Maiya Mori Main Nahi Makhan Khayo – Surdas

A court case in Yashoda's courtyard

Butter is missing, the pot on the high hanging net (chhinka) has been raided, and little Krishna's face is smeared white. In this pad by Surdas, the five-year-old defends himself like a small advocate — and wins, not by being believed but by being loved. It is the finest example of vatsalya bhava, devotion that loves God as a parent loves a child, and the poem most people first learn of Surdas's Sur Sagar.

Line-by-line meaning (the popular sung version)

1. The alibi. "Mother, I did not eat the butter! At dawn you sent me off behind the cows to Madhuvan; for four watches I wandered at Bansivat, and came home only at dusk."
2. The physical argument. "I'm a little boy with short arms — how could I reach the hanging pot? The cowherd boys are all against me; they smeared it on my face by force."
3. The emotional argument. "Mother, you are so simple-hearted, you believe whatever they say. Some doubt must have grown in your heart — you think of me as someone else's child." (A sly dig: Krishna was born to Devaki and raised by Yashoda.)
4. The walk-out. "Here, take back your stick and blanket — you've made me dance enough to your tune!" He hands back the cowherd's staff and kamli, resigning from the job.
5. The verdict. Surdas says: Yashoda burst out laughing and pulled him to her heart.

The other version: "khyal parai ye sakha sabai"

Surdas's Sur Sagar has many padas on the butter-thief, and a second, older-sounding pad with the same first line is also widely known and studied. In it Krishna again blames his friends and his small hands, then — in the poem's best touch — quietly wipes the curd off his face and hides the leaf-cup behind his back. Yashoda throws down her stick and hugs him, and Surdas concludes that the joy Yashoda had, even Shiva and Brahma never attained:

मैया मोरी मैं नहिं माखन खायो ।
ख्याल परै ये सखा सबै मिलि मेरैं मुख लपटायो ॥
देखि तुही छींके पर भाजन ऊंचे धरि लटकायो ।
हौं जु कहत नान्हें कर अपने मैं कैसें करि पायो ॥
मुख दधि पोंछि बुद्धि इक कीन्हीं दोना पीठि दुरायो ।
डारि सांटि मुसुकाइ जशोदा स्यामहिं कंठ लगायो ॥
बाल बिनोद मोद मन मोह्यो भक्ति प्रताप दिखायो ।
सूरदास जसुमति को यह सुख सिव बिरंचि नहिं पायो ॥

Both are sung; the first is the one heard in most bhajan recordings (Anup Jalota's among them), and a version of this pad is taught in NCERT Class 6 Hindi.

Surdas in brief

Surdas (c. 15th–16th century) sang in Braj Bhasha around Govardhan and Gokul and is remembered as a disciple of Vallabhacharya and the foremost of the Ashtachhap, the eight poets of the Pushti Marg whose songs are still sung in the worship of Shrinathji. Tradition holds that he was blind. His Sur Sagar is above all the poetry of Krishna's childhood.

When it is sung

• On Janmashtami and during Nandotsav, and in Bal Gopal (Laddu Gopal) worship at home.
• By mothers to children, and at children's bhajan programmes.
• In Pushti Marg havelis during the seasons of Krishna's childhood lila.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote "Maiya Mori Main Nahi Makhan Khayo"?

Surdas, the Braj Bhasha poet of the bhakti movement. The last line carries his name.

Why are there two different versions?

Surdas wrote many padas on the butter theft, and at least two well-known ones begin with the same line. They tell the same scene with different details; both are authentic parts of the tradition.

What is a "chhinka"?

A net or rope sling hung from the ceiling, where milk, curd and butter were kept out of reach of animals — and of children.

What does "jani parayo jayo" mean?

"Knowing me to be someone else's child." Krishna playfully hints that Yashoda doubts him because he isn't her own — a line that always makes listeners smile, since he was born to Devaki.

What is vatsalya bhakti?

Devotion that relates to God with a parent's love for a child. Yashoda is its model, and Surdas is its greatest poet.

What does "lakuti kamariya" mean?

The cowherd's stick and small blanket — Krishna's work gear. Handing them back means "I quit!"