Introduction ix
freedom) in a gambling match. As a result of the match, the Pandavas’
wife Draupadi was abused by the Kauravas, and the Pandavas themselves
were forced to spend thirteen years in exile in the forest—to the great
sorrow of Kunti.

When the thirteen-year exile had ended, the Pandavas returned to
Hastinapura to reclaim their kingdom. But Duryodhana bluntly refused
to relinquish it. Then, after some unsuccessful attempts to quell the
hostilities, Yudhisthira sent Krsna Himself to secure the return of the
Pandava kingdom by peaceful means. But even this effort failed—
because of Duryodhana’s obstinacy —and both sides prepared for battle.
To place Yudhisthira on the throne—or to oppose him—great warriors
from all corners of the earth assembled, setting the scene for what would
prove to be a devastating world war.

Fierce fighting raged for eighteen days on the historic plain of Kuru-
ksetra (near Hastinapura), and in the end all but a handful of the many
millions of warriors were dead. Only Lord Krsna, the Pandavas, and a few
others survived the massacre. The Kauravas (Duryodhana and his
brothers) were devastated. In a desperate gesture of revenge, Asvat-
thama, one of the surviving Kauravas, mercilessly murdered the five
sons of Draupadi while they were sleeping. Queen Kunti thus suffered a
final blow—the loss of her grandchildren.

Arrested and dragged to the Pandavas’ camp like a bound animal,
ASvatthama was let free only by the astounding compassion of Draupadi,
the slaughtered boys’ mother and Kunti’s daughter-in-law, who pleaded
for his life. But the shameless ASvatthama made one more attempt to kill
the last heir of the Pandavas, their unborn grandson in the womb of Ut-
tara, by hurling the supreme brahmastra weapon. When she saw the
missile flying straight at her, Uttara immediately ran to the shelter of
Lord Krsna, who was just about to depart for Dvaraka, His majestic
capital city. Krsna protected the Pandavas and their mother Kunti from
imminent death by stopping the weapon’s uncontrollable heat and radia-
tion with His own Sudarsana disc.

Having delivered the Pandavas from this last calamity, and seeing that
all His plans were fulfilled, Lord Krsna was again preparing to leave. For
years Duryodhana had tormented Queen Kunti’s family, but Krsna had
protected them at every turn—and now He was going away. Kunti was
overwhelmed, and she prayed to Krsna from the core of her heart.

Kunti was Lord Krsna’s aunt (He had incarnated as the son of her
brother Vasudeva), yet despite this conventional tie with the Lord, she
fully understood His exalted and divine identity. She knew full well that
