398
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 8]
flower, and there should be a soothing atmosphere in the temple of worship to attract the burning attention of the nondevotees always engaged in material wranglings. The meditators worship a form within the mind. Therefore, the Lord is merciful even to the women,  śūdras  and  dvija-bandhus , provided they agree to visit the temple of worship in different forms made for them. Such temple visitors are not idolators, as alleged by some men with a poor fund of knowledge. All the great  ācāryas  established such temples of worship in all places just to favor the less intelligent, and one should not pose himself as transcending the stage of temple worship while one is actually in the category of the  śūdras  and the women or less. One should begin to see the Lord from His lotus feet, gradually rising to the thighs, waist, chest and face. One should not try to look at the face of the Lord without being accustomed to seeing the lotus feet of the Lord. Śrīmatī Kuntī, because of her being the aunt of the Lord, did not begin to see the Lord from the lotus feet because the Lord might feel ashamed, and thus Kuntīdevī, just to save a painful situation for the Lord, began to see the Lord just above His lotus feet, i.e., from the waist of the Lord, gradually rising to the face, and then down to the lotus feet. In the round, everything there is in order.
TEXT 23
यथा हृषीकेश खलेन देवकी 
  कंसेन रुद्रातिचिरं शुचार्पिता । 
  विमोचिताहं च सहात्मजा विमो 
  त्वयैव नाथेन मुहुर्विपद्गणात् ॥२३॥
yathā hṛṣīkeśa khalena devakī 
  kaṁsena ruddhāticiraṁ śucārpitā 
  vimocitāhaṁ ca sahātmajā vibho 
  tvayaiva nāthena muhur vipadgaṇāt
yathā —as it were;  hṛṣīkeśa —the master of the senses;  khalena —by the envious;  devakī —Devakī (the mother of Śrī Kṛṣṇa);  kaṁsena —by King Kaṁsa;  ruddhā —imprisoned;  aticiraṁ —for a long time;  śucārpitā —distressed;  vimocitā —released;  aham ca —also myself;  sahātmajā —along with my children;  vibho —O great one;  tvayā eva —by Your Lordship;  nāthena —as the protector;  muhuḥ —constantly;  vipadgaṇāt —series of dangers.