Yashoda and Gopala

This is a vintage artwork titled Yashoda and Gopal from Calcutta Art Studio published around 1878–1883.

In the village of Gokul

the Infinite chose to be a child.

Krishna, the playful cowherd,

the lord of the universe,

became Gopala

the tender guardian of cows.

But to Yashoda

he was simply her son.

She fed him butter

with her own hands,

wiped the dust from his feet,

and chased him

when he stole from the pots.

The sages searched the forests

for the Absolute.

Yashoda found Him

in her courtyard.

Once, when the child opened his mouth,

she saw the whole universe inside

stars, rivers, worlds without end.

Yet the next moment

she gathered him in her arms

and kissed his forehead.

Such is the mystery of love.

The mother who bound God

with a rope of affection,

and the child

who allowed himself to be bound.

For devotion is stronger

than the infinite.