Lord Krishna

śrī kṛṣṇa śaraṇāṣṭakam 3

(Sri Krishna Sharana Ashtakam 3 in English (IAST))

Raghunatha Prabhu

Also known as shri krishna sharana ashtakam 3 · shree krishna sharana ashtakam 3 · krishna sharana ashtakam 3

Eight verses by Raghunatha Prabhu on the same refrain as the other Sharanashtakas — Shri Krishna is my refuge — but built on a figure that governs every line. Each epithet is a made-into compound paired with a word that nearly repeats it, so the sound doubles back on itself: who made the fire thin, who made the fruit-seeker fruitful, who made Dhenuka's end, who made Jarasandha decrepit, who made his bow a lotus, who made Shankara auspicious, who made the moon a wretch. The deeds are the familiar ones — Putana purified, Kamsa stained, Trinavarta left windless, Kunti's son brought to his purpose, Sudama made happy, Kubja made lovely, the Kauravas made contemptible — but they arrive as wordplay rather than as narrative. The closing verse changes metre altogether to promise unbroken sight of the lord's play on the bank of the Yamuna.

|| śrī kṛṣṇa śaraṇāṣṭakam 3 ||
(śrīraghunāthaprabhu kṛtam)
dvidalīkṛtadṛksvāsyaḥ pannagīkṛtapannagaḥ |
kṛśīkṛtakṛśānuśca śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 1 ||
phalīkṛtaphalārthī ca kutsitīkṛtakauravaḥ |
nirvātīkṛtavātāriḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 2 ||
kṛtārthīkṛtakuntījaḥ prapūtīkṛtapūtanaḥ |
kalaṅkīkṛtakaṃsādiḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 3 ||
sukhīkṛtasudāmā ca śaṅkarīkṛtaśaṅkaraḥ |
sitīkṛtasarinnāthaḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 4 ||
chalīkṛtabalidyauryo nidhanīkṛtadhenukaḥ |
kandarpīkṛtakubjādiḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 5 ||
mahendrīkṛtamāheyaḥ śithilīkṛtamaithilaḥ |
ānandīkṛtanandādyaḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 6 ||
varākīkṛtarākeśo vipakṣīkṛtarākṣasaḥ |
santoṣīkṛtasadbhaktaḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 7 ||
jarīkṛtajarāsandhaḥ kamalīkṛtakārmukaḥ |
prabhraṣṭīkṛtabhīṣmādiḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama || 8 ||
|| phalaśruti ||
śrīkṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mamāṣṭakamidaṃ protthāya yaḥ sampaṭhet
sa śrīgokulanāyakasya padavīṃ samyāti bhūmītale |
paśyatyeva nirantaraṃ taraṇijātīrasthakeliṃ prabhoḥ
samprāpnoti tadīyatāṃ pratidinaṃ gopīśatairāvṛtām || 9 ||
|| iti śrīraghunāthaprabhu kṛtaṃ śrī kṛṣṇa śaraṇāṣṭakam sampūrṇam ||

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