Dasakam 91-100
Dasakam 91-100
“Ramanarayana” translation
Of Narayaneeyam
By
P.R.Ramachander
Dasakam 91 The greatness of devotion to God
(The superiority of devotion as a method of attaining God is argued out in this chapter.)
Oh Lord Krishna , who is within all beings and the God who blesses even Devas,
I think the best remedy for removing fear of the dying man who becomes sad imagining That things which are not there exists, is the extolling of the virtues of your feet,
For only by such devotion all sort of fears one is subjected to can be removed,
And that is the reason why the devotee who practices the method of worships,
As taught by you does not dash on any thing , even if he runs due to illusion,
With closed eyes in a strange path that he is not accustomed to. 91.1
Oh divine God , due to the directions given by your power which is inside me,
All the acts that I do again and again either by my body or by my mind or by my words,
Are offered by me now to you and even though your devotee belongs to a lowly caste,
When he surrenders his mind, acts , words, sense organs, sensations due to them,
And his soul to you , he makes this world great and very much blessed,
But a Brahmin who is indifferent to your feet does not become blessed. 91.2
Fear is caused by a second something which is different from us and.
Is the result of imagination of the mind and so think,
Continuously that all things are only one and ,
Control as much as possible the activity of the brain and if,
In spite of it, the illusion affects the mind , control of the illusion,
Can only be done by praying to you who is immensely strong,
And oh God , I would get rid of all my fears like this. 91.3
Similar to the company of wealthy may lead one to be wealthy,
The birth and growth of devotion can only be attained ,
By the company of blessed people worshipping your feet,
And so God, please provide me company of such devotees without break,
And hearing your greatness which emerges from their mouth,
Would remove all my sins and I would develop strong devotion towards you. 91.4
For reaching the greatest goal of salvation , among the various methods,
Is the one through devotion and in this I will hear the stories of your incarnations,
Sing your name again and again clapping my hands
Which will melt my mind quickly and some times laugh loudly,
Sometimes cry and some times shout your names wildly,
And some other times sing and sometimes jump like a mad man,
And travel away from the routine of the very ordinary people,
Oh God, shower mercy on me to help me do that. 91.5
I salute the five elements like earth , which are you yourself,
The birds , fishes , animals and others, men , relations ,
Enemies and the entire universe made of these five elements,
And Oh Lord of the universe, by serving you I would get ,
Firm devotion, detachment and understanding that,
The knowledge that everything that we see is yourself ,
Without any effort due to your great mercy . 91.6
Due to my mind melting and merging with you , not getting tired,
By the life on earth involving feelings like hunger and thirst,
Always meditating on you and not leaving your feet even for a second,
And understanding that likes and dislikes are created illusions,
I would travel with a pleasant mind without any sorrow or joy,
Due the moon light showered on me by the crescent moons of your toe nails. 91.7
Suppose I have not attained suitability to understand the fact,
That all living things in this world are nothing but you, let me have,
Devotion to you , be friendly with your devotees,
Have mercy on the dim witted, and no enmity towards enemies,
Or at least let my enthusiasm to do worship on the idol of God,
With commitment and great attention, increase for a devotee ,
Like that I would soon get the superior position of your devotee. 91.8
Let me not be troubled by the illusion which hides your real form,
By the mirages like earth, water and air appear before me,
Which pushes beings to sorrow depending on their Karmic load,
Oh God of the universe , Sage Prabudha has told that the only way,
To conquer this illusion is the real and firm devotion to your feet . 91.9
By getting sufficient wisdom, by seeing the sufferings of living beings,
And understanding from a Guru the secret of your great form,
And by increasing devotion by hearing , telling and remembering your stories
And winning over illusion , I would enjoy the happiness of your divine feet,
As this is my first step and Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please cure my diseases. 91.10
Dasakam 92 The devotion mixed with action
(This chapter deals with the act of devotion mixed with rituals. Devotion is a superior and easier method in the Kali age)
Understanding that Vedas tell us that all actions are to be done,
Without attachment to fruits, Oh God , I completely dedicate ,
All the actions to you and escape from the attachment to them,
And I understand that I should not do anything prohibited by Vedas,
And suppose by chance I am forced to undertake any such prohibited actions,
I would also dedicate them to your very great divine brilliance. 92.1
Oh God, in the mode of worship that is different from that prescribed by Vedas,
I would visualize you in the pretty and purely cent percent Sathva aspect,
Which is agreeable to my mind using stone, mud or in my mind or elsewhere,
And along with the little amount of devotion that I have earned, offer you,
Clean flowers like Thulasi , scented substances like sandal paste and food offerings,
Regularly and through pure worship attain your blessings and grace. 92.2
I sympathize with women and low born who do not get an opportunity,
Of hearing or singing your stories and holy names but I am sad and pained,
About those twice born castes who , in spite of their having reached near your feet,
Are more interested in pleasures of life or sacrifice this great opportunity,
For the sake of earning their livelihood and in spite of being taught by you several times,
Do not care to understand your teachings and I am wondering within myself,
About all that these people can do due to pride coming out of wisdom and high birth.92.3
This great sinner to hide his evil acts shouts loudly “Rama, Krishna”,
So that is heard in all directions and due to his shameless shouting,
I am not able to say several things that I really want to say.
This my brother who has defeatist mentality acts as if he always prays Lord Vishnu,
And these non devotees make fun of your devotees ,
Who have surrendered their mind to you and please do not make me one of them. 92.4
In the Kritha yuga men please you , who is sage with white splendour, by penance,
In the Tretha yuga , they please you ,who is red and holding various accessories,
Of fire sacrifice in your hand by performing fire sacrifices,
In the Dwapara yuga they please you who is black in colour and,
Who holds conch, wheel and flower by performing thanthric worship,
But in Kali yuga they please you who is blue in colour,
By singing your names, and listening to your great tales. 92.5
Oh killer of Mura , Oh God who grants us everything,
Let there by glory to this Kali age for during this age , men get your blessings,
And your grace without much delay and very easily by singing your names,
Making people who were born in the other three ages long to be born in this age,
And fortunately we are born in this Kali age and Oh Lord,
Please do not make us get interested in the poison of worldly pleasures. 92.6
In the Kali age devotees are found everywhere more so in the Dravida region,
And even there more on the banks of Cauvery, Thamraparni , Kruthamala,
And on the banks of the very holy Neela *river and Oh Lord of Guruvayur,
Please do not tie me, who was born in this region and also possessing some devotion,
Tightly by the rope of worldly pleasures and help me,
Fulfill my desire of serving you always with devotion. 92.7
*Bharatha puzha of Kerala
Once a great king called Pareekshit took his sword,
To kill the hard hearted and cruel Kali but he being wise did not do it,
For in this age regular service to you and being with your devotees ,
Give results immediately but in case of evil acts the results are after long delay,
For this Kali is scared of your devotees and he afflicts them with diseases and poverty,
Even before they start singing about you so that they never do it,
And so Oh God this Kali is really very cruel and so please punish him. 92.8
Oh greatest among Gods, great sages have pointed out that Ganges, Bhgawad Gita,
Gayathri mantra, Tulasi leaf, Gopi Chandana, Saligrama , Ekadasi fasting,
And chanting of your holy names are the eight methods , which are easy to practice,
Lead to increase of your grace and ultimately lead one to salvation in this Kali age,
And so please grant me interest and desire to practice them with devotion 92.9
He who sacrifices all activities and surrenders to you , Oh God who is all beings,
Is not born as a debtor to devas, sages and manes , nor is he their slave,
And all the Karmic load that he inherits are wiped out by you living in his heart,
And so Oh Lord of Guruvayur , destroy my sorrows caused by sins committed by me,
And make my devotion to you perfect and ever living. 92.10
Dasakam 93 The twenty four Gurus
(The very interesting fact that anything or person will have some thing to teach you is brought out.)
Oh Lord, due to your mercy I shall renounce the attachments to relatives,
And after surrendering my soul in you , leaving out everything, I will travel,
And I would do both these acts after clearly understanding that world is an illusion,
And it is well known that due to the varied structure of illusion called Maya,
I am differentiating between good and bad and also do acts of assertion and negation,
And to the one who surrenders his intellect in you and have left the concept of problems,
These acts will never happen as it transcends such notions. 93.1
The animals whose only life requirement is to satisfy bodily wants,
Are too many and greatly numerous and man who is special among them,
Has a special intellect and to get to be born as man is indeed very difficult,
And even among these men, some of them become their own enemy or friend,
And friend is one who keeps his devotion in you and find a way out of all pain,
And enemy is the one who is not like that and suffers. 93.2
Oh universal God , who in this world cannot become
A Guru if your grace is there on him?
Does the earth shake though it is attacked by many people,
And from that I would learn the quality of patience,
I would understand from wind that , though I do have contact,
With many things I should not have any attachment with anything,
From the teacher called sky I would learn that even though,
Soul is in every being it should not get tainted by all that. 93.3
Like water I would be without dirt and wash away dirt from everything
And would be sweet for every one,
Like the fire in spite of eating different types of food,
I would not get affected by the food that I eat,
Like the fire that burns from different types of wood,
Being the same , I would understand my soul is no different ,
From the millions of the soul in this world,
From the growth and diminishing phase of the moon,
I would understand all changes are for the body,
And does not affect the soul inside and not only that,
By your grace I will understand that soul is same,
Though it appears different occupying different bodies. 93.4
Let me not destroy myself due to excessive attachment ,
Like the dove which perished at the hands of the hunter,
Due to its excessive love to its children,
Like a python I will learn to eat whenever I get food,
And starve and bear it when no food is available,
Like an ocean I would be serene and deep,
Like the firefly let me not fall in the fire,
Of love and wealth and perish,
Let me be like a bee and extract the essence out of things,
And let me not accumulate wealth like a bee and perish because of it. 93.5
Let me not be attracted by fair sex like a male elephant,
Which is imprisoned by getting attracted by a she elephant,
I should not go on accumulating very great wealth,
For like the hunter taking away the honey,
Some one would definitely snatch it away from me,
Let me not get bewitched like the deer getting attracted by flute music,
Let me not show great attachment for food and get trapped like a fish,
Let me be like the courtesan Pingala leave away desires and sleep soundly,
And let Oh God let not some one kill me for the attachment to wealth,
Like the Karara bird being killed for the meat , it never leaves. 93.6
Like a small child , not spoiled by pride I would live without problems,
Oh God, Like a solitary bangle without any company , leaving out,
The sound of conversation , I would start living,
Like a mechanic making arrows not hearing the sound of procession of the king,
I would concentrate my mind on you and lead a life without knowing any other thing,
Like a snake staying in the rat hole, I would live in houses made by others. 93.7
I understood from the spider that you merge yourself with the world created by you,
I would understand from the hunter that I would become like you , if I think of you,
This body dirty from birth to death and
Which turns to ashes after death is a good teacher,
If we examine properly that body makes us understand the wisdom,
Of the difference between soul and non soul and also teaches renunciation,
And to me , my body affected by many diseases teaches wisdom and detachment. 93.8
Alas, alas, Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please drive away my attachment to my body,
For being in love with this body and thinking of home, wealth , wife and children,
All people completely forget your lotus like feet , knowing well that this body,
After death would definitely become that of fire or that of dog, and even now,
When they are alive the these five sense organs drag them here and there,
But never lead them to your lotus like feet. 93.9
But now I find it very difficult to leave this attachment to my body,
Oh God with lotus like eyes, please cure all the afflictions of my body,
And make strong in me, the devotion to your lotus like feet,
And most certainly , do not push this my Brahmin’s body,
Which was got after very many manifold births,
And which would help one get salvation,
In to the very base attraction of trivial worldly pleasures,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please protect me. 93.10
Dasakam 94 The generation of wisdom of philosophy
(How a wise man gets philosophical approach in him is described)
Those who are made pure by actions without attachment to their fruits,
And those who have become pure by observing acts of Dharma,
From the teachings of the great Guru , gain knowledge about your form,
Which is very distinct from the body as well as the sense organs,
And which is every where and which is called the supreme Brahmam,
And the fact that properties like stoutness , thinness , diversity and so on,
Which are attributed to you , who is the divine supreme Brahman,
Arise out of the association of yourself with some distinct body,
And is similar to fire being called small , big , bright or dim. 94.1
The greatly shining fire of wisdom produced by churning of the base stick,
Called teacher by the upper fire stick called disciple ,
Burns the misconception that this physical world is real,
And also the delusions caused by past deeds and the body that it creates,
And when there is nothing else is left to be burnt , that fire of wisdom is put out,
And in that state definitely one becomes identical with the divine supreme God. 94.2
Except for the realization of the God , when you become one with it,
There exists no other method whatsoever to remove all sorrows and distress,
For methods such as cure of diseases by chants, the six tactics adopted ,
By kings to deal with their enemies and eight fold concepts of Yoga,
Are not quite effective like this method , and even if some results are realized,
Those who perform them forget you completely due to pride of their achievement ,
And when they reach this baser state ,they would suffer countless sorrows. 94.3
Oh Padmanabha , There are no other worlds which are fear free like Vaikunta,
At the time of deluge even the Brahma gets scared in Sathya loka ,
Due to his being completely engulfed in your divine form, and when this is so,
What would the fate of the householders who do actions devoid of Dharma ,
And have earned in their life endless sufferings and so Oh God,
Who blesses , who is the friend of the oppressed and a sea of mercy,
I request you alone to cut off all my attachments completely. 94.4
Oh Lord , actually I being a part of the divine you , there is nothing,
Called attachment or salvation to me and the feelings to me that exist,
Are but the mirages created by the illusion of your subtle powers,
And are similar to the state of dream and wakefulness,
And it is a fact that the difference between one who is attached ,
And one who is detached is only like the difference between these states,
And while the attached one enjoys pleasures sitting on the tree called body,
The detached one who enjoys the ever lasting joy ,
Does not enjoy the fruits called worldly life and so is not attached. 94.5
What is the point of describing that state of the freedom of the soul,
For such a state is far, far away to any one with an unclean mind,
And it is for sure that this state of the mind cannot be attained,
By anything other than devotion to you , and so Oh Lord Vishnu,
Please bless me with staunch devotion to you where,
I surrender everything to you, using which , I would speedily,
Get salvation with minimum teaching from a Guru. 94.6
There are some others who completely believe only in Vedic sayings,
And alas Oh God, they are not understanding , that they are working unnecessarily,
For those who carry those sayings which do not give rise to devotion,
Are like those who are breeding a cow which is barren,
And Oh God , let me not read any of those words that does not mention,
The stories of your pretty incarnations which are divine and capable of destroying sins,
And also describe your form of supreme divine joy. 94.7
Oh God who is everywhere, I do not know any thing of your form, your importance ,
And your activities and this is certain , Oh God who gave salvation to even Shishupala,
Even at this stage let my mind not waver and let me with great attention ,
Pray Only you and be able to see and touch your idols as well as your devotees,
And let my mind be engaged in your worship, salutation, prayer,
And singing of your great qualities always. 94.8
Oh God , I am your servant and let me offer you all that I get in my hand,
Let me be able to again and again be able to do lowly services in your temple,
And I worship you in the shining four formed form which shines,
In the Sun, Fire , Brahmin and the Soul and let my mind melt in the love of God,
Always without stop and turn in to a continuous flow. 94.9
Merging to become one with you cannot be easily be obtained by charity,
Fire sacrifice, penance and rituals and the very blessed Gopis, obtained
That great state of bliss by their simple whole hearted devotion to you,
And even though there are many other devotees , you seem,
To give much more importance and recognition to these Gopa maidens,
Hey Krishna, hey Lord of Guruvayur , so please make me your staunch devotee,
And also be kind enough to remove and cure al my diseases. 94.10
Dasakam 95 The method of Dhyana (meditation)
(The merits of the technique of meditation is stressed.)
Oh God who gave birth to this universe, at the time of the formation of this world,
You were in the body of Hiranya Garbha who is the universal form of all beings,
And later attained the state of living beings with three characteristics,
Due to illusion and kept on increasing till you attained the state of devotion,
And later destroyed the other two qualities by the Sathva aspect and later destroyed,
Even the Sathva aspect and later became the God,
Without any support whatsoever and without any properties. 95.1
Oh God who is everywhere, even when sathva aspect increases, in spite ,
Of the knowledge that attraction to mundane pursuits is not good,
When the Thamas aspect mingled with Rajas aspect increases greatly,
The mind turns to the mundane aspects uncontrollably,
Added to it is the fact that the mind and these aspects are very much related,
And so to prevent them the only way is to have staunch devotion,
To you who is the fourth aspect, and this has been told you in the form of a swan. 95.2
For the people wedded to rituals several means of fulfillment are there,
But Oh Lord Krishna , they lead to trivial joy or that which is temporary,
And you have taught your friend Udhava that the best possible method,
Of attaining you is only through the path of devotion and to the worldly ones,
The joy that they attain when they sing about you is indeed matchless. 95.3
To the one who attains a joyous mind through devotion to you,
There would not by any other desires and he would see only joy everywhere,
Like a world appearing full of water to the one who lies inside the pond,
And that type of devotee does not desire for heaven of Indra,
Sathyaloka of Brahma nor occult powers which makes the mind happy,
And not only that he does not even desire the salvation which comes automatically. 95.4
Due to not being able to control the sense organs , even when momentary pleasures
Attack your devotee due to the repeated attacks of devotion ,
Those pleasures get weakened and would not be able to win over the devotee,
For ,similar to the raging fire completely burning away heaps of firewood,
When the collection of your devotion completely burns away sins,
How long can the false pride of sense organs last? 95.5
How can the mind get pure without melting of the mind ,
Thrill of the body, and tears of joy ?
What benefit can one without devotion get by doing penance or acquiring knowledge?
If the divine collyrium of enjoyment got out of knowing your divine stories,
Keeps on cleaning the mind this soul can clearly see the inner truth,
And this inner truth cannot be attained by any amount of reading Shastras. 95.6
I would practice the art of meditating on you by sitting straight on a seat,
Kept on a plane surface and then concentrating my sight on the tips of my nose,
Followed by winning the breath by practicing Pranayama technique,
Imagining that the inverted lotus of the heart as turned up,
And visualizing Sun, moon and fire above its tip and in the middle of that,
Meditating on your form which is black like a water rich cloud. 95.7
I would meditate on you with a short glistening hair,
With pretty ear globes in the form of a fish,
With the face with a gentle smile tinged with mercy,
With the garland of forest flowers illuminated by the Kausthubha gem,
With the mark called Sri Vathsa , pretty hands, the soft shining belly,
With the gold like robe , the lovely fleshy thighs and charming tender feet. 95.8
Oh God, with my mind running all over your limbs again and again,
I would fix my mind on your lotus like smiling face in between those limbs,
And when my mind melts and merges with the non dual divine Brahman in you,
Without thinking on any other thing, I would merge in Samadhi with you. 95.9
Oh killer of Mura , If I am able to master this eight fold technique,
The famous occult powers like Anima and powers like distant hearing,
Would fight with each other to come under my absolute control,
But I would not bother about any of them because they would cause delay,
In my reaching you and I would only wish you full of divine bliss,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , Please save me from all my pains. 95.10
Dasakam 96 Power centers of God and Bhakti, Jnana, Karma Yoga.
(God is everywhere but he is more so in certain things and places. Such centers are identified.)
Oh Lord of infinite glory, Oh Lord who is the universe itself.
You are the divine Brahmam , you are letter “Aa” among the alphabets,
You are “Om” among the mantras, You are Swayabhuva Manu among kings,
You are sage Bhrugu as well as sage Narada among the saints,
You are Kamadhenu among cows, You are Prahlada among asuras,
You are Garuda among birds , You are Adhi Sesha among the serpents,
And not only that You are river Ganges among the rivers. 96.1
Among the devotees of Brahmins you are king Mahabali,
Among the sacrifices you are the sacrifice of chant,
Among the heroes you are Arjuna himself, among devotees you are Udhava,
You are the strength of the strong, luster of those lustrous beings,
There is no end to your glorious power, all that excel are you yourself,
You are the Purusha (soul) as well as Nature and in this world,
There is no thing at all which is not you. 96.2
Those who with devotion carry out the Dharma prescribed to different Varnas,
As well as that Of a Brahmachari after completely dedicating their actions to you,
When detachment increases in their mind , leave out such actions,
And realize that they are themselves the divine Brahmam which has the form,
Of existence, consciousness and bliss, which is same in all materials and beings,
And which is the cause as well as not the cause for the entire universe,
And also get the real knowledge of you who is pure and great. 96.3
The three paths of Jnana Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga and Karma yoga are the methods,
Of this world to reach you who is the divine Brahmam, and among the three,
Jnana Yoga is meant for those people who get detachment and dispassion,
But for those who are attached to this world , the method prescribed is Karma Yoga,
But for those who do not have great attachment and also do not have great detachment,
And get devoted to you by the narration of stories of your greatness,
It is well known that the path prescribed for them is Bhakthi Yoga. 96.4
Human beings are easily blessed with knowledge of philosophy,
Or devotion to you depending on the good deeds that they do,
And so Oh God, people who live in heaven or in hell.
Are very desirous of being born as human beings,
For in the human body which is like a ship to cross the life,
The souls enter due to their luck , and make their Guru as the captain of the ship,
And you God become the favourable wind and help them cross the sea of life. 96.5
Those who wish to adopt the path of Jnana adopt the study of Upanishads,
And also the meemamsa scriptures search for Brahmam that is invisible,
Which is very difficult and get salvation after passing through several births,
And Karma Yoga stands far , far away from the goal of salvation,
But this Bhakthi yoga is sweet to the mind from very beginning,
And path that leads to you very speedily and oh God,
And let this Bhakthi Yoga flourish within me. 96.6
Sage Vyasa says that an attempt at Jnana yoga without devotion is waste,
But the one who learns about supreme soul from the teacher ,
And attains stead fast devotion to you , gets salvation in his palm,
But due to instability of mind , the accusation that it is difficult to follow,
The path of devotion applies equally to the path of Jnana also ,
And it is relatively easy to master the technique of meditation,
Due to your mercy as well as constant practice by the devotee. 96.7
Oh Lord of the universe , To me who does not have interest ,
In the very difficult process of Yaga but has interest in,
Hearing the stories of your praise and being not capable of,
Sacrificing home , children and also friends due to attachment,
I would concentrate my mind on you with the firm belief,
Again and again , but serving the passions aware that it is bad,
And follow the path of devotion , for if you live in my heart,
All the attraction towards craving of pleasures would die. 96.8
Once there was a Brahmin who when he lost all his hard earned wealth,
Became one with a mind full of the dirt of anger and hatred,
And consequently was shunned by the society at large,
And told like this, “ The reason for my sorrow is not,
Outsiders, time , action or effect of planets like Sun,
But I am sure my mind is the reason for it and that mind does all actions,
Insinuating the capacity of action as well as consumption on the soul,”
And then he became extremely serene and attained you easily,
Oh Lord please also bless me with that type of serenity. 96.9
Once upon a time there was king called Pururuvas who was infatuated,
With a celestial lady called Urvasi and after serving her for a long time,
Attained detachment and concluded that the carnal pleasures are insignificant,
And again and again sang about this conclusion of his and later
Became full, by earning devotion to you and also divinely happy and attained salvation,
And oh Lord of Guruvayur ., please make me detached of minor pleasures,
And also make me your great devotee and alas the problem standing in my way,
In attainment of this are my diseases and so destroy all my illnesses. 96.10
Dasakam 97 The prayer for model devotion and story of Markandeya.
(devotion is explained with a model devotion of sage Markandeya.)
Knowledge, faith , doer , home, action and different types of food,
Fall in to the mixture of three Gunas, Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas,
And so the world consists of different types classified as good, medium and bad,
But in this world , your temple and your prayers and all those concerning you,
Stand based on the property less Brahmam and so depending on that,
Within no time , I shall attain perfection and reach divinity. 97.1
Hey God, Keeping my mind fixed on you and spending this life,
Offering thought words and action as an offering to you,
Going to pilgrimage to those holy places which are worshipped,
By your present day devotees and those who have lived earlier,
Treating a thief, a Brahmin and animals in a equal manner,
Leaving out insults competition, and jealousy from life,
I would worship always you in all beings where ever you exist. 97.2
Till my mind firmly and truly recognizes that a Brahmin and a thief,
Are different forms of yourselves, I would continue worshipping you,
Always as indicated earlier till I get to know that the soul is one entity,
And spend all my life with you only , Oh God , once this Dharma,
Of a devotee is started it will never , ever die out and so,
Oh Lord of the universe , whatever happens please,
Grant me this very interesting path of devotion and bless me. 97.3
To bring to practice this path of devotion that I have been telling,
Oh God, I need health as well as a long life, luckily,
For that all I need to do is to surrender to your lotus like feet,
And wonder of wonders ,this is like drinking milk to cure diseases,
For instance when Marakandeya came to know that according to planets,
His life span would last only for a period of twelve years,
He spent one full year singing your praises with concentration,
And managed to drive away death by the help of your soldiers. 97.4
Markandeya thus gained very long life, and being attracted by incomparable bliss,
He spent six periods of different Manus by concentrating his mind deeply in you,
In the banks of the river Pushpa Bhadra and the seventh king of the devas,
Tried to entice that sage by sending celestial maids, gentle breeze and the God of love,
But since they all wilted in the heat of the great penance of Markandeya ,
He failed miserably and Oh God who ever has so far conquered your devotees? 97.5
When things were like that you who along with your friend Nara,
Very much wanted to see Markandeya and paid a visit to him,
And that Markandeya praised you continuously by several prayers,
But refused any boons from you , though you were prepared to give any boon,
And when you compelled him, he requested you to show him Maya(illusion),
For he being a sage without any desire and mind filled with devotion,
Was not aware of the sorrow caused by Maya and wanted to see it,
Out of his simple curiosity and sense of wonder. 97.6
As soon as you left that place , from the thick clouds shaken and flown fast,
By huge cyclones and storms, rain poured and filled the seven seas,
And the entire earth was covered by floods and Markandeya floated in it,
For billions of years and was troubled by it and saw at a distance you,
As a small baby black in colour, keeping its thumb in his mouth
And lying on a banyan leaf and floating in that water making him greatly surprised. 97.7
That king of sages was thrilled from head to feet on seeing you,
And with a desire to touch you , speedily went near you,
And he was sucked inside you through your inhalation,
And there inside he saw the entire universe,
And later he came out through the process of exhalation,
And fell down and you showered your glance on him,
And that sage who was extremely elated wanted to hug you,
And then you disappeared from there and everything became as before. 97.8
Later Lord Shiva wanted to see your favourite devotee and he came,
Along with Goddess Parvathi and appeared in front of Sage Markandeya,
And he blessed that sage with agelessness and immortality and other powers,
Without the sage asking him and Lord Shiva went back to his place.,
And this proves that even that enemy of God of love can only be pleased,
By serving you and this clearly proves that you are the sacred trinity,
And the one God who controls every body. 97.9
In the Sathya Loka divided in to three parts , worlds belonging to Brahma,
Vishnu and Shiva are one over another and on the top of that,
Is Vaikunta which is completely free of illusion called Maya,
You shine there , in the primeval waters as well in Gokula,
As the form filled up with only sathva trait , having a form,
Which is different from that of Brahmam a mixture of Sath and Chith,
And oh Lord of Guruvayur , please cure all my diseases. 97.10
Dasakam 98 Meditating on the property less Brahmam
( The difficulties in concentrating on God the concept without any form is brought out.)
Oh Lord Krishna , My salutations to you , how can any one know,
Your real form which is not even understood by devas and great sages,
Which is far , far away from not only words but also mind,
And which is the power by which the entire visible world shines,
And this world which shines in you, was born out of you and will merge with you,
And is the form of yourself while you stand separately from it. 98.1
Though you do not have birth, actions, name and also different attributes,
You assume all of them independently for the good of the world through Maya,
Taking in to your control, knowledge and ignorance though you are formless,
Due to your being innately miraculous , you shone in various forms,
And Oh God , I salute you who is full of divine joy and the form of salvation. 98.2
Your form is not animals, birds, human beings, devas, asuras male or female,
Your form is not wealth, actions, caste , characters, existing and not existing,
So say the people who know you and they say that you are the one who would,
Still remain at the end , when we keep on rejecting things as not yourself,
And you are the one recognized by several sayings of the Upanishads ,
With great difficulty by your definitions as the divine supreme being,
And you shine in that form and my salutations to you. 98.3
As an image reflected in Maya you create the entire universe employing,
Intellect , ego differences, the senses of sound, touch form , taste and smell,
As well the five elements, the eleven sense organs , as projected in a state of dream,
And at the time of deluge like a tortoise drawing its legs within himself ,
Using your soul which has the power of destruction you destroy everything,
By drawing all of them with in you and then you shine as the divine joy,
In the all enveloping terrible darkness but without any relation to the baser qualities,
And My salutations to you , who is having such properties. 98.4
Oh God , According to all people of different and diverse opinions,
You are the only primeval cause , imagined as the ultimate soul, also
You are the primeval sound , the result of all actions and the indivisible atom,
And the Vedanta philosophy describes you as the spirit, the supreme being , intelligence,
As well as the soul and you carry out the creation by a mere glance,
And Oh Lord Krishna , my salutations to you. 98.5
Existing or non existing or being problematic to decide whether existing or non existing,
Is this rope of ignorance which is assumed and identified as the snake by many,
And this world is similar to that as it appears as existing to all of us,
And this same illusion , under the presence of the tide of the divine mercy,
When we slowly start understanding the implication of Vedic philosophy,
Becomes the great axe of wisdom and helps us to clear the forest of life,
And Oh God who is everything, my salutations to you. 98.6
When we think about the principle of the world, like the Gold in the case of ornaments,
Like the clay in case of pot and other earthen vessels , the Brahmam in you,
Which is without any second in this world shines lustrously,
And like a man realizing the truth after waking up after the dream ,
And like the realization about the rope after the day break,
When ignorance is removed, the real truth in the principle,
Would become clear and shine, Oh Krishna my salutations to you. 98.7
The reason for the sun shining , fire burning and wind blowing,
And gods like Brahma doing the jobs like sacrifices allotted them efficiently,
Is the fear that they have in you and all of them were appointed,
In the places that they occupy by you and Oh Krishna,
Who is the great God controlling everything, our salutations to you. 98.8
Using the three yogas namely Jnana, Karma and Bhakthi, I sing about you,
Who creates this world inlaid with the three Gunas Sathva, Rajas and Thamas,
Who is the meaning of the sacred sound Aum formed by three letters,
Who is the unified form of three Gods namely Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,
Who has the form that is praised by three Vedas Rik, Yajur and Sama,
Who knows the three states of human beings namely waking up , sleep and dream,
Who has taken incarnations in the three ions namely Thretha, Dwapara and Kali,
Who has taken measurement of the three worlds in his Vamana incarnation,
And who does not change in the three periods namely past, present and future. 98.9
Victory to the spot less and taintless form of yours which is truth and pure,
Which is ever wakeful , which is not related with anything,
Which is divine and does not have any wishes whatsoever,
Which is without any second and without any emotions,
Which shines due to the presence of all good qualities,
Which does not have a cause and does not have any emotions,
Which does not have any end , which shines with infinite glory,
Which is innately present in the minds of great sages practicing Samadhi,
And which has incomparable joy within it, which has a shining form. 98.10
May not, your very powerful wheel of time with twelve spokes,
Three hundred and sixty teeth and which rotates with immeasurable speed,
And which drags forcefully this world and which cannot be stopped by any one,
Cause any harm to me, who does not have any support except your feet,
Hey Lord Vishnu, Hey ocean of mercy, Hey Lord of Guruvayur,
Please save me from all diseases and give me protection. 98.11
Dasakam 99 The prayer of the Vedas
(Mst of the stanzas contain quotations from the Vedas.)
Who will narrate the greatness of Lord Vishnu?
Who is there to count the atoms of the entire earth?
With which Vishnu’s feet this earth was measured and was filled with wealth?
Which Maha Vishnu wears all the earth?
This me who is here, should reach the place of Mahavishnu
Which is very great and is very dear to me as your devotees,
Enjoy divine bliss there and there is flow of nectar in that place. 99.1
That devotee ,who with devotion in his mind worships through
Yagas and worship by offering oblations in Homa,
That great Vishnu who existed much before the creation of the world,
Who created the world , who is new every moment of time,
And who rules over wealth or describes the great incarnation of Krishna,
Is the only one who would live with joy and fame and would reach,
At the end of life Vaikunta your place of residence speedily. 99.2
Oh great poets, who write the poems of praise, please praise ,
Lord Vishnu who is the essence of Vedas ,as you understand him here,
By narrating clearly his story and exploits and also tell his names,
After understanding them as the ones which causes comfort to everyone,
And Oh Lord Vishnu , let me attain the wisdom of philosophy. 99.3
Please meditate on those actions by which
That greatly effulgent Vishnu established the Dharma,
And also on his deeds for promoting welfare of Indra by becoming ,
His dear friend as well as his servant and on the great abode of his,
Which is constantly meditated and seen always by great sages,
And is described in detail by great Brahmins with enthusiasm,
In the great poems of praise composed by them . 99.4
Oh God Vishnu , all those who are already born and also those ,
Who are going to be born have not yet found the limit of your greatness,
And understanding their greatness , I again and again chant your names,
I also praise you with several prayers, you who live in Vaikunta,
Which is shining above all these three worlds. 99.5
Oh God, The water which was there at the start of creation,
Held first in its womb, you , the Narayana who sleeps on water,
And the individual souls joined together and merged with this form of yours,
Oh Lord, on the naval of yours who does not have any birth,
A lotus flower was born and that flower which had the directions as petals,
And Maha Meru mountain as its pericarp and it was called as world. 99.6
Oh World , you do not know that this world was created by Lord Vishnu,
And also that within your heart there is another image of Vishnu,
And in spite of that fact you spend your time ,
With illusion covering your mind like a film of snow,
With thoroughly misunderstanding the names and forms,
With the mind and body satisfied with pleasure of senses,
And with interest in rituals like Yaga but with no interest in Vishnu. 99.7
Oh Lord you have thousands of heads, eyes and feet,
And though you are everywhere in the world and also outside it,
You shine well even in the mind with a very small opening,
And Oh Lord who is the divine Purusha,
You are all that is past and all that is going to happen,
And not only that , though you are pervading in body and senses,
You are much above them and enjoy the supreme bliss of liberation 99.8
Due to that reason by which , though you assume the form of the three worlds,
You exist outside it as the endless and purest knowledge ,
And your greatness is indeed wonderful for only a very small part of yourself,
Is seen occupying all the three worlds and the rest of it,
Which is nearly three fourth of the whole shines above the three worlds,
Oh Lord my salutations to you who is like that. 99.9
I find it difficult to understand that abstract form of yours which is not clear,
But find it very easy to comprehend that pure Sathva form of yours,
Which is equivalent to the waves of the great ocean of nectar,
And due to that greater than everything that I perceive here,
And very pleasant to my mind and I surrender to that form of yours,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur , Oh Krishna, please protect me quickly. 99.10
Dasakam 100 Description of God from head to foot.
(This is the last chapter of Narayaneeyam. This describes the poets description of God as he saw him in front of his eyes while writing this chapter. The last line of Narayaneeyam is “Long life, Health and happiness.”)
In front of me, I see a halo of light,
As pretty as a very dense bed of blue lilies,
Which made me feel that I have been,
Drenched by a shower of the sweet nectar,
And then I saw in between that light the form of a divine lad,
Who was pretty due to the budding of adolescence,
Who was experiencing the thrill of supreme bliss,
As seen by his hair standing erect on all his limbs
Who was surrounded by Narada and other sages,
As well as by a bevy of extremely pretty damsels,. 100.1
I am seeing your big bundle of blue tresses,
Which is curly, dense, pure and pretty,
Which is tied together by a garland of Mandhara flowers,
Which is extremely pretty due to your crest jewels,
Which is encircled with a cluster of peacock feathers,
With their shining and glistening eyes,
And I also see your pretty forehead,
Comparable to the crescent moon on the fifth day*,
On which there is a white vertical sandal paste. 100.2.
*after the new moon
Oh Lord , let your eyes ,which cools the entire world by its merciful looks.
Which are made more prettier by your eye bows which move,
Like the small tides of the completely filled ocean of mercy,
Which are further made prettier by the black gleaming eye lashes,
Which eyes are having the shape petals of red lotus,
And within those eyes are the extremely pretty pupils,
May be turned on me who does not have any one except you. 100.3
Let me able to see clearly your very sweet face ,
With a well raised and shining nose,
With the pair of shining gem ear studs
In the shape of fish worn on your pretty ears,
Whose reflection on your blue sapphire cheeks
Shines as it moves hither and thither,
And with a gentle smile between
The slightly parted red cherry lips of yours,
Revealing the sparkling rows of your white teeth . 100.4
May you cool my ears with the nectarine divine music,
Consisting of very sweet and well played melodies,
Which cools the entire world , emanating from,
The holes of the flute held by your two red soft hands,
Which are decorated by the bangles inlaid with precious gems,
And which have acquired a multi coloured hue due to contact of your fingers,
And which is kept very near your lotus like face ,
By the shifting touches of your radiating fingers . 100.5
I meditate on your very pretty neck made red by the,
Radiating Kausthubha gem worn by you,,
And also on your chest made very pretty by the Sri Vathsa,
Where you have worn several moving gem studded necklaces,
And also garlands made of multi coloured forest flowers ,
As well as blossoms over which many bees hover round and round. 100.6
I meditate on you who attracts ever one by the applied fragrances ,
Coming out of the five scented pastes which spreads everywhere,
Who sports a small waist though all the universes are lying there,
Who wears an yellow silk dazzling in its gold colour,
Over which are overlaid the blue sapphire stones,
And who wears the shining gem studded waist belt,
Decorated with tinkling bells emitting brilliant rays of light. 100.7
I sing about your pretty well proportioned shining thighs,
Which are capable of stealing the mind of Lakshmi,
And are always covered by yellow silk , possibly,
Out of fear that the mind of world would get agitated,
And salute your two knees which appear as if ,
They are two pretty caskets , where all the things,
Which can be wished or demanded by your devotees ,
Who salute you are kept stored, and also salute,
Your fleshy well tapered and pretty forelegs. 100.8
I meditate on your anklets which by the sweet noise it produces,
Seems to tell your devotees that singing about your feet would do good,
And the upper part of your feet which are like a tortoise ,
Which lifted the Mandara mountain lifts high,
The minds of the devotees who are getting drowned in illusion,
And also meditate on the auspicious rows of your toes,
Which have a raised middle and shine with light red colour,
And by the light of crescents on them removes,
The darkness of sorrow of your devotees and also does them good. 100.9
Oh God, Oh Lord of Guruvayur , Oh Krishna, Oh ocean of mercy,
Let the soles of your feet which is the sweetest part of your body,
To the great sages, which is the place of those who attained salvation,
Which is the tender sprout of the wish giving tree that showers,
The fulfillment of all the wishes and desires of your devotees,
Be firmly kept in my mind so that all my sorrows are destroyed,
And confer on me the flood of prosperity of the Supreme bliss. 100.10
Oh Lord of the universe , please pardon me for writing this stotra,
Without knowing your greatness properly and this prayer,
Having more than one thousand stanzas should be blessed,
by you with all your grace as this which is called Narayaneeyam,
Is both about Narayana as well that which is written by Narayana,
And as Vedas tell that God is one who is known by his incarnation,
This prayer has been well fortified by the stories on incarnation of God,
May kindly grant a healthy pleasant long life. 100.11