Deliverance of Mucukunda 339
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 Krsna’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 pre-
dominating 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 Krsna’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 Krsna, 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, Krsna, who has His many
Visnu forms. He therefore took Him to be Purusottama, Lord Visnu. 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 Krsna, 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
