Shloka 24
Kuntī’s Prayers and the Neutralization of the Brahmāstra
Uttarā Protected; Yudhiṣṭhira’s Grief Begins
विषान्महाग्ने: पुरुषाददर्शना- दसत्सभाया वनवासकृच्छ्रत: । मृधे मृधेऽनेकमहारथास्त्रतो द्रौण्यस्त्रतश्चास्म हरेऽभिरक्षिता: ॥ २४ ॥
viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ mṛdhe mṛdhe ’neka-mahārathāstrato drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare ’bhirakṣitāḥ
ഹേ ഹരേ! വിഷഭക്ഷണത്തിൽ നിന്ന്, മഹാഗ്നിയിൽ നിന്ന്, നരഭക്ഷകരിൽ നിന്ന്, ദുഷ്ടസഭയിൽ നിന്ന്, വനവാസകഷ്ടങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന്, യുദ്ധം യുദ്ധത്തിൽ മഹാരഥികളുടെ അസ്ത്രങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന്, ദ്രൗണിയുടെ (അശ്വത്ഥാമയുടെ) അസ്ത്രത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പോലും നീ ഞങ്ങളെ രക്ഷിച്ചു.
The list of dangerous encounters is submitted herein. Devakī was once put into difficulty by her envious brother, otherwise she was well. But Kuntīdevī and her sons were put into one difficulty after another for years and years together. They were put into trouble by Duryodhana and his party due to the kingdom, and each and every time the sons of Kuntī were saved by the Lord. Once Bhīma was administered poison in a cake, once they were put into the house made of shellac and set afire, and once Draupadī was dragged out, and attempts were made to insult her by stripping her naked in the vicious assembly of the Kurus. The Lord saved Draupadī by supplying an immeasurable length of cloth, and Duryodhana’s party failed to see her naked. Similarly, when they were exiled in the forest, Bhīma had to fight with the man-eater demon Hiḍimba Rākṣasa, but the Lord saved him. So it was not finished there. After all these tribulations, there was the great Battle of Kurukṣetra, and Arjuna had to meet such great generals as Droṇa, Bhīṣma and Karṇa, all powerful fighters. And at last, even when everything was done away with, there was the brahmāstra released by the son of Droṇācārya to kill the child within the womb of Uttarā, and so the Lord saved the only surviving descendant of the Kurus, Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
FAQs
In this verse, Kuntī lists repeated life-threatening dangers (poison, fire, exile, warfare, and Aśvatthāmā’s weapon) and declares that Hari personally protected them each time, showing the Lord’s constant guardianship of surrendered devotees.
As Kṛṣṇa was preparing to depart after the Kurukṣetra war, Kuntī offered prayers remembering how the Pāṇḍavas survived impossible dangers only by His grace, expressing gratitude and deep dependence on Him.
Remembering past deliverances builds faith: a devotee faces crises with steadiness, prays sincerely, and continues dharma, trusting that the Lord’s protection may come in unexpected forms while one remains devoted.