Jason Khoo Photography
Kanhaiya and Yasoda maiya
Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam
Spoken by Satyavrata Muni
recorded in the Padma Purāṇa
by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa
namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ gokule bhrājamānam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaṁ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā (1)
I worship the Supreme Controller, whose form is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. Upon His cheeks, makara-shaped earrings are swinging, and He shines most brilliantly in Gokula. Running away from the grinding mortar in great fear of Mother Yaśodā, He was ultimately caught from behind.
rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantaṁ
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-tri-rekhāṅka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graiva-dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham (2)
Weeping incessantly, He rubs His eyes with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear. He takes heavy breaths again and again that cause the pearls and other ornaments around His neck, which is marked by three gracefully curving lines, to tremble. ( I offer praṇāma unto) that Dāmodara, who is bound by His mother’s vātsalya-bhakti.
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaṁ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeśita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṁ
punaḥ prematas taṁ śatāvṛtti vande (3)
Through pastimes such as these, He drowns the residents of Gokula in pools of bliss, thereby informing people who are aware of His Godhood that He can only be conquered by His devotees. Hundreds of times, I again offer loving obeisance to Him.
varaṁ deva! mokṣaṁ na mokṣāvadhiṁ vā
na cānyaṁ vṛṇe ’haṁ vareśād apīha
idaṁ te vapur nātha! gopāla-bālaṁ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāṁ kim anyaiḥ (4)
O Deva, I do not ask for liberation [from this world], nor the highest liberation (of residence in Vaikuṇṭha). Nor do I seek any other benediction6 from You, the supreme benefactor. O Nātha! May this form of Yours as Bāla-gopāla (a little cowherd boy) in Vṛndāvana forever remain visible in my heart. What is the use of any other benediction?
idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam avyakta-nīlair
vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me
manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ (5)
Your lotus-like face, encircled by soft, blackish-blue curly locks of hair that have a reddish glow, is repeatedly kissed by the gopī Śrī Yaśodā. May Your lotus face, with lips like red bimba-fruit, always remain manifest in my heart. I do not care about millions of other attainments.
namo deva! dāmodarānanta! viṣṇo!
prasīda prabho! duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu-
gṛhāṇeśa! mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ (6)
O Deva! O Dāmodara! O Ananta! O Viṣṇu! Obeisance unto You! O Prabhu, be pleased with me. I am drowning in an ocean of miseries. Alas, I am most afflicted and do not know what to do. O Īśa, shower me with Your merciful glance and kindly uplift me by becoming directly visible to my eyes.
kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktiṁ svakāṁ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me ’sti dāmodareha (7)
Just as You freed the two sons of Kuvera, even while bound around the belly, and made them recipients of devotion, similarly, please bestow upon me profuse prema-bhakti to You (in Your form as a little cowherd boy). O Dāmodara! I long for this alone; I do not want any other kind of liberation.
namas te ’stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya priyāyai
namo ’nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam (8)
O Dāmodara, I offer praṇāma to the rope binding Your belly, for it is an abode of brilliant effulgence. I offer praṇāma to Your belly, which is the mainstay of the entire universe. I offer praṇāma again and again to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Your most beloved. And I offer praṇāma to You, my Divine Lord, who perform unlimited transcendental pastimes.
6 Na cānyam—others also—can refer either to the benediction of performing the nine limbs of bhakti or to achieving any other worthy attainment.
Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊
Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara mandir, London 🇬🇧
11th November, 2018
Kanhaiya and Yasoda maiya
Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam
Spoken by Satyavrata Muni
recorded in the Padma Purāṇa
by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa
namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ gokule bhrājamānam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaṁ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā (1)
I worship the Supreme Controller, whose form is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. Upon His cheeks, makara-shaped earrings are swinging, and He shines most brilliantly in Gokula. Running away from the grinding mortar in great fear of Mother Yaśodā, He was ultimately caught from behind.
rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantaṁ
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-tri-rekhāṅka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graiva-dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham (2)
Weeping incessantly, He rubs His eyes with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear. He takes heavy breaths again and again that cause the pearls and other ornaments around His neck, which is marked by three gracefully curving lines, to tremble. ( I offer praṇāma unto) that Dāmodara, who is bound by His mother’s vātsalya-bhakti.
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaṁ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeśita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṁ
punaḥ prematas taṁ śatāvṛtti vande (3)
Through pastimes such as these, He drowns the residents of Gokula in pools of bliss, thereby informing people who are aware of His Godhood that He can only be conquered by His devotees. Hundreds of times, I again offer loving obeisance to Him.
varaṁ deva! mokṣaṁ na mokṣāvadhiṁ vā
na cānyaṁ vṛṇe ’haṁ vareśād apīha
idaṁ te vapur nātha! gopāla-bālaṁ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāṁ kim anyaiḥ (4)
O Deva, I do not ask for liberation [from this world], nor the highest liberation (of residence in Vaikuṇṭha). Nor do I seek any other benediction6 from You, the supreme benefactor. O Nātha! May this form of Yours as Bāla-gopāla (a little cowherd boy) in Vṛndāvana forever remain visible in my heart. What is the use of any other benediction?
idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam avyakta-nīlair
vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me
manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ (5)
Your lotus-like face, encircled by soft, blackish-blue curly locks of hair that have a reddish glow, is repeatedly kissed by the gopī Śrī Yaśodā. May Your lotus face, with lips like red bimba-fruit, always remain manifest in my heart. I do not care about millions of other attainments.
namo deva! dāmodarānanta! viṣṇo!
prasīda prabho! duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu-
gṛhāṇeśa! mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ (6)
O Deva! O Dāmodara! O Ananta! O Viṣṇu! Obeisance unto You! O Prabhu, be pleased with me. I am drowning in an ocean of miseries. Alas, I am most afflicted and do not know what to do. O Īśa, shower me with Your merciful glance and kindly uplift me by becoming directly visible to my eyes.
kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktiṁ svakāṁ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me ’sti dāmodareha (7)
Just as You freed the two sons of Kuvera, even while bound around the belly, and made them recipients of devotion, similarly, please bestow upon me profuse prema-bhakti to You (in Your form as a little cowherd boy). O Dāmodara! I long for this alone; I do not want any other kind of liberation.
namas te ’stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya priyāyai
namo ’nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam (8)
O Dāmodara, I offer praṇāma to the rope binding Your belly, for it is an abode of brilliant effulgence. I offer praṇāma to Your belly, which is the mainstay of the entire universe. I offer praṇāma again and again to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Your most beloved. And I offer praṇāma to You, my Divine Lord, who perform unlimited transcendental pastimes.
6 Na cānyam—others also—can refer either to the benediction of performing the nine limbs of bhakti or to achieving any other worthy attainment.
Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊
Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara mandir, London 🇬🇧
11th November, 2018