Aadisidalu Yashodhe...

Yashodhe: the Mother of the Lord

Jagadodhaarana aadisidalu Yashodhe, enna thavam seithanai Yashodha, entha punyave, thaaye Yashodhe, maadu meikum kanne, engum illadoru pillai, muddugaare Yashodha...

The list is endless when it comes to compositions that detail Yashodhe maathe and her relationship with Krishna. It wouldn't be surprising if Yashodhe were to be labelled the epitome of a mother. We've all heard so many tales of Yashodha catching navaneeta chora, the many ways she watches him and marvels at all the power this tiny boy holds when he shows her the universe in the same tiny mouth that became the receptacle of sand. Yashodhe is quite popular as a character, perhaps even more so than Radhe.

Yet we rarely wonder what it must have been to be her when Krishna left behind the quaint charms Brundavana held and moved to Mathura, leaving them all behind. He moved on to his birth mother Devaki and many might argue that to be enough but what about Yashodhe? What about the lady who raised Krishna as her own son? True, perhaps she was way more fortunate than most others for her privilege to be in the company of an incarnation of the Lord for several years. Yet I can't help wonder if she went about her errands with the subconscious expectation that Krishna would come and interrupt her encompassing her senses. Perhaps she kept waiting for Krishna to appear out of nowhere and steal butter and when he didn't, she went looking for him. Maybe she even called out his name, promising him all his favourite foods so he would come and, after an extensive search for him, she realized that he would no longer be there, that he would never pop out of nowhere and do some mischievous activities that she would hear no end of complaints about, that he had left her behind. Perhaps she would feel devastated at first but then, she would wipe away her tears and go about her duties with a gentle smile on her face, fuelled by the satisfaction that he was fulfilling the purpose of his life, that he was helping others and that he was in a better place now.

I staunchly believe Yashodhe was far more than just a woman just as Krishna was far more than just a boy. One could say she represents the divine shakthi but perhaps she represents us. Us common mortals without any strong belief or notion about the idea of life, who strive to find meaning. Most of us are fortunate enough to have our own Krishna in our lives. Sometimes they stay for a long time, sometimes we get a mere glimpse of them. Definitely, we might wind up being a little sad when our Krishna leaves but remember that it is inevitable. There will be a time when you will have to find your own Krishna in your own self. As devastated as Yashodhe would have been when Krishna left, perhaps she had the awareness that she could find him in her self if only she tried to find him.

Krishna again means so much more than just an incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna could represent a concept, an idea of a God who is one of us, a God who is put on a pedestal more for his personality than his identity, a deity who could be in all of us. What we can surmise from the same is that we don't need to be great spirituals or make big sacrifices to be someone who can be looked up to. You don't need to perform unimaginable tasks to become a deity. You don't need any particular icon to worship. You can be all you need, just so long as you understand what this concept of Krishna means. For most of us, it is hard to identify this aspect of ourselves so we tend to view this concept as a separate identity, a Krishna. Remember you don't need someone to be your Krishna, you are your own Krishna.

Coming back to Yashodhe, some refuse to refer to her as the mother of Krishna as she did not give birth to him. Just pondering on this topic makes these claims feel quite laughable. What do blood relations mean, how much can they even amount to in the face of actual compassion, affection and care? How does it matter whether or not she gave birth to the boy when she practically raised him? Sure, Devaki did give birth to him but Yashodhe showered him with all the affection she could muster as he grew into a confident young man and eventually went on to bigger things. Beyond all these minor details, at the end of the day, Yashodhe was Krishna's mother, just as he kept calling her the same every time he tried to flatter her to evade punishment for his mischiefs. She was his mother as she held him in the warmth of her hands and lulled him to sleep, content in everything she had and always would have, as he would always be with her in spirit and as she knew him so well that he was herself for her.

Such is the power that a mother's love entails!