Vasudeva’s Stotra to Kṛshṇa (Brahma Purāṇa)
Vasudeva Kṛta Kṛshṇa Stotra · vasudeva kṛta kṛshṇa stotra, “the stotra to Kṛshṇa sung by Vasudeva”
Vasudeva‘s Stotra to Kṛshṇa is the praise that Vasudeva sang to his son Śrī Kṛshṇa in Kaṃsa‘s arena at Mathurā, the moment Kaṃsa had fallen. It closes the Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 193, in Vyāsa‘s account to the munis, and is given in seven verses. In it a father who had called Kṛshṇa “my child” bows to him as Sureśvara, the antarātmā of all beings, the yajña and its performer, the creator and sustainer without beginning or end, and Vishṇu who has come to make the universe safe. It ends with Vasudeva’s own words: “My delusion has gone.”
The setting
When Kṛshṇa had slain Cāṇūra and Balarāma had slain Mushṭika, Kaṃsa ordered his men to throw the two gopas out, chain Nanda and Vasudeva, and seize the gopas’ cattle. Madhusūdana smiled gently, leapt onto the high platform, dragged Kaṃsa down by the hair and fell upon him, and by the weight of the one who supports all the worlds Kaṃsa gave up his life. Then Kṛshṇa went with Balarāma and held the feet of Devakī and Vasudeva. They raised Janārdana up, and remembering the words he had spoken to them in the birth chamber, they themselves bowed to him. Then Vasudeva praised Śrī Kṛshṇa.
The stotra
- “Svāmī, be gracious, you who are worshipped by the suras (Sura-vandya), ruler of the suras (Sureśvara)! Was it not for us, to raise up this earth, so that we might worship you, to bless us and to restrain all the wicked, that you were born in our house, O great one (Mahanīya)? Our kula has been made pure by this, O Hari!”
- “You are in all beings; you are the antarātmā, the inner self, of all beings. Past, future and present all come about by you alone. You are the leader (Netā); you are the yajña; you are the one who performs the yajña; and the material offered in the yajña is you too, O Parātpara, higher than the highest, Hari!”
- “My mind and Devakī‘s fell into ajñāna, thinking you our child. I proclaim the truth: you are the creator (Kartā) and the sustainer (Bhartā). No beginning or end of anything is seen in you. Only the human tongue calls you ‘son’ and ‘child’.”
- “Ruler of all the worlds, this whole world is nothing but māyā. Then what does your being born to us mean? How should you, who hold the whole of creation within you, dwell in a human womb?”
- “Such are you. Protect the universe, Parameśvara! Being an aṃśa of Vishṇu you became my son. From Brahmā down to the tree and the ant-hill all are bound, and the māyā that makes you seem a child has held me fast. Look on me with compassion, Hari!”
- “With māyā clouding my eyes, thinking ‘you are the one I begot’, in fear of Kaṃsa, you were taken to Gokula. Even so, Īśvara, you never left my thought. Jagadīśvara! Gokuleśvara!”
- “You have done wonders that Rudra, the Maruts, the Aśvins, Śatakratu and the chief of the devas could neither do nor even see. Why look for signs? You have descended upon the earth to make the universe safe; you are Vishṇu. Protect me, Hari! My delusion has gone.”
The chapter ends with this stotra.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 193
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 193