KESHAVANAMA

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Dear Friends,

Keshavanama Of Kanakadasaru,is a very popular song.

It is the practice for many Vaishnavas to recite it

daily. I have attempted here to give a translation of

it with some explanations.

When you go through the translation of the verses

you will find that the main prayer of Kanakadasa to

the Lord is to grant him moxa. We have to note that

Kanaka,being Yamamsa,is one qualified for moxa(all

devatas are qualified for moxa).The songs of our

Haridasas are mostly intended to guide those who are

devoted to God in the right path . In this song he

tells us that the 'parama purushartha' is moxa and

that and nothing else should we pray for from the

supreme Lord, Keshava.

 

*** Ishaninna charana bhajane Aseyinda mAduvEnu

dosha rAsi nAshamAdO Srisha Keshva (1)

Oh KEshava,the Lord of Laxmi,and the Lord of the

whole universe,I shall be always singing in your

praise with devotion;ward off all the evil

deedsofmine.

In this stanza,Sri Kanaka dasaru,is saying that he

will sing the praise of the Lord's feet. There is no

difference between the Lord's powers and the power of

any parts of His body as stated in the Sruti

'nEhanAnAsti kinchana'.

He is asking the Lord to ward off the evil

deeds,which means that he is praying the Lord to grant

'aparoxa'(His darshana) whereby all 'sanchita' and

'AgAmi' pApas(also punya) will be cleared and he gets

Moxa. In effect,Kanaka is praying to the Lord to grant

him Moxa.

 

*** sharanU hokkenayya yenna maranasamayadallininna

charana smarane karunisayya nArAyana (2)

NArAyana ,I have surrendered to you.Be kind to grace

me with the praise of your feet at the time

ofmydeath.

At the outset,Kanakadasa says that he has

surrendered to the Lord. This is as stated in the BG:

sarvadhamAnparityaya mAmEkam sharanam vraja'.

He is praying to Lord NArAyana to grant him the

Namasmarane of the Lord at the last moment. In

Bhag.gita it is said: 'yam yam vApi smaran bhAvm

tyajatyantEkalEvaram tam tamEvaiti KountEya

sadatadbhAvabhAvith' and ' antyakAlE cha mAmEva smaran

muktva kalEvaram yaH prayAti sa madbhAvam yati

nAstyatra samshaya:h,. A person who dies with the

name of Hari on his lips in the last moment will

attain moxa and that is what is desired .(This is why

Srimadacharya tells us in the Dvadasastotra: santatam

chintayE$nantamantakAlE visheshata:h').

 

*** Shodhisayya bhavda kalusha bodhisayyajnanavenage

bAdhisuva Yamana bAdhe bidiso Madhava (3)

MAdhava, Grant me that knowledge (through my gurus)

by which you shall remove the filth I have got due to

the birth on this earth and rid me of the pangs of

Yama(naraka),which means 'grant me moxa'.

The point to be noted in this verse is'bodhisayya

jnanavenage'. Kanakadasa prays to the Lord to grant

him the right knowledge. Knowledge of the Lord should

be got through gurus and bhakti combined with 'jnana'

leads to moxa. And,all this should come by His grace.

 

*** hindanEkayOnigalali bandubandu nOndenAnu

indu bhavada bandha bidiso tande Govinda(4)

I took birth after birth in various species (there

are 84 lakh species of life) and suffered a great deal

of sorrow. Now I pray to You to rid me of the bondage

of this cycle of birth and death. Kanakadasru says

:after suffering in several

lives,I have got this life as a man,when I have the

ability to speak and sing in your

praise.My,Lord,relieve me of this bondage of samsara.

This reminds us of Purandaradasaru's song: manava

janma doddadu,ada hAnimAdalibEdi hucchappagalirA.

 

*** bhrashtanenisabEda Krishna istu mAtra bEdikOmbe

shishtarolage ittu kasta bidisO VishnuvE (5)

Vishnu,who took avatar as Krishna,do not make my

life wasted. I pray to You,give me the company of the

good,and rid me of all difficulties.

By using both the names Vishnu and Krishna ,Kanaka

is telling us that there is no difference in the

various forms of the Lord as stated in the Upanishad

statement 'nEhanAnAsti kinchana'. The company of

thegood means the company of

Haribhaktas,which helps us in gaining and enhancing

our love towards Him, and gain true knowledge.

To get rid of difficulties is to attain moxa.

 

*** madananayya ninnanmahime vadanadinda nudiyuvante

hridayadalli hudugisayya Madhusudana (6)

Madhusudana,the father of Kama, Make Your name fixed

in my heart so that my tounge will always sing Your

greatness.

 

*** kavidukondu iruva pApa saviduhOguvasnte mAdu

javana bAdheyannu bidisu Sri Trivikrama (7)

Trivikrama, I am fully covered by my sins. Be kind

to clear them all and make me free from the pangs of

Yama.

Again a prayer for moxa.

 

*** kAmajanaka ninnanAma premadinda pAduvantha

nEmavenage pAlisayya swami Vamana (8)

Vamana,my Lord,father of Kama(Manmatha), Grace me

with the habit of always singing Your name

withsinceredevotion.

We must know from this that even to sing a song in

His name we have no 'svatantrya'. He should find us

to be deserving it and grace us with such ability.

 

*** modalu ninna pAdapUje odaguvante mAdu enna

hridayadolage sadanamAdO mudadi Sridhara.(9)

Sridhara,may it be your pleasure to stay in my heart

and to give me the opportunity to worship Your feet.

 

*** pusuyanAdi hotte horeva vishayadallirasikanendu

pusige hAkadiru enna Hrishikeshane (10)

Do not consider me as an expert in satisfying the

belly by means fair or foul and ignore me; thatis,take

pity on me.

In this stanza,Kanakadasaru is deriding those who

spend all their time in satisfying the desires of

their senses (panchendriyas). He wants them to get

realisation and devote themselves to the Lord.

 

*** biddu bhavadanEkajanma baddhanAgi kalushadinda

geddu pOpa buddhi tOro PadmanAbhanE (11)

Padmanabha, Having got into the bondage of

'samsAra',I have taken many births and have committed

numerous sins; kindly give me the knowledge and mind

to conquer their effects;that is ,show me the path to

moxa.

 

*** kAmakrodha bidisi ninna nAma jihveyolage iriso

Srimahanubhavanada Damodara (12)

Damodara,the beloved of Laxmi, grace me to get

rid of kama and krodha(desire and anger) and make Your

name always reside in my tounge. In the BG,(

sloka3-36),Arjuna asks Sri

Krishna:'Atha kena prayuktO$yam pApam charti

pUrusha:h'- By which is this man prompted to do evil

.. To this Krishna replies:(sloka 3-37) 'kAma Esha

krOdha Esha rajOgunasamudbhava:h

mahAshanOmahapApma vidhyEnamiha vairinam'- This

desire and anger are the two great enemies of man

which prompt him to indulge in wrong actions.

Kanakadasa is advising us that we should pray to the

Lord that He should give us the strength to overcome

them.

 

*** pankjaksha nIne yenna manku

buddhiyannubidisininna

kinkaranna mAdikollo Sankarshana (13)

Sankarshana,who has lotus-like eyes,take away my

ignorance;that is, grant me the right knowledge,and

consider me as Your 'kinkara' or'dAsa'we have both

bhakti and vairagya expressed here.

 

*** Esu janmabandarEnu dAsanallavEno nAnu

ghAsi mAdadiru nInu VAsudEvane (14)

VasudEva, though I have gone through several

births,I have always been Your 'dAsa' (I am supplicant

toYou),kindly put me not through

thehardships(ofnaraka).

'Esu janma' may possibly be split as: 'E' and

'sujanma " which would mean 'good' life,or life as a

man. In this case we may interpret as: though I have

got the life as a man, I have kept away my pride and

am your 'dAsa'. Protect me from the pangs of Yama.

 

*** buddhisunyanAda enna baddha kAya kuhaka manava

tiddi hridaya shuddhi mAdu PradyumnanE (15)

Pradyumna, I do not have any knowledge; I am bonded

in this body and my mind is wicked(going in wrong

directions);Be kind to rectify it and purify my heart.

 

 

*** janani janaka nIne yendu yenuvenayya dInabandhu

Enage mukti palisinnu AniruddhnE (16)

Aniruddha,the one full of kindness to the

supplicants,You are the father and mother to

me,givememoxa soon.

This reminds the sloka: tvamEva mAtha cha

pitAtvamEva

tvamEva bandhscha sakhA tvamEva tvamEva

vidyadravinam tvamEva

tvamEva sarvam mama dEva dEva.

 

*** harushadinda ninna nAma patHisuvante mAdu kshema

irisu charanadalli prema PurushOttama (17)

Purushottama, Give me the capacity to sing your

name and to love (be devoted to ) Your

feet,whichisthe safest thing for me .

 

*** sAdhusanga kottu ninna pAdabhajan ittu enna

bhEda mAdi nOdadirO adhOxaja (18)

Adhoxaja,Give me the company of the

good(Haribhaktas);give me the mind to sing in praise

of Your feet;and,do not treat me as an undesirable

one.

The intention of the last sentence is not merely

that he should not be treated as undesirable,but

asadevotee beloved to Him.

 

*** charucharana tOri enage pAragAnisayya konege

bhArahAkirUve ninage Narasimhane (19)

Narasimha, I am entirely dependent on You(I have

fully surrendered to You); give me the darshan of Your

beautiful feet and at the end of this life

grantmemOxa.

 

*** sanchitAda pApagalu kinchitAda pIdegalu

munchitAgi kakedu poreyO swami Achyuta (20)

Achyuta, relieve me of the accumulated sins(their

effects) and the few hardships to come in future

andprotect me.

The prayer is for relief from the sins

accumulated(sanchita) andthose to come(AgAmi) which

happens when a devotee gets 'aparOxa' and that is what

Sri Kanakadasa is asking for. 'protect me' means rid

me of this 'samsara'and grant me moxa.

 

*** jnAna bhakuti kottu ninna dhyanadalli ittu sadA

hIna buddhi bidiso Sri Janardana (21)

Janardana, grant me the correct knowledge(of You)

and give me devotion to You, and (through which) make

me get rid of my bad qualities.

Jnana and bhakti are to be combined with vairagya.

'hina buddhi'(bad qualities) leads to desire,anger and

greed and Sri Kanakadasa is praying the Lord to

relieve him of these and grant jnana,bhakti and

vairAgya which are the only means to please the Lord.

And with such a person the Lord gets pleased and when

He considers him deserving grants him

'aparOxa " andmOxa.

 

*** japatapAnushtanavillade kupathagAmiyAada yenna

kripeyamAdi xamisabEku UpendranE (22)

Upendra, I am a sinner having followed wrong path

indulging in sinful acts)who has not performed my

duties like 'japa' and 'tapas' to please You. You

should take pity on me and excuse me for all my sins.

As stated before,Kanakadasa,being a Devatamsa, is

not a sinner.These words are for educating those who

do not even perform their assigned duties like

'sandhyavandana' and 'Puja'. We should awake and

follow the right path as shown by Kanakadasaru.

 

 

*** moReyaniduvenayya ninage

shardhishayanashubhamatiya

irisu bhaktaroLu parama purusha Sri Hare (23)

SriHari,the one who dwells in the ocean,I beg you

to give me good knowledge and keep me in the

companyofYour devotees.

In this stanza the poet has called the LOrd by

three names,Sri Hari,NArayana(who dwells in the

ocean,and Parama Purusha(indicating the one who is

extolled in the Purusha sukta) .

 

*** puttisalE bEda innu puttisidake pAlisinnu

istu mAtra bEdikOmbe Sri Krishnan(24)

Sri Krishna,I pray to You not to give me any more

births and to protect me having given me this

'janma',this is the only prayer of mine.

Thus in the last stanza also ,Kanakadasaru

hasprayedto the Lord for moxa.

 

*** satyavAda nAmagalanu nityadalli paThisuvarige

arthiyinda salahutiruvakartru Keshava (25)

For those who recite this poem with His names

,Keshava,who prompts every action of all beings,shall

protect them with kindness on them. I have not

included meaning of the word

'satyavada' in the above,as it cannot be treated as an

adjective to 'nAmagalanu'. It may be correct to take

the word 'Satya' as one of the names of the Lord(He

is 'satyasya satyam') and then interpret the stanzaas:

Keshava,the 'Truth of truths',shall grant protect

and grant moxa to His devotees who(being prompted by

HIm),shall recite this poem extolling His names.

The names from " keshava' in stanza 1 upto 'Krishna'

in st.24,form a group of the Lord's names. Such groups

are called vyuhas. Another example of a vyuha is

'Narayana,Vasudeva,Sankarshana,Pradyumna,Aniruddha'.

 

*** mareyadale Hariyanama baredu Odi kElidarge

karedu mukti koduva Nele AdikEshava (26)

This and the previous stanza form the 'phalasruti'.

For those who writer,read or hear (with devotion)

this poem containing the names of the

Lord,SriHari,Adikesha of Kaginele, He shall be pleased

with them and invite them to get mukti.

It is with such sincere prayer,Kanaka had aparoxa

and mukti and so he sang: 'istu dUra I Vaikunta estu

dUravO ennutalidde'. For him the distance was removed

by the Lord by granting him 'atyarthaprasada',His

vision and His abode.

With best wishes,

 

Bannur.R

 

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