and calves are my possessions and all the cowherd men and their wives are my subjects. Actually, I also am eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord. He is my ultimate shelter.
Following in the footsteps of mother Yaśodā, everyone should follow this mentality of renunciation. Whatever wealth, opulence or whatever else we may possess belongs not to us but to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate shelter of everyone and the ultimate owner of everything. As stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29):
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.”
We should not be proud of our possessions. As expressed by mother Yaśodā herein, “I am not the owner of possessions, the opulent wife of Nanda Mahārāja. The estate, the possessions, the cows and calves and the subjects like the gopīs and cowherd men are all given to me.” One should give up thinking of “my possessions, my son and my husband” (janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti). Nothing belongs to anyone but the Supreme Lord. Only because of illusion do we wrongly think, “I am existing” or “Everything belongs to me.” Thus mother Yaśodā completely surrendered unto the Supreme Lord. For the moment, she was rather disappointed, thinking, “My endeavors to protect my son by charity and other auspicious activities are useless. The Supreme Lord has given me many things, but unless He takes charge of everything, there is no assurance of protection. I must therefore ultimately seek shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja (Bhāg. 7.9.19), bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha: a father and mother cannot ultimately take care of their children. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti (Bhāg. 5.5.8). One’s land, home, wealth and all of one’s possessions belong to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although we wrongly think, “I am this” and “These things are mine.”