Lord Siva arrived in Gokul.

 

Lord Siva arrived in Gokul.

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On the twelfth day after birth of Lord Krishna, Shiva decided to go to Gokul to see Krishna.

The Lord was acting as a baby, performing His pastimes in the lap of Mother Yasoda.

Knowing that Nanda Maharaja generously gives charity to please the Brahmanas, Lord Siva decided to diguise himself as a Brahmana and proceeded to Gokul to see Lord Krsna.

But as soon as he touched the dust of Vraja, before entering Gokul, he realized that he should not change his form.

He thought, *“The Lord knows who I am, therefore I must go in my real form.” This is the nature of the dust of Vraja- it brings perfect realization to the heart of a real devotee.*

Lord Siva’s natural form has three eyes and long unkept, matted hair.

He wears a tiger skin, a garland of snakes, a belt of scorpions, and has ashes smeared all over his body.

Exhibiting this fearsome form, he entered Gokul, proceeded to Mother Yasoda’s house, and knocked on the door, he said

“ Bhikhsham De Hi”

Mother Yasoda answered the door, but, in her deep, ecstatic love for Krishna, did not recognize the visitor as Lord Siva.

Yasoda, always being generous to visiting saints, said, “Wait outside. I will bring you a gift.”

Lord Siva replied, “No, no, I do not want any gifts. I have come here to see your son.”

Upon hearing the visitor’s request, Mother Yasoda replied, “No, it is not possible for you to see Him. Anything else you wish, you may have. I see you are hungry and in need of clothing.

Please wait a moment, and I shall bring you some nice prasada and clean clothes. Please take them and leave.”

Lord Siva replied, “No, no, I have everything. My wife is Annapurna (another name for Parvati), whom I have left behind to come and see your son. Please allow me to see your son, if only for a second.”

Hearing Lord Siva’s plea, Mother Yasoda then said, “Take what I give you and go before your snakes and scorpions fall here. Please understand that my baby is very small and will be frightened by your dress, so please go.”

Knowing how stubborn Yasoda was, Lord Siva said, “I shall not go until I see your son.”

Mother Yasoda then said, “You can sit here as long as you want, but you will not see my son.”

Lord Siva replied, “I can sit here for ten thousand years. One day, when your son grows up and is no longer under your control, I will see Him then.”

Mother Yasoda then said, “O Babaji (respected saint), if you sit here for ten thousand years, I shall close this gate for twenty thousand years. I will open a different gate through which my son will go out to play. Do not challenge me. My lovely son is my life.”

Meanwhile, Krsna, laying on the bed, was aware of what was going on outside the door.

He wanted these two of His devotees to quarrel over Him, because He wanted to prove to everyone that the devotees in the mood of parental love are superior to those in the mood of servitorship.

Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of the Lord in the mood of servitorship, and Mother Yasoda is a pure devotee in the mood of parental love.

Both have unalloyed love for Krsna, but the mood of parental love is a closer relationship than the mood of servitorship.

Therefore, Lord Siva had to yield to Mother Yasoda in this confrontation.

Upon being defeated by Yasoda, Lord Siva thought, “O Krsna! You are the Lord of the universe hiding in the house of this cowherd lady. This is Your will, and if your will is not to see me, what can I do?”

Thinking in this way, Lord Siva stated to Mother Yasoda, “O lady, you yourself will soon call me to see your son.”

Hearing this, Mother Yasoda replied, “You go. I will not call you. You can take whatever else you wish, but do not ask me again to see my child.”

Lord Siva then left Yasoda’s house, feeling very morose. He reached the bank of the Yamuna river, sat down, and began meditating on how dramatically Krsna acts.

Krsna, knowing that Lord Siva, his best devotee, left the house unsatisfied, began to cry, and no one could stop Him.

All the Gopas and Gopis tried to stop Krsna from crying, but their attempts were of no avail. He continued crying loudly.

Then, a clever Gopi named Lalita approached Mother Yasoda and asked her if anyone had left the house displeased.

Mother Yasoda thought for a moment and said, “Yes, one mendicant came with snakes wrapped around his neck and wanted to see my child. I wanted to give him whatever he desired, but he insisted that he only wished to see my child. he did not take anything and left unsatisfied.”

Lalita then said, “A Sadhu should never leave one’s house unsatisfied. Whatever he wanted, he should have been given. This is the curse that is haunting your baby and all of us. Therefore, we must call the Sadhu.”

Mother Yasoda then described the appearance of the Sadhu to Lalita. Lalita then left in search of the Sadhu, found him, and brought him back to the house.

Mother Yasoda handed the crying Baby Krsna to Lord Siva.

As soon as Lord Siva received Krsna, He immediately stopped crying, opened His eyes, and saw His pure devotee, Lord Siva.

Lord Siva, having taken Krsna atop his lap, was lost in an ocean of transcendental ecstasy.

He said, “O Lord of the universe, O Lord of all, O Supreme controller, it is very difficult to ascertain how You will act next. It is inconceivable that the Lord who cannot be seen by meditating for thousands of years, is now acting as the child of a cowherd lady! Only You know your desire. No one else does. O Lord, I simply pay my homage unto You.”

After saying this, Lord Siva took the Lord’s little feet, touched them to his head, and chanted the Gopala Sahasra Nama Stotra, “the one thousand names of the Lord.” He later repeated these same names to Parvati when he returned home.

Upon seeing this, Mother Yasoda said, “Baba (father), watch your snakes. My child is very small.”

Hearing this, Lord Siva realized the superiority of the devotion of Mother Yasoda and understood why Krsna appeared as her son. If one becomes a real devotee of Krsna, Krsna will undoubtedly manifest to him