|| Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran||

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 8 – The glorious ‘Kunthi Sthuthi’

Yudhishtira was crowned as the King of Hasthinapur, Krishna stayed with the Pandavas for some time and found that things are settled in the Pandavas Kingdom, so he decided to leave to his glorious city Dwaraka.   Before leaving the palace, Devi Kunthi approached Krishna, with great devotion and love said “ Oh! Prabho, Krishna, You are the protector of the Pandava clan, you are the center of our devotion too.  Can’t you stay with us in Hasthinapur? How can we live without you?” she eulogized Krishna with beautiful verses, famously known as ‘Kunthisthuthi’ in Srimad Bhagavath.  In that “ Oh! Krishna, I admire your various passionate sports in Braja, I was astonished by your amusements, you have shown the entire Universe to Yashomathi in your mouth when she scolded you for eating the mud.   I was thinking that supreme Purusha, the Supreme Lord who is the Lord of the Universe worshiped by all the deities is scared of Yasomathi’s stick? Thus, you have performed various amusements that dazed us.” In this way, Devi Kunthi eulogized various passionate sports of Krishna, after listening to her Krishna said: “ Devi, I am pleased with your devotion, ask for boon whatever you want.” Kunthidevi asked for a unique boon that is highly famous in Srimad Bhagavath, “Oh! Jagathguru, kindly shower troubles, tabulations, and impediments upon me, so that I can always contemplate upon you.  Oh! My Lord, you know everything, more opulence and happiness would create a tendency to keep you away from us.  Therefore I need to go through constant struggles that would remind me of your grace.  This material happiness would drive me away from you.  The worldly existence is nothing but full of miseries and sorrows, this knowledge would keep me contemplate upon you.  Krishna! All I need is spiritual advancement, not that material welfare.  Therefore I would prefer miseries and struggles in my life as a boon.  Oh! Krishna, each time when I face hardships in life I feel closer to you, and I want to remain close to you always.  ” Krishna said “ Devi, are you out of your mind ? all the living being asks for welfare, happiness, wealth, fame and peace.  They worship me for removing sufferings, miseries, grief, and agony of the worldly existence.  Devi! All your life, you have gone through various struggles,  are you not tired of it?”

‘ Kunthi Sthuthi’ contains full of wisdom, it is a natural phenomenon that when people get stuck with miseries, misfortunes, ill health, and poverty, it would push them in the extreme state of distress, though it is all a part of his grace to give the knowledge of the impermanent nature of the worldly matters.  These hardships make living beings to develop a sense of abandonment, and concentrate upon the permanent nature of supreme bliss, it is the source of self- realization, and God-realization, it gives the knowledge of the ‘self’/Bhramam/supreme soul which has the nature of supreme bliss.  Therefore troubles and miseries in the worldly existence are part of blessings; these tribulations are the necessary part of the growth of humans as humble, kind and loving, the struggles in life teach us the sense of survival.  Hence, determination, discipline, tolerance, and perseverance are the stepping stone for growth in spiritual advancement.  It is quite natural that while having struggles and hardships we always look for comfort, somebody to protect us from the troubles, therefore, miseries is a kind of blessings of the Supreme Lord which would lead to spiritual advancement.

Devi Kunthi is the Queen of Hastinapura, the mother of the Pandavas, had lost her husband Pandu at a young age.  Her elder son Karna has remained as her past history in all her life, she and her five children had to go through the constant torture and injustice of Dhritarashtra and his hundreds of son's.  Duryodhana tried all means to harm the Pandavas, he constructed the ‘House of wax’ to burn them alive.  Devi  Kunthi and her children were humiliated by Duryodhana and his brothers, they had to live in the woods for twelve years, and one year in disguise.  Finally, when they returned to their Kingdom that led to the great war of Kurukshetra, all her relatives and grandchildren were killed.  At last, all that remain her five sons, Draupadi, and widow Uththara.  In spite of all these struggles and turbulences in her life, Devi Kunthi asked Krishna for a unique boon for further troubles in life, so that she can constantly contemplate upon the supreme Lord.