Narayaneeyam

Dasakam - 39: Coming out of Yoga Maya and Festival of Krishna's Birth

[Vasudeva brings the child Yoga Maya born to Yasoda to the prison. In spite of the baby being a girl, Kamsa tries to dash the baby against a stone. She appears before him and tells that he who is born to kill him is elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Yadavas of Gokula celebrate the birth of a son to their king.]

When Vasudeva was going ahead carrying you with him,
He saw that the river Yamuna was full of water due to floods,
But that great ebbing water, as if by remarkable divine magic,
Surprisingly receded to a depth sufficient only to wet his feet. 39.1

Vasudeva entered the house of the cowherd Nanda Gopa,
Where all the ladies taking care of cows were sleeping,
And all the doors were open and the little baby girl was crying softly,
And put you in the bed of delivery, and took the girl Yoga Maya,
And speedily returned back to the city of Mathura. 39.2

After that, woken by the cry of your baby sister,
The servants informed the news of delivery to Kamsa,
And he rushed there completely perplexed,
And was only able to see a female child in his sister's hands. 39.3

Deciding firmly that this was only a magical trick played,
By the cunning Lord Vishnu, he snatched the baby from his sister's hands,
Like a big elephant plucking a young lotus flower from the pond,
And dashed your sister who does not have birth or death on a stone. 39.4

Then she slipped from the hands of Kamsa,
Like your devotee slipping away from the rope of God of death,
Assumed a very different form, flew up in to the sky,
And holding resplendent weapons in her eight arms and shined. 39.5

Oh Lord Your sister told him, Oh Cruel Kamsa,
"What would you accomplish by killing me,
For your god of death is already born elsewhere,
And now start getting worried of your welfare,"
And she vanished and she was praised by all devas,
And she is being worshipped in several temples. 39.6

Next day morning when the arrogant asuras,
Called Pralamba, Baka and Poothana came to know,
The words of the great goddess from Kamsa,
With a desire to kill you, started roaming everywhere,
Without fear killing all children, indicating that,
There is nothing in the world that cannot be done by people without mercy. 39.7

Oh Lord Mukunda, later lying on the delivery bed of Yasoda,
When you started shaking your feet and creating sound,
All the ladies got up and informed every one, the birth of the son,
And what to say, the entire Gokula became drowned in happiness. 39.8

How wonderful, then that Yasoda won a victory over all blessed persons on earth,
Looking closely at you who was as pretty as a new blue lotus,
And drank your prettiness by her eyes till she was satisfied,
And then fed you her milk slowly caressing your flower like body. 39.9

That Nanda Gopa becoming extremely joyous and happy,
Gave all sort of Charity to Brahmins, to ensure your well-being,
And similarly the cowherds did very many holy acts for your sake,
And Oh Lord who grants good to the entire three worlds,
You kindly cure and save me from my diseases. 39.10

Dasakam - 40: Salvation to Poothana

[Poothana, not knowing where the baby to kill Kamsa was born, kills several babies indiscriminately. She reaches Gokula and while she tries to feed Lord Krishna, Krishna sucks her life out and leads her to salvation.]

Later your father Vasudeva after meeting Nanda Gopa,
Who had come to the capital Mathura to give tribute to the kingdom,
And who was the store house of all known good qualities,
After learning about the slaughter of children
By Kamsa's friends told as follows. 40.1

"Oh friend, hearing about the birth of a son to you,
Makes me as happy as I myself got a son,"
And by thus telling he conferred the honour,
Of being your father on Nanda Gopa. 40.2

He continued, here as well as in your place,
Very bad and evil omens are found to occur,
And so please return back to your home as quickly as possible"
And Nanda Gopa after hearing these words,
Returned quickly fearing that something bad will happen to you. 40.3

At that time in the land of Vruja, a young lady,
Who was very pretty and having luxurious tress,
Around which bees were found to caress,
Came very near to you, Oh Lord who has,
Taken the very deceptive form of a baby. 40.4

That Poothana who had stolen the life of many babies,
And who was born in the family of Rakshasas,
And who has dressed herself in a pretty manner,
Made the cowherd maidens drown in thought,
As to who she is and caught and lifted you up. 40.5

That Poothana with her pretty attractive form,
Due to her bewitching ways mesmerized,
The Gopis, who were unable to stop her,
And started to breast feed you inside the house. 40.6

At that time, you who was very angry with her,
For having killed innumerable babies,
Climbed in to her lap and sucked her breast,
Which was coated with poison,
Similar to the sucking of a mango fruit. 40.7

When you sucked her breast along with her soul,
That Poothana made a sound like thunder,
And reverted back to her real form of Rakshasi,
And spreading both her hands fell on the floor. 40.8

When the Vruja desa heard that horrible sound,
And happened to see her colossal ugly form,
It was filled with Gopis who were aghast,
And you were playing on the chest of Poothana and,
Was lifted away fortunately by the Gopis. 40.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur who is good to all the worlds,
You who were sought to be protected by the Gopi lasses,
By my chanting your own names, become pleased,
And make me healthy and accept me as your slave. 40.10

Dasakam - 41: Cremation of Poothana and Happiness in Play of Krishna

[The scariness created by Poothana's death, her being given salvation by the God and childhood pranks of the baby Krishna are described here.]

After having heard all that was told by Vasudeva,
While Nanda Gopa was returning internally scared,
Saw something that has uprooted several trees,
And sought your refuge and surrendered to you. 41.1

All the Gopas after hearing the news from the Gopis,
Became scared, wonderstruck and became at a loss,
And chopped the huge fearsome body felled by you,
In to pieces and took them to distance and burnt it. 41.2

The smoke arising from the body which was purified,
By your drinking milk from her breasts, rose to very great heights,
And created a doubt among everybody, that the smoke,
Was a result of burning a sandal or Agaru or Guggulu trees. 41.3

You imparted fragrance to the body of Poothana,
And it looked like that you were loudly saying to the wise cowherds,
"Are you able to see the effect of contact with my body,
And this is not far off for you as you all will get it soon." 41.4

The Gopas were drowned in joy by seeing your face,
And were telling to each other, wonder of wonders,
This devil did not kill the baby and it is also a wonder,
That the foretelling of Vasudeva about the baby became true." 41.5

Oh son of Vasudeva, due to your living there,
The Vruja desa day by day became more and more prosperous,
And possessed many good things which will never get spoiled,
And provided full of boundless divine joy to the people. 41.6

The Gopis became very busy in talking with each other,
In their homes about your pretty form and bewitching smile,
And after completion of all their duties came to see you,
Every day and enjoyed by being able to see you. 41.7

Oh God, with stretched arms to lift you, the Gopis prattled,
"Oh little cherub are you not seeing me alone?",
"Hey all, do you not see that baby is smiling only at me?", and
"Hey baby please come to me, please come only to me". 41.8

You resembled a bee going from one red lotus to other,
When with an aim to caress your flower like body,
And to enjoy the pleasure of your soft touch,
The Gopis passed you between them endlessly. 41.9

When putting you in her lap and while feeding you,
Yasoda used to get immersed in the beauty of your smiling face,
And was transported to an immeasurable state of real joy,
And Oh God Hari you who are like that save me from this disease. 41.10

Dasakam - 42: Killing of Chakatasura

[Chakatasura, the asura who came in the form of a cart, was destroyed by the baby Krishna.]

Oh Lord during one of your birthdays, when,
Several ladies, gents and Brahmins arrived as guests,
The Lady Of Vruja, left you near a big cart,
And was busy in walking around and cooking in the kitchen. 42.1

Then she heard from near you,
The sound of breaking of wooden pieces,
And shout laced with fear from the boys,
With whom you had entrusted the baby. 42.2

Hearing that great sound of the uproar,
The Gopis came running with the breasts heaving,
And they saw you lying safely amidst,
The scattered wooden pieces in Nanda's home. 42.3

The Nanda, Gopas, Brahmins and others came
Running asking "Aha, What happened to the baby?",
And seeing that you were safely in the hands of Yasoda,
Consoled themselves with their eyes full of tears. 42.4

Nanda and others stood there with fingers on their noses,
Saying, "what a great wonder, how this happened,
And how this very big cart has been broken to pieces,
And we are not able to find any cause for it." 42.5

Oh God those cowherd boys who were supposed,
To protect you said that when you did not get breast milk,
You were seen crying with shaking of your pretty legs,
And the cart broke in to pieces because of your one kick,
And assured others, "We have seen it, we have seen it." 42.6

Then people who did not know your greatness told,
That, what these children are telling is unbelievable,
But those who have seen the salvation of Poothana,
Believed them and felt that it would have happened like that. 42.7

The ladies of Vruja with the flow of extreme love,
That can never be stopped caressed your limbs softly saying,
"Whether these coral coloured leaf bud like feet have been hurt?
Are there any wounds? Was there pain to these hibiscuses like tender feet?" 42.8

Nanda Gopa, your father unable to control his emotions,
Snatched you from your mother saying,
"Hey darling, This time he has been saved,
By the grace of the great God, Please give me my little one",
And hugged and caressed you again and again. 42.9

You have like this destroyed the asura,
Who came as a cart to kill you,
And not a powder of him was seen anywhere,
And this happened because, he has merged,
Within your form of sublime purity. 42.10

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, after that in your house,
The Brahmins who were invited for your birthday,
Carried out special worship for your well-being,
And showered on you their auspicious blessings,
And Oh God who drowned the entire Vruja desa,
In joy by your baby pranks, remove my sorrows. 42.11

Dasakam - 43: Killing of Trinavartha

[Another asura called Trinavartha came in the form of a cyclone and lifted baby Krishna from the cradle. The baby kept on increasing its weight and that made the asura drop the baby. Lord Krishna then killed him.]

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, one day your mother,
Was not able to lift you due to your being too heavy,
And so put you in bed, wondering why this was happening,
And prayed God and was engaged in the work of her home. 43.1

Then a horrific sound was heard from far away distance,
And a great asura called Trinavartha came in the form of a cyclone,
Filling all directions with dust and stole and lifted you,
Who was the stealer of others mind due to your pretty form. 43.2

Due to the darkness created by the dust which was everywhere,
When the Gopas were not able to see anything all round them,
Your mother came to the place where you were lying down,
Wondering herself as to what has happened to you,
And not finding you there started crying and shouting. 43.3

At that time the asura whose speed was reduced,
Due to your very great weight, became very tired,
While Gokula was filled completely with dust and uproar,
And the wail of the cry of your mother spread everywhere. 43.4

Hearing the wailing, Nanda Gopa and other Gopas,
And Gopis rushed to the house and by the time they started crying,
The very exhausted Trinavartha, intending to give salvation,
To you who is the one giving salvation to every one,
Understanding that he cannot do it, dropped you down from the sky. 43.5

Then immediately after the wailing and crying Gopas and Gopis,
They saw a very huge body falling on the rock outside,
And on his chest saw you without any harm, playing and smiling
And they felt happy and relieved and also sad. 43.6

From the very huge body of the very wicked asura,
The Gopas lifted you like lifting a blue gem from a mountain,
Though you were laughing loudly without any care,
And were beating his body with your lotus like hands. 43.7

Oh God, we salute you, who was lifted, embraced, kissed,
And passed on from one to another and you leapt in to the
Lotus like hands of the Gopis who wanted to have you but were hesitating. 43.8

Your parents and others said, "what can be done by us,
And let the Govinda who removes the sorrows,
Of all his devotees, protect our little darling,"
And prayed you lord, to protect yourselves. 43.9

Why, oh Lord of Guruvayur, you who have killed,
This asura who had the form of the gas,
Are not curing my diseases caused by gas?
What should I do? And I pray again to you,
To completely cure all my diseases. 43.10

Dasakam - 44: Naming Ceremony and Casting of Horoscope

[Worried by these happenings, Nanda Gopa and Yasoda consult their Guru Sage Garga, who knew that Lord Krishna was God himself. Sage Garga consoled them and at their request named him as Krishna. Krishna would mean that which leads to joy and peace. It also means a boy who is black. The sage also made a horoscope of the boy and read his future. He named Rohini's son as Rama.)

Oh Lord, Sage Garga who is an expert in the science of astrology,
Came as per the secret request of Vasudeva, to your house,
To conduct naming and other ceremonies,
To you who is very much beyond all ceremonies. 44.1

Afterwards the very much pleased Nanda Gopa,
with great zest to conduct the naming ceremony,
Respected Garga who was greatest among sages,
With a soft smile and made a request to him. 44.2

Sage Garga, thrilled at the prospect told,
"Since I am the Guru of the Yadhu clan,
This ceremony should be performed very secretly,"
And named you along with your elder brother. 44.3

The sage Garga must have decided to conduct the ceremony in secret,
Possibly wondering as to how he will ever give a name to you,
Who has one thousand names or even countless names. 44.4

Adding the prefix "Krish" to the suffix "Na",
To denote that you are embodiment of true joy,
Or possibly denoting you as the one who destroys sins of the world,
The great sage named you as "Krishna". 44.5

He also gave you other names and also,
Gave names like Rama to your elder brother,
And explained their significance to Nanda your father,
Without revealing that you are God but made him understand,
That you are a superman with qualities which are not in others. 44.6

That great sage telling about your greatness told,
"He who shows love to your son, would be free from Maya,
And will never ever suffer sorrows of this world,
And he who causes trouble to him would be destroyed." 44.7

Again sage Garga telling about your greatness told,
"This baby will win over very large number of Asuras,
Keep his own people in a place devoid of any sorrow,
And you will hear about his very pure fame." 44.8

That sage further described without revealing you are Hari,
That "you will cross all obstacles with the help of this baby,
And so remain always with devotion to this baby". 44.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, You who was nurtured and pampered,
By the very happy Nanda Gopa and others,
After the departure of sage Garga, may please, cure my illness. 44.10

Dasakam - 45: Childhood Pranks

[Krishna became a slightly older baby and kept on doing the childhood pranks which entertained everybody.]

Oh Krishna who is along with Balatama,
You both were crawling on your legs and hands,
And lit up different places charmingly,
And anxious to hear the jingle of your own anklets,
Rotated your legs and moved prettily. 45.1

With a very pretty soft, soft smile revealing your teeth,
With curls of hair falling all over your face,
With soles of your feet visible while you are crawling,
And with your bangles sliding and resting on your wrist,
You both have completely charmed the minds of onlookers. 45.2

When with a look of ecstasy people try to catch you both,
You make some peculiar sound, laugh loudly and run away,
And then turn back your lovely face and stare at them,
Oh son of Vasudeva, what a great pleasure you gave to those people? 45.3

When you were running like that, some time you slip and fall,
And then manage to get up with dirt coated all over you,
And those sages who are dust free salute you with a smile,
And by that time your mothers reach there,
And with pity take you up and hug you as you are,
And then they shower and cover you with kisses. 45.4

When her breasts are filled with milk, the very lucky Yasoda,
Would cradle you in her lap, and feed you with her mind wavering with excitement,
In the middle, Oh baby who has put on the guise of cowherd,
She attained the acme of joy by seeing your charming face and budding teeth. 45.5

When you started walking and running, and started playing with neighboring children,
You who used to engage in several attractive mischief and pranks,
And started chasing and catching pet parrots, cats and calves,
The Gopas with loud laugh used to prevent you by blocking your way. 45.6

Oh killer of Mura, wherever you and your brother Balarama went,
The eyes of the enraptured Gopis followed you ceaselessly,
And they forgetting their household chores, their children and also servants,
Used to follow you often and were seen to have time for nothing else. 45.7

With extreme desire to eat butter that was given to you by the Gopis,
Sometimes you used to sing sweetly and dance attractively,
And some other times you ate the butter given by the kind Gopis,
And also drank the freshly boiled milk given by them. 45.8

Oh God, possibly thinking that "I was forced to beg Mahabali,
But I am not prepared to beg before these weak damsels,"
You decided to abandon the way of getting things by begging,
And took resort to the other way of very cleverly planned theft. 45.9

The ladies of the Vruja desa did not bother about your stealing their curds,
And they were not pained by it also, most probably because,
You had drowned them in the ocean of joy by stealing their minds,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who was like that, please cure my diseases. 45.10

The sloka 11 and 12 given below are not there in the authorized Vanamala version.

One day seeing the shining moon above the tree branches,
You mistook it to be a fruit and you pestered your parents for it,
And when they for fun asked you to call it yourself,
On your summoning the moon descended straight in to your hands,
Along with the innumerable stars and you appeared in your supreme form. 45.11

When the father was wonderstruck and started prattling "What, what is it",
You drowned that father for a moment in the divine ocean of joy,
And later brought back the illusion of you being his son,
And Oh God who is like that, save me from my diseases. 45.12

Dasakam - 46: Story of Yasoda seeing Universe in the Mouth of Baby Krishna

[Lord Krishna's friends complained that he had eaten mud. When he denied it, his mother asked to open his mouth. There Yasoda saw the entire Universe.]

Oh God once, when you were sucking and drinking milk,
From your mother, lying flatly on her open lap,
You broke in to a yawn and the Gopi who was your mother,
Happened to see the entire universe inside your mouth. 46.1

Oh Lord of the universe, at another time,
When you were playing with your friends,
You deceived them while gathering fruits,
And they went and complained to your mother that you ate mud. 46.2

Oh God, felling that you who have made all the earth and water,
Inside you at the time of the great deluge,
Would become sick by eating little mud,
Your mother became very angry with you. 46.3

When your mother asked you with concern,
"Hey kid who puts on an act of obedience,
So you have eaten mud, in spite of my telling you",
Oh God you smilingly kept silent,
Making her feel that her anger is without any effect. 46.4

Then when your mother being upset chided you,
"Little one, if you do not agree with,
What all these children are telling with certainty,
Please open your mouth, let us see."
And without any hesitation, you opened,
Your mouth which was like, a just opening lotus flower. 46.5

Possibly with an idea of satisfying the curiosity of your mother,
Who was minutely examining your mouth for traces of mud,
You not only showed her this entire earth,
But also the universe consisting of all worlds. 46.6

She saw in your open mouth, in one place forests,
In another place sea, yet another place the sky,
In yet another place nether world, men asuras and devas,
And there was nothing that she was not able to see in your mouth,
For all the fourteen worlds and their things were there. 46.7

In your mouth again she saw you as the one,
Who sleeps in the ocean of milk,
As the divine one who lived in Vaikunta,
And also you as a baby just standing in front of her.
And was there any form of yours that she did not see there? 46.8

Seeing in your mouth the entire unfolding universe,
She also saw you clearly standing with open mouth in front of her,
And this clearly explained to her that,
All this world is limitless and temporary. 46.9

Then, when for a second she returned to the world of realty,
You charmed her with the very affectionate illusion,
And asked from her more milk and lay on her lap,
And Oh wonderful child, please take care of me. 46.10

Dasakam - 47: Getting tied to Mortar

[When baby Krishna was left half-fed by Yasoda to mind some house-hold chores, he got angry and broke the curd pot. Angered by this Yasoda tried to tie him to the mortar. But the length of any rope was not just sufficient. Seeing her exasperated, Lord Krishna made her tie him to the mortar.]

One day you went near your mother, churning curds,
Due to the desire to drink milk from her,
You stopped her and climbed on her lap,
And started drinking as you wanted. 47.1

When your feeding had just half finished,
And when your lotus like opened with a smile,
Oh Lord your mother left suddenly,
To mind the milk that was kept for boiling. 47.2

Oh God, due to the welling anger due to,
Your drinking milk, being stopped in the middle,
You took a churning rod and alas, broke the curd pot. 47.3

Then hearing the very loud noise that was heard,
Your mother came running to find out about it,
And saw the curd which had spread all over,
Which was like your fame which is spread everywhere. 47.4

When she was not able to see you,
Who is being searched by the Vedas,
That blessed mother saw you sitting on the mortar,
And feeding butter to a cat. 47.5

Immediately that Yasoda became very angry,
Caught hold of you who had a shining lotus like face,
Due to the act of fear that you were putting on,
Before her friends, and took a rope to tie you. 47.6

Oh God, That Yasoda decided to tie you,
Who made good people want to get tied up with you,
And even though she tied many ropes to tie you,
Those ropes always were short by two inches to tie you. 47.7

Oh Hari, when her friends were staring with smile and wonder,
You seeing your mother very tired and covered with sweat,
Were filled with pity and though you had a form which is not bounded,
Wonder of wonders, Gave permission to being tied by your mother. 47.8

As soon as your mother went to the house after tying you,
And saying, "Let this mischief be tied to this mortar for some time",
You started eating the butter that you had stored in the hollow of the mortar. 47.9

Oh Lord, the gods in the heaven praised you,
"Oh god, if you are available to only those without attachment,*
How did Yasoda who has great attachment to you, tie you,"
And Oh God please save me from this sickness. 47.10
* Pasa the word also can be translated as rope.

Dasakam - 48: Freeing Nala Khoobara and Mani Greeva from Curse

[Nala Khoobara and Mani Greeva were sons of Lord Kubhera who had become trees by the curse of Sage Narada. These trees were standing in the courtyard of Lord Krishna's house. The child Krishna dragged the mortar in between those trees and broke both the trees, Nala Khoobara and Mani Greeva regained their original forms.]

You with a soft belly, who was praised by the extremely happy devas,
Who were surrounding you was called as "Dhamodhara" by them,
And you slowly caught the mortar and stood and saw to Marutha trees nearby. 48.1

Nalakoobhara was the son of Kubhera the god of wealth,
And so was Manigreeva who was very famous,
And both of them by penance to Lord Shiva prettiness and form,
Became very arrogant and lead a life without thinking about you. 48.2

Those Nala Khoobaras who were once surrounded by large number of ladies,
Who were dancing and singing under the total influence of alcohol,
And were taking bath in the nude in the holy river Ganges,
And were drowned in various types of romantic sports with those ladies
Were seen by sage Narada who was your great devotee,
And who was worshipped by the entire universe. 48.3

Even though the ladies on seeing the sage, gathered their cloths,
And dressed themselves and were being clearly seen by the Nalakhoobaras,
They blinded by zest and having lost their wisdom did not stop what they were doing,
And were told by the great sage as follows so that they would get devotion towards you,
And also would be able to keep away their minds from base acts. 48.4

"You both would live as Marutha trees for a very long time,
And after seeing Lord Hari, you would go back to your places,"
And hearing this curse those Nalakhoobara and Manigreeva,
With anxiety to see you quickly, became Maruth trees in Vruja desa. 48.5

You who were slow moving approached those trees,
Without any hesitation or fear, and entered in between those trees,
Which were very much worn out due to their age,
And pulling the entangled mortar made the trees fall. 48.6

Oh Govinda, as soon as you broke those two trees,
Two very radiant yakshas came out of those trees,
And immediately started singing your praises. 48.7

Definitely devotees of other Gods would gradually,
Reach and worship you, and these devotees of Shiva,
Have reached your feet due to the blessing of Narada,
And prayed for great devotion to you and went back. 48.8

Hearing the horrible sound of the trees falling,
The Gopas were scared and came running to the spot,
And you were freed from your bondage By Nanda,
Who was staring at the very much ashamed and bent face of Yasoda. 48.9

The Gopas saying that" This baby who was caught in between the trees,
Was only saved by the power of Lord Vishnu, without any problems,"
And took you to your home and Oh Lord of Guruvayur,
You may kindly save me from this diseases. 48.10

Dasakam - 49: Entering in to Vrindavana

[Upset by the various bad happenings, the Yadavas decide to shift to Vrindavana (literally forest of Thulasi) near the Govardhana (mountain that increases cows) mountain as well as on the banks of river Yamuna. Krishna likes the new place and started wandering here and there. He joins other cowherd boys in grazing the calves.]

Those Gopas completely ignorant of your greatness,
Seeing the omens which did not have proper reasoning,
Thought that they were omens which are bad,
And decided to change their place of residence. 49.1

Then the great Gopa called Upananda, prompted by you,
Told that "West of this place, there is a charming forest called Vrindavana." 49.2

Without further delay Nanda Gopa and his friends,
Started to that great forest after leaving their dwellings,
And immediately the cart in which you were with your mother also started. 49.3

Due to the very interesting sound made by the rolling of cart,
Due to the reverberating sound made by the hoofs of cows,
And due to the interesting indistinct baby prattle of yours,
The Gopis did not feel weary at all due to the travel. 49.4

Oh God, with the trees with jasmine creepers on full bloom,
And due to the grass land which shined as if it was paved with emerald,
The Brindavana was extremely pretty and made you happy. 49.5

There in Brindavana the Gopas settled down happily,
In the newly built crescent shaped houses,
And you along with other Gopa children,
Inspected the sylvan beauty of the forest around. 49.6

You went and saw river Yamuna, the daughter of Kalindha,
Which with its very clear water was flowing in curved paths,
Which was full of the pretty musical chatter of the swans,
And which had fully open lotus flowers similar to your smiling face. 49.7

You also enjoyed seeing the Govardhana Mountain,
With hundreds of peacocks making their sound,
Which had different colours due to reflection of light on several gems,
And which appeared to be touching the land of Brahma by its tall peaks. 49.8

Then later you wandered along with the Gopa lads,
Though the forests which was covering all the four sides,
And seeing there the Kalindi river fully flowing in curves,
And felt that it looked like the passionate and lonely sweetheart. 49.9

With great enthusiasm to graze the calves in that forest,
You started traveling in that forest along with Balarama and other friends,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who did like that, save me from all diseases. 49.10


Dasakam - 50: Killing of Bakasura and Aghasura

[Lord Krishna kills two more asuras who came in the form of a calf and another who came as a crane.]

Oh Gracious Lord, later you, who was bewitching to all eyes,
Along with Balarama and other friends started walking in Vrindavana
Which was very pretty and full of hoards of honey bees,
And being interested in grazing the darling calves,
You went along with horn, flute and a stick made of cane. 50.1

Oh God, who was the consort of Lakshmi, as soon you kept your feet,
Which looks after the earth and which was caressed by the lotus hands of Lakshmi,
In the very holy Vrindavana, the trees, creepers, earth mountain and fields,
There were found to completely teeming with all sorts of wealth. 50.2

While you were wandering all over the forest full of tender grass,
And in the banks of Yamuna filled with very cool breeze,
And on the peaks of the very lofty Govardhana Mountain,
Grazing your calves, you recognized one asura,
Who had joined your herd in the form of a calf. 50.3

You after noticing him waving his tails very forcefully,
And seeing his horrific stare by turning his head back,
Caught hold of his legs, lifted and rotated him several times,
And as soon as he was dead flung his body on a tree. 50.4

Hey Lord Vishnu, when the very bad asura with a very gross body,
Felled very many trees by his fall and ruined the forests all around,
The devas who were crowding the skies, due to their joy,
Which ebbed in them, showered flowers on your head. 50.5

When the cowherd boy s asked you how very sweet scented flowers,
Were falling from the top on your head, you playfully replied,
That it was the flowers which went up from the trees,
When you threw the body of Asura on them. 50.6

When another very hot summer day when you and your friends,
Went to the river Kalindi to quench your thirst, you all saw a huge crane,
Which looked like huge mountain, whose wings Indra forgot to cut in the days of yore,
And which crane was flapping its wings very vigorously. 50.7

When the cowherd children were drinking lots of water from the river,
That crane ran near you and picked you up and swallowed you,
And within an instant threw you out, as if he has swallowed fire,
And when he was trying tear you apart by his very sharp beak,
You caught hold of the two ends of the beaks,
Split them apart and killed him. 50.8

When that crane went to the town of the God of death,
Possibly to see his elder sister Poothana or perhaps,
To see his younger brother Agha who were waiting to see him,
You accepted the shower of flowers from devas and went home. 50.9

Oh Krishna, who made your mother and father overjoyed,
And the Gopis, who rush to see you when they happened to hear,
The sweet music that was flowing from your flute,
And stare at you with greatest joy and expectation,
As the one who is living in the famous temple of Guruvayur,
Please remove all my diseases and drive them out. 50.10

Dasakam - 51: Killing of Aghasura and Picnic Lunch in Forest

[Aghasura attacked Lord Krishna and the Gopas in the form of a big Python. It is described in the first part as to how Lord Krishna killed him. The second part deals with the picnic lunch these boys had with Lord Krishna.]

One day along with the children of Vruja Desa,
You decided to have a picnic in the forest,
And with several children surrounding you,
As well as accompanied by different several tasty dishes,
And snacks, you went to the forest in the morning 51.1

When you started to the forest, the holy dust from your feet,
Which is capable of purifying all the three worlds,
Rose from there and was received by the overjoyed sages. 51.2

Oh Lord, when you were grazing the cattle,
In the land which was full of grass along with Gopas,
The very fierce Aghasura assuming the form of a python,
With an intention to do sin, stopped them in their way. 51.3

When you were little far away and behind the group,
With interest to indulge in playing,
The Gopas entered the mouth of the python,
Which had a body like a mountain and a mouth like a cave. 51.4

When without thinking the Gopas and cows entered,
Inside the python and when their body started boiling in heat,
Oh Lord, you realizing it, also entered the mouth of the python,
With an intention of saving your friends who were without any support. 51.5

When you inflated your body making him not able to breath,
The great snake started writhing and struggling in agony,
And you speedily wrenched open his thick neck,
And sent out the Gopas and calves outside his body and came out. 51.6

The great light which emerged from the body of that Asura,
Stood waiting in the sky so that it can merge along with you,
And wonder of wonders merged with you when you came out,
And the devas who were in the sky danced and sang during this time. 51.7

Followed by lord Brahma and
Other devas who were full of wonderment,
At the time of noon, you went to a different spot
With all your friends and made a festival of your lunch. 51.8

Tucking the flute and the horn in your waist,
Telling sweet words and holding handful of rice,
You made the Gopa boys laugh and took your food,
And this made the devas pray you with happiness. 51.9

The devas prayed, "the happiness that you get,
By taking food sitting in the midst of the Gopa boys,
Seems to be much greater than your taking food with us,"
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please cure me of all my diseases. 51.10

Dasakam - 52: Destroying Pride of Brahma

[Lord Brahma wanted to test the power of Krishna and hid all the calves and Gopa boys. Then Krishna took the forms of each individual calf and the Gopa boy. This continued for one full year. Later Brahma came and begged Krishna's pardon.]

Then that Brahma watching you give salvation to Aghasura,
And observing your great power which was not seen in other incarnations,
Decided to test you and using his power of delusion,
Caused the entire of herd of calves vanish from there. 52.1

When the group of Gopa boys drowned in sorrow,
At the disappearance of the herd of calves,
You left your half-finished meal and as if to obey Brahma's wish,
Started searching for the calves and then that Brahma hid,
The Gopa boys also with their half-finished meals. 52.2

Later you, yourself became the calves and groups of Gopas,
As well inanimate things like flute, vessel and milk stand,
And happily played as to how you were playing before Brahma came,
And you due to your deception came back in various different forms. 52.3

Later you who had taken both the forms of calves and Gopas,
And inanimate things like milk stand, vessel and flute,
Was received by the cow mothers and mothers of Gopas,
With great delight ecstasy and happiness. 52.4

While before this happened, the Gopis and cows,
Due to the self-centeredness of the soul,
Were greatly loving them as their children,
But when they got you who is the God himself as their child,
They were drowned in ecstasy and great joy. 52.5

Even your brother Balarama was able to realize this only at the end of the year,
That the cow herd clan was really nurturing and pampering only you,
In your various different forms, indicating the real fact,
That though both of you are incarnations, you both were different. 52.6

When after one year Lord Brahma restored the real Gopas and calves,
He was terribly perplexed that he could not find any difference,
Whatsoever among the real Gopas and calves and your forms,
And to dispel his confusion by all your forms,
You appeared before him with four hands and a crown,
With the blue colour of the water rich clouds. 52.7

Lord Brahma saw the differently varying forms of yours,
Some with Goddess Lakshmi gently massaging your feet,
Some with you sleeping on Adhi Sesha, giving great joy,
Some with your eyes shut in the deep yogic sleep,
And some with you being served by sages like Sanaka and Sanath kumara. 52.8

Seeing before him innumerable forms of you as Lord Vishnu,
And in every place seeing himself attending on you,
When drowning in delusion Brahma lost his senses,
You appeared before him in your old form of a child,
With a ball of half eaten food in your hand. 52.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, who made Lord Brahma loose his pride,
And made him bow before you again and again in humility,
And made him return back to his abode in Sathyaloka,
And who returned with the happy Gopa lads and calves home,
Please be kind enough to cure all my diseases. 52.10

Dasakam - 53: Killing of Dhenukasura

[Lord Krishna becomes a young boy and started taking care of the cows. Krishna happened to enter the forest of palm trees in which Dhenukasura lived in the form of a donkey. Krishna got him killed through his elder brother Lord Balarama.]

Oh Lord of the universe, after a charming baby hood,
When you entered the stage of a boy,
You left the job of looking after calves,
And started with happiness the job of looking after the cows. 53.1

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, this change is greatly befitting,
For you who took the incarnation to protect the earth,*
Started looking after the herds of cows,*
When you reached this stage of boyhood. 53.2
* "Gothra" means earth as well as cow herds.

One day when you were wandering in the forest,
Along with Balarama enjoying the sylvan beauty,
According to suggestion of your close friend Sri Dhama,
You happened to enter the forest of Dhenukasura. 53.3

When as per your wishes your brother Balarama,
Vigorously shook the palms in that forest,
Fruits of the palm tree belonging to different stages fell,
And the weak looking Dhenukasura came there as a donkey. 53.4

Possibly due to the fact that you were sincerely,
Engaged in looking after the herds of cows,*
You thought, how can I kill this asura called Dhenuka,*
And made that asura who had fought with all devas,
Be killed by your elder brother Balarama. 53.5
* Dhenuka could also indicate herd of cows.

Then, when the servants of Dhenukasura came in the form of Jackals,
Oh Lord, you along with your brother, playfully and without effort,
Lifted them and threw them on the palm trees as if they were Jamun fruits.* 53.6
* Jambu indicates jackals as well as Jamun fruits.

When you both completely killed all the jackals,
God Varuna who also has the name of Jambuka,
Became scared and got rattled and hid that name of his,
Remain, only in the Vedas and not popularly used. 53.7

Oh killer of Mura, the devas in the heaven praised you thus,
"The fruits of your incarnation has now been realized."
And you told your friends smilingly, "fruits realized, indeed",
And ate along with your friends lot of palm fruits. 53.8

You then returned home eating with all your friends,
Who were entirely satisfied and proud by eating,
Lot of big honey dripping fruits with very thick meat,
And some of them carrying big loads of such fruits home. 53.9

When you all shared these fruits with all people,
They said, "Dhenuka has been killed, killed,"
And ate the very juicy and tasty fruits,
And added, "Victory to you, Let you live long",
And oh Lord of Guruvayur, protect me from diseases. 53.10

Dasakam - 54: Coming of Kaliya to Yamuna (Kalindhi)

[The Cobra called Kaliya once troubled Lord Garuda. When Garuda came to attack him, he came to Vrindavana where Garuda cannot enter due to the curse of a sage. He mixed his poison in the river waters. Gopa boys and cows drank that water and died. Krishna brought back all of them from death.]

Once a sage called Soubhari interested in the service of God,
Did penance inside the water of Kalindhi for twelve years,
And during this time he became attached to the fish in the river,
Indulging in romantic sports and he happened to see,
Lord Garuda travel in front of his eyes. 54.1

Seeing your Garuda who was hungry,
Eat one of the fishes in the river, Soubhari became internally sad,
And told Garuda that if he eats any fish from this river,
He would not live and attain death. 54.2

During that time a serpent called Kaliya, due to his very strong poison,
Became proud and ate the portion of food reserved for Lord Garuda,
And when Garuda depending only on your lotus like feet,
Became angry and try to attack Kaliya by flapping his wings,
Kaliya had to take shelter in the waters of Kalindi,
Where Lord Garuda has no entry due to the curse of the sage. 54.3

That cruel snake Kaliya when he started residing in Kalindi,
Due to the power of his poison, the trees in the shore of the river,
Wilted and birds flying on the sky fell down dead,
And seeing this your mind melted with mercy. 54.4

During that time, one day when you were wandering in the forest,
Without the company of Balarama, due to the terrible heat of the summer,
The calves and cowherd boys became extremely thirsty,
And drank the water of the river till their thirst is quenched. 54.5

Hey Achyutha, seeing all of them fall down without life there,
You became drenched with mercy and,
With a simple glance of your nectar filled,
Mind brought them back to life. 54.6

The cow herd boys wondering "What is this?
Why is there a great joy which cools our body"
Stood up and seeing you in front of them,
And remembering the other divine acts that you did,
And having understood that this also is your sport,
Came running to you and hugged you. 54.7

Similarly the cows also regained their life in an instant,
And with great joy, saw you in front of them,
And with their eyes filled with tears of joy,
Went round and round you making soft mooing sound. 54.8

Your Gopa friends thanked you and saluted you,
And told, "Oh Mukunda, the hairs all over our body,
Are standing erect and we feel great joy inside,
And the effect of this poison is indeed wonderful." 54.9

Thus oh lord even when your devotees die,
You with your very pretty glance,
Revive them giving back their life,
And you who is endowed with such great mercy,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur, remove all my diseases. 54.10

Dasakam - 55: Dancing on heads of Kaliya

[You then destroyed the pride of the serpent by dancing on its heads.]

Oh Lord, then you having decided to send away Kaliya,
From the waters of Kalindhi you speedily went near the Kadamba tree,
Which was situated near the banks of the river Kalindhi,
Whose leaves had all got dried up due to the poisonous fumes. 55.1

You then climbed the tree using feet which are soft like tender leaves,
And jumped in to the river which was tumultuous with its waves,
And went very deep in to those dreadful waters. 55.2

Due to the weight of your body which carries all the three worlds,
The water in the river went in to deep turbulence,
And rose up making horrendous sound,
And drowned one hundred bow distance of the shore. 55.3

Afterwards hearing the great sound made by the water,
Which swirled and agitated causing turbulence,
Kaliya who lost his wisdom due to uncontrollable anger,
Rose up from the river water and approached you. 55.4

You saw in front of you that Kaliya, who was spitting,
Poisonous liquid which looked like the raging fire,
From his thousand hoods, and he appeared like,
the Anjana mountain with very many peaks. 55.5

That Kaliya who was spitting the horrible poisonous fire,
Along with eyes burning out of anger bit you in several places,
You, who is extraordinarily powerful, and finding you not bothered,
Alas wrapped himself round you so that you cannot move. 55.6

After this, when being not able to see you,
The Gopa boys and cows, who were on the shore,
Stood sorrowing for you and due to bad omens,
In their homes Nanda gopa and others reached the bank of Kalindhi. 55.7

Oh Lord, all of them seeing your very pitiable state,
Decided to give up their lives and seeing which,
You freed yourself from the clutches of the snake,
And rose up from the water adorned with a smile. 55.8

Then you climbed on the hood of the king of serpents,
With your feet which showered pretty light all around,
And started dancing there to the accompaniment,
Of the sound of the tinkling bells in your anklets,
And keeping beats with the bangles of your hand. 55.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, the Gopas became happy,
When you started dancing on the hoods,
And the sages also became happy,
The Devas showered flowers from the sky,
And Oh God who is like that please cure me from disease. 55.10

Dasakam - 56: Humbling the Pride of Kaliya and Blessing of God

[When Kaliya's wives requested Krishna's pardon, Krishna showed him an alternate place to live and sent him out. Later when a forest fire attacked the Gopa boys, Krishna saved them.]

Oh God, thus, when in the sky, the group of deva lasses,
Were singing prettily to the accompaniment of the drum,
Played by the devas, you along with prettily waving ear rings,
Danced on the hood of Kaliya for a long time. 56.1

Oh Hari, you removed your steps from those hoods that go down,
And put your feet pressed on those hoods that were raising,
And kept time with your hands and danced for a long time. 56.2

Hey Madhava, the king of snakes Kaliya with all his heads,
Bent down due to the crushing blow of your dancing feet,
Vomited blood and turned the waters of Kalindi in to red,
And became so tired that his wives came out,
And fell in surrender at your feet. 56.3

Oh God, those wives of the snake sang your praises,
Which showed them, the way that even great saints,
Cannot attain, without any inhibition whatsoever,
For they had heard about your greatness,
And were having a mind that would melt due to your greatness. 56.4

Oh Achyutha, with heart full of increasing mercy,
When you saw and felt the devotion of the wives of the serpent,
Which made your heart beat fast, you saved Kaliya from death,
And he completely offered himself to you by prostrating before you. 56.5

You told them to go to the Island Ramanaka,
Which is in between the seas and assured them,
That Garuda who was a serpent enemy,
Would never trouble them there,
And Kaliya with a bent head agreed to your words,
And along with other snakes left that place. 56.6

You decorating yourself with the sparkling jewels,
Offered to you by the wives of the serpent king,
And also wearing the silks offered by them,
At dusk joined your people who were waiting for you,
In the shores of Kalindi and they all got drowned in their tears of joy. 56.7

Then during that night due to great darkness,
When none of you were able to go to your homes in Vruja,
They all surrendered to your lotus like feet and slept,
And at that time the forest caught fire and it surrounded them. 56.8

Then hearing their cry "Please save us, save us",
Made in a very loud pitiable voice,
You completely drank the entire forest fire,
And there is nothing great about it,
Because it is known that your mouth itself is fire. 56.9

Then the very happy and contended Gopas praised you,
"It is well known that yellow *colour is that of the fire,
But due to this act of drinking*, it shines further"
Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please destroy all my sins as well as diseases. 56.10
*Peetha denotes yellow colour and act of drinking

Dasakam - 57: Killing of Pralambhasura

[An asura called Pralamba came to kill you in the guise of a gopa lad. While playing the fame of losers carrying winners, Lord Balarama killed him.]

Then on another day, Oh God who fulfills our wishes,
You along with Balarama, both of you being dressed well,
Went to the forest along with the Gopa boys and calves. 57.1

You pointing out the great beauty of Brindavan,
As well as playing with the children holding their sticks,
You reached the shade of the banyan tree called Bhandareeka. 57.2

That time Pralambhasura who wanted to kill you,
And who did not have an iota of mercy,
Took the form of a Gopa boy and,
Reached you who had long hands reaching the thigh. 57.3

Though you understood his intention,
You acted as if you did not know about it,
And you showed great friendship to that Asura,
And played below the banyan tree a mock war,
Along with the very healthy Gopa boys
Dividing yourself in to two groups. 57.4

Oh God you divided the Gopa boys,
In the groups led by you and the one lead by Balarama,
And you included the asura who was afraid of you,
In the group to which you were the leader. 57.5

With the condition that loser should carry the winner,
On his shoulders and run after the wrestling fight,
You exhibiting your nature of being a slave to your devotee,
You carried and Ran, Sri Dhama who was in the other group. 57.6

Like this when numerous Gopa boys carried others,
And also They were carried by others in the group,
Pralambhasura who was defeated by Balarama,
Fearing you, carried him for a long distance. 57.7

Seeing that he wanted to carry him far away from you.
Balarama increased his body weight very greatly,
And this made Pralabhasura take his real form,
And even Balarama was scared on seeing his asura form. 57.8

When the asura form grew very tall,
Balarama was able to see you from far off,
And left off his fear and started hitting the asura,
By his clenched fist and crushed him. 57.9

When you saw Balarama after his victorious return,
After killing that very clever Asura,
You affectionately hugged him and immediately,
The devas started showering petals on your heads 57.10

Oh Hari who shines with the luster of black bee,
You who are the support of the entire earth,
Carried out the killing of Pralamba properly,
And Oh god do not wait any further,
And cure all my diseases speedily. 57.11

Dasakam - 58: Saving of Gopas and Gokula from Forest Fire and Seasons in Brindavan

[Again Lord Krishna saves Gopas and Gokula from another forest fire which surrounded them by simply transporting all of them back to Vrindavana in an instant. This chapter also contains the description of Vrindavana during different seasons.]

When you were immersed in the joy of playing with Gopa boys,
And spent some time to kill Pralambhasura,
The calves without any one to mind them,
Went on grazing and reached a forest called Ishika. 58.1

The cows who lived in Brindavana, where the heat of summer is not felt,
Reached the forest of Ishika which is outside Brindavan's boundary,
And due to the parting with you as well as due to torrid heat of summer,
Were parched by the heat and became tired due to thirst. 58.2

Hey God you along with your helpers searched far and wide,
And at last found the cows which lost their way and were suffering,
And when you instructed your friends to drive them back instantly,
And went near the cows, alas a huge forest fire surrounded all of you. 58.3

When the forest fire raged furiously breaking the timber,
With terrible sound and spread very speedily all around,
Oh God you all became like half-baked and fell in agony,
And all the people and animals rushed near you shouting,
"Oh God, Oh God please save us from this dangerous fire". 58.4

You told them, "Do not be scared so much and close your eyes",
And when they obeying your words, closed your eyes, wonder of wonders,
In an instant they felt that the fire has gone and the forest has gone,
And they found themselves places in the Bhandeera forest. 58.5

Laughing and entertaining them, when they told,
"Oh Victory, victory to you, your Maya is indeed great,"
You roamed about in the forest where the Summer,
Can be recognized only by the blossoming of Patala trees,
And looking after and helping to graze all the cows. 58.6

You spent the entire summer in the banks of Yamuna,
With the intensity of heat that is similar to the pain of those who hate you,
Which dries up all the sins within you similar to its drying all trees,
And which is similar to the luster of heat generated by your hand. 58.7

The rainy season with its cluster of clouds,
Which is similar to the dazzle of your body,
And with its continuous streak of lightning,
Which reminded one of the yellow silk that you wear,
Started playing effortlessly in the caves of the mountain. 58.8

That Govardhana mountain worshipped you living in the caves,
By praying with pretty sounds of very happy and joyous peacock,
And offering you with flowers falling from the Kutaja and Kadamba trees. 58.9

Then you enjoyed the autumn which followed the rainy season,
Which had copious water clear like the minds of your devotees,
By grazing your cows in the fertile grass lands,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, please give me good health. 58.10

Dasakam - 59: Song of Flute

[Lord Krishna becomes a lad and starts playing flute. All the gopis of Vrindavana fall in love with him.]

Seeing daily your form which is the true divine joy,
Which is as soft as Kalaya flower,
Which increases passion and attracts everybody,
All the Gopi maidens became infatuated in you. 59.1

Oh Lord Hari, due to churning of their minds by the God of love,
The Gopis were very much interested in seeing you again and again,
And were not even able to bear your going to the forest in the mornings. 59.2

When you were going, they fixed their mind on you
And went on staring at you without any break,
And when they heard the music of your flute from far off,
They entertained themselves by talking about your playful acts. 59.3

As for you, as soon as you reached the forest,
You made it a habit of sitting below a pretty tree shade,
With your legs stretched over each other,
And playing mellifluous music by your flute. 59.4

Oh Lord, the music from your flute,
Was capable of making even deva maidens,
Shiver due to the arrows of God of love,
And was capable of making animals and birds benumbed,
And was capable of making even stones melt. 59.5

Moving your soft fingers over the holes of flute,
And keeping beat to the music by tapping your red feet,
Was your form, which though not visible to the Gopis directly,
Made them think and again think about it and made them swoon. 59.6

The deva maidens who were walking on the sky,
And the birds, cows and all other animals,
Were lucky to see you without any hesitation
And the Brindavan was touched by your holy feet, and they,
Were respected by the Gopa maidens as the ones who were lucky. 59.7

The Gopa maidens thought "When will we be able to taste,
The nectar of your lips that was left out by your flute?
It is but a distant dream, alas that is but a wish unfulfilled".
And suffered great sorrow again and again by extreme love." 59.8

Oh Lord, thus the gopa maidens day by day,
Due to the blessing of the God of love,
Increased their passionate love towards you,
And reached a stage, in which all day long,
They were not able to do anything. 59.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur, the gopa maidens were indeed lucky,
Because while love occurs by itself, the way to salvation,
Can only by arrived at by constant Endeavour,
And both of these were easily got by these Gopa maidens,
And God, please be kind enough to save me. 59.10

Dasakam - 60: Stealing of Cloths of Gopis

[The Gopis start doing penance to Goddess Karthyayani to make them consorts of Lord Krishna. While they were taking bath in the river without any cloths, Lord Krishna steals all their cloths and made them come out of the water and beg for them. Later he promises them that all their wishes would be fulfilled.]

Heart being affected by passion created by the God of love,
Those twinkle eyed beauties, with a wish to serve,
Your lotus like feet, worshipped the Karthyayani idol,
Made by themselves out of sand, in the banks of Yamuna. 60.1

Those beauties, in the mornings went in a crowd,
Talking with each other your name and stories,
Reached the shores of Yamuna, took bath,
And worshipped the goddess with flowers and incense,
And with a prayer, that the son of Nanda should become their husband. 60.2

Seeing them observing the penance of Karthyayani,
For one month, made your heart melt with great pity,
And with an intention of blessing all of them,
You reached the banks of the river Kalindi. 60.3

At that time when their penance was complete,
They all kept their dresses in the banks of Kalindi,
And were indulging themselves in water sports,
And when they saw you there, they felt ashamed. 60.4

Then, when you saw the beauties with bent head,
Due to shyness, you collected all the cloths in the shore,
And climbed on a tree and sat on its branch. 60.5

Then you told them with a smile and in fun,
"Oh ladies with pretty eyes, please come over here
And search for your cloths and take them yourselves",
And those ladies were extremely embarrassed. 60.6

Then when they told you, "Oh Lad, live long,
Why are you troubling us who are your slaves.
Oh lotus eyed one, please give back our cloths",
But you gave nothing but your smile to them. 60.7

Seeing them coming to the shore with folded hands in salute,
Having got themselves purified themselves by this act,
From the sin of taking bath in the water in the nude,
They had no other refuge except you only.
And you gave back their cloths with a blessing and told. 60.8

You told those maidens without any support,
"Hey, I have understood the desire of your mind,
And you would get proper answer to your desire,
From the nights blessed by the light of the moon." 60.9

Those doe eyed damsels hearing those nectar filled words,
Which fell from you, Oh Lord of Guruvayur,
Made them see you again and again without your noticing them,
And made them return with a slow gait to their homes. 60.10

Oh Lord full of mercy, who blessed the Gopis thus,
And later started roaming deep inside the forests like before,
Oh Hari, please cure all my diseases speedily. 60.11

Dasakam - 61: Blessing Given to Wives of Brahmins

[There were a group of Brahmin women who were great devotees of Lord Krishna. Since their husbands were ritual bound, they were not able to see Krishna. So he himself goes there to meet them. When Gopa boys request the Brahmins for food, they drive them away but when they meet the wives of Brahmins they come running to see Lord Krishna. The Brahmins realize the superiority of devotion over rituals.]

After that with an intention of blessing a group of Brahmin wives,
Who were greatly devoted to you, you along with the gopa boys and calves,
Went to a forest which was slightly far away from Brindavan. 61.1

Then when time passed in that forest, without homes and houses,
And seeing that the children were hungry and worn out,
You sent those boys to request for some food,
From some Brahmins who were doing Yaga in a nearby place. 61.2

Then those Gopa boys went according to your wishes,
And when they requested for some food in your name,
Those Brahmins who were acting as if they were great,
Ignored them and kept silent in spite of their being well versed in Vedas. 61.3

Those gopa boys returned back sad due to the neglect of Brahmins,
And this seemed to be very apt in case of them who were wedded to rituals,
And were completely devoid of any devotion,*
For how can they give a hand full of rice to others.* 61.4
* Bhaktha is cooked rice as well as devotion.

Then you told the Gopa boys with a smile,
"Go and see the wives of Brahmins,
And tell my name and they who are full of mercy,
Would not deny you the food that you ask",
And they went and asked them for food. 61.5

As soon as your name was mentioned to them,
They who were thirsting to see you for a long time,
Were nervous and fluttered and took all sort of food,
And came running in spite of the prevention of their husbands. 61.6

They saw you with infinite joy,
With waving peacock feathers on your hair,
With your cheeks lighted by the ear globes,
With mercy ebbing out of your tender looks,
And keeping your hand on the shoulder of your friend. 61.7

At that time when one of those ladies was prevented,
By her ritualistic husband by holding her hand tightly,
She meditated on you and without any effort attained salvation,
And wonder of wonders, she indeed is lucky. 61.8

You received the food articles from them and blessed them,
And you send them back to their home, knowing well,
That they had come there have a contact with your body,
And also made them have no ill will towards her husbands. 61.9

Those Brahmins became very thoughtful after that,
And realized their mistakes and understood the great devotion,
That their wives had towards you and thus knowing the truth,
Praised you and Oh Lord of Guruvayur,
Be pleased to cure all the diseases affecting me. 61.10

Dasakam - 62: Worship of Govardhana Mountain

[Lord Krishna stops an annual worship of Indra by the cowherds. He tells them that they ought to worship the Govardhana Mountain which provides food for them as well as the cows and also the Brahmins who bless them. They agree to the proposal and carry out the wishes of Lord Krishna. This angers Devendra.]

Oh God who was born in the clan of Surasena,
Once you saw the Gopas collecting things to perform a Yaga,
And deciding to put an end to the pride of Indra,
In spite of knowing all about it asked Nanda and others,
"Oh father, What you all preparing for?" 62.1

Then Nanda Gopa told you, "Son, we do a Yaga to please Indra every year,
So that Indra will, bless us with comfort of copious rains,
For humans depend on rain for all their requirements,
And specially for us you know cows grow up with water and grass." 62.2

Oh God, hearing these words of your father, you told him sweetly,
"No, I do not agree that Indra is responsible for the rain,
For it is the good deeds of beings that is responsible for rain,
And what sacrifice do great trees in the forest give to Indra?" 62.3

You again told those very good people, "the fact that cows,
Are the great wealth of our clan is no doubt true,
And I think that it is apt to give this sacrifice,
To the mountain which provides food for these cows,
And to the Brahmins who are greater than devas in this earth,
Who definitely rightly deserve our worship." 62.4

Those cowherds heeding to your opinion, offered worship,
To the Brahmins with more care and devotion,
And performed a very great sacrifice to please the mountain,
And also went round the mountain and offered salutations to it.
And you yourself became the God of the mountain and blessed them. 62.5

You also told them, "do you think that what I told you is a lie?
Did you not see the Mountain personally receiving the sacrifice,
And I am sure that even if Indra becomes angry with us,
This mountain will protect us" and hearing your words,
All the people of the entire Gokula became happy. 62.6

As soon as the very much satisfied people of Gokula,
Returned along with you to Gokula,
Indra knowing that the sacrifice addressed to him has been stopped,
Though he knew about you and was occupying high position given by you,
Due to the Rajas quality in him, was not able to bear the stoppage. 62.7

He thought, "This Vishnu when he was born as a human being,
Due to his showing disrespect to devas, had sullied their honour,
And so I shall take revenge against this cowherd boy,"
And that proud Indra made preparations to win over you. 62.8

Indra with an aim to destroy Gokula where you stayed,
Sent the clouds of deluge to the sky and he himself,
Climbed on Iravatha his divine elephant steed,
While the guardians of directions like fire and wind laughed at him,
And Oh Lord of Guruvayur, who is there who is not bewitched,
By your illusion, for all the world obeys your words. 62.9

You consoled the cowherds by the words,
"We need not be upset by the rage of Devendra,
Because we have the blessings of Brahmins,
And the mercy shown by Govardhana towards us,"
And were impatiently waiting for Devendra to act,
Oh Lord of Guruvayur, killer of the ogre Mura,
Please cure me from my illnesses completely. 62.10