234 - Achyuta or Chakradhara Hymn

Suta said: 

1. O Shaunaka, please listen. I shall narrate the hymn of Achyuta which Brahma had narrated to Narada on being requested by him. 

Narada said: 

2. Be pleased to tell me how the imperishable and un changing Vishnu has to be eulogised by me, Vishnu the granter of boons, every day at the time of adoration. 

3. Those who eulogise Achyuta constantly are the blessed. Their life is excellent. They enjoy all happiness. Their life is fruitful. 

Brahma said: 

4. O Sage, I shall tell you the hymn of Vasudeva, that yields salvation. At the time of worship, if the lord is eulogised with this hymn He will be propitiated. 

5-10. OM, obeisance to lord Vasudeva, obeisance to the dissipater of all sins. Obeisance to Him who is of pure body, knowledge embodied, Lord of all deities, bearing Srivatsa, having sword in his hand, bearing garland of lotuses, the base of the entire world, wearing yellow garment Narsimha, Vaikuntha, lotus-navelled, lying in the ocean of milk, having thousand heads, lying upon the serpent, bearing axe in his hand, destroying the warriors, of true vows, unconquerable, lord of the three worlds, bearing discus, beneficent, the minutest, the oldest, usurper of Bali's kingdom as Vamana. 

11. Obeisance to the sacrificial Boar. Obeisance, obeisance to Govinda. Obeisance to Thee, O Blissful one, obeisance to Thee the great Imperishable. 

12. Obeisance to Thee the Knowledge-Existence; Obeisance to Thee the dispenser of knowledge; Obeisance to Thee the great unbifurcated; Obeisance to Thee the best among men. 

13. Obeisance to Thee the creator-deity of the universe: Obeisance to Thee the conceiver of the universe; obeisance to Thee the lord of the universe; obeisance to The the cause of the universe. 

14. Obeisance to Thee the slayer of the demon Madhu;1 obeisance to Thee the slayer of Ravana; obeisance to Thee the slayer of Kamsa and Keshin;2 obeisance to Thee the suppressor of Kaitabha.3

1. Madhu and Kaitabha were two horrible demons, who, according to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, sprang from the ear of Vishnu while he was asleep at the end of a kalpa, and were about to kill Brahma, who was lying on the lotus springing from Vişhnu's navel. Vishnu killed them, and hence he obtained the names of Kaitabhajit and Madhusudana. The Märkandeya-Puraņa attributes the death of Kaitabha to Uma, and she bears the title of Kaitabha. The Hari-vamsa states that the earth received its name of Medini from the marrow (medas) of thee demons. In one pasage it says that their bodies, being thrown into the sea, produced an immense quantity of marrow or fat, which Narayana used in forming the earth. In another place it says that the medas quite covered the earth, and so gave it the name of Medini. [CDHM, p. 139]. 

2. In the Mahabharata, a demon who fought with and was defeated by Indra. In the Puranas a daitya who took the form of a home and attack ed Krishna, but was killed by that hero's thrusting his arm into his jaws and rending him asunder [CDHM, p. 156]. 

3. See fn. 1. 

15. Obeisance to The the lotus-eyed, obeisance to The, the Garuda-emblemed, obeisance to Thee the slayer of Kalanemi,4 obeisance to The, seated on Garuda.

4. (1) In the Ramayana, a demon, uncle of Ravana. At the solicitation of Ravana, and with the promise of half his kingdom, he endeavoured to kill Hanuman. Assuming the form of a hermit-devotee, he went to the Gandhamadana mountain and when Hanuman proceeded thither in search of the medicinal drugs, the disguised demon invited him to his hermitage and offered him food. Hanuman refused, but went to bathe in the neighbouring pond. Upon his placing his foot in the water it was seized by a crocodile. but he dragged the creature out and killed it. From the dead body there arose a lovely apsaras who had been cursed by Daksha to live as a crocodile till she should be released by Hanuman. She told her deliverer to be beware of Kalanemi, so Hanuman went back to that deceiver, told him that he knew him, and taking him by the feet, sent him whirling through the air to Lanka, where he fell before the throne of Ravana in the council. room. (2) In the Puranas a great demon, son of Virochana, the grandson of Hiranyakashipu. He was killed by Vishnu [CDHM, p. 141].

16-17. Obeisance to Thee, son of Devaki; obeisance to The, scion of the family of Vrushnis; obeisance to Thee, Lord of Rukmini;1 obeisance to Thee son of Aditi; obeisance to The, resident of cowherds' colony; obeisance to The fond of cow herds' colony.

1. Daughter of Bhishmaka, king of Vidarbha. According to the Harivamsha she was sought in marriage by Krishna, with whom she fell in love. But her brother Rukmin was a friend of Kamsa whom Krishna had killed. He, therefore, opposed him and thwarted the match. Rukmini was then be-trothed to Shishupala, king of Cedi, but on her wedding day, as she was going to the temple, Krishņa saw her, took her by the hand, and carried her away in his chariot. They were pursued by her intended husband and by her brother Rukmin, but Krishna defeated them both, and took her safe to Dváraka, where he married her. She was his principal wife who bore him a son Pradyumna. By him also she had nine other sons and one daughter. [CDHM p. 270].

18. Victory to Krishna of the form of a cowherd; Victory to the beloved of cowherd classes; Victory to the supporter of Govardhana;2 Victory to the promoter of cowherds' colony.

2. A mountain in Vrundāvana, which Krishna induced the cowherds and cowherdesses to worship instead of Indra. This enraged the god, who sent a deluge of rain to wash away the mountain and all the people of the country, but Krishna held up the mountain on his little finger for seven days to shelter the people of Vrundavana. Indra retired baffled. [CDHM, p. 114].

19. Hail Thee, the slayer of the powerful Ravana; Hail thee the slayer of Chanura,3 Hail Thee the illuminater of the family of Vrushnis; Hail Thee, the suppressor of Kaliya4 serpent.

3. A wrestler in the service of Kamsa who was killed by Krishna. 

4. A serpent king who had five heads, and dwelt in the deep pool of Yamuna, with numerous attendant serpents. His mouths vomited fire and smoke, and he laid waste all the country round. Krishņa, while yet a child, jumped into his pool, when he was quickly laced and entwined in the coils of the snakes. His companions and friends were horrified, but Balarama called upon him to exercise his divine power. He did so and the serpents were soon overcome. Placing his foot on the mundane head of Kaliya he compelled him and his followers to implore mercy. He spared them, but bade Kaliya and his followers to free the earth from their presence, and to move to the ocean. [CDHM, p. 144].

20. Hail Thee, the true witness of the universe; Hail Thee the achiever of all riches; Hail Thee the comprehensible to the knowers of Vedanta; Hail Thee the giver of everything Madhava.

21. Hail Thee, the supporter of all, the unmanifest. Hail The, the giver of everything O Madhava; Hail Thee, the unsullied in the mind. 

22. Victory be thine, the unsupported; Be victorious O quiescent eternal. Be victorious O Lord, the nourisher of the universe, Be victorions O Vishnu; obeisance to Thee. 

23. Thou art the preceptor O Hari, thou art the disciple. Thou art the initiation and the group of mantras. Thou art the Nyasa, the Mudra (gestures). Thou art the School of theology. Thou art the flowers and other ingredients. 

24. Thou art the base; Thou art Ananta (the serpent); Thou art the tortoise; Thou art the earth and the lotus; Thou art virtue, knowledge etc. Thou art the potentialities of the altar and mystic diagrams. 

25. O Lord, thou art Rama the wielder of ploughshare Thou art the destroyer of Shambara;1 Thou art the Brahmanical Sage; Thou art the lord Vishnu. Thou art true of exploits.

1. In the Vedas a demon, also called a dasyu, who fought against king Divodása, but was defeated and had his many castles destroyed by Indra. He appears to be a mythical personification of drought, of a kindred character to Vrutra, or identical with him. In the Puranas a daitya who carried off Pradyumna and threw him into the well.

26. Thou art Nrusimha, the ultimate bliss, lord of the earth Suparna, discus, club and conch. 

27. Thou art Śhrī, Thou art Purusha (nourishment). Thou art the permanent Maya, Thou art Shrivatsa, Kaustubha; Thou art Shārngi and the quiver. 

28. Thou art the sword along with the leather buckler; Thou art the guardian deity; O Lord, Thou art the lord of Rakshasas; Thou art Sadhya; Thou art the wind and the moon. 

29. Thou art the lord of wealth, Ishana, Indra, Varuna, lord of the demons, Sadhya, Vayu, and the man. 

30. Thou art the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, the Ashvins, the Maruts; Thou art the Daityas, Danavas, Nagas; Thou art Yakshas and the Khagas (Skyroamers). 

31. Thou art the Gandharvas, Apsaras, Siddhas, Pitrus; thou art the great immortal devas: Thou art the living beings, thou art the objects of the sense-organs; thou art the Avyakta (the unmanifest) to the sense-organs. 

32. Thou art the mind, the intellect, the ego, the soul, Thou art the lord in the heart. Thou art the sacrifice, Thou art the Vashatkara. Thou art Onkára, the sacrificial twig and the Kusha grass. 

33. Thou art the altar, O Hari, Thou art the initiation; Thou art the sacrificial post; Thou art the sacrificial fire, Thou art the Hotru (the priest making the offerings in fire), Thou art the Yajamana (the officiating priest); Thou art the grain. Thou art the sacrificial animal, the Yājaka (the house holder requesting the priests to perform the sacrifice). 

34. Thou art the Adhvaryu (the presiding priest), Thou art the Udgata (the singer of Säman hymns). Thou art the sacrifice. Thou art the Purushottama (the best among men). Thou art the quarters, the nether worlds, the earth, the sky, the heaven, Thou art the creator of Stars. 

35-37. Whatever mobile or immobile in the universe is seen among the Devas, beasts or mankind, O Lord, the Cosmic egg, the entire universe--all these are only Thy forms, they are manifest to the eyes, O Lord, the supreme Brahman, you are inaccessible even to gods. 

38. Who is competent to comprehend that pure imperishable Purusha, accessible to Yogins, the unmanifest, the unborn, the unchanging? 

39. He is devoid of annihilation and origin. He is all pervading, he is the lord, he is omniscient, he is divested of three Gunas, he is pure Bliss, he is unageing, he is the greatest. 

40-42. O Lord, Thou art Consciousness, the permanent, the quiescent, the complete, the unbifurcated, the unwasting. In Thy incarnations many of The forms are seen, but unable to comprehend Thy real greatness the heaven-dwellers go on adoring thee (in whatever manner they conceive), O Purushottama, how can I know such a subtle being as The art. 

43-45. The vibhutis (the various manifestations) such as Sankarshana, etc. have been adored by me by means of flowers, incense, etc. If there is any defect in it, be pleased to forgive my omissions and commissions. I am incompetent to perform Thy Puja as laid down in shastras) in an orderly manner. 

46. Whatever Japa, homa, etc, have been performed by me, O Purushottama, cannot be successfully concluded with true devotion. Hence, I crave The pardon. 

47. By day or night, during dusk and dawn, in all states, whatever I do, may my devotion be steady, O Hari in The feet. 

48. I have no such love towards the physical body or ritualistic activities as I have, in an exclusive form, towards Thee, O Lord of the Universe. 

49. What sacred rite conducive to Heaven and salvation has not been performed by him who has firm devotion towards Vishnu, the dispenser of fruits of all cherished desires. 

50. O Achyuta, who is capable of performing Thy worship or eulogising Thee properly? (Anyhow) I have eulogised and adored you. Please forgive. Obeisance to The. 

51. Thus I have narrated to you the hymn of Chakradhara. O sage, if you wish to attain the great status, eulogise Vishnu with devotion. 

52. He who eulogises the preceptor of the universe by means of this hymn at the time of adoration attains salvation ere long breaking off the fetters of worldly existence. 

53. Even in the age of Kali, he who recites this hymn with great devotion thrice every day with physical and mental purity shall realise all his desires. 

54. The devotee desirous of sons shall beget sons, the imprisoned shall be freed from bondage, the sick devotee shall be cured of his ailments; the indigent shall be affluent. 

55. The seeker of learning shall acquire knowledge, fame and renown. The intelligent shall be able to remember his previous birth and shall get whatever he thinks of. 

56. He who eulogises Purushottama shall be truthful in his statements, pure and liberal-minded. The unblessed shall turn out to be omniscient and intelligent; the indecent shall be transformed into one who performs all holy rites. 

57. Those who do not engage themselves in holy rites with Hari as the object of devotion can never be pure in conduct. They are to be banished from all religious rites.

58. He who has no unflinching devotion to Vishnu who grants all riches shall never benefit from purificatory rites of mind and speech. He is wicked. 

59. A man who propitiates the lord Hari duty, who grants all happiness, shall obtain whatever he wishes for. 

60. He is the Primordial deity the Siddha (who has achieved everything) who is meditated upon by all sages. He is the witness into all who knows whatever there is in any heart. He is unborn. He is nectar. He is free from fear and death. He is eternal. He is Bliss. I bow unto that Vasudeva. 

61. I adore with the flowers of mental conception the lord of all worlds, the eternal, the delighted, the pure, the un tarnished, devoid of the three Gunas and the delighter of everyone. May the Sentient Soul, the witness of everything enter the lotus of my heart, the inner feelings of my soul. 

62. Thus I have narrated the greatness of the Supreme Vishnu who has neither beginning nor end. Hence, the great lord is to be duty meditated upon by a man on the way to salvation. 

63. Who is the Yogin who does not merge himself in the Supreme Brahman) after meditating upon Vishnu without a parallel, the consciousness in form, the ancient Purusha, resplendent like the sun, the unsullied, the Pure? 

64. The man who constantly reads this hymn and remains pure and quiet can wash off his sins and shall attain the extensive region of the Lord with his influence spreading all round. 

65. He who seeks wealth, unlimited pleasure, virtue, love and salvation can cast off everything and seek refuge in Vishnu the ancient, the excellent. 

66. He who has abjured all association (with worldly objects) and seeks refuge in Vasudeva the pure, the all-pervading, the lord, the supporter of the universe, the pure and the cause of the destruction of all worldly objects.