398 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 8

flower. and there should be a soothing atmosphere in the temple of wor-
ship 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, sidras 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 dcaryas 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 sidras 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.
Srimati Kunti, 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 Kuntidevi, 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, gradu-
ally rising to the face, and then down to the lotus feet. In the round,
everything there is in order.

TEXT 23

Tq gtta ata zat

aaa tafart aarfta |
fraifaaé a aera ft

aaa aa aeRO MRI

yatha hrsikesa khalena devaki
kamsena ruddhaticiram sucarpita

vimocitaham ca sahatmaja vibho
tvayaiva nathena muhur vipadganat

yathd—as it were; hrsikesa—the master of the senses; khalena—by the
envious; devaki—Devaki (the mother of Sri Krsna); kamsena—by king
Kamsa; ruddha—imprisoned; aticiram—for a long time; sucarpita—dis-
tressed ; vimocitad—released; aham ca—also myself; sahatmaja—along with my
children; vibho—O great one; tvaya eva—by Your Lordship; nethena—as
the protector; muhuh—constantly ; vipadganat—series of dangers.
