Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 1 Chapter 8:16-28

Book 1: Chapter 8

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 1: Chapter 8: Verses 16-28 The Lord delivers Pariksit in the womb and is extolled by Kunti; Yudhisthira gives way to grief Deem this not as a miracle on the part of Lord Acyuta (Sri Krsna), who is an embodiment of all wonders and who, though unborn Himself, creates, maintains and destroys this universe by His own deluding potency. When Sri Krsna was about to leave, the virtuous Prtha (Kunti) along with her sons (the Pandavas), who had just escaped from the fire of the missile presided over by Brahma, and her daughter-in-law, Krsna (Draupadi), addressed Him as follows: Kunti said : "I, an ignorant woman, make obeisance to You, the Prime Person, transcending Prakrti and dwelling inside as well as outside all created beings, the invisible and imperishable God existing beyond the range of sense-perception and screened by the curtain of Maya. You, cannot be seen by a man of perverted vision even as a dunce would fail to recognize an actor appearing in a garb appropriate to the stage. How, then, can we womenfolk perceive You, who have appeared in our midst just to engender Devotion in the heart of Paramahamsas (those endowed with the eye distinguishing the material from the spiritual) who are given to contemplation and pure of mind? Obeisance, obeisance to You, Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, the delight of Devaki (Your blessed mother), the foster-child of the cowherd Nanda, Lord Govinda. Obeisance to you whose navel is adorned with a lotus; obeisance to You, wearing a wreath of lotus flowers; obeisance to You, possessing lotus-like eyes; obeisance to You, whose feet resemble the lotus. O Hrsikea (Lord of the senses), even as You delivered Devaki (Your own mother), who had been shut up in prison for a long time by the wicked Kamsa and was overcome with grief, so did You, O almighty Lord, repeatedly save me along with my sons from a series of calamities. It is You, O Hari, who protected us from poison, from a huge fire, from the look of man-eating demons, from the assembly of wicked people (Duryodhana and his associates), from the perils met during forest life, from the missiles of many a great warrior (like Bhisma, Drona, Karna and so on ) in every battle, and just now from the missile discharged by Aswatthama (the son of Dronacarya). May calamities befall us at every step through eternity, O Teacher of the world; for it is in adversity alone that we are blessed with Your sight, which eliminates the possibility of our seeing another birth. A man whose birth, power, learning and affluence only serve to swell his pride is unable even to utter Your name, You being open to the perception of only those who have nothing to call their own. You are the only wealth of those who have no sense of possession. Beyond the realm of the three Gunas or modes of Prakrti, You delight in Your own Self and are perfectly calm; You are the Lord of Moksa (final beatitude). I bow to You again and again. "I believe You to be Kala ( the Time-Spirit), the almighty Ruler of all, having no beginning or end and moving alike among all the creatures, although it is You, again, who serve as an occasion for them to contend with one another.