Petit Larceny

By krishnasmercy on February 5, 2026 • ( 1 )

“’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)

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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

“Listen, I love the pastimes of Krishna and Yashoda just as much as the next guy. Likely the most famous interaction, immortalized through eight Sanskrit verses kindly put together by Satyavrata Muni, involves a pot of butter, a mortar, and some rope. The image is so beloved that it is appropriately associated with the most auspicious month of Kartik, which is around October/November each year. Devotees try to remember Krishna in that situation. He is the boss of all. He is the highest commander. He has the greatest authority. Yet, in Gokula, He intentionally submits to the will of the loving mother.

“That is great and all, but if we step back from the situation for a moment, try to think of the person from today’s time period. How can they relate? They read so many books on parenting. There are contradicting and competing theories. One says that you should always be nice. Never yell. Never scream. Never threaten. Let the children do what they want. You don’t want to traumatize them, after all.

“Consider for a moment what exactly Krishna had done. He broke a pot of butter/yogurt in anger. He was upset that Yashoda left the scene for a few moments. She had a valid excuse. She was tending to something on the stove in the kitchen. Krishna had His tantrum, took some butter, and then realized what He had done. He scampered away. He took some of the butter with Him. He fed it to the monkeys. He created footprints made of butter, as a result.

“Think about that. Anyone and everyone is out here trying to make sense of it all. Why we take birth. Why we have to sit through years of schooling. Why we suffer in the workplace. Why we suffer at all. On the other side, you have Krishna leaving a trail. You know how to find Him. He almost wants you to find Him. Yashoda follows the trail, reaching the destination. She then decides to bind Krishna to a mortar as punishment.

“Is that not a little harsh? We are talking petit larceny here. Some butter. Sure, that is the staple of the community, which has cow protection at its foundation. But it is still a small child. Krishna can barely speak. He could not even communicate the magic that was going on, that He had to give prior sanction for Yashoda to finally find enough rope to bind Him.”

Depending on who you talk to today, one group might think that Yashoda went too easy on Krishna. Based on the prevailing wisdom of a particular area, the naughty child proven guilty should go outside and choose a branch from one of the trees. That branch will then be used as the object of punishment. It is the literal rod of chastisement. It will strike the child in the behind, leaving a physical mark but also a lasting impression of the potential repercussions for wrongdoing.

यदासीत्तदपि न्यूनं तेनान्यदपि सन्दधे
तदपि द्‌व्यङ्गुलं न्यूनं यद् यदादत्त बन्धनम्

yadāsīt tad api nyūnaṁ
tenānyad api sandadhe
tad api dvy-aṅgulaṁ nyūnaṁ
yad yad ādatta bandhanam

“This new rope also was short by a measurement of two fingers, and when another rope was joined to it, it was still two fingers too short. As many ropes as she joined, all of them failed; their shortness could not be overcome.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.9.16)

Intelligent parents realize they have an advantage. They are not afraid to rely on this advantage. The advantage is intelligence. Simply put, they know better than the child. They know more. They understand that breaking a pot of butter is not really a big deal. It is not the worst thing in the world. The child does not know that, though. If the parents emphasize the seriousness in behaving poorly, in causing trouble and distress to others, perhaps the child will learn. They will get their first taste of the dangers of selfishness, of following through on irrational ideas.

In the case of Yashoda, there is a key Sanskrit word referenced in Vishnu Purana. That word is cheshta. This refers to someone who is naughty or mischievous. We also find the word chanchala, which is one way to describe the goddess of fortune, who is the wife of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. We find in this world that sometimes a person is poor and sometimes they are not. One day they are at a high paying job and the next day they get laid off from that same job. In this way, fortune is never truly settled. Chanchala refers to that which is always moving. A chanchala person might be considered mischievous.

In Gokula, Krishna is cheshta and chanchala in His constant intrusions. He could be accused of the crime of “breaking and entering”. He steals from the neighbors. He pinches their babies, to make them cry. He makes a mess here and there. He is always finding trouble, it seems. The mothers of the community try to complain to Yashoda, but deep down they are delighted by the interactions, because at least they get to see the all-attractive Krishna.

वत्सान् मुञ्चन् क्‍वचिदसमये क्रोशसञ्जातहास:
स्तेयं स्वाद्वत्त्यथ दधिपय: कल्पितै: स्तेययोगै:
मर्कान् भोक्ष्यन् विभजति स चेन्नात्ति भाण्डं भिन्नत्ति
द्रव्यालाभे सगृहकुपितो यात्युपक्रोश्य तोकान्

vatsān muñcan kvacid asamaye krośa-sañjāta-hāsaḥ
steyaṁ svādv atty atha dadhi-payaḥ kalpitaiḥ steya-yogaiḥ
markān bhokṣyan vibhajati sa cen nātti bhāṇḍaṁ bhinnatti
dravyālābhe sagṛha-kupito yāty upakrośya tokān

“Our dear friend Yashoda, your son sometimes comes to our houses before the milking of the cows and releases the calves, and when the master of the house becomes angry, your son merely smiles. Sometimes He devises some process by which He steals palatable curd, butter and milk, which He then eats and drinks. When the monkeys assemble, He divides it with them, and when the monkeys have their bellies so full that they won’t take more, He breaks the pots. Sometimes, if He gets no opportunity to steal butter or milk from a house, He will be angry at the householders, and for His revenge He will agitate the small children by pinching them. Then, when the children begin crying, Krishna will go away.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.29)

By binding Him to a mortar, Yashoda tries to keep Krishna in one place. This is the desire of the devotees, after all, in their worship. They keep a statue or painting of Krishna or one of His non-different forms, like Rama or Narasimha, as an object of worship. They bring formal offerings, at steady and regular intervals. They hope to keep in place the one who is always moving about. Even in that state long ago Krishna was eventually able to take the mortar with Him, to liberate others from punishment, but that vision of Damodara can stay in the mind forever.