great anxiety about the food (to be provided for the Munis).  And when after much anxious thought she came to the conclusion that means there were none for providing a feast, she inwardly prayed to Krishna, the slayer of Kansa.  And the princess said, ’Krishna, O Krishna, of mighty arms, O son of Devaki, whose power is inexhaustible, O Vasudeva, O lord of the Universe, who dispellest the difficulties of those that bow down to thee, thou art the soul, the creator and the destroyer of the Universe.  Thou, O lord, art inexhaustible and the saviour of the afflicted.  Thou art the preserver of the Universe and of all created beings.  Thou art the highest of the high, and the spring of the mental perceptions Akuli and Chiti![48] O Supreme and Infinite Being, O giver of all good, be thou the refuge of the helpless.  O Primordial Being, incapable of being conceived by the soul or the mental faculties or otherwise, thou art the ruler of all and the lord of Brahma.  I seek thy protection.  O god, thou art ever kindly disposed towards those that take refuge in thee.  Do thou cherish me with thy kindness.  O thou with a complexion dark as the leaves of the blue lotus, and with eyes red as the corolla of the lily, and attired in yellow robes with, besides, the bright Kaustubha gem in thy bosom, thou art the beginning and the end of creation, and the great refuge of all.  Thou art the supreme light and essence of the Universe!  Thy face is directed towards every point.  They call thee Supreme Germ and the depository of all treasures.  Under thy protections, O lord of the gods, all evils lose their terror.  As thou didst protect me before from Dussasana, do thou extricate me now from this difficulty.’”

    [48] Both these words are of doubtful meaning.  It seems they are
    employed in the Vedas to denote the faculties of knowledge and
    the moral sense respectively.

Vaisampayana continued, “The great and sovereign God, and Lord of the earth, of mysterious movements, the lord Kesava who is ever kind to the dependents, thus adored by Krishna, and perceiving her difficulty, instantly repaired to that place leaving the bed of Rukmini who was sleeping by his side.  Beholding Vasudeva, Draupadi bowed down to him in great joy and informed him of the arrival of the Munis and every other thing.  And having heard everything Krishna said unto her, ’I am very much afflicted with hunger, do thou give me some food without delay, and then thou mayst go about thy work.’  At these words of Kesava, Krishna became confused, and replied unto him, saying, ’The sun-given vessel remains full till I finish my meal.  But as I have already taken my meal today, there is no food in it now.’  Then that lotus-eyed and adorable being said unto Krishna, ’This is no time for jest, O Krishna.—­I am much distressed with hunger, go thou quickly to fetch the vessel and show it to me.’  When Kesava, that ornament of the Yadu’s race, had the vessel brought unto