Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca
tvam eva pūrva-sarge 'bhūḥ
pṛśniḥ svÄyambhuve sati
tadÄyaá¹ sutapÄ nÄma
prajÄpatir akalmaá¹£aḥ
Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca - the Supreme Personality of Godhead said to DevakÄ«; tvam - you; eva - indeed; pÅ«rva-sarge - in a previous millennium; abhūḥ - became; pṛśniḥ - by the name Pṛśni; svÄyambhuve - the millennium of SvÄyambhuva Manu; sati - O supremely chaste; tadÄ - at that time; ayam - Vasudeva; sutapÄ - SutapÄ; nÄma - by the name; prajÄpatiḥ - a PrajÄpati; akalmaá¹£aḥ - a spotlessly pious person.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: My dear mother, best of the chaste, in your previous birth, in the SvÄyambhuva millennium, you were known as Pṛśni, and Vasudeva, who was the most pious PrajÄpati, was named SutapÄ.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead made it clear that DevakÄ« had not become His mother only now; rather, she had been His mother previously also. Kṛṣṇa is eternal, and His selection of a father and mother from among His devotees takes place eternally. Previously also, DevakÄ« had been the Lord’s mother and Vasudeva the Lord’s father, and they were named Pṛśni and SutapÄ. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears, He accepts His eternal father and mother, and they accept Kṛṣṇa as their son. This pastime takes place eternally and is therefore called nitya-lÄ«lÄ. Thus there was no cause for surprise or ridicule. As confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam
evaṠyo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvÄ dehaá¹ punar janma
naiti mÄm eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.†One should try to understand the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from Vedic authorities, not from imagination. One who follows his imaginations about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is condemned.
avajÄnanti mÄá¹ mÅ«á¸hÄ
mÄnuṣīṠtanum ÄÅ›ritam
paraá¹ bhÄvam ajÄnanto
mama bhūta-maheśvaram
(Bg. 9.11)
The Lord appears as the son of His devotee by His paraá¹ bhÄvam. The word bhÄva refers to the stage of pure love, which has nothing to do with material transactions.
