Śrī Dāmodara Aṣṭakam VERSE 1
नमामीश्वरं सच्चिदानन्दरूपं
लसत्कुण्डलं गोकुले भ्राजमानम्
यशोदाभियोलूखलाद्धावमानं
परामृष्टमत्यं ततो द्रुत्य गोप्या
namāmīśvaraṃ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṃ
lasat-kuṇḍalaṃ gokule bhrājamānam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād-dhāvamānaṃ
parāmṛṣṭam atyaṃ tato drutya gopyā
SYNONYMS
namāmi: I bow down | īśvaram: to the Supreme Controller | sat-cit-ānanda-rūpam: whose form is composed of eternity, knowledge and bliss | lasat-kuṇḍalam: whose earrings are swinging to and fro | gokule: in Gokula | bhrājamānam: who is brilliantly shining | yaśodā-bhiyā: out of fear of Mother Yaśodā | ulūkhalāt: from the wooden grinding mortar | dhāvamānam: who ran away | parāmṛṣṭam: who was caught from behind | atyam: very swiftly | tataḥ: then | drutya: having run | gopyā: by the gopī (Yaśodā) |
TRANSLATION
To the supreme controller, who possesses an eternal form of blissful knowledge, whose glistening earrings swing to and fro, who manifest Himself in Gokula, who stole the butter that the gopis kept hanging from the rafters of their storerooms and who then quickly jumped up and ran in retreat in fear of Mother Yashoda but was ultimately caught - to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.
PURPORT
Bowing before Sri Damodara-isvara, who is accompanied by Sri Radha, I now commence my purport of Damodarastaka entitled Dig-Darshini.
In the beginning of the mula-shloka, the very first intention is expressed by the word namami - "I bow down". Obeisances are thus offered with love and devotion before commencing the description of the Lord's specific characteristics of excellence that are exhibited by His tattva, rūpa, līlā, guṇa and so forth. Also mentioned is the essence of His own divine supremacy as the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested in Gokula, and also His distinctive features as the origin of all. Furthermore, the word namami is indicative of an auspicious invocation (maṅgalārtham). At the start of all functions it is customary to offer respects to īśvara which expresses and attitude of devotional service unto the Lord. For this reason, obeisances are offered first unto the Lord in this verse.
(Now the commentator, Sri Srila Sanatana Goswami examines tattva-viśeṣa or the excellence of the Lord's truth:) Obeisances unto whom? Unto Ishvara, the supreme controller. Namely - He who is (1) sarva-śaktimanta (endowed with all potencies), (2) jagateka-nātha (the only Lord of the universe) and (3) nija-prabhu (my own Master). In the first instance He is addressed as such in order to obtain the power of śakti needed to offer the prayer, in the second instance, He is addressed as such to indicate that He is the one and only Lord Who is praiseworthy; in the final instance, He is addressed as such to signify the specific nature of bhakti or devotion. How is He manifest? As sac-cid-ānanda-rūpam or a form composed of compressed clouds of eternity, knowledge and bliss. This is the statement of His supreme sovereignty in regards to His tattva-viśeṣa attribute or excellence of truth.
(Now rūpa-viśeṣa, the excellence of His beauty is described:) His distinct excellence of beauty is illustrated as follows: lasanti (the swinging of His earrings) was manifested when He ran away in fear of Sri Yashoda; or also, His earrings sport upon His cheeks as a result of His continuously playing in the transcendental pastimes of childhood. Thus, His divinely splendrous face is especially portrayed. Or also, yet another meaning of lasat-kuṇḍalam is - due to the mahā-saubhāgya or great fortune of personally kissing His divine cheeks, these earrings have attained a position of superexcellence above all His other ornaments. And this superexcellence also indicates the fortune of the other ornaments adorning His various limbs. Furthermore, lasanti indicates that these earrings are glistening because they are enriched with the splendrous effulgence of the Lord's bodily complexion; therefore Krishna's body is the ornament of His ornaments. This is the meaning. Consequently, it is stated by the gopis in the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.29.40):
"O Sri Krishna! By seeing Your beauty, which attracts the three worlds, these cows, birds, trees and deer are all experiencing their hairs standing on end!" ("What is the wonder, then, if we are also bewildered?")
In the Third Canto (Bhagavatam 3.2.12), it is also stated by Sri Uddhava to Vidura regarding Sri Krishna's beauty:
"Sri Krishna's beauty is so enchanting that it even astonishes Himself: that beauty represents the supreme zenith of great opulence, so much so that He is actually the ornament of His ornaments."
Now the parivāra-viśeṣa or attributes of His family portray His unique excellence. The word gokule indicates that place where gopas, gopīs, cow, calves and so forth reside. The word bhrājamānam indicates a particularly befitting place wherein He can manifest an excellence that surpasses that of previous līlās. Moreover, He is splendrous because only in Gokula does He manifest His svābhāvika-śobhā, or most natural characteristics of brilliance. It is stated in the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.32.14):
"(Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Who sits upon the āsana formed in the lotus-like hearts of the siddha-yogīs...) Manifesting a body that is the abode of all the splendour of the three worlds, He sat upon the āsana presented by the gopīs, was worshipped by them, and thereby radiated even more splendour."
His excellence of līlā-viśeṣa, or attributes of His pastimes, are stated in the last two lines of the verse. The word yaśodā indicates yaśodayā, or "From His mother Yashoda". Bhiyā indicates the fear of being punished for His offense of breaking the yoghurt pots, stealing fresh butter and so forth. Ulūkhalāt denotes "from the mortar" - in order to steal the fresh butter suspended from the rafters, He took a large wooden grinding mortar that was kept in the same storeroom, turned it on end, and climbed up on it; but (spotting His mother coming into the room with a stick in her hand) He immediately gets down again. Dhāvamānam - He speedily runs away. In this regard, if one desires to know the particulars of this pastime, it can be found in the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.9.8-9) thus:
"Then Sri Krishna turned the grinding mortar on end, climbed up on it and began distributing the fresh butter hanging from the rafters to the monkeys as freely as He liked. Due to knowledge of His own mischievous thievery, His eyes fearfully darted this way and that. Mother Yashoda saw Him doing this and slowly crept up from behind to catch Him; but He noticed Her coming with a stick in her hand, and He quickly got down from the mortar and started running away, just like a person stricken with fear. Even though highly advanced yogis are enabled by the strength of their penances to merge their minds with brahma, still they cannot get a glimpse of this scene - of Yashoda-devi chasing her son Krishna from behind while attempting to catch Him."
Then, tato-drutya - she ran very swiftly. Due to the samāsa conjunction, these two words become one. Gopyā - by Sri Yashoda, para āmṛṣṭam - catching hold of His back. Here the words atyanta tato drutya (running behind Krishna very swiftly) imply the saundarya-viśeṣa (excellence of beauty) of Yashoda's full breasts, broad hips and so on, as well as the particulars of her affection for her son. The loving use of the word gopyā connotes the grand fortune that came upon the gopa caste (by Krishna preferring to appear among them). By the word paramṛṣṭam (caught by His back), the unique attribute of superexcellent affection that Bhagavan Sri Krishna feels for Yashoda-mata (sneha-viśeṣa) is intimated. In this regard also, one may search out the following verse from the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.9.10):
"While chasing after Krishna, the slim waisted Yashoda's broad hips caused her pace to slow down. From running quickly, the flowers had come loose from her hair and were falling after her, but she still continued to pursue Him. In this fashion, after chasing and chasing Him, she finally caught Him from behind." Thus ends Sanatana Goswami's Dig-Darshini-Tika on the first shloka of Sri Damodarashtakam.
In the beginning of the mula-shloka, the very first intention is expressed by the word namami - "I bow down". Obeisances are thus offered with love and devotion before commencing the description of the Lord's specific characteristics of excellence that are exhibited by His tattva, rūpa, līlā, guṇa and so forth. Also mentioned is the essence of His own divine supremacy as the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested in Gokula, and also His distinctive features as the origin of all. Furthermore, the word namami is indicative of an auspicious invocation (maṅgalārtham). At the start of all functions it is customary to offer respects to īśvara which expresses and attitude of devotional service unto the Lord. For this reason, obeisances are offered first unto the Lord in this verse.
(Now the commentator, Sri Srila Sanatana Goswami examines tattva-viśeṣa or the excellence of the Lord's truth:) Obeisances unto whom? Unto Ishvara, the supreme controller. Namely - He who is (1) sarva-śaktimanta (endowed with all potencies), (2) jagateka-nātha (the only Lord of the universe) and (3) nija-prabhu (my own Master). In the first instance He is addressed as such in order to obtain the power of śakti needed to offer the prayer, in the second instance, He is addressed as such to indicate that He is the one and only Lord Who is praiseworthy; in the final instance, He is addressed as such to signify the specific nature of bhakti or devotion. How is He manifest? As sac-cid-ānanda-rūpam or a form composed of compressed clouds of eternity, knowledge and bliss. This is the statement of His supreme sovereignty in regards to His tattva-viśeṣa attribute or excellence of truth.
(Now rūpa-viśeṣa, the excellence of His beauty is described:) His distinct excellence of beauty is illustrated as follows: lasanti (the swinging of His earrings) was manifested when He ran away in fear of Sri Yashoda; or also, His earrings sport upon His cheeks as a result of His continuously playing in the transcendental pastimes of childhood. Thus, His divinely splendrous face is especially portrayed. Or also, yet another meaning of lasat-kuṇḍalam is - due to the mahā-saubhāgya or great fortune of personally kissing His divine cheeks, these earrings have attained a position of superexcellence above all His other ornaments. And this superexcellence also indicates the fortune of the other ornaments adorning His various limbs. Furthermore, lasanti indicates that these earrings are glistening because they are enriched with the splendrous effulgence of the Lord's bodily complexion; therefore Krishna's body is the ornament of His ornaments. This is the meaning. Consequently, it is stated by the gopis in the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.29.40):
"O Sri Krishna! By seeing Your beauty, which attracts the three worlds, these cows, birds, trees and deer are all experiencing their hairs standing on end!" ("What is the wonder, then, if we are also bewildered?")
In the Third Canto (Bhagavatam 3.2.12), it is also stated by Sri Uddhava to Vidura regarding Sri Krishna's beauty:
"Sri Krishna's beauty is so enchanting that it even astonishes Himself: that beauty represents the supreme zenith of great opulence, so much so that He is actually the ornament of His ornaments."
Now the parivāra-viśeṣa or attributes of His family portray His unique excellence. The word gokule indicates that place where gopas, gopīs, cow, calves and so forth reside. The word bhrājamānam indicates a particularly befitting place wherein He can manifest an excellence that surpasses that of previous līlās. Moreover, He is splendrous because only in Gokula does He manifest His svābhāvika-śobhā, or most natural characteristics of brilliance. It is stated in the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.32.14):
"(Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Who sits upon the āsana formed in the lotus-like hearts of the siddha-yogīs...) Manifesting a body that is the abode of all the splendour of the three worlds, He sat upon the āsana presented by the gopīs, was worshipped by them, and thereby radiated even more splendour."
His excellence of līlā-viśeṣa, or attributes of His pastimes, are stated in the last two lines of the verse. The word yaśodā indicates yaśodayā, or "From His mother Yashoda". Bhiyā indicates the fear of being punished for His offense of breaking the yoghurt pots, stealing fresh butter and so forth. Ulūkhalāt denotes "from the mortar" - in order to steal the fresh butter suspended from the rafters, He took a large wooden grinding mortar that was kept in the same storeroom, turned it on end, and climbed up on it; but (spotting His mother coming into the room with a stick in her hand) He immediately gets down again. Dhāvamānam - He speedily runs away. In this regard, if one desires to know the particulars of this pastime, it can be found in the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.9.8-9) thus:
"Then Sri Krishna turned the grinding mortar on end, climbed up on it and began distributing the fresh butter hanging from the rafters to the monkeys as freely as He liked. Due to knowledge of His own mischievous thievery, His eyes fearfully darted this way and that. Mother Yashoda saw Him doing this and slowly crept up from behind to catch Him; but He noticed Her coming with a stick in her hand, and He quickly got down from the mortar and started running away, just like a person stricken with fear. Even though highly advanced yogis are enabled by the strength of their penances to merge their minds with brahma, still they cannot get a glimpse of this scene - of Yashoda-devi chasing her son Krishna from behind while attempting to catch Him."
Then, tato-drutya - she ran very swiftly. Due to the samāsa conjunction, these two words become one. Gopyā - by Sri Yashoda, para āmṛṣṭam - catching hold of His back. Here the words atyanta tato drutya (running behind Krishna very swiftly) imply the saundarya-viśeṣa (excellence of beauty) of Yashoda's full breasts, broad hips and so on, as well as the particulars of her affection for her son. The loving use of the word gopyā connotes the grand fortune that came upon the gopa caste (by Krishna preferring to appear among them). By the word paramṛṣṭam (caught by His back), the unique attribute of superexcellent affection that Bhagavan Sri Krishna feels for Yashoda-mata (sneha-viśeṣa) is intimated. In this regard also, one may search out the following verse from the Tenth Canto (Bhagavatam 10.9.10):
"While chasing after Krishna, the slim waisted Yashoda's broad hips caused her pace to slow down. From running quickly, the flowers had come loose from her hair and were falling after her, but she still continued to pursue Him. In this fashion, after chasing and chasing Him, she finally caught Him from behind." Thus ends Sanatana Goswami's Dig-Darshini-Tika on the first shloka of Sri Damodarashtakam.
