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After the Mahabharata yudh, when Krishna prepares to return to Dwarka, Kunti Devi pleads with him to stay. The Kunti Stuti extols Krishna’s appearance and nature, and the queen expresses her gratitude for his grace.
When we offer prayers at the temple, the usual tendency is to present a list of demands to the deity. However, a true bhakta or devotee is one who expresses heartfelt gratitude for all that has been bestowed upon him.
After praising Krishna, Kunti asks him to grant her sorrow so that Krishna would always be by her side! Kunti compares Krishna with the lotus. She celebrates the lotus stemming from Vishnu’s navel and the garland he wears around his neck. She says his eyes are like lotus petals while his hands and feet are as soft as the flower itself. Krishna’s heart, too, is lotus-like, according to Kunti, for any misfortune experienced by his devotees touches him deeply, just as the lotus petal wilts when handled roughly. Kunti recounts the catastrophes she faced along with the Pandavas and how Krishna would always come to their rescue.
“You saved my sons when they were served poisoned sweets. You saved us from the all-consuming fire at the Lakshagrah. In the asath sabha, when Draupadi was being humiliated, none came to her aid, except you.  And did you forget the Mahabharata yudh? This tumultuous river called the Mahabharata had two formidable shores, Bhishma and Drona. As the war raged, the crocodile-like Duryodhana was waiting to ravage them; Karna tried his best to create a storm, but all came to nought only because you were there, Kaivarthakaha Keshava!”
It is interesting to note that Kunti’s stuti happened after the war, when they regained their lost kingdom and good times prevailed. She remembered to thank him. It is not as though Kunti sought out Krishna in the midst of a stormy sea. “Jo keval majhdhaar mey stuti karthey hai wo swarthi hai.” Those who pray only when times are bad are selfish. Remembrance of God ought to be there even during happy times. If you fear that anything that gives you happiness might take you away from God, then you must renounce it.
Kunti asks: “Has God given us happiness like he would a toy, to distract us while he is away and also so that he can withdraw it at will like a mother takes away the toys her child is playing with — so that the child goes running to mummy?”
There are two categories of children. One child is satisfied with a toy but the other is not. He will only be happy in his mother’s lap. He doesn’t want to be pacified with toys and toffees. He might accept those after he is allowed to sit on her lap. Likewise, a true bhakta says even if the pleasures of the material world are to be enjoyed, it should be only be with Thakurji’s constant remembrance — and not instead of him. For, of what use is material happiness if Thakurji is not available?
It is at this point that Kunti pleads with Krishna to grant her sorrows because each time she had dukh or sorrow in her life, he rushed to her side and stayed close to her.
It is often asked whether one can be free of sorrow, if one remembers God? It is difficult to say, because the life of the Pandavas shows that it was full of troubles though they remembered God all day long. Then one may question that if dukh visits us even when we remember God then why remember him at all? It is a simple equation. The answer is: By remembering God you can face difficulties with ease. Believing in God does not make the mountain small but makes the climb easy.