श्री गोविंदाष्टकम् (Shri Govindashtakam)

Govindashtakam is one of the works of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. It describes the life and essence of Krishnaavataram, wherein God took the form of a cowherd.

             ॥ श्रीगोविंदाष्टकम् ॥

सत्यं ज्ञानमनंतं नित्यमनाकाशं परमाकाशम् ।
गोष्ठप्राङ्गणरिङ्खणलोलमनायासं परमायासम् ।
मायाकल्पितनानाकारमनाकारं भुवनाकारम् ।
क्ष्मामा नाथमनाथं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ १॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, truth, wisdom personified, eternal, who is free from limits and is the ultimate truth, who is happy to crawl in cow sheds, is free from difficulties and yet gives an appearance of being in difficulty, Who, due to illusion, appears as without any form and with many forms, or even as the entire universe, Who is the consort of Lakshmi and has no Lord to control him.

मृत्स्नामत्सीहेति यशोदाताडनशैशव संत्रासम् ।

व्यदितवक्त्रालोकितलोकालोकचतुर्दशलोकालिम् ।
लोकत्रयपुरमूलस्तंभं लोकालोकमनालोकम् ।
लोकेशं परमेशं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ २॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, Who with a  childlike fear of Yasoda’s beating, when she said "You ate mud", showed her in his open mouth, the visible and invisible part of fourteen worlds, Who is the ultimate  basis of the three worlds , who is in the form of these worlds, visible and invisible, who cannot be seen, and who is the Lord of the world and is the Supreme Lord.

त्रैविष्टपरिपुवीरघ्नं क्षितिभारघ्नं भवरोगघ्नम् ।
कैवल्यं नवनीताहारमनाहारं भुवनाहारम् ।
वैमल्यस्फुटचेतोवृत्तिविशेषाभासमनाभासम् ।
शैवं केवलशांतं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ ३॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, who killed the mighty enemies of devas, thereby reducing the burden of earth, who cures the disease of this material world (i.e, birth-death cycle), who causes eternal happiness, who had butter for food,  though not requiring food at all, who eats swallowed the entire earth (during Pralaya), who shines in the mind when it is clear but cannot be revealed by anything else, who adores Siva, is wholly auspicious, and is peace and nothing else but peace.

गोपालं प्रभुलीलाविग्रहगोपालं कुलगोपालम् ।
गोपीखेलनगोवर्धनधृतिलीलालालितगोपालम् ।
गोभिर्निगदित गोविंदस्फुट नामानं बहुनामानम् ।
गोधीगोचरदूरं  प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ ४॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, who is the protector of the world, and made his advent in the playful form of  a cowherd, who protects the Yadava clan and the cows, who playfully lifted the Govardhana (hill) where Gopis play and made Gopa boys happy, whose name  “Govinda” is clearly uttered by the cows (or scriptures), who has many names, and who is beyond the reach of the ignorant.

गोपीमंडलगोष्ठिभेदं भेदावस्थमभेदाभम् ।
शश्वद्गोखुरनिर्घूतोद्धतधूलीधूसरसौभाग्यम् ।
श्रद्धाभक्तिगृहीतानंदमचिन्त्यं चिंतितसद्भावम् ।
चिंतामणिमहिमानं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ ५॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, who is present in each of the different groups of Gopis, who appears, in differing forms but actually is one and non-dual. whose pretty form is covered by the dust raised by (the hooves) of numerous cows, who is realized by attention and devotion in thought, whose bliss is beyond imagination, whose existence is known to the wise and whose greatness is like a wish granting gem (chintamani).

स्नानव्याकुलयोशिद्वस्त्रमुपादायागमुपारूढम् ।
व्यदित्संतिरथ दिग्वस्त्रा दातुमुपाकर्षन्तं ताः ।
निर्धूतद्वयशोकविमोहं बुद्धं बुद्धेरंतस्थम् ।
सत्तामात्रशरीरं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ ६॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, who climbed the tree carrying the  clothes of women who were busily engaged in their bath, and who made those who wanted their clothes back,  to come close to the tree in the nude, who is free from duality, grief, delusion,  who is wise, who is at the pinnacle of intellect, and who is pure-existence.

कांतं कारणकारणमादिमनादिं कालघनाभासम् ।
कालिंदीगतकालियशिरसि सुनृत्यंतम् मुहुर्नृत्यंतं ।
कालं कालकलातीतं कलिताशेषं कलिदोषघ्नम् ।
कालत्रयगतिहेतुं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ ७॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, who is beautiful , the ultimate cause, primeval, without beginning, and has the colour of a dark cloud, who danced again and again on the head of serpent Kaliya in the river Yamuna (Kalindi), who manifests as time, yet transcends the measures of time, who is omniscient and destroys the evil effects of Kali, and who is the cause of the march of time from the past to the future.

वृंदावनभुवि वृंदारकगणवृन्दाराध्यं वंदेऽहम् ।
कुंदाभामलमंदस्मेरसुधानंदं सुहृदानंदम् ।
वंद्याशेषमहामुनिमानसवंद्यानंदपदद्वंद्वम् ।
नंद्याशेषगुणाब्धिं प्रणमत गोविंदं परमानंदम् ॥ ८॥

Bow to that Govinda who is the embodiment of limitless bliss, who in the land of Brindavan is being worshipped by crowd of worshipful Devas, whose nectar like smile  is as pretty as jasmine (Kunda) flower, who gives boundless happiness to his kin, whose two feet are worshipped by the minds of great sages and adored by all, and who is the ocean of praise-worthy qualities which are worshipped by all.

गोविंदाष्टकमेतदधीते गोविंदार्पितचेता यो ।
गोविंदाच्युत माधव विष्णो गोकुलनायक कृष्णेति ।
गोविंदाङ्घ्रिसरोजध्यानसुधाजलधौतसमस्ताघो ।
गोविंदं परमानंदामृतमंतःस्थं स तमभ्येति ॥

The one who recites this octet on Govinda (Govindashtakam) by fixing their mind on Govinda and uttering the names of Govinda, Achyuta, Madhava, Vishnu, Gokulanayaka and Krishna, and gets all their sins washed off by the nectar by meditation to the lotus-feet of Govinda, attains the Govinda, the nectar of supreme bliss, residing within themselves.

॥ इति श्रीमच्छङ्कराचार्यविरचितं श्रीगोविंदाष्टकं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Thus concludes the Govindashtakam, composed by Shrimad Sankaracharya.

A beautiful rendering of the Ashtakam by M S Subbalakshmi :