Yashoda (Sanskrit: यशोदा, IAST: Yaśodā) is, in the Hindu tradition, the foster-mother of the deity Krishna and the wife of Nanda. She features prominently in Puranic literature, where she is associated with the pastoral settlement of Gokul and the early life of Krishna.
According to Puranic accounts, Yashoda was the wife of Nanda, the chieftain of Gokul, and the sister of Rohini. She is portrayed within these texts as the principal maternal figure in Krishna's childhood, raising him among the cowherd community.
The Bhagavata Purana narrates that Krishna was born to Devaki, but his father Vasudeva carried the newborn to his cousin Nanda and Nanda's wife Yashoda in Gokulam. The transfer is described as being undertaken both for Krishna's upbringing among the cowherds and to shield him from Devaki's brother Kamsa, the king of Mathura, who is depicted as a tyrant in the narrative.
Within these traditions, Yashoda is remembered chiefly through episodes of Krishna's boyhood, and she is regarded as an enduring symbol of maternal affection in devotional Hinduism.
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Yashoda.