How Did Subhadrā-devī Manifest the Same Symptoms of Vraja-prema Experienced by Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Baladev

Question: Why is Subhadrā-devī often called Yogamāyā?

Śrīla Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Śrī Kṛṣṇa possesses a śakti known as yogamāyā, which means ‘the energy that unites the devotees with the Lord.’ This potency of the Lord, in its external form, separates one from the Lord and is called māhāmāyā. In his Kalyāṇā-kalpataru, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has composed a kīrtana in which he has written:

kuladevī yogamāyā more kṛpā kôri’

āvaraṇa samvaribe kabe viśvodarī

O Kuladevī Yogamāyā! When will you, being merciful to me, lift the curtain with which you cover the universe in your external form of Mahāmāyā?

This Yogamāyā arranges the Lord’s endless varieties of pastimes; this is her sevā. Although she serves strictly according to the desire of the Lord, her arrangements are such that both the devotees and the Lord remain unaware of her influence and consider themselves, as well as each other, to be ordinary human beings. Without the presence of Yogamāyā, the wonderful pastimes of the Lord cannot manifest. Therefore, in order to manifest the confidential pastimes of the Lord in Dvārakā, this yogamāyā-śakti manifests as Śrī Subhadrā-devī. Śrī Subhadrā-devī is also known as Bhakti-devī.