Shloka 32
Kuntī’s Prayers and the Neutralization of the Brahmāstra
Uttarā Protected; Yudhiṣṭhira’s Grief Begins
केचिदाहुरजं जातं पुण्यश्लोकस्य कीर्तये । यदो: प्रियस्यान्ववाये मलयस्येव चन्दनम् ॥ ३२ ॥
kecid āhur ajaṁ jātaṁ puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye yadoḥ priyasyānvavāye malayasyeva candanam
Ada yang berkata: Yang Tidak Dilahirkan (Aja) lahir demi memasyhurkan raja-raja saleh yang mulia. Yang lain berkata: Engkau menzahirkan diri dalam keturunan Yadu, bhakta-Mu yang paling dikasihi, bagaikan kayu cendana di perbukitan Malaya yang menyebarkan harumannya.
Because the Lord’s appearance in this material world is bewildering, there are different opinions about the birth of the Unborn. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He takes His birth in the material world, although He is the Lord of all creations and He is unborn. So there cannot be any denial of the birth of the Unborn because He Himself establishes the truth. But still there are different opinions as to why He takes His birth. That is also declared in the Bhagavad-gītā. He appears by His own internal potency to reestablish the principles of religion and to protect the pious and to annihilate the impious. That is the mission of the appearance of the Unborn. Still, it is said that the Lord is there to glorify the pious King Yudhiṣṭhira. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa certainly wanted to establish the kingdom of the Pāṇḍavas for the good of all in the world. When there is a pious king ruling over the world, the people are happy. When the ruler is impious, the people are unhappy. In the Age of Kali in most cases the rulers are impious, and therefore the citizens are also continuously unhappy. But in the case of democracy, the impious citizens themselves elect their representative to rule over them, and therefore they cannot blame anyone for their unhappiness. Mahārāja Nala was also celebrated as a great pious king, but he had no connection with Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is meant here to be glorified by Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Lord had already glorified King Yadu, having taken birth in his family. Although He is known as Yādava, Yaduvīra, Yadunandana, etc., He is always independent of such obligation. He is just like the sandalwood that grows in the Malaya hills. Trees can grow anywhere and everywhere, yet because the sandalwood trees grow mostly in the area of the Malaya hills, the name sandalwood and the Malaya hills are interrelated. Therefore, the conclusion is that the Lord is ever unborn like the sun, and yet He appears as the sun rises on the eastern horizon. As the sun is never the sun of the eastern horizon, so the Lord is no one’s son, but He is the father of everything that be.
FAQs
This verse explains that although the Lord is aja (unborn), He can appear to increase the glory of His devotees—here, to glorify the pious fame of King Yudhiṣṭhira.
Kuntī notes that the Lord manifested in the lineage of Yadu because it is dear to Him, highlighting His intimate relationship with His devotees and His chosen dynasty.
It teaches that the Divine is not limited by material rules and that sincere devotion draws the Lord’s presence, protection, and the upliftment of dharma.