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KB 1970-1-50 / Deliverance of Mucukunda
50 / Deliverance of Mucukunda
When Maharaja Pariksit heard this incident of Kalayavana's
being burned to ashes, he inquired about the sleeping man from
Sukadeva Gosvami: "Who was he? Why was he sleeping there? How
had he achieved so much power that instantly, by his glance,
Kalayavana was burned to ashes? How did he happen to be lying
down in the cave of the hill?" Many questions were put
before Sukadeva Gosvami, and Sukadeva also answered, as follows.
"My dear King, this person was born in the very great family of
King Iksvaku, in which Lord Ramacandra was also born, and he
happened to be the son of a great king known as Mandhata. He
himself was also a great soul and was known popularly as
Mucukunda. King Mucukunda was a very strict follower of the
Vedic principles of brahminical culture, and he was truthful to
his promise. He was so powerful that even demigods like Indra
and others used to ask him to please help in fighting with the
demons, and as such, he often fought against the demons to
protect the demigods."
The commander-in-chief of the demigods, known as Karttikeya,
was satisfied with the fighting of King Mucukunda, but once he
asked that the King, having taken too much trouble in fighting
with the demons, retire from fighting and take rest. The
commander-in-chief, Karttikeya, addressed King Mucukunda, "My
dear King, you have sacrificed everything for the sake of the
demigods. You had a very nice kingdom undisturbed by any kind
of enemy. You left that kingdom, you neglected your
opulence and possessions, and you never cared for fulfillment
of your personal ambition. Due to your long absence from your
kingdom while fighting with the demons on behalf of the
demigods, your family, your children, your relatives and your
ministers have all passed away in due course of time. Time and
tide wait for no living man. Now even if you retire to your
home, you will find that no one is living there. The influence
of time is very strong; all your relatives have passed away in
due course of time. Time is so strong and powerful because it
is a representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; time
is therefore stronger than the strongest. By the influence of
time, changes in subtle things can be effected
without any difficulty. No one can check the process of time.
As an animal tamer tames animals according to his will, so time
also enters things according to its own will. No one can
supersede the arrangement made by the supreme time."
Thus addressing Mucukunda, the demigods requested him to ask
for any kind of benediction he might be pleased with, excepting
the benediction of liberation. Liberation cannot be awarded by
any living entity except the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Visnu. Therefore another name of Lord Visnu or Krsna is Mukunda,
He who can award liberation.
King Mucukunda had not slept for many, many years. He was
engaged in the duty of fighting, and therefore he was very
tired. So when the demigod offered benediction, Mucukunda
simply thought of sleeping. He replied as follows: "My dear
Karttikeya, the best of the demigods, I want to sleep now, and
I want from you the following benediction. Grant me the power
to burn, by my mere glance, anyone to ashes who
tries to disturb my sleeping and awakens me untimely. Please
give me this benediction." The demigod agreed and also gave him
the benediction that he would be able to take complete rest.
Then King Mucukunda entered the cave of the mountain.
On the strength of the benediction of Karttikeya, Kalayavana
was burnt into ashes simply by Mucukunda's glancing at
him. When the incident was over, Krsna came before King
Mucukunda. Krsna had actually entered the cave to deliver King
Mucukunda from his austerity, but He did not first
appear before him. He arranged that first Kalayavana
should come before him. That is the way of the activities of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead; He does one thing in such a
way that many other purposes are served. He wanted to deliver
King Mucukunda, who was sleeping in the cave, and at the same
time He wanted to kill Kalayavana, who had attacked Mathura
City. By this action He served all purposes.
When Lord Krsna appeared before Mucukunda, the King saw Him
dressed in a yellow garment, His chest marked with the symbol
of Srivatsa, and the Kaustubha-mani hanging around His neck.
Krsna appeared before him with four hands, as Visnu-murti, with
a garland called vaijayanti hanging from His neck down to His
knees. He was looking very lustrous, His face was very
beautifully smiling, and He had nice jeweled earrings in both
His ears. Krsna appeared more beautiful than a human can
conceive. Not only did He appear in this feature, but He
glanced over Mucukunda with great splendor, attracting the
King's mind. Although He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the oldest of all, He looked like a fresh young boy, and His
movement was just like that of a free deer. He
appeared extremely powerful; His excellence in power is
so great that every human being should be afraid of Him.
When King Mucukunda saw Krsna's magnificent features, he
wondered about His identity, and with great humility he began
to inquire from the Lord, "My dear Lord, may I inquire how it
is that You happened to be in the cave of this mountain? Who
are You? I can see that Your feet are just like soft lotus
flowers. How could You walk in this forest full of thorns and
hedges? I am simply surprised to see this! Are You not,
therefore, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the most
powerful amongst the powerful? Are You not the original source
of all illumination and fire? Can I consider You one of the
great demigods, like the sun, the moon, or Indra, King
of heaven? Or are You the predominating deity of any other
planet?"
Mucukunda knew well that every higher planetary system has a
predominating deity. He was not ignorant like modern men who
consider that this earthly planet is full of living
entities and all others are vacant. The inquiry from Mucukunda
about Krsna's being the predominating deity of a planet unknown
to him is quite appropriate. Because he was a pure devotee of
the Lord, King Mucukunda could immediately understand that Lord
Krsna, who had appeared before him in such an opulent feature,
could not be one of the predominating deities in the material
planets. He must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna,
who has His many Visnu forms. He therefore took Him to
be Purusottama, Lord Visnu. He could see also that the dense
darkness within the mountain cave had already been dissipated
due to the Lord's presence; therefore He could not be other
than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knew very
well that wherever the Lord is personally present by His
transcendental name, quality, form, etc., there cannot
be any darkness of ignorance. He is like a lamp placed in the
darkness; He immediately illuminates a dark place.
King Mucukunda became very much anxious to know about the
identity of Lord Krsna, and therefore he said, "O best of human
beings, if You think that I am fit to know about Your identity,
then kindly tell me who You are. What is Your parentage? What
is Your occupational duty, and what is Your family tradition?"
King Mucukunda thought it wise, however, to identify himself to
the Lord; otherwise he had no right to ask the Lord's
identity. Etiquette is such that a person of less importance
cannot ask the identity of a person of higher importance
without first disclosing his own identity. King Mucukunda
therefore informed Lord Krsna, "My dear Lord, I must
inform You of my identitification. I belong to the most
celebrated dynasty of King Iksvaku, but personally I am not as
great as my forefather. My name is Mucukunda. My father's name
was Mandhata, and my grandfather's name was Yuvanasva, the
great king. I was very much fatigued due to not
resting for many thousands of years, and because of this all my
bodily limbs were flattened and almost incapable of acting. In
order to revive my energy, I was taking rest in this solitary
cave, but I have been awakened by some unknown man who has
forced me to wake up although I was not willing to do so. For
such an offensive act, this person has been burnt into
ashes simply by my glancing over him. Fortunately, now I can
see You in Your grand and beautiful features. I think,
therefore, that You are the cause of killing my enemy. My
dear Lord, I must admit that due to the effulgence of Your
body, unbearable to my eyes, I cannot see You
properly. I can fully realize that by the influence of Your
effulgence my powerful potency has been diminished. I
can understand that You are quite fit for being worshiped by
all living entities."
Seeing King Mucukunda so anxious to know about His identity,
Lord Krsna began to answer smilingly, as follows: "My dear
King, it is practically impossible to tell about My birth,
appearance, disappearance and activities. Perhaps you know that
My incarnation Anantadeva has unlimited mouths, and for an
unlimited time He has been trying to narrate fully about My
name, fame, qualities, activities, appearance, disappearance
and incarnation, but still He has not been able to finish.
Therefore, it is not possible to know exactly how many names
and forms I possess. It may be possible for a material
scientist to estimate the number of atomic particles which make
up this earthly planet, but the scientist cannot enumerate My
unlimited names, forms and activities. There are many great
sages and saintly persons who are trying to make a list of My
different forms and activities, yet they have failed to make a
complete list. But since you are so anxious to know about Me, I
may inform you that presently I have appeared on this
planet just to annihilate the demoniac principles of the people
in general and to reestablish the religious principles enjoined
in the Vedas. I have been invited for this purpose by Brahma,
the superintending deity of this universe, and thus I have now
appeared in the dynasty of the Yadus as one of their family
members. I have specifically taken My birth as the son of
Vasudeva in the Yadu dynasty, and people therefore know Me as
Vasudeva, the son of Vasudeva. You may also know that I have
killed Kamsa, who was in a previous life was known as Kalanemi,
as well as Pralambasura and many other demons. They have acted
as My enemies and have been killed by Me. The demon who was
present before you also acted as My enemy, and you have very
kindly burned him into ashes by glancing over him. My dear King
Mucukunda, you are My great devotee, and just to show you My
causeless mercy, I have appeared in this form. I am very
affectionately inclined toward My devotees, and in your
previous life, before your present condition, you acted as My
great devotee and prayed for My causeless mercy. I have,
therefore, come to see you to fulfill your desire. Now you can
see Me to your heart's content. My dear King, now you can ask
from Me any benediction that you wish, and I am prepared to
fulfill your desire. It is My eternal principle that anyone who
comes under My shelter must have all his desires fulfilled by
My grace."
When Lord Krsna ordered King Mucukunda to ask a benediction
from Him, the King became very joyful, and he immediately
remembered the prediction of Gargamuni, who had foretold
long before that in the twenty-eighth millennium of Vaivasvata
Manu, Lord Krsna would appear on this planet. As soon as he
remembered this prediction, he began to understand that
the Supreme Person, Narayana, was present before Him as Lord
Krsna. He immediately fell down at His lotus feet and began to
pray as follows.
"My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, I can
understand that all living entities on this planet are
illusioned by Your external energy and are enamored of the
illusory satisfaction of sense gratification. Being fully
engaged in illusory activities, they are reluctant to worship
Your lotus feet, and because they are unaware of the benefits
of surrendering unto Your lotus feet they are subjected to
various miserable conditions of material existence. They are
foolishly attached to so-called society, friendship and love,
which simply produce different kinds of miserable conditions.
Illusioned by Your external energy, everyone, both man and
woman, is attached to this material existence, and all are
engaged in cheating one another in a great society of the
cheaters and the cheated. These foolish persons do not know
how fortunate they are to have obtained this human form of life,
and they are reluctant to worship Your lotus feet. By the
influence of Your external energy, they are simply attached to
the glare of material activities. They are attached to so-
called society, friendship and love like dumb animals that
have fallen into a dark well." The example of a dark well is
given because in the fields there are many wells, unused for
years and covered over by grass, and the poor animals, without
knowing of them, fall into them, and unless they are rescued,
they die. Being captivated by a few blades of grass, the
animals fall into a dark well and meet death. Similarly,
foolish persons, without knowing the importance of the human
form of life, spoil it simply for sense gratification and die
unnecessarily, without any useful purpose.
"My dear Lord, I am not an exception to this universal law of
material nature. I am also one of those foolish persons who has
wasted his time for nothing. And my position is especially
difficult. On account of my being situated in the royal order,
I was more puffed up than ordinary persons. An ordinary man
thinks of becoming the proprietor of his body or of his family,
but I began to think in that way on a larger scale. I wanted to
be the master of the whole world, and as I became puffed up
with ideas of sense gratification, my bodily concept of life
became stronger and stronger. My attachment for home, wife and
children, for money and for supremacy over the world, became
more and more acute; in fact, it was limitless. So I remained
always attached to thoughts of my material living conditions.
"Therefore, my dear Lord, I wasted so much of my valuable
lifetime without any benefit. My misconception of life
having been intensified, I began to think of this material body,
which is just a bag of flesh and bones, as the all in all, and
in my vanity I was like a dog who believes that he has
become the king of human society. In this misconception of
bodily life, I began to travel all over the world,
accompanied by my military strength -- soldiers, charioteers,
elephants and horses. Assisted by many commanders and puffed up
by power, I could not trace out Your Lordship, who is always
sitting within my heart as the most intimate friend. I did not
care for You, and this was the fault of my so-called exalted
material condition. I think that, like me, all living creatures
are careless about spiritual realization and are always full of
anxieties, thinking, 'What is to be done?' 'What is next?' But
because we are strongly bound by material desires, we continue
to remain in craziness.
"Yet in spite of our being so absorbed in material thought,
inevitable time, which is only a form of Yourself, is always
careful about its duty, and as soon as the allotted time is
over, Your Lordship immediately ends all the activities of our
material dreams. As the time factor, You end all our activities,
as the hungry black snake swiftly swallows up a small rat
without any leniency. Due to the action of cruel time, the
royal body which was always decorated with gold ornaments
during life and which moved on a chariot drawn by beautiful
horses or on the back of an elephant nicely decorated with
golden ornaments, and which was advertised as the king of human
society -- that same royal body decomposes under the influence
of inevitable time and becomes fit for being eaten by worms and
insects or being turned into ashes or the stool of an animal.
This beautiful body may be nice while in
the living condition, but after death even the body of a
king is eaten by an animal and therefore turns into stool or
is cremated in the crematorium and turned into ashes or is put
into an earthly grave where different kinds of worms and
insects are produced out of it.
"My dear Lord, not only do we become under the full control of
this inevitable time after death, but also while
living, in a different way. For example, I may be
a powerful king, and yet when I come home after conquering over
the world I become subjected to many material conditions. It
may be that when I come back after being victorious all
subordinate kings come and offer their respects, but as
soon as I enter into the inner section of my palace, I myself
become an instrument in the hands of the queens, and for sense
gratification I have to fall down at the feet of women. The
material way of life is so complicated that before taking the
enjoyment of material life one has to work so hard that there
is scarcely an opportunity for enjoying. And to
attain the youthful condition with all material facilities one
has to undergo severe austerities and penances and become
elevated to the heavenly planets. If one gets the opportunity
of taking birth in a very rich or royal family, even then in
that condition he is always anxious to maintain the status quo
and prepare for the next life by performing various kinds of
sacrifices and by distributing charity. Even in the royal
condition of life one is not only full of anxieties
because of political administration, but he is also in anxiety
over being elevated to heavenly planets.
"It is therefore very difficult to get out of the material
entanglement, but somehow or other if one is
favored by You, by Your mercy only he is given the opportunity
to associate with a pure devotee. That is the beginning point
of liberation from the entanglement of material conditional
life. My dear Lord, only by the association of pure devotees is
one entrapped by Your Lordship, who is the controller
of both the material and spiritual existences. You are the
supreme goal of all pure devotees, and by association with pure
devotees one can develop his dormant love for You. Therefore,
development of Krsna consciousness in the association of pure
devotees is the cause of liberation from this material
entanglement.
"My dear Lord, You are so merciful that in spite of my being
reluctant to associate with Your great devotees You have shown
Your extreme mercy upon me as a result of my slight contact
with a pure devotee like Gargamuni. By Your
causeless mercy only have I lost all my material opulences, my
kingdom and my family. I do not think that I could have gotten
rid of all these entanglements without Your causeless mercy.
Kings and emperors accept the life of austerity
to forget the royal condition of life, but by Your
special causeless mercy I have already been bereft of the
royal condition. Other kings exert themselves to get out of the
attachment of kingdom and family by acceptance of the hardships
of renunciation, but by Your mercy I do not need to become a
mendicant or to practice renunciation.
"My dear Lord, I therefore pray that I may simply be engaged in
rendering transcendental loving service unto Your lotus feet,
which is the ambition of the pure devotees who are freed from
all kinds of material contamination. You are the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and You can offer me anything I want,
including liberation. But who is such a foolish person that
after pleasing You he would ask from You something which might
be the cause of entanglement in this material world? I do not
think any sane man would ask such a benediction from You. I
therefore surrender unto You because You are the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, You are the Supersoul living in
everyone's heart, and You are the impersonal Brahman effulgence.
Moreover, You are also this material world, because this
material world is only the manifestation of Your external
energy. Therefore, from any angle of vision, You are the
supreme shelter for everyone. Everyone, either in the material
plane or in the spiritual plane, must take shelter
under Your lotus feet. I therefore submit unto You, my Lord.
For many, many births I have been suffering from the threefold
miseries of this material existence, and I am now tired of it.
I have simply been impelled by my senses, and I was never
satisfied. I therefore take shelter of Your lotus feet, which
are the source of all peaceful conditions of life and which can
eradicate all kinds of lamentation caused by material
contamination. My dear Lord, You are the Supersoul of everyone,
and You can understand everything. Now I am free from all
contamination of material desire. I do not wish to enjoy this
material world, nor do I wish to take advantage of merging into
Your spiritual effulgence, nor do I wish to meditate upon Your
localized aspect of Paramatma, for I know that simply by taking
shelter of You, I shall become completely peaceful and
undisturbed."
On hearing this statement of King Mucukunda, Lord Krsna replied,
"My dear King, I am very much pleased with your statement. You
have been the king of all the lands on this planet, but I am
surprised to find that your mind is now freed from all material
contamination. You are now fit to execute devotional service. I
am most pleased to see that although I offered you the
opportunity of asking from Me any kind of benediction, you did
not take advantage of asking for material benefit. I can
understand that your mind is now fixed in Me, and it is not
disturbed by any material fault."
"The material qualities are three, namely goodness, passion and
ignorance. When one is placed in the mixed material qualities
of passion and ignorance, he is impelled by various kinds of
dirtiness and lusty desires to try to find comfort in
this material world. When he is situated in the material
quality of goodness, he tries to purify himself by performing
various kinds of penances and austerities. When one reaches the
platform of a real brahmana, he aspires to merge into the
existence of the Lord, but when one desires simply to render
service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, that is transcendental
to all these three qualities. The pure Krsna conscious person
is therefore always free from all material qualities.
"My dear King, I offered to give you
any kind of benediction, just to test how much you have
advanced in devotional service. Now I can see that you are on
the platform of the pure devotees because your mind is not
disturbed by any kind of greedy or lusty desires of this
material world. The yogis who are trying to elevate themselves
by controlling the senses and who meditate upon Me by
practicing the breathing exercises of pranayama are not so
thoroughly freed from material desires. It has been seen in
several cases that as soon as there is allurement, such yogis
again come down to the material platform."
The vivid example verifying this statement is Visvamitra Muni.
Visvamitra Muni was a great yogi who practiced pranayama, a
breathing exercise, but still when he was visited by Menaka, a
society woman of the heavenly planet, he lost all control and
begot in her a daughter named Sakuntala. But the pure devotee
Haridasa Thakur was never disturbed, even when all such
allurements were offered by the prostitutes.
"My dear King," Lord Krsna continued, "I therefore give you the
special benediction that you will always think of Me. Thus you
will be able to traverse this material world freely, without
being contaminated by the qualities." This statement
of the Lord confirms that a person in true Krsna consciousness,
engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord under
the direction of the spiritual master, is never subjected to
the contamination of material qualities.
"My dear King," the Lord said, "because you are a ksatriya, you
have committed the offense of slaughtering animals, both in
hunting and in political engagements. To become purified, just
engage yourself in bhakti-yoga practice and
always keep your mind absorbed in Me. Very soon you will be
freed from all reactions to such sordid activities." In this
statement it appears that although the ksatriyas are allowed to
kill animals in the hunting process, they are not freed from
the contamination of other sinful reactions.
Therefore it does not matter whether one is a ksatriya, vaisya,
or brahmana; everyone is recommended to take sannyasa at the
end of life, to engage himself completely in the service of the
Lord and thus become freed from all sinful reactions of his
past life.
The Lord then assured King Mucukunda, "In your next life you
will take your birth as a first-class Vaisnava, the best of
brahmanas, and in that life your only business will be to
engage yourself in My transcendental service." The Vaisnava is
the first-class brahmana, because one who has not acquired the
qualification of a bona fide brahmana cannot come to the
platform of a Vaisnava. When one comes to the platform of a
Vaisnava, he is completely engaged in welfare activities for
all living entities. The highest welfare activity for living
entities is the preaching of Krsna consciousness. It is stated
herein that those who are specifically favored by the Lord can
become absolutely Krsna conscious and be engaged in the
preaching work of the Vaisnava philosophy.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fiftieth
Chapter of Krsna, "Deliverance of Mucukunda."
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KB 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda
CHAPTER FIFTY–ONE
The Deliverance of Mucukunda
When Krsna came out of the city, Kalayavana, who had never seen
Krsna before, saw Him to be extraordinarily beautiful, dressed
in yellow garments. Passing through Kalayavana's assembly of
soldiers, Krsna appeared like the moon in the sky passing
through the assembled clouds. Kalayavana was fortunate enough
to see the lines of Srivatsa, a particular impression on the
chest of Sri Krsna, and the Kaustubha jewel He was wearing.
Kalayavana saw Him, however, in His Visnu form, with a well-
built body, four hands, and eyes like the petals of a newly
blooming lotus. Krsna appeared blissful, with a handsome
forehead and beautiful smiling face, restless eyebrows and
moving earrings. Before seeing Krsna, Kalayavana had heard
about Him from Narada, and now the descriptions of Narada were
confirmed. Kalayavana noticed Krsna's specific marks and the
jewels on His chest, His beautiful garland of lotus flowers,
His lotuslike eyes and similar beautiful bodily features. He
concluded that this beautiful personality must be Vasudeva, for
every description he had previously heard from Narada was
substantiated by the presence of Krsna. Kalayavana was
astonished to see Krsna passing through his army without any
weapon in His hands and without any chariot. He was simply
walking on foot. Kalayavana had come to fight with Krsna, and
yet he had sufficient principles not to take up any kind of
weapon. He decided to fight with Him hand to hand. Thus he
prepared to capture Krsna and fight.
Krsna, however, went ahead without looking at Kalayavana.
Kalayavana followed Him with a desire to capture Him, but in
spite of his swift running, he could not capture Krsna. Krsna
cannot be captured even by great yogis traveling at the speed
of the mind. He can be captured only by those who follow the
path of devotional service, and Kalayavana was not practiced in
devotional service. He wanted to capture Krsna, and since he
could not do so he followed Him from behind.
Kalayavana began running very fast, thinking, "Now I am nearer;
I will capture Him," but he could not. Krsna led him far away
and entered the cave of a hill. Kalayavana thought that Krsna
was trying to avoid fighting him and was therefore taking
shelter of the cave. He rebuked Him with the following words: "
O Krsna! I heard that You are a great hero born in the dynasty
of Yadu, but I see that You are running away from fighting,
like a coward. It is not worthy of Your good name and family
tradition." Kalayavana was following, running very fast, but
still he could not catch Krsna because he was not freed from
all contaminations of sinful life.
According to Vedic culture, anyone who does not follow the
regulative principles observed by the higher castes (the
brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas) or even those observed by the
laborer class (the sudras) is called a mleccha or yavana. The
Vedic social situation is so planned that persons accepted as
sudras can gradually be elevated to the position of brahmanas
by the cultural advancement known as samskara, or the
purificatory process. The verdict of the Vedic scriptures is
that no one becomes a brahmana or a mleccha simply by birth; by
birth everyone is accepted as a sudra. One has to elevate
himself by the purificatory process to the stage of brahminical
life. If he doesn't, if he degrades himself further, he is then
called a mleccha or yavana. Kalayavana belonged to the class of
mlecchas and yavanas. Contaminated by sinful activities, he
could not approach Krsna. The principles from which higher-
class men are restricted, namely illicit sexual indulgence,
meat-eating, gambling and intoxication, are an integral part of
the lives of the mlecchas and yavanas. Being bound by such
sinful activities, one cannot make any advancement in God
realization. The Bhagavad-gita confirms that only one who is
completely freed from all sinful reactions can engage in
devotional service, or Krsna consciousness.
When Krsna entered the cave of the hill, Kalayavana followed,
chastising Him with various harsh words. Krsna suddenly
disappeared from the demon's sight, but Kalayavana followed and
also entered the cave. The first thing he saw was a man lying
down asleep within the cave. Kalayavana was eager to fight with
Krsna, and when he could not see Krsna but instead saw only a
man lying down, he thought that Krsna was sleeping within the
cave. Kalayavana was very much puffed up and proud of his
strength, and he thought Krsna was avoiding the fight.
Therefore, he strongly kicked the sleeping man, thinking him to
be Krsna. The sleeping man had been lying down for a very long
time. When awakened by the kicking of Kalayavana, he
immediately opened his eyes and began to look around in all
directions. At last he saw Kalayavana standing nearby. The man
had been untimely awakened and was therefore very angry, and
when he looked upon Kalayavana in his angry mood, rays of fire
emanated from his eyes, and Kalayavana burned to ashes within a
moment.
When Maharaja Pariksit heard this incident of Kalayavana's
being burned to ashes, he inquired about the sleeping man from
Sukadeva Gosvami: "Who was he? Why was he sleeping there? How
had he achieved so much power that instantly, by his glance,
Kalayavana was burned to ashes? How did he happen to be lying
down in the cave of the hill?" He put many questions
before Sukadeva Gosvami, and Sukadeva answered as follows.
"My dear King, this person was born in the very great family of
King Iksvaku, in which Lord Ramacandra was also born, and he
happened to be the son of a great king known as Mandhata. He
himself was also a great soul and was known popularly as
Mucukunda. King Mucukunda was a strict follower of the
Vedic principles of brahminical culture, and he was truthful to
his promise. He was so powerful that even demigods like Indra
used to ask him to help in fighting the
demons, and as such he often fought against the demons to
protect the demigods."
The commander in chief of the demigods, known as Karttikeya,
was satisfied with the fighting of King Mucukunda, but once he
asked that the King, having taken too much trouble in fighting
the demons, retire from fighting and take rest.
Karttikeya addressed King Mucukunda: "My
dear King, you have sacrificed everything for the sake of the
demigods. You had a very nice kingdom, undisturbed by any kind
of enemy. But you left that kingdom, neglected your
opulence and possessions, and never cared for fulfillment
of your personal ambitions. Due to your long absence from your
kingdom while fighting the demons on behalf of the
demigods, your queen, your children, your relatives and your
ministers have all passed away in due course of time. Time and
tide wait for no man. Now even if you return to your
home, you will find no one living there. The influence
of time is very strong
. Time is so powerful because it
is a representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; time
is therefore stronger than the strongest. The influence of
time can effect changes in subtle things
without difficulty. No one can check the progess of time.
As an animal tamer tames animals according to his will, time
also adjusts things according to its own will. No one can
supersede the arrangement made by supreme time."
Thus addressing Mucukunda, the demigod requested him to ask
any benediction he might be pleased with, except
the benediction of liberation. Liberation cannot be awarded by
any living entity but the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Visnu. Therefore another name of Lord Visnu or Krsna is Mukunda,
"He who can award liberation."
King Mucukunda had not slept for many, many years. He was
engaged in the duty of fighting, and therefore he was very
tired. So when the demigod offered a benediction, Mucukunda
simply thought of sleeping. He replied as follows: "My dear
Karttikeya, best of the demigods, I want to sleep now, and
I want from you the following benediction. Grant me the power
to burn to ashes, by my mere glance, anyone who
disturbs my sleeping and awakens me untimely. Please
give me this benediction." The demigod agreed and also gave him
the benediction that he would be able to take complete rest.
Then King Mucukunda entered the cave of the mountain.
On the strength of the benediction of Karttikeya, Mucukunda
burned Kalayavana to ashes simply by glancing at
him. When the incident was over, Krsna came before King
Mucukunda. Krsna had actually entered the cave to deliver King
Mucukunda because of his austerity, but Krsna did not
appear before him first. He arranged that first Kalayavana
should come before him. That is the way of the activities of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead: He does one thing in such a
way that many other purposes are served. He wanted to deliver
King Mucukunda, who was sleeping in the cave, and at the same
time He wanted to kill Kalayavana, who had attacked Mathura
City. By this action He served all purposes.
When Lord Krsna appeared before Mucukunda, the King saw Him
dressed in a yellow garment, His chest marked with the symbol
of Srivatsa, and the Kaustubha jewel hanging around His neck.
Krsna appeared before him with four hands, as visnu-murti, with
a garland called Vaijayanti hanging from His neck down to His
knees. He looked lustrous, His face was
beautifully smiling, and He wore nice jeweled earrings on
His ears. Krsna appeared more beautiful than a human can
conceive. Not only did He appear in this feature, but He
glanced over Mucukunda with great affection, attracting the
King's mind. Although He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the oldest of all, He looked like a fresh young boy, and His
movements were just like those of a free deer. Still, He
appeared extremely powerful; His influence and vast power are
so great that every human being should be afraid of Him.
When King Mucukunda saw Krsna's magnificent features, he
wondered about His identity, and with great humility he asked
the Lord, "My dear Lord, may I inquire how it
is that You happened to be in the cave of this mountain? Who
are You? I can see that Your feet are just like soft lotus
flowers. How could You walk in the forest, full of thorns and
pebbles? I am simply surprised to see this! Are You not,
therefore, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the most
powerful amongst the powerful? Are You not the original source
of all illumination and fire? Can I consider You one of the
great demigods, like the sun-god, the moon-god or Indra, King
of heaven? Or are You the predominating deity of some other
planet?"
Mucukunda knew well that every higher planetary system has a
predominating deity. He was not ignorant like modern men who
think that this planet earth is full of living
entities and all others are vacant. The inquiry from Mucukunda
about Krsna's being the predominating deity of a planet unknown
to him is quite appropriate. Because he was a pure devotee of
the Lord, King Mucukunda could immediately understand that Lord
Krsna, who had appeared before him in such an opulent feature,
could not be one of the predominating deities of the material
planets. He must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna,
who has many Visnu forms. Mucukunda therefore took Him to
be Purusottama, Lord Visnu. He could see also that the dense
darkness within the mountain cave had been dissipated
by the Lord's presence; therefore He could not be other
than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mucukunda knew very
well that wherever the Lord is personally present by His
transcendental name, qualities, form and so on, there cannot
be any darkness of ignorance. He is like a lamp placed in the
darkness; He immediately illuminates a dark place.
King Mucukunda was eager to know the
identity of Lord Krsna, and therefore he said, "O best of human
beings, if You think I am fit to know Your identity,
kindly tell me who You are. What is Your parentage? What
is Your occupational duty, and what is Your family tradition?"
King Mucukunda thought it wise, however, to identify himself to
the Lord first; otherwise he had no right to ask the Lord's
identity. Etiquette is such that a person of less importance
cannot ask the identity of a person of higher importance
without first disclosing his own identity. King Mucukunda
therefore told Lord Krsna, "My dear Lord, let me first
inform You of my identity. I belong to the most
celebrated dynasty of King Iksvaku, but personally I am not as
great as my forefather. My name is Mucukunda. My father's name
was Mandhata, and my grandfather was the
great king Yuvanasva. I was very much fatigued due to not
resting for many thousands of years, and because of this all my
bodily limbs were slack and almost incapable of acting. To
revive my energy, I was taking rest in this solitary
cave, but I have been awakened by some unknown man who has
forced me to wake up although I was not willing to do so. For
such an offensive act, I have burned this person to
ashes simply by glancing over him. Fortunately, now I can
see You in this grand and beautiful feature. I think,
therefore, that You are the cause of my killing my enemy. My
dear Lord, I must admit that due to Your
bodily effulgence, unbearable to my eyes, I cannot see You
properly. I can fully realize that the influence of Your
effulgence has diminished my power. I
can understand that You are quite fit for being worshiped by
all living entities."
Seeing King Mucukunda eager to know about His identity,
Lord Krsna answered smilingly as follows: "My dear
King, it is practically impossible to tell about My birth,
appearance, disappearance and activities. Perhaps you know that
My incarnation Anantadeva has unlimited mouths, and for an
unlimited time He has been trying to narrate fully about My
name, fame, qualities, activities, appearance, disappearance
and incarnations, but still He has not been able to finish.
Therefore, it is not possible to know exactly how many names
and forms I possess. It may be possible for a material
scientist to estimate the number of atomic particles which make
up this earthly planet, but the scientist cannot enumerate My
unlimited names, forms and activities. Many great
sages and saintly persons have tried to list My
different forms and activities, yet they have failed to make a
complete list. But since you are so eager to know about Me, I
may inform you that I have now appeared on this
planet just to annihilate the demoniac principles of the people
in general and reestablish the religious principles enjoined
in the Vedas. I have been invited for this purpose by Brahma,
the superintending deity of this universe, and thus I have now
appeared in the dynasty of the Yadus as one of their family
members. I have specifically taken My birth as the son of
Vasudeva in the Yadu dynasty, and people therefore know Me as
Vasudeva, the son of Vasudeva. You may also know that I have
killed Kamsa, who in a previous life was known as Kalanemi,
as well as Pralambasura and many other demons. They have acted
as My enemies, and I have killed them. The demon who was
present before you also acted as My enemy, and you have very
kindly burned him to ashes by glancing over him. My dear King
Mucukunda, you are My great devotee, and just to show you My
causeless mercy I have appeared in this cave. I am very
affectionately inclined toward My devotees, and in your
previous life, before your present condition, you acted as My
great devotee and prayed for My causeless mercy. I have
therefore come to see you to fulfill your desire. Now you can
see Me to your heart's content. My dear King, now you may ask
from Me any benediction you wish, and I am prepared to
fulfill your desire. It is My eternal principle that anyone who
comes under My shelter must have all his desires fulfilled by
My grace."
When Lord Krsna ordered King Mucukunda to ask a benediction
from Him, the King was joyful, and he immediately
remembered the prediction of Garga Muni, who had foretold
long before that in the twenty-eighth millennium of Vaivasvata
Manu, Lord Krsna would appear on this planet. As soon as he
remembered this prediction, he understood that
the Supreme Person, Narayana, was present before Him as Lord
Krsna. He immediately fell down at His lotus feet and began to
pray as follows.
"My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, I can
understand that all living entities on this planet are
illusioned by Your external energy and enamored of the
illusory satisfaction of sense gratification. Being fully
engaged in illusory activities, they are reluctant to worship
Your lotus feet, and because they are unaware of the benefits
of surrendering unto Your lotus feet, they are subjected to
various miserable conditions of material existence. They are
foolishly attached to so-called society, friendship and love,
which merely produce different kinds of miseries.
Illusioned by Your external energy, everyone, whether man or
woman, is attached to this material existence, and all are
engaged in cheating one another in a great society of the
cheaters and the cheated. These foolish persons, not knowing
how fortunate they are to have obtained this human form of life,
are reluctant to worship Your lotus feet. By the
influence of Your external energy, they are attached to
the glare of material activities, to so-
called society, friendship and love, like dumb animals that
have fallen into a dark well." The example of a dark well is
given because in the fields there are many wells, unused for
years and covered over by grass, and poor animals, not
knowing of them, fall into them, and unless rescued
they die. Being captivated by a few blades of grass, the
animals fall into a dark well and meet death. Similarly,
foolish persons, without knowing the importance of the human
form of life, spoil it simply for sense gratification and die
without any useful purpose.
"My dear Lord, I am not an exception to this universal law of
material nature. I am also a foolish person who has
wasted his time for nothing. And my position is especially
difficult. On account of my being situated in the royal order,
I was more puffed up than ordinary persons. An ordinary man
thinks he is the proprietor of his body or his family,
but I began to think in that way on a larger scale. I wanted to
be the master of the whole world, and as I became puffed up
with ideas of sense gratification, my bodily concept of life
became stronger and stronger. My attachment for home, wife and
children, for money and supremacy over the world, became
more and more acute; in fact, it was limitless. So I remained
always attached to thoughts of my material living conditions.
"Therefore, my dear Lord, I wasted so much of my valuable
lifetime with no benefit. As my misconception of life
intensified, I began to think of this material body,
which is just a bag of flesh and bones, as the all in all, and
in my vanity I believed I had
become the king of human society. In this misconception of
bodily life I traveled all over the world,
accompanied by my military strength -- soldiers, charioteers,
elephants and horses. Assisted by many commanders and puffed up
by power, I could not trace out Your Lordship, who always
sit within my heart as the most intimate friend. I did not
care for You, and this was the fault of my so-called exalted
material condition. I think that, like me, all living creatures
are careless about spiritual realization and are always full of
anxieties, thinking, ‘What is to be done? What is next?' But
because we are strongly bound by material desires, we continue
to remain in craziness.
"Yet in spite of our being so absorbed in material thought,
inevitable time, which is only a form of Yourself, is always
careful about its duty, and as soon as the allotted time is
over, Your Lordship immediately ends all the activities of our
material dreams. As the time factor, You end all our activities,
as a hungry black snake swiftly swallows up a small rat
without leniency. Due to the action of cruel time, the
royal body which was always decorated with golden ornaments
during life and which moved on a chariot drawn by beautiful
horses or on the back of an elephant nicely decorated with
golden ornaments, and which was advertised as the king of human
society -- that same royal body decomposes under the influence
of inevitable time and becomes fit for being eaten by worms and
insects or being turned into ashes or the stool of an animal.
This beautiful body may be recognized as a royal body while in
the living condition, but after death the body of even a
king is eaten by an animal and therefore turned into stool or
is cremated in a crematorium and turned into ashes or is put
into an earthly grave, where different kinds of worms and
insects are produced of it.
"My dear Lord, we come under the full control of
this inevitable time not only after death but also
, in a different way, while living. For example, I may be
a powerful king, and yet when I come home after conquering
the world I become subjected to many material conditions. When
I come back victorious, all
subordinate kings may come and offer their respects, but as
soon as I enter the inner section of my palace, I myself
become an instrument in the hands of the queens, and for sense
gratification I have to fall down at the feet of women. The
material way of life is so complicated that before taking the
enjoyment of material life one has to work so hard that there
is scarcely an opportunity for peacefully enjoying. And to
attain all material facilities one
has to undergo severe austerities and penances and be
elevated to the heavenly planets. If one gets the opportunity
to take birth in a very rich or royal family, even then
he is always anxious to maintain the status quo
and prepare for the next life by performing various
sacrifices and distributing charity. Even in royal
life one is full of anxieties, not only
because of political administration but also in regard
to being elevated to the heavenly planets.
"It is therefore very difficult to get out of material
entanglement, but if one is somehow or other
favored by You, by Your mercy alone he is given the opportunity
to associate with a pure devotee. That is the beginning
of liberation from the entanglement of material, conditioned
life. My dear Lord, only by the association of pure devotees is
one able to approach Your Lordship, who are the controller
of both the material and the spiritual existences. You are the
supreme goal of all pure devotees, and by association with pure
devotees one can develop his dormant love for You. Therefore,
development of Krsna consciousness in the association of pure
devotees is the cause of liberation from this material
entanglement.
"My dear Lord, You are so merciful that in spite of my being
reluctant to associate with Your pure devotees, You have shown
Your extreme mercy upon me as a result of my slight contact
with such a pure devotee as Garga Muni. By Your
causeless mercy only have I lost all my material opulences, my
kingdom and my family. I do not think I could have gotten
rid of all these entanglements without Your causeless mercy.
Kings and emperors sometimes accept the life of an
ascetic to forget their royal life, but by Your
special causeless mercy I have already been bereft of royalty
.
I do not need to become a
mendicant or practice renunciation.
"My dear Lord, I therefore pray that I may simply be engaged in
rendering transcendental loving service unto Your lotus feet.
This is the ambition of pure devotees, who are freed from
all material contamination. You are the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and You can offer me anything I want,
including liberation. But who is such a fool that
after pleasing You he would ask from You something which might
cause entanglement in this material world? I do not
think any sane man would ask such a benediction from You. I
therefore surrender unto You because You are the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, You are the Supersoul living in
everyone's heart, and You are the impersonal Brahman effulgence.
Moreover, You are also this material world, because this
material world is only the manifestation of Your external
energy. Therefore, from any angle of vision, You are the
supreme shelter for everyone. Whether on the material
plane or the spiritual plane, everyone must take shelter
under Your lotus feet. I therefore submit unto You, my Lord.
"For many, many births I have been suffering from the threefold
miseries of this material existence, and I am now tired of it.
I have been impelled only by my senses, and I was never
satisfied. I therefore take shelter of Your lotus feet, which
are the source of all peaceful life and which can eradicate all
lamentation caused by material contamination. My dear Lord, You
are the Supersoul of everyone, and You can understand
everything. Now I am free from all contamination of material
desire. I do not wish to enjoy this material world, nor do I
wish to take advantage of merging into Your spiritual
effulgence, nor do I wish to meditate upon Your localized
aspect of Paramatma, for I know that simply by taking shelter
of You, I shall become completely peaceful and undisturbed."
On hearing this statement by King Mucukunda, Lord Krsna replied,
"My dear King, I am very much pleased with your statement. You
have been the king of all the lands on this planet, but I am
surprised to find that your mind is now freed from all material
contamination. You are now fit to execute devotional service. I
am most pleased to see that although I offered you the
opportunity to ask from Me any kind of benediction, you did
not take advantage of asking for material benefits. I can
understand that your mind is now fixed in Me, and it is not
disturbed by any material quality."
The material qualities are three, namely goodness, passion and
ignorance. When one is placed into the mixed material qualities
of passion and ignorance, various kinds of
greed and lusty desires impel him to try to find comfort in
this material world. When situated in the material
quality of goodness, one tries to purify himself by performing
various penances and austerities. When one reaches the
platform of a real brahmana, he aspires to merge into the
existence of the Lord. But when one desires only to render
service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he is transcendental
to all these three qualities. The pure Krsna conscious person
is therefore always free from all material qualities.
"My dear King," Lord Krsna continued, "I offered to give you
any kind of benediction just to test how much you have
advanced in devotional service. Now I can see that you are on
the platform of the pure devotees, for your mind is not
disturbed by any greedy or lusty desires of this
material world. The yogis who try to elevate themselves
by controlling the senses and who meditate upon Me by
practicing the breathing exercise of pranayama are not so
thoroughly freed from material desires. It has been seen in
several cases that as soon as there is allurement, such yogis
again come down to the material platform."
The vivid example verifying this statement is Visvamitra Muni.
Visvamitra Muni was a great yogi who practiced pranayama, a
breathing exercise, but when he was visited by Menaka, a
society woman of the heavenly planets, he lost all control and
begot in her a daughter named Sakuntala. But the pure devotee
Haridasa Thakura was never disturbed, even when all such
allurements were offered by a prostitute.
"My dear King," Lord Krsna continued, "I therefore give you the
special benediction that you will always think of Me. Thus you
will be able to traverse this material world freely, without
being contaminated by the material qualities." This statement
by the Lord confirms that a person in true Krsna consciousness,
engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord under
the direction of the spiritual master, is never subject to
the contamination of material qualities.
"My dear King," the Lord said, "because you are a ksatriya, you
have committed the offense of slaughtering animals, both in
hunting and in political engagements. To become purified, just
engage yourself in the practice of bhakti-yoga and
always keep your mind absorbed in Me. Very soon you will be
freed from all reactions to such sordid activities." In this
statement it appears that although ksatriyas are allowed to
kill animals in hunting, they are not freed from
the resultant contamination of sinful reactions.
Therefore, whether one is a ksatriya, vaisya
or brahmana, one is recommended to take sannyasa at the
end of life, to engage himself completely in the service of the
Lord and thus become freed from all sinful reactions of his
past life.
The Lord then assured King Mucukunda, "In your next life you
will take your birth as a first-class Vaisnava, the best of
brahmanas, and in that life your only business will be to
engage yourself in My transcendental service." A Vaisnava is
a first-class brahmana because one who has not acquired the
qualification of a bona fide brahmana cannot come to the
platform of a Vaisnava. When one becomes a
Vaisnava, he is completely engaged in welfare activities for
all living entities. The highest welfare activity for living
entities is the preaching of Krsna consciousness. It is stated
herein that those who are specifically favored by the Lord can
become absolutely Krsna conscious and be engaged in the
work of preaching the Vaisnava philosophy.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifty-first
Chapter of Krsna, "The Deliverance of Mucukunda."
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