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namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ gokule bhrājamānam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaṁ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā॥ 1 ॥
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rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantam
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāṅka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graivaṁ dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham॥ 2 ॥
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itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaṁ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeśita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṁ
punaḥ prematas taṁ śatāvṛtti vande॥ 3 ॥
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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 ॥
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idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair
vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me
manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ॥ 5 ॥
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namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu-
gṛhāṇeśa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ॥ 6 ॥
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kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktiṁ svakāṁ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me 'sti dāmodareha॥ 7 ॥
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namas te 'stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo 'nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam॥ 8 ॥
Translation
Verse by verse, in English
I bow to the supreme Lord, whose form is eternity, knowledge and bliss, whose glittering earrings swing as He shines in Gokula — who, afraid of Mother Yaśodā, jumped down from the grinding mortar and ran, until she, running swift behind, caught Him at last.
He cries, rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands; His eyes are wide with fear, and the necklace on His neck, marked with three lines, trembles with His sobbing breath. To that Dāmodara, whose belly is bound not by ropes but by His mother’s pure love, I bow.
By childhood pastimes such as this He drowns the people of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and reveals to those who know only His majesty that He is conquered by pure love alone. To that Lord I offer my loving obeisance hundreds upon hundreds of times.
O Lord, though You grant every boon, I do not ask for liberation, nor the highest realm of Vaikuṇṭha, nor any other blessing. Let this form of Yours, the child Gopāla of Vraja, remain forever visible in my heart — what need have I of anything else?
May Your lotus face, framed by soft dark curls glowing with a reddish hue, kissed again and again by the gopī Yaśodā, Your lips red like the bimba fruit, remain always before my mind. Millions of other attainments mean nothing to me.
O divine Dāmodara, O limitless Viṣṇu, be pleased! I am sinking in an ocean of sorrows — rain Your merciful glance upon this fallen, foolish soul, O Lord, and come before my eyes.
As You freed the two sons of Kuvera, though You stood bound to the mortar, and made them Your devotees, grant me likewise Your prema-bhakti, pure love for You. This alone I crave, O Dāmodara — I have no longing for liberation.
I bow to the rope that binds Your waist, radiant with splendour; I bow to Your belly, the shelter of the whole universe; I bow to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Your dearest beloved; and I bow to You, O Lord of unlimited pastimes.
About this prayer
Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam — eight verses to Lord Dāmodara — is found in the Padma Purāṇa of Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, where it is spoken by the sage Satyavrata Muni in a conversation with Nārada Muni and Śaunaka Ṛṣi.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī cites it in his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, teaching that it should be sung every day of Kārtika, the month also known as Dāmodara, while a ghee-lamp is offered to the Lord. The month remembers the pastime in which Mother Yaśodā bound child Kṛṣṇa to a grinding mortar with the ropes of her love — He whom no one can bind allowed Himself to be bound by pure affection alone.