Deva Garbha Stotra
The Deva Garbha Stotra is the hymn the devas offered to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa while he was still in the womb of Devakī. The devas were led by Brahmā and Rudra. Nārada, Bhṛgu and all the ṛshis and devas came with them. The stotra is in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 2. It is a dense and beautiful summary of the Bhāgavata’s teaching on bhakti (devotion) and jñāna (knowledge), on the saṃsāra-vṛksha (tree of saṃsāra), and on the meaning of the avatāra of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.
The setting
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa entered the womb of Devakī, and the prison cell began to shine with an extraordinary light. The devas, with Brahmā and Śiva at their head, gathered in the sky above Mathurā. Nārada, Bhṛgu and all the great ṛshis and deva-gaṇas (hosts of devas) were there with them. They offered this stotra to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who was hidden in the womb.
The stotra
Satya and the nature of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa
“You are the embodiment of satya (truth). The highest means of reaching you is satya. You stay through sṛshṭi, sthiti and laya (creation, upkeep and dissolution). The pañcabhūtas (five elements) are pṛthivī, jala, agni (sat), vāyu and ākāśa (tyat). In their pāramārthika svarūpa (ultimate nature) they are all you. We take refuge in you. You are satyasvarūpa (truth itself) and samadarśana (of equal vision). You make satya win in the world.”
The tree of saṃsāra
“This eternal (sanātana) saṃsāra is like a tree. The māyāśakti of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa alone is its āśraya (support). The tree has:
- two fruits: sukha and duḥkha (happiness and sorrow);
- three roots: sattva, rajas and tamas;
- four juices: dharma, artha, kāma and moksha;
- five sense-channels as its hollows: the five jñānendriyas (organs of knowing);
- six pariṇāmas (changes), the shaḍ-vikāras: birth, existence, growth, change, decay and death;
- seven dhātus as its bark: rasa, rakta, māṃsa, medas, asthi, majjā and tvak;
- eight branches: the five bhūtas together with manas, buddhi and ahaṃkāra;
- nine openings as its knot-holes: the nine dvāras (gates) of the body;
- ten vāyus as its leaves: prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna, and nāga, kūrma, kṛkala, devadatta and dhanañjaya.
“Two birds, the jīva and Īśvara (jīveśvara), sit upon it. This tree of saṃsāra comes from you, is held up by you, and dissolves into you.”
Bhakti is higher than dry knowledge
“Some cross this ocean of saṃsāra on the raft of your lotus feet. Great ṛshis have given them divine eyes, and they cross it easily, as a cow crosses a shallow pool with its hooves. The truly great ones cross it themselves and then leave your lotus feet (pāda-padmas) as a boat for others in this world, for your anugraha (grace) to the sādhus is great.
“Others give up your feet and follow only śushka-jñāna (dry knowledge, without bhakti). They may reach a high place, but they fall from it. For them the antaḥkaraṇa-mālinya (impurity of the inner instrument) is never removed without bhakti. They are like people who husk empty grain and get only the labour, without the fruit. Those who follow jñāna without bhakti get only kleśa (trouble).”
The avatāra
“You are sattvaguṇa-pradhāna (ruled by sattva) and śuddha sattva-svarūpa (pure sattva by nature). Only through your rūpa (form) can the learned (vidvān) do karma, yoga, tapas and samādhi-upāsanā (worship in samādhi). Without this form of yours, ātmajñāna (knowledge of the ātmā) itself would not exist. The buddhi that tells the ātmā from the anātmā (what is not the ātmā) needs the light of your sattva-rūpa.
“O Vidhātā! For this you take avatāras in each yuga. O best of the Yādavas (Yādava-śreshṭha)! You appeared before as Matsya, Hayagrīva, Kūrma, Nṛsiṃha, Varāha, Haṃsa, Śrī Rāma, Paraśurāma and Vāmana. So you come down now. Lift the burden of the earth.”
The promise of moksha through bhakti
“Whoever fixes the mind on your lotus feet, and listens to your kalyāṇa-nāmas (auspicious names), your kīrtanas and your smaraṇa (remembrance) while going about daily work, for that person there is no return to saṃsāra.”
The fortune of Gokula
“O Hari! By your birth, the marks of your lotus feet will fall upon this earth. Your gracious lotus feet will grace even svargaloka. The devas see this daivānugraha (grace of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa) with joy.”
Sources
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 2