ShriKrishnashtakam

ShriKrishnashtakam is one of Adi Shankaracharya's most popular stotras. Adi Shankara is acclaimed as the greatest exponent of Advaita Vedanta. During his Digvijaya through the length and breadth of the country, he held intellectual discourses with Budhhists, Jainas, and other critics and opponents of Vedic Dharma, and vanquished them.

Adi Shankara (788-821 AD) had a brief life, but his seminal contribution to Vedic religious and philosophical thought continues to inspire and influence the present generation. The four Mathas he established in four corners of the country rejuvenated and re-established Vedic Dharma (the word ‘Hinduism’ was unknown, then) after centuries of onslaught from Jainism and Buddhism.

Shankara held that the Brahma and the Jiva are non-dual, one and the same, and that the spark of divinity is in every life.

Brahman, the Supreme God-head, is nirakara and nirguna, he argued. Yet, Shankara was also a devotee of the sakara and saguna manifestations of Brahman in several puranic gods and goddesses.

His stotras and bhajans sing of both nirguna (Nirguna Manasapuja ,Nirvana Shatakam), and the saguna, sakara (Achyutashtakam, Bhaja Govindam, Bhavani Ashtakam, Krishnashtakam, Jagannathashtakam, Aiyee Giri Nandini, and many others).

Shankara’s stotras are deeply devotional, and pure poetry- alliterative, lyrical, and full of wonderful similes, metaphors, and word-pictures. Even the non-Hindu, and the non-believer, are charmed upon listening to a recitation of these stotras.

Ashtakam

Ashtakam means ‘any group of eight’, and in a stotra refers to a composition with eight stanzas. Krishnashtakam is one of the most well-known and much-loved stotras composed by Adi Shankara.

Famous Singers

Several talented singers have sung Adi Shankara’s stotras and bhajans, of which the ones I love most are the following:

·        Bhaja Govindam by M.S. Subbulakshmi

·        Brahmajnanavali by Swami Brahmananda

·        Nirvana Shatakam by The Art of Living 

·        JagannathaShtakam , KrishnaShtakam and AchyutaShtakam by Madhvi Madhukar Jha

·        Jagannathashtakam by Pandit Suryanarayan Rathsharma

·         Nirvana Shatakam by Pandit Jasraj

 

 

---

ShriKrishnashtakam 

by 

Adi Shankaracharya

श्रीकृष्णाष्टकम्

     भजे व्रजैकमण्डनं समस्तपापखण्डनं

         स्वभक्तचित्तरञ्जनं सदैव नन्दनन्दनम् ।

     सुपिच्छगुच्छमस्तकं सुनादवेणुहस्तकं

         अनङ्गरङ्गसागरं नमामि कृष्णनागरम् ॥ १॥

 

     मनोजगर्वमोचनं विशाललोललोचनं

         विधूतगोपशोचनं नमामि पद्मलोचनम् ।

     करारविन्दभूधरं स्मितावलोकसुन्दरं

         महेन्द्रमानदारणं नमामि कृष्णावारणम् ॥ २॥

 

     कदम्बसूनकुण्डलं सुचारुगण्डमण्डलं

         व्रजाङ्गनैकवल्लभं नमामि कृष्णदुर्लभम् ।

     यशोदया समोदया सगोपया सनन्दया

         युतं सुखैकदायकं नमामि गोपनायकम् ॥ ३॥

 

     सदैव पादपङ्कजं मदीय मानसे निजं

         दधानमुक्तमालकं नमामि नन्दबालकम् ।

     समस्तदोषशोषणं समस्तलोकपोषणं

         समस्तगोपमानसं नमामि नन्दलालसम् ॥ ४॥

 

     भुवो भरावतारकं भवाब्धिकर्णधारकं

         यशोमतीकिशोरकं नमामि चित्तचोरकम् ।

     दृगन्तकान्तभङ्गिनं सदा सदालिसङ्गिनं

         दिने दिने नवं नवं नमामि नन्दसम्भवम् ॥ ५॥

 

     गुणाकरं सुखाकरं कृपाकरं कृपापरं

         सुरद्विषन्निकन्दनं नमामि गोपनन्दनम् ।

     नवीनगोपनागरं नवीनकेलिलम्पटं

         नमामि मेघसुन्दरं तडित्प्रभालसत्पटम् ॥ ६॥

 

     समस्तगोपनन्दनं हृदम्बुजैकमोदनं

         नमामि कुञ्जमध्यगं प्रसन्नभानुशोभनम् ।

     निकामकामदायकं दृगन्तचारुसायकं

         रसालवेणुगायकं नमामि कुञ्जनायकम् ॥ ७॥

 

     विदग्धगोपिकामनोमनोज्ञतल्पशायिनं

         नमामि कुञ्जकानने प्रव्रद्धवह्निपायिनम् ।

     किशोरकान्तिरञ्जितं दृगञ्जनं सुशोभितं

         गजेन्द्रमोक्षकारिणं नमामि श्रीविहारिणम् ॥ ८॥

 

     यदा तदा यथा तथा तथैव कृष्णसत्कथा

         मया सदैव गीयतां तथा कृपा विधीयताम् ।

     प्रमाणिकाष्टकद्वयं जपत्यधीत्य यः पुमान

         भवेत्स नन्दनन्दने भवे भवे सुभक्तिमान ॥ ९॥

 

     इति श्रीमच्छङ्कराचार्यकृतं श्रीकृष्णाष्टकं

         कृष्णकृपाकटाक्षस्तोत्रं च सम्पूर्णम् ॥

***

(Source: sanskritdocuments.org)

 

Image Source - wikimedia: (The Gopis Plead with Krishna to Return Their Clothing. Folio from a Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of Lord Vishnu) series. Rajasthan, Bikaner, ca. 1610. Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 17.1 x 24.8 cm. Metmuseum,N.Y.)

ShriKrishnashtakam 

by 

Adi Shankaracharya

(Translation from Sanskrit by Prasanna Dash)

 

May I always worship Nanda’s Son,

Sole adornment of Vraj,

Destroyer of all sins,

Who fills with bliss the heart and soul of his devotees;

I bow to Krishna,

The naughty, lascivious Lord,

Ocean of the nectar of love,

On His head, a bunch of pea-cock feathers, and

In His hand, a flute emanating sweet notes. (1)

I bow to the lotus-eyed One,

Who relieved Manoj* of his hubris,

Whose large eyes are captivating,

Who removes the distress of Gopas;

I bow to Krishna,

King of Elephants,

Who lifted the mountain by His hand,

Whose smile and visage are beautiful, and

Who humbled Mahendra**. (2)

I bow to the elusive, difficult-to-attain Krishna,

Wearing kadamba*** flowers as ear pendants,

With shapely cheeks and attractive face,

The sole ruler of Gopis’ hearts;

I bow to the Lord of Gopas,

The only font of bliss,

Who is in the graceful company of

Eternally content Yashoda, Gopas, and Nanda. (3)

I bow to son of Nanda,

With luscious, curly, beautiful hair,

My mind always meditating upon His lotus-feet;

I bow to Nanda’s dear son,

Darling of Gopas’ hearts,

Who dissipates all sins, and

Nurtures the whole universe. (4)

I bow to Yashomati’s son,

Who captivates the mind with his charm,

Relieves the Earth

Of her unbearable burden, and

Safely steers all,

Across the ocean of life;

I bow to son of Nanda,

Whose side-glance is mesmerising,

Who is always in the company of devotees,

Who always adorns beautiful ornaments, and

Who reveals every day a new aspect of his Grace. (5)

I bow to the son of Gopa,

Repository of all virtues,

Bestower of bliss, mercy, and limitless benediction,

Destroyer of enemies of gods;

I bow to Him,

Beautiful as a dark cloud,

Dressed in yellow, radiant as lightning,

Ever-fresh, Ever-new, Ever-resplendent,

Heart-throb of Gopas,

With endless variety of naughty games of Love. (6)

I bow to Him,

Who, like the resplendent sun enticing lotuses to bloom,

Gladdens the hearts of all sons of Gopas,

Perched amidst the luxuriant grove,

Whose beautiful face radiates joy;

I bow to the Prince of the pleasant bowers,

Who satiates all desires,

Whose pleasant visage

Hits like an arrow, and

Who plays enchanting notes on his flute.  (7)

I bow to Krishna,

Supine on the soft, sensuous bed

Of love-smitten minds of Gopis;

One who gulped down the raging forest fire;

I bow to Him,

Whose youthful body has a radiant glow,

Whose eyes, wearing kajal, look beautiful,

Who saved the elephant in distress, and

Who is the consort of Sri****. (8)

Bless me, O Lord,

That I may sing of your glory,

The pious story of Krishna,

Wherever I am, and in whatever state;

Whoever meditates upon these two# authoritative ashtakams,

Will be immersed in devotion

To Nanda’s Son,

In this and all the lives to follow. (9)

                                                     ***

*Manoj is the God of Love. His other names: Kama, Kandarpa

** Mahendra or Indra, the Lord of Heaven, to humble whom Krishna lifted the Govardhan mountain on the little finger of his left hand

*** Kadam or Cadamba is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia. Botanical name: Neolamarckia cadamba.

****Sri is a synonym for Lakshmi.

# There is another ShriKrishnashtakam by Shrimad Shankaracharya which begins with ‘Shriyashlishto Vishnu…’

Note and Acknowledgement:

This translation is based on Hindi meaning of the lyrics provided in Stotraratnaavali, a publication of Gita Press, Gorakhpur; and the English meaning provided in sanskritdocuments.org.

***