Stotras - vedic sanskrit prayers to the Lord

The Kṛṣṇa-Aṣṭakam (kṛṣṇāṣṭakam), composed of simple lyrics, is a popular Vedic hymn with a beautiful composition of 8 verses dedicated to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

 

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ १ ॥

vasudeva-sutaṁ devaṁ
kaṁsa-cāṇūra-mardanam |
devakī-paramānandaṁ
kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 1 ||

vasudeva sutaṁ – son of Vasudeva; devaṁ – the divine; kaṁsa-cāṇūra-mardanam – killer of kaṁsa and cāṇūra; devakī paramānandaṁ – one who gives great joy to Devakī; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved son of Vasudeva, who killed the great demons Kaṁsa and Cāṇūra, who is the source of great joy to Mother Devakī; and who is indeed a world teacher and spiritual master of the universe. (1)

अतसीपुष्पसङ्काशं हारनूपुरशोभितम् ।
रत्नकङ्कणकेयूरं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ २ ॥

atasī-puṣpa-saṅkāśaṁ
hāra-nūpura-śobhitam |
ratna-kaṅkaṇa-keyūraṁ
      kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 2 ||

atasī-puṣpa saṅkāśaṁ – brilliant with the atasī flower; hāra-nūpura śobhitam – shining with garland and anklet ; ratna-kaṅkaṇa keyūraṁ – jewelled bangle and upper arm bracelet; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher, who is decorated with garlands of Atasī flowers, who shines with jewels around his neck, wearing anklets and bracelets. (2)

कुटिलालकसंयुक्तं पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननम् ।
विलसत्कुण्डलधरं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ३ ॥

kuṭilālaka-saṁyuktaṁ
pūrṇa-candra-nibhānanam |
vilasat-kuṇḍala-dharaṁ
     kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 3 ||

kuṭilālaka saṁyuktaṁ – one with curly hair; pūrṇa candranibhānanam – one whose face is like the full moon; vilasatkuṇḍala dharaṁ – wearing playful ear ornament; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher. His transcendental face, which shines like the full moon, is decorated with curling locks of black hair and beautiful ear-rings. (3)

मन्दारगन्धसंयुक्तं चारुहासं चतुर्भुजम् ।
बर्हिपिञ्छावचूडाङ्गं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ४ ॥

mandāra-gandha-saṁyuktaṁ
cāruhāsaṁ caturbhujam |
barhi-piñchāva-cūḍāṅgaṁ
   kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 4 ||

mandāra gandhasaṁyuktaṁ – one with fragrant sandalwood paste; cāruhāsaṁ – one with lovely smile; caturbhujam – one with four hands; barhi piñchāva cūḍāṅgaṁ – one who has peacock feather on his head; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher, whose body is anointed with fragrant sandal-wood paste, who lovingly smiles, who wears on the top of His head the peacock feather and who has four arms. (4)

उत्फुल्लपद्मपत्राक्शं नीलजीमूत सन्निभम् ।
यादवानां शिरोरत्नं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ५ ॥

utphulla-padma-patrākśaṁ
nīlajīmūta sannibham |
yādavānāṁ śiroratnaṁ
kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 5 ||

utpulla padma patrākśaṁ – One whose eyes are like the full blown lotus; nīlajīmūta sannibham – whose (body) is like the dark (waterladen) cloud; yādavānāṁ śiroratnaṁ – one who is the crest jewel of the yadava clan; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher, whose beautiful eyes resembling the fully blown lotus flowers, whose body has the colour of dark blue rain clouds, and who is the crest jewel of the Yadava clan. (5)

रुक्मिणीकेलिसंयुक्तं पीताम्बरसुशोभितम् ।
अवाप्ततुलसीगन्धं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ६ ॥

rukmiṇī-keli-saṁyuktaṁ
pītāmbara-suśobhitam |
avāpta-tulasī-gandhaṁ
   kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 6 ||

rukmiṇī kelisaṁyuktaṁ – one with the sportive Rukmini; pītāmbara suśobhi-tam – one who wears yellow silk garments; avāpta tulasīgandhaṁ – one who is attracted by the scent of Tulasi; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher, who is engaged in sportive play with Rukmiṇī, who is dressed in yellow silk garments and who is attracted by the scent of Tulasi. (6)

गोपिकानां कुचद्वन्द्वकुङ्कुमाङ्कितवक्षसम् ।
श्रीनिकेतं महेष्वासं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ७ ॥

gopikānāṁ kuca-dvandva-
kuṅkum-āṅkita-vakṣasam |
śrīniketaṁ maheṣvāsaṁ
     kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 7 ||

gopikānāṁ kucadvandva kuṅkumāṅkita vakśasam – one whose body is smeared with kuṅkum from the love-play of the gopis; śrīniketaṁ – one in whom Lakṣmī resides; maheṣvāsaṁ – who is the life breath of Shiva; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher, the belo-ved of the gopikas, whose body is smeared with kuṅkum from the love-play of the gopis; who always lives with Laksmi and who is the life breath of Shiva. (7)

श्रीवत्साङ्कं महोरस्कं वनमाला विराजितम् ।
शङ्खचक्रधरं देवं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ८ ॥

śrīvatsāṅkaṁ mahoraskaṁ
vanamālā virājitam |
śaṅkha-cakra-dharaṁ devaṁ
        kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum || 8 ||

śrīvatsāṅkaṁ – One who has the birth mark srivatsa; mahoraskaṁ – one who has broad chest; vanamālā virājitam – one who has garland of wild flowers; śaṅkha cakradharaṁ devaṁ – the divine god who bears shanka and chakram; kṛṣṇaṁ – to Kṛṣṇa; vande – praise, salutations; jagadgurum – to the guru of the universe;

I offer my respectful obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Teacher, who has a broad chest with the śrīvatsā mark, who is decorated with the Vanamālā garland of forest flowers and who holds a conch and a discus. (8)

Phala-śruti (Result of hearing kṛṣṇāṣṭakam)

कृष्णाष्टकमिदं पुण्यं प्रातरुत्थाय यः पठेत् ।
कोटिजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति ॥९॥

kṛṣṇāṣṭakam-idaṁ puṇyaṁ
prātarutthāya yaḥ paṭhet |
koṭi-janma-kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ
smaraṇena vinaśyati ||

kṛṣṇāṣṭakamidaṁ – this kṛṣṇāṣṭakam; puṇyaṁ – holy; prātarutthāya yaḥ paṭhet – to one who studies after waking up in the morning; koṭi janma kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ – sins done in crores of lives; sadya eva vinaśyati – will be destroyed just by the thought.

He who always prays to Lord Kṛṣṇa with these eight verses every morning, his crores (millions) of past sins are destroyed and he receives all Devotion.

 

इति श्री कृष्णाष्टकम् सम्पूर्णम्

Thus Ends the Hymn śrī kṛṣṇāṣṭakam
- eight prayers in glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa –

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REMARKS

The Kṛṣṇa-Aṣṭakam (kṛṣṇāṣṭakam), composed of simple lyrics, is a popular Vedic hymn with a beautiful composition of 8 verses dedicated to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Starting with the lyrics, ‘vasudeva sutaṁ devaṁ’, and ending with the verse ‘kṛṣṇaṁ vande jagadgurum’ signifying that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the greatest guru of the world. Also, this aṣṭakam of 8 stanzas explains the divine form, qualities, līlās, and the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa in a simple way. Chanting it with reverence fills our heart with devotion and blissful vibrations.

The Phalaśruti (the result of hearing/chanting) of the last stanza, explains the benefits of reading this divine hymn. Sins committed in billions of lives, will be destroyed.

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