82 TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
protect the sddhu and kill those who are against the sd@dhu—but both of
these activities are His pastimes.

The Lord is not envious. The killing of the demons is also a display of
His affection. Sometimes we may punish our children by giving them a
very strong slap because of love. Similarly, when Krsna kills a demon this
killing is not on the platform of material jealousy or envy, but on the plat-
form of affection. Therefore it is mentioned in the sdstras, the Vedic
literatures, that even the demons killed by the Lord attain immediate
salvation. Pitana, for example, was a demoniac witch who wanted to kill
Krsna. When Krsna was performing pastimes as a small child, she coated
the nipple of her breast with poison and approached Krsna’s home to
offer the milk of her breast. ‘‘When Krsna sucks my nipple,’’ she
thought, ‘‘the child will immediately die.’ But that was not possible.
Who can kill Krsna? Instead she herself was killed, for Krsna sucked the
nipple and also sucked out her life altogether. But what was the result?
Krsna took the bright side. ‘‘This demoniac woman came to kill Me,”’ He
thought, ‘‘but somehow or other I have sucked her.breast milk, so she is
My mother.”’ Thus Pitana attained the position of Krsna’s mother in the
spiritual world. This is explained in the Srimad-Bhdgavatam, where Ud-
dhava says to Vidura that Krsna is so kind, God is so kind, that even the
witch who wanted to kill Him with poison was accepted as His mother.
‘*Since Krsna is such a kind God,”’ he said, ‘‘whom else shall I worship
but Krsna?”’

Kuntidevi says, na yasya kascid dayitah. The word dayita means’
‘*favor.’” Krsna favors no one. Dvesyas ca: and no one is His enemy. We
expect some benediction or profit from a friend and harmful activities
from an enemy, but Krsna is so perfect that no one can harm Him nor
can anyone give Him anything. So who can be His friend or enemy? Na
yasya kascid dayito ’sti: He doesn’t need anyone’s favor. He is complete. I
may be a very poor man, and therefore I may expect some favor from a
friend, but that is because I am imperfect. Because I am not full, because
I am deficient in so many ways, I am always needy, and therefore I want
to create some friend, and similarly I hate an enemy. But since Krsna is
the Supreme, no one can harm Krsna, nor can anyone give Krsna
anything.

Why then are we worshiping Krsna in the temple by offering Krsna so
many comforts, dressing Him, decorating Him, and giving Him nice
food? We should try to understand that Krsna does not need our offer-
ings of nice garments, flowers, or food, but if we give such offerings to
Krsna, we shall benefit. Thus it is Krsna’s favor that He accepts such
