Queen Kunti – The Incarnation Of Success
THE RICH VAISNAVA TRADITION from which the Krsna consciousness movement arises includes many great female devotees. But few are as illustrious and heroic as Queen Kunti, whom Srila Prabhupada glorified as "the incarnation of the success potency of the Personality of Godhead."
Queen Kuntidevi emerges as a preeminent figure in ancient India and a central player in the epic Mahabharata. Not only was she the sister of Vasudeva (Krsna's father, making her Krsna's aunt) and the mother of the brave and virtuous Pandava brothers, but she was the very emblem of courage and wisdom qualities of hers that helped her family and friends endure a civil war that took the lives of millions.
Originally called Prtha, Kunti was the daughter of the great Maharaja Surasena, chief of the glorious Yadu dynasty. Political and family complications forced Surasena to place her in the care of his nephew, Kuntibhoja (hence her name), who raised her as his own. In King Kuntibhoja's palace, she learned to host important guests such as the denizens of heavenly planets with a culture and style now all but lost.
Once, the great sage Durvasa attended festivities in the palace and, being pleased with young Kunti's faithful service, gave her a powerful mantra by which she could summon any deva she chose. Curious about the power of the mantra, she tried to conjure up Surya, the deva of the sun. Suddenly, Surya appeared.
"O beautiful Prtha," he said, "your meeting with the devas cannot be fruitless. Therefore, let me place my seed in your womb so that you may bear a son. I shall arrange to keep your virginity intact since you are still an unmarried girl."
As a result of their union, Karna was born. Realizing that no one would understand the nature of Karna's birth, and fearing the wrath of her parents, Kunti arranged to put the child in a basket of reeds and set it afloat in the Yamuna, hoping that someone would find her child and give him a good home. A charioteer named Adhiratha rescued the child and raised him.
Marriage to Pandu
When Kunti came of age, she married Pandu, king of Hastinapura (now Delhi), who had another wife, named Madri. One day, while hunting in a forest, Pandu came upon two copulating deer. Taking bow and arrow in hand, he heartlessly aimed and fired. But as his arrows pierced their bodies, they showed their true forms as forest sages. The sages cursed Pandu: If he were to ever try to have intercourse with either of his wives, he would die.
Grief-stricken, Pandu decided to take sannyasa, the renounced order of life. But Kunti and Madri threatened to commit suicide if he did so. Still, without the ability to father children, Pandu felt he could not rule. He knew the importance of producing an heir to continue the dynasty. Perplexed, Pandu and his wives prayed for a solution to their dilemma.
Finally, Kunti told Pandu and Madri of the boon she had received from Durvasa Muni. She would call devas, she said, to sire children in her womb. Pandu would have divine children, and the kingdom would be saved.
First, Pandu asked her to call the deva Dharmaraja, and Yudhisthira was born. She then called for Vayu (air), and Bhima was born. When she called for Indra, the king of heaven, Arjuna appeared in this world. Pandu wanted Madri to have children too, and so, using Kunti's mantra, she gave birth to twins, Nakula and Sahadeva.
Pandu died at an early age, and Madri followed him, leaving Kunti to care for the five children, known as the Pandavas.
As the boys grew into manhood, they trained as ksatriyas, members of the warrior class. When their cousins the one hundred sons of Dhrtarastra, known as the Kauravas unlawfully contended for the throne, the Pandavas showed patience and tolerance. But when the Kauravas persisted, the Pandavas could tolerate no more, and the great Mahabharata war ensued.
On the eve of the war, Kunti realized that any real danger to her five sons would come from Karna, who was as qualified as the Pandavas and was fighting in the opposing army. She, therefore, spoke to him, her first child, telling him the truth of his birth, which until then had been her secret. She begged him to change affiliation and fight on the side of his halfbrothers. But Karna refused to do this on principle: he had vowed to kill Arjuna.
Still, Karna swore that he would not kill any of the other Pandavas. He tried to console his mother by explaining that if he or Arjuna died in battle, she would still have five sons, the number to which she had become accustomed. Naturally, as a mother, Karna's words hardly consoled her.
Only after the war, in which Karna was slain, did Kunti reveal to the Pandavas the truth of Karna's birth, and she made them vow to give him a fitting farewell. The shocked but victorious Pandavas did what they could to satisfy their grieving mother.
Though Queen Kunti endured poignant and heart-rending pain the curse of her husband, his early demise, the death of her firstborn at his brother's hands, the secret of his identity, which she had kept from her children she lived as an exemplary queen, with honor, culture, and wisdom.
Although Queen Kunti was Lord Krsna's aunt, she knew that He was in fact the Supreme Personality of Godhead, she knew of His mission to rid the earth of demoniac military powers and establish righteousness (as explained in Bhagavad-gita 4.7-8), and she knew that He would fulfill His mission through the Mahabharata war. Kunti's eloquent soliloquies in this regard are recorded in scripture.
Krsna accomplished His purpose by orchestrating the destruction of the evil Kauravas and placing Yudhisthira on the throne, allowing the Pandavas many years of righteous rule.
His work done, Krsna prepared to leave Hastinapura, adding to Queen Kunti's heartbreak. She approached Krsna on His chariot and tried to persuade Him to stay with her and her family, on the pretext of His protecting the Pandava government from vicious reprisals. In fact, though, it was out of pure love that she wanted Him to stay.
"O my Lord," she prayed, "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)
Kunti proceeds to explain the philosophy of Krsna consciousness. Her prayers to the Lord have since become famous, echoed by saintly persons in the Vaisnava tradition throughout history. Rather than beseech the Lord for mercy, to obliterate her pain or assuage her suffering, Kunti begs for repeated miseries to befall her, assuring her of the Lord's company.
"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…. I 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." (1.8.24-25)
In Queen Kunti's simple outpouring of devotion, recorded in both the Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Maha-bharata, one can find the essence of Krsna conscious wisdom. Even in just the two verses quoted above, we see dependence on the Lord, knowledge of His identity as Krsna, and knowledge of the soul and reincarnation. Her single-minded devotion has served as the ideal for devotees of Krsna throughout history: "O Lord of Madhu [Krsna], as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else." (1.8.42)
Queen Kuntidevi emerges as a preeminent figure in ancient India and a central player in the epic Mahabharata. Not only was she the sister of Vasudeva (Krsna's father, making her Krsna's aunt) and the mother of the brave and virtuous Pandava brothers, but she was the very emblem of courage and wisdom qualities of hers that helped her family and friends endure a civil war that took the lives of millions.
Originally called Prtha, Kunti was the daughter of the great Maharaja Surasena, chief of the glorious Yadu dynasty. Political and family complications forced Surasena to place her in the care of his nephew, Kuntibhoja (hence her name), who raised her as his own. In King Kuntibhoja's palace, she learned to host important guests such as the denizens of heavenly planets with a culture and style now all but lost.
Once, the great sage Durvasa attended festivities in the palace and, being pleased with young Kunti's faithful service, gave her a powerful mantra by which she could summon any deva she chose. Curious about the power of the mantra, she tried to conjure up Surya, the deva of the sun. Suddenly, Surya appeared.
"O beautiful Prtha," he said, "your meeting with the devas cannot be fruitless. Therefore, let me place my seed in your womb so that you may bear a son. I shall arrange to keep your virginity intact since you are still an unmarried girl."
As a result of their union, Karna was born. Realizing that no one would understand the nature of Karna's birth, and fearing the wrath of her parents, Kunti arranged to put the child in a basket of reeds and set it afloat in the Yamuna, hoping that someone would find her child and give him a good home. A charioteer named Adhiratha rescued the child and raised him.
Marriage to Pandu
When Kunti came of age, she married Pandu, king of Hastinapura (now Delhi), who had another wife, named Madri. One day, while hunting in a forest, Pandu came upon two copulating deer. Taking bow and arrow in hand, he heartlessly aimed and fired. But as his arrows pierced their bodies, they showed their true forms as forest sages. The sages cursed Pandu: If he were to ever try to have intercourse with either of his wives, he would die.
Grief-stricken, Pandu decided to take sannyasa, the renounced order of life. But Kunti and Madri threatened to commit suicide if he did so. Still, without the ability to father children, Pandu felt he could not rule. He knew the importance of producing an heir to continue the dynasty. Perplexed, Pandu and his wives prayed for a solution to their dilemma.
Finally, Kunti told Pandu and Madri of the boon she had received from Durvasa Muni. She would call devas, she said, to sire children in her womb. Pandu would have divine children, and the kingdom would be saved.
First, Pandu asked her to call the deva Dharmaraja, and Yudhisthira was born. She then called for Vayu (air), and Bhima was born. When she called for Indra, the king of heaven, Arjuna appeared in this world. Pandu wanted Madri to have children too, and so, using Kunti's mantra, she gave birth to twins, Nakula and Sahadeva.
Pandu died at an early age, and Madri followed him, leaving Kunti to care for the five children, known as the Pandavas.
As the boys grew into manhood, they trained as ksatriyas, members of the warrior class. When their cousins the one hundred sons of Dhrtarastra, known as the Kauravas unlawfully contended for the throne, the Pandavas showed patience and tolerance. But when the Kauravas persisted, the Pandavas could tolerate no more, and the great Mahabharata war ensued.
On the eve of the war, Kunti realized that any real danger to her five sons would come from Karna, who was as qualified as the Pandavas and was fighting in the opposing army. She, therefore, spoke to him, her first child, telling him the truth of his birth, which until then had been her secret. She begged him to change affiliation and fight on the side of his halfbrothers. But Karna refused to do this on principle: he had vowed to kill Arjuna.
Still, Karna swore that he would not kill any of the other Pandavas. He tried to console his mother by explaining that if he or Arjuna died in battle, she would still have five sons, the number to which she had become accustomed. Naturally, as a mother, Karna's words hardly consoled her.
Only after the war, in which Karna was slain, did Kunti reveal to the Pandavas the truth of Karna's birth, and she made them vow to give him a fitting farewell. The shocked but victorious Pandavas did what they could to satisfy their grieving mother.
Though Queen Kunti endured poignant and heart-rending pain the curse of her husband, his early demise, the death of her firstborn at his brother's hands, the secret of his identity, which she had kept from her children she lived as an exemplary queen, with honor, culture, and wisdom.
Although Queen Kunti was Lord Krsna's aunt, she knew that He was in fact the Supreme Personality of Godhead, she knew of His mission to rid the earth of demoniac military powers and establish righteousness (as explained in Bhagavad-gita 4.7-8), and she knew that He would fulfill His mission through the Mahabharata war. Kunti's eloquent soliloquies in this regard are recorded in scripture.
Krsna accomplished His purpose by orchestrating the destruction of the evil Kauravas and placing Yudhisthira on the throne, allowing the Pandavas many years of righteous rule.
His work done, Krsna prepared to leave Hastinapura, adding to Queen Kunti's heartbreak. She approached Krsna on His chariot and tried to persuade Him to stay with her and her family, on the pretext of His protecting the Pandava government from vicious reprisals. In fact, though, it was out of pure love that she wanted Him to stay.
"O my Lord," she prayed, "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)
Kunti proceeds to explain the philosophy of Krsna consciousness. Her prayers to the Lord have since become famous, echoed by saintly persons in the Vaisnava tradition throughout history. Rather than beseech the Lord for mercy, to obliterate her pain or assuage her suffering, Kunti begs for repeated miseries to befall her, assuring her of the Lord's company.
"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…. I 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." (1.8.24-25)
In Queen Kunti's simple outpouring of devotion, recorded in both the Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Maha-bharata, one can find the essence of Krsna conscious wisdom. Even in just the two verses quoted above, we see dependence on the Lord, knowledge of His identity as Krsna, and knowledge of the soul and reincarnation. Her single-minded devotion has served as the ideal for devotees of Krsna throughout history: "O Lord of Madhu [Krsna], as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else." (1.8.42)
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