Verse 1.7.77-78

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.7.77-78:

आश्चर्यम् अत्र किं मूर्खे पूर्व-जन्मनि यत् तपः ।
समं श्री-वसुदेवेन मयाकारि सुताय तत् ॥ ७७ ॥
अतोऽयम् आवयोः प्राप्तः पुत्रतां वरदेश्वरः ।
अस्मिन् नन्द-यशोदाभ्यां भक्तिः सम्प्रार्थिता विधिम् ॥ ७८ ॥

āścaryam atra kiṃ mūrkhe pūrva-janmani yat tapaḥ |
samaṃ śrī-vasudevena mayākāri sutāya tat || 77 ||
ato'yam āvayoḥ prāptaḥ putratāṃ varadeśvaraḥ |
asmin nanda-yaśodābhyāṃ bhaktiḥ samprārthitā vidhim || 78 ||

Foolish woman, what wonder is this? I performed tapasyā with Śrī Vasudeva in my past life to obtain Śrī Kṛṣṇa as my son and as a result, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the highest bestower of benedictions, agreed to become our son. However, Śrī Nanda and Śrī Yaśodā prayed only to Śrī Brahmā for devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

What did Śrī Devakī say? He is explaining this through the four verses beginning with āścāryam (wonder). "O foolish woman (Padmāvatī), what is so astonishing in the special bhāvas of Śrī Kṛṣṇa with Śrī Nanda and the other vraja-vāsis that you are seeing? Who said it was so wonderful?

"In other words, there cannot be the slightest implausibility to speak of, because I performed severe austerities in my past life with my husband with the desire to obtain a son such as Bhagavān, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the divine benefactor, became pleased with our tapasyā (severe austerities) and accepted to become our son Himself.

In this connection, Bhagavān Himself mentions in the Tenth Canto (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.3.37),

vriyatāṃ vara ity ukte mādṛśo vāṃ vṛtaḥ sutaḥ:

“‘Please, pray for a benediction. Upon hearing My words, you prayed for a son like Me.”

The reason for this is that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is varadeśvara, that is, He is the most magnanimous among the bestowers of boons. From this vocative address, we know that if after just one boon one may receive Him as a son, then by repetition there is the possibility of an increase in that result in the future. Nevertheless, Śrī Nanda and Śrī Yaśodā never prayed for any boon to obtain a son, but they prayed to Śrī Brahmā for prema-bhakti, loving devotional service.

Just as, in the Tenth Canto, the prayer of Śrī Nanda Mahārāja unto Śrī Brahmā is (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.8.49):

जातयोर् नौ महादेवे भुवि विश्वेश्वरे हरौ
भक्तिः स्यात् परमा लोको ययाञ्जो दुर्गतिं तरेत्

jātayor nau mahādeve bhuvi viśveśvare harau
bhaktiḥ syāt paramā loko yayāñjo durgatiṃ taret

“After accepting birth on this earth, may we obtain that paramābhakti or divine loving service to Śrī Hari. By practicing such devotional service, people are protected from such misfortune (durgati).”

Paramā-bhakti means that we are eager for this type of devotional service (vātsalya-mayī) by which the living entities can easily cross over the ocean of saṃsāra by the practice of śravaṇam and kīrtana.