Damodarashtakam: Lyrics in English with Meaning
Damodarashtakam (Damodar Ashtakam) is an eight-verse prayer to Lord Krishna as Damodara, the child whose belly (udara) was bound with a rope (dama) by His mother Yashoda. It is found in the Padma Purana, spoken by the sage Satyavrata Muni, and devotees sing it every day during the month of Kartik while offering a ghee lamp to the Lord. Srila Prabhupada recommended singing it throughout this month.
The Pastime Behind Damodarashtakam
One day in Gokula, mother Yashoda was churning butter while feeding baby Krishna. When she left Him to attend to milk boiling over on the stove, Krishna, feigning anger, broke the pot of yogurt and went to share butter with the monkeys. Seeing this, Yashoda came after Him with a stick, and Krishna ran in fear, but she caught Him.
She decided to tie Him to a wooden grinding mortar, but every rope she used was two fingers too short. Only when He saw His mother tired and perspiring did Krishna allow Himself to be bound by her love. Dragging the mortar between two arjuna trees, He freed Nalakuvara and Manigriva, the sons of Kuvera, who had been cursed by Narada Muni to stand as those trees. Verses 2, 3 and 7 of the prayer describe this pastime.
How to Sing Damodarashtakam and Offer a Lamp
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Place a picture of Lord Damodara (or of Lord Krishna) in your altar or puja area.
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Light a small ghee lamp.
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Sing the eight verses below, while offering the lamp to the Lord in gentle clockwise circles.
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Invite your family to offer the lamp too; in Kartik, everyone is encouraged to offer a lamp to Lord Damodara.
Read more about Kartik month and how to do Damodar Puja at home.
Damodarashtakam Lyrics with Meaning
(1)
namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ gokule bhrājamanam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaṁ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā
To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who I (due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed--to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.
(2)
rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantam
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāṅka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graivaṁ dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham
(Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.
(3)
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaṁ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṁ
punaḥ prematas taṁ śatāvṛtti vande
By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbues with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.
(4)
varaṁ deva mokṣaṁ na mokṣāvadhiṁ vā
na canyaṁ vṛṇe ‘haṁ vareṣād apīha
idaṁ te vapur nātha gopāla-bālaṁ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāṁ kim anyaiḥ
O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon (which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti). O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?
(5)
idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair
vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me
manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ
O Lord, Your lotus face, which is encircled by locks of soft black hair tinged with red, is kissed again and again by mother Yasoda, and Your lips are reddish like the bimba fruit. May this beautiful vision of Your lotus face be ever manifest in my heart. Thousands and thousands of other benedictions are of no use to me.
(6)
namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu
gṛhāṇeṣa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ
O Supreme Godhead, I offer my obeisances unto You. O Damodara! O Ananta! O Vishnu! O master! O my Lord, be pleased upon me. By showering Your glance of mercy upon me, deliver this poor ignorant fool who is immersed in an ocean of worldly sorrows, and become visible to my eyes.
(7)
kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktiṁ svakāṁ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me ‘sti dāmodareha
O Lord Damodara, just as the two sons of Kuvera, Manigriva and Nalakuvara, were delivered from the curse of Narada and made into great devotees by You in Your form as a baby tied with rope to a wooden grinding mortar, in the same way, please give to me Your own prema-bhakti. I only long for this and have no desire for any kind of liberation.
(8)
namas te ‘stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ‘nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam
O Lord Damodara, I first of all offer my obeisances to the brilliantly effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.
Offer Kartik Deepotsava Seva
During Kartik, offering a lamp to the Lord, or helping others to do so, is considered the best of all gifts. You can sponsor Kartik Deepotsava seva at HKM Mumbai.
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