Bhagavatam study 37 1.8.17-22 The prayer progresses from philosophical to personal

Thank you. The incident that is described just before this verse is the description of how Krishna saved Uttara from Brahmateja.
The Brahmashira Astra that had been discharged by Ashwathama. So Vinirmuktair, having saved her from that, Brahmatejo Vinirmuktair, Atmajai Sahakrishnaya Atmajai Along with her sons, Atmaja, the word Atma can mean soul, the word Atma also means body. So Atmaja means those who are born from one’s body.
Atmajai Sahakrishnaya So here Krishnaya refers to Draupadi. So this is referring to Kunti. She came with her sons, the Pandavas and Draupadi.
Prayana Abhimukham Krishnam Prayana As Prayana, so Prayana rather. So Prayana is departure, as Krishna was about to depart. Abhimukham, she moved towards him.
Krishnam Idamaha Prathasati So Pratha, that is the daughter of, that is Pratha is another name for Kuntisati. She was chased from him and she moved towards Krishna. So normally when a person is about to depart, at that time everybody comes, especially when a person is a very respectable or elderly person, then everybody comes to see them off.
Then when everybody comes to see them off, at that time, usually as a part of the etiquette, the eldest who is there in the family, the eldest often offers farewell first. And others may also offer farewell. So now here the Pandavas were departing.
There was no male elder. Pratha did not have a husband. She was a dowager, a widow.
And Dhritarashtra had been inimical to the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra was still angry with Krishna. So Dhritarashtra did not come to see Krishna off here.
And so Pratha is described that although she was a woman, she was the eldest and she was in one sense the leader in the home affairs. So her sons and her daughter-in-law, she came following, they all came following her and she, she spoke these words to Krishna. Kunti uvacha, this is 1.8.18 This begins one of the most beautiful sections in the Bhagavatam, wherein the moving prayers of Kunti Maharani are offered.
And these prayers are among the most classic prayers in the Bhagavatam. So, and this is the first major prayer in the Bhagavatam, of course. And there was a, just two brief sets of prayers, one from Arjuna and one from Uttara.
Actually there are just two, three verses. This is long, this will go from 18th to 42nd verse. That is, it’s 26 verses.
And Kunti begins by talking about the paradox of the vision of the invisible. God, one of the main reasons why people say that they don’t believe in him is that they say he’s invisible. We can’t see him.
How can you believe what you can’t see? And it’s interesting that Kunti Maharani takes that point and she turns that around. She says that we see you, yet we don’t see you. I offer my obeisances to you, Lord.
You are the primeval person. You are the person who is the original person. You are transcendental to prakriti.
You are not within material nature. Even when you appear to be in material nature, you are beyond material nature. Krishna’s incarnation is not an incarceration.
That means when Krishna is in this world, at that time, he’s not imprisoned in this material world, in the material body as we are imprisoned. Krishna is free. Krishna is transcendental.
And so can we be transcendental when we become devoted to him. Otherwise, our incarnation is an incarceration. When we are in this material world, in the material body, we are actually trapped by our material body.
That is not the case for Krishna. You are transcendental to material nature. Alaksham means you are not seen, actually.
You are invisible to all living beings. Although you are actually situated inside the hearts of all living beings, still you are inside them, you are outside them, but still you are not visible to people. So what does this actually mean? This simply means that Kunti is acknowledging that there is more to Krishna than what meets the eye.
Normally, if a person appears one way, and then another person appears to be very rough and tough kind of person, and then we find that person has very sensitive, caring emotions, then we say, oh, there’s more to this person than meets the eye. So there is, for Krishna, in Krishna’s case, there is infinitely more than what meets the eye. So that, in the routine course of affairs, people may forget, because Krishna can appear as if he is just another person moving around in the world as are other people.
But when the time and circumstances call for it, Krishna manifests extraordinary power. And one example of how he manifests extraordinary power is being displayed here, when it is stated that, was displayed just a few minutes ago, when he explained how, actually, it was omnipotent Krishna, it is Krishna who manifested his omnipotence by suddenly giving them the, by, from the heart, from in front of him, Krishna suddenly manifested inside the heart of, inside the womb of Uttara, and there he served Parikshit. So, he in his true glory, in his omnipotence, is not understood by people.
So now she is addressing Krishna, and she’s also talking about Krishna as the absolute truth. And she says, God is present inside and outside of everything, and yet God is not known to most people. And that is the paradox of material existence, where people don’t know God because they think that, they think of him as just another person, and they can’t understand how a person can be inside and outside of everything.
But firstly, Krishna is not another person. Krishna is God, and as God, he is the supreme being. So now, you cannot see, he cannot be seen.
Now, why can he not be seen? That will be mentioned in the next text, 1.8.19 That, Maya, illusory energy, is covered by, people who are ignorant, that Lord who defeats sense perception. So here there is alliteration where, there are three words starting with the same letter, same sound, So, The Bhagavatam is often poetic, and these sort of poetic ornaments, especially for discerning readers, they add to the sweetness of the message. And the artistry and the sweetness of the message, and even for those who do not discern such things, still the poetic nature of this, is appealing even to them.
That means, the foolish observer, the drusha is one who is seer, moora is the foolish one, means, the foolish observer cannot see. na to naat ke dharo yatha na to naat ke dharo yatha just as, if an actor, is playing a particular role in a play, then the actor when he is playing the role of a player, that, that person cannot be recognized, especially that person is playing, entered into that role, is not only wearing the costume, but also, is taking on the persona of that person, then it becomes very difficult to recognize who that person is. And in this way, they cannot understand.
So here the Bhagavatam is underscoring this point for us, that, there is a curtain of ignorance, which prevents people from perceiving Krishna. So now curtain of illusion, it’s interesting, is that a curtain over Krishna, or is that curtain over us? Actually, Maya is Krishna’s energy. And being Krishna’s energy, Maya is actually something that cannot cover him.
Unless of course, he wants it, wants to be covered, which happens especially when, we consider Yoga Maya. So, for the case of Yoga Maya, in the case of Yoga Maya, we see that, it is, not easy for a person to recognize that, we as souls are essentially pure. And, especially for those who are in Mahamaya, not Yoga Maya, they don’t understand that we are souls, they don’t understand that we are at core pure.
So, impure desires come in, and people indulge in those impure desires, and that’s how they get entangled and trapped in material existence. But if they can recognize, that, because of this covering of Maya, they cannot perceive Krishna. Now, Krishna also talks about this, Being deluded, people cannot know who he is.
But still, it does not mean that he can’t be known at all. It just means that, knowing him, requires, more effort, than what we would normally be ready to put in. And that more effort comes not just in terms of, struggling to see, like a blind person cannot see just by struggling and straining to see.
There has to be a surgical process that is required. And, that surgical process is of course, the process of Bhakti. That process of Bhakti will be mentioned in the next verse, that which will remove this, and, So, in one sense, the future verses are expansions of this.
This theme of will be mentioned further, when he talks about, when Kuntimanay talks about, how Krishna’s pastimes are bewildering. But in the next verse, he talks about, okay, if there’s a covering of ignorance, because of which you can’t see, then what is the solution? How can that covering of ignorance be removed? And that is mentioned, that that can be removed by the, practice of Bhakti. That is mentioned in the next verse.
So, we have one, eight, twenty. So, Paramhamsas are those who are, transcendentalists. Those are not just transcendentalists, Paramhamsa.
Now, Hamsa, swan is said to have the power of, separating milk from water. And it is said over here that, So, for those, Paramhamsas are those who are able to, experience the best of happiness. For those who are able to, get out the best, of all things, by, by pursuing the essence, that is Krishna, they can actually, they are called as Paramhamsas.
They see the material existence and then, they, move onwards towards trying to get the best, out of material existence. That is, the Lord who is hidden within material existence. So, this verse, this theme of Hamsas, be able to take out that which is, which is the essence, that gels nicely with the previous verse, So, there is a curtain.
Now, beyond the curtain, someone is there. Some treasure is there. Something that is meant to be hidden is there, and that means to be taken out.
But the way to take it out is, there is a process, and that process, Krishna comes to teach. So, Paramhamsas are the people who are, who know this process or who are, who want to learn this process. They are themselves diligent in trying to look at, for the essence of material existence and, and for such people, So, So, So, now, what do you, normally dirt is something which we consider as valueless.
So, when we say something is dirty, then we normally, dirt is to be pushed away. means, and there is no dirt in them. So, refers primarily to that which is, that which is, those people who do not have any dirt in their heart.
So, dirt in the heart, makes us value dirt outside. Actually, normally speaking, when something is dirty, we wipe it away. But when there is dirt in the heart, it makes us think of dirt as valuable.
So, low desires, filthy desires, we start thinking of them as valuable, and thus we trap ourselves. So, those who are Amalaatmanam, what do we do? Those who are Amalaatmanam, for such people, Krishna comes to teach. So, to remove the darkness that is pervading existence, that darkness especially about you, darkness in terms of ignorance, about you, the inability to see you that pervade, that characterizes all people, that was mentioned in Sarvabhutana, in the 18th text, to remove that, you come, So, So, how I, as a woman, can know you, O Lord? So, now she is, from a philosophical level, bringing the prayer to a personal level.
It starts first with the philosophical theme of how actually you cannot be seen. It’s not that you deliberately want to stay hidden. To make yourself understandable, you also manifest in this world.
And you descend to this world, and you give the knowledge by which people can see you. But then, it’s interesting that normally bhakti is considered to be an inclusive form of spirituality, where bhakti is available for everyone. And Krishna also talks about this theme in 9.33 in the Bhagavad Gita, when he says, He says that even those who are normally considered not qualified for, at least according to conventional Vedic culture, those who are not considered qualified for spiritual growth, they all become qualified.
They are all still qualified for bhakti and by practicing bhakti they can attain the highest destination. So, when this is understood, then why is it stated that, why is this verse Kunti actually putting the other side? If women are actually qualified to practice bhakti, or rather, bhakti is so accommodating as to include women also, actually we could say at one level that no one is qualified to practice bhakti. It is only Krishna’s mercy that uses the qualification, whether it be for women or whether it be for those considered conventionally qualified, just brahmins or whatever.
But the point is, that whatever it is, it is Krishna who is the lord and source of everything, and it is Krishna who enables us to achieve anything by his mercy. So, especially in the process of bhakti, here the point that is being made is that the process of bhakti can enable anyone and everyone to move closer to Krishna and to attain Krishna and thus go onwards in one’s journey. So, here the point is that Kunti Maharani speaking out of humility over here, Kunti is saying that, actually no, you cannot.
Oh lord, this is the highest knowledge of how to see you, and this knowledge is meant for the most qualified people. So, how can I understand it? How can I see you? Now, Prabhupada explains in the parport that, in his lexis also on this topic, Prabhupada says that she is able to see him already. So, Krishna is there and she is able to see Krishna not just as, she is able to see Krishna in his two-fold bending, in his three-fold bending form, two-handed form, but she is able to appreciate Krishna, not just see Krishna, but appreciate Krishna as the supreme person.
And that appreciation for Krishna is extraordinary. That appreciation for Krishna indicates that she is actually fortunate. She is actually very exalted and it is one of the characteristics of the exalted that they are humble.
And now here we move onwards and we look further. So, now as I said, now the prayers are moving from the philosophical to the personal and now she starts talking at the personal theme from the 21st verse. Krishnaya Vasudevaya Devaki Nandanayacha Nanda Gopakumaraya Govindayana Monamaha He says, Nishanachakritapura actually gives a very beautiful explanation of this verse wherein he explains that here the absolute truth is being pointed to in a more and more clarity and specificity with each of these addresses.
Krishnaya In other words, Krishna Prabhupada explained to us that it refers to one who is all attractive. Krishna can also refer to a complexion and one who is dark complexion. So, now there may be many dark complexion people, Krishnaya, but among them she is referring to one particular person Vasudevaya, the son of Vasudev.
But Vasudev had many sons. Which son are you referring to? Devaki Nandanayacha She is not referring to Rohini Nandan Balram. She is referring to Devaki Nandan Krishna.
Now, Devaki also actually had many children. So, what is special about this particular child? He was a child who was actually born to one set of parents, but he lived with another set of parents. That he is a person who has lived in amidst the who lived among the Gopas headed by Nanda.
Krishna had this extraordinary childhood where he was partially with the Pandavas and partially with the sorry not Pandavas, partially with the Yadus and partially with the Prajavasis. And Govindayana Monamaha, what is further characters? Govinda He is the lord who gives pleasure to the cows, he gives pleasure to the senses. Govindayana Monamaha, to that lord I offer my obeisances.
So, that lord, the previous verse says that you are descended to teach everyone how to practice Bhakti Yoga. And in this verse she says how she is able to see him that she is able to not just understand him as the friend of her son Arjuna or as their well-wisher. It is interesting she is not referring to him her understanding of Krishna is revealed by her referring to him first from the philosophical perspective as the absolute truth Ishwaram prakatheparam and now she is also referring to him from his antecedents during his appearance here where he appeared in this world and he is she is telling his extraordinary birth and his extraordinary we could say evolution.
God does not evolve in the sense of the we do. But in his manifested pastimes he may perform leelas and he is this person who is described here by five describers and to that lord I offer my obeisances. Ex 22 Now she continues with the theme of offering obeisances Namahapankajanabhaya Namahapankajamaline Namahapankajanitraya Namaste Pankajangraye Namahapankajanabhaya Namahapankajanabhaya I offer obeisances to you O lord who are Pankajanabhi You are the lord who has lotus like lotus shaped navel now this can also refer to multiple things.
It can also refer to a Kunti Maharani understanding, recognition that Krishna is not an ordinary person. Krishna is God and Krishna one of Krishna’s manifestations is Vishnu from that Vishnu’s navel the primeval lotus emerges and from that lotus all of from that lotus Brahma is born and then the whole universe appears. He is telling O lord your navel is very special.
Normally you know when say a woman is addressing a man at least in if we consider conservative culture that was there at that time for a woman to refer to a man’s navel it would seem it would seem like quite a intimate thing to do. But Krishna’s navel is not ordinary and Kunti’s relationship with Krishna is more or less maternal and Krishna, she is referring to Krishna that your navel is navel is lotus like so she is often she is pointing out the transcendence of Krishna’s navel that it’s not ordinary it is the source of the primeval lotus from which the universe came about and she is using this as a symmetrical structure, this particular prayer wherein Nama Tama Namas that Nama two syllables more or less come in the first line and then there is Pankaj Pankaj Pankaj Pankaj in the next line and after that there are other things there so there are other parts of the body that are referred to in the next line Prabhupada explains that because she is elder to Krishna for her to refer to Krishna’s feet would have embarrassed Krishna she doesn’t refer to Krishna’s feet instead she refers to she first refers to his navel and from his navel she moves onward Pankaj Nabhaya Namah Pankaj Maline Namah Pankaj Maline the the mala this thing that you are wearing is is actually Pankaj the garland which you are wearing is made of lotus and it is also very beautiful Namah Pankaj Netraya Netraya your eyes are also like a your eyes are very beautiful like a lotus Namaste Pankaj Angraye Pankaj Angraye that your lotus, your feet are also like lotus now by comparing Krishna to a lotus there are three things which are conveyed first is of course the beauty lotus flower is beautiful and Krishna’s beauty is being conveyed and as I mentioned that the move from the philosophical to the personal also moves things from the universal to the specific that Krishna is not some amorphous conception of God about which no one knows who he is or what he is Krishna is a very very clear and specific conception and that clear and specific conception is what is manifested here now here we can move forward and we can look at how that he is explaining Krishna’s beauty so his beauty is transcendence the transcendence is the point that lotus stays in dirt but is not affected by a bird lotus remains beautiful and transcendental similarly Krishna remains in this world but Krishna is not affected by this world Pankaj Netraya although Krishna appears in this world he remains transcendental and that point is conveyed Namaste Pankajangraye Pankajangraye your feet are also like lotus so in this way Kunti Maharani gives a very intimate and personable description of the all attractiveness of Krishna so till now in the verses it began with a description of Krishna’s transcendence and his invisibility that was 18th text the reason for invisibility was described as illusion which makes him appear he is visible but not comprehensible he is visible but not recognizable and how that was mentioned in 19th text 20th text describes that Krishna makes himself recognizable by teaching bhakti and although Kunti Maharani considers herself less intelligent as a woman she says that the next verses reveal how she has recognized him so 21st verse tells about how she has understood him as a as the absolute to descended to this world and she tells the various attributes of his manifest past times and in this verse she stresses his transcendence we will continue in our next class