tato nanda-vrajam itaḥ
pitrÄ kaá¹sÄd vibibhyatÄ
ekÄdaÅ›a samÄs tatra
gÅ«á¸hÄrciḥ sa-balo 'vasat
tataḥ - thereafter; nanda-vrajam - cow pastures of Nanda MahÄrÄja; itaḥ - being brought up; pitrÄ - by His father; kaá¹sÄt - from Kaá¹sa; vibibhyatÄ - being afraid of; ekÄdaÅ›a - eleven; samÄḥ - years; tatra - therein; gÅ«á¸ha-arciḥ - covered fire; sa-balaḥ - with Baladeva; avasat - resided.
There was no necessity of the Lord’s being dispatched to the house of Nanda MahÄrÄja out of fear of Kaá¹sa’s determination to kill Him as soon as He appeared. It is the business of the asuras to try to kill the Supreme Personality of Godhead or to prove by all means that there is no God or that Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary human being and not God. Lord Kṛṣṇa is not affected by such determination of men of Kaá¹sa’s class, but in order to play the role of a child He agreed to be carried by His father to the cow pastures of Nanda MahÄrÄja because Vasudeva was afraid of Kaá¹sa. Nanda MahÄrÄja was due to receive Him as his child, and YaÅ›odÄmayÄ« was also to enjoy the childhood pastimes of the Lord, and therefore to fulfill everyone’s desire, He was carried from MathurÄ to Vá¹›ndÄvana just after His appearance in the prison house of Kaá¹sa. He lived there for eleven years and completed all His fascinating pastimes of childhood, boyhood and adolescence with His elder brother, Lord Baladeva, His first expansion. Vasudeva’s thought of protecting Kṛṣṇa from the wrath of Kaá¹sa is part of a transcendental relationship. The Lord enjoys more when someone takes Him as his subordinate son who needs the protection of a father than He does when someone accepts Him as the Supreme Lord. He is the father of everyone, and He protects everyone, but when His devotee takes it for granted that the Lord is to be protected by the devotee’s care, it is a transcendental joy for the Lord. Thus when Vasudeva, out of fear of Kaá¹sa, carried Him to Vá¹›ndÄvana, the Lord enjoyed it; otherwise, He had no fear from Kaá¹sa or anyone else.