An Interesting Detail

Our general understanding, as the Srimad-Bhagavatam narrates, is that Krishna was born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison house of Kamsa, after which He was secretly transported to Gokula where He was swapped with the daughter of Nanda and Yasoda. Krishna then remained in Gokula and performed many wonderful pastimes with His ‘foster’ parents.

Our acaryas, however, offer an esoteric nuance and ‘inside story’ to Krishna’s birth. They explain that though there are many forms of Krishna, the original and most complete is that of Krishna in Vrindavana. This form of Krishna is known as Nandanandana, Krishna who is the son of Nanda Maharaja, and He never, at any time, leaves Vrindavana. Even though it would superficially seem so, Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, never takes one step out of of that enchanting land (vrindavanam parityajya sa kvacin naiva gacchati). Even when He seems to leave, He remains in Vrindavana in an unmanifested state.

Thus, according to acaryas like Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura, Yasoda had actually given birth to twins; a boy and a girl. The boy was Krishna in His original form, and when Vasudeva arrived with his baby, an expansion of Krishna (Vasudeva), the expansion merged into Krishna’s original form, the son of Yasoda. Later, Vasudeva returned to Kamsa’s cell in Mathura with the baby girl, as the traditional story reveals.