कुँती या पृथा की व्यथा कथा : पारस ~ स्पर्श : लेख मालिका

कुँती या  पृथा की व्यथा कथा : पारस ~ स्पर्श : लेख मालिका 

दीन दवालु बिरदु सँभारी 

हरहु नाथ मम सँकट भारी ,

मँगल भवन अमँगलहारी, 

उमा सहित जेहि जपत पुरारि 

द्रवहु सो दसरथ, अजिर विहारी !

बोलो,राम कृष्ण राम कृष्ण हरि हरि ,

 राम कृष्ण राम कृष्ण हरि हरि 

यदुवँश के शूरसेन राजा के वासुदेव नामक पुत्र व पृथा नाम की कन्या सँतान थीँ। 

शूरसेन की बहन, कुँतीभोज नामक राजा से ब्याही गईँ थीँ।  कुँतीभोज स्वयम नि: सँतान थे सो, पृथा कुँतीभोज को सौँप दी गई। उस घटना के बाद सभी पृथा को " कुँती " कहकर पुकारने लगे। बडे लाड प्यार से कुँती , कुँतीभोज के महल मेँ बडी होने लगीँ।  

 कुन्ती पंच-कन्याओं में से एक हैं जिन्हें चिर-कुमारी कहा जाता है। कुन्ती वसुदेव जी की बहन और भगवान श्रीकृष्ण की बुआ थी।

एक दिवस की बात है , महाक्रोधी, ऋषि दुर्वासा कुँतीभोज के महलोँ मेँ पधारे। कुँवारी कन्या कुँती ने बडे मनोयोग से दुर्वासा की सेवा की। ऋषि सेवा से प्रसन्न हुए और बोले, 

दुर्वासा : कुँती बेटी ! मैँ स्नान करके आता हूँ।  तुम मेरे भोजन की व्यस्थथा कर लो !" 

कुँती : " जो आज्ञा ऋषिवर ! "

कुछ देर बाद दुर्वासा लौटे।  भोजन तैयार था परँतु कुछ ज्यादा गर्म था।  दुर्वासा ऋषि क्षण मात्र में क्रोधित हो जाते हैं सो उन्होंने भोजन का गर्म थाल, कुँती की पीठ पर रख दिया !

कुँती अपने आँसू पीकर, उस थाल की उष्णता सहन कर गईँ। परन्तु और कोइ बात न कही। कुंती की सहनशीलता  देख कर, प्रसन्न हुए दुर्वासा ने, कुँती को, देवोँ को बुलाकर, उन्हेँ वश मेँ करने का एक गुप्त मँत्र दे दिया और  सावधान भी कर दिया कि, ' बेटी इस मँत्र को यूँ ही व्यर्थ मेँ ना उपयोग किया जाये उस का ध्यान रखना ' ।  

    कुछ माह व्यतीत हुए।  एक दिन कौतुहलवश कुँती ने सोचा, ' देखूं तो ऋषिवर के प्रसाद स्वरूप प्रदान किये इस गुप्त मन्त्र की शक्ति  कैसी है ! ' कुंती ने आगे विचार किया कि , 

" मैँ इस मँत्र की शक्ति को परखना चाहती हूँ " 

दृष्टि आकाश की ओर उठ गयी तो  देखा सूर्य देव अपनी पूर्ण आभा से विराजमान हैं। वे  प्रखर तेज व  प्रचण्ड ज्योति सहित चमक रहे थे। पृथ्वी लोक उनसे  प्रकाशित था।  सो, कुँती ने वह गुप्त मँत्र पढा और सूर्य देव को बुलावा भेजा ! ऋषि का वरदान अमोघ होता है सो फलीभूत हो गया !  अचानक, सूर्य देव, कुँती के समक्ष साक्षात देह धारण कर , उपस्थित हो गए! सूर्य देव ने  सहमी  हुई कुंती से कहा " अब मैं आ पहुंचा हूँ तो तुम्हें वर दिए बिना नहीं जाऊंगा ! " अब क्या हो ! कुंती धर्मसंकट में दुविधाग्रस्त हो गई ! उन्हें ऐसी घटना होगी इस का कोइ विचार भी न आया था।  
प्रसाद स्वरुप, सूर्य देव पिता बने और बिन ब्याही कुँती एक दिव्य  बालक की माता बन गई !

प्रसाद या आशीर्वाद भी मनुष्य को, सोच समझकर उपयोग मेँ लेना चाहिये।अन्यथा नहीँ। 

अब कुँती क्या करती ? रोते रोते, कुँती ने, लोक लाज के भय से, मानहानि की आशँका से, उस दिव्य बालक को, एक पिटारे मेँ रखकर, नदी मेँ बहा दिया ! 

यही बालक आगे जा कर, महारथी कर्ण बना ! 

कुँती का विवाह पाँडु से हुआ जिन्हे, पीलिया या पाँडु रोग था और स्त्री समागम से उनको मृत्यु का भय था उन्होँने अपनी पत्नी कुँती से कहा कि, " हे महारानी कुँती ! स्त्री समागम से मेरी मृत्यु निस्स:देह होनी है। वँश आगे न बढने से मुझे बडी ग्लानि हो रही है ! " 

तब, कुँती ने उन्हेँ " दैवीवशीकरण मन्त्र " की बात बतलाई ! पाँडु की आज्ञा से कुँती ने, धर्मराज से - > युधिष्ठिर, वायु देव से - भीम, इन्द्र से -> अर्जुन, जैसे पुत्र रत्न प्राप्त किये !

युधिष्ठिर, पाँडु के बडे भ्राता, धृतराष्ट्र के ज्येष्ठ पुत्र दुर्योधन से पहले जन्मे थे और कुरुवँश की राजगद्दी के असली वारिस थे। 

 कुरुक्षेत्र युध्ध की करुण समाप्ति के बाद, माता कुँती ने युधिष्ठिर से कर्ण का श्राध्ध करने को कहा  ये रहस्य भी बतलाया कि, "कर्ण पाँडु भाइयोँ मेँ सबसे बडे, सहोदर पुत्र थे "  जिसे सुनकर  युधिष्ठिर को बहोत पीडा व ग्लानि हुई।उन्होँने अपनी माता को श्राप दिया  कि, 

" इस घटना के पश्चात  किसी स्त्री के मन मेँ कोई गुप्त बात कभी न रह  पायेगी " अत्यँत दुखसे आक्रँद करतीँ अपनी बुआ कुँती के शीश पर श्री कृष्ण ने अपना वरद्` हस्त रखा और उन्हेँ साँत्वना दी। 

 श्री कृष्ण के पवित्र " पारस - स्पर्श " ने कुँती के पाप धो दिये। वे महारानी गाँधारी व धृतराष्ट्र के साथ, तपस्या करने वन चलीँ गईँ। 

" सब जानत प्रभु, प्रभुता सोई, तदपि कहे बिनु, रहा न कोई 

श्री कृष्णाय नम :

īśvaraṁ prakṛteḥ param
alakṣyaṁ sarva-bhūtānām
antar bahir avasthitam

Śrīmatī Kuntī said: O Kṛṣṇa, I offer my obeisances unto You because You are the original personality and are unaffected by the qualities of the material world. You are existing both within and without everything, yet You are invisible to all.

[ Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.18 ]

Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī was quite aware that Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, although He was playing the part of her nephew. Such an enlightened lady could not commit a mistake by offering obeisances unto her nephew. Therefore, she addressed Him as the original puruṣa beyond the material cosmos. Although all living entities are also transcendental, they are neither original nor infallible. The living entities are apt to fall down under the clutches of material nature, but the Lord is never like that. In the Vedas, therefore, He is described as the chief among all living entities (nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām). Then again He is addressed as īśvara, or the controller. The living entities or the demigods like Candra and Sūrya are also to some extent īśvara, but none of them is the supreme īśvara, or the ultimate controller. Kṛṣṇa is the parameśvara, or the Supersoul. He is both within and without. Although He was present before Śrīmatī Kuntī as her nephew, He was also within her and everyone else. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) the Lord says, “I am situated in everyone’s heart, and only due to Me one remembers, forgets, and is cognizant, etc. Through all the Vedas I am to be known because I am the compiler of the Vedas, and I am the teacher of the Vedānta.” Queen Kuntī affirms that the Lord, although both within and without all living beings, is still invisible. The Lord is, so to speak, a puzzle for the common man. Queen Kuntī experienced personally that Lord Kṛṣṇa was present before her, yet He entered within the womb of Uttarā to save her embryo from the attack of Aśvatthāmā’s brahmāstra. Kuntī herself was puzzled about whether Śrī Kṛṣṇa is all-pervasive or localized. In fact, He is both, but He reserves the right of not being exposed to persons who are not surrendered souls. This checking curtain is called the māyā energy of the Supreme Lord, and it controls the limited vision of the rebellious soul. It is explained as follows.

Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām-
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and who worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” If one is actually very serious in searching for Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is everywhere. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.35). Kṛṣṇa is present within the universe, within our hearts, and even within the atom. So it is not difficult to find Him, but one must know the process by which to do so. This process is very simple, and by the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu we are distributing this process to everyone, without charge. The process is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. As soon as one chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, one will immediately understand Kṛṣṇa.
Similarly, simply by hearing or chanting the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one can be purified. Whatever knowledge exists in the world is present in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It includes literature, poetry, astronomy, philosophy, religion, and love of Godhead. Śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalam. If one simply reads Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he gains the topmost education, for if one studies Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he will be well versed in every subject matter. Even if one does not understand a single word of the mantras of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the vibrations themselves have such power that simply by chanting one will be purified. Sṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17]. The word puṇya means “pious,” śravaṇa means “hearing,” and kīrtana means “chanting.” One who chants or hears the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam becomes pious automatically. To become pious one generally has to endeavor a great deal, but if one simply hears the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā one becomes pious automatically. Therefore it is a rigid principle in every temple of our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement that there must be a daily class for hearing and chanting. Our movement is meant for training spiritual leaders, but without hearing and chanting it is impossible to become a leader. Of course, in the material world it is possible, but not in the spiritual world.
mālī hañā sei bīja kare āropaṇa
śravaṇa-kīrtana jale karaye secana
(Cc. Madhya 19.152)
Hearing and chanting waters the seed of devotional service, which develops one’s original consciousness.
So here, in these prayers, Kuntīdevī, a great devotee, is giving us an opportunity to become Kṛṣṇa conscious simply by concentrating our mind on paṅkaja, the lotus flower. Paṅka means “mud,” and ja means “generate.” Although the lotus flower is generated from mud, it is a most important flower, and Kṛṣṇa likes it very much. Kuntīdevī therefore describes all the parts of Kṛṣṇa’s body with reference to lotus flowers, so that as soon as one sees a lotus flower one will immediately think of Kṛṣṇa: “Oh, Kṛṣṇa’s navel is just like a lotus, and from Kṛṣṇa’s navel grew the stem of the lotus upon which Brahmā, the creator of this universe, was born. This universe includes so many planets, seas, mountains, and cities with motorcars and other paraphernalia, but the entire universe began from that lotus.”
Namaḥ paṅkaja-māline. From Kṛṣṇa comes the wonderful lotus flower that contains the seed of the entire universe. But He is not the source of only one such flower. Kṛṣṇa is not so poor that He simply produces one lotus flower and then is finished. No. Just as there may be a garland with many flowers, Kṛṣṇa is the source of innumerable universes, which may be compared to a big garland of lotuses. This is God. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya/ jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.48). Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. We are very much concerned with this one planet, but Kṛṣṇa’s creation contains an unlimited number of planets. We cannot count how many planets there are, any more than one can count how many hairs there are on one’s head. This is the nature of Kṛṣṇa’s creation. To give another example, on one tree there is an unlimited number of leaves. Similarly, there is an unlimited number of planets, and there are unlimited universes. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is unlimited.
Kṛṣṇa’s navel resembles a lotus, He is garlanded with lotuses, and His eyes are also compared to the petals of a lotus (ālola-candraka-lasad-vanamālya-vaṁśī [Bs. 5.31]. So if we simply think of only this one verse, which describes Kṛṣṇa’s body with reference to the lotus, we can meditate our whole life on how beautiful Kṛṣṇa is, how wise Kṛṣṇa is, and how Kṛṣṇa manifests His creation. This is meditation—thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti ’yam-yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1]. A yogī is one who always thinks of Kṛṣṇa.
Those who think of something impersonal are not yogīs. Their meditation simply involves undergoing more and more labor (kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām [Bg. 12.5]), and they cannot reach anything substantial. Therefore after meditation they say, “Come on, give me a cigarette. Come on, my throat is now dry. Give me a cigarette.” That is not meditation. Meditation means thinking of Kṛṣṇa always (satataṁ cintayanto mām) and endeavoring to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness with a firm vow (yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ).
We have to be purified. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]. Because Kṛṣṇa is pure, we cannot approach Kṛṣṇa impurely. But if we think of Kṛṣṇa always and meditate upon Kṛṣṇa, then we shall be purified. Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. That meditation can be possible by hearing and chanting, and then thinking of Kṛṣṇa will automatically come. That is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam [SB 7.5.23]. The word smaraṇam means “remembering.” If we chant and hear, then remembrance will automatically come, and then we shall engage in worshiping Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet (sevanam). Then we shall engage in the temple worship (arcanam) and offering prayers (vandanam). We shall engage ourselves as Kṛṣṇa’s servants (dāsyam), we shall become Kṛṣṇa’s friends (sakhyam), and we shall surrender everything to Kṛṣṇa (ātma-nivedanam). This is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

यमुना महारानी जी 

" सब जानत प्रभु, प्रभुता सोई, तदपि कहे बिनु, रहा न कोई