In Praise of Devotion to Vishnu

Verse 1 (padma.3.50.1)

ऋषय ऊचुः । भवता कथितं सर्वं यत्किंचित्पृष्टमेव च । इदानीमपि पृच्छाम एकं वद महामते ।

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ bhavatā kathitaṁ sarvaṁ yatkiṁcitpṛṣṭameva ca idānīmapi pṛcchāma ekaṁ vada mahāmate

The sages said: You have told us everything, whatever indeed was asked. Now we ask one more thing — tell us, O one of great understanding.

Verse 2 (padma.3.50.2)

एतेषां खलु तीर्थानां सेवनाद्यत्फलं लभेत् । सर्वेषां किल कृत्वैकं कर्म केन च लभ्यते ।

eteṣāṁ khalu tīrthānāṁ sevanādyatphalaṁ labhet sarveṣāṁ kila kṛtvaikaṁ karma kena ca labhyate

Whatever fruit is obtained by resorting to all these tirthas — by doing what single deed indeed is that same fruit of all of them obtained?

Verse 3 (padma.3.50.3)

एतन्नो ब्रूहि सर्वज्ञ कर्मैवं यदि वर्तते । सूत उवाच । कर्मयोगः किल प्रोक्तो वर्णानां द्विजपूर्वशः ।

etanno brūhi sarvajña karmaivaṁ yadi vartate sūta uvāca karmayogaḥ kila prokto varṇānāṁ dvijapūrvaśaḥ

Tell us this, O omniscient one, if such a deed exists. Suta said: Karma-yoga has indeed been declared for the varnas, foremost for the twice-born,

Verse 4 (padma.3.50.4)

नानाविधो महाभागास्तत्र चैकं विशिष्यते । हरिभक्तिः कृता येन मनसा वचसा गिरा ।

nānāvidho mahābhāgāstatra caikaṁ viśiṣyate haribhaktiḥ kṛtā yena manasā vacasā girā

of many kinds, O greatly fortunate ones; and among these one is distinguished — devotion to Hari performed by mind, by word, by speech.

Verse 5 (padma.3.50.5)

जितं तेन जितं तेन जितमेव न संशयः । हरिरेव समाराध्यः सर्वदेवेश्वरेश्वरः ।

jitaṁ tena jitaṁ tena jitameva na saṁśayaḥ harireva samārādhyaḥ sarvadeveśvareśvaraḥ

By that one has conquered, by that one has conquered — truly conquered, without doubt. Hari alone is to be worshipped, the lord of the lords of all gods.

Verse 6 (padma.3.50.6)

हरिनाममहामंत्रैर्नश्येत्पापपिशाचकम् । हरेः प्रदक्षिणं कृत्वा सकृदप्यमलाशयाः ।

harināmamahāmaṁtrairnaśyetpāpapiśācakam hareḥ pradakṣiṇaṁ kṛtvā sakṛdapyamalāśayāḥ

By the great mantras of Hari's name, the demon of sin is destroyed. Having circumambulated Hari even once, with a stainless disposition —

Verse 7 (padma.3.50.7)

सर्वतीर्थसमाप्लावं लभंते यन्न संशयः । प्रतिमां च हरेर्दृष्ट्वा सर्वतीर्थफलं लभेत् ।

sarvatīrthasamāplāvaṁ labhaṁte yanna saṁśayaḥ pratimāṁ ca harerdṛṣṭvā sarvatīrthaphalaṁ labhet

one obtains the merit of bathing in all tirthas together — of this there is no doubt. And having beheld the image of Hari, one obtains the fruit of all tirthas.

Verse 8 (padma.3.50.8)

विष्णुनामपरं जप्त्वा सर्वमंत्रफलं लभेत् । विष्णुप्रसादतुलसीमाघ्राय द्विजसत्तमाः ।

viṣṇunāmaparaṁ japtvā sarvamaṁtraphalaṁ labhet viṣṇuprasādatulasīmāghrāya dvijasattamāḥ

Having recited the supreme name of Vishnu, one obtains the fruit of all mantras. O best of the twice-born, by smelling the tulasi from Vishnu's offering —

Verse 9 (padma.3.50.9)

प्रचंडं विकरालं तद्यमस्यास्यं न पश्यति । सकृत्प्रणामी कृष्णस्य मातुः स्तन्यं पिबेन्नहि ।

pracaṁḍaṁ vikarālaṁ tadyamasyāsyaṁ na paśyati sakṛtpraṇāmī kṛṣṇasya mātuḥ stanyaṁ pibennahi

one does not behold that terrible, fearsome mouth of Yama. He who bows even once to Krishna does not drink again from a mother's breast.

Verse 10 (padma.3.50.10)

हरिपादे मनो येषां तेभ्यो नित्यं नमोनमः । पुल्कसः श्वपचो वापि ये चान्ये म्लेच्छजातयः ।

haripāde mano yeṣāṁ tebhyo nityaṁ namonamaḥ pulkasaḥ śvapaco vāpi ye cānye mlecchajātayaḥ

To those whose minds are fixed on the feet of Hari, homage again and again. Even an outcaste, a dog-cooker, or others of foreign birth —

Verse 11 (padma.3.50.11)

तेऽपि वंद्या महाभागा हरिपादैकसेवकाः । किं पुनर्ब्राह्मणाः पुण्या भक्ता राजर्षयस्तथा ।

te'pi vaṁdyā mahābhāgā haripādaikasevakāḥ kiṁ punarbrāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayastathā

they too are to be venerated as greatly fortunate, if devoted solely to Hari's feet. How much more, then, meritorious Brahmins, devotees, and royal sages as well.

Verse 12 (padma.3.50.12)

हरौ भक्तिं विधायैव गर्भवासं न पश्यति । हरेरग्रे स्वनैरुच्चैर्नृत्यंस्तन्नामकृन्नरः ।

harau bhaktiṁ vidhāyaiva garbhavāsaṁ na paśyati hareragre svanairuccairnṛtyaṁstannāmakṛnnaraḥ

Having simply performed devotion to Hari, one does not see dwelling in the womb again. The man who dances before Hari, loudly with musical sounds, chanting his name,

Verse 13 (padma.3.50.13)

पुनाति भुवनं विप्रा गंगादि सलिलं यथा । दर्शनात्स्पर्शनात्तस्य आलापादपि भक्तितः ।

punāti bhuvanaṁ viprā gaṁgādi salilaṁ yathā darśanātsparśanāttasya ālāpādapi bhaktitaḥ

purifies the world, O Brahmins, just as the waters of the Ganga and the like. By seeing him, by touching him, or even by conversing with him devotedly —

Verse 14 (padma.3.50.14)

ब्रह्महत्यादिभिः पापैर्मुच्यते नात्र संशयः । हरेः प्रदक्षिणं कुर्वन्नुच्चैस्तन्नामकृन्नरः ।

brahmahatyādibhiḥ pāpairmucyate nātra saṁśayaḥ hareḥ pradakṣiṇaṁ kurvannuccaistannāmakṛnnaraḥ

one is freed from sins beginning with the killing of a Brahmin — of this there is no doubt. The man who circumambulates Hari, loudly reciting his name,

Verse 15 (padma.3.50.15)

करतालादिसंधानं सुस्वरं कलशब्दितम् । ब्रह्महत्यादिकं पापं तेनैव करतालितम् ।

karatālādisaṁdhānaṁ susvaraṁ kalaśabditam brahmahatyādikaṁ pāpaṁ tenaiva karatālitam

in unison with cymbals and the like, in sweet tone, resounding melodiously — sins beginning with the killing of a Brahmin are destroyed, clapped away by that very act.

Verse 16 (padma.3.50.16)

हरिभक्तिकथामुक्त्वा ख्यायिकां शृणुयाच्च यः । तस्य संदर्शनादेव पूतो भवति मानवः ।

haribhaktikathāmuktvā khyāyikāṁ śṛṇuyācca yaḥ tasya saṁdarśanādeva pūto bhavati mānavaḥ

Whoever recounts a tale of devotion to Hari, or even hears such a story — a man becomes pure by merely beholding him.

Verse 17 (padma.3.50.17)

किं पुनस्तस्य पापानामाशंका मुनिपुंगवाः । तीर्थानां च परं तीर्थं कृष्णनाम महर्षयः ।

kiṁ punastasya pāpānāmāśaṁkā munipuṁgavāḥ tīrthānāṁ ca paraṁ tīrthaṁ kṛṣṇanāma maharṣayaḥ

How much less, then, O foremost of sages, is there any fear of sin for him! The great sages declare that the name 'Krishna' is the supreme tirtha of all tirthas.

Verse 18 (padma.3.50.18)

तीर्थीकुर्वंति जगतीं गृहीतं कृष्णनाम यैः । तस्मान्मुनिवराः पुण्यं नातः परतरं विदुः ।

tīrthīkurvaṁti jagatīṁ gṛhītaṁ kṛṣṇanāma yaiḥ tasmānmunivarāḥ puṇyaṁ nātaḥ parataraṁ viduḥ

Those by whom the name of Krishna has been taken turn the very earth into a tirtha. Therefore, O excellent sages, know that there is no merit higher than this.

Verse 19 (padma.3.50.19)

विष्णुप्रसादनिर्माल्यं भुक्त्वा धृत्वा च मस्तके । विष्णुरेव भवेन्मर्त्यो यमशोकविनाशनः ।

viṣṇuprasādanirmālyaṁ bhuktvā dhṛtvā ca mastake viṣṇureva bhavenmartyo yamaśokavināśanaḥ

Having partaken of Vishnu's prasada and consecrated remnants, and having worn them upon the head, a mortal himself becomes as Vishnu, the destroyer of the grief of Yama.

Verse 20 (padma.3.50.20)

अर्चनीयो नमस्कार्यो हरिरेव न संशयः । ये महाविष्णुमव्यक्तं देवं वापि महेश्वरम् ।

arcanīyo namaskāryo harireva na saṁśayaḥ ye mahāviṣṇumavyaktaṁ devaṁ vāpi maheśvaram

Hari alone is to be worshipped, to be revered — of this there is no doubt. Those who behold the great Vishnu, unmanifest, or the god Maheshvara,

Verse 21 (padma.3.50.21)

एकीभावेन पश्यंति न तेषां पुनरुद्भवः । तस्मादनादिनिधनं विष्णुमात्मानमव्ययम् ।

ekībhāvena paśyaṁti na teṣāṁ punarudbhavaḥ tasmādanādinidhanaṁ viṣṇumātmānamavyayam

as one and the same — for them there is no rebirth again. Therefore, behold Vishnu as beginningless and endless, the imperishable Self,

Verse 22 (padma.3.50.22)

हरिं चैकं प्रपश्यध्वं पूजयध्वं तथैव हि । ये समानं प्रपश्यंति हरिं वै देवतांतरम् ।

hariṁ caikaṁ prapaśyadhvaṁ pūjayadhvaṁ tathaiva hi ye samānaṁ prapaśyaṁti hariṁ vai devatāṁtaram

and Hari as the one supreme reality, and worship him likewise. Those who regard Hari as equal to some other deity —

Verse 23 (padma.3.50.23)

ते यांति नरकान्घोरांन्न तांस्तु गणयेद्धीरः । मूर्खं वा पंडितं वापि ब्राह्मणं केशवप्रियम् ।

te yāṁti narakānghorāṁnna tāṁstu gaṇayeddhīraḥ mūrkhaṁ vā paṁḍitaṁ vāpi brāhmaṇaṁ keśavapriyam

they go to terrible hells; the wise man should not even count them as devotees. Be he a fool or a scholar, a Brahmin dear to Keshava —

Verse 24 (padma.3.50.24)

श्वपाकं वा मोचयति नारायणः स्वयं प्रभुः । नारायणात्परो नास्ति पापराशि दवानलः ।

śvapākaṁ vā mocayati nārāyaṇaḥ svayaṁ prabhuḥ nārāyaṇātparo nāsti pāparāśi davānalaḥ

or even an outcaste — Narayana himself, the Lord, sets him free. There is nothing beyond Narayana; he is a forest-fire to the mass of sin.

Verse 25 (padma.3.50.25)

कृत्वापि पातकं घोरं कृष्णनाम्ना विमुच्यते । स्वयं नारायणो देवः स्वनाम्नि जगतां गुरुः ।

kṛtvāpi pātakaṁ ghoraṁ kṛṣṇanāmnā vimucyate svayaṁ nārāyaṇo devaḥ svanāmni jagatāṁ guruḥ

Even having committed a terrible sin, one is freed by the name of Krishna. The god Narayana himself, the teacher of the worlds —

Verse 26 (padma.3.50.26)

आत्मनोऽभ्यधिकां शक्तिं स्थापयामास सुव्रताः । अत्र ये विवदंते वै आयासलघुदर्शनात् ।

ātmano'bhyadhikāṁ śaktiṁ sthāpayāmāsa suvratāḥ atra ye vivadaṁte vai āyāsalaghudarśanāt

has placed, O men of good vows, a power in his own name even greater than himself. Those who dispute this, seeing merely the ease and lightness of the effort —

Verse 27 (padma.3.50.27)

फलानां गौरवाच्चापि ते यांति नरकं बहु । तस्माद्धरौ भक्तिमान्स्याद्धरिनामपरायणः ।

phalānāṁ gauravāccāpi te yāṁti narakaṁ bahu tasmāddharau bhaktimānsyāddharināmaparāyaṇaḥ

even in view of the greatness of its fruits — they go to many hells. Therefore one should be devoted to Hari, wholly given to Hari's name.

Verse 28 (padma.3.50.28)

पूजकं पृष्ठतो रक्षेन्नामिनं वक्षसि प्रभुः । हरिनाममहावज्रं पापपर्वतदारणे ।

pūjakaṁ pṛṣṭhato rakṣennāminaṁ vakṣasi prabhuḥ harināmamahāvajraṁ pāpaparvatadāraṇe

The Lord protects the mere worshipper from behind, but he keeps the one who chants his name upon his very chest. The great name of Hari is a thunderbolt for splitting the mountain of sin.

Verse 29 (padma.3.50.29)

तस्य पादौ तु सफलौ तदर्थं गतिशालिनौ । तावेव धन्यावाख्यातौ यौ तु पूजाकरौ करौ ।

tasya pādau tu saphalau tadarthaṁ gatiśālinau tāveva dhanyāvākhyātau yau tu pūjākarau karau

Those feet alone bear fruit, endowed with true movement, that walk to that end; those hands alone are declared blessed, that perform his worship.

Verse 30 (padma.3.50.30)

उत्तमांगमुत्तमांगं तद्धरौ नम्रमेव यत् । सा जिह्वा या हरिं स्तौति तन्मनस्तत्पदानुगम् ।

uttamāṁgamuttamāṁgaṁ taddharau namrameva yat sā jihvā yā hariṁ stauti tanmanastatpadānugam

that head alone is the true 'highest limb' which bows before Hari; that tongue alone is true which praises Hari; that mind alone which follows his feet;

Verse 31 (padma.3.50.31)

तानि लोमानि चोच्यंते यानि तन्नाम्नि चोत्थितम् । कुर्वंति तच्च नेत्रांबु यदच्युतप्रसंगतः ।

tāni lomāni cocyaṁte yāni tannāmni cotthitam kurvaṁti tacca netrāṁbu yadacyutaprasaṁgataḥ

those alone are called true body-hairs which stand on end at his name; those alone are true tears from the eyes which arise through contact with the Unfallen One.

Verse 32 (padma.3.50.32)

अहो लोका अतितरां दैवदोषेण वंचिताः । नामोच्चारणमात्रेण मुक्तिदं न भजंति वै ।

aho lokā atitarāṁ daivadoṣeṇa vaṁcitāḥ nāmoccāraṇamātreṇa muktidaṁ na bhajaṁti vai

Alas, how greatly the people are cheated by the fault of their own fate! They do not resort to that which grants liberation merely by the utterance of the Name.

Verse 33 (padma.3.50.33)

वंचितास्ते च कलुषाः स्त्रीणां संगप्रसंगतः । प्रतिष्ठंति च लोमानि येषां नो कृष्णशब्दने ।

vaṁcitāste ca kaluṣāḥ strīṇāṁ saṁgaprasaṁgataḥ pratiṣṭhaṁti ca lomāni yeṣāṁ no kṛṣṇaśabdane

Cheated and defiled are they, through attachment to the company of women; those whose hairs do not stand on end at the sound of Krishna's name —

Verse 34 (padma.3.50.34)

ते मूर्खा ह्यकृतात्मानः पुत्रशोकादि विह्वलाः । रुदंति बहुलालापैर्न कृष्णाक्षरकीर्तने ।

te mūrkhā hyakṛtātmānaḥ putraśokādi vihvalāḥ rudaṁti bahulālāpairna kṛṣṇākṣarakīrtane

they are fools indeed, of unrefined self, overwhelmed by grief for a son and the like; they weep with much lamentation, but not in the chanting of Krishna's syllables.

Verse 35 (padma.3.50.35)

जिह्वां लब्ध्वापि लोकेऽस्मिन्कृष्णनामजपेन्नहि । लब्ध्वापि मुक्तिसोपानं हेलयैव च्यवंति ते ।

jihvāṁ labdhvāpi loke'sminkṛṣṇanāmajapennahi labdhvāpi muktisopānaṁ helayaiva cyavaṁti te

Even having obtained a tongue in this world, they do not use it to recite the name of Krishna; even having obtained the very stairway to liberation, they fall from it out of sheer negligence.

Verse 36 (padma.3.50.36)

तस्माद्यत्नेन वै विष्णुं कर्मयोगेन मानवः । कर्मयोगार्च्चितो विष्णुः प्रसीदत्येव नान्यथा ।

tasmādyatnena vai viṣṇuṁ karmayogena mānavaḥ karmayogārccito viṣṇuḥ prasīdatyeva nānyathā

Therefore, with effort, a man should worship Vishnu through karma-yoga; Vishnu, worshipped through karma-yoga, becomes truly pleased — not otherwise.

Verse 37 (padma.3.50.37)

तीर्थादप्यधिकं तीर्थं विष्णोर्भजनमुच्यते । सर्वेषां खलु तीर्थानां स्नानपानावगाहनैः ।

tīrthādapyadhikaṁ tīrthaṁ viṣṇorbhajanamucyate sarveṣāṁ khalu tīrthānāṁ snānapānāvagāhanaiḥ

Devotion to Vishnu is declared to be a tirtha greater even than the tirthas. Whatever fruit a mortal obtains through bathing, drinking, and immersing himself in all the tirthas —

Verse 38 (padma.3.50.38)

यत्फलं लभते मर्त्यस्तत्फलं कृष्णसेवनात् । यजंते कर्मयोगेन धन्या एव नरा हरिम् ।

yatphalaṁ labhate martyastatphalaṁ kṛṣṇasevanāt yajaṁte karmayogena dhanyā eva narā harim

that same fruit is obtained through service to Krishna. Blessed indeed are those men who worship Hari through karma-yoga.

Verse 39 (padma.3.50.39)

तस्माद्भजध्वं मुनयः कृष्णं परममंगलम् ।

tasmādbhajadhvaṁ munayaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ paramamaṁgalam

Therefore, O sages, worship Krishna, the supremely auspicious one.