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na—not; iyam—this land of our kingdom; sobhisyate—will appear beautiful; tatra—then; yatha—as it is now; idanim—how; gadadhara—O Krsna; tvat—Your; padaih—by the feet; ankita—marked; bhati—is dazzling; sva-laksana—Your own marks; vilaksitaih—by the impressions.

O Gadadhara [Krsna], our kingdom is now being marked by the impressions of Your feet, and therefore it appears beautiful. But when You leave, it will no longer be so.

There are certain particular marks on the feet of the Lord which distinguish the Lord from others. The marks of a flag, thunderbolt, and instrument to drive an elephant, umbrella, lotus, disc, etc., are on the bottom of the Lord’s feet. These marks are impressed upon the soft dust of the land where the Lord traverses. The land of Hastinapura was thus marked while Lord Sri Krsna was there with the Pandavas, and the kingdom of the Pandavas thus flourished by such auspicious signs. Kuntidevi pointed out these distinguished features and was afraid of ill luck in the absence of the Lord.

SB1.8.40

TEXT 40

ime jana-padah svrddhah

supakvausadhi-virudhah

vanadri-nady-udanvanto

hy edhante tava viksitaih

ime—all these; jana-padah—cities and towns; svrddhah—flourished; supakva—nature; ausadhi—herbs; virudhah—vegetables; vana—forests; adri—hills; nadi—rivers; udanvantah—seas; hi—certainly; edhante—increasing; tava—by You; viksitaih—seen.

All these cities and villages are flourishing in all respects because the herbs and grains are in abundance, the trees are full of fruits, the rivers are flowing, the hills are full of minerals and the oceans full of wealth. And this is all due to Your glancing over them.

Human prosperity flourishes by natural gifts and not by gigantic industrial enterprises. The gigantic industrial enterprises are products of a godless civilization, and they cause the destruction of the noble aims of human life. The more we go on increasing such troublesome industries to squeeze out the vital energy of the human being, the more there will be unrest and dissatisfaction of the people in general, although a few only can live lavishly by exploitation. The natural gifts such as grains and vegetables, fruits, rivers, the hills of jewels and minerals, and the seas full of pearls are supplied by the order of the Supreme, and as He desires, material nature produces them in abundance or restricts them at times. The natural law is that the human being may take advantage of these godly gifts by nature and satisfactorily flourish on them without being captivated by the exploitative motive of lording it over material nature. The more we attempt to exploit material nature according to our whims of enjoyment, the more we shall become entrapped by the reaction of such exploitative attempts. If we have sufficient grains, fruits, vegetables and herbs, then what is the necessity of running a slaughterhouse and killing poor animals? A man need not kill an animal if he has sufficient grains and vegetables to eat. The flow of river waters fertilizes the fields, and there is more than what we need. Minerals are produced in the hills, and the jewels in the ocean. If the human civilization has sufficient grains, minerals, jewels, water, milk, etc., then why should it hanker after terrible industrial enterprises at the cost of the labor of some unfortunate men? But all these natural gifts are dependent on the mercy of the Lord. What we need, therefore, is to be obedient to the laws of the Lord and achieve the perfection of human life by devotional service. The indications by Kuntidevi are just to the point. She desires that God’s mercy be bestowed upon them so that natural prosperity be maintained by His grace.

SB1.8.41

TEXT 41

atha visvesa visvatman

visva-murte svakesu me

sneha-pasam imam chindhi

drdham pandusu vrsnisu

atha—therefore; visva-isa—O Lord of the universe; visva-atman—O soul of the universe; visva-murte—O personality of the universal form; svakesu—unto my own kinsmen; me—my; sneha-pasam—tie of affection; imam—this; chindhi—cut off; drdham—deep; pandusu—for the Pandavas; vrsnisu—for the Vrsnis also.

O Lord of the universe, soul of the universe, O personality of the form of the universe, please, therefore, sever my tie of affection for my kinsmen, the Pandavas and the Vrsnis.

A pure devotee of the Lord is ashamed to ask anything in self-interest from the Lord. But the householders are sometimes obliged to ask favors from the Lord, being bound by the tie of family affection. Srimati Kuntidevi was conscious of this fact, and therefore she prayed to the Lord to cut off the affectionate tie from her own kinsmen, the Pandavas and the Vrsnis. The Pandavas are her own sons, and the Vrsnis are the members of her paternal family. Krsna was equally related to both the families. Both the families required the Lord’s help because both were dependent devotees of the Lord. Srimati Kuntidevi wished Sri Krsna to remain with her sons the Pandavas, but by His doing so her paternal house would be bereft of the benefit. All these partialities troubled the mind of Kunti, and therefore she desired to cut off the affectionate tie.

A pure devotee cuts off the limited ties of affection for his family and widens his activities of devotional service for all forgotten souls. The typical example is the band of six Gosvamis, who followed the path of Lord Caitanya. All of them belonged to the most enlightened and cultured rich families of the higher castes, but for the benefit of the mass of population they left their comfortable homes and became mendicants. To cut off all family affection means to broaden the field of activities. Without doing this, no one can be qualified as a brahmana, a king, a public leader or a devotee of the Lord. The Personality of Godhead, as an ideal king, showed this by example. Sri Ramacandra cut off the tie of affection for His beloved wife to manifest the qualities of an ideal king.

Such personalities as a brahmana, a devotee, a king or a public leader must be very broadminded in discharging their respective duties. Srimati Kuntidevi was conscious of this fact, and being weak she prayed to be free from such bondage of family affection. The Lord is addressed as the Lord of the universe, or the Lord of the universal mind, indicating His all-powerful ability to cut the hard knot of family affection. Therefore, it is sometimes experienced that the Lord, out of His special affinity towards a weak devotee, breaks the family affection by force of circumstances arranged by His all-powerful energy. By doing so He causes the devotee to become completely dependent on Him and thus clears the path for his going back to Godhead.

SB1.8.42

TEXT 42

tvayi me ’nanya-visaya

matir madhu-pate ’sakrt

ratim udvahatad addha

gangevaugham udanvati

tvayi—unto You; me—my; ananya-visaya—unalloyed; matih—attention; madhu-pate—O Lord of Madhu; asakrt—continuously; ratim—attraction; udvahatat—may overflow; addha—directly; ganga—the Ganges; iva—like; ogham—flows; udanvati—down to the sea.

O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else.

Perfection of pure devotional service is attained when all attention is diverted towards the transcendental loving service of the Lord. To cut off the tie of all other affections does not mean complete negation of the finer elements, like affection for someone else. This is not possible. A living being, whoever he may be, must have this feeling of affection for others because this is a symptom of life. The symptoms of life, such as desire, anger, hankerings, feelings of attraction, etc., cannot be annihilated. Only the objective has to be changed. Desire cannot be negated, but in devotional service the desire is changed only for the service of the Lord in place of desire for sense gratification. The so-called affection for family, society, country, etc., consists of different phases of sense gratification. When this desire is changed for the satisfaction of the Lord, it is called devotional service.

In the Bhagavad-gita we can see that Arjuna desired not to fight with his brothers and relations just to satisfy his own personal desires. But when he heard the message of the Lord, Srimad Bhagavad-gita, he changed his decision and served the Lord. And for his doing so, he became a famous devotee of the Lord, for it is declared in all the scriptures that Arjuna attained spiritual perfection by devotional service to the Lord in friendship. The fighting was there, the friendship was there, Arjuna was there, and Krsna was there, but Arjuna became a different person by devotional service. Therefore, the prayers of Kunti also indicate the same categorical changes in activities. Srimati Kunti wanted to serve the Lord without diversion, and that was her prayer. This unalloyed devotion is the ultimate goal of life. Our attention is usually diverted to the service of something which is nongodly or not in the program of the Lord. When the program is changed into the service of the Lord, that is to say when the senses are purified in relation with the service of the Lord, it is called pure unalloyed devotional service. Srimati Kuntidevi wanted that perfection and prayed for it from the Lord.

Her affection for the Pandavas and the Vrsnis is not out of the range of devotional service because the service of the Lord and the service of the devotees are identical. Sometimes service to the devotee is more valuable than service to the Lord. But here the affection of Kuntidevi for the Pandavas and the Vrsnis was due to family relation. This tie of affection in terms of material relation is the relation of maya because the relations of the body or the mind are due to the influence of the external energy. Relations of the soul, established in relation with the Supreme Soul, are factual relations. When Kuntidevi wanted to cut off the family relation, she meant to cut off the relation of the skin. The skin relation is the cause of material bondage, but the relation of the soul is the cause of freedom. This relation of the soul to the soul can be established by the via medium of the relation with the Supersoul. Seeing in the darkness is not seeing. But seeing by the light of the sun means to see the sun and everything else which was unseen in the darkness. That is the way of devotional service.

SB1.8.43

TEXT 43

sri-krsna krsna-sakha vrsny-rsabhavani-dhrug-

rajanya-vamsa-dahananapavarga-virya

govinda go-dvija-surarti-haravatara

yogesvarakhila-guro bhagavan namas te

sri-krsna—O Sri Krsna; krsna-sakha—O friend of Arjuna; vrsni—of descendants of Vrsni; rsabha—O chief; avani—the earth; dhruk—rebellious; rajanya-vamsa—dynasties of the kings; dahana—O annihilator; anapavarga—without deterioration of; virya—prowess; govinda—O proprietor of Golokadhama; go—of the cows; dvija—the brahmanas; sura—the demigods; arti-hara—to relieve distress; avatara—O Lord who descends; yoga-isvara—O master of all mystic powers; akhila—universal; guro—O preceptor; bhagavan—O possessor of all opulences; namah te—respectful obeisances unto You.

O Krsna, O friend of Arjuna, O chief amongst the descendants of Vrsni, You are the destroyer of those political parties which are disturbing elements on this earth. Your prowess never deteriorates. You are the proprietor of the transcendental abode, and You descend to relieve the distresses of the cows, the brahmanas and the devotees. You possess all mystic powers, and You are the preceptor of the entire universe. You are the almighty God, and I offer You my respectful obeisances.

A summary of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is made herein by Srimati Kuntidevi. The almighty Lord has His eternal transcendental abode where He is engaged in keeping surabhi cows. He is served by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. He descends on the material world to reclaim His devotees and to annihilate the disturbing elements in groups of political parties and kings who are supposed to be in charge of administration work. He creates, maintains and annihilates by His unlimited energies, and still He is always full with prowess and does not deteriorate in potency. The cows, the brahmanas and the devotees of the Lord are all objects of His special attention because they are very important factors for the general welfare of living beings.

SB1.8.44

TEXT 44

suta uvaca

prthayettham kala-padaih

parinutakhilodayah

mandam jahasa vaikuntho

mohayann iva mayaya

sutah uvaca—Suta said; prthaya—by Prtha (Kunti); ittham—this; kala-padaih—by chosen words; parinuta—being worshiped; akhila—universal; udayah—glories; mandam—mildly; jahasa—smiled; vaikunthah—the Lord; mohayan—captivating; iva—like; mayaya—His mystic power.

Suta Gosvami said: The Lord, thus hearing the prayers of Kuntidevi, composed in choice words for His glorification, mildly smiled. That smile was as enchanting as His mystic power.

Anything that is enchanting in the world is said to be a representation of the Lord. The conditioned souls, who are engaged in trying to lord it over the material world, are also enchanted by His mystic powers, but His devotees are enchanted in a different way by the glories of the Lord, and His merciful blessings are upon them. His energy is displayed in different ways, as electrical energy works in manifold capacities. Srimati Kuntidevi has prayed to the Lord just to enunciate a fragment of His glories. All His devotees worship Him in that way, by chosen words, and therefore the Lord is known as Uttamasloka. No amount of chosen words is sufficient to enumerate the Lord’s glory, and yet He is satisfied by such prayers as the father is satisfied even by the broken linguistic attempts of the growing child. The word maya is used both in the sense of delusion and mercy. Herein the word maya is used in the sense of the Lord’s mercy upon Kuntidevi.

SB1.8.45

TEXT 45

tam badham ity upamantrya

pravisya gajasahvayam

striyas ca sva-puram yasyan

premna rajna nivaritah

tam—all those; badham—accepted; iti—thus; upamantrya—subsequently informed; pravisya—entering; gajasahvayam—the palace of Hastinapura; striyah ca—other ladies; sva-puram—own residence; yasyan—while starting for; premna—with love; rajna—by the King; nivaritah—stopped.

Thus accepting the prayers of Srimati Kuntidevi, the Lord subsequently informed other ladies of His departure by entering the palace of Hastinapura. But upon preparing to leave, He was stopped by King Yudhisthira, who implored Him lovingly.

No one could make Lord Krsna stay at Hastinapura when He decided to start for Dvaraka, but the simple request of King Yudhisthira that the Lord remain there for a few days more was immediately effective. This signifies that the power of King Yudhisthira was loving affection, which the Lord could not deny. The almighty God is thus conquered only by loving service and nothing else. He is fully independent in all His dealings, but He voluntarily accepts obligations by the loving affection of His pure devotees.

SB1.8.46

TEXT 46

vyasadyair isvarehajnaih

krsnenadbhuta-karmana

prabodhito ’pitihasair

nabudhyata sucarpitah

vyasa-adyaih—by great sages headed by Vyasa; isvara—the almighty God; iha—by the will of; jnaih—by the learned; krsnena—by Krsna Himself; adbhuta-karmana—by one who performs all superhuman work; prabodhitah—being solaced; api—although; itihasaih—by evidences from the histories; na—not; abudhyata—satisfied; suca arpitah—distressed.

King Yudhisthira, who was much aggrieved, could not be convinced, despite instructions by great sages headed by Vyasa and the Lord Krsna Himself, the performer of superhuman feats, and despite all historical evidence.

The pious King Yudhisthira was mortified because of the mass massacre of human beings in the Battle of Kuruksetra, especially on his account. Duryodhana was there on the throne, and he was doing well in his administration, and in one sense there was no need of fighting. But on the principle of justice Yudhisthira was to replace him. The whole clique of politics centered around this point, and all the kings and residents of the whole world became involved in this fight between the rival brothers. Lord Krsna was also there on the side of King Yudhisthira. It is said in the Mahabharata, Adi-parva (20) that 640,000,000 men were killed in the eighteen days of the Battle of Kuruksetra, and some hundreds of thousands were missing. Practically this was the greatest battle in the world within five thousand years.

This mass killing simply to enthrone Maharaja Yudhisthira was too mortifying, so he tried to be convinced with evidences from histories by great sages like Vyasa and the Lord Himself that the fight was just because the cause was just. But Maharaja Yudhisthira would not be satisfied, even though he was instructed by the greatest personalities of the time. Krsna is designated herein as the performer of superhuman actions, but in this particular instance neither He nor Vyasa could convince King Yudhisthira. Does it mean that He failed to be a superhuman actor? No, certainly not. The interpretation is that the Lord as isvara, or the Supersoul in the hearts of both King Yudhisthira and Vyasa, performed still more superhuman action because the Lord desired it. As Supersoul of King Yudhisthira, He did not allow the King to be convinced by the words of Vyasa and others, including Himself, because He desired that the King hear instructions from the dying Bhismadeva, who was another great devotee of the Lord. The Lord wanted that at the last stage of his material existence the great warrior Bhismadeva see Him personally and see his beloved grandchildren, King Yudhisthira, etc., now situated on the throne, and thus pass away very peacefully. Bhismadeva was not at all satisfied to fight against the Pandavas, who were his beloved fatherless grandchildren. But the ksatriyas are also very stern people, and therefore he was obliged to take the side of Duryodhana because he was maintained at the expense of Duryodhana. Besides this, the Lord also desired that King Yudhisthira be pacified by the words of Bhismadeva so that the world could see that Bhismadeva excelled all in knowledge, including the Lord Himself.

SB1.8.47

TEXT 47

aha raja dharma-sutas

cintayan suhrdam vadham

prakrtenatmana viprah

sneha-moha-vasam gatah

aha—said; raja—King Yudhisthira; dharma-sutah—the son of Dharma (Yamaraja); cintayan—thinking of; suhrdam—of the friends; vadham—killing; prakrtena—by material conception only; atmana—by the self; viprah—O brahmana; sneha—affection; moha—delusion; vasam—being carried away by; gatah—having gone.

King Yudhisthira, son of Dharma, overwhelmed by the death of his friends, was aggrieved just like a common, materialistic man. O sages, thus deluded by affection, he began to speak.

King Yudhisthira, though he was not expected to become aggrieved like a common man, became deluded by worldly affection by the will of the Lord (just as Arjuna was apparently deluded). A man who sees knows well that the living entity is neither the body nor the mind, but is transcendental to the material conception of life. The common man thinks of violence and nonviolence in terms of the body, but that is a kind of delusion. Everyone is duty-bound according to one’s occupational duties. A ksatriya is bound to fight for the right cause, regardless of the opposite party. In such discharge of duty, one should not be disturbed by annihilation of the material body, which is only an external dress of the living soul. All this was perfectly known to Maharaja Yudhisthira, but by the will of the Lord he became just like a common man because there was another great idea behind this delusion: the King would be instructed by Bhisma as Arjuna was instructed by the Lord Himself.

SB1.8.48

TEXT 48

aho me pasyatajnanam

hrdi rudham duratmanah

parakyasyaiva dehasya

bahvyo me ’ksauhinir hatah

aho—O; me—my; pasyata—just see; ajnanam—ignorance; hrdi—in the heart; rudham—situated in; duratmanah—of the sinful; parakyasya—meant for others; eva—certainly; dehasya—of the body; bahvyah—many, many; me—by me; aksauhinih—combination of military phalanxes; hatah—killed.

King Yudhisthira said: O my lot! I am the most sinful man! Just see my heart, which is full of ignorance! This body, which is ultimately meant for others, has killed many, many phalanxes of men.

A solid phalanx of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 109,650 infantry and 65,600 cavalry is called an aksauhini. And many aksauhinis were killed on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. Maharaja Yudhisthira, as the most pious king of the world, takes for himself the responsibility for killing such a huge number of living beings because the battle was fought to reinstate him on the throne. This body is, after all, meant for others. While there is life in the body, it is meant for the service of others, and when it is dead it is meant to be eaten by dogs and jackals or maggots. He is sorry because for such a temporary body such a huge massacre was committed.

SB1.8.49

TEXT 49

bala-dvija-suhrn-mitra-

pitr-bhratr-guru-druhah

na me syan nirayan mokso

hy api varsayutayutaih

bala—boys; dvi-ja—the twice-born; suhrt—well-wishers; mitra—friends; pitr—parents; bhratr—brothers; guru—preceptors; druhah—one who has killed; na—never; me—my; syat—there shall be; nirayat—from hell; moksah—liberation; hi—certainly; api—although; varsa—years; ayuta—millions; ayutaih—being added.

I have killed many boys, brahmanas, well-wishers, friends, parents, preceptors and brothers. Though I live millions of years, I will not be relieved from the hell that awaits me for all these sins.

Whenever there is a war, there is certainly a massacre of many innocent living beings, such as boys, brahmanas and women, whose killing is considered to be the greatest of sins. They are all innocent creatures, and in all circumstances killing of them is forbidden in the scriptures. Maharaja Yudhisthira was aware of these mass killings. Similarly, there were friends, parents and preceptors also on both sides, and all of them were killed. It was simply horrible for him to think of such killing, and therefore he was thinking of residing in hell for millions and billions of years.

SB1.8.50

TEXT 50

naino rajnah praja-bhartur

dharma-yuddhe vadho dvisam

iti me na tu bodhaya

kalpate sasanam vacah

na—never; enah—sins; rajnah—of the king; praja-bhartuh—of one who is engaged in the maintenance of the citizens; dharma—for the right cause; yuddhe—in the fight; vadhah—killing; dvisam—of the enemies; iti—all these; me—for me; na—never; tu—but; bodhaya—for satisfaction; kalpate—they are meant for administration; sasanam—injunction; vacah—words of.

There is no sin for a king who kills for the right cause, who is engaged in maintaining his citizens. But this injunction is not applicable to me.

Maharaja Yudhisthira thought that although he was not actually involved in the administration of the kingdom, which was being carried on well by Duryodhana without harm to the citizens, he caused the killing of so many living beings only for his personal gain of the kingdom from the hands of Duryodhana. The killing was committed not in the course of administration but for the sake of self-aggrandizement, and as such he thought himself responsible for all the sins.

SB1.8.51

TEXT 51

strinam mad-dhata-bandhunam

droho yo ’sav ihotthitah

karmabhir grhamedhiyair

naham kalpo vyapohitum

strinam—of the women; mat—by me; hata-bandhunam—of the friends who are killed; drohah—enmity; yah—that; asau—all those; iha—herewith; utthitah—has accrued; karmabhih—by dint of work; grhamedhiyaih—by persons engaged in material welfare; na—never; aham—I; kalpah—can expect; vyapohitum—undoing the same.

I have killed many friends of women, and I have thus caused enmity to such an extent that it is not possible to undo it by material welfare work.

The grhamedhis are those whose only business is to perform welfare work for the sake of material prosperity. Such material prosperity is sometimes hampered by sinful activities, for the materialist is sure to commit sins, even unintentionally, in the course of discharging material duties. To get relief from such sinful reactions, the Vedas prescribe several kinds of sacrifices. It is said in the Vedas that by performing the Asvamedha-yajna (horse sacrifice) one can get relief from even brahma-hatya (killing of a brahmana).

Yudhisthira Maharaja performed this Asvamedha-yajna, but he thinks that even by performing such yajnas it is not possible to get relief from the great sins committed. In war either the husband or the brother or even the father or sons go to fight. And when they are killed, a fresh enmity is created, and thus a chain of actions and reactions increases which is not possible to be counteracted even by thousands of Asvamedha-yajnas.

The way of work (karma) is like that. It creates one action and another reaction simultaneously and thus increases the chain of material activities, binding the performer in material bondage. In the Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 9.27–28) the remedy is suggested that such actions and reactions of the path of work can be checked only when work is done on behalf of the Supreme Lord. The Battle of Kuruksetra was actually fought by the will of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, as it is evident from His version, and only by His will was Yudhisthira placed on the throne of Hastinapura. Therefore, factually no sin whatsoever touched the Pandavas, who were only the order carriers of the Lord. For others, who declare war out of personal interest, the whole responsibility lies on them.

SB1.8.52

TEXT 52

yatha pankena pankambhah

suraya va surakrtam

bhuta-hatyam tathaivaikam

na yajnair marstum arhati

yatha—as much as; pankena—by the mud; panka-ambhah—water mixed with mud; suraya—by wine; va—either; surakrtam—impurity caused by the slight touch of wine; bhuta-hatyam—killing of animals; tatha—like that; eva—certainly; ekam—one; na—never; yajnaih—by the prescribed sacrifices; marstum—to counteract; arhati—is worthwhile.

As it is not possible to filter muddy water through mud, or purify a wine-stained pot with wine, it is not possible to counteract the killing of men by sacrificing animals.