x TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI

He had descended from His abode in the spiritual world to rid the earth of
demoniac military powers and reestablish righteousness. Just before the
great war, Krsna had revealed all this to her son Arjuna in words immor-
talized in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7-8):

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious prac-
tice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of
irreligion—at that time I incarnate Myself. In order to deliver
the pious and annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-
establish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millen-
nium after millennium.

Krsna had accomplished His purpose of ‘‘annihilating the miscreants’’ by
orchestrating the destruction of the unholy Kauravas. Then He installed
Yudhisthira on the throne to establish the Pandava reign, and He con-
soled the slain warriors’ relatives. The scene of the Lord’s imminent
departure provides the setting for Queen Kunti’s exalted prayers.

As Kunti approached the Lord’s chariot and began to address Him, her
immediate purpose was to persuade Him to remain in Hastinapura and
protect the Pandava government from reprisals:

O my Lord...are You leaving us today, though we are
completely dependent on Your mercy and have no one else to
protect us, now when all kings are at enmity with us? (Srimad-
Bhagavatam 1.8.37)

From this supplication we should not mistakenly conclude that Kunti’s
prayers were self-serving. Although her sufferings were far greater than
those any ordinary person could endure, she does not beg relief. On the
contrary, she prays to suffer even more, for she reasons that her suffering
will increase her devotion to the Lord and bring her ultimate liberation:

My dear Krsna, Your Lordship has protected us from the
poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the
vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the
forest, and from the battle where great generals fought... .1
wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so
that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means
that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.
(Bhag. 1.8.24-25)
