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

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Dasakam 81-90 Translation

Dasakam 81 The marriage with Kalindhi and others as well stealing of Parijatha

(Lord Krishna then marries five more ladies in different circumstances. He kills Narakasura in Pragjyothishpura and later goes to Indra Loka with Sathyabhama and as per her request fought with Indra and brought Parijatha plant to Dwaraka. You also arranged Arjuna to get married to your sister Subhadra.)

You were specially dear To Sathyabhama who was loving and shy,
And along with her you attended the marriage of Panchali with Pandavas,
And later according to the wishes of sons of Kunthi you stayed for some time,
In Hasthinapuri and Oh Lord you returned to Dwaraka,
Only after helping them to construct the new town of Indraprastha. 81.1

Then Arjuna who was staying in your home in the guise of a sage,
Abducted with your permission your lovely and gracious sister Subadhra,
Whose hand was requested by Duryodhana from your elder brother Balarama,
And when this enraged Balarama ,you talked to him and made him agree ,
To the marriage of Arjuna and Subhadhra and to show your love to Arjuna,
You arrived in Indraprastha along with Sathyabhama and Balarama. 81.2

Not only that , while in Indraprastha, one day when you had gone for hunting,
In the forests in the banks of Yamuna you saw Kalindhi and accepted her as wife,
And later helped Arjuna in the burning of the forest at Gandawa and satisfied Agni,
And after that returned to Dwaraka and there you seized from the assembly of kings,
Mithravina, the daughter of your father’s sister , who was in love with you,
But scared to tell it openly due to her fear of her brothers. 81.3

After that you went to Kosala and subdued seven famous bulls,
Within an instant after assuming seven forms of Krishna at the same time,
And married Sathya the daughter of king Nagnajit, and later God,
You accepted the hand of Bhadra bestowed to you by her brothers ,
Sandhardhana and others, and fulfiller of our wishes,
She too was the daughter of your father’s sister , Sruthakeerthi. 81.4

After hitting the fish target looking only at its reflection in water,
Which even great heroes like Arjuna failed to do,
You married princes Lakshamana, who was the daughter of King of Madhra,
And like this the number of your wives became eight ,
Meanwhile from Devendra you came to know the evil deeds of son of earth. 81.5

By mere thought you summoned Garuda , the king of all birds,
And after climbing on him you seated Sathyabhama on your lap,
And went to the abode of the enemy as if you were going to a garden,
And as soon as reached there you powdered all the fortifications,
And by the flowing blood of the slain army ,
You proceeded to convert Pragjyothisha pura in to Sonithapura*. 81.6
*The city of blood

You then cut off all the heads of asura called Mura,
Who jumped at you from the middle of the ocean,
Very speedily using your holy wheel, and then killed,
Narakasura who came with sixty five , four tusked elephants,
And made him one who has climbed out of hell to heaven 81.7

Immediately Goddess earth came and praised you
And later you gave that kingdom to Bhagadatha the son of Narakasura,
And also gave him one of those elephants ,
And sent all other elephants to your own city of Dwaraka,
And freed sixteen thousand maidens who were kept in prison by Narakasura,
Who were also your devotees and also sent lot of wealth to Dwaraka. 81.8

Then you went to the heaven to return the ear globes of Adhithi,
Which was snatched from her earlier by Narakasura,
Along with Sathybhama whose beauty made deva maidens ashamed,
And you were shown proper hospitality by Devendra,
And later when you tried to snatch the parijatha plant from heaven,
Indra became very angry and fought with you and you defeated him,
And returned back to Dwaraka , demonstrating clearly to the world,
The evil consequence of arrogance born out of wealth. 81.9

Then you planted the Parijatha tree in the courtyard of Sathyabhama,
And also accepted the sixteen thousand ladies as your wives,
And due to your yogic power you assumed as many forms as there are ladies,
Entertained them separately and looked after each one of them with care and love,
And this caused great astonishment and surprise to Narada who visited you,
And later you begot ten children with each of them,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please protect me. 81.10

Dasakam 82 War with Banasura and salvation of Nruga

(Anirudha was the grand son of Krishna through his son Pradhyumna begot through Rugmani. Usha the daughter of Banasura falls in love with him , Usha manages to abduct Anirudha, When Banasura who had due to his great devotion to Lord Shiva , had the God himself as his security guard imprisoned Anirdha,. In a grim battle with Banasura , Lord Shiva and Lord Skanda the son of Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna cuts off all but two hands of Banasura. He brings back Anirudha and Usha.)

Pradhymna you son begot through Rukhmani was kidnapped by Sambhara,
And you killed Sambhara and returned back along with Rati Devi,
And that Pradhyumna abducted the lucky daughter of Rugmi,
And later the good natured Anirudha who was the son of Pradhyumna,
Married Rochana who was the daughter of the son of Rugmi,
And you had attended this marriage and during this marriage,
Balarama killed Rugmi after quarreling with him over gambling. 82.1

Oh God, Usha the great daughter of the thousand handed Banasura,
Enjoyed in her dreams the company of your grandson Anirudha,
Whom she had never seen before and due to parting with him,
Suffered the pangs of separation from him. 82.2

When her friend Chithralekha who is a Yogini and also very clever,
Drew and showed her the pictures of all eligible youth,
And when Usha recognized Anirudha , Chithralekha,
Due to her yogic powers took away Anirudha ,
form your home of Dwaraka and gave him to her friend. 82.3

When Banasura who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva,
Found Anirudha enjoying his sweetheart in the Virgin house of his daughter
He imprisoned him and on hearing the news from Narada, you ,
Became very angry and encircled Sonithapura along with other Yadavas. 82.4

Lord Shiva the consort of the daughter of the mountain,
Who was the security guard of Bana’s palace,
Along with his Bhoothas stopped the army,
The mighty Bana speedily fought With Sathyaki,
And Lord Subrahmanya fought with Pradhyumna,
And you fought with the great Lord Shiva himself. 82.5

When you stopped all the arrows of Lord Shiva,
And rendered him unconscious by your Mohanasthra,
The scared Bhoothas ran away and you crushed all Pramadhas,
And Skanda was defeated by the arrows of Pradhyumna,
And Kumbhanda the minister was crushed like a pot by Balarama. 82.6

Then came Bana with five hundred arrows and opposed you mightily,
And soon returned when all his bows were completely shattered,
Then came the Siva fire which was burnt by the Vishnu fire,
And Siva fire realized the truth and praised you and it blessed
That those who understood this story would not be affected by any fever,
And went away and though Rudra’s followers are also intelligent,
Due to predominance of Thamas in them are generally cruel. 82.7

When you started cutting all the hands of Bana,
Who opposed you only due to his arrogance ,
And who was armed with very many weapons,
Except for two hands on each side of his body,
Lord Shankara suddenly woke up and praised you,
And as per the request of Lord Shiva ,
You let Bana have two hands on each side and made him fearless,
Because he was a devotee of Lords shiva and in turn,
Bana honoured and respected you, and you,
Retuned to Dwaraka along with Usha and Aniruddha. 82.8

Oh Lord , your incarnation as Krishna is the greatest because,
You again and again defeated Lord Devendra,
Defeated Varuna when he kidnapped Nandagopa,
Defeated Kala, the god of death , when you brought back your teacher’s son,
Defeated Agni when you swallowed the forest fire,
Defeated Lord Brahma when he stole the calves of Gokula,
And defeated Lord Shiva in this war with Bana. 82.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur , you who sent to heaven the King Nruga,
Who was made in to a chameleon due to Brahmin’s curse,
And instructed your own people of the greatness,
Of Devotion to Brahmins , please save me. 82.10

Dasakam 83 Killing of Poundra and others

(An imposter called Poundraka Vasudeva claimed that he was the real Vishnu and dressed himself like that, Lord Krishna killed him as well as the king of Kasi who helped him. He then killed a Kruthya sent by the king of Kasi. Also He killed a monkey called Vividha who was a servant of Narakasura.)

Later when Balarama went to Gokula and wanted to play water sports,
With the Gopa maidens , the river Kalindi did not come near him when he called her,
And he using his plough drew the river near him and was happily spending his time,
A king called Poundraka Vasudeva who lost his wisdom
Due to the advice of his servants, sent an emissary to you. 83.1

That messenger when he was being jeered and laughed at,
By everyone in your court conveyed his king’s message,
“ I am the real incarnation of Vishnu and I understand,
That you also carry the emblems of Vishnu like me,
And so it is better if you discard them and submit to me.” 83.2

After the return of the emissary when you marched with the Yadava army,
To his place and saw him branded with the Srivathsa like symbol on his chest,
And with Kausthubha like costly gem tied around his neck,
And with fish like ear ornaments and also dressed in yellow silk. 83.3

When Paudraka threw at you a Wheel made of iron ,
You severed his neck with the real Sudarshana wheel,
Which was emitting fire sparks of ultimate destruction,
And also destroyed all his army and hurled ,
The head of his friend , the king of Kasi , in to town of Kasi. 83.4

That foolish Poundraka due to his foolishness,
As well as hearing childish advices from others,
Believed strongly for a long time that he was the real Vaasudeva,
And also believed that he and you are really one,
But he due to this belief attained salvation,
And so we do not know what actions lead to what results? 83.5

Then Sudakshina , who was one of the sons of king of Kasi,
Served Kasi Viswanatha and by black magic sent,
An evil spirit called Kruthya who had the form of fire,
Against you along with some Shivabhoothas,
Who were terribly scared of you in the war with Bana,
And with difficulty became the companions of this evil spirit. 83.6

When with legs as stout as a big Palmyra palm,
Kruthya was burning every thing on its way,
When the very scared citizens rushed to you,
Oh God, you did not move a bit from the game of dice,
That you were playing and sent your wheel of death. 83.7

When your Sudarshana wheel rushed towards it with great power,
The very mighty Kruthya retreated shouting alas, alas,
And burnt the Sudakshina who did the evil deeds,
And your Sudarshana wheel destroyed the city of Kasi. 83.8

Vividha who was a famous monkey who had helped you,
At the time of Rama in the tretha yuga, wanting to be killed,
By your partial incarnation during the Dwapara yuga became a bad one,
And became the minister of Narakasura and when he started troubling people,
And had a clash with Balarama near to the town of Dwaraka,
And fell down dead by a slap by the hand of Balarama. 83.9

When Samba was imprisoned when he tried to abduct ,
Lakshana who was the daughter of Duryodhana,
Balarama went to free him by conciliatory talks,
And when he was abused , he prepared to destroy Hasthinapura,
Fearing which Samba was set free and you did not send the yadava army,
At that time with the intention of killing of the Kaauravas by Pandavas,
And Oh God, I request you who is difficult to understand to save me. 83.10

Dasakam 84 The journey to Samanthakapanchaka

(Lord Krishna along with others went to the sacred waters of Samanthaka Panchaka and met all the Gopis including Radha there. He spent a few months in their company and returned back after consoling them through advice.)

Once during a solar eclipse , you entrusted ,
Dwaraka’s upkeep to Kruthavarma and Anirudha,
And went to a sacred spot called Samathapanchaka,
Along with Yadhavas and their womenfolk. 84.1

You did abulations there for the good of innumerable people,
Sanctified the sacred waters there , gave lot of gifts to Brahmins,
And mixed with your friends like Pandavas, Kauravas and others. 84.2

Panchali , the daughter of Drupada , who was your great devotee,
Met and mixed with all your wives and heard each of them describe,
How you took them as wife and was greatly delighted along with other women. 84.3

Oh God ,then you approached the Gopas with joy and respected them,
And with joy went near the Gopis who had become as thin as line,
Due to the great sorrow of staying away for long from you. 84.4

Then due to the joy of being able to meet with you again.
All their sorrow due to separation from you disappeared
From those Gopa beauties and their bosoms burst out of their blouses,
Due to the immense love towards you and due to familiarity with them,
You became close to them and one with them. 84.5

When you told Radha that , “it was only due to the,
Conflicts with enemies which happened again and again,
That I am late in meeting you “ and embraced her,
She was overwhelmed and completely merged with you. 84.6

During that time in privacy when you removed the sorrow of separation
From all of them and told them, “let the belief rise in your mind,
That I am the form of the glittering supreme divine joy,
And am also the real soul of all the beings that you see,”
And consoled them with this philosophical thought. 84.7

Due to the teaching of Udhava the pangs of separation,
With you was tinged with joy in their minds,
And due to your thoughts told to them,
Made them go into the state of permanent bliss. 84.8

Then your father asked the great assembled sages there,
About the rites that he has to perform to ward of evil,
And they told him that there was no need,
Because you God, was born as his son,
And though you did laugh loudly,
You made Vasudeva perform Yagas at that time. 84.9

Along with the very happy friends of yours,
When the great fire sacrifice was in progress,
The Gopas along with their friends,
Were respected by the Yadavas and enjoyed like old times,
The life with you for another three months. 84.10

At the time of separation you approached Radha,
And embraced her very tightly and seeing her,
To be free of all her sorrow you became happy,
And returned back to the city of Dwaraka,
And oh God of Guruvayur who did all that save me from my diseases. 84.11

Dasakam 85 Killing of Jarasandha and Sishupala

(When Lord Krishna visited Indra prastha to attend the Raja Sooya conducted by Yudhishtr, at the request of Yudhishtra , he visited Jarasandha and got him killed by Bheema. He also killed Shishupala who objected to his being worshipped after the Yaga.)

Then Oh Lord, twenty thousand eight hundred kings,
Who were caught and kept and tortured by Jarasandha,
Send an emissary to you , who is the only support ,
For people without any support and they ,
Requested you to completely eliminate Jarasandha. 85.1

Having decided to wage a war against Jarasandha,
Hearing from Narada that Dharmaputhra is planning to have a Rajassoya,
You becoming one who was not able to decide on the priority between these two,
And when Udhava told that since Rajasooya involved in making,
All other kings under you, these two aims can be carried out together,
Along with all related people you went to the kingdom of Yudhishtra. 85.2

Dharmaputhra who had collected lots of wealth and happiness.
Due to your grace through the victorious conquests by his brothers,
When you arrived at his capital along with your wives,
Oh God , who behaves as a slave to all your devotees,
Deputed you along with Arjuna and Bheema to Jarasandha. 85.3

As per his words , you three feigning to be Brahmins.
Entered Girivraja , the capital city of Maghadha,
And requested the king of Maghada for a festival of wrestling,
And since Jarasandha did not have sufficient merit to be killed by you,
You made Bheema to fight with Jarasandha ,
And preferred to watch the fight of kings along with Arjuna. 85.4

Jarasandha chose to fight ferociously along with lot of arrogance,
And was killed by Bhima by tearing him in to two pieces,
Following the hint you gave him by splitting a peace of wood,
And immediately you released all the kings held captive by Jarasandha,
With happiness and your gracious blessings and gave them great devotion to you,
And though they were all free from desires , deputed them ,
To do their own dharma of ruling the earth very properly. 85.5

After that when Yudhishtra performed Rajasuya sacrifice in a grand manner,
With the help of all kings who were pleased to help and others who were made slaves,
Oh Lord of the universe, you also contributed by washing the feet of Brahmins,
And how can the luck of Dharmaputhra br ever described. 85.6

And at Rajhasuya when Dharmaputhra wanted to perform the first honoured worship,
On the advice of his brother Sahadeva , did the special primary worship to you,
Who is the soul of soul of all beings living on the universe, with love and devotion,
And this made all the universe including men and devas very happy. 85.7

Wonder of wonders , at this time Shishupala told ,”When so many sages and great kings,
Are present here , it is shameful that the prime worship is being offered,
To a useless boy who is a cowherd” and also abused you in very many ways,
And lifting his weapons he jumped from his seat and ran towards you,
And due to this the enraged Pandavas rushed at him. 85.8

You then prevented people from both sides of any action,
And you yourself beheaded the enemy with your holy wheel,
Which is normally used to kill your Rakshasa enemies,
And that Shishupala , due to his permanent thought of you,
In his three births got the state of being one with you,
Which is extremely difficult even for great sages to attain. 85.9

Later you helped them complete the Raja suya sacrifice in a fitting manner,
And people shouted “Victory to Yudhishtra, Victory to Lord Krishna”,
And you returned home but the bad Duryodhana , becoming jealous ,
Of the great wealth oh his enemies stumbled in the assembly hall,
Constructed by Maya, becoming confused between,
Places filled with flowing water and places of firm ground. 85.10

When Bheema and Panchali laughed with derision at his confusion,
Oh Lord, you encouraged them in so doing by your mischievous glances,
And this immediately became the seed that would diminish the burden of earth,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who is like that, please cure me from all my diseases. 85.11

Dasakam 86 The killing of Sala and others and the Maha Bharatha war.

(Lord Krishna later killed king Sala who had obtained magical powers by penance . In the war between Pandavas and Kauravas, he gave his army to Kauravas and he himself became the charioteer of Arjuna. He helped Pandavas win the war in various ways and at the end saved the child in the womb of Abhimanyu’s wife , when Aswathama tried to kill it.)

The king sala who was defeated by the Yadavas during Rukhmani’s marriage,
Pleased Lord Shiva by his penance and earned an air plane called Soubha from him,
And when you were staying in the Kuru country , along with his magical powers,
He attacked Dwaraka and Pradhyumna along with all Yadavas ,
Fought with him and repelled his attack and killed his minister Dyuman,
Who was very powerful and the battle continued for twenty seven days. 86.1

Almost immediately you returned back with Balarama and joined the battle,
And fought with the Lord of Soubha who had almost completely lost his army,
And he also using his mace broke your bow which was named Saranga,
And not only that he killed before you Vasudeva created by his magical powers,
And it seems it made even you confused and jaded for some time,
Though Veda Vyasa says nothing like that happened to you. 86.2

With your mace you pulverized the plane called Soubha and mixed it in sea,
And speedily killed Salya by cutting his neck by your divine wheel Sudarshana,
And then Danda Vakra suddenly jumped from somewhere and beat you with his mace,
And even this one who was blessed was killed by you using your mace Koumodhaki,
And like Shishupala he also merged with your majesty , indicating the fact,
The incarnation of Krishna was taken so that all these people should get salvation. 86.3

After your coming from there , due to the doctored gambling ,
In the court of the Kouravas, when Panchali was dragged ,
And when she shouted for help when her cloths were removed,
From her body, due to your mercy her cloths became never ending,
And later when they were in the forest and when the food was exhausted,
In the Akshaya vessel after Panchali’s taking her food, and when called by her,
Out of fear to the sage Durvasa’s curse , you appeared before her,
And by taking a leaf of amaranthus , which was remaining in the vessel,
You satisfied the entire hunger of sage Durvasa and his disciples. 86.4

After further passage of time when the preliminary negotiations ,
Were being conducted before the Bhratha war , while Arjuna wanted only you,
You gave all your army to Duryodhana and also went as an emissary,
Of Pandavas to Hasthinapura and there you were honoured,
By elderly statesmen like Bheshma and Drona but was insulted,
By Duryodhana and you revealed your super cosmic form,
In the presence of sages , shook the whole city and returned back. 86.5

You then acted as the charioteer of Arjuna, and seeing him upset,
Over the necessity of killing friends and relations in the impending war,
You told him, “What is this my friend , you know well that this soul,
Is solitary and does not have death and so in the present war,
Think about who is the killer and who is the killed ? , and so,
Do not think , that you are killing some one and fight in the war,
And do your duty to uphold the Dharma of a kshatriya,”
And then you consoled him by showing your super cosmic form. 86.6

Then Bheeshma who was one of your foremost devotees,
Helped you with interest in your job of lessening the burden of earth,
By daily killing many thousands of kings and at a time ,
When Arjuna was weak, you broke your oath of not taking your weapon,
During this war and armed yourself with the divine wheel of yours,
And ran towards Bheeshma feigning anger and he received you,
With folded hands and with a bowed head and this ,
Made you show your joy at him and returned back.,
Possibly to fulfill the vow of Bheeshma that,
He will force you take up arms during the battle. 86.7

You saved Arjuna in the battle with Drona by receiving ,
The Narayana arrow sent by Bhagadatha riding on an elephant,
You punished Jayadradha by hiding the Sun by your sudarshana wheel,
Saved Arjuna from Nagasthra sent by Karna , by pushing ,
The chariot down and made the arrow take only his crown,
And like this you were definitely not the charioteer for the Pandavas. 86.8

Balarama who was armed with a plough , went on a pilgrimage,
At the start of the war and when he reached Naimisaranya,
He killed Sutha who did not honour him when he approached the place,
And appointed his son to continue reading the epics instead of him,
And he also killed Balala who used to hinder yagas during every full moon,
And visited several sacred waters and reached Kurukshetra, at the end of the war,
And understanding that he would not able to stop the wrestling ,
Between Bhima and Duryodhana returned back to your city Dwaraka. 86.9

Attacking the evil minded Aswathama who killed the sleeping sons of Pandavas,
Arjuna stopped the Brahmasthra sent by him according to your advice,
And scooped out the gem stone from his head and when again Aswathama ,
Sent a powerful arrow to exterminate the clan of Pandavas,
Oh Lord you assumed a form of the size of a thumb along with holy wheel,
And entered the womb of Uthara and protected her foetus. 86.10

After Bheesma who could choose the time of his death taught ,
Yudhishtra all the Dharmas , he being a very great devotee of yours,
Attained instant identity with supreme God due to his great devotion,
And later you made Yudhishtra happy by performance of Aswamedha sacrifice,
And returned back to Dwaraka and
oh Lord of Guruvayur , protect me from all my diseases 86.11

Dasakam 87 The story of Kuchela

(Kuchela who was a poor Brahmin class mate of Lord Krishna came to see him with a small quantity of beaten rice tied to his torn cloth. After receiving him well. Lord Krishna ate , one hand full of that beaten rice and was prevented from eating further by Rukhmani. Without asking anything when Kuchela went back home, he saw that Lord Krishna gave him immense wealth and prosperity.)

Kuchela a Brahmin householder who was studying along with you,
In the hermitage of Sandheepini, due to his very great devotion to you,
Led a life of extreme peace free from all worldly desires . 87.1

His wife though she was as peaceful as Kuchela,
Had not won the war with the mind like him,
And asked him one day, “Why are you not ,
Paying a visit to your friend and consort of Lakshmi ,
And request him for some means to make our ends meet. 87.2

When his wife who was suffering from hunger told like this,
Kuchela though he had hatred towards money that created pride,
Due to the desire to see you started his journey to see you, carrying,
A small quantity of beaten rice tied at the end off his cloth as offering to you. 87.3

Reaching your town of Dwaraka full of wonderful sights,
That Kuchela entered the house of Mithravinda,
Among the houses of your sixteen thousand eight consorts,
And felt as if he has entered Vaikunta and was charmed,
By the great hospitality shown by you towards him. 87.4

After doing all necessary treatments of hospitality ,
Including his being fanned by your consort Mithravinda,
You held the hands of Kuchela and reminded him ,
Of the great wetting that both of you had from a torrential rain,
When you both went to collect firewood as per wishes of your teacher’s wife. 87.5

Due to shyness when Kuchela hesitated to give the offering,
brought by him , you forcibly snatched it from his hand,
And by the time you took one hand full of that offering,
The very nervous Rukhmani who was goddess Lakshmi , rushed to that place ,
And stopped your hand saying, “Is this not enough?”. 87.6

Seeing your devotion to his devotees , the well looked after,
Kuchela pleasantly spent one night in the city of Dwaraka,
And next day returned back home without taking any money,
For is not your blessing of very many kinds? 87.7

Thinking of telling his wife, “If I had asked , he sure would have given,”
And also getting worried as to what he will tell his wife,
And slowly getting his mind drowned in your bewitching smile and acts,
He saw before him a mansion made of jewels. 87.8

Wondering for some time as to whether he missed his way,
He entered home and that Kuchela saw his wife amidst her friends,
And wearing several types of ornaments and jewels.
And understood that your mercy is greatly wonderful, 87.9

Though that Kuchela started living in that gem studded house,
His devotion daily increased more and more and he attained salvation,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur who fulfills wishes of devotees thus,
Please be kind enough to cure all my diseases. 87.10

Dassakam 88 Santhana Gopalam


(As per request of his mother Devaki, Lord Krishna brought back from the Suthala world a ll his dead siblings and later gave them salvation. He also helped Arjuna to keep up his promise of saving from death an expected child of a Brahmin , by taking him to Vaikunta. With this Chapter, the story of incarnation of Lord Krishna comes to an end.)

Hearing the news that you had brought back alive the dead sons of your teacher,
Devaki , your mother, who earlier itself wanted to see her six dead children ,
And on her request you brought those six sons who were earlier sons of Mareechi,
And later due to the curse of Brahma were reborn as sons of Hiranyakasipu,
From the land of Suthala by approaching Mahabali, who gave them to you,
And after showing them to your mother sent them back to your own place. 88.1

Once desirous of giving blessing to your great devotees,
Sruthadeva who was a very famous learned Brahmin,
And king Nahulaswa another of your greatest devotees ,
You went along with great many sages to the town of Mithila. 88.2

You took two different forms and reached,
Both their houses simultaneously,
And while one worshipped you in a very grand manner,
The other offered and worshipped you the food and vegetables ,
Which he managed to get as alms on that day, but you,
We re pleased with both of them and gave salvation to both. 88.3

Later when a Brahmin lamented at the death of his sons, one after another,
And when he cried, though you were the sustainer of the entire universe,
You consoled him saying that “Who can stop the results of Karma?”
And I think that you did like this in order to humble the pride of Arjuna,
And his misconception that you are but only an ordinary human being,
And to show him your abode Vaikunta and make him realize the great truth. 88.4

When the people started talking, “ Alas, This Brahmin has borne eight sons,
And it is due to the indifference of Krishna that they were not saved”,
And at that time Arjuna happened to visit your town of Dwaraka,
And was living there due to the close friendship with you,
And a ninth son was born to the Brahmin who also died,
And hearing the sorrowful wail of the Brahmin Arjuna took an oath that,
”If I do not succeed in saving this Brahmin’s next child, I would enter the fire.” 88.5

Then that very proud Arjuna went to the house of the Brahmin,
Without your knowledge and completely enveloped the labour room ,
By a fortress made out of his divine arrows and in spite of that,
When the new born baby suddenly died like the previous times,
Arjuna using his yogic powers reached the cities of Yama, Indra and other places,
And searched for the baby there and when all his efforts failed,
And was trying to immolate himself in fire, you stopped him. 88.6

Then you proceeded to the west along with Arjuna , in a super fast chariot,
Crossed the horizon, drove away the deep darkness there using your Sudarshana wheel,
And to Arjuna who was blinded by the strong rays of the Sudarshana,
You pointed out a place after the seven seas and told , “Look, look”,
And showed him your abode which is not touched by base qualities. 88.7

Hey Supreme God you along with your friend then saw yourself,
Lying on the bed of a serpent wearing divine ornaments,
Armed with divine weapons, wearing a robe of yellow silk,
With the black colour of the newly formed cloud,
Whose body shining with the deep luster of Goddess Lakshmi,
Who is the chief of the trinity of Gods, who is the greatest in all worlds,
Who is the only meaning of all Vedas and personification of salvation. 88.8

He told you both, “Wanting to see both , one a full incarnation of myself,
And another , a partial incarnation of myself but who does not know this fact,
I brought these sons of Brahmin over here and so take them back quickly’,
And handed over those boys whom you both accepted and they were handed,
Back to the Brahmin by you, who was praised greatly by the son of Pandu. 88.9

You are the Supreme Brahmam born to give salvation,
To all those who surrendered at your lotus like feet,
But have taken this incarnation with,
A so called cause of lightening the burden of earth,
And with sports such as these you were,
Entertaining the entire world as well as,
Performing several Aswamedha sacrifices,
Entertaining thousands of doe eyed damsels,
By your incomparable sports of love,
And exhibited a human form belonging to the Yadhu clan. 88.10

Oh God , at that time due to immense devotion towards you,
Sage Narada with mind immersed with bliss was mostly staying in Dwaraka,
And once Vasudeva you father who had done only good ,
Learnt the essence of philosophical knowledge from him,
And the great devotee and wise Udhava learnt this from you yourself,
And it is believed that for the sake of the good of the world,
To this day he is staying in the Badrikashrama. 88.11

Oh God , this Krishna incarnations of yours surpasses your other incarnations,
For all the people everywhere using the yoga of friendship, fear , love, hatred,
And attachment , which are incomparable and devoid of any pain of this incarnation,
Have crossed all types of sorrows and easily attained salvation,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please eradicate all the afflictions of this world,
And instill in every one the feeling of the acme of supreme devotion. 88.12

Dasakam 89 The story of Vrukasura and testing of Bhrugu.

(Vrukasura also called Basmasura did penance to Lord shiva who can be easily and got a born being able to kill any body by placing their hand on their head. He wanted to test the efficacy of the boon on Lord Shiva himself, Lord Vishnu saved him by making the asura keep his hand on his head himself. This proves that though Lord Vishnu is difficult to please , his devotees are good people.
Some sages doing penance in the banks of river Saraswathi sent sage Bhrugu to test as to who is superior among Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. When he went and abused Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma both of them got angry .Lord Vishnu , not only did not get angry but treated the sage with hospitality.)

I understand , Oh consort of Lakshmi that prosperity does not ,
Increase suddenly to your devotees because it also increases their pride,
And because of this you bless them with prosperity and wealth,
Only after they have attained the state of perfect mental tranquility,
But in case one has it already , there is no delay in granting him wealth. 89.1

Oh Lord , some devotees depending on their natural inclinations,
Worship Shiva, Brahma etc who are easy to please and easily get angry,
Alas, such people due to their lack of foresight come to grief,
And the perfect example for this is the story of Vrikasura. 89.2

Once Vrikasura , the son of Shakuni approached sage Narada ,
And asked him about the God who would be easily and speedily pleased,
And he counseled him to meditate on Lord Shiva and did not suggest you,
Because you are not favourably inclined towards bad people. 89.3

By doing very great penance That Vrikasura became very impatient,
And on the seventh day , he started to cut off his own head,
To offer in fire and Lord Shiva , the destroyer of three cities came before him,
And the asura requested for a base and very horrible boon , of his becoming,
Able to make any one in die just by placing his hand on the head of the person,
Indicating the fact that people who are not your devotees will not have good sense. 89.4

As soon as the boon was granted , he jumped and went near Lord shiva himself,
Similar to a freed lion jumping at the person who helped to free him,
And Lord Shiva became very scared of the asura and started running,
To various different places and since no body was able to help him,
Came to your place and you seeing Lord Shiva from a distance,
Took the form of A Brahmachari and approached the Asura,
Even before he could approach the very gates of Vaikunta. 89.5

When you told him, “Oh Son of Shakuni , victory to you,
Why are you running hither and thither hearing the words of a ghost?
Suppose you do not have any belief in me , can you not place your hand on your head,”
And that foolish Asura who believed all that you told him,
Kept his own hand on his own head and fell dead like a log,
And like this destruction is definite to those who pray to other Gods,
And not only that even for Shiva you are the only support. 89.6

Some saints who were doing penance in the banks of river Saraswathi,
Wanting to know who has maximum sathva qualities among the trinity ,
Deputed, sage Brugu to find it out and when he approached Brahma,
And showed disrespect to him, he got extremely angry but controlled his temper,
But in case of Lord Shiva , he was so irked that he rushed to kill the saint,
But was prevented by Goddess Parvathi from doing it and then he came to you. 89.7

That Brahmin kicked you , who was lotus eyed and was lying with your head,
On the lap of Goddess Lakshmi but without showing any displeasure ,
You suddenly got up , and told him, “ Oh sage ,please pardon me ,
Let your foot print become a permanent decoration on my body.” 89.8

Those sages on the bank of river Saraswathi having understood,
That you possessed Sathvic qualities to the highest degree possible,
Kept the greatest devotion on you and over time attained salvation,
Oh Achyutha who is the personification of sole Sathva guna aspect,
Without any further delay, we will worship you only. 89.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur who was praised like the minstrels,
By the Vedas at the time of formation of this universe,
Who is the form of pure divine and endless joy,
Who is the form of the divine Brahmam ,
Who is the sum total of the luck of Gopis,
Oh Lord Vishnu, Oh God who is in everything,
I pray you so that all my sorrows come to an end. 89.10

Dasakam 90 Establishment of the greatness of Vishnu

(The author puts up several points of arguments to prove that Lord Vishnu , who is pre dominantly Sathvic is the greatest among the trinity of gods. From this chapter, the story telling is over. Theories and philosophy are explained till the last chapter where a description of the Lord is given.)

Oh Lord, Oh Supreme, being From the stories of Vrukasura ,Sage Brugu ,
And Ambreeksha, it has been established in the great epic Bhagawatha,
That your power wins over the powers of all devas including Shiva and Brahma,
And it has also been told that you are the one who shines as the power,
Which cannot be defined and is different from the attribute less,
And fully described aspects of Supreme Brahman . 90.1

In the five fold aspect* of God namely Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva , Ishwara and Sadashiva,
The fifth aspect Sadashiva is you yourself , who is the form of the divine spirit,
And also the form Ishwara also denotes you as the one who resides in Vaikunta,
And you are also the one who manifests yourself as the holy trinity in Sathya Loka 90.2
*Five fold aspect is the theory of Shaivites

Among the trinity you as the pure Sathvik form of Vishnu ,
For Brahma has less of Sathva Guna and more of Rajo Guna,
And in your form as Shiva there is an abundance of Sathwa Guna,
And acts which are having a higher aspect of Thamo Guna. 90.3

You are that state of pure consciousness’ which is the Ishwara ,
Who is above the holy trinity and you being the cause of all beings,
Are worshipped as the Shiva aspect by the very wise persons,
And there are also many proofs that that Shiva is only one aspect of you. 90.4

Even the very godly Adhi shankara worshipped you primarily,
Among those God forms which were known by attributes,
And he is free of any bias for he wrote commentaries ,
On Vishnu Sahasranama and when he attained salvation,
He went that way singing your praises. 90.5

This great saint has mentioned in his book of philosophy of chants,
You who is the god of all with the luster of the blue lotus flower,
And one who is above the holy trinity as the Lord of the universe,
And after advising attribute less worship of the Pranava Mantra,
He has pointed you as the one best for meditation with attributes. 90.6

In Purana Sangraha an abstract of all known epics , without any doubt,
Your greatness only has been described and it has been told,
That your Vaikunta is above the places of the holy trinity,
In the Sathya loka and a similar status is not given to Lord Shiva. 90.7

Sri Vidyaranya who was a devotee of Lord Shiva in his book Puranasara,
Has mentioned the names of Hari and Shiva to that form , which was shown,
To Lord Brahma in the Brhama kalpa and which has been ,
Mentioned in the second chapter of the MahaBhagawatha. 90.8

Those who worship Shiva due to their in born tendencies, get results of such worship,
By their extreme devotion to God Shiva , and it is keeping in view
The needs of such persons, that Veda Vyasa in Puranas like Skanda,
Has depreciated you for the sake of pointing primacy of Lord Shiva. 90.9

Arthavada is of three types namely praise whatever is the real truth,
Argue and point out that whatever does not exist , really exists,
And tell that, that which exists , does not really exist,
And is meant to make you interested in whatever one is describing,
And the mention in Skandapurana and other Puranas,
That Lord Vishnu has thamo Guna and that he was defeated, he was given advice,
Are Arthavadas meant to prove that Other Gods are superior. 90.10

Oh God , though I am an ignorant one , I happened to tell some things,
And all of them are mentioned in the science of chants,
And of Lord of Guruvayur whose glory has been extolled in Bhagawatha,
Which is the absolute essence of what all that sage Vyasa wrote,
Please remove all my ailments and grant me firm devotion. 90.11

( 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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