70 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 2
worshiping; pitroh—of the parents; tata— my dear father; amba—my dear
mother; kamsat—out of Kamsa’s; uru—great; sankitanadm—of those who
are afraid; prasidatam—be pleased with; nah—our; akrta—not executed;
niskrtinam—duties to serve you.

TRANSLATION

Lord Krsna begged pardon from His parents for Their [Krsna’s and
Balarama’s] inability to serve their feet, due to being away from home
because of great fear of Kamsa. He said, ‘“‘O mother, O father, please
excuse Us for this inability.”’ All this behavior of the Lord gives me pain at
heart.

PURPORT

It appears that Lord Krsna and Baladeva were both very greatly afraid
of Kamsa, and therefore They had to hide Themselves. But if Lord Krsna
and Baladeva are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, how was it possible
that They were afraid of Kamsa? Is there any.contradiction in such state-
ments? Vasudeva, due to his great appreciation for Krsna, wanted to give
Him protection. He never thought that Krsna was the Supreme Lord and
could protect Himself; he thought of Krsna as his son. Because Vasudeva
was a great devotee of the Lord, he did not like to think that Krsna might
be killed like his other children. Morally, Vasudeva was bound to deliver
Krsna to the hands of Kamsa because he had promised to turn over all his
children. But out of his great love for Krsna he broke his promise, and the
Lord was very pleased with Vasudeva for his transcendental mentality. He
did not want to disturb the intense affection of Vasudeva, and thus He
agreed to be carried by His father to the house of Nanda and Yagoda. And
just to test the intense love of Vasudeva, Lord Krsna fell down in the
waters of the Yamuna while his father was crossing the river. Vasudeva
became mad after his child as he tried to recover Him in the midst of the
rising river.

These are all glorified pastimes of the Lord, and there is no contradic-
tion in such manifestations. Since Krsna is the Supreme Lord, He was
never afraid of Kamsa, but to please His father He agreed to be so. And the
most brilliant part of His supreme character was that He begged pardon
from His parents for being unable to serve their feet while absent from
home because of fear of Kamsa. The Lord, whose lotus feet are worshiped
by demigods like Brahma and Siva, wanted to worship the feet of Vasudeva.
Such instruction by the Lord to the world is quite appropriate. Even if
one is the Supreme Lord, one must serve his parents. A son is indebted to
