Devotee Prayers

Śrī Brahmā’s Prayers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa

The prayers of Lord Brahmā to Śrī Kṛṣṇa appear in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam SB 10.14.1–16. After giving a summary of prominent avatāras in the third chapter of the First Canto, Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī declares that Kṛṣṇa is Svayaṁ Bhagavān. Brahmā confirms this in his famous prayers. We present Śrī Babaji’s translations below.

नौमीड्य तेऽभ्रवपुषे तडिदम्बराय
गुञ्जावतंसपरिपिच्छलसन्मुखाय
वन्यस्रजे कवलवेत्रविषाणवेणु-
लक्ष्मश्रिये मृदुपदे पशुपाङ्गजाय 

naumīḍya te’bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya
guñjāvataṁsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya
vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu-
lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāṅgajāya

O Worshipable One, I bow to You—Nanda’s son, with tender feet, a cloud-complexioned
body, and lightning-colored clothes. Earrings of guñjā berries
and peacock feathers on Your head effulgently frame Your beautiful face. You
look so enchanting, wearing a garland of forest flowers and holding yogurt and
a morsel of food in one hand, and a prodding stick, horn, and flute in the other.

अस्यापि देव वपुषो मदनुग्रहस्य
स्वेच्छामयस्य न तु भूतमयस्य कोऽपि
नेशे महि त्ववसितुं मनसान्तरेण
साक्षात्तवैव किमुतात्मसुखानुभूते:

asyāpi deva vapuṣo mad-anugrahasya
svecchā-mayasya na tu bhūta-mayasya ko’pi
neśe mahi tv avasituṁ manasāntareṇa
sākṣāt tavaiva kim utātma-sukhānubhūteḥ

O Lord, even I, Brahmā, with a completely stilled mind, am altogether unable to
comprehend the glory of this divine form of Yours, which is present here out of
Your grace upon me, self-revealed by Your own will, and certainly not a product
of the material elements. How then could I possibly understand Your glory
directly, whose experience of bliss stems exclusively from Your very own Self?

ज्ञाने प्रयासमुदपास्य नमन्त एव जीवन्ति सन्मुखरितां भवदीयवार्ताम्
स्थाने स्थिता: श्रुतिगतां तनुवाङ्‌मनोभि-र्ये प्रायशोऽजित जितोऽप्यसि तैस्त्रिलोक्याम् 

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo’jita jito’py asi tais tri-lokyām

O Unconquerable One, here in these three worlds, You are almost always
conquered by those who devote their lives to offering You reverence, who give
up all efforts for knowledge of Brahman and who in body, speech, and mind
honor talks of You, as recited by Your devotees, even as they remain situated in
their own social role.

श्रेय:सृतिं भक्तिमुदस्य ते विभो क्लिश्यन्ति ये केवलबोधलब्धये
तेषामसौ क्लेशल एव शिष्यते नान्यद् यथा स्थूलतुषावघातिनाम्

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye
teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām

O Almighty Lord, some disregard the most beneficial path of bhakti and
instead undergo pains for realization of oneness with the Absolute. They gain
only labor and nothing else, like those who thresh a husk that holds no grain.

पुरेह भूमन् बहवोऽपि योगिन-स्त्वदर्पितेहा निजकर्मलब्धया
विबुध्य भक्त्यैव कथोपनीतया प्रपेदिरेऽञ्जोऽच्युत ते गतिं पराम् 

pureha bhūman bahavo’pi yoginas tvad-arpitehā nija-karma-labdhayā
vibudhya bhaktyaiva kathopanītayā prapedire’ñjo’cyuta te gatiṁ parām

O All-encompassing One, many yogīs in this world attained You by offering
all their endeavors unto You while carrying out their prescribed duties. They
understood You through bhakti, which they attained by hearing and reciting
stories about You. This enabled them to easily accept You as the supreme
destination, O Infallible One.

तथापि भूमन्महिमागुणस्य ते विबोद्धुमर्हत्यमलान्तरात्मभि:
अविक्रियात् स्वानुभवादरूपतो ह्यनन्यबोध्यात्मतया न चान्यथा

tathāpi bhūman mahimāguṇasya te viboddhum arhaty amalāntar-ātmabhiḥ
avikriyāt svānubhavād arūpato hy ananya-bodhyātmatayā na cānyathā

O Unlimited Lord! You have no conventional attributes, so Your glory can
be perceived only by pure-hearted souls who are firmly established in an
immutable experience of the self. As You are without conventional form, Your
transcendent glories can only be known through direct, nondual perception.

गुणात्मनस्तेऽपि गुणान् विमातुं हितावतीर्णस्य क ईशिरेऽस्य
कालेन यैर्वा विमिता: सुकल्पै-र्भूपांशव: खे मिहिका द्युभास: 

guṇātmanas te ’pi guṇān vimātuṁ hitāvatīṛnasya ka īśire’sya
kālena yair vā vimitāḥ su-kalpair bhū-pāṁśavaḥ khe mihikā dyu-bhāsaḥ

Even if someone could count all the atoms of the earth, all the snowflakes in the
sky, or all the rays of the sun, who could possibly count Your qualities? You are
the embodiment of all qualities, and descend to this earth for the welfare of all.

तत्तेऽनुकम्पां सुसमीक्षमाणो भुञ्जान एवात्मकृतं विपाकम्
हृद्वाग्वपुर्भिर्विदधन्नमस्ते जीवेत यो मुक्तिपदे स दायभाक्

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

A person who endures the results of his karma, while eagerly hoping for Your
mercy—offering You obeisances with his heart, words, and body—is surely
eligible for Your feet, which are the abode of liberation. They become his
inheritance.

पश्येश मेऽनार्यमनन्त आद्ये परात्मनि त्वय्यपि मायिमायिनि
मायां वितत्येक्षितुमात्मवैभवं ह्यहं कियानैच्छमिवार्चिरग्नौ

paśyeśa me ’nāryam ananta ādye parātmani tvayy api māyi-māyini
māyāṁ vitatyekṣitum ātma-vaibhavaṁ hy ahaṁ kiyān aiccham ivārcir agnau

Look at my wicked impudence, O Lord! Desiring to witness Your might, I tried
to cast my illusory spells even upon You, the unlimited Supreme Spirit, the
master of illusion. What am I compared to You? I am just like a small spark
compared to a whole fire.

अत: क्षमस्वाच्युत मे रजोभुवो ह्यजानतस्त्वत्पृथगीशमानिन:
अजावलेपान्धतमोऽन्धचक्षुष एषोऽनुकम्प्यो मयि नाथवानिति

ataḥ kṣamasvācyuta me rajo-bhuvo hy ajānatas tvat-pṛthag-īśa-māninaḥ
ajāvalepāndha-tamo-’ndha-cakṣuṣa eṣo ’nukampyo mayi nāthavān iti

O infallible Lord, please forgive me, who was born from rajo-guṇa. Indeed,
I foolishly presumed myself to be the unborn creator, independent of You,
because my eyes were blinded by gross ignorance. But please consider that
this fellow has accepted You as his master and should therefore be shown
compassion.

क्‍वाहं तमोमहदहंखचराग्निवार्भू-संवेष्टिताण्डघटसप्तवितस्तिकाय:
क्‍वेद‍ृग्विधाविगणिताण्डपराणुचर्या-वाताध्वरोमविवरस्य च ते महित्वम्

kvāhaṁ tamo-mahad-ahaṁ-kha-carāgni-vār-bhū saṁveṣṭitāṇḍa-ghaṭa-sapta-vitasti-kāyaḥ
kvedṛg-vidhāvigaṇitāṇḍa-parāṇu-caryā vātādhva-roma-vivarasya ca te mahitvam

You and I cannot be compared. I have a body just seven handspans tall, within
a pot-like universe confined by seven primordial coverings: mahat-tattva,
ego, ether, air, fire, water, and earth. You, on the other hand, are so great that
countless such universes pass through the pores of Your body like motes of
dust passing through a window!

उत्क्षेपणं गर्भगतस्य पादयो: किं कल्पते मातुरधोक्षजागसे
किमस्तिनास्तिव्यपदेशभूषितं तवास्ति कुक्षे: कियदप्यनन्त: 

utkṣepaṇaṁ garbha-gatasya pādayoḥ kiṁ kalpate mātur adhokṣajāgase
kim asti-nāsti-vyapadeśa-bhūṣitaṁ tavāsti kukṣeḥ kiyad apy anantaḥ

O Lord Adhokṣaja, does a mother take offense when the baby in her womb
kicks? And is there anything whatsoever—whether designated as existing or
not—that is not within Your belly?

जगत् त्रयान्तोदधिसम्प्लवोदे नारायणस्योदरनाभिनालात्
विनिर्गतोऽजस्त्विति वाङ्‍‍‍‍न वै मृषा किन्‍त्वीश्वर त्वन्न विनिर्गतोऽस्मि

jagat-trayāntodadhi-samplavode nārāyaṇasyodara-nābhi-nālāt
vinirgato ’jas tv iti vāṅ na vai mṛṣā kiṁ tvīśvara tvan na vinirgato ’smi

My dear Lord, the scriptures say that unborn Brahmā comes from the
lotus flower growing from the navel of Nārāyaṇa who lies on the waters of
dissolution into which the three worlds have merged. These words are surely
not false. So am I not Your child?

नारायणस्त्वं न हि सर्वदेहिना-मात्मास्यधीशाखिललोकसाक्षी
नारायणोऽङ्गं नरभूजलायना-त्तच्चापि सत्यं न तवैव माया

nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī
nārāyaṇo ’ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā

O Supreme Controller! You are certainly not merely Nārāyaṇa, the Soul of all
embodied creatures and the witness of all creation. Nārāyaṇa is merely Your limb.
He is so named because He is the person (nara) from whom the earth
and waters come (ayanat). He too is real, and not a product of Your māyā.

तच्चेज्जलस्थं तव सज्जगद्वपु: किं मे न द‍ृष्टं भगवंस्तदैव
किं वा सुद‍ृष्टं हृदि मे तदैव किं नो सपद्येव पुनर्व्यदर्शि 

tac cej jala-sthaṁ tava saj jagad-vapuḥ kiṁ me na dṛṣṭaṁ bhagavaṁs tadaiva
kiṁ vā su-dṛṣṭaṁ hṛdi me tadaiva kiṁ no sapady eva punar vyadarśi

Your body contains the whole universe [and is not contained within the
universe]. Otherwise, if it merely rests upon the waters, why did I not find You
there when I searched? Why did I clearly find You instead at that very moment
within my heart? And why could I not see You again immediately thereafter?

अत्रैव मायाधमनावतारे ह्यस्य प्रपञ्चस्य बहि: स्फुटस्य
कृत्‍स्‍नस्य चान्तर्जठरे जनन्या मायात्वमेव प्रकटीकृतं ते 

atraiva māyā-dhamanāvatāre hy asya prapañcasya bahiḥ sphuṭasya
kṛtsnasya cāntar jaṭhare jananyā māyātvam eva prakaṭī-kṛtaṁ te

Here too, in this avatāra that subdues māyā, You showed that the entire
externally manifested creation of māyā, the material cosmos, is within You. You
showed Your mother that it is all within Your own belly.

Categories: Devotee Prayers

Tagged as:

1 reply »

Leave a Reply