{"id":1529,"date":"2016-10-17T14:48:41","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T09:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/?p=1529"},"modified":"2024-10-25T20:14:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T14:44:01","slug":"damodara-ashtaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/damodara-ashtaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Damodarashtakam explains how Krishna came to be called Damodara"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This song vividly describes the childhood pastime of Lord Krishna because of which He came to be known as Damodara. Click below to watch a video of His pastimes.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sri Damodarashtakam with Lyrics | Kartika Deepotsava | ISKCON Bangalore\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CSXPZuNVqGw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cIn the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarashtaka, which has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata and which attracts Lord Damodara.\u201d\u00a0<strong>(Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2.16.198)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Damodarashtakam consists of eight verses praising Lord Krishna in His form as Damodara.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>described in the Padma Purana of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, spoken by Satyavrata Muni in a conversation with Narada Muni and Saunaka Rishi.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>namamisvaram sac-cid-ananda-rupam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>yasoda-bhiyolukalad-dhavamanam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI bow down to the supreme controller, Sri Damodara, whose form is the embodiment of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. His glistening earrings swing playfully to and fro upon His cheeks. He manifests super-excellent pastimes in Gokula, stealing fresh butter suspended from the rafters of the gopis\u2019 storerooms. In fear of Mother Yashoda, He jumps down from a wooden grinding mortar and quickly runs away. She runs swiftly after Him and finally catches Him from behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Satyavrata Muni begins with the offering of obeisances (namami) as an auspicious invocation, mangalacarana. He invokes the mercy of Lord Damodara to empower him to offer this prayer by the word Ishvara, the supreme controller.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrjantam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram<\/em><br \/>\n<em>muhuh svasa-kampa-tri-rekhanka-kantha-<\/em><br \/>\n<em>sthita-graivam damodaram bhakti-baddham<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cHe cries and rubs His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are fearful and His breathing quick. As Mother Yashoda binds His belly with ropes, He shivers in fright and the pearl necklace shakes upon His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell. To the Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound by His mother\u2019s pure love, not by rope, I offer my humble obeisances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>itidrk-sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde<\/em><br \/>\n<em>sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayan<\/em><br \/>\n<em>tamtadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>punah prematas tam satavrtti vande<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cO my Lord, by Your own childhood pastimes, You continually immerse the residents of Gokula in pools of ecstasy. You reveal to those who are attracted to Your majesty and opulence, that\u00a0You are only conquered by the love of Your pure devotees.\u00a0Again I offer my obeisances with love and devotion hundreds and hundreds of times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va\u00a0<\/em><br \/>\n<em>na canyam vrne \u2019ham varesad apiha<\/em><br \/>\n<em>idam te vapur natha gopala-balam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cO Lord Damodara, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for liberation, nor the supreme goal of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor for any other boon.\u00a0My only desire, O Lord, is that Your form as Bala Gopal in Vrindavana may constantly remain in my heart.\u00a0I have no use for any other boon besides this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>idam te mukhambhojam atyanta-nilair-<\/em><br \/>\n<em>vrtam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais ca gopya<\/em><br \/>\n<em>muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me<\/em><br \/>\n<em>manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cYour supremely enchanting face, encircled by shining locks of dark blue curling hair, resembles the fully blossomed lotus, tinged with a reddish luster, due to being kissed again and again by Mother Yashoda.\u00a0May this vision of Your lotus face, with lips as red as bimba fruit, remain forever in my heart.\u00a0Millions of other benedictions are of no benefit to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 6<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>namo deva damodarananta visno<\/em><br \/>\n<em>prasida prabho duhkha-jalabdhi-magnam<\/em><br \/>\n<em>krpa-drsti-vrstyati-dinam batanu-<\/em><br \/>\n<em>grhanesa mam ajnam edhy aksi-drsyah<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cO Damodara! O Lord of divine beauty and unlimited mercy! O all pervading Vishnu! I offer my obeisances unto You. May You be pleased with me. I am drowning in an ocean of sorrow and feeling almost dead. Shower Your nectar laden glances upon me, thereby uplifting me and enthusing me with life. Please accept me, O Lord, and become visible before my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yad-vat<\/em><br \/>\n<em>tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca<\/em><br \/>\n<em>tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha<\/em><br \/>\n<em>na mokse graho me \u2018sti damodareha<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cO Lord Damodara, although Mother Yashoda bound Your divine form to a wooden grinding mortar, You mercifully delivered the sons of Kuvera, Manigriva and Nalakuvara, who were cursed to stand as trees, and You gave them the gift of devotional service. Please bless me in this same way with Your most wonderful prema bhakti. I have no eagerness for any other type of liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 8<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>namas te \u2018stu damne sphurad dipti-dhamne<\/em><br \/>\n<em>tvadiyodarayatha<\/em> <em>visvasya dhamne<\/em><br \/>\n<em>namo radhikayai tvadiya priyayai<\/em><br \/>\n<em>namo \u2018nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cO Lord, I offer respectful obeisances unto Your belly, the abode of the entire universe, which is bound by Mother Yashoda with a brilliantly effulgent rope. To this rope I offer my humble obeisances. I offer repeated obeisances to Your dearmost beloved Srimati Radharani, and I bow before You, who are performing unlimited super-excellent pastimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Related Links<\/strong>: <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/deepotsava\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deepotsava<\/a> | <a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/mother-yashodha-binds-krishna\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\">Damodara Lila<\/a> | <a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/damodara-vrata\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damodara Vrata<\/a> | \u00a0<a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/govardhana-puja\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Govardhana Puja<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This song vividly describes the childhood pastime of Lord Krishna because of which He came to be known as Damodara. Click below to watch a video of His pastimes. \u201cIn the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarashtaka, which has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-songs-and-prayers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1529"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7505,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions\/7505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iskconbangalore.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}