Yashoda (, ) is the foster-mother of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

and the wife of Nanda. She is described in the Puranic texts of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

as the wife of Nanda, the chieftain of Gokul, and the sister of Rohini. According to the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

, Krishna was born to Devaki, but Krishna's father,

Vasudeva Vasudeva (; Sanskrit: वसुदेव ), also called Anakadundubhi (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna ( ...

, brought the newborn Krishna to his cousin Nanda, and his wife, Yashoda, in Gokulam. This was for his upbringing, as well as to protect Krishna from Devaki's brother,

Kamsa Kamsa (, ) was the tyrant ruler of the Vrishni kingdom, with its capital at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura. He is variously described in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as either a human or an asura; The Puranas describe him as an asura, while ...

, the tyrannical king of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

Etymology

The name Yashoda means 'one who is giver (da, ) of fame or glory (Yash, )'.

Legends

Yashoda with infant Krishna early 12th century Tamil Nadu Pudukkottai and Tanjavur districts

Origin

According to the ''

'', Yashoda was the incarnation of Dhara, the wife of the Vasu, Drona. Little is known about Yashoda's early life, other than her marriage to Nanda.

, the ruler of

, had decided to kill

as soon as he was born. In order to protect

from

and

Yogamaya Yogamaya (, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who serves as the personification of Vishnu's powers of illusion. In Vaishnavism, Vaishnava tradition, she is accorded the epithet Narayani—"the sister of Narayana (Vishnu)"—and is regarded as th ...

were born at the same time from the wombs of Devaki and Yashoda, respectively, and were exchanged by

Anakadundubhi.

survived and was raised as the foster-son of Yashoda. Various childhood episodes or ''lilas'', growing up in Yashoda's household, abound in

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

texts. In the ''

'', Yashoda is praised as:

Witnessing the Cosmos in Krishna's Mouth

The

describes the following episode:

Liberation of Nalakuvara and Manigriva

According to the

, once, Krishna was playing in the sand and was swallowing it. Yashoda, upon seeing this, was furious with Krishna for disobeying her and punished him by tying him to a mortar, or a grinding stone. The child dragged the mortar to the tree called ''Marutru'', and got himself stuck between the twin trees. Immediately, the trees regained their original forms of Nalakuvara and Manigriva, the sons of

Kubera Kubera (, ) also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as Guardians of the directions, the regent of the north (''Dikpala''), and a protector of the ...

. The deities had been cursed by Narada for not paying heed to him, and had been liberated from their curse as trees after meeting Krishna. They paid homage to the child, who blessed them, and the two returned to Vaishravanapuri.

Slaying of Putana

When the demoness Putana attempts to murder the infant Krishna by breastfeeding him with her poison, Krishna sucks out her life force instead, turning her into a carcass. Hearing the demoness' dying screams, Yashoda finds the corpse still bearing her child in her arms. Yashoda snatches him and waves a cow-tail brush over him in order to guard him from harm.

Reincarnation of Yashoda

According to regional tradition, in the '' Dvapara Yuga'', Yashoda could not witness the wedding of Krishna. Krishna promised her that she would get that chance of seeing his wedding when Krishna incarnates again as Venkateshvara in the '' Kali Yuga''. In the ''Kali Yuga'', Yashoda was born as Vakula Devi, as the mother of Venkateshvara and witnessed the nuptials between Venkateshvara and Princess Padmavathi.

In popular culture

The 1975 Telugu film '' Yashoda Krishna'', directed by C. S. Rao, presented events in the life of Krishna and his attachment towards Yashoda. Sridevi played the role of the child Krishna in the film. The Tamil devotional song, 'Enna Thavam Seithanai' is addressed to Yashoda, rhetorically wondering what penance she had performed to raise Krishna as her own child. The Carnatic song, "Thaaye Yashoda", composed by Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi, is another song addressed to Yashoda from the perspective of gopikas who complain about Krishna's mischief.

References

External links

Story of Krishna (Krushn) and Yashoda
{{HinduMythology People related to Krishna Women in Hindu mythology Characters in the Mahabharata Characters in the Bhagavata Purana