78
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 2]
TRANSLATION
Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than Him who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?
PURPORT
Here is an example of the extreme mercy of the Lord, even to His enemy. It is said that a noble man accepts the good qualities of a person of doubtful character, just as one accepts nectar from a stock of poison. In His babyhood, He was administered deadly poison by Pūtanā, a she-demon who tried to kill the wonderful baby. And because she was a demon, it was impossible for her to know that the Supreme Lord, even though playing the part of a baby, was no one less than the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. His value as the Supreme Lord did not diminish upon His becoming a baby to please His devotee Yaśodā. The Lord may assume the form of a baby or a shape other than that of a human being, but it doesn't make the slightest difference; He is always the same Supreme. A living creature, however powerful he may become by dint of severe penance, can never become equal to the Supreme Lord.
Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted the motherhood of Pūtanā because she pretended to be an affectionate mother, allowing Kṛṣṇa to suck her breast. The Lord accepts the least qualification of the living entity and awards him the highest reward. That is the standard of His character. Therefore, who but the Lord can be the ultimate shelter?
TEXT 24
मन्येऽसुरान् मागवतांस्त्र्यधीशे 
  संरम्यमार्गाभिनिविष्टचित्तान् । 
  ये संयुगेऽचक्षत ताङ्ग्यपुत्र- 
  मंसे सुनाभायुधमापतन्तम् ॥२४॥
manye 'surān bhāgavatāṁs try-adhīśe 
  saṁrambha-mārgābhiniviṣṭa-cittān 
  ye saṁyuge 'cakṣata tārkṣya-putram 
  aṁse sunābhāyudham āpatantam
manye—I think; asurān—the demons; bhāgavatān—great devotees; 
  tri-adhīśe—unto the Lord of the threes; saṁrambha—enmity; mārga—by 
  the way of; abhiniviṣṭa-cittān—absorbed in thought; ye—those; saṁyuge—