Bhaja Govindam

भज गोविन्दम् भज गोविन्दम्

Bhaja govindam bhaja govindam

Worship Govinda, worship Govinda,

गोविन्दं भज मूढ़मते

Govindaṃ bhaja mūr̤hamate

worship Govinda, O foolish mind.

संप्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले

Saṃprāpte sannihite kāle

When the appointed hour stands close at hand,

न हि न हि रक्षति डुकृञ् करणे

Na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ karaṇe

no rule of grammar, none at all, will save you.

मूढ़ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णाम्

Mūr̤ha jahīhi dhanāgamatṛṣṇām

O foolish one, give up the thirst for piling up wealth;

कुरु सद्बुद्धिमं मनसि वितृष्णाम्

Kuru sadbuddhimaṃ manasi vitṛṣṇām

make your understanding right and your mind free of craving.

यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तम्

Yallabhase nijakarmopāttam

Whatever comes to you, earned by your own past deeds,

वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तं

Vittaṃ tena vinodaya cittaṃ

let your mind find its contentment in that.

नारीस्तनभरनाभीदेशम्

Nārīstanabharanābhīdeśam

A woman's swelling breast, the curve of her navel:

दृष्ट्वा मागा मोहावेशम्

Dṛṣṭvā māgā mohāveśam

seeing them, do not fall into the grip of infatuation.

एतन्मान्सवसादिविकारम्

Etanmānsavasādivikāram

This is no more than flesh and fat and their changes;

मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम्

Manasi vicintaya vāraṃ vāram

turn that over in your mind, again and again.

नलिनीदलगतजलमतितरलम् तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम्

Nalinīdalagatajalamatitaralam tadvajjīvitamatiśayacapalam

Water on a lotus leaf trembles and slips away; life is just as fleeting.

विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं

Viddhi vyādhyabhimānagrastaṃ

Know that the world is gripped by disease and by pride,

लोक शोकहतं च समस्तम्

Loka śokahataṃ ca samastam

and that all of it is stricken with sorrow.

यावद्वित्तोपार्जनसक्त:

Yāvadvittopārjanasakta:

As long as you are able to earn and bring in money,

तावन्निजपरिवारो रक्तः

Tāvannijaparivāro raktaḥ

so long your own family stays fond of you.

पश्चाज्जीवति जर्जरदेहे

Paścājjīvati jarjaradehe

Later, when you go on living in a worn-out body,

वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति गेहे

Vārtāṃ ko'pi na pṛcchati gehe

no one at home so much as asks how you are.

यावत्पवनो निवसति देहे

Yāvatpavano nivasati dehe

As long as the breath still dwells in the body,

तावत् पृच्छति कुशलं गेहे

Tāvat pṛcchati kuśalaṃ gehe

so long they ask after your wellbeing at home.

गतवति वायौ देहापाये

Gatavati vāyau dehāpāye

Once the breath has gone and the body has fallen,

भार्या बिभ्यति तस्मिन्काये

Bhāryā bibhyati tasminkāye

even the wife shrinks in fear from that body.

बालस्तावत् क्रीडासक्तः

Bālastāvat krīḍāsaktaḥ

The child is absorbed in play,

तरुणस्तावत् तरुणीसक्तः

Taruṇastāvat taruṇīsaktaḥ

the young man in a young woman,

वृद्धस्तावच्चिन्तासक्तः

Vṛddhastāvaccintāsaktaḥ

the old man in his worries;

परे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः

Pare brahmaṇi ko'pi na saktaḥ

in the supreme Brahman, no one is absorbed at all.

का ते कांता कस्ते पुत्रः

Kā te kāṃtā kaste putraḥ

Who is your wife? Who is your son?

संसारोऽयमतीव विचित्रः

Saṃsāro'yamatīva vicitraḥ

This world of ours is strange beyond telling.

कस्य त्वं वा कुत अयातः

Kasya tvaṃ vā kuta ayātaḥ

Whose are you? From where have you come?

तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः

Tattvaṃ cintaya tadiha bhrātaḥ

Ponder that truth here and now, brother.

सत्संगत्वे निस्संगत्वं

Satsaṃgatve nissaṃgatvaṃ

From keeping good company comes freedom from attachment;

निस्संगत्वे निर्मोहत्वं

Nissaṃgatve nirmohatvaṃ

from freedom from attachment comes freedom from delusion;

निर्मोहत्वे निश्चलतत्त्वं

Nirmohatve niścalatattvaṃ

from freedom from delusion comes the unshakeable truth;

निश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मुक्तिः

Niścalatattve jīvanmuktiḥ

and in the unshakeable truth lies liberation while still alive.

व यसि गते कः कामविकारः

Va yasi gate kaḥ kāmavikāraḥ

When youth has passed, what is left of lust?

शुष्के नीरे कः कासारः

Śuṣke nīre kaḥ kāsāraḥ

When the water has dried up, where is the lake?

क्षीणे वित्ते कः परिवारः

Kṣīṇe vitte kaḥ parivāraḥ

When wealth has run out, where is the family?

ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसारः

Jñāte tattve kaḥ saṃsāraḥ

When the truth is known, where is this round of birth and death?

मा कुरु धनजनयौवनगर्वं

Mā kuru dhanajanayauvanagarvaṃ

Take no pride in wealth, in followers, in youth;

हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वं

Harati nimeṣātkālaḥ sarvaṃ

in a single blink, time carries it all away.

मायामयमिदमखिलम् हित्वा

Māyāmayamidamakhilam hitvā

Leave behind this whole show, woven of illusion;

ब्रह्मपदम् त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा

Brahmapadam tvaṃ praviśa viditvā

know Brahman, and enter into that state.

दिनयामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः

Dinayāminyau sāyaṃ prātaḥ

Day and night, dusk and dawn,

शिशिरवसन्तौ पुनरायातः

Śiśiravasantau punarāyātaḥ

winter and spring, come round again and again.

कालः क्रीडति गच्छत्यायुस्तदपि

Kālaḥ krīḍati gacchatyāyustadapi

Time plays its game, life drains away, and even so

न मुन्च्त्याशावायुः

Na munctyāśāvāyuḥ

the gale of craving does not loosen its hold.

द्वादशमंजरिकाभिरशेषः

Dvādaśamaṃjarikābhiraśeṣaḥ

In these twelve clustered verses, complete in themselves,

कथितो वैयाकरणस्यैषः

Kathito vaiyākaraṇasyaiṣaḥ

this was told to the grammarian;

उपदेशोऽभूद्विद्यानिपुणैः श्रीमच्छंकरभगवच्चरणैः

Upadeśo'bhūdvidyānipuṇaiḥ śrīmacchaṃkarabhagavaccaraṇaiḥ

the teaching was given by the venerable Shankara, master of all learning.

काते कान्ता धन गतचिन्ता

Kāte kāntā dhana gatacintā

Why this endless anxiety over wife and wealth?

वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता

Vātula kiṃ tava nāsti niyantā

O crazed one, have you no one to guide you?

त्रिजगति सज्जनसं गतिरैका

Trijagati sajjanasaṃ gatiraikā

In the three worlds, the company of the good alone

भवति भवार्णवतरणे नौका

Bhavati bhavārṇavataraṇe naukā

becomes the boat for crossing the ocean of birth and death.

जटिलो मुण्डी लुञ्छितकेशः काषायाम्बरबहुकृतवेषः

Jaṭilo muṇḍī luñchitakeśaḥ kāṣāyāmbarabahukṛtaveṣaḥ

One wears matted locks, one a shaven head, one has his hair plucked out, one dresses in ochre robes: so many costumes are put on.

पश्यन्नपि च न पश्यति मूढः

Paśyannapi ca na paśyati mūḍhaḥ

The fool looks and still does not see

उदरनिमित्तं बहुकृतवेषः

Udaranimittaṃ bahukṛtaveṣaḥ

that all this dressing up is done for the sake of the belly.

अङ्गं गलितं पलितं मुण्डं

Aṅgaṃ galitaṃ palitaṃ muṇḍaṃ

The limbs have withered, the head has turned grey,

दशनविहीनं जतं तुण्डम्

Daśanavihīnaṃ jataṃ tuṇḍam

the mouth has been left without teeth,

वृद्धो याति गृहीत्वा दण्डं

Vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaṃ

the old man walks leaning on a stick;

तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापिण्डम्

Tadapi na muñcatyāśāpiṇḍam

even then he will not let go of his bundle of hopes.

अग्रे वह्निः पृष्ठेभानुः

Agre vahniḥ pṛṣṭhebhānuḥ

A fire in front of him, the sun on his back,

रात्रौ चुबुकसमर्पितजानुः

Rātrau cubukasamarpitajānuḥ

at night his knees drawn up to his chin,

करतलभिक्षस्तरुतलवासः

Karatalabhikṣastarutalavāsaḥ

alms held in his palm, a tree for his shelter:

तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापाशः

Tadapi na muñcatyāśāpāśaḥ

even so, the noose of craving does not release him.

कुरुते गङ्गासागरगमनं

Kurute gaṅgāsāgaragamanaṃ

One may make the pilgrimage to Gangasagar,

व्रतपरिपालनमथवा दानम्

Vrataparipālanamathavā dānam

keep every vow, or give freely in charity,

ज्ञानविहिनः सर्वमतेन

Jñānavihinaḥ sarvamatena

yet without knowledge, by the reckoning of every school,

मुक्तिं न भजति जन्मशतेन

Muktiṃ na bhajati janmaśatena

he does not reach liberation even in a hundred births.

सुर मंदिर तरु मूल निवासः

Sura maṃdira taru mūla nivāsaḥ

A temple or the root of a tree for a dwelling,

शय्या भूतल मजिनं वासः

Śayyā bhūtala majinaṃ vāsaḥ

the bare earth for a bed, a deerskin for clothing,

सर्व परिग्रह भोग त्यागः

Sarva parigraha bhoga tyāgaḥ

all possessions and pleasures given up:

कस्य सुखं न करोति विरागः

Kasya sukhaṃ na karoti virāgaḥ

whom does such dispassion fail to make happy?

योगरतो वाभोगरतोवा

Yogarato vābhogaratovā

Whether given to yoga or given to pleasure,

सङ्गरतो वा सङ्गवीहिनः

Saṅgarato vā saṅgavīhinaḥ

whether keeping company or living apart,

यस्य ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं

Yasya brahmaṇi ramate cittaṃ

the one whose mind delights in Brahman

नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव

Nandati nandati nandatyeva

rejoices, rejoices, truly rejoices.

भगवद् गीता किञ्चिदधीता

Bhagavad gītā kiñcidadhītā

If the Bhagavad Gita has been studied even a little,

गङ्गा जललव कणिकापीता

Gaṅgā jalalava kaṇikāpītā

if a single drop of Ganga water has been drunk,

सकृदपि येन मुरारि समर्चा

Sakṛdapi yena murāri samarcā

if Murari has been worshipped even once,

क्रियते तस्य यमेन न चर्चा

Kriyate tasya yamena na carcā

then Yama has no case to argue over that person.

पुनरपि जननं पुनरपि मरणं

Punarapi jananaṃ punarapi maraṇaṃ

Birth again, and death again,

पुनरपि जननी जठरे शयनम्

Punarapi jananī jaṭhare śayanam

again the lying in a mother's womb.

इह संसारे बहुदुस्तारे

Iha saṃsāre bahudustāre

In this world, so hard to cross over,

कृपयाऽपारे पाहि मुरारे

Kṛpayā'pāre pāhi murāre

protect me by Your boundless mercy, O Murari.

रथ्या चर्पट विरचित कन्थः

Rathyā carpaṭa viracita kanthaḥ

A patchwork cloak stitched from rags found on the road,

पुण्यापुण्य विवर्जित पन्थः

Puṇyāpuṇya vivarjita panthaḥ

a path that has left both merit and demerit behind,

योगी योगनियोजित चित्तो

Yogī yoganiyojita citto

the yogi whose mind is settled in union

रमते बालोन्मत्तवदेव

Ramate bālonmattavadeva

moves through the world like a child, like one gone mad with joy.

कस्त्वं कोऽहं कुत आयातः

Kastvaṃ ko'haṃ kuta āyātaḥ

Who are you? Who am I? From where have I come?

का मे जननी को मे तातः

Kā me jananī ko me tātaḥ

Who is my mother? Who is my father?

इति परिभावय सर्वमसारम्

Iti paribhāvaya sarvamasāram

Reflect like this: none of it has substance.

विश्वं त्यक्त्वा स्वप्न विचारम्

Viśvaṃ tyaktvā svapna vicāram

Give up the world, seeing it as the stuff of a dream.

त्वयि मयि चान्यत्रैको विष्णुः

Tvayi mayi cānyatraiko viṣṇuḥ

In you, in me, and everywhere else, there is one and the same Vishnu;

व्यर्थं कुप्यसि मय्यसहिष्णुः

Vyarthaṃ kupyasi mayyasahiṣṇuḥ

your impatience and anger toward me are pointless.

भव समचित्तः सर्वत्र त्वं

Bhava samacittaḥ sarvatra tvaṃ

Be even-minded, in every place and toward everyone,

वाञ्छस्यचिराद्यदि विष्णुत्वम्

Vāñchasyacirādyadi viṣṇutvam

if you would soon attain the state of Vishnu Himself.

शत्रौ मित्रे पुत्रे बन्धौ

Śatrau mitre putre bandhau

Toward enemy or friend, son or kinsman,

मा कुरु यत्नं विग्रहसन्धौ

Mā kuru yatnaṃ vigrahasandhau

spend no effort on quarrelling or on making peace.

सर्वस्मिन्नपि पश्यात्मानं

Sarvasminnapi paśyātmānaṃ

See the same Self in every one of them,

सर्वत्रोत्सृज भेदाज्ञानम्

Sarvatrotsṛja bhedājñānam

and everywhere throw off the ignorance that makes them different.

कामं क्रोधं लोभं मोहं

Kāmaṃ krodhaṃ lobhaṃ mohaṃ

Desire, anger, greed, delusion:

त्यक्त्वाऽत्मानं भावय कोऽहम्

Tyaktvā'tmānaṃ bhāvaya ko'ham

let them go, and ask yourself who you are.

आत्मज्ञान विहीना मूढाः

Ātmajñāna vihīnā mūḍhāḥ

Fools who are without knowledge of the Self

ते पच्यन्ते नरकनिगूढाः

Te pacyante narakanigūḍhāḥ

are caught fast in hell and burn there.

गेयं गीता नाम सहस्रं

Geyaṃ gītā nāma sahasraṃ

Sing the Gita and the thousand names;

ध्येयं श्रीपति रूपमजस्रम्

Dhyeyaṃ śrīpati rūpamajasram

meditate without pause on the form of Shripati, Lakshmi's Lord;

नेयं सज्जन सङ्गे चित्तं

Neyaṃ sajjana saṅge cittaṃ

lead your mind into the company of the good;

देयं दीनजनाय च वित्तम्

Deyaṃ dīnajanāya ca vittam

and give your wealth away to those in need.

सुखतः क्रियते रामाभोगः

Sukhataḥ kriyate rāmābhogaḥ

Pleasure is taken in the enjoyment of women;

पश्चाद्धन्त शरीरे रोगः

Paścāddhanta śarīre rogaḥ

afterwards, alas, disease settles in the body.

यद्यपि लोके मरणं शरणं

Yadyapi loke maraṇaṃ śaraṇaṃ

Though in this world death is where everything ends,

तदपि न मुञ्चति पापाचरणम्

Tadapi na muñcati pāpācaraṇam

even then a person will not give up wrongdoing.

अर्थंमनर्थम् भावय नित्यं

Arthaṃmanartham bhāvaya nityaṃ

Reflect always that wealth is a source of trouble;

नास्ति ततः सुखलेशः सत्यम्

Nāsti tataḥ sukhaleśaḥ satyam

truly, not a shred of happiness comes from it.

पुत्रादपि धनभजाम् भीतिः

Putrādapi dhanabhajām bhītiḥ

Those who hold riches fear even their own son:

सर्वत्रैषा विहिता रीतिः

Sarvatraiṣā vihitā rītiḥ

this is the rule everywhere.

प्राणायामं प्रत्याहारं

Prāṇāyāmaṃ pratyāhāraṃ

Control of the breath, withdrawal of the senses,

नित्यानित्य विवेकविचारम्

Nityānitya vivekavicāram

discernment between what is eternal and what passes,

जाप्यसमेत समाधिविधानं

Jāpyasameta samādhividhānaṃ

the practice of samadhi joined with repetition of the Name:

कुर्ववधानं महदवधानम्

Kurvavadhānaṃ mahadavadhānam

do these with care, with the greatest care.

गुरुचरणाम्बुज निर्भर भक्तः संसारादचिराद्भव मुक्तः

Gurucaraṇāmbuja nirbhara bhaktaḥ saṃsārādacirādbhava muktaḥ

Take wholehearted refuge at the lotus feet of the guru, and be freed from this round of birth and death without delay.

सेन्द्रियमानस नियमादेवं

Sendriyamānasa niyamādevaṃ

By restraining the senses and the mind in this way,

द्रक्ष्यसि निज हृदयस्थं देवम्

Drakṣyasi nija hṛdayasthaṃ devam

you will see the Lord who dwells in your own heart.

मूढः कश्चन वैयाकरणो

Mūḍhaḥ kaścana vaiyākaraṇo

A certain foolish grammarian,

डुकृञ्करणाध्ययन धुरिणः

Ḍukṛñkaraṇādhyayana dhuriṇaḥ

buried in the study of his grammatical formulas,

श्रीमच्छम्कर भगवच्छिष्यै

Śrīmacchamkara bhagavacchiṣyai

was taught by the disciples of the venerable Shankara,

बोधित आसिच्छोधितकरणः

Bodhita āsicchodhitakaraṇaḥ

and so his faculties were made clean.

भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं

Bhajagovindaṃ bhajagovindaṃ

Worship Govinda, worship Govinda,

गोविन्दं भजमूढमते

Govindaṃ bhajamūḍhamate

worship Govinda, O foolish mind.

नामस्मरणादन्यमुपायं

Nāmasmaraṇādanyamupāyaṃ

Apart from remembering the Name, we see no other way

नहि पश्यामो भवतरणे

Nahi paśyāmo bhavataraṇe

of crossing over this ocean of existence.