Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.11.28

pravishtas tu griham pitroh

parishvaktah sva-mātribhih

vavande śirasā sapta

devakī-pramukhā mudā

SYNONYMS

pravishtah — after entering; tu — but; griham — houses; pitroh — of the father; parishvaktah — embraced; sva-mātribhih — by His own mothers; vavande — offered obeisances; śirasā — His head; sapta — seven; devakī — Devakī; pramukhā — headed by; mudā — gladly.

TRANSLATION

After entering the house of His father, He was embraced by the mothers present, and the Lord offered His obeisances unto them by placing His head at their feet. The mothers were headed by Devakī [His real mother].

PURPORT

It appears that Vasudeva, the father of Lord Krishna, had completely separate residential quarters where he lived with his eighteen wives, out of whom Śrīmatī Devakī is the real mother of Lord Krishna. But in spite of this, all other stepmothers were equally affectionate to Him, as will be evident from the following verse. Lord Krishna also did not distinguish His real mother from His stepmothers, and He equally offered His obeisances unto all the wives of Vasudeva present on the occasion. According to scriptures also, there are seven mothers: (1) the real mother, (2) the wife of the spiritual master, (3) the wife of a brāhmana, (4) the wife of the king, (5) the cow, (6) the nurse, and (7) the earth. All of them are mothers. Even by this injunction of the śāstras, the stepmother, who is the wife of the father, is also as good as the mother because the father is also one of the spiritual masters. Lord Krishna, the Lord of the universe, plays the part of an ideal son just to teach others how to treat their stepmothers.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness