Prayers of King Kulasekhara & Purport

kṛṣṇa tvadīya-pada-paṅkaja-pañjarāntam

adyaiva me viśatu mānasa-rāja-haṁsaḥ

prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ

kaṇṭhāvarodhana-vidhau smaraṇaṁ kutas te

(MM 33)

O Lord Kṛṣṇa, at this moment let the royal swan of my mind enter the tangled stems of the lotus of Your feet. How will it be possible for me to remember You at the time of death, when my throat will be choked up with mucus, bile, and air?

Srila Prabhupada Purport

This verse, prayer, is taken from one book known as Mukunda-mālā-stotra. This prayer was offered by one king whose name was Kulaśekhara. He was a great king, at the same time a great devotee. There are many instances in the history of Vedic literature that the kings were very great devotees, and they are called rājarṣīs. Rājarṣīs means: although they are on the royal throne, they are all saintly persons. So this Kulaśekhara, King Kulaśekhara, is praying to Kṛṣṇa that “My dear Kṛṣṇa, the swan of my mind may now be entrapped with the stem of your lotus feet. Because, at the point of death, the three elements of bodily functions, namely the mucus, and the bile, and the air, they will overlap, and there will be a choking in the voice, so I shall not be able to utter your sweet Holy Name at the point of my death.” The comparison is given in this way, that the white swan, whenever it finds a lotus flower, it goes there and sports by diving into the water and entangling him in the stem of the lotus flower. So King Kulaśekhara wants that in the healthy stage of his mind and body, he may be immediately entangled with the stem of the lotus feet of the Lord and die immediately. The idea is that one should take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness while his mind and body is in good condition. Do not wait for the last stage of your life. Just go on practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness while your body and mind is in a healthy state, and then at the time of death you shall be able to remember Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes and be immediately transferred to the spiritual kingdom.