Prayers of Queen Kunti

Oh Krishna, as the river Ganges forever flows to the sea, let my mind, my being, be constantly drawn to thee. Oh most gentle, oh original personality, master of the senses, seated in the hearts of all that be, existing both within and without, seeing all but seen by none, unto You I offer all my respects. Oh Krishna, oh Soul of the Universe, beyond the range of our perception, covered by the curtain of misconception, we are bewildered by your movements. Though you work you are inactive, though you take birth you are unborn, and though you descend amongst men, sages, animals, and aquatics, you are the transcendent reality. And although you are unknown, above all that be, you reveal yourself to the surrendered souls who worship you in the core of their hearts. Unto you I offer all my respects.

Oh Krishna, Oh eternal master and friend, once when you were a small child your mother Yashoda took a rope to bind you, your perturbed eyes filled with tears, and although Fear personified is afraid of you, at that moment, You were afraid.

How can I understand these things?

Oh my Lord I offer it all to you. Oh Lord whose glance is a cool as a lotus, who protected us from a great fire, from a poisoned cake, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly of the Kurus, from sufferings in exile, from a fierce battle, and from a devastating weapon. You befriended us and stayed with us and guided us, through all tribulations, and I offer myself, and whatever I have, unto You.

My Lord your loving kindness and mercy often come clothed in strange guises; enveloped in a shroud of tribulation. Yet our journey through life is made easy by these hardships You provide. Oh Lord let us not falsely claim that this world is our home. Let us not ever forget that this place is full of danger, but let the calamities come, again and again, that we may remember You, and meet with You, again and again, for by remembering You, we no longer meet with repeated birth and death.

Oh Krishna, those who always hear your glories, who always repeat your glories, who always see You in all things, and who always take pleasure in your pastimes, certainly find shelter at your lotus feet.

My Lord you can be easily approached, but only by those who are exhausted with sensual pleasure, unimpressed with opulence, unimpressed with fame and wealth, with prestigious birth, with scholarship; only by those who are finished with idle talk, finished with mundane beauty, finished with all forms of religiosity.

My Lord I am not afraid to be abandoned, by luck, and good fortune, by friends or relatives, I am not afraid to be handled roughly. I am not afraid to wander the streets homeless like a beggar, I am not afraid to be cast away, condemned, quarantined or exiled.

Oh most gentle, most holy, most merciful master, help me, prepare me, do whatever is necessary to render fit, this unworthy soul, for entrance into your eternal abode.