Narayaneeyam

Dasakam - 20: Story of Lord of Sages - Rishabha

[The story of Rishabha Deva another minor incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The division of earth in to several distinct parts is mentioned here.]

King Nabhi who was the son of Agnidhara,
Who was the dear son of Priyavrutha,
Performed sacrifices to please you,
And saw you, who fulfills all desires. 20.1

Oh God of the universe, there you were extolled by sages,
In the middle of that Yaga and was asked by them,
To bless Nabhi with a son like you in all respects and,
You then told them, "I myself would be born to him."
And disappeared in the sacrificial fire. 20.2

Then you were born to Nabhi's beloved wife Meru Devi,
As a part incarnation and took the name of Rishabha,
Who had extraordinary qualities that brought joy to people. 20.3

The king Nabhi along with his wife Meru Devi,
Decided to retire to the forests and entrusted,
The job of ruling the country in your great self,
And after serving you attained your place of divine joy. 20.4

Once, becoming very jealous of your great glory and prosperity,
Indra stopped all rains in your country of Ajhabha varsha,
And then, using your own yogic power brought rains to the country. 20.5

Then, though you were full of inner satisfaction and bliss,
You married Jayanthi, the pretty one given by the defeated Indra,
And begot one hundred sons through her,
And the eldest among them, named Bharatha became the king after you. 20.6

Nine of your sons became great sages,
And another nine ruled nine provinces of Bharatha,
And the rest eighty one sons, by their penance,
Attained the status of Brahmins. 20.7

After that you, in the middle of great sages,
Taught your sons the path to salvation,
Consisting of devotion and non-attachment,
And you adopted the status of Paramahmasa,
And followed the life of a mad man bereft of emotions. 20.8

Though you attained the status of equality with the supreme spirit,
You roamed the entire world as a mad man spurned by all,
But unattached and got completely immersed in divine joy. 20.9

Adopting the life style of a python and also that of,
A cow, deer and a crow for a very long time,
In Kudajadri* you merged with the forest fire,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please remove my sufferings. 20.10
*Near Kollur Mookambika Temple of Karnataka.

Dasakam - 21: 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 Brahman 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 tongue,
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: Salvation of King of Elephants

[A king by curse was turned in to an elephant and led 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, "anyone 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: Churning of Milk Ocean 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 when the ocean 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 *** 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 possess 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: Stealing of 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 stronger, Lord Vishnu appeared as a pretty damsel and agreed to serve the nectar to everyone. 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: 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 something,
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 Brahmins,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please be kind enough to protect me. 30.10

Dasakam - 31: Humbling the Pride of Maha Bali

[This is the continuation of Dasakam 30.]

Oh Lord who cannot be defeated by any one,
Seeing the splendorous light of your body,
That asura became happy and with an idea,
Of satisfying you and making you happy,
With folded arms told you,
"What do you desire from me?, Oh son of a Brahmin,
If you ask me for money or food or house or land,
I can assure you that I will satisfy your request." 31.1

When you heard the words of Maha Bali,
Indicating his great power and riches,
Though you were full of mercy,
With an aim to destroy his pride,
You first praised the asura clan,
And requested for three feet of land,
For if you ask for all the land,
Would you not become a laughing stock? 31.2

Mahabali swollen with great pride asked you,
"Why are you asking for only three feet of land,
From me who the lord of the entire universe?
You are childish because you can demand the entire world,
What is the use of this small land that you are asking"
It was this pride which later made Maha Bali,
Not even able to give the three feet that was asked for,
And for getting rid of his pride, Maha Bali,
Had to suffer chastising words as well as imprisonment,
Even though he did not really merit them? 31.3

When you told him that a person who will not be satisfied,
By three feet of land, will not be satisfied even if he gets the entire universe,
Mahabali got ready to give you the three feet and took water in his hands,
And then Oh Lord who blesses, with an intention of testing him,
You induced sage Shukra openly say "Do not give, Do not give,
For this is Lord Hari, who takes away everything." 31.4

Then the emperor of Asuras strongly told,
"If it is indeed Lord Vishnu himself who is begging me,
I have reached complete fulfillment of all my desires,
And I would definitely give it to him, with happiness."
And then though sage Shukra cursed him,
With the water given by his wife Vindhyavali,
He gave everything to you along with water, What a great surprise. 31.5

When The king of asuras without any apprehension,
Gave all that he owns to you, devas and sages caused a flower rain,
And in the sight of everybody, your divine form,
Went on growing up to the cosmos and grew beyond. 31.6

That Brahma washed the top of your feet that reached his world,
With the water kept in his sacred bowl, and that water,
Was the one that purified all the world* and due to their joy,
Devas and Gandharwas danced and the drum was played,
By your great devotee Jambhavan, who went round the world. 31.7
* Became river Ganges

Oh God then the asuras started a war without the consent of Bali,
And they were defeated easily by your attendants who came there suddenly,
And then you told the asuras that you are the embodiment of time,
And yy whose blessing only they had earlier won in wars,
And also told them that their war was absolutely useless,
And obeying you they all left for Patala. 31.8

Facing Maha Bali who was tied by the ropes of Varuna,
Brought there by the lord of all birds, you told,
"Since you are the Lord of the world give me the third step,"
And when without hesitation or fear Maha Bali told you,
"Oh God, keep your holy feet on my head,"
Lord Prahlada himself came himself and prayed you. 31.9

You blessed Maha Bali, by saying "All that I have done was aimed,
At destroying your pride Oh Lord of Asuras,
And due to your good deeds, you have achieved everything,
And let you get a world which is much greater than heaven,
And later let you come and merge with myself",
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, you who got completed,
The Yaga done by Maha Bali through Shukra and others protect me. 31.10

Dasakam - 32: Incarnation of Fish

[Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of fish to save the Vedas from an Asura called Hayagreeva.]

Long, long ago in the deluge that happened after,
The rule of the sixth Manu, Vedas were stolen,
From the mouth of Brahma who was going to sleep,
By Hayagreeva who was a very great Asura,
And at that time, did you not take the form of a fish? 32.1

In the hands of Satyavrutha, the Dramila* king,
Who was doing his evening ablations,
You appeared as a small radiant baby fish. 32.2
* Progenitors of Tamils

When the king who was a sage who was doing penance,
Left you in the water and saw you getting scared,
He put you in his pitcher and took you to his hermitage,
But Oh Lord within a few days you filled completely that pot,
Later a pond and still later a lake. 32.3

Later according to your orders themselves,
Sage Sathyavrutha using his yogic powers,
Took and left you in the great ocean and to the sage,
Who wished to see the deluge, you told,
"Please wait for another seven days" and then vanished. 32.4

When the time told by you came,
The entire earth went under the water,
And Sathyavrutha along with the Saptha Rishis,
Was turned and tossed in the waters and surrendered to you. 32.5

Then they all, according to your orders boarded,
In a boat which was the shape that the earth had assumed,
And were greatly frightened by the vehicle on water,
And you appeared before them as very big fish in the ocean. 32.6

Seeing your fish form of the size of hundred thousand yojanas,
Which was glittering with radiance, they all became happy,
And according to your orders tied their boat on your horn. 32.7

You with your fish form towed the earth which was a boat,
And showed Sathyavrutha and other sages,
All the parts of the world, and was praised by Sathyavrutha,
And taught all of them the supreme knowledge of self. 32.8

At the end of the deluge, you established the seven sages
In their respective places and made king Sathyavrutha,
As the Vaivaswatha Manu and due to the anger,
Of his having stolen the Vedas, you rushed towards Hayagreeva. 32.9

With your lofty horn, you tore apart the chest of Hayagreeva,
Retrieved the Vedas sand gave them back to the pleased Brahma,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please protect and save me. 32.10

Dasakam - 33: Story of Ambareesha

[Ambareesha was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu who was always protected by Vishnu Chakra. When sage Durvasa got angry and tried to harm him, that Vishnu Chakra chased sage Durvasa and left him only at the request of Ambareesha.]

Though Ambareesha who was the son of Narapathi,
Who was the son of Nabhaga,
And who himself was the son of Vaivaswatha Manu
Was the king of earth surrounded by the seven oceans,
He was at all times devoted to you and spent his time drowned in you. 33.1

Pleased by the devotion of him, who was doing all actions only to please you,
Oh Lord without any loss of time, you wanted to bless him,
And without his demanding, you gave him the Sudarshana Wheel,
Which had one thousand sharp edges, for his protection. 33.2

During that time that Ambareesha along with his virtuous wife,
Lived In Madhuvana on the banks of Yamuna with an only aim of worshipping you,
And observed the Dwadasi penance for the entire year along with worship,
And gave away ten million cows as gift to Brahmins. 33.3

On a Dwadasi day during the breaking of fast, after doing worship of Vishnu,
Sage Durwasa paid a visit to him in his house at Madhuvana,
And the king invited him for food and that sage,
Who had a natural inclination to cause problems,
Walked slowly to Yamuna to complete his noon ablations. 33.4

The king due to the anxiety of proper time for breaking fast getting over,
With all his attention concentrated on you, broke fast with only water,
And the sage who returned by that time, coming to know that he has broken his fast,
Berated the king and tearing a piece of his own hair created,
A wicked being called Krithya to destroy the king. 33.5

Even when Kruthya armed with a sword marched towards him,
As if it intended to completely burn the world,
The king did not budge from his position,
And your Sudharshana wheel, seeing that your devotee is in danger,
Made kruthya look like a fly which has fallen in to fire,
And started chasing the sage and went after him. 33.6

Scared that great sage ran around in all the worlds,
And wherever he went the wheel chased him,
And when he went and sought the protection of Brahma,
He forsook him saying, "who can prevent the wheel of time?",
The sage went and sought the protection of Lord Shiva,
And he did nothing but he saluted you and kept quiet. 33.7

Then you, who are everywhere, told the sage who came and saluted you,
"Sage, I am the slave of my devotees and you well know that,
Knowledge and penance are respected only if it is mixed with humility,
And so go and pray at the feet of king Ambareesha only. 33.8

Then itself the great sage went to place of Ambareesha,
And when he caught the king's feet, the king praised,
your great weapon and then the holy wheel went away,
And that sage praised the king's great devotion to you,
And his mercy even to those who do harm to him,
And wished him all sort of good things. 33.9

The king who waited for the coming of the sage for one full year,
Did not take any food or drink during that time,
And he fed the great sage well and bid farewell to him who was pleased,
And then took food and he became more devoted to you,
And attained salvation, and Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please protect me. 33.10

Dasakam - 34: Story of Rama till the meeting with Hanuman

[This Dasakam relates the story of Rama, till he met Lord Hanuman.]

Sage Rishyasringa performed a fire sacrifice in Kosala,
Called Puthra kameshti, and gave the potent payasam,
Arising out of the sacrificial fire to king Dasratha,
And eating that payasam his three queens became pregnant,
And later you were born as Rama along with,
Bharatha, Lakshmana and Shatrugna to these queens,
Fulfilling the word given to devas to kill Ravana. 34.1

Oh God, with the permission of your father, you along with Lakshmana,
Armed with a bow went along with sage Viswamithra to protect his fire sacrifice,
And due to the two chants taught by the sage you did not have any travel problems,
And as per the words of the sage you killed Thadaga for the good of mankind,
And you reached his hermitage along with several divine arrows given by the saint. 34.2

In the beginning of the fire sacrifice you drove away Mareecha with your arrows,
And later killed other asuras and on the way you liberated Ahalya from her curse,
And reaching the city of Mithila, you broke the bow of Lord Shiva,
And married Sita who was really Goddess Lakshmi but was the daughter of earth,
And returned back to your country after marriage along with your brothers and their wives. 34.3

After the very angry Parsurama stopped you on the way and gave you his own luster,
You reached Ayodhya, Oh pretty Lord and lived in your palace with Sita happily,
And when Bharatha with Shathrugna had gone to his uncle's house for a stay,
When your father wanted to celebrate your coronation,
It so happened that it was prevented by the daughter of king of Kekaya. 34.4

You along with Sita and Lakshmana went to the forest,
So that the word of your father is honoured and obeyed,
And you stopped the citizens of Ayodhya who followed you,
And reached the place of Guha and wearing matted locks and tree hide,
You crossed the river Ganges and on the way saluted sage Bharadwaja,
And according to his advice you lived happily on the great Chithrakoota mountains. 34.5

You became sad when Bharatha told that your father died due to son's separation,
And gave libations of water to your late father
And gave your slippers and country to Bharatha,
And later you went and saluted sage Athri and then went to the wide Dandakaranya,
And on your way killed the asura called Viradha and later Oh God,
You saw the happy end of sage Sharabha and granted him salvation. 34.6

Then later you went and met sage Agasthya and saluted him, and took an oath,
To kill all the hordes of Rakshasas so that the sages can live without problems,
And from the saint received the bow of Vishnu as well as Brahmastra,
And on the way met Jatayu the eagle, who was the best friend of your father,
And happily lived with Sita in Panchavai on the banks of Godavari river. 34.7

You who are having the never tiring power, unable to tolerate Soorpanaka,
Who came there with entreaties of love, send her to your brother Lakshmana,
And the very angry Lakshmana cut her nose off and you fought,
With Khara Dhoosha, Trisiras and more than ten thousand Rakshasas,
Who became angry because of the taking away of prettiness of Soorpanaka,
And you killed them all without effort instantly. 34.8

Hearing the news from his sister, Ravana who was full of anger and passion,
Went and met Mareecha and according to his wish, Mareecha appeared,
As a magical deer in front of your hermitage and when Sita wanted the deer,
You chased the deer and killed him, and hearing him shout in deceptive voice for help,
Sita sent your brother to help you and Ravana abducted Sita,
And knowing that though you became sad, but realizing that,
An opportunity and motive to kill Ravana has come, you were happy. 34.9

Then, when you were going in search of Sita, and when Jatayu breathed his last,
Telling you that Ravana killed him when he tried to prevent abduction of Sita,
You did after death ceremonies for that great friend, and later killed Kabandha,
Who attempted to catch both of you and eat you both,
And then visiting Shabhari who was your devotee, you met Hanuman,
Who was the son of wind God on the banks of Pampa and became,
Happy because you got his help, Oh Lord of Guruvatyur, please protect me. 34.10

Dasakam - 35: Story of Rama after Treaty with Sugreeva

[This is the second part of Ramayana and ends with the going away of Sri Rama from this earth.]

After meeting with Hanuman, through him you entered in to treaty with Sugreeva,
Threw the skeleton of the asura called Dhundhubhi by using the thumb of your feet,
And then just by one arrow put a hole in the seven sala trees with one trial,
And later you killed the very powerful Bali who tried to kill Sugreeva,
By very unfair means of hiding behind a tree by using an arrow,
And later you suffered and spent the entire rainy season without Sita's company,
Near to the hermitage of the saint called Matanga 35.1

Later after getting scared by the harsh and angry words of your brother Lakshmana,
Sugreeva summoned the monkey army to search for your wife Sita and when they all,
Saluted at your feet and when they were about to start for the search,
You were happy and gave your signet ring and sent a message through Hanuman,
And those monkeys underwent great difficulties in search of your wife Sita. 35.2

As per the words of Sampathi, who got back his wings when he heard your story,
That Hanuman jumped and crossed the ocean, saw Sita in the city of Lanka,
Gave her your ring, destroyed Asoka garden, killed Akshaya kumara in war,
Suffered the ties of Brahmastra, met Ravana, burnt the entire Lanka,
And speedily came before you and gave you the hair brooch of Sita. 35.3

Then you along with, great monkeys like Sugreeva and Angadha and an army,
Spread all over the land, straight went to the sea, and there met brother of Ravana,
And gathering the secret information about Ravana told by him,
Requested the sea to give way and when your words were not honoured,
You got Prepared to shoot a fire arrow at the God of the sea, and seeing its power,
The sea god was scared and provided a path way in the middle of the sea. 35.4

Building a bridge using the mountains brought from everywhere by the monkeys,
You went to Lanka and you troubled the asura army by monkeys armed,
With only teeth, mountains stones and trees, in the middle of your valorous war,
Indrajit tied you and your brother Lakshmana using the serpent arrow,
And speedily Garuda came there and released both of you from the bondage,
By the wind generated by the flapping of his very huge wings. 35.5

Later that Lakshmana, lost his life by the weapon Shakthi of Indrajit,
And he was brought to life again by the smell of the medicine mountain,
Brought by Hanuman and he killed Indrajit who was very notorious by war of delusion,
And you who lost your balance due to the illusion of asuras,
Was consoled by Vibheeshana and you killed Kumbhakarna,
Along with the army that created tremor in earth by their march. 35.6

You accepted the chariot and armour sent by Devendra, during the war with Ravana,
And in the war you cut the head of Ravana using the Brahmastra,
And later accepted Sita who was purified by her entering in to the fire,
And then along with the monkeys who died earlier but were given life by the devas,
Vibheeshana and your wife Sita, you came to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka Vimana. 35.7

After your coronation as king you lived for more than ten thousand years happily,
And alas you sacrificed the Sita who was in a family way due to public scandal about her,
And you got Lavanasura killed by Shatrugna
And later killed the unjust Shudra called Shambhuka,
And at that time Sita who was living in Valmiki's hermitage
Gave birth to two of your sons. 35.8

According to the suggestion of sage Valmiki, who made your sons sing,
His sweet epic Ramayana in the hall of fire sacrifice,
When you wanted to take back Sita, she entered the earth and vanished,
And the God of death informed you that your time of death has arrived,
And for certain purpose you abandoned your brother Lakshmana,
And entered along with all your retinue the Sarayu river and reached Vaikunta. 35.9

It is definitely true that this famous incarnation of you as man,
Is to teach that excessive attachment to desire and Dharma,
Would lead to anguish at parting from each other and
Sacrifice and sufferings of innocent fellow beings,
For if this is otherwise, Oh God who holds the holy wheel,
How can there be sorrow in your mind which is full of divine joy?
And Oh virtuous lord of Guruvayur, please cure my diseases. 35.10

Dasakam - 36: Incarnation of Parasurama

[Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Lord Parasurama to get rid of the evil and bad kings of the world. He was born as the son of sage Jamadagni. To take revenge on the Kshatriyas, who troubled his parents, he got rid of them for twenty one generations.]

In olden times you took the incarnation of Dathathreya,
The son of sage Athri and his wife Anasooya,
And owing to constant harassment by your disciples,
You lost all enthusiasm and started wandering at will,
Along with your wife and you were seen by your,
Great devotee Karthaveeryarjuna, the king of Hehaya,
and you gave him the boon of eight fold wealth,
And also gave him the boon of dying at your own hands. 36.1

Oh Lord Vishnu, then to honour the boon given by you to Karthaveeryarjuna,
And to annihilate the entire clan of kings, who were causing harm to Brahmins,
And who had become a great burden to earth and were kept in check,
Only by the valour of king Karthaveeryarjuna, you were born in the Bhrugu clan,
As the last son of sage Jamadagni and Renuka with the name Rama,
Causing very great delight to both your parents. 36.2

By the age of fourteen you had completely mastered all the Vedas,
And cut off the head of your mother due to the order of your father,
Who got very angry with her due to her momentary attraction,
To a great Gandharwa and also killed your brothers,
Who did not obey your father's order and later,
When your father became peaceful, obtained a boon from him,
To bring back all of them back to life and were also blessed by your mother. 36.3

Then you went from your hermitage, where Kama Dhenu,
Had been brought by your father to please your mother,
As per the directions of the respectable elder sage Bhrugu,
To the Himalayas and worshipped Lord Shiva there,
And from him got his white axe, killed the asura indicated by him,
And got further very many blessed arrows and other arms,
And got sage Akrita verna as friend and returned home. 36.4

At that time the king Karthaveeryarjuna who had come to hunt in the forest,
Was welcomed by your father and saw the great wealth given by the cow,
And was worshipped along with his army by your father as guests,
And on returning home as per the advice of a bad minister,
He sent the minister to buy Kamadhenu from your father,
And when he tried to take the cow by force and your father prevented it,
And your father was killed by the minister but his army was destroyed by the cow
But the evil minded minister who was having an army abducted the cow's calf. 36.5

Hearing about what happened from your father,
Who was brought back to life by sage Shukra,
Along with your friend Akrita verna,
You meditated on Lord Shiva,
And armed with bow, sword and white axe,
Brought by Mahodhara a servant of Lord Shiva,
And getting in to a chariot also brought by him,
You went and requested the king to return the calf,
Several times and when he did not give,
You waged a terrible war against the great king. 36.6

Karthaveeryarjuna, the king of Hehaya conducted that Great War,
Along with his ten thousand sons, seventeen divisions of army,
Several very valorous captains and crowds of his devoted friends,
And soon your white axe and arrows killed all his army,
And rest of his army ran away in fear and he attacked you along with his other sons. 36.7

Karthaveeryarjuna who was earlier playing by constructing a dam,
In the Narmada river by his two thousand hands, just for fun,
And destroyed the pride of Ravana who was worshipping there,
Used several divine weapons and arrows against you,
But they were stopped by you, and you also stopped the holy wheel,
And this made Karthaveeyarjuna understand that you are Vishnu himself,
And then when he started meditating on you, you cut of all his sins,
And put an end to Karthaveeryarjuna. 36.8

And then, when the very angry sons of Karthaveerya killed your father,
Seeing mother Renuka beating her chest several times
You took a fierce oath and by meditation got chariot and arms,
And fought in all directions using the sword and arrow,
Against the Kshatriyas who were traitors of Brahmins,
And made the entire earth free of Kshatriyas. 36.9

Then you brought back your father to life again,
And completely destroyed people belonging to clan of kings,
And offered libations to your ancestors,
In Samantha panchaka which are tanks of blood,
And gave away all your land other wealth to Kasyapa and others,
Waged a great War against king Salya, and stopped it,
When sage Sanathkumara told that Lord Krishna would kill him. 36.10

Oh Lord of Guruvayur who was Parasurama himself,
When after you discontinued use of weapons,
And was doing penance in the Mahendra mountain,
Seeing the land mass submerged in the sea from Gokarna,
After hearing the prayers of very many sages,
Using the bow summoned by meditation,
You sent an arrow called fire arrow,
Fearing which the sea moved away with its water,
And you saved and brought up the land of Kerala,
And you who is such a God, please protect me. 36.11

Dasakam - 37: Happenings Leading to Incarnation of Krishna

[The story of the incarnation as Lord Krishna starts with this Dasakam and continues till Dasakam 88. In this, the circumstances behind the incarnation are described in detail. It also includes the killing by Kamsa of all the siblings born before Kamsa to Devaki.]

Oh Lord Vishnu who is the form of divine joy,
Though all the asuras were killed by you
In the battle between Asuras and devas,
Some of them in whom good deeds and sins
Were remaining and did not attain salvation,
Were born in the earth and the earth unable to bear their burden,
Took refuge at the feet of Brahma, who was already approached by all devas. 37.1

When the goddess earth lamented pitiably saying,
"Ho, ho I am being crushed by the weight of bad asuras,
And has almost gone and fallen and drowned in the sea,
And so please protect me and you can know about,
My sufferings by asking these Devas assembled here",
Brahma saw her with compassion and also,
Looked at the faces of devas who were standing with forlorn faces,
And Oh Lord Vishnu, he started meditating on you. 37.2

Then Lord Brahma addressing all the devas told them,
"Oh devas, what mother earth has told is very much true,
And it is Lord Vishnu who is taking care of the interests,
Of all of you and also this Goddess of earth, and so,
Let us all approach Lord shiva,
And with him go to the ocean of milk and surrender to him,
And also sing his praises without any delay",
And all of them came to the place of your residence. 37.3

All of them reached the shores of ocean of milk blessed by gentle breeze,
And stood together meditating on their feet and Lord Brahma,
Took your great words deep in to his mind and making everyone happy,
Told, "That divine soul Lord Vishnu told me as follows" 37.4

Then that Lord Brahma told them your own words as follows,
"I understand the sufferings of earth and devas due to the very bad kings,
And to completely annihilate those kings, I would be born,
In the Yadava clan, taking my fully complete incarnation,
And let all the devas and deva maidens be born in the clan Of Vrishnis,*
To serve me, along with their power." 37.5
* Cowherds

Oh God, hearing your words which were like nectar in their ears,
And getting a completely peaceful mind by the nectar of your mercy,
They all went back to their respective places of residence,
And due to your presence, in the holy and famous city of Mathura,
Vasudeva the son of Soora married the lucky daughter of Devaka. 37.6

After the marriage of Devaki and Vasudeva, Kamsa, the brother of Devaki,
Respected them well and went as their chariot driver and on the way,
You told as a voice of the sky, "Hey evil one, Her eighth son would kill you",
And the enraged Kamsa was greatly scared and took his sword to kill Devaki. 37.7

When that evil one caught hold of the hair of Devaki and was about to kill her,
Vasudeva tried to plead and console him and when he did leave his grip,
Told that he would undertake to give all the babies born to Devaki to him,
And this made Kamsa go home with happiness and later when Vasudeva,
Handed your first brother to Kamsa, he did not kill the child due to love,
And Oh God, this shows that even evil hard hearted ones have sometimes mercy. 37.8

During that time according to your wishes, when the famous sage Narada,
Told Kamsa, the king of Bhojas as follows, "You all belong to the asura clan,
And the Yadavas belong to the deva clan and Oh lord, do you not know,
"That Vishnu as per the request of devas is going to be born to kill you",
Kamsa made life difficult for all the Yadavas and killed all children of Vasudeva. 37.9

Then the king of snakes became the foetus of the seventh pregnancy of Devaki,
And Oh Madhava, according to your suggestion Maya Devi, put that child,
In to the womb of Rohini and at that time you who are embodiment of divine joy,
Entered the womb of Devaki and the devas submitted prayers to you,
And Oh God, you who did all this may please remove all my sickness,
And bless me with supreme devotion towards you. 37.10

Dasakam - 38: Incarnation of Krishna

[This Dasakam deals with the birth of Krishna in prison and his transport to the room of Yasoda who was the wife of the Yadava Chief Nanda Gopa.]

Oh Lord who is personification of complete joy,
When the time neared for your incarnation,
The rainy season came along with heavy rich clouds,
Which appeared as if is a powerful light emanating from you. 38.1

When all the environment got cool due to the heavy rain,
And when all good people were joyous because due to fulfillment of their desires,
And at midnight when the moon has just risen, you were born in this world,
So that you can remove the sufferings of all the three worlds. 38.2

In the room of your birth, though you were indeed a baby,
Your bluish black cloud like form looked as if it was attracting all sorts of wealth,
And the dazzle of your crown, bangles and armlets was mixed along with,
That of the conch, wheel, mace and lotus and was throwing light everywhere. 38.3

Oh Lord, who was the son of Vasudeva, due to the look tinged with shyness,
Of Goddess Lakshmi who was completely merged in your chest,
The atmosphere in that place was so surcharged that, it looked as if,
That all the evils in that house due to badness of Kamsa would be swept away. 38.4

Due to seeing you, who is even unattainable to sages, who have attained self-control,
Vasudeva filled both his eyes with your very baby like form,
And was transported to great ecstasy and horripilation, and with choked emotion,
Sang your praises, with his eyes being filled up with honey like tears. 38.5

That Vasudeva with a very joyous mind praised you like this,
"Oh God who is the divine spirit, be pleased with me,
You are the knife that cuts off the tender creeper of sorrow,
Please remove all my sorrow by your compassionate glance." 38.6

You who were also praised by your mother Devaki,
With eyes full of tears of joy, told your mother and father,
About the happenings in their previous two births,
And as per their request changed your divine form in to that of a baby. 38.7

Due to your suggestion Vasudeva who was the son of Soora,
Readied himself to swap you with the daughter of Nanda Gopa,
And lifted you, who can be carried only by the mind of great saints,
By his two hands like a young swan seated on a lotus flower. 38.8

Then the Yoga Maya, according to your suggestion,
Drowned all city people of the cowherd's place in to deep slumber,
And all the inanimate doors of the prison which were securely locked,
Opened by themselves and this indeed is nothing but wonderful. 38.9

Then the very lucky Vasudeva carrying you was shown the way,
By Adhisesha who prevented him from getting drenched in the rain by his hoods,
And lighted his path by the gems on his head,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, who is like that please cure my diseases. 38.10