Prayers By Muchukunda
Uttama
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 10: The Summum Bonum
Chapter 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda
Text 45 - 57
Text 45
śrī-mucukunda uvāca
vimohito ’yaṁ jana īśa māyayā
tvadīyayā tvāṁ na bhajaty anartha-dṛk
sukhāya duḥkha-prabhaveṣu sajjate
gṛheṣu yoṣit puruṣaś ca vañcitaḥ
Śrī Mucukunda said: O Lord, the people of this world, both men and women, are bewildered by Your illusory energy. Unaware of their real benefit, they do not worship You but instead seek happiness by entangling themselves in family affairs, which are actually sources of misery.
Text 46
labdhvā jano durlabham atra mānuṣaṁ
kathañcid avyaṅgam ayatnato ’nagha
pādāravindaṁ na bhajaty asan-matir
gṛhāndha-kūpe patito yathā paśuḥ
That person has an impure mind who, despite having somehow or other automatically obtained the rare and highly evolved human form of life, does not worship Your lotus feet. Like an animal that has fallen into a blind well, such a person has fallen into the darkness of a material home.
Text 47
mamaiṣa kālo ’jita niṣphalo gato
rājya-śriyonnaddha-madasya bhū-pateḥ
martyātma-buddheḥ suta-dāra-kośa-bhūṣv
āsajjamānasya duranta-cintayā
I have wasted all this time, O unconquerable one, becoming more and more intoxicated by my domain and opulence as an earthly king. Misidentifying the mortal body as the self, becoming attached to children, wives, treasury and land, I suffered endless anxiety.
Text 48
kalevare ’smin ghaṭa-kuḍya-sannibhe
nirūḍha-māno nara-deva ity aham
vṛto rathebhāśva-padāty-anīkapair
gāṁ paryaṭaṁs tvāgaṇayan su-durmadaḥ
With deep arrogance I took myself to be the body, which is a material object like a pot or a wall. Thinking myself a god among men, I traveled the earth surrounded by my charioteers, elephants, cavalry, foot soldiers and generals, disregarding You in my deluding pride.
Text 49
pramattam uccair itikṛtya-cintayā
pravṛddha-lobhaṁ viṣayeṣu lālasam
tvam apramattaḥ sahasābhipadyase
kṣul-lelihāno ’hir ivākhum antakaḥ
A man obsessed with thoughts of what he thinks needs to be done, intensely greedy, and delighting in sense enjoyment is suddenly confronted by You, who are ever alert. Like a hungry snake licking its fangs before a mouse, You appear before him as death.
Text 50
purā rathair hema-pariṣkṛtaiś caran
mataṁ-gajair vā nara-deva-saṁjñitaḥ
sa eva kālena duratyayena te
kalevaro viṭ-kṛmi-bhasma-saṁjñitaḥ
The body that at first rides high on fierce elephants or chariots adorned with gold and is known by the name “king” is later, by Your invincible power of time, called “feces,” “worms,” or “ashes.”
Text 51
nirjitya dik-cakram abhūta-vigraho
varāsana-sthaḥ sama-rāja-vanditaḥ
gṛheṣu maithunya-sukheṣu yoṣitāṁ
krīḍā-mṛgaḥ pūruṣa īśa nīyate
Having conquered the entire circle of directions and being thus free of conflict, a man sits on a splendid throne, receiving praise from leaders who were once his equals. But when he enters the women’s chambers, where sex pleasure is found, he is led about like a pet animal, O Lord.
Text 52
karoti karmāṇi tapaḥ-suniṣṭhito
nivṛtta-bhogas tad-apekṣayādadat
punaś ca bhūyāsam ahaṁ sva-rāḍ iti
pravṛddha-tarṣo na sukhāya kalpate
A king who desires even greater power than he already has strictly performs his duties, carefully practicing austerity and forgoing sense enjoyment. But he whose urges are so rampant, thinking “I am independent and supreme,” cannot attain happiness.
Text 53
bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej
janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ
sat-saṅgamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau
parāvareśe tvayi jāyate matiḥ
When the material life of a wandering soul has ceased, O Acyuta, he may attain the association of Your devotees. And when he associates with them, there awakens in him devotion unto You, who are the goal of the devotees and the Lord of all causes and their effects.
Text 54
manye mamānugraha īśa te kṛto
rājyānubandhāpagamo yadṛcchayā
yaḥ prārthyate sādhubhir eka-caryayā
vanaṁ vivikṣadbhir akhaṇḍa-bhūmi-paiḥ
My Lord, I think You have shown me mercy, since my attachment to my kingdom has spontaneously ceased. Such freedom is prayed for by saintly rulers of vast empires who desire to enter the forest for a life of solitude.
Text 55
na kāmaye ’nyaṁ tava pāda-sevanād
akiñcana-prārthyatamād varaṁ vibho
ārādhya kas tvāṁ hy apavarga-daṁ hare
vṛṇīta āryo varam ātma-bandhanam
O all-powerful one, I desire no boon other than service to Your lotus feet, the boon most eagerly sought by those free of material desire. O Hari, what enlightened person who worships You, the giver of liberation, would choose a boon that causes his own bondage?
Text 56
tasmād visṛjyāśiṣa īśa sarvato
rajas-tamaḥ-sattva-guṇānubandhanāḥ
nirañjanaṁ nirguṇam advayaṁ paraṁ
tvāṁ jñāpti-mātraṁ puruṣaṁ vrajāmy aham
Therefore, O Lord, having put aside all objects of material desire, which are bound to the modes of passion, ignorance and goodness, I am approaching You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for shelter. You are not covered by mundane designations; rather, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, full in pure knowledge and transcendental to the material modes.
Text 57
ciram iha vṛjinārtas tapyamāno ’nutāpair
avitṛṣa-ṣaḍ-amitro ’labdha-śāntiḥ kathañcit
śaraṇa-da samupetas tvat-padābjaṁ parātman
abhayam ṛtam aśokaṁ pāhi māpannam īśa
For so long I have been pained by troubles in this world and have been burning with lamentation. My six enemies are never satiated, and I can find no peace. Therefore, O giver of shelter, O Supreme Soul, please protect me. O Lord, in the midst of danger I have by good fortune approached Your lotus feet, which are the truth and which thus make one fearless and free of sorrow.