Narayaneeyam : English translation
( “Ramanarayana” translation Of Narayaneeyam By P.R.Ramachander )

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Dasakam 21-30 Translation

Dasakam 21 The nine continents and seven islands

(This chapter is the summary of the detailed geography of the earth as known at that time as well as the people occupying different parts.)

Oh Lord , I take refuge in you who was praised,
By Lord Shiva using several chants and songs,
Who lives in Ilavrutha continent which is the centre of the earth,
And which is inhabited by only females,
And whose first lady is the Goddess Parvathi. 21.1

I meditate on you, Oh God who has taken the form of Hayagreeva,
Who is being constantly praised by Bhadrasravass sages,
Who lives in the continent of Bhadraswa, which is east of Ilavrutha,
Who showed expertise in retrieving the concealed Vedas after the deluge. 21.2

I meditate on you, Oh Lord Narasimha, who is being well served,
By Prahlada and other devotees, and who is sublime, peaceful and white,
And who grants only pure knowledge to his devotees
And who is in the continent of Harivarsha which is south of Ilavarsha. 21.3

I sing about you, Oh Lord who took the form of love* to please thy beloved,
Who is engaged in divine sports, has a very pleasing smile and is pretty,
Who is well served by Goddess Lakshmi and the sons of Prajapathis,
And who is in the pretty continent of Kethumala which is to the west of Ilavarsha. 21.4
*Some people say it is Pradyumna.

I sing about the God of universe, who took the incarnation of fish,
Who is worshipped by Vaivaswatha Manu, the lord of the continent,
Who is the chief of those who have love to his devotees,
Who shines graciously in the heart non jealous devotees,
And who is in the continent Ramyaka, which is north of Ilavarsha. 21.5

I sing about you Oh God in the form of a Tortoise,
Who showed ability to lift the Mandhara mountain,
Who is well served by Aaryma, the chief of manes,
And who is in the continent of Hiranmaya which in north of Ilavarsha. 21.6

I seek protection of the God Yagna Varaha murthy, who is praised by the wise,
Who is being served by Goddess earth with great chants and prayers,
Who had such a gross and big form that his tusks touched the clouds,
And who is in the continent of Utharakuru north of even Hiranmaya. 21.7

I seek protection from Lord Vishnu who shined as Lord Rama,
Who is well served by Lord Hanuman who has staunch devotion in him,
Who steals the heart of Sita with his magnificent and very pretty form,
And who is in the continent of Kimpurusha which is to the south of Harivarsha. 21.8

I seek the protection of Narayana along with his friend Nara,
Who is praised and sung about by devotees like sage Narada and others,
Who is being worshipped by prayers in the Sankhya and Yogic methods,
Who protects all the good people of this region during final deluge,
And who is in the continent called Bharatha Varsha. 21.9

Oh God , who has the form of Sun in Plaksha island,
Who has the form of Moon in Salmala island,
Who has the form of fire in the islands called Kroosa,
Who has a form of water in the island called Krouncha,
Who has the form of wind god in Saka island,
Who has the form of divine Brahmam in Pushkara island,
You are worshipped by people of the island in those forms. 21.10

Please save me from hell, Oh God who is reclining on the ocean,
Who has the form of the fish Simsumara* worshipped by the great,
And with Dhruva, all the stars and all the planets,
In the place where we imagine its tail and other organs . 21.11
*Sky is imagined as being occupied by a huge fish.

I sing about you in the form of Adhi sesha, holding a plough,
With a fluttering single ear ring worn in its thousand hoods,
Who wears blue cloth and is served by serpent maidens,
And occupies the heart of the nether world,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please cure me. 21.12

Dasakam 22 The sermon of Ajamila

(Ajamila was born as Brahmin but became a sinner. At the time of death, he called his son “Narayana, Narayana.”. The agents of Vishnu took him to heaven by arguing with Yama’s soldiers that he is purified by this act.)

Oh lord , long ago there lived a virtuous householder Brahmin called Ajamila,
Who obeying the words of his father went to the forest and there he met,
An undesirable characterless woman who was drunk with exuberance. 22.1

Though he was having a peaceful nature being attracted by that loose woman,
He forsook his duties, enjoyed life with her leading to the life of Adharma,
And when he was in the grip of old age, he became attached,
To his son who was called “Narayana”, which is your name. 22.2

When he was in his death bed , being scared at seeing the three messengers of death,
Due to the fact that he was once upon a time , remembering your name,
He called his darling son by his name “Oh Narayana”. 22.3

Though he was a sinner and a man with very bad undesirable character,
As soon as your divine name came out of his mouth,
Your messengers having four hands and wearing yellow silk,
Came in between him and the messengers of Yama, the god of death,
Due to the power of your name being called out by him. 22.4

These attendants of yours stopped Yama’s messengers, who had tied him with a rope,
And were dragging him towards hell by shouting “Please release him”,
And those messengers of Yama who were stopped by your messengers,
Gave a full account of the sins done by Ajamila in his mortal life. 22.5

Oh God your attendants asked the messengers of God of death,
“ Oh learned people , sins are there, but if they do atonement for them,
Would punishment be there then also? Is it possible that people like you,
Are not aware of atonement for sins? “ 22.6

Oh God your attendants asked the messengers of God of death,
“ The atonement told in Vedas like Kruchra and Chaandrayanam,,
Would destroy sins committed before the said atonement,
But the propensity for doing more sins is not destroyed by them,
And the service to God destroy both sins and propensity to do them.” 22.7

Oh God your attendants asked the messengers of God of death,
“Oh servants of Yama, he has already performed atonement,
For all the sins he has committed in the last one thousand crore births,
For he with great fear has sung the name of our Lord”. 22.8

Oh God your attendants asked the messengers of God of death,
“Even if a sin is done without knowledge or realization,
The singing of the name Of Hari burns the collection of sins,
Like a fire burning firewood and medicine curing diseases,
For the recitation of the name is that greatly powerful.” 22.9

The messengers of Yama, who were told thus,
Went away and when your attendants vanished,
Ajamila spent some time meditating on you,
And was taken to Vaikunta by your soldiers. 22.10

When the messengers of Yama related to Yama of this fact,
He became scared and told them not to go near devotees of Vishnu,
And strictly gave orders regarding this fact,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur, You who are like this, please protect me. 22.11

Dasakam 23 The story of Daksha and Chithrakethu

(This chapter contains the story of Daksha, Chithra Kethu and the Maruths.)

Oh God , the other Daksha who was the son of Prachethas,
Prayed to you for increasing creation in this world,
And you appeared before him with your eight hands,
And you gave him the boons he wanted and also a wife called Asikni. 23.1

Oh Lord of Guruvayur those ten thousand plus thousand sons of Daksha,
Due to the advice of Sage Narada turned towards you and got salvation,
And Daksha cursed Narada to permanently wander without staying anywhere,
And sage Narada who was your great devotee, considered this curse as a boon. 23.2

After that Daksha begot sixty daughters and through them several clans,
And Viswaroopa the son of one of his daughters, helped Indra to get victory,
By teaching him one of your prayers* , and Oh God,
“Is not ensuring victory to all , one of your great jobs?” 23.3
*Narayana Kavacha

In the country of Surasena there was a great king called Chithrakethu,
And he got a son to his eldest wife through the power of sage Angeeras,
And later , when this son was got killed by one of his jealous wives,
The king was possessed by great grief and fainted due to Your Maya. 23.4

The merciful sage Narada along with the great sage Angeeras consoled him,
And showed him the soul of his dead son and when that soul asked,
“Whose son am I ?” indicating that he did not recognize the king,
The king got consoled and was sent by the sages to do your service. 23.5

After getting the mantra and prayer from Sage Narada
He did Thapas to please you who in the form of Lord of Adhi Sesha,
And though he got the position of emperor Vidhyadhara,
He Continued to worship you ardently. 23.6

With a body as white as the ring of a lotus,
With thousand heads and being praised ,
By great sages , You appeared without delay,
Before Chithrakethu and becoming happy by his praises,
You taught him the real form of the soul , blessed him and disappeared. 23.7

Afterwards Chithrakethu , who was the crest jewel among your devotees,
For several million years lived with great joy making the Vidhyadhara maidens ,
Sing your praise and roamed according to his pleasure in all the worlds,
With a happy contended mind and without desiring for any pleasures. 23.8

For him to get rid of desires and attachments completely ,
Possibly according to your inner suggestion,
That Chithrakethu went to Kailasa and without doubt,
And in the middle of other sages made fun of Lord Shiva,
The killer of God of love , for his keeping Parvathi on his lap,
And was cursed by Goddess Parvathi, to become an asura. 23.9

That Chithrakethu , without bothering about it ,
Did not even ask the method of getting rid of the effect of the curse,
Became Vruthrasura who in the course of fight with Devendra,
Due to his devotion to you , removed the ignorance of even his enemy,
By a philosophic talk and reached your lotus like feet andThis is indeed amazing 23.10

Though Dithi , the mother of Asuras served you and requested for a son,
To kill Indra, she got Maruts as sons and they became friends of Indra,
Proving the fact that even if bad people serve you, only good will result.
And Oh God who is like that , please save me. 23.11

Dasakam 24 The story of Prahlada

(The story of Prahalada , the son of Hiranya Kasipu begins in this dasaka)

Oh Lord who is the killer Of Mura, when you killed Hiranyaksha,
By taking the incarnation of a boar, his brother whose name starts with Hiranya,
Having lost all his joy and happiness due to sorrow and rage,
Took an oath in a assembly of Asuras to kill you. 24.1

He after doing great penance , made Brahma to speedily appear before him,
And got a boon from him to be not killed either by Devas, Men or animals,
And as result became very arrogant and without even bothering about you,
Started destroying this world for which you are the Lord,
And snatched away the Heavens from the control of Indra. 24.2

Afterwards when he reached your home in Vaikunta to kill you,
You took a micro form and hid yourself in his heart itself,
And he thinking that you were afraid and have run away ,
Roared in loud tones and searched for you in all the worlds,
And returned back to his place c, considering himself as a victor. 24.3

Oh granter of desires, after some time , he begot a son called Prahladha,
Who was taught about the greatness of devotion to you,
Even when he was in mother’s womb from a sage who held the Veena,
And though he was an Asura by birth and only a child,
Developed devotion to you and decided to become a model to your devotees. 24.4


The evil hearted Hiranyakasipu , seeing the quality in him,
Of the slavish mentality to you, which is despised by the asuras,
Made him study under very many teachers ,
But he brushed aside all those teachings understanding that,
Whatever he has been taught by teachers was evil,
And grew up with staunch devotion to you. 24.5

When he was asked as what is the best among what he has learned,
He replied that it is devotion to God, and then Hiranyakasipu lost his joy,
And became angry with the teachers of Prahlada and later,
Understanding that it is due to Prahlada’s natural bent of mind,
He started thinking about methods to kill him ,
Who has completely surrendered at your feet. 24.6

Oh Lord , oh divine soul, though Prahlada was pierced ,
Several times by use of sharp spears, though he was,
Made to be trampled by elephants of different directions,
Though he was made to be bitten by poisonous snakes,
Though he was made to starve or eat poisonous food,
Though he was rolled down from huge mountains,
Since he was the one who surrendered his soul to you,
Wonder of wonders, no harm came to him at all. 24.7

Deeply upset to see that all his attempts failed,
According to the advice of his teacher ,
Hiranyakasipu tied Prahlada by the ropes of God Varuna,
And made him stay in his Guru’s house,
And that Prahlada when his Guru was absent,
Taught the asura boys who were his friends,
The philosophy behind the devotion to you,
As well as the divine and supreme knowledge. 24.8

His father Hiranyakasipu hearing that all the Asura boys,
Were only interested in singing prayers to you,
Became blind with anger and called Prahlada as traitor of his race,
And asked who was his strength and Prahlada who was intelligent,
And not afraid of his father told “Lord Vishnu is my strength”,
And that god is also the strength of you and your kingdom,
And also that Lord Vishnu is the strength of all the three worlds.”. 24.9

Hiranyakasipu the son of Dithi started shaking his sword,
And asked , “Where is that Vishnu who is the form of all the three worlds?,
Hey silly boy, where is he?” and gave a blow sufficient to shatter the earth on the pillar,
And Oh God , I am unable to continue to tell as to what happened further ,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who is the soul of mercy and soul of the world,
Please bear with me, give me solace and make me happy. 24.10


Dasakam 25 The incarnation of Narasimha

(The killing of Hiranya Kasipu by Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu)

When Hiranyakasipu hit at the pillar with great force,
A deafening great sound which was capable of shattering the ears,
And which was capable of rotating the great vessel of the universe,
Was heard and Hiranyakasipu after hearing the sound which he has never heard,
Was shaken by an unknown fear and even Brahma was shaken from his seat. 25.1

When that Asura who became very angry , rolled his eyes in all directions,
And Oh Lord you with a form that is neither an animal nor a man,
Jumped out of the pillar making him ask himself,
“What is this form which is fearsome and wonderful” and was aghast,
And you with the white sharp hair all over you started growing big. 25.2

Let there be victory to this form of yours , with the colour of molten gold,
With very powerful eyes, with the hairs of your mane standing out,
And covering the sky as well as all the directions , With a open mouth,
Which was like a huge big cave, with a very long protruding toungue,
Which was similar to a sword when extended, and with two big protruding teeth. 25.3

I salute your form of the combination of man and lion, with a fierce looking jaw.
Crisscrossed by swollen nerve ends, With a very short but very stout neck,
Which is fierce looking due with the rays emanating from the from ,
The nails of those stout fingers, Which was standing with head touching the sky,
And which was making noise like the fierce thunder from clouds about to rain,
So that enemy would run away due to fear and nervousness. 25.4

Concluding that this must be Vishnu and that he will kill him,
Hiranyakasipu , the king of Asuras tried to go near him rotating a mace,
And you caught hold of his hands by your very stout hands and that hero,
Shook his hands and got free from your grip , and took a sword and a shield,
And after showing many steps and wonder of wonders, jumped at you,
And you looked as if you were prepared to swallow the entire universe. 25.5

Then the asura started rotating again without getting caught by you,
And you caught hold of him with both your hands and,
Pressed him on your thighs, you being seated on the threshold,
And you tore his chest with your very sharp nails, and drank his blood,
Gushing out of him with great satisfaction and roared like a lion,
As if the entire universe was going asunder. 25.6

Then within an instant you threw his body away,
And with your body which was drenched by his blood,
Again and again attacked the asura clan, biting and killing them,
And wonder of all wonders, there was a total chaos in the universe,
Which was with a rotating earth, a tumultuous ocean,
With shaking and tottering mountains and,
With the stars and planets which were getting scattered. 25.7

At that time you were looking gruesome ,
with your body being coated with flesh and blood ,
And wearing the intestines of the asuras as garland,
And were roaring loudly like a very great big lion,
And sat in the assembly hall with limitless anger,
And no one in the world was prepared to come near you,
And even Shiva, Brahma and Indra prayed, moving away from you. 25.8

But in spite of more and more prayers addressed to you,
You continued to be in the throes of uncontrollable rage,
And when as per the wishes of Brahma, the young Prahlada,
Without fear came near you and saluted you by falling at your feet,
You due to heart filled with compassion became peaceful and calm,
And kept your hand on the forehead of Prahlada who was loudly singing your praise,
And gave him several boons without asking the boy,
And also blessed the entire world with prosperity. 25.9

Oh God, who put on this act of great rage and anger,
Who has a very clean body and who is having,
All the great qualities as mentioned and sung,
In the Nrusimha thapaneeya Upanishad,
Who can match you , who can be more greater than you,
And who can dare to Attack you,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who likes Prahlada,
Please protect me from all sort of diseases. 25.10



Dasakam 26 The salvation of the king of elephants.

(A king by curse was turned in to an elephant and lead a pious life. And he was caught by a crocodile in water. In spite of a great fight the King of elephant was not able to free himself. And when the elephant called Lord Vishnu, he killed the crocodile and gave salvation to the elephant.)

When your devotee Indradhyumna , who was a Pandya king,
Was worshipping you on the Malaya mountain,
He did not notice the coming of sage Agasthya
Who had come there to be treated properly as a guest. 26.1

That sage Agasthya who was born out of a pot,
Became very angry at this neglect,
Cursed him who was not bothered,
To be transformed in to an elephant ,
And that king due to memory of God in his heart,
Lived happily , though he became an elephant. 26.2

That king among elephants along with many she elephants,
Spent his time on the Trikuta mountains in the middle of ocean of milk,
And was having more strength than all the animals around,
Showing that your devotees attain glory wherever they are. 26.3

When due to his great strength and greatness of the divine place,
He spent all his time without suffering any hardship,
Once due to the heat of the summer and as per your suggestion,
He went to the lotus pond in the mountain slope
And enjoyed there with other elephants. 26.4

At that time a Gandharva called HuHu who was cursed by sage Devala,
To become a crocodile was living in the waters of that pond,
And he caught hold of the foot of this king like elephant,
And Oh God , you create problems to your devotees ,
So that you can bless them with great peace later. 26.5

You made the king of elephants to be afflicted by the crocodile,
And he withstood the pain and conflict for one thousand years,
Due to his greatness got by worshipping you ceaselessly,
And it was time for him to attain liberation at your feet. 26.6

Oh divine Lord , when the suffering increased, due to his ,
Devotion and wisdom accumulated in his previous birth,
That king of elephants started plucking lotus flowers by his trunk,
And started offering it to you, Oh God, and worshipped you,
By a great stotra extolling your unqualified supreme form,
Which he had learnt in his previous birth. 26.7

Hearing that stotra extolling your unqualified nature completely,
When Brahma and other devas did not come thinking,
That this prayer was not addressed to them, you who are everything,
Speedily appeared before him ,riding on the Garuda. 26.8

After catching hold of the king of the elephants,
By your lotus like hands ,you tore the crocodile by your wheel,
And liberated that Gandharva from his curse,
And the elephant got a form equal to yours and shined. 26.9

Oh Lord you told him, , “any one who sings,
About elephant or me in the morning,
Would become one of great fame,”
And later you went to Vaikunta along with elephant,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please protect me. 26.10

Dasakam 27 The churning of ocean of milk and incarnation of tortoise.

(Indra was cursed by Durvasa and became old and weak. Consequently the devas were defeated. Lord Vishnu suggested that they churn the ocean of milk to get nectar using a mountain. When the mountain did not stand steady, Lord Vishnu took the form of a tortoise and lifted up the mountain.)

Once sage Durvasa gifted a rare divine garland,
That he got from a deva maiden to king Indra,
And later when he came to know that it was,
Destroyed by Indra’s elephant Iravatha,
He became very angry with Indra and cursed him,
Which shows that those who were born out of other devas,
Do not have quality of tolerance like you? 27.1

Then due to that curse, Indra was afflicted by old age,
And he was defeated by asuras as he had lost his vigour,
And consequently Shiva and all other devas went to Lord Brahma,
And along with him all of them came to you,
Oh God , who is the basis of all pleasure. 27.2

Oh God who gives boons, hearing your praises,
Sung by all Devas for a long time, you came before them,
With radiating supreme light, and ordered them,
To reach an understanding with asuras and churn for nectar. 27.3

After Devas reached an understanding with asuras,
When they were taking Mandhara mountain with pride,
Which was designated to be used as the churning stick,
It fell down and you took it easily as if it is a Badara fruit,
Transported it Keeping on Garuda and put it in the ocean of milk. 27.4

Then later Devas and Asuras speedily made Vasuki,
In to rope for churning and when they started to churn the ocean
which was full of seeds of all medicines,
Using deceit you made Asuras sit on ,
Side facing the open mouth of the serpent. 27.5

When the ocean was being churned vigorously thus,
And when the water of the ocean of milk became tumultuous,
Mandhara mountain which was the churning stick,
Due to its very heavy weight , sank in to the sea bed,
Making all devas extremely sad, and you,
To make them happy took the form of a tortoise,
Which had a very hard and tough shelled back. 27.6

Oh Lord Vishnu , you along with back which was harder than diamond,
Which had a width spanning more than one lakh yojanas,
And which was reaching up to the foremost depths of the ocean,
Lifted up the Mandhara mountain which had sunk. 27.7

And when the king of mountains came suddenly up from the water,
All the people there were boisterously happy and started churning,
And you entered in Vasuki as well as people on both sides,
Removed their tiredness and increased their strength and vim. 27.8

Due to the accelerating speed , when the king of the mountain,
Started to raise more and more, you kept your hand on it,
And stopped it from coming very much out of the ocean,
And Brahma , Shiva and others who reached the sky,
Became extremely joyous, showered flowers and praised you. 27.9

When Asuras started suffering due to the hot poisonous smoke,
Emanating from the serpents mouth and devas also suffered slightly,
Due to your grace the clouds showered heavy rain on devas,
And cooled them but this rain did not fall on the asuras. 27.10

With lots of whales and crocodiles moving here and there,
The ocean in spite of lot of churning did not give out anything,
And seeing this you started churning the ocean using Vasuki all alone,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please save me from diseases. 27.11

Dasakam 28 Wedding with Goddess Lakshmi and emerging of nectar.

(Goddess Lakshmi arose from the ocean of milk was churned and Lord Vishnu chose her as his consort. Later after several other things, Lord Vishnu in the form of Dhanvanthri rose from the ocean of milk with a pot of nectar. Dhanvanthri is listed as a minor incarnation of Lord Vishnu.)

First, from the ocean emerged the poison called Kalakoota,
Along with raging flames and Lord shiva ,
Who became happy by the prayers by Devas,
Drank it for making you pleased and happy. 28.1

When the devas and Asuras further churned ,
Kamadhenu , the wish giving cow came out first ,
And Oh Lord who occupies all the three worlds,
You gave Kamadhenu to the sages,
And later one gem of a horse* and a gem like elephant* came out,
Which was followed by Kalpaga tree** and the celestial women**
And you gave all of them to the devas, 28.2
*Uchaisravas and Iravatha ** wish giving tree and apasaras,

Oh God of the universe, then from the sea came,
Goddess Lakshmi who was pretty and in love with you,
And all people seeing her who was blemish less,
Were tempted and wanted to posses her. 28.3

Indra gave her whose heart was given to thee,
Along with gem studded throne and
The great sages, anointed her with material brought by all,
Accompanied by chants from Vedas. 28.4

The devas after anointing her with holy water,
And again decorated her, who was already wearing your glances,
With gem ear studs, yellow silk and gem necklaces. 28.5

That goddess Lakshmi who was wearing the garland
Surrounded by the buzzing of several bees,
Walking slowly due to her heavy pot like breasts,
Reached you with a shy smile and tinkling anklets. 28.6

That Lakshmi knowing well that Gods like Shiva and Brahma,
Were all ones who love their devotees but were not free from blemishes,
Put the garland of marriage on you who was pretty from all angles. 28.7

You embraced her closely to your chest,
Knowing that she was having love only for you,
And due the power of the light of the glances,
Of her who sat radiantly on your breast,
The world was showered with wealth and prosperity, 28.8

At that time from the churning ocean came out,
Varuni devi who was having glances of illusion,
Which was creating allure and intoxication,
And you immediately presented her,
Who was the root cause of ignorance to Asuras, 28.9

And then you yourself who was as pretty as the new cloud,
Came out in the form of Dhanvanthari carrying,
Two golden pots containing the divine nectar.
And Oh lord of Guruvayur , please destroy all my problems. 28.10


Dasakam 29 The stealing of the nectar and killing of Asuras.

(The Asuras who were partners in the churning of the ocean wanted a part of the nectar. Understanding that it would make them more strong, Lord Vishnu appeared as a pretty damsel and agreed to serve the nectar to every one. But he served it only to the devas.)

The asuras snatched the pot of nectar from your hand,
While you were rising from the ocean and becoming helpless,
You comforted the devas and suddenly disappeared,
And the asuras due to your illusion started fighting among themselves. 29.1

Then you assumed the form of a pretty mature woman,
Who was dark , slightly bent due to your heavy , warring breasts,
Which made the asuras abandon the fight for the pot of nectar,
And made them come running towards you ,
Due to their extreme desire due to your pot like breasts. 29.2

“Oh Girl with a deer like eyes , Who are you?,
Please distribute this nectar among all of us.”
Thus they requested you being lovelorn,
And you telling those asuras , “oh asuras,
How can you trust me? Am I not a harlot?,”
You made them trust you completely. 29.3

Those Asuras who trusted you completely,
Handed the pot of nectar to you, and you told them,
“If I am whimsical in what I do , please bear with me,”,
Made devas and asuras sit in different rows,
And with very seductive walk started serving the nectar. 29.4

The asuras remained silent thinking
That you were in love with them,
And you who is under the control
Of your devotees served nectar only to devas,
And you after assuming your real form
Cut Rahu an asura who was half drunk with nectar. 29.5

After punishing the asuras who snatched nectar from you,
You went away and the asuras started fighting with devas,
And the war became very terrible and intense,
And all devas became unconscious by the magic of Bali , an asura,
And you came before all of them once again. 29.6

Then you killed Kala Nemi and Mali and others,
And Devendra killed Paka, Bali , Jambha and Vala ,
And Indra also killed Namuchi who cannot be killed,
By anything which is wet or dry using the foam of the sea,
And you stopped the war as per request of sage Narada. 29.7

Having heard of your female form which bewitched all asuras,
Lord Shiva wanted to see that form because of great curiosity,
And came to your abode along with Parvathi and the Bhootha Ganas,
And he praised you and told you about his desire but you vanished. 29.8

Then seeing you who was having flitting eyes was very attractive and bewitching,
Playing ball in the garden with your garments slipping down ,
Lord Shiva who was the enemy of Manmatha, the God of love,
Became extremely infatuated and passionately embraced you. 29.9

When you slipped away from his embrace and ran away,
Lord Shiva pursued you and due to discharge of his virile fluid,
Suddenly came to his senses and being respected by you,
Explained your greatness to Goddess Parvathi and others,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who has none to compare, protect me. 29.10

Dasakam 30 The incarnation of Vamana

(When Mahabali became very powerful, Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Vamana and begged for three feet of land. He then assumed the form of Trivikrama and measured the entire world in two steps. Mahabali requested him to keep his third step on his head. Lord Vishnu then made this great asura king to stay in Patala.)

Bali who was killed by Indra , in the battle after churning for nectar,
Was brought back to life by Sage Shukra and with that body,
Did several fire sacrifices and thereby became very powerful,
And became not even afraid of the holy wheel of yours,
Conquered all the three worlds , from which the devas had run away. 30.1

Adithi , the mother of devas unable to see the suffering of her sons,
Went and requested her husband , sage Kasyapa to do some thing,
And according to his advice worshipped you adopting Payovrutha*,
And with great devotion worshipped you for twelve days. 30.2
*A famous penance to get children

When the worship was completed , you appeared before her,
Who was completely immersed herself in your devotion,
In the form with dark blue colour and with four hands,
And you told her , who fell down at your feet in salutation,
“I am going to be born as your son, but keep my appearance as a secret”,
And then you vanished from there. 30.3

Later you entered the seed of sage Kashyapa who was doing penance,
And thus entered the womb of Adithi, making Brahma praise you,
And Adithi gave birth to a divine child , who had a Vaishnavite signs,
On the auspicious Sravana Dwadasi day. 30.4

The joyous devas played very many auspicious drums,
And rained flowers on the holy blessed hermitage,
Saluted you and heralded your victory,
And you were also prayed by your own parents,
And you instantly adopted the form of a young Brahmachari*. 30.5
*The one who studies Vedas after sacred thread ceremony.

Hey God , then you were given sacred thread by sage Kasyapa,
And were given mounji grass, stick of palasa, deer skin, chain of beads etc,
And adorned by these and shining with divine light,
You performed the worship to fire and started to the place,
Where Mahabali was doing the Aswamedha sacrifice. 30.6

With a form foretelling the great events that are unfolding ,
With a walk creating tremors on the earth ,
With an umbrella , possibly to prevent the heat of enemies,
And with a stick possibly to punish the asuras , you proceeded. 30.7

When you approached the place of the horse sacrifice ,
Situated in the northern bank of Narmada,
Blinded by the power light of yours , Shukra and others,
Wondered whether you are Sun or fire or sage Sanathkumara. 30.8

Becoming slaves to your dazzling light, Sage Shukra,
And others received you who were extremely handsome,
And that blessed Asura with hairs standing erect all over his body,
And with great devotion washed your divine feet ,
And sprinkled that water capable of cleaning ,
All waters in the earth, on his head. 30.9

Though an asura , Mahabali was able to sprinkle that water on his head,
Which water is being sprinkled by Lord Shiva himself on his head,
Possibly because he was born in the clan of Prahlada,
Or possibly because he had carried out very many fire sacrifices,
Or possibly because he had great faith in Brahmin s,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please be kind enough to protect me. 30.10

( P.R. Ramachander  is from Chelakkara, Kerala. He specialized as a biometical statistician as well as an applied geneticist and served as Head of Division of four different ICAR research Institutes in India as Head of division of Statistics. After 36 years of service during which he wrote 150 research papers, and three books he retired in the year 2000.

He was deeply interested in bringing out the majesty of his religion to the young. As a result he took up translation of  Hindu prayers in to English, The result of  the work of God , got done through him is this web site.He has also published two booka, one on Rudram and another on Lalitha Sahasranamam. Ramachander is now 70 and lives with his partner in life Smt.Jayalakshmi (who is his inspiration in life)  in Bangalore. He is also blessed with a dutiful son and a darling daughter as well three glorious grand children Maithree, Rohan and Yamini )  More...

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