Text 15] Prayers by the Demigods 137

garbhe—when the embryo; pranite—was carried from the womb;
devakyah—of Devaki; rohinim—to the womb of Rohini; yoga-
nidraya—by the spiritual energy called Yogamaya; aho—alas; visrari-
sitah—is lost; garbhah—the embryo; iti—thus; paurah—all the
inhabitants of the house; vicukrusuh—lamented.

TRANSLATION

When the child of Devaki was attracted and transferred into the
womb of Rohini by Yogamaya, Devaki seemed to have a miscar-

riage. Thus all the inhabitants of the palace loudly lamented,
“Alas, Devaki has lost her child!”’

PURPORT

“*All the inhabitants of the palace” includes Karnsa. When everyone
lamented, Karnsa joined in compassion, thinking that perhaps because of
drugs or some other external means, Devaki had undergone this abor-
tion. The real story of what happened after Yogamaya attracted the child
of Devaki into the womb of Rohini in the seventh month of Rohini’s
pregnancy is described as follows in the Hari-vamsa. At midnight, while
Rohini was deeply sleeping, she experienced, as if in a dream, that she
had undergone a miscarriage. After some time, when she awoke, she saw
that this had indeed happened, and she was in great anxiety. But
Yogamaya then informed her, “O auspicious lady, your child is now
being replaced. I am attracting a child from the womb of Devaki, and
therefore your child will be known as Sankarsana.””

The word yoga-nidra is significant. When one is spiritually recon-
nected through self-realization, one regards his material life as having

been like a dream. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (2.69):

y@ nisa sarva-bhitanam
tasyam jdgarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhitani
sé nisd pasyato muneh

“What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-
controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the
