Pūtanā, Śakaṭa and Tṛṇāvarta

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa (Chapters 10 to 13), tells of four events in the earliest infancy of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa at Gokula. First comes the rākshasī Pūtanā, who comes to kill the child and is freed. Then comes the whirlwind asura Tṛṇāvarta. Then the cart (śakaṭa) is broken by the child’s foot. Last, Garga Muni arrives to name the children and feed Kṛshṇa his first solid food.

Kaṃsa’s command and Pūtanā’s disguise

After the exchange of the infants and the departure of Vasudeva, Kaṃsa heard a bodiless voice. It told him that his destroyer had already been born elsewhere and was growing up in Nanda’s home in Gokula. Kaṃsa learned that the infant taken from him was born of an aṃśa (part) of Māyā and was not the one to fear. He learned that both Balarāma, the child of Rohiṇī whose birth had been falsely reported as a miscarriage, and his true destroyer were thriving in Gokula. Kaṃsa was filled with terror and resolve. He sat in his royal assembly on his golden throne and called Pūtanā, whom he treated like a dear daughter.

Kaṃsa spoke to her with affection. He ordered her to go to Nanda’s home in Gokula and give her breast, filled with deadly poison, to the infant there. He praised her powers. She moved with the speed of thought. She was skilled in māyā-śāstra (the science of illusion). She had received the great mantra of Durvāsa Muni, which let her go anywhere. She could take any form she wished. He told her to take the form of a beautiful human woman and finish the task quickly.

Pūtanā bowed to Kaṃsa, accepted the task and set out. She made herself shine, her body bright like pure gold and covered with many ornaments. Her braided hair wore a garland of mālatī flowers. Her brow was marked with a kasturī tilaka and a raised dot of sindūra. Her anklets and hip-ornaments sounded sweetly as she walked. She took the disguise of a brāhmaṇa woman with a gracious manner and a gentle smile, and she entered Gokula.

The passage describes Gokula as a fortified settlement of great splendour. Deep moats that could not be crossed surrounded it. Viśvakarma built its houses with divine stone and decorated them with indranīla gems, marakata gems and padmarāga gems. Its towers were crowned with golden kalaśas (pots). Guards protected its four great gateways. It was full of crores of cows, hundreds of thousands of gopālas and gopikās, and unlimited wealth.

Pūtanā is freed by Kṛshṇa

The gopikās saw Pūtanā coming to Nanda’s home. They thought she was Lakshmī Devī herself, or Pārvatī, come to see the child. They received her with respect. They washed her feet, gave her a seat on a throne and asked why she had come. She said she was a brāhmaṇa woman from Mathurā. She had heard of the great son born to Nanda in his old age, and she had come to bless the child and see him. Yaśodā was delighted. She placed the infant Kṛshṇa face-down in the lap of her honoured guest and let her hold him. Pūtanā kissed him again and again and gave him her breast.

Śrī Kṛshṇa knew who she really was. He drank the milk together with the poison, and with the poison he drew out her prāṇas (life-breath). The sādhvī let go of the child, gave up her life and fell dead. As she fell, her disguise dissolved and her true rākshasī form appeared, with her mouth wide open. Yet even as her heavy body fell, her subtle divine body rose up. A shining chariot appeared. It was made of jewels and served by beautiful Vishṇupārshadas (attendants of Bhagavān Vishṇu). It was hung with a lakh of cāmaras (fly-whisks) and a lakh of mirrors. It blazed like fire in its fine cloths and was filled with many-coloured jewelled pots. It spread a halo of gem-light in every direction and it had a hundred wheels. In that chariot the pārshadas carried her ātmā to the supreme Goloka. The gopikās, the gopālas and beings of all the lokas saw this with great wonder. Kaṃsa heard of it and was astonished.

Yaśodā then took her son, gave him the breast, and had a brāhmaṇa sprinkle water sanctified with mantras over him as protection (rakshā). Nanda had Pūtanā’s huge body burned. As it burned, a sweet scent of fragrant substances rose from it and filled the air, because the body of one who had reached Goloka carried this blessing.

The earlier birth of Pūtanā: Ratnamālā, daughter of Bali

Nārada Muni heard this account and asked Nārāyaṇa Ṛshi: who was this rākshasī in form, and by what puṇya (merit) did she, of all beings, see Śrī Hari as an infant and reach Goloka?

Nārāyaṇa Muni told her earlier life. When Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared as the beautiful Vāmana at the great yajña of Bali Cakravartī, Bali’s daughter Ratnamālā saw that charming form. She was overcome by putra-bhāva, the love of a mother for a child. In her heart she thought: “This one looks like my own son. He should drink at my breast. How I would then hold him to my chest!” Śrī Hari saw her wish and decided to fulfil it in another birth. As Pūtanā, in the body of a rākshasī, she gave her breast, even though with poison, and so received the fruit of her mātṛ-bhāva (feeling of a mother). Bhagavān Hari, who is kind and fulfils every wish of the heart, gave her mātṛ-gati, the goal given to a mother.

Nārāyaṇa Muni ended: “Pūtanā was a rākshasī. Yet by the feeling with which she offered her breast to Kṛshṇa, she reached union with him as a mother. Whom else but Śrī Hari should we ever worship?”

Tṛṇāvarta Vadha: the whirlwind asura is slain

Some time later, Yaśodā was holding the infant Kṛshṇa to her chest while she was busy with the work of the house. Śrī Kṛshṇa knew that the whirlwind asura Tṛṇāvarta was coming. He made his body so heavy that his mother could not bear the weight. Yaśodā could not hold the suddenly heavy child. She laid him on the bed and went to the river Yamunā.

The asura came in the form of a great whirlwind. He seized the infant and whirled him up into the air, carrying him a hundred yojanas away. He covered all Gokula in thick darkness. He broke great branches from the trees with roaring winds. Then he fell to the ground, because when anyone touches Śrī Hari, even a rākshasa has all his karma burned away. Tṛṇāvarta’s rākshasa body perished, he took a divine body, and a beautiful chariot came to carry him to Hari’s abode.

When the whirlwind died down, the gopālas and gopikās were filled with terror. They could not find the infant who had been lying in his bed. Some fainted, some wept, and others beat their chests in grief. They searched everywhere. At last they found the child lying in a flower garden by a lake outside the settlement. He was covered in dust and looking up at the sky, making sounds and movements as if he were talking with someone they could not see. Nanda ran and pressed the child to his chest, weeping with relief. Yaśodā and Rohiṇī saw him and wept too, and kissed him again and again. Yaśodā bathed him with a joyful face, did auspicious rites of protection, and gave him the breast.

The earlier birth of Tṛṇāvarta: King Sahasrāksha and the śāpa of Durvāsa

Nārada asked why Tṛṇāvarta had been born as an asura. Nārāyaṇa Ṛshi told him this account.

In the Pāṇḍya kingdom there was a great king named Sahasrāksha, a mighty tapasvin (one who practises tapas) and a yogīndra (master of yoga) of great attainment. Once he went with a thousand of his wives to a quiet and beautiful garden on the slopes of Mount Gandhamādana, near the river Pushpabhadrā. There he used his yogic power to make himself into a thousand forms at the same moment. He enjoyed his wives in every way of kāma (desire), with scratches, bites and every kind of śṛṅgāra (love-play). After the play on land, the women took off their garments and played in the water without clothes together with their husband.

At that moment the great ṛshi Durvāsa arrived at that riverbank. He was on his way to Kailāsa to see Śaṅkara, and a hundred thousand disciples were with him. The king was drunk with desire. He saw the ṛshi come near, but he did not rise, did not bow and did not speak a single word of welcome or respect. Durvāsa was furious. He shook with anger and spoke a śāpa (a curse): “O pāpī (sinner)! Your yoga-power shall be destroyed, and you shall be born an asura on earth. You shall live so in Bhāratavarsha for a hundred thousand years. After that time, the touch of Śrī Hari’s feet shall give you Goloka. Your wives shall be born as women of very great beauty in the homes of great kings across Bhāratavarsha.” After he had given the śāpa, Durvāsa went away to Śiva’s temple.

After the ṛshi left, the king wept bitterly on the riverbank. His beautiful queens cried out in sorrow at the coming parting. How could they live without him, how could he live without them, and how would they ever again enjoy the forests in his company? The queens fell at his feet and fainted from grief. Then the king made an agni-kuṇḍa (fire-pit) on that riverbank. He fixed his mind on Śrī Hari’s lotus feet, and with his wives he entered the blazing fire and gave up his body. The devas saw this and cried out in sorrow. The ṛshis said: “Of all things, fate is the most powerful.” So Tṛṇāvarta had been born as an asura, and by the touch of Śrī Kṛshṇa’s feet he reached Goloka.

Śakaṭa-bhañjana: the cart is broken

On another day, Yaśodā was sitting on a golden throne and nursing the hungry Kṛshṇa at her breast. Many gopikās, old and young, and gopāla children came to the house to pay their respects. Yaśodā wanted to look after her guests. She laid the infant, still hungry, on the bed and went to welcome them. She gave them oil, sindūra, tāmbūla (betel), ornaments, garments and food.

The infant Śrī Kṛshṇa, the master of Māyā himself, lay hungry and began to cry, kicking his small feet in the air. As he kicked, his foot struck the wheel of a large cart (śakaṭa) standing nearby. At the touch of the foot of Viśvambhara, the one who sustains the universe, the cart broke into pieces. Every part of it fell apart. All the pots of milk, curds, butter and ghee on it crashed to the ground. The gopikās who saw this ran to the child in fear. They found him unhurt among the broken pots and scattered food. Yaśodā hurried to clear away the pieces and picked up her son, who was still crying from hunger. She gave him the breast, and she herself wept at the frightening event.

The gopālas asked the young children who were there: “How on earth did the cart break? There is no cause that we can see!” The children answered with certainty: “Kṛshṇa’s kick broke the cart. That is the truth. He gave it nothing but his foot.” The gopālas and gopikās smiled and laughed among themselves. The people of Gokula heard this account and would not believe it. “This is impossible,” they said.

The brāhmaṇa elders spoke a svasti-vācanam (words of blessing) over the child. One brāhmaṇa laid his hand on the infant’s body and recited the kavaca mantra.

The Yogamāyā Kavaca, taught by Yoganidrā to Brahmā

The kavaca (protective prayer) recited over the infant Kṛshṇa was not newly made. It was the ancient kavaca that Yoganidrā (Vishṇumāyā Devī) had taught the four-faced Brahmā. He had been born on the lotus from Vishṇu’s navel and was afraid of the asuras Madhu and Kaiṭabha. Nārāyaṇa Muni told this to Nārada.

The cosmic ocean carried Jagannātha asleep upon it, and Brahmā sat on the lotus born from his navel. Then the terrible asuras Madhu and Kaiṭabha appeared, and Brahmā trembled with fear. He prayed to Bhagavān Vishṇu, and Yoganidrā appeared before him and comforted him: “O Brahmā! With Śrī Hari here, what fear can you have? With me here, what cause is there for grief? Be at peace.” Then she taught him the kavaca:

May Śrī Hari protect your face; may Madhusūdana protect your head; may Śrī Kṛshṇa protect your eyes; may Rādhikāpati protect your nose; may Mādhava protect your two ears; may Khaṇḍha protect your neck and upper head. May Hṛshīkeśa protect your lower lip; may Gadāgraja protect your teeth; may Rāseśvara protect your tongue; may the all-pervading Vāmana protect your jaw. May Mukunda protect your chest; may the slayer of the daityas protect your belly; may Janārdana protect your navel; may Vishṇu protect your liṅga; may Purushottama protect your hips and secret parts. May Nṛsiṃha protect your hands in every trouble; may Varāhamūrti protect your feet. May Nārāyaṇa protect your upper parts; may Kamalāpati protect your lower parts. May Gopāla protect the east; may Rāvaṇāntaka protect the south-east; may Vanamālī protect the south; may Vaikuṇṭha protect the south-west; may Vāsudeva protect the west; may the birthless Vishṭaraśravas protect the north-west; may Jalajāsana protect the north with his tejas (radiance); may Īśvara protect the north-east; may the conqueror of enemies protect in all ten directions. In water, on land, in the sky and in sleep, may Rāghava protect you.

Yoganidrā told Brahmā that she herself had once received this kavaca from Śrī Hari. She had stood in the sky for a hundred years in fierce battle with the asura Śuṃbha. Then she obtained the kavaca and defeated him. Kālikā Devī wore it and devoured Raktabīja. Ādiśesha, with his thousand heads, wears it and holds up the universe as lightly as a sesame seed. The ṛshis Nara and Nārāyaṇa and the ṛshi Sanatkumāra win victory everywhere through its power.

In Gokula, the brāhmaṇa who performed the rites wrote this kavaca on a leaf and placed it in a golden tāvītu (amulet case). He tied it around the infant Kṛshṇa’s neck. He did not know that Śrī Hari himself was wearing his own kavaca at his own throat. The power of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and the power of the kavaca together have no equal.

The arrival of Garga Muni

Some time later, Yaśodā was sitting on a golden throne, holding the hungry infant Kṛshṇa to her breast. A brāhmaṇa of great brilliance came to Nanda’s home with a group of disciples. He shone with brahma-tejas (the radiance of Brahman). His white teeth gleamed. He wore white garments and carried a yoga-daṇḍa (yoga staff), an umbrella, and japa-mālās (prayer beads) of white crystal. He shone like a book of jyotiḥśāstra (the science of the stars) come to life. He knew the Veda and the Vedāṅgas and was always busy reciting the highest mantra. His matted hair glowed like beaten gold. His face was like the full moon of autumn, his eyes were like lotus flowers, and his body was white in colour. He was a disciple of Śaṅkara and a pure devotee of Vishṇu. He taught his disciples with the vyākhyāna-mudrā (teaching gesture), explaining Vedic mantras in many ways. He was a jīvanmukta, one who is free even while living, with his meditation fixed day and night on Śrī Kṛshṇa’s lotus feet. He was sarvajña (all-knowing), sarvadarśī (all-seeing) and master of all sciences.

Yaśodā rose and bowed. She offered pādya (water for the feet) and madhuparka (honey mixture), and seated him on a throne. She had the infant bow before the muni. In his mind the muni was already bowing a hundred times before Śrī Hari, whom he knew in that infant. He gave his blessings in Vedic mantras. She then bowed to his disciples, and they blessed her too.

Nanda was called by Yaśodā and came. He fell flat on the ground in sāshṭāṅga namaskāra before the muni, and then rose and bowed with joined hands. Garga smiled and spoke to them both, telling who he was and why he had come: “I am Garga. I have been the purohita of the Yādava clan for a long time. Vasudeva sent me here to do a task that no one else can do: the annaprāśana and the nāmakaraṇa of these two infants.” Then he took Nanda and Yaśodā aside into a private room.

Garga Muni’s private teaching to Nanda

In the quiet inner room, with Yaśodā and the infant there, Garga Muni told Nanda the secret. He said that Vasudeva had made the exchange (pratarpana) in Nanda’s birthing room. The infant born to Yaśodā was in truth Vasudeva’s son, and Nanda’s own daughter had been taken to Mathurā. Garga then told Nanda who the infant is:

This child (Śrī Kṛshṇa) is Pūrṇa Brahma-svarūpa, the complete and perfect form of Brahman, who has come down by māyā to lift the burden of the earth. Brahmā himself serves him. The Nārāyaṇa who lives in Vaikuṇṭha as Lakshmī-vallabha, the Vishṇu who lives in Śvetadvīpa, that birthless one is also Goloka-nātha and Rādhikāpati. He is Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa. Kapila Muni, the ṛshis Nara and Nārāyaṇa, and all others are only his aṃśas. He appeared to Vasudeva in the full blaze of his sarvatejas (all radiance) and then took this infant form. He filled Devakī’s womb with the wind of māyā, for he is ayoni-sambhava, one who is not born through a human womb, and he appeared on earth of his own will.

Garga then taught the colour (varṇa) of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the four yugas. In Satya-yuga he is white (śukla). In Tretā-yuga he is red (rakta). In Dvāpara he is yellow (pīta). In Kali-yuga he is dark (kṛshṇa). He is a mass of radiance (tejo-rāśi) in every age. Because he is pūrṇatama para-Brahma (the most complete Supreme Brahman), he is called Kṛshṇa.

Garga then gave several meanings of the name Kṛshṇa.

• The syllable “Ka” means Para-Brahman. “Ṛ” means Ananta (Ādiśesha). The letter “sh” means Śiva. “Ṇ” means Dharmadevatā. “A” means Vishṇu, who lives in Śvetadvīpa. The visarga (final breath sound) means Nara-Nārāyaṇa. So “Kṛshṇaḥ” is the form of all tejas and all mūrtis.
• “Kṛsh” means the uprooting of karma (karmanirmūlanam). “ṇ” means dāsya (service). “A” means the giver. So Kṛshṇa destroys the karma of the jīvas (living beings) and gives them service to himself.
• “Kṛsh” means the jīva’s release from karma-yoga. “ṇ” means bhakti. “A” means the fruit of liberation. So Kṛshṇa leads the jīvas through karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga to moksha.
• “Kṛsh” means saṃsāra-vimocana (release from the cycle of birth and death). “ṇ” means mukti. “A” means “the giver”. So the one who gives release from bondage and gives moksha is called Kṛshṇa.

Garga said that the puṇya of reciting a koṭi (ten million) of the names of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa is gained by saying the single name “Kṛshṇa”. The syllables of this name make the yamadūtas (messengers of Yama) tremble and run, and they scatter all pātakas (grave sins) and diseases. Even the effort to say it makes every inauspicious thing flee.

The names of Kṛshṇa and Balarāma

Garga Muni then said the sacred names (nāmas) of the elder child, Balarāma, and the younger, Kṛshṇa, and explained where each comes from and what it means.

For Kṛshṇa, Garga gave these names: Kṛshṇa, Pītāmbara, Kaṃsadhvaṃsī, Vishṭaraśravas, Devakī-nandana, Śrīśa, Yaśodā-nandana, Hari, Sanātana, Acyuta, Ananta, Sarveśa, Sad-rūpa-dhara, Sarvādhāra, Sarva-gati, Sattva-kāraṇa-kāraṇa, Rādhā-bandhu, Rādhikātmā, Rādhikā-jīvana, Rādhā-prāṇa, Rādhikeśa, Rādhikā-ramaṇa, Rādhikā-sahacāri, Rādhā-mānasa-pūraṇa, Rādhā-dhana, Rādhikāṅga, Rādhikā-sakta-mānasa, Rādhikā-citta-cora, Rādhā-prāṇādhika, Prabhu, Paripūrṇatama Para-Brahma, Govinda and Garuḍa-dhvaja. These names destroy birth and death and give liberation.

For Balarāma, Garga explained the names this way. Because the embryo was drawn (saṃkarshita) from one womb to another, he is called Saṃkarshaṇa. Because his glory in the Vedas has no limit, he is Ananta. Because of his great strength, he is Baladeva. Because he carries the plough (hala), he is called Halī. Because of his dark garments, he is Śitivāsa. Because he carries the musala (pestle weapon), he is Musalī. Because Revatī is his wife, he is Revatī-ramaṇa. Because he was born in Rohiṇī’s womb, he is Rauhiṇeya.

Nanda was deeply moved by all he had heard. He said how amazed he was, and he asked who “Rādhā” was, because this name appears in ten of the names Garga had given for Kṛshṇa. Garga smiled and gave a further private teaching about the origin of Rādhā and the meaning of her name. The Purāṇa tells this at length where it speaks of the holy union of Rādhā and Kṛshṇa.

The annaprāśana and nāmakaraṇa: a great celebration

Garga Muni announced the auspicious day for the ceremonies. It was Māgha Śukla Caturdaśī, a Thursday, under the Revatī nakshatra, with Mīna lagna, the lord of the lagna in full view, and the rare and excellent Vaṇijī yoga joined with a fine śubha-yoga. He urged Nanda to ask the learned and to perform the rites on that day.

Nanda and Yaśodā heard this and made every preparation. Nanda invited all his relatives, gopālas, gopikās, ṛshis, brāhmaṇas, vandi-janas (bards) and bhikshukas (beggars) from near and far. He sent śubha-patrikās (invitation letters) by messengers. He prepared great amounts of food. There were huge heaps, called mountains, of śāli rice, flattened rice, kinds of salt, śarkarā (sugar), laḍḍus, ripe fruits, wheat sweets, svastika pūḍas and kavardaka dishes. There were huge troughs, likened to canals, filled with curd, milk, ghee, jaggery, oil, honey, butter, buttermilk and śarkarā-jala-pānaka (sugar-water drink). The entrance of the house was swept and decorated with plantain pillars, fine cloth and fresh mango-leaf toraṇas, and with full maṅgala-kumbhas (auspicious pots) adorned with fruit, sprouts, sandalwood, aguru and kasturī. Flower garlands, fine garments, honey, madhuparka vessels and fruit jars lay piled in plenty. Musical instruments of every kind sounded: ḍakka, dundubhi, paṭaha, tambourines, mṛdaṅgas, muraja, conch, flute, kāṃsya-tālas (bell-metal cymbals) and śara-yantras. Vidyādhara women danced and Gandharva leaders sang with rāga and tāla. The sound of golden thrones being set down and of chariots moving filled the air.

Relatives and gopāla kings came on horses, elephants and chariots, decked with jewels. Giribhānu, Yaśodā’s father, came with the women of his inner household, servants, and thousands of chariots, elephants, horses and palanquins. Ṛshis, learned brāhmaṇas, bards and beggars arrived in groups. The number of gopālas and gopikās was beyond counting.

At the height of the celebration, Kubera, full of love for Śrī Kṛshṇa, sent a rain of gold (suvarṇa-vṛshṭi) over Gokula for three muhūrtas, until it overflowed.

Nanda bathed in his clothes, put on freshly washed garments and applied fragrant pastes of sandalwood, aguru, kasturī and kuṅkuma. He did his daily pūjā, washed his feet, took the permission (ājñā) of Garga Muni and the other ṛshis present, and sat on a golden seat. He did ācamana three times, remembered the name of Govinda, and recited the puṇyāha-vācanam with Vedic mantras. He had a meal served to all the children who were there. Then, in the auspicious muhūrta that Garga had named, he performed the nāmakaraṇa of the infant as “Kṛshṇa” with full rites of protection. He gave the infant his first feeding (annaprāśana) of ghee mixed with honey. Auspicious instruments sounded. Brāhmaṇas received garments, food, golden ornaments and other wealth as dāna (gifts). Bards and beggars received plenty of gold. The guests could not lift the gifts they were given. Brāhmaṇas, relatives and beggars were fed until they were fully satisfied, and the cry “Serve them! Serve them! Eat! Eat!” rang on without a pause through Nanda’s Gokula.

Garga Muni’s stotra to Śrī Kṛshṇa

When the ceremonies were over, Garga Muni took the infant Śrī Kṛshṇa to a quiet place. Tears of ānanda (joy) flowed from his eyes and the hair of his body stood on end. He put his head at Kṛshṇa’s lotus feet with joined hands and sang a splendid stotra (hymn of praise).

He prayed that Kṛshṇa’s lotus feet would give him dāsya (service). He said the great wealth Nanda had given him was of no use unless Kṛshṇa gave him steady bhakti. He wanted none of the eight ashṭa-siddhis of yoga, nor mukti, nor the rank of the devas, nor Indra’s seat, nor the fruit of svarga (heaven), nor the post of a Manu. He wanted only pāda-sevā, service at Kṛshṇa’s feet. He said he would not accept even the four kinds of moksha (sālokya, sāmīpya, sārūpya and sāyujya) if they took him away from Kṛshṇa’s presence. He asked for neither a home in Pātāla nor in Goloka, only for unbroken smṛti (remembrance) at the lotus feet of Kṛshṇa. He said that he had received Kṛshṇa’s mantra from the lips of Śaṅkara through the puṇya of many births. He asked Kṛshṇa to let him see Kṛshṇa in all things, to move in Kṛshṇa everywhere, and to protect him from mṛtyu (death).

He then praised the devotees of Kṛshṇa. Śaṅkara, by serving Kṛshṇa’s feet, became the ruler of all devas. Brahmā became the maker of the worlds. Dharma became the witness of all karma. Ādiśesha, with his thousand heads, carries the universe as lightly as a sesame seed. He praised Lakshmī, who wipes Kṛshṇa’s feet with her hair. He praised Mūla-prakṛti, who keeps up her appointed work by remembering those feet. He praised Pārvatī, who won Maṅgala Parameśvara as her husband by serving them. He praised Sarasvatī, who became honoured by all beings, and Sāvitrī-Gāyatrī, who makes the three worlds pure. He praised Rādhā Devī herself, born from the half-body (tejas-aṃśa) of Kṛshṇa, equal to him in radiance, who yet serves his feet from within his own heart.

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa was pleased and said to Garga: “May steady bhakti and unbroken smṛti at my feet be fixed in you.” Then he gave the child back to Nanda, and Garga went away to Mathurā.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 10 (Kaṃsa’s command to Pūtanā, Pūtanā’s death and liberation, her earlier birth as Ratnamālā)
• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 11 (Tṛṇāvarta Vadha, the earlier birth of Tṛṇāvarta as King Sahasrāksha)
• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 12 (Śakaṭa-bhañjana, the Yogamāyā Kavaca)
• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13 (Garga Muni, the names, the annaprāśana and nāmakaraṇa, Garga’s stotra)