Unable to handle the mischief of the child Sri Krishna, Yashoda came to a conclusion after much thought. She tied a rope to a wooden mortar. Then, she tried to tie the other end of the rope to the waist of the child Sri Krishna. But, the rope fell short. She brought another rope, tied it to the first rope and tried again to tie Sri Krishna. The rope was short even then. In this manner, no matter how much rope Yashoda brought and no matter how long the combined rope was, it fell short and she could not tie Sri Krishna. Further, it was a great ordeal to manage the child Sri Krishna, who was running away.
The gods and devotees had arrived there to see this amazing phenomenon. Of them a person asked Sri Krishna: ‘You, who is the supreme Brahman, have now taken the form of a child. Still, you are enacting your divine play. Your mother Yashoda is trying to tie you and no matter however much rope she brings; it is all falling short. At the same time, she is exasperated in trying to manage you. These divine plays of yours are completely unrelated to your present form of a child! What kind of completely inappropriate play is this?’
Sri Krishna replied: ‘You too do not believe me! How can I ever exasperate Yashoda? Why are you blaming me without any reason?’
Hearing this reply, the devotee prayed: ‘Sri Krishna! I do not want to hurt you or make you, who is in the form of a child, cry. But, what is the purport of this play of yours? Please tell that.’
This was Sri Krishna’s explanation to the devotee’s question: ‘The reason that the rope is falling short is the greatness of Yashoda’s hands. When the omnipresent Brahman, existing everywhere, has become a child in her hands, what is there to wonder at the rope falling short?’