Achyuthashtakam by Sankara

Courtesy: Smt.Dr.Saroja Ramanujam

achyuthaashtakam by Sankara

This sthothra is of high significance as it makes easy repeating and stands as an illustration of ‘kalou namasankeerthanam.’ The namas repeated even without knowing the meaning have great powers but to know the meaning makes it more enjoyable. In sahara nama we have the some of the  names repeated more than once and the commentators like Sankara and Parasara Bhatta give different connotations to each . Hence I thought that Sankara. Repeating some names would have also meant different connotations. Hence this small effort to explain the meanings of the names with the blessing of the Lord Achyutha.

1.achyutham keSavam raama-naaraayanam

   krishna-dhaamodharam vaasudhevam harim;

  sreedharam maadhavam gopikaavallabham

  jaanakee-naayakam ramachandram bhaje

bhaje- I worship

achyutham- the Lord who is called Achyutha, meaning one who never swerves from His promise or from His state as the protector of all. Svarupasaamarthyaath na chyuthah na chyasthe na chyavishyathi ithi. Does not swerve from His position in the past present and future. SaSvatham Sivam achyutham , says the Upanishad  of Brahman.He is eternal,ever pure and never swerves from His state of the supreme Lord.

keSavam-    Kam means water and also happiness, sukham. As water in the form of rain is conducive to bring  happiness  The lord is the Isvara  of both,  Kasya isah. The particle va  is added to denote possession.        

    The other meaning of the word  is ,’ a ‘is Vishnu,’ ka’ is Brahma and’ isa’ denotes Rudra, the trinity who are the amsa, modes of the Paravasudeva, Lord Narayana The particle va  is added to imply that they are  under His control, vasa.. Kascha ascha isasha kesaah, thaan vaathi, sargaadhi kaaryaartham, The Lord Narayana activates  them towards their functions of creation, sustenance and annihilation

raamanaaraayanam- Why the word Rama is coupled with Narayana is to denote that Rama was the incarnation of Narayana.

ramyathe (svaroopaguNaath) ithi raamaH. One who pleases everyone with his form and attributes. Also ramanthe asmin (yoginaH) ithi raamaH. The yogis revel in the Lord.. The  name rama is equal to all the thousand names of the Lord as maintained by Lord Siva himself. “Sreeraamaraamaraamethi rame raame manorame sahasranaama thaththulyam raamanaamavaraanane

Krshna dhaamodharam- Two names Krishna and dhamodhara are coupled together.

krshNa- krshir-bhU-vAcakah Sabdo NaSca nirvrti vAcakah

vishNus-tad bhAvayogAcca krshNo bhavati SASvatah

(MB-Udhyogaparva.)

 

krshi means earth and the particle ‘ Na ‘ denotes happiness. Vishnu is known as KrishNa because he ploughs the universe to give happiness.

dhaamodhara- He is called dhaamodhara because he had the rope tied on his stomach by Yasodha and tied to the mortar. But why Dhamodhar was coupled with Krishna here is that no other form than as dhamodhara Krishna gives maximum happiness to the devotees which justifies his name as Krishna, because it implies  that He could be bound only by bhakthi.

Vaasudhevam- vasathi , aaccHaadhayathi sarvam ithi vaasuH. He abides everywhere and conceals Himself through His maya. He is the deity of the Vaasudevamanthra

Harim- Sahethuka samsaaram harathi. He removes the samsara along with its cause, namely the ignorance.

Sreedharam- One who possesses greatest glory . The Lord says in Gita,

 yath yath vibhoothimath satthvam Sreemadh oorjitham   eva vaa

  thath thath eva avagacCha thvam mam thejo amSasambhavam(BG.10.41)

Whatever entity that is manifested with glory, power and energy know that to be a fragment of My glory.

maaDhavam- One who can be known through jnana, dhyana and yoga .'Mounaath dhyaanaath cha yogaath cha viddhi bhaaratha maadhavam'- (Mahabharatha.)

maDhuh, jnaanam asya sthi ithi maaDhavah. The propounder of the supreme knowledge. maa means knowledge.

In HarivamSa it is said,

‘maa vidhyaa cha hareh prokthaa thasyaaH eesah yatho bhavaan; thasmaath maaDhava naamaa asi.’ ma is the jnana of Hari.You are the Lord of that and hence known a maadhava.

maa also means to measure. maathvaa jagath Dhoonayathi ithi maaDhavah. He causes movement of the universe which He measured.

Gopikaavallabham- the beloved of the gopis. He was achyutha for gopis because He promised them that He will satisfy their wish when they followed pavai nonbu.

 ‘aayarsiRumiyarOmukkaRaipaRai

 maayan manI vanNNan nennalE vaai nErndhaan , says Andal, meaning that Krishna has already promised to give them what they wanted.

Jaanakeenaayakam raamachandram- Ramachandra the consort of Seetha. . It is significant that Sankara calls Him jaanakeenayakam raamachandram, in the context of mentioning His as achyutha as Rama was known not  to go back on His word. ‘ramO dhvirnaabhibhaashathe, ‘ He says to Kaikeyi in Valmiki Ramayana.

Thus in the first sloka all the names could be contrived to mean the parathva of Achyutha. In the following slokas the rest of the denotations of achyutha etc. can be explained.

2.achyutham keSavam sathyabhaamaadhavam

maadhavam Sreedharam radhikaaradhitham;

indhiraamandiram chethasaa sundaram

dhevakee-nandhanam Nandhajam sanDhadhe

sanDhadhe- I resort to 

achyutham- He neither swerves from His assurances nor from His devotees. That is why Rukmini called Him 'achyutha'  and 'Nrsimha,' and not by any other name. In this sloka He is seen to be achyutha to Sathyabhama to whom He fulfilled the promise of bringing the parijata tree to her garden.

Kesavam- The commonly construed meaning of the word is however , the one possessing abundance of lovely locks of hair as kesa means hair, seems to be appropriate here as He is described as raaDhikaaraaDhitha,sathyabhaamaadhava , dhevakeenandhana and nandhaja all of whom would have enjoyed Him as Kesava.

Sathyabhaamaadhavam- the consort (Dhava)of Sathyabhama.

maaDhavam- maa means Lakshmi. Dhava is master or lord or husband.

SreeDharam-one who holds Lakshmi on His chest.

raaDhikaaraaDhitham- one who was worshipped by Radha.

Indhiraa mandhiram- one who is the abode of Lakshmi. This is not the same as sreedharam or the one who holds Lakshmi on Hids chest because while the former means the He bore her on His chest this one says that she has made His chest her permanent abode.

chethasaa sundharam- He is beautiful in heart. This goes with the names SreeDhara and indhiraamandhiram because His heart is made beautiful because of lakshmi residing init and fills it with dhayaa.

dhevakeenandhanam- son of Devaki or one who gives joy to Devaki

nandhajam- Son of Nandha or one who produces joy

All the names in this sloka  describe His soulabhya  as the husband of Sathyabhama, son of Devaki and also Nanda and beloved of Radhika and Lakshmi while the earlier one described Him the Supreme Brahman.

 

3.vishNave JishNave Sankhine chakriNe

rukmiNeeragiNe jaanakeejaanaye;

vallaveevallabhaa yaarchithaayathmane

kamsavidhvamsine VamSine the namaH

namaH-Salutations

vishNave- to Vishnu, the all pervading –yasmaath viSvam idham sarvam thasya Sakthyaa mahaathmanaH thasmaath eva uchyathe vishNuH viS DhaathoH praveSanaath- He is called Vishnu because He enters the whole universe and protects. The root viS means to enter.

jishNave-to jishnu- One who is victorious or all powerful. Vishnu denotes His omnipresence and jishnu denotes His omnipotence.

Shankine- to one who wields the conch. Panchajnaya the conch of the Lord signifies bhoothaadhyahankara, the subtle elements, thanmathras, because it stands for sabda, the first thanmathra from which the aakaasa was formed.

chakriNe- to one who wields the disc, sudarsana chakra, which denotes manasthathva, the mind which is always revolving.

Thus the creation by the Lord is denoted.

rukmiNeeraagiNe-to one is the lover of Rukmini

Jaanakeejaanaye- one to qhom Janaki is the consort.

Vallaveevallabhaaya-to the one who is beloved of gopis.

archithaayaathmane –to one who was worshipped by them as their own self

kamsavidhvamsine- On who killed Kamsa

vamSine- One who played the flute.

 The significance of this sloka is that the one who was the all pervading all powerful supreme reality from whom the universe originated Himself became the gopala, beloved of gopis , who saw their own self in him and  also displayed his power  in slaying Kamsa. Lakshmi accompanied him in Ramavatara as Janaki and in Krishnavatara as Rukminee.   The choice of words to denote   rukmiNeepathi and jaanakeepathi is quite interesting. RukmiNeeraagiNe while denoting the one who is the lover of  Rukminee is also construed in a different manner. Rukma mean gold and RukmiNe is the one who has the golden hue. Raga also means colour and raagin meas  coloured or dyed  and hence the word rukmiNeeraageNe  may mean that Krishna reflected her golden colour  as it is said that Krishna became white  and Radha became dark by mutual association.( This is only my manodharma)  

Jaanakeejaanaye means the one to whom Janaki is the wife.  It  may be used here to denote that while RukmiNee    wooed Krishna by sending love letter and thus taking the first initiative, Seetha or Janaki was won by Rama of his own choice!

 

4.krishna govindha he raama naarayana

  Sreepathe vaasudhevaajithe Sreenidhe;

  achyutanantha he madhavaadhokshaja

 dvarakaanayaka draupadhee-Rakshaka

KrishNa – oh Krishna-Here by the word Krishna the common meaning of  Krishnavasudeva, who is given that name because of His attraction to  everyone and his dark complexion is meant.

 govindha- this is the most effective and one which is most liked by the Lord and . Andal was fond of this nama is also shown by her mentioning it in the three of her main pasurams. Thename has got great implications as the word ‘go’ has several meanings ( vide my commentary of the pasuram’ karavaigaL pin senRu’ in my note ‘sangatthamizh maalai 26to30), in sanskrit such as earth, indriya,svarga,or mokshaastra Cow, veda etc.

More than anything else When the Lord is called Govinda He feels indebted to the devotee as in the case of Droupadi who screamed with grief calling Him Govinda when He immediately came to the rescue. May be that is the reason the name is included in this sloka where the word dhrauoadheerakshaka occurs.

He raamanaaraayaaNa- naraaNaam ayanaH, Naaraah ayanam asya ithi vaa. Ayanam means abode. Naaraah menas the thathvas starting from mahat from which the ahankaras and thnamathras down to the gross world have been created. The three gunas are the constituents of prakrthi the combination of which all thathvass came about. The Lord is the abode of the thathvas, naaraas, from whom everything came and into whom everything merge in the end.

 

Also the naaraas are His abode as He has entered into everything as their inner self.

Yasya kimcit jagat sarvam dRSyate Srooyathepi vA |

antar-bahiSca tath-sarvam vyaapya naaraayaNah sthitah

Whatever object there is in the Universe that is seen or heard, narayaNa is pervading all that, both inside and outside.

 It is coupled with Rama perhaps to show that He not only enters in every being but also gives them joy , ramayathi ithi raamaH.

Sreepathe-Lord of Lakshmi

Vaasudheva- Son of Vasudeva

ajitha-invincible

SreeniDhe- asmin akhilaa SriyaH niDheeyantha. In whom all glory and wealth abide.

achyutha- The word achyutha here is inserted in accordance with the name that comes later in the sloka, dhraupadhee rakshaka. He proved that He is achyuth, one who neverforsakes his devotees by protecting her.

anantha- Limitless.  dheSa kaala vasthu avaDhayaH naasthi thasya ithi.

He cannot be limited by time , space or entity because He is eternal, allpervading and  therefore  His form is not limited like any other entity.

He maaDhava-the word maaDhava also means spring. Vide krishnakaranmrtha sloka which is in the form of a conversation between a gopi and Krishna

angulyaa kaH kavaatam praharathi -“Who is knocking the door with finger?”

kutile maaDhavaH - “Oh cunning girl, it is Madhava.”

kim vasanthaH - “What? The spring?”

no chakree - “No,  the wielder of chakra.”

kim kulaalaH - “ What?  The  potter?”

na hi  DharaNiDharaH-  “ No,  no. the one who supports this earth.”

kim dhvijihvaH phaNeendhraH-  “What? The serpent with two tongues, Adhisesha?”

Naaham Dhaaraahimardhee-  “No I am the one who tamed the serpent which lived in the river.”

kim asi khagapathiH-  “What? You are Garuda?”

no hariH - “No.Hari.”

kim kapeendhraH - “What? – Lord of the monkeys?”

May Krishna who was thus discomfited by the gopi in conversation        ithyevam gopakanyaa prathivachana jithaH,  protect you.

Here is a beautiful play on words using pun on the words madhava.,chakree,DharaneeDharaH, Dhaaraahimardhe and Hari, with double meaning by which the gopi teases Krishna .

 

aDhokshaja-. aksham adhah tayor-madhye vairAja rUpeNa ajAyata iti

adhkshajah.  aksham is sky and aDhah denotes the region below. The Lord manifests in the sky and below as viraat, in His cosmic form.

dvaarakaanayaka- Lord of Dvaraka, the name along with Govindha and Krishna Draupadhi called in distress.

“Shankhchakragadhaapaane dhvaarkaanilayaachyutha

Govindhapundareekaaksha raksha maam SaraNaagathaam

“ Oh wielder of shankha , chakra and gadhaa, who resides in Dvaraka, Govindha , pundareekaksha ( lotus eyed) protect me who surrender to you.

haa krshNa dhvaarkaavaasin kvaasi yaadhavanandhana

Imam avasThaam sampraapthaam anaaTHaam kim upekshase

He Krshna , dweller of Dvaraka, where are you, the son of yadhava, why did you forsake me who has attained this state?

Hence the last nama of the sloka is draupadheerakshaka. He proved that He is achyutha not once but several times.

 

 

5.rakshasakshobhithaH seethayaa Sobhito

  dhandakaaraNya bhoopuNyathaa KaaraNaH;

  lakshmaNenaanvitho vaanaraiH Sevitho

  agasthyasampoojitho raghavaH paathumaam

 

 

raaghavaH- Rama

 

raakshasakshogbhithaH-who agitates rakshasa

seethayaa SobhithaH-  who shines with Seetha or by Seetha.

dhandakaaraNya bhoopuNyathaa KaaraNaH- who sanctified the land of Dandakaranya

lakshmaNenaanvithaH-    one who is attended by Lakshmana

vaanaraiH sevithaH – one who was served by vanaras.kish

 Paathu maam- may protect me.                  

In this sloka Sankara has given a gist of Ramayana.

 

6.dhenukarishtahaa aNishtakriddhveshinam

keSihaa kamsahridhvamSikaa vaadhakaH;

poothanaakopakaH Soorajaakhelano

baala-gopaalakaH paathu maam sarvadhaa

 

baalagopaalaH – the child Gopala

dhenukaarishtahaa- who killed Dhenuka and Arishta

anishtakrth- who punished the enemies

keSihaa- who killed the demon Kesi

kamsahridh- who killed Kamsa

vamSikaavaadhakaH- who played the flute

poothnaakopakaH- who got angry with poothana and killed her

soorajaakhelanaH- who played on the banks of Yamuna

paathu maam-protect me

sarvadhaa- always

Sankara has now switched to krishnavatara and describes all the balaleelas of Krishna. He semed to have got so infatuated with it and continued in the rest of the slokas describing the beautiful form of Krishna.

 

 

6.vidhyudhudhyothavath prasphuradhvaasasam

  praavridambhodhavath prollasadhvigraham;

 vanyayaa maalayaa SobithorasThalam

lohithaanghridhvayam vaarijaaksham bhaje

 

baje – I worship

prasphurathvaasasam- Him who is wearing a garment which shines like

vidhyudhudhyothavath- the luster of the lightning

prollasath vigraham- who has the shining form

praavrdambhodhavath- like the dark cloud about to rain

sobhthorasThalam- whose ches is adorned with

vanyayaamaalayaa- forest flowers

lohithanghridhvayam- who has a pair of  red feet

vaarijaaksham- and eyes like lotuses

Here is abeautiful portrait of Krishna, wearing the yellow silk garment shining like a lightning, and His form is luminous black resembling a raincloud. He is wearing a garland of forest flowers on His chest and His feet are red , may be due to being pressed by the hands of Lakshmi, while He was lying in the milky ocean , or become tender by the devotees and devas with their crowns falling at His feet! His eyes are like lotuses. What an enchanting picture.

Sankara continues to describe the enchanting form of Krishna in the next sloka.

 

7.kunchithaiH kunthalairbhrajamaanaanam

  rathnamaulim lasathkundalam gandayoH;

  haarakeyoorakam kangkaNaprojjvalam

  kingkiNeemanjulam Syaamalam tham Bhaje

bhje- I worship

Syaamalam- the dark one,

Bhrajamaanaananam- whose face shine

kunchithaiH kunthalaiH- with curly locks that surround it

rathnamoulim – who has a crown embedded with gems

lasath kundalam gandayoH- whose cheeks shine with the lutre of his kundalas

haarakeyoorakam- who is wearing necklace and armlets( jewel on His arms)

kanakanaprojvalam – who has lustrous bracelets

kinkiNee manjulam- beautiful with anklets

This sthothra is not only sweet to chant but also delightful as it brings the beauteous form of the Lord in front.

 

8.achyutasyashtakam yaH paTedhishtadham

  premathaH prathyaham poorushaH Saspruham

  vritthathah Sundaram karthruvisvambharam

  thasya VaSyo Harirjayathe Sathvaram

Phalasruthi

yaH  poorushaH– the man  who

pateth- reads

achyuthasya ashtakam- the eight slokas on Achyutha

 vrththathaH sundaram- which is beautiful metrically

karthrviSvambharam- composed on the all pervading Lord

ishtadham – which fulfills all desires

premathaH – with love

prathyaham- everyday

sasprham- with yearning

hariH – lord hari

jaayathe- becomes

thasya vaSyaH – attracted towards him

sathvaram – soon.

 

 

Copyright: Dr. Sarojaramanujam