Damodara Ashtakam
Damodara Ashtakam
Damodara Ashtakam
dāmodara aṣṭakaṃ
namāmīśvaraṃ saccidānandarūpaṃ
lasatkuṇḍalaṃ gokule bhrājamānam |
yaśodābhiyolūkhalāddhāvamānaṃ
parāmṛṣṭamatyantato drutya gopyā || 1 ||
rudantaṃ muhurnetrayugmaṃ mṛjantaṃ
karāmbhojayugmena sātaṅkanetram |
muhuḥ śvāsakampatrirekhāṅkakaṇṭha-
sthitagraiva-dāmodaraṃ bhaktibaddham || 2 ||
itīdṛk svalīlābhirānandakuṇḍe
svaghoṣaṃ nimajjantamākhyāpayantam |
tadīyeṣitājñeṣu bhaktairjitatvaṃ
punaḥ prematastaṃ śatāvṛtti vande || 3 ||
varaṃ deva mokṣaṃ na mokṣāvadhiṃ vā
na cānyaṃ vṛṇe'haṃ vareṣādapīha |
idaṃ te vapurnātha gopālabālaṃ
sadā me manasyāvirāstāṃ kimanyaiḥ || 4 ||
idaṃ te mukhāmbhojamatyantanīlair-
vṛtaṃ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiśca gopyā |
muhuścumbitaṃ bimbaraktadharaṃ me
manasyāvirāstāṃ alaṃ lakṣalābhaiḥ || 5 ||
namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkhajālābdhimagnam |
kṛpādṛṣṭivṛṣṭyātidīnaṃ batānu
gṛhāṇeśa māṃ ajñamedhyakṣidṛśyaḥ || 6 ||
kuberātmajau baddhamūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhaktibhājau kṛtau ca |
tathā premabhaktiṃ svakaṃ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me'sti dāmodareha || 7 ||
namaste'stu dāmne sphuraddīptidhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne |
namo rādhikāyai tvadīyapriyāyai
namo'nantalīlāya devāya tubhyam || 8 ||
iti śrīmadpadmapurāṇe śrī dāmodarāṣṭākaṃ sampūrṇam ||
About This Stotram
Overview
The Damodara Ashtakam is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn in the Vaishnava tradition that praises Lord Krishna in his childhood form as Damodara — a name derived from the episode in which his mother Yashoda tied him at the waist (dama: rope, udara: belly) as punishment for stealing butter. The hymn is especially associated with the month of Kartika in Vaishnava practice.
What are the benefits of chanting Damodara Ashtakam?
- Cultivates a mood of parental affection (vatsalya bhava) toward Krishna, a recognized form of devotional love in Vaishnavism.
- Recitation during Kartika masa is held to carry special spiritual merit within the Vaishnava calendar.
- The hymn supports purification of the mind through focus on Krishna's childhood pastimes.
- Chanting is associated with removal of accumulated sins.
- The text is used to deepen the practice of nama-smarana (remembrance of the divine name).
When is the best time to recite this?
The Damodara Ashtakam is traditionally recited every evening throughout the month of Kartika (Damodara Masa), which falls in October-November. It is also recited on Krishna Janmashtami and during morning or evening devotional sessions at any time of year.
What is the historical and traditional background?
The Damodara Ashtakam is conventionally attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, though this attribution is not universally established in scholarly sources. The hymn circulates widely in Vaishnava devotional collections, particularly within traditions that follow the liturgical calendar of the month of Kartika. It reflects the Bhakti tradition's emphasis on Krishna's childhood as an especially approachable and tender expression of the divine. The text has been transmitted through devotional sampradayas and printed stotram anthologies across India.
Available scripts
This text is available in 14 scripts: devanagari, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, gujarati, bengali, iast, gurmukhi, oriya, assamese, sinhala, itrans, hk. Use the script selector above to switch between them.
Related Texts
- Gopala Ashtakam — another eight-verse hymn to Krishna in his cowherd form, sharing the same devotional mood.
- Vishnu Sahasranama — the thousand-name hymn to Vishnu, which includes many epithets shared with Krishna devotional texts.
- Chaurashtakam — a related ashtakam that praises Krishna as the "thief" of devotees' hearts, using similar childhood imagery.