Verse 1.5.83

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.5.83:

अनाथायाः स-पुत्राया ममापद्-गणतोऽसकृत् ।
त्वरया मोचनात् सम्यग् देवकी-मातृतोऽपि यः कृपा-विशेषः कृष्णस्य स्वस्याम् अनुमितो मया ॥ ८३ ॥

anāthāyāḥ sa-putrāyā mamāpad-gaṇato'sakṛt |
tvarayā mocanāt samyag devakī-mātṛto'pi yaḥ kṛpā-viśeṣaḥ kṛṣṇasya svasyām anumito mayā || 83 ||

Śri Kuntī-devī said: Like a vulnerable widow with sons I became submerged in an ocean of calamities, still Śrī Kṛṣṇa repeatedly protected me throughout these misfortunes. So I concluded from this that Śrī Kṛṣṇa had shown special mercy on me, more than even His own mother, Śri Devakī.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Now in one and one-half ślokas beginning with anāthāyā, Śrī Kuntī-devī narrates the speciality of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mercy unto her: “I was drowning in an ocean of calamities like a vulnerable widow with sons, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa repeatedly protected me from these mishaps. Therefore, I concluded Śrī Kṛṣṇa had shown special mercy on me, even more than His own mother, Śrī Devakī.”

In support of these words the statements of the First Canto (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.8.23-24) are quoted. Śrī Kuntī-devī says:

यथा हृषीकेश खलेन देवकी कंसेन रुद्धातिचिरं शुचार्पिता
विमोचिताहं च सहात्मजा विभो त्वयैव नाथेन मुहुर् विपद्-गणात्
विषान् महाग्नेः पुरुषाद-दर्शनाद् असत्-सभाया वन-वास-कृच्छ्रतः
मृधे मृधे’नेक-महारथास्त्रतो द्रौण्य्-अस्त्रतश् चास्म हरे’भिरक्षिताः

yathā hṛṣīkeśa khalena devakī kaṃsena ruddhāticiraṃ śucārpitā
vimocitāhaṃ ca sahātmajā vibho tvayaiva nāthena muhur vipad-gaṇāt
viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ
mṛdhe mṛdhe’neka-mahārathāstrato drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare’bhirakṣitāḥ

“O Hṛṣikeśa, You freed Your mother Devakī from the prison of the wicked Kaṃsa, and You protected me with my sons from so many misfortunes. O all-powerful one, You have shown more mercy on me than Your own mother. Despite having so many attendants (supporters) she had to suffer the torment of being in prison for a long time, but You delivered her after a long time. However, I had no other shelter, so when I suffered from misfortunes You displayed the topmost limit of Your mercy by swiftly protecting me along with my sons from all those calamities. You protected my sons from the use of poison, burning of the lacquer house and even the clutches of demoniac persons. In this way, You protected them from the gambling assembly of wicked people, the distress of dwelling in the forest and mishaps from terrible weapons on the battlefield also; even now You protected us from the brahmāstra of Aśvatthāmā.”

Like this Śrī Kuntī-devī addresses herself as receiving special grace from Śrī Kṛṣṇa compared to Śrī Devakī’s mercy. In other words, Śrī Devakī was arrested in prison by Kaṃsa for an extended time period and Śrī Kṛṣṇa protected her from such a calamity only once. However, he repeatedly protected her from various calamities. "Devakī received deep distress but I did not suffer so much. The sons of Devakī were not protected, but all my sons are still safe. Śrī Devakī, despite having her husband, was rescued after a long time, and I was rescued very quickly with my sons because I was helpless and vulnerable. What was the nature of those misfortunes? Bhīma was fed a laḍḍu mixed with poison; the lacquer home was set on fire; we came under the clutches of the demonness Hiḍimbā; and the gambling in the assembly of wicked persons. Having protected us from all these calamities, I had the hope that Śrī Kṛṣṇa had manifested His full mercy unto us and would continue like this in the future."