Kṛṣṇa is the original king, because He is stated here, puruṣam ādyam īśvaram. Īśvaram means controller. He's the original controller. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mayādhyakṣeṇa. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Even this material nature, wonderful things are going on, that is being controlled by Kṛṣṇa. This is to be understood. So we are reading Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literature. What is the purpose? The purpose is vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). The purpose is to understand Kṛṣṇa. If you don't understand Kṛṣṇa, then your reading of so-called Vedas and Vedāntas and Upaniṣads, they are useless waste of time. So here Kuntī is directly saying that, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are ādyaṁ puruṣam, the original person. And īśvaram. You are not ordinary person. You are the supreme controller." That is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Everyone is controller, but the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.
So although this material world is condemned—duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15), Kṛṣṇa says—it is also Kṛṣṇa's kingdom, because everything belongs to God, Kṛṣṇa. So this condemned place is created for suffering of the condemned persons. Who are condemned? Those who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa and wants to become happy independently, they are all condemned demons. And those who are surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, they are not condemned. That is the difference. So although Kṛṣṇa has created this material world for the condemned person, still, He wants to see that they are having their necessities of life and . . . so that they may live prosperously. And let them enjoy for some time this material world according to their inclination. But at last, let them come back home, back to home, back to Godhead. Just like the prisoners: they are condemned, and the government puts them into jail. So for their criminality they are punished within the jail. But the government does not want that these prisoners may remain perpetually within the jail. The same thing. Try to understand. Government does not want. Government wants that "They have been condemned. So for their criminality, let them suffer for some time. And then they correct themselves and again they are freed."
Not that government does . . . sometimes government arranges nice instruction, classes. Perhaps those who were with me in Ahmedabad . . . we were invited by the jail authorities to speak. Who were with me? Nobody? In Ahmedabad?
Devotee: I was.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So I was given place just in front of the room where Gandhi was imprisoned. That . . . that room is considered as sacred. So government makes such arrangement that "These prisoners may be corrected." Similarly, in this material world, although we are all condemned . . . anyone who is within this material world, he is condemned. Simply there is division. Just like in jail also, there are first-class prisoners, there are second-class prisoners and third-class prisoners. The first-class prisoners, they are given some facilities. Just like political prisoners, they are given separate bungalow and servants, newspaper, book. But they cannot go out of the prison. That is called first class. Similarly, there are second class, and third class, ordinary.
So here also, we are first-class, second-class, third-class prisoners. Therefore we find so many varieties of living condition. But we are all prisoners. And He's the supreme controller. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, as supreme controller, He wants His representative to rule over this material world. That is Kṛṣṇa's mission. In every planet there is a person, representative of Kṛṣṇa, who is ruling over the planet. Just like the sun planet, the sun planet is being ruled by the sun-god. His name is Vivasvān. He was also instructed by Kṛṣṇa, and that is explained in the Fourth Chapter, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1): "I spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā . . ." Just like He spoke to Arjuna, similarly He spoke also. And who can know? He spoke to all the rulers of different planets—Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, sun-god, moon-god, that . . . so many. Thirty-three millions of planets and thirty-three millions of ruler. So He wants His representative.