Shloka 27
Kuntī’s Prayers and the Neutralization of the Brahmāstra
Uttarā Protected; Yudhiṣṭhira’s Grief Begins
नमोऽकिञ्चनवित्ताय निवृत्तगुणवृत्तये । आत्मारामाय शान्ताय कैवल्यपतये नम: ॥ २७ ॥
namo ’kiñcana-vittāya nivṛtta-guṇa-vṛttaye ātmārāmāya śāntāya kaivalya-pataye namaḥ
Sembah sujudku kepada-Mu, harta sejati para akincana. Engkau bebas daripada tindakan dan reaksi guna alam; Engkau puas dalam Diri, tenang lembut, dan Penguasa kaivalya.
A living being is finished as soon as there is nothing to possess. Therefore a living being cannot be, in the real sense of the term, a renouncer. A living being renounces something for gaining something more valuable. A student sacrifices his childish proclivities to gain better education. A servant gives up his job for a better job. Similarly, a devotee renounces the material world not for nothing but for something tangible in spiritual value. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and others gave up their worldly pomp and prosperity for the sake of the service of the Lord. They were big men in the worldly sense. The Gosvāmīs were ministers in the government service of Bengal, and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was the son of a big zamindar of his time. But they left everything to gain something superior to what they previously possessed. The devotees are generally without material prosperity, but they have a very secret treasure-house in the lotus feet of the Lord. There is a nice story about Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī. He had a touchstone, and this stone was left in a pile of refuse. A needy man took it, but later on wondered why the valuable stone was kept in such a neglected place. He therefore asked Sanātana for the most valuable thing, and then he was given the holy name of the Lord. Akiñcana means one who has nothing to give materially. A factual devotee, or mahātmā, does not give anything material to anyone because he has already left all material assets. He can, however, deliver the supreme asset, namely the Personality of Godhead, because He is the only property of a factual devotee. The touchstone of Sanātana Gosvāmī, which was thrown in the rubbish, was not the property of the Gosvāmī, otherwise it would not have been kept in such a place. This specific example is given for the neophyte devotees just to convince them that material hankerings and spiritual advancement go ill together. Unless one is able to see everything as spiritual in relation with the Supreme Lord, one must always distinguish between spirit and matter. A spiritual master like Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, although personally able to see everything as spiritual, set this example for us only because we have no such spiritual vision.
FAQs
This verse praises Kṛṣṇa as “akiñcana-vitta,” indicating that His true ‘wealth’ is the loving devotion of those who have no material claim and depend on Him alone.
In her prayers, Kuntī acknowledges that even liberation is under Kṛṣṇa’s control—He is not merely a giver of worldly protection but the supreme goal who grants freedom from material bondage.
Cultivate devotion and simplicity: reduce ego-driven consumption, act without attachment to praise/blame, and anchor daily choices in remembrance and service to the Lord rather than mood and impulse.