Three Things Krishna Can Do As Damodara

By krishnasmercy on December 14, 2025 • ( 0 )

“It is thus that He became known as Damodara, for being bound by a rope.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.20)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

ततश् च दामोदरतां स ययौ दामबन्धनात्

tataś ca dāmodaratāṃ sa yayau dāmabandhanāt

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that Krishna is a name for God. Krishna is neither the exclusive property of a specific group of people nor some figment of the imagination. Rather, as we know that the entire collection of objects exists within something described as the universe, so there is a source to that everything. Krishna is one way to address that source.

But there is a specific meaning. The name Krishna describes the source of everything as all-attractive. From every angle of vision. From every perspective. For the good and for the bad. For the young and for the old. For the pious follower and for the lowly sinner. For the true believer and for the hardened skeptic. Everything about Krishna is attractive. This is confirmed directly in Bhagavad-gita, where Krishna the person describes how everyone follows Him in some way or another.

ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते
तांस् तथैव भजाम्य् अहम्
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते
मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

“All of them – as they surrender unto Me – I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pritha.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.11)

While Krishna might be one of the best names to use to address God, we should know that it is not the only name. The same Krishna is also known as Damodara. As the meaning here is rather peculiar, the actions surrounding the origin of the name offer further insight to the person who is already all-attractive.

1. Accept taunting words from His mother

Damodara is a Sanskrit word that combines two terms. There is dama, which refers to a rope or binding. There is udara, which is the belly. Damodara is thus someone who is bound by a rope around His belly. How can God ever be bound? Is that condition not reserved for us lowly mortals, who are not God and will never be God? Is it not embarrassing to be tied up around the belly? How could someone ever accomplish such a feat? Would they not be considered superior to God, then? If someone is superior to Him, how can Krishna be considered God?

As Damodara, the Supreme Lord not only becomes bound, but He also accepts taunting words. Krishna is in the visual of a small child, whose teeth only recently came in. Though young, Krishna is still wise enough to act with intelligence. He breaks a pot of butter on purpose. He is upset with the mother for her brief neglect. She could be excused for stepping away, as she needed to tend to a pot on the stove in the kitchen.

Yashoda discovers what Krishna has done. She decides to chase after Him, following footprints left behind. Those footprints are made of butter. Yashoda follows the path to eventually reach Krishna. She is chasing Him with a whipping stick, showing a threat of punishment. She delivers on the threat by attempting to bind her son to a mortar. She is not really after punishing Him. She would rather He remain steady, in one place. As He is known to be chanchala, or always moving, Yashoda mildly taunts her child to attempt to move.

यदि शक्नोषि गच्छ त्वम् अतिचञ्चलचेष्टित
इत्य् उक्त्वा च निजं कर्म सा चकार कुटुम्बिनी

yadi śaknoṣi gaccha tvam aticañcalaceṣṭita
ity uktvā ca nijaṃ karma sā cakāra kuṭumbinī

“’O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.’ Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

2. Move at His will

Though Yashoda succeeds in binding Krishna, it is only after her son subtly gives sanction. You see, Yashoda fails in her first attempts. The ropes she uses always end up close, but not long enough to do the job. She even smiles after witnessing the magic. She takes as many ropes as she can find, but still she is short by the width of two fingers. It is only when Krishna agrees that she can succeed.

This means that no one can really bind Krishna unless they have pure love for Him. Krishna was unable to be kept in one place prior to being known as Damodara. Even after being deserving of the name, Krishna was able to move. When Yashoda returned to her household duties, Krishna simply moved. He dragged the mortar with Him. This would be something like an adult being tied to a car that is in the “park” gear, with the emergency brake set.

3. Knock down two trees

To move the mortar is amazing enough, but what Krishna managed to do with the mortar next was so incredible that no one could believe it. Krishna went in between two trees. As he moved, the mortar He was tied to became something like a wedge. The laws of physics dictate that the two large trees would win this battle against a mortar, especially one tied to a child. Except the force sourced in Krishna was strong enough to knock the trees down. A small child, who was supposedly stuck in one place because of punishment from His mother, happened to do something no adult would be able to. In any other situation, the mortar would give way to the trees. The rope would break. The person bound to the mortar would get injured.

For Krishna, it was child’s play. The adults arrived on the scene in the aftermath. The visual was enough to warrant a change in course. Perhaps they should move to some other place. They decided on Vrindavana. Gokula had seen too many close calls. There was the witch named Putana. There was the cart that somehow collapsed on its own. Now there were trees. Large objects were falling left and right, with Krishna in the center of the danger.