Deliverance of Mucukunda
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Not only did He appear in this feature, but He glanced over Mucukunda with great splendor, attracting the King's mind. Although He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the oldest of all, He looked like a fresh young boy, and His movement was just like that of a free deer. He appeared extremely powerful; His excellence in power is so great that every human being should be afraid of Him.
When King Mucukunda saw Krṣṇa's magnificent features, he wondered about His identity, and with great humility he began to inquire from the Lord: "My dear Lord, may I inquire how it is that You happened to be in the cave of this mountain? Who are You? I can see that Your feet are just like soft lotus flowers. How could You walk in this forest full of thorns and hedges? I am simply surprised to see this! Are You not, therefore, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the most powerful amongst the powerful? Are You not the original source of all illumination and fire? Can I consider You one of the great demigods, like the sun, the moon, or Indra, King of heaven? Or are You the predominating deity of any other planet?"
Mucukunda knew well that every higher planetary system has a predominating deity. He was not ignorant like modern men who consider that this earthly planet is full of living entities and all others are vacant. The inquiry from Mucukunda about Krṣṇa's being the predominating deity of a planet unknown to him is quite appropriate. Because he was a pure devotee of the Lord, King Mucukunda could immediately understand that Lord Krṣṇa, who had appeared before him in such an opulent feature, could not be one of the predominating deities in the material planets. He must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krṣṇa, who has His many Viṣṇu forms. He therefore took Him to be Puruṣottama, Lord Viṣṇu. He could see also that the dense darkness within the mountain cave had already been dissipated due to the Lord's presence; therefore He could not be other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knew very well that wherever the Lord is personally present by His transcendental name, quality, form, etc., there cannot be any darkness of ignorance. He is like a lamp placed in the darkness; He immediately illuminates a dark place.
King Mucukunda became very much anxious to know about the identity of Lord Krṣṇa, and therefore he said, "O best of human beings, if You think that I am fit to know about Your identity, then kindly tell me who You are. What is Your parentage? What is Your occupational duty, and what is Your family tradition?" King Mucukunda thought it wise, however, to identify himself to the Lord; otherwise he had no right to ask the Lord's identity. Etiquette is such that a person of less importance cannot