424
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 8]
desires that God's mercy be bestowed upon them so that natural prosperity be maintained by His grace.
TEXT 41
अथ विश्वेश विश्वात्मन् विश्वमूर्ते स्वकेषु मे । 
    स्नेहपाशमिमं छिन्धि दृढं पाण्डुषु वृष्णिषु ॥४१॥
atha viśveśa viśvātman 
    viśva-mūrte sva-keṣu me 
    sneha-pāśam imam chindhi 
    dṛḍham pāṇḍuṣu vṛṣṇiṣu
atha —therefore;  viśva-īśa —O Lord of the universe;  viśva-ātman —O soul of the universe;  viśva-mūrte —O Personality of the universal form;  sva-keṣu —unto my own kinsmen;  me —my;  sneha-pāśam —tie of affection;  imam —this;  chindhi —cut off;  dṛḍham —deep;  pāṇḍuṣu —for the Pāṇḍavas;  vṛṣṇiṣu —for the Vṛṣṇis also.
TRANSLATION
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 Pāṇḍavas and the Vṛṣṇis.
PURPORT
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. Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī was conscious of this fact, and, therefore, she prayed to the Lord to cut off the affectionate tie from her own kinsmen, the Pāṇḍavas and the Vṛṣṇis. The Pāṇḍavas are her own sons, and the Vṛṣṇis are the members of her paternal family. Kṛṣṇa was equally related to both the families. Both the families required the Lord's help because both were dependent devotees of the Lord. Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī wished Śrī Kṛṣṇa to remain with her sons the Pāṇḍavas, but by His doing so her paternal house would be benefit of the benefit. All these partialities troubled the mind of Kuntī, and therefore she desired to cut off the affectionate tie.