[Note: The Pandava Gita is
a collection of exquisitely beautiful verses from different sources. It is a
stotra, a hymn meant for devotional recitation and as a stotra its beauty is splendorous
[in Sanskrit]. The hymn’s approach to God is that of ‘sharanagati’, total surrender.
In translating it into English, I have taken minor liberties with the language for improving
its readability in English. I have, though, taken care to see that the meaning
or tone of the verses has in no way been altered.
Each of the words used for God/Vishnu/Krishna here has meanings deeper than what appears on the surface. For instance,
the word Krishna is explained etymologically
as ‘that which/he who attracts’ and spiritually as our nature as
sat-chid-ananda, existence-consciousness-bliss, which draws us towards it
constantly and makes us flow towards our source, converting each us into a Radha.
Radha is the word ‘dhara’ [dhaaraa] written in the reverse order [ra-dha –
dha-ra] and dhara means a current. Radha is therefore the current that flows backward,
towards its own source and Krishna is God who turns us towards our origin, and
makes our consciousness flow towards its source, God within us, and not towards
the objects of the senses in the outside world. Similarly, Vishnu etymologically
means the ‘pervading one’ and spiritually it means the all-pervading reality,
consciousness that is beyond time and space, awareness that fills our waking,
dream and sleep states and is yet beyond them all. In this free rendering, however, only the
surface meanings have been used.]
1
Homage
Homage to the
great devotees of God. I bow down to Prahlada, Narada, Parashara, Pundareeka,
Vyasa, Ambareesha, Shuka, Shaunaka and Bheeshmaka; to Rukmangada, Arjuna,
Vasishtha, Vibheeshana and others like them.
2
Lomaharshana said:
Devout
repetition of the name of Yudhishthira increases virtue; constant repetition of
the name of Vrikodara[i]
destroys sin; enemies perish when Dhananjaya’s[ii]
name is repeated; and when the names of the sons of Madri[iii]
are repeated, illnesses do not afflict you.
3
Brahma said:
Those men who
are free from desire, know the transcendental and the non-transcendental, and
constantly remember Narayana, the guru of the gods, they, their consciousness
cleansed of impurities through meditation, no more drink milk from their
mother’s breasts.
4
Indra said:
Among the men
of earth, there is a man renowned as a thief, famous by the name Narayana. Just
think of him and that very instant he steals in its entirety the copious wealth
of sins collected over several births.
5
Yudhishthira said:
Dark as a
cloud, dressed in yellow silk, with the footprint of Sage Bhrigu on his heart,
his chest shining with the Kaustubha jewel, his large eyes like the lotus
flower, the one who can be approached through merit alone, that Vishnu, the one
lord of all worlds, to him I bow down.
6
Bheeshma said:
The lord who,
assuming the form of the wild boar, raised up by the tip of his horns the earth
that was drowned in the waters of deluge along with all stationary and moving
things, may that self-born God, the lord of all universes, be pleased with me.
7
Arjuna said:
Unthinkable,
unmanifest, endless, imperishable, the glorious lord of everything, that from
whom everything is born, the one cause of the universe, the one who manifests
the three world by his thoughts, that Hari I surrender to, the goal of great
souls.
8
Nakula said:
If I were to go
into lower births dragged down by the ropes of time, if I were to be born as a
bird or an insect without a kula[iv],
even if I were to be born a hundred times as a worm, Oh lord, this is my
heart’s constant prayer: May I, in all those births, have unshakeable devotion
to Keshava in my heart.
9
Sahadeva said:
Salutations
even to those who bow down to that sacred incarnation as the wild boar, to
Vishnu of unparalleled brilliance! Salutations again and again!
10
Kunti said:
Lord of the
Senses, Krishna , this is my prayer to you. As
I go from birth and to birth and am born into different species as decided by
my karmas, in each of those births may I have unshakeable devotion to you.
11
Madri said:
Those whose
hearts revel in Krishna, those who constantly remember Krishna, those who think
of him as they go to bed at night and again when they wake up, they, in
whatever different bodies they are, enter Krishna and become one with him, just
as offerings made into the sacrificial fire accompanied by mantras enter and
become one with fire.
12
Draupadi said:
In insects, in
birds, in wild beasts, and among demons, ghouls or men, wherever I am born, as
whatever I am born, this is the blessing that I seek from you, oh Keshava! In
every one of those births, may I have unswerving, unshakeable devotion to you
and to you alone.
13
Subhadra said:
A single act of
prostrating before Krishna is equal to taking
the ritual bath at the end of ten ashwamedha sacrifices and earning merit from
them all. In fact, the one who performs ten sacrifices is born again, but the
one who prostrates before Krishna has no more
births.
14
Abhimanyu said:
Govinda, Oh
Govinda, Oh Hari, Oh Destroyer of Mura; Govinda, Oh Govinda, Oh Mukunda,
Krishna; Govinda, Oh Govinda, Oh Wielder of the Discuss; Govinda, Oh Govinda,
my salutations to you again and again, forever!
15
Dhrishtadyumna said:
Oh Rama, Oh
Narayana, Vasudeva, Govinda, Oh Dweller of Vaikuntha; Oh Mukunda, Oh Krishna , Keshava, Oh Lord without Beginning or End; Oh
Nrisimha, Oh Vishnu! Protect me! Save me! For, Oh lord, I have been bitten by
the serpent of samsara, of worldliness.
16
Satyaki said:
Oh Lord Beyond
Knowing, Oh Hari, Oh Vishnu, Krishna, Damodara; Oh Achyuta, Govinda, Oh
Beginningless and Endless One, Lord of all! Oh Vasudeva! May these salutations
be to you!
17
Uddhava said:
The man who
gives up Krishna and worships other gods is a
fool for certain; for, afflicted by thirst, he digs a well on the banks of the Ganga !
18
Dhaumya said:
Oh Krishna , Oh Destroyer of Evil Men! On the banks of rivers
and of ponds, while sitting or lying down, in the day or at night, if I have
done even small little acts of merit as I understood them, Oh Lord, may those
deeds please you!
19
Sanjaya said:
Struck by
calamity, dejected and despondent, shattered, scared, trapped in front of a
tiger or in other terrible plights, let people just repeat the name of
Narayana, and they will be free from sorrow, and happy.
20
Akrura said:
I am but a
slave of the slave of the slave of the slave of the slave of the slave of
Narayana. Men have no lord other than you, nor has the universe another lord.
And for that reason, I consider myself the most blessed of men in the world.
21
Virata said:
Those devotees
of Vasudeva, the serene ones with minds resting in him, may I be a slave of the
slave of them in birth after birth.
22
Bheeshma said:
When times are
contrary to me, when relatives and friends have left me, in such times, Oh
Krishna, lover of those who take refuge in you, show mercy to me and protect
me!
23
Drona said:
Of the demons
who have been killed by the wielder of the discuss, Oh Janardana, Oh Lord of
the Three Worlds, each and every one has gone to the sacred world of Vishnu
after his death. Even your anger, Oh Lord, is blessing!
24
Kripa said:
This, Oh
Destroyer of Madhu and Kaitabha, is the only blessing that I pray for in this
birth: Remember me, Oh Lord of the Universe, as the servant of the servant of
the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of your servant!
25
Ashwatthama said:
Oh Govinda, Oh
Keshava, Oh Janardana, Vasudeva, Oh Lord of the Universe, Supreme Universal
Being! Oh Destroyer of Madhu, Lord with Infinite Forms, Oh Padmanabha, Oh
Purushottama! Give me the honour of servitude to you! Oh Narayana, Oh Achyuta,
Oh Nrisinha! Salutations to you again and again!
26
Karna said:
I speak of none
other than you; nor do I hear or think of anyone else! I remember no one else,
nor do I meditate upon or depend on anyone else! In devotion, in deep
reverence, I constantly meditate upon your lotus feet. Oh Shrinivasa, Oh
Purushottama, make me your servant!
27
Dhritarashtra said:
Salutations to
you! Salutations to the one who became Vamana, to Narayana of boundless valour,
to the wielder of the bow sharnga, of the wheel, the sword and mace!
Salutations to that supreme being!
28
Gandhari said:
You alone are
my mother, you alone my father; you alone are my kinsman, you alone my friend;
you alone are my knowledge, you alone my wealth! You are everything to me, Oh
Lord of Lords, you alone!
29
Drupada said:
Oh Lord of
Sacrifices, Oh Govinda, Oh Madhava, Ananta, Keshava, Krishna ,
Vishnu, Hrishikesha, Oh Vasudeva! Salutations to you!
30
Jayadratha said:
Salutations to
Lord Krishna, to the Supreme Brahman, to the Lord with Boundless Power!
Salutations to the Lord of Yoga! Salutations to the One who is Yoga Itself! I
have surrendered myself to you, Oh Lord, and I seek refuge in you!
31
Vikarna said:
Salutations to Krishna , son of Vasudeva, the delighter of Devaki, the
child of the cowherd Nanda, to Govinda! Salutations again and again!
32
Virata said:
Salutations to
Lord worshipped by the Brahmins, to the well-wisher of Brahmins and cows!
Salutations to the Benefactor of the World, to Krishna ,
to Govinda! Salutations again and again!
33
Shalya said:
The wearer of
yellow garments, Lord who is beautiful like the hemp flower; those who bow down
to this Govinda, will no more come to know any fear.
34
Balarama said:
Oh Krishna , Oh Krishna ,
Merciful One! Become you the refuge of the helpless ones who are deep in the
ocean of samsara! Oh Purushottama, Oh Lord, be pleased!
35
Oh Krishna ! Oh Krishna ! Oh Krishna ! Those who remember me thus every day, them I
pull out from hell, even as a lotus flower is pulled out from water.
36
Lifting my
hands up in the air, I make this promise: those men who call out to me by
saying Oh Mukunda, Oh Narasimha, Janardana; those embodied beings who repeat my
name every day, whether in death or in war, I give them all whatever they wish
for, even if they be worthless as rocks or chunks of timber!
37
Ishwara said:
Oh son, say
Narayana just once, and it is like bathing in the Ganga
and all the other sacred waters for the endless period of three kalpas!
38
Soota said:
It is there
that the sacred Ganga flows, there the holy
Yamuna, the Godavari and the Saraswati! Every
single teertha[v]
is to be found there where the exalted story of the Never-faltering God,
Achyuta, is being narrated!
39
Yama said:
As the man is
being roasted in hell, I, lord of the world of the dead, ask him one question:
“Why didn’t you worship Lord Keshava, the destroyer of afflictions?”
40
Narada said:
When devotion
to Krishna is born in the hearts of men,
remember, it is as a result of his sins being destroyed through austerities,
devotions and meditations practiced over a thousand previous births.
41-42
Prahlada said:
Oh lord, this
is my prayer to you: as I wander from birth to birth in different species, in
each one of them, oh Achyuta, may I have unshakeable devotion in you. The
unswerving love that the ignorant have for sensual pleasures, may I have the
same steadfast love for you! May that love never leave my heart! May I remember
you constantly!
43
Vishwamitra said:
What use is
charity, what use bathing in sacred waters? What use is performing austerities,
what use sacrifices? What use are these to the man who regularly meditates on
Lord Narayana with a mind that never swerves from him?
44
Jamadagni said:
Every day is a
festival, every single day auspicious, to those in whose heart dwells the
auspicious lord, Hari, the abode of all that is good.
45
Bharadwaja said:
Those in whose
heart stays Lord Janardana of the hue of the blue lotus, profits are theirs
forever, victory is theirs forever, and there is never a chance of their ever
failing.
46
Gautama said:
Giving a
hundred thousand cows in charity, bathing in Kashi at every eclipse, living in
Prayag or elsewhere on the banks of the Ganga for a full kalpa[vi],
performing ten thousand sacrifices, giving in charity a mountain of gold – all
these yield no more than just remembering the name of Govinda, the Lord, does.
47-48
Agni
Remember
Govinda at every bath, repeat his name constantly, meditate upon him
perpetually, and sing his name continuously. The three-syllabled name of
Govinda is the Supreme Brahman, those three syllables are the highest. And for
that reason, whoever takes that name, qualifies to be born into the world of
Brahman, to realize the Ultimate Truth.
49
Veda Vyasa said:
The lord
Achyuta is the wishing tree Kalpavriksha that grants you all your wishes. The
lord Ananta is the wishing cow Kamadhenu that gives you whatever you ask for.
The lord Govinda is the thought gem Chintamani that yields its possessor all
desires. Think continuously, therefore, of the name of Hari.
50
Indra said:
Victory!
Victory to the lord who is the son of Devaki! Victory! Victory to Krishna , the brightest lamp of the Vrishnis! Victotry!
Victory to the soft-limbed one of the hue of the dark cloud! Victory! Victory
to Mukunda, who reduced the load on the earth!
51
Pippalayana said:
Salutations to
Hari, the great teacher! Salutations to the one who incarnated as Nrisimha!
Salutations to the one whose emblem is the eagle Garuda! Salutations to the one
who is the medicine for the disease called samsara, who ends the three types of
afflictions[vii]!
Salutations to Krishna , who frees us from
every disease and every affliction whether it is born of the scorpion, the
snake, fire, water and so forth.
52
Avihotra said:
Oh Krishna ! May the royal swan of my mind enter the nest of
your lotus feet today itself! How will I be able to remember you when my breath
leaves my body, as afflicted I will be then by the three problems born of
phlegm, air and bile, and my throat chocked by these?
53
Vidura sid:
The one thing
that supports my life is the name of Hari! His name alone is life to me! In the
dark age of Kali, there is no refuge other than that! Indeed there is no refuge
other than that!
54
Vasishtha said:
The man whose
tongue utters the blessed name of Krishna , a
million terrible sins of his are burnt to ashes in an instant!
55
Arundhati said:
Salutations to Krishna , son of Vasudeva! To Hari, the supreme self!
Salutations to the destroyer of the sins of those who prostrate before him!
Salutations to Govinda again and again!
56
Kashyapa said:
Just remember Krishna and the cage of sin that holds us prisoner shatters
into a hundred pieces like a mountain struck by lightning!
57-58
Duryodhana
I know what is
right but I am not able to practice it; I know what is wrong and I am not able
to keep away from it. I act as I am directed to by some mysterious power that
is seated in my heart. I am but a machine, Oh Madhusoodana! As I am a machine,
so you are the one who runs this machine. Please forgive the faults of this
machine! Please do not blame me for what I do!
59
Bhrigu said:
Your name is
enough, Govinda! Your name is a hundred times more than you! With its mere
utterance, you bless the devotee with the eight-limbed yoga and give liberation
to him!
60
Lomasha said:
I bow down to
the lotus feet of Narayana! I worship Narayana constantly I repeat the pure
name of Narayana! I remember the changeless essence of Narayana!
61
Shaunaka said:
By whose mere
remembrance constant devotion is born in one’s heart, devotion that gives you
everything that is good, that eternal, unborn Person, that Hari, I take refuge
in.
62
Garga said:
Here is a great
wonder! The name of Narayana exists, people have their tongues under their
control; and yet people fall into the terrible hell!
63
Dalbhya said:
What use are
the many mantras to the man devoted to Janardna, when the mantra ‘namo narayanaya’
that grants every desire exists?
64
Vaishampayana said:
This is my
belief: Where there is Krishna , the lord of
the yoga; where there is the bow-weilding Partha; there exists prosperity,
victory, glory, steadfast justice.
65
Agni said:
Hari takes away
the sins even of the wicked man who remembers him. Doesn’t fire burn even when
touched unintentionally?
66
Parameshwara said:
The man who has
uttered the two syllables of Hari even once has already kept ready a retinue to
escort him to liberation.
67
Pulastya said:
Oh tongue!
Knower of the essence of rasa,[viii]
always fond of sweetness! Drink you continuously the nectar called Narayana.
68
Vyasa said:
This is the
truth! This is the truth! This is the truth! This alone is the truth and
nothing but the pure truth! There is no scripture superior to the Vedas and
there is no God higher than Keshava.
69
Dhanvantari said:
I speak the
truth, and the truth alone! All diseases are destroyed by the medicine of the
utterance of the names Achyuta, Ananta, Govinda!
70
Markandeya said:
How is it
possible that you do not think even briefly of Vasudeva, the guru of the whole
world, who grants heaven, who grants liberation, who grants happiness?
71
Agastya said:
Wherever
embodied beings think of Vishnu for a moment or even for half a moment, that is
where the sacred teertha of Kurukshetra is, that is where Prayag is, and that
is where the holy Naimisha is!
72
Vamadeva said:
Let a mortal
think of Vishnu for a moment or even for half a moment and he gets what he
desires for a million, million, million years!
73
Shuka said:
Having churned
all the scriptures, thought about them again and again, I see this one truth
emerging from it all: the lord Narayana is to be meditated upon constantly.
74
Mahadeva said:
When the body
has turned old and decrepit, when it has been afflicted by diseases, the
medicine is the water of the Ganga and the
physician, Lord Narayana, Hari.
75
Shaunaka said:
Let me tell you
this: If the devotees of Vishnu worry about food and clothing, they are doing it
without any need. The lord Vishnu sustains he whole universe; is he going to
neglect his own devotees?
76
Sanatkumara said:
The wielder of
the conch and the mace, whose vehicle is the eagle Garuda, may that Vishnu, holding
his conch, discuss, mace and lotus, be pleased with me!
77-82
Phalashruti
[The Benefits]
Thus the gods
beginning with Brahma and the great seers rich in austerities sing the praise
of the best of the celestials, the glorious Narayana.
This hymn,
sacred, merit-filled, yielder of a long life, destroyer of every sin in its
entirety, eliminator of nightmares, was thus sung by the Pandavas.
The one who
reads this after getting up in the morning and having become clean and pure,
his mind fixed on the lord, attains the result of giving a hundred thousand
cows in charity with accompanying rituals done as prescribed.
The one who
recites this song too attains the same result; freed from all sins, he attains
to the world of Vishnu.
The Ganga , the Gita, the Gayatri, Govinda, Garudadhvaja – the
one who is with these five, all beginning with ‘g’, is never born again.
The one who
reads every day this Gita, or even one verse or half a verse of this, is freed
from all sins and he goes straight to the heaven of Vishnu.
[i] Bheema
[ii] Arjuna
[iii] Nakula and Sahadeva
[iv] Clan, family; also caste
[v] Sacred place for ritual purificatory baths
[vi] A kalpa is practically an endless amount of time. It is a day of
Brahma and equal to one thousand yugas or four thousand, three hundred and
twenty million years.
[vii] Adhyatmika, born of oneself; adhibhautika, born of the world made
of the five elements; adhidaivika, born of divine reasons
[viii] taste, spiritual bliss
