Prayers of Kunti Maharani
ISKCON Noida
31/8/2015

We were talking about Kunti Maharani. She is sarvajna. She knows the Lord. One should understand the lila of the Lord through His tattva. Those who are the personal associates of the Lord they know the Lord’s tattva. They are tattvavetta. There are many prayers and glorifications of the Lord in Srimad Bhagavatam. And the very first prayers in the Srimad Bhagavatam are that of Srimati Kunti Maharani.

There are many others but this is the first

namasye purusam tvadyam isvaram prakrteh param
alaksyam sarva-bhutanam antarbahir avasthitam [SB 1.8.18]

That is how Kunti Maharani is praying. The Lord is in front of her and she is praying. After the war at Kuruksetra, Lord had spent lot of time at
Hastinapur. Pandavas were staying at Hastinapur and Dwarakadhish Sri Krishna was residing at Dwaraka. So it was time to leave for Dwaraka and
so the Lord was sitting in the Chariot. He was about to start when Kunti Maharani comes near to the Lord. Bhagavan is sitting in the chariot and
she was standing in front of Him. While taking His darsana Kunti Maharani offered her prayers to the Lord. We also pray in front of the deity of the
Lord. Pratyaksha – prati -aksha –in front of her eyes, the Lord was there in front of her eyes in Hastinapur. She was saying,
namaste purusham – Govindam adipurusham -tvamadyam ishvaram –

I offer my obeisances unto you. I offer obeisances again and again. How are you whom I want to offer my obeisances? Like “barambara pranam hai.”

loota loota dadhi makhan khayo aise bhagavan ko pranam hai

I offer my obeisance unto that butter thief . Does anybody bow down to a thief? But to this thief the whole universe bows down again and again. The
thief is also not from this universe. And He is the great thief, not an ordinary one. He is shiromani, the head of all the thieves. So Kunti Maharani is offering her obeisances. You are the origins of all the Gods, adi devam ajam vibhum. Arjuna also specified it during the Gita upadesh
and you are beyond the material nature. Lord is beyond the modes of material nature. Bhagavan is not from this material world. Material world is
called as prakrti. Bhagavan is beyond this material world – aprakrit world – unmanifested world. The Lord is present there in the natural world. The
world which we live in is artificial.

Lord says,
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah [BG 8.20] Translation: Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter.

Dhama where I stay is called sanatana dhama. Kunti maharani says prakrteparam – you and your dhama are beyond this material world and you yourself are beyond this material world because your form is not material. It is satcidananda. The material bodies are made of earth water fire air ether –pancha maha bhuta. All the bodies of the 84 lakh species are made of this pancha maha bhutas. But the Lord’s body or form is made of a different tattva and it is called sat, cid, ananda. Beyond prakriti.

alaksyam sarva-bhutanam antarbahir avasthitam

You are like that antar bahir avasthitam. Sarvabhutanam, you are inside everybody and also present outside. And even though you are like that you are alakshyam not visible to anyone because of their ignorance. They are many things even in the darkness.

Yesterday night one bhagavan in shahadara was saying, he is still wearing yesterday’s tilak. It was in the drama. The scene was of the courtroom of the Lord. And Lord is saying to Nikhil. When there is darkness there are lot of things around but we cant see them but when you lighten that area by switching on the lights or put a candle or torch then you can see everything. Everything is existing but one cant see because there is darkness. One can claim or declare that there is nothing here but it is only due to ignorance so alakshyam.

One cannot see the Lord. You are situated avasthitam but alakshyam (cant be seen). That’s why we say “om ajnana timirandhasya jnanajana shalakaya” Timir is darkness so the G uru will give the knowledge to see.

Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanenasantahsadaivahrdayesuvilokayanti

Premanjana, so he gives prema in the eyes. Then they can see in the courtyard of their heart. yam shyama sundar achintya gunaswarupam Lord who is alakshyam can also be seen with the help of

Jnananjanpremanjan.
maya-javanikacchannam
ajnadhoksajamavyayam
nalaksyasemudha-drsa
natonatyadharoyatha [SB 1.8.19]

Kunti maharani further says that Bhagavan is everywhere but cannot be seen. Yato yato yami tato narasimha wherever I go there the Lord Narsimha is present. But this darsana is only possible by Premanjana and jnananjana.

bahir narasimha hrdaye narasimha.

Whether you call Him Bhagavan Narsimha, Rama, Krishna has many names and forms. Bahir Narsimha He is outside as well as inside.
Those who pray to Lord Jagannath, they say,

Jagannath swami nayanapathgami bhava tumi
Stay in the path of my eyes. In the path of my eyes meaning in whichever
direction I see , I should be able to see you, get your darsana. Directions of
the eyes is always changing from here to there. So wherever I see
Chaitanya mahaprabhu says-

sthavara ja?gamadekhen? dekhe t?ram?rti sarvatra haya nijaista-deva-sphurti

When a person sees, a devotee, a vaisnava he sees a form he sees sthavarajangama but he is not concentrating on their forms he just passes besides it. Lord Buddha also must be in this mood. So one person came and asked whether he had seen a lady who passed this way? They said yes I saw but don’t ask me whether it was a women or a man but I have seen someone passing this way.

But in this material world they see differently. If it’s a women they keep staring at her turning their faces taking photos and they will take a serious note on who she is how she is what she is etc. So Kunti Maharani says maya-javanika cchannam Javanika means curtain. The curtain of maya has covered the conditioned soul and the Lord has also hidden Himself. Lord says in the Gita

naham prakasah sarvasya
yoga-maya-samavrtah
mudho 'yam nabhijanati
loko mam ajam avyayam [BG 7.25]

Translation: I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible. I also cover Myself with Yoga maya. So that which is hidden by maya, Adhokshaja – the one who is beyond the perception of our sense whether it is Lord’s darsana or touch or shravan.

atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih?
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah?[Padma Purana]

Translation: One cannot understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Sri Krsna through one’s materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him. Lord is there and His body is fragrant. In future we will discuss about it. How is the Lord’s body? Fragrant forever fragrant. Our body smells bad always . the gates of the body – navadwara- something or other is coming out of it

nalaksyasemudha-drsa

Just like in the drama company some actor is playing a role then the same actor will be playing a different role in another drama and in 3 rd so on . All the roles are completely different from one another, whether it is makeup, uniform, clothes, style, even hair style so those who are watching a movie, after 5 to 10 minutes, they say oh that’s Devanand. Hey that’s the one. The actor is one but he is displaying his art in different forms like in his costume or body language or walk or different circumstances then many times we don’t understand. We don’t recognize the actor – this is the one, this is the same actress actor.

Just like we can’t recognize the ordinary actors sometimes so what can be said about the Supreme Lord. You sometimes come as Narsimha, sometimes Varaha and sometimes tortoise. So much changes. In this material world the actors will be having 2 legs, 2 hands etc so many things in common and so many differences might also be there. But when the Lord comes sambhavami yuge yuge that time it’s very difficult to recognize the Lord.

kesavadhrita narasimharupa
kesavadhrita varaharupa
kesavadhrita rama sharira

Kesava is only appearing in those forms like 10 avatars. There are many avataars- advaitam achyutam anadi ananta rupam. But among that this is
a list of 10 avatras. In that Jayadeva Goswami says or prays about those 10 avataras– kesavadhrita– meaning that form which has been taken up by
Kesava. He became a mina –fish, kesava dhrita kkachchapa rupa, kesava dhrita varaharupa, shukara rupa like that. Kesava only becomes like that.
Kesava is the actor who takes up these forms. Same way nato nattya dharo yatha in different roles and different dramas He takes part

tatha parama hamsanam
muni nam amalat manam
bhakti-yoga-vidhdnartham
katham pasyema hi striyah [SB 1.8.20]

Translation: You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service unto the hearts of the advanced transcendentalists
and mental speculators, who are purified by being able to discriminate between matter and spirit. How, then, can we women know You perfectly?

The specialty of a swan (hans) is that if you mix water and milk in a cup and give them to drink, it will only drink milk and leave the water. Their wing despite being in water do not get wet. Swans are hence consider to be pure, clean in contrast with them we have crows. Wherever we have the
municipality dustbins we will find crows whereas we find swans only in the manas sarovar where the water is very clear and we find lotuses blooming.

parama hamsanam muni nam amalat manam

Means the people whose soul does not have any dirt. Their minds are pure

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvenanirmalam
hrsikenahrsikesa-
sevanambhaktirucyate

You have to free yourself from the designation. One who is free from all designations that are related to the body they are nirmal. bhakti-yoga-vidhanartham [SB1.8.20] You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service (Bhakti yoga). These paramhans or these param muni or amala atama will do bhakti and will establish bhakti.

dharma-samsthapanarthaya [BG 4.8]. They will establish the bhakti yoga, path of bhakti, Bhakti dharma and prem dharma.
Katham pasyema hi striyah [SB 1.8.20] “I am a woman , how can I know you when only paramhansa can know” says queen kunti.

krsnayavasudevaya
devaki-nandanaya ca
nanda-gopa-kumaraya
govindayanamonamah [SB 1.8.21]

Translation: Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devak?, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of V?nd?vana, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses. This is the prayer of Queen Kunti where she says:-
Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisance’s unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devaki, the boy of Nanda
and the other cowherd men of Vrndavan, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.

Go means senses. The one who gives pleasure to the senses therefore govind. Go means cows. The one who gives pleasure to the cows is known as govind. Go also means mother earth. The one who gives pleasure to mother earth is govinda. These are not only names but also the feeling. As there was Indra who has also asked forgives for his pride as Krishna lifts up Govardhana during maha-pralaya as he could not do any harm to Vrndavan. During the great storm; the clouds are special and reserved for this purpose only. When the entire creation has to drown in rain a particular set of clouds named Samvartak clouds had to dispatch. When indra released these clouds and sent them to vrindavan to drown the village and the people in the village. As a response to Indra Krishna lifts the Govardhana mountain to give them shelter. When Indra had gotten tired of pouring down rain over the village for 24 hours but still could not affect the life of the people of Vrndavan. The villagers had a better life than before for
these 24 hours as they could see Krishna only for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening before whereas now they had him for all 24
hours. The same is the state for the Gopi’s of Vrndavan. The time had been divided into 8 division where Krishna spent time with different people like on for the parents and one for the gopi’s. In the particular division one would be for vatsalya bhava, sakhya bhava for the gopa’s and a division for madhurya bhava gopis. Even Krishna’s parents were like “Why do you have to go to the forest you can just stay at home.” Even in the evening the gopas’s were not happy as Krishna had to go back to his home and the friends had to go back to their home. But due to the rain everybody has 24 hours with Krishna.

Finally when Indra was not listening to Krishna, he got a metaphorical kick and then he came to his sense and asked for forgives to Krishna and gave
abhishekam to Krishna and the place all the water of the abhishekam had gotten collected is called govindakund. When you go for govardhan
parikraama you will find this Govindakund and this water was brought by Airavatha from heaven.

namahpankaja-nabhaya namahpankaja-maline
namahpankaja-netraya namastepankajanghraye [SB 1.8.22]

Translation:  My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses. Queen Kunt iprayes to Krishna as Pankaja nabhaya. Pankaja means the one who is born from a flower. Like the lotus that is born from the navel of the Lord over which brahma sits. The Lord’s navel is very large. The garland that the Lord is wearing is that made from the lotus flower. Krishna wears many garlands f different flowers so you will have to pray to the Lord depending upon which garland he is wearing, like if He is wearing a Vaijayanti flower garland then we cannot say namah pankaja-maline, sometimes he also wears vana-mala. The Gopa’s will take leaves and flower from here and there and make them into a beautiful garland out of love the we will have to say vana-maline. So first see the Lord on what garland he is wearing and the pray onto him. When Queen Kunti was praying the Supreme personality of Godhead was wearing lotus flower garlands. Namah pankaja-netraya; your eyes are also like the lotus petal.

When the lotus blooms, your eyes also brightens. When Vishvamitra came to take Ram and Lakshmana. King Dasharatha replied that they were unshodasa varshiya. Which means that Ram and Lakshman were 15 years.As it comes closer to evening the lotus tends to wither this is Rajiva-lochana. As the evening approaches Ram and Lakshmana eyes starts closing like a lotus. Dritarastra also added that in the evening the demons start appearing and Ram and Lakshman have to stand guard but these boys are Rajiva-lochana by 7’o clock just like the closing and the opening of a lotus flower. Namaste pankaj anghraye and the lotus feet which are as soft as a lotus petal. All the 7 limbs of the Lord has been compare to lotus Flower. Lords beauty is just as the lotus, he soft as the lotus and also as sweet smelling as a lotus.

Yathah rsikesa khalena devaki
kamsena ruddh aticiram sucarpita
vimocitaham ca sahatmajavibho
tvayaiva nathena muhurvipad-ganat [SB 1.8.23]

The Villainous Kamsa had locked Devaki for a long time in the dungeon. Devaki was filled with sadness and worry but as you freed Vasudev and
Devaki from their hardship and problems; you have also done the same for my children. She says to the Lord sitting in front of the Lord that you are the supreme Lord, the one Lord, Shri Krishna, Govinda, Jagannath, hey padmabha, hey Pankaja-maline. You have rescued us from the many difficulties and problems that we have faced.

visanmahagnehpurusada-darsanad
asat-sabhayavana-vasa-krcchrata?
mrdhemrdhe aneka-maharathastrato
drauny-astratascasma hare abhiraksitsh [SB 1.8.24]

Queen Kunti also goes on to specify some examples like the incident with poison or when they had to stay overnight at the wax house and were allowed to escape safely from there. Even during the war you have saved my children from all the weapons of the opposition’s great warriors. Even now you have saved King Parikshit from the brahma-astra released by Drona’s son Ashwathama.

You are the savior of all of them. You have sent us many problems and you only have saved us from all of them.

vipadahsantutahsasvat
tatratatrajagad-guro
bhavatodarsana?yatsyad
apunar bhava-dar?anam [SB 1.8.25]

Hey prabhu, please put me in more troubles prays Queen Kunti. Since the Lord is in front of her, Queen Kunti could have as well told “enough is
enough” or give him the list of the problems and asked him to stop But instead she told keep sending trouble my way. This is a very strange prayer. Would any of you ever ask for such a boon? I have lost for a job, I am not getting another job, I have also taken so many loans (Eduction loans, car loan, house loans) and even after all this would you ask that ”this is not enough please send more”. This is a very intelligent request to the
Lord. Only when we are in trouble we remember the Lord in every which way possible but when happy no one tends to remember. Only in trouble we come and your darsana. Only when we are in trouble again and again we will come and take darsana again and again. There is a play on the words on the last line on the shloka which means that when we take darsana again and again we will not take birth in the planet again and again we will come back to you.

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
edhamana-madahpuman
naivarhatyabhidhatumvai
tvamakincana-gocaram [SB 1.8.26]

There are also people who will not come and see you these people can be typed ad the people who have pride in the house. Those who are proud of
their Money. There is a phrase in English “When popper is proud of his penny”, some has cycle but I have a motorcycle and another has a maruti 800 and then BMW.

If there is a pedestrian is walking by the cycle person will laugh at him and say that this person even doesn’t have a cycle but I don’t have a
motorcycle. The same with the motor cyclist he is proud over the person with cycle but regrets not having the Maruti 800. The maruti feels the same
way towards the motor cycle and The BMW and then there is a helicopter person also. People have pride over their richness, education, beauty. It is
because of these prides that when come to the temple and call out the Supreme Personality of Godhead he will not even try to look at the Lord.
He will be looking here and there as if there is nobody.it is because this pride increases and the person is not able to call out to the Lord with right feeling (Bhava).

We were inviting someone to have prasad in the old Delhi temple in greater Kailash. He replied that he just had prasad at the Hilton hotel and I am
returning, give this to some poor person. His feeling that this is for poor people and I am not poor. I am a person who eats muttonum and chikanum
(Mutton and chicken) and you are patram, pushpam, khichadi person.

Queen Kunti has told that tvam akinchana gocharam. Those who understand that they have nothing even if in reality they have everything and nothing which meas that these people have understood that everything belongs to the Lord. go means senses as mentioned before. Which means that the Lord cannot be known but dirty senses.

But only those who are nishkinchana (Knows nothing is his and everything belongs to the Lord) only their senses can see, smell, hear the Lord.

Hrishikena hrishikesha-sevanam bhaktir ucyate (BRS 1.1.12)

The owner of our senses is the Lord which is why he is known as Heishikesha. The senses are with us but the owner is the Lord. And our senses in the service of the Lord. Only then we can gain the knowledge from our senses.

namo akincana-vittaya
nivrtta-guna-vrttaye
atmaramayasantaya
kaivalya-patayenamah [SB 1.8.27]

My obeisance’s to you unto the property of the materially impoverished. Do you understand the meaning of the word akincana?

Isavasyam idam sarvam yatkinca jagat yamjagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha magrdhah kasya sviddhanam [isopanishad verse 1]

Bhagavan is the Lord, I will only keep only that which is required and use the rest to serve the Lord and his devotees. I am not the master. In Gita
Lord has told that He is the Lord, He is the master. b

hoktaramyajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdamsarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santimrcchati [BG 5.29]

The one who knows this truth will know peace otherwise he will always be in the tension. Such a person is a thief and should be given death.

punarapi jananam punarapi maranam

Krishna is not the butter thief but is the Lord of all. We are the thieves. We are the trespasser’s. Just like it is written when you buy a new plot. When Sukadev Goswami spoke then till the end of the story the discourse will go on.

namah akinchana vittaya you become the property of the people who have understood that all belongs to you. Those who submit everything to you.
It is yours and we offer it unto you. People like this have nothing of their own but you become their property. I pay my obeisance’s unto you Lord.
You have become the property of those who have understood that everything belongs to you.