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Krṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
both embraced mother Yaśodā. They said, “Dear Queen Yaśodādevī, both you and Nanda Mahārāja have been great friends to us, and when we remember you we are immediately overwhelmed by the thought of your friendly activities. We are so indebted to you that even if we were to return your benediction by giving you the opulence of the King of heaven, it would not be enough to repay you for your friendly behavior. We shall never forget your kindly behavior toward us. When both Krṣṇa and Balarāma were born, before they even saw Their real father and mother, They were entrusted to your care, and you raised Them as your own children, fostering Them as birds take care of their offspring in the nest. You have nicely fed, nourished and loved Them and have performed many auspicious religious ceremonies for Their benefit.
“Actually They are not our sons; They belong to you. Nanda Mahārāja and yourself are the real father and mother of Krṣṇa and Balarāma. As long as They were under your care They had not even a pinch of difficulty. Under your protection, They were completely out of the way of all kinds of fear. This most affectionate care which you have taken for Them is completely befitting your elevated position. The most noble personalities do not discriminate between their own sons and the sons of others, and there cannot be any personalities more noble than Nanda Mahārāja and yourself.”
As far as the  gopīs  of Vṛndāvana were concerned, from the very beginning of their lives, they did not know anything beyond Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa and Balarāma were their life and soul. The  gopīs  were so attached to Krṣṇa that they could not even tolerate not seeing Him momentarily when their eyelids blinked and impeded their vision. They condemned Brahmā, the creator of the body, because he foolishly made eyelids which blinked and checked their seeing Krṣṇa. Because they had been separated from Krṣṇa for so many years, the  gopīs , having come along with Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā, felt intense ecstasy in seeing Krṣṇa. No one can even imagine how anxious the  gopīs  were to see Krṣṇa again. As soon as Krṣṇa became visible to them, they took Him inside their hearts through their eyes and embraced Him to their full satisfaction. Even though they were embracing Krṣṇa only mentally, they became so ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy that for the time being they completely forgot themselves. The ecstatic trance which they achieved simply by mentally embracing Krṣṇa is impossible to achieve even for great  yogīs  constantly engaged in meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krṣṇa could understand that the  gopīs  were rapt in ecstasy by embracing Him in their minds, and therefore, since He is present in everyone’s heart, He also reciprocated the embracing from within.