Damodar Ashtakam is a wonderful stotra that depicts the 'Play' of Lord Krishna. Damodar is a pleasant name of Lord Krishna which illustrates one of the ‘Leela’ or plays of Lord Krishna.
The ‘Play’ reveals the mischievousness of Lord Krishna with his mother Yashoda.
This Song explains Krishna’s Early Childhood Pastime Of Running From His Mother When She Tried To Punish Him For Stealing Butter From The Gopis, The Cowherd Women Of Vrindavan.
One should constantly recite the hymn sung by Satyavrata Rishiv called Damodarastakam because this worship attracts Shri Damodara or Lord Krishna.
Damodar Ashtakam Meaning
श्री श्री दामोदराष्टकं
नमामीश्वरं सच्-चिद्-आनन्द-रूपं
लसत्-कुण्डलं गोकुले भ्राजमनम्
यशोदा-भियोलूखलाद् धावमानं
परामृष्टम् अत्यन्ततो द्रुत्य गोप्या ॥ १॥
namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ gokule bhrājamanam
yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaṁ
parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā ॥ 1॥
1) To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who I (due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed–to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.
रुदन्तं मुहुर् नेत्र-युग्मं मृजन्तम्
कराम्भोज-युग्मेन सातङ्क-नेत्रम्
मुहुः श्वास-कम्प-त्रिरेखाङ्क-कण्ठ
स्थित-ग्रैवं दामोदरं भक्ति-बद्धम् ॥ २॥
rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantam
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram
muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāṅka-kaṇṭha
sthita-graivaṁ dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham ॥ 2॥
2) (Seeing the whipping stick in His mother’s hand) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother’s pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.
इतीदृक् स्व-लीलाभिर् आनन्द-कुण्डे
स्व-घोषं निमज्जन्तम् आख्यापयन्तम्
तदीयेषित-ज्ञेषु भक्तैर् जितत्वं
पुनः प्रेमतस् तं शतावृत्ति वन्दे ॥ ३॥
itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe
sva-ghoṣaṁ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam
tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṁ
punaḥ prematas taṁ śatāvṛtti vande ॥ 3॥
3) By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbued with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love, I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.
वरं देव मोक्षं न मोक्षावधिं वा
न चन्यं वृणे ‘हं वरेषाद् अपीह
इदं ते वपुर् नाथ गोपाल-बालं
सदा मे मनस्य् आविरास्तां किम् अन्यैः ॥ ४॥
varaṁ deva mokṣaṁ na mokṣāvadhiṁ vā
na canyaṁ vṛṇe ‘haṁ vareṣād apīha
idaṁ te vapur nātha gopāla-bālaṁ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāṁ kim anyaiḥ ॥ 4॥
4) O Lord, although You can give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon (which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti). O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?
इदं ते मुखाम्भोजम् अत्यन्त-नीलैर्
वृतं कुन्तलैः स्निग्ध-रक्तैश् च गोप्या
मुहुश् चुम्बितं बिम्ब-रक्ताधरं मे
मनस्य् आविरास्ताम् अलं लक्ष-लाभैः ॥ ५॥
idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair
vṛtaḿ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me
manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ ॥ 5॥
5) O Lord, Your lotus face, which is encircled by locks of soft black hair tinged with red, is kissed again and again by mother Yasoda, and Your lips are reddish like the Bimba fruit. May this beautiful vision of Your lotus face ever manifest in my heart. Thousands and thousands of other benedictions are of no use to me.
नमो देव दामोदरानन्त विष्णो
प्रसीद प्रभो दुःख-जालाब्धि-मग्नम्
कृपा-दृष्टि-वृष्ट्याति-दीनं बतानु
गृहाणेष माम् अज्ञम् एध्य् अक्षि-दृश्यः ॥ ६॥
namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo
prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam
kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu
gṛhāṇeṣa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ ॥ 6॥
6) O Supreme Godhead, I offer my obeisances unto You. O Damodara! O Ananta! O Vishnu! O, master! O my Lord, be pleased upon me. By showering Your glance of mercy upon me, deliver this poor ignorant fool who is immersed in an ocean of worldly sorrows, and become visible to my eyes.
कुवेरात्मजौ बद्ध-मूर्त्यैव यद्वत्
त्वया मोचितौ भक्ति-भाजौ कृतौ च
तथा प्रेम-भक्तिं स्वकां मे प्रयच्छ
न मोक्षे ग्रहो मे ‘स्ति दामोदरेह ॥ ७॥
kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat
tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca
tathā prema-bhaktiṁ svakāṁ me prayaccha
na mokṣe graho me ‘sti dāmodareha ॥ 7॥
7) O Lord Damodara, just as the two sons of Kuvera–Manigriva and Nalakuvara–were delivered from the curse of Narada and made into great devotees by You in Your form as a baby tied with rope to a wooden grinding mortar, in the same way, please give to me Your own Prema-bhakti. I only long for this and have no desire for any kind of liberation.
नमस् ते ‘स्तु दाम्ने स्फुरद्-दीप्ति-धाम्ने
त्वदीयोदरायाथ विश्वस्य धाम्ने
नमो राधिकायै त्वदीय-प्रियायै
नमो ‘नन्त-लीलाय देवाय तुभ्यम् ॥ ८॥
namas te ‘stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ‘nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam ॥ 8॥
8) O Lord Damodara, I, first of all, offer my obeisances to the brilliantly effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.