Oh Lord ! When Thy hour of incarnation approached, it was the rainyseason, with dark clouds covering the sky. The rays of light emanating from Thy divine,dark blue form, seemed to light up the entire atmosphere.
Oh Lord !When all the directions had been well cooled by the rain waters, when the virtuous people were overwhelmed with the joy of the impending fulfillment of their desires, and the moon was rising at midnight, Thou the remover of all sorrows, appeared here on this earth, embodied as Krishna.
Thou shone in the birth chamber, though in the from of a child, with Thy body adorned with the divine majesties, shining crown, bracelets, shoulder ornaments, beautiful necklace, conch, discus, lotus, mace, beautiful as the hue of the rain bearing clouds
O Vaasudeva! Thou did shine in that prison house with the glorious Lakshmi Devi comfortably resting on Thy bosom. The side glances of varied graces, with shyful eyes, cast by her, dispersed away the inauspiciousness of the prison caused by the wicked Kansa.
Thy divine form which is unapproachable to the minds of many aspiring sages, when Vasudeva saw with his own eyes, he had horripilation all over his body, his eyes were full of tears of joy and with a choked and melting voice he sang praised Thee, whose sight is like nectar honey for the bee like eyes.
Dasakam: 038 -- Shlokam: 06
देव प्रसीद परपूरुष तापवल्ली-
निर्लूनदात्रसमनेत्रकलाविलासिन् ।
खेदानपाकुरु कृपागुरुभि: कटाक्षै-
रित्यादि तेन मुदितेन चिरं नुतोऽभू: ॥६॥
deva prasiida parapuuruSha taapa valliinirluunadaatra
Thou were praised with prayers for a long time by Vasudeva who was filled with joy, saying that 'O Lord! cut down the creeper of all my sorrows with Thy sharp sword like playful eyes. O Supreme Being! Remove all my sufferings with Thy side glances laden with compassion.'
Dasakam: 038 -- Shlokam: 07
मात्रा च नेत्रसलिलास्तृतगात्रवल्या
स्तोत्रैरभिष्टुतगुण: करुणालयस्त्वम् ।
प्राचीनजन्मयुगलं प्रतिबोध्य ताभ्यां
मातुर्गिरा दधिथ मानुषबालवेषम् ॥७॥
maatraa cha netra salilaastR^ita gaatravalyaa
stOtrairabhiShTuta guNaH karuNaalayastvam |
praachiinajanmayugalaM pratibOdhya taabhyaaM
maaturgiraa dadhitha maanuShabaalaveSham ||7
And by Thy mother Devaki's tears whose delicate creeper like body was covered and made wet , Thy excellences were praised by hymns. Thou, the abode of mercy, then explained to them,Thy parents, about their two previous births. Then at the request of Thy mother Devaki, Thou assumed the form of a human infant child.
Dasakam: 038 -- Shlokam: 08
त्वत्प्रेरितस्तदनु नन्दतनूजया ते
व्यत्यासमारचयितुं स हि शूरसूनु: ।
त्वां हस्तयोरधृत चित्तविधार्यमार्यै-
रम्भोरुहस्थकलहंसकिशोररम्यम् ॥८॥
Then impelled by Thee, Vasudeva, got ready to exchange Thee with the daughter ofNanda. Thou, who art conceivable only in the minds of revered sages, and Thou, who art pleasing like the young swan seated in a lotus, wert lifted by Vasudeva, in his hands.
Dasakam: 038 -- Shlokam: 09
जाता तदा पशुपसद्मनि योगनिद्रा ।
निद्राविमुद्रितमथाकृत पौरलोकम् ।
त्वत्प्रेरणात् किमिव चित्रमचेतनैर्यद्-
द्वारै: स्वयं व्यघटि सङ्घटितै: सुगाढम् ॥९॥
jaataa tadaa pashupasadmani yOganidraa
nidraavimudritamathaakR^ita pauralOkam |
tvatpreraNaatkimiva chitramachetanairyaddvaaraiH
svayaM vyaghaTi sanghaTitaissugaaDham || 9
At that time, Thy Maya, Yoganidra, who had been born in the cowherd, Nanda's house,put all the city dwellers to sleep, through her yogic powers, activated by Thee. But whatis more amazing is that the firmly locked inanimate (prison) doors opened by themselves
Then the most blessed, Vasudeva, set out, with his path lighted by the shining crest jewels of the serpentAdi Sesha, who with his hoods held above Vasudeva's head,shielded him from the rain. Oh Lord of such great deeds ! May Thou destroy the severity of my ailments
O Lord Hari! Condensed bliss incarnate! Long ago, in the battle between the Devas and Asuras, some of the Asuras, who did notattain salvation, owing to their remaining merits and demerits, were born again on earthas demons and the earth became terribly afflicted by their burden; so Goddess Earthtook refuge at Brahma's feet, where the gods had already assembled.
devaanaaM vadanaani viikshya paritO dadhyau bhavantaM hare ||2
Oh Hari ! Goddess Earth Crushed by the immense weight of the evil minded people and slowly drowning her in the ocean of sorrow,She called the gods as witnesses to her pathetic state; O Lord! Seeing the Earth in such a helpless state and also looking at the faces of the Devas, who had assembled there, Brahmaa meditated on Thee.
natvaa taM stumahe javaaditi yayussaakaM tavaaketanam ||3
Presently, the lotus born Brahmaa agreeing with Goddess Earth, about her sorrowful condition, told to the Devas that what the Mother Earth was saying was indeed true. In the matter of the protection of the Devas and the Earth, Maha Vishnu alone was capable. So all of them and Brahmaa, led by Shiva would quickly go from there to the Milky Ocean to worship Thee
On the shores of the milky ocean, fanned by the gentle breeze, they engaged in single minded meditation of Thy feet. Thou revealed Thy wish to Brahma, from within his heart and he told them that he had been spoken to by the Supreme Lord Himself, and asked them to listen to those words.
I know the sad state of the gods and of the Earth caused by the cruel kings. For its removal I shall be born in the Yaadava clan with all My powers (as a complete incarnation). The gods may be born in the Vrishni clan as part incarnation, and the wives of the Devas also will be born on the Earth to serve me." Thus Thy words Brahmaa told to the Devas and the Earth
dhanyaaM devakanandanaamudavahadraajaa sa shuuraatmajaH ||6
Oh Lord ! Thy speech was like nectar to their ears and they left with a peaceful mind,contented by Thy flow of kindness. The famous city of Mathura, purified by Thy divine presence, was ruled by King Surasena. His son Vasudeva, married the blessed daughter of Devaka.
Dasakam: 037 -- Shlokam: 07
उद्वाहावसितौ तदीयसहज: कंसोऽथ सम्मानय-
न्नेतौ सूततया गत: पथि रथे व्योमोत्थया त्वद्गिरा ।
अस्यास्त्वामतिदुष्टमष्टमसुतो हन्तेति हन्तेरित:
सन्त्रासात् स तु हन्तुमन्तिकगतां तन्वीं कृपाणीमधात् ॥७॥
santraasaatsa tu hantumantikagataaM tanviiM kR^ipaaNiimadhaat ||7
When the marriage ceremony was over Devaki's brother Kansa, in wishing to honour the couple ;he became their charioteer and took to the road in the chariot. Rising from the sky Thy voice said, "You who are very wicked will be killed by her eighth son." Alas! Thus spoken, out of great fear, he then drew his sword to kill the Devaki, who was sitting nearby.
duShTaanaamapi deva puShTakaruNaa dR^iShTaa hi dhiirekadaa ||8
The evil minded Kansa who had caught hold of Devaki by her hair did not let her go even after Vasudeva pleaded with him for a long time; finally he released her only after Vasudeva promised to give the children who would be born to him; , he was satisfied and went home. . As promised by Vasudeva, Thy first brother was duly given to him but Kamsa did not kill the child out of love. Oh Lord ! It is really strange that even the cruel-hearted are sometimes overcome with mercy.
Dasakam: 037 -- Shlokam: 09
तावत्त्वन्मनसैव नारदमुनि: प्रोचे स भोजेश्वरं
यूयं नन्वसुरा: सुराश्च यदवो जानासि किं न प्रभो ।
मायावी स हरिर्भवद्वधकृते भावी सुरप्रार्थना-
दित्याकर्ण्य यदूनदूधुनदसौ शौरेश्च सूनूनहन् ॥९॥
taavattvanmanasaiva naaradamuniH prOche sa bhOjeshvaraM
yuuyaM nanvasuraaH suraashcha yadavO jaanaasi kiM na prabhO |
maayaavii sa harirbhavadvadhakR^itebhaavii surapraarthanaadityaakarNya
yaduunaduudhunadasau shaureshcha suunuunahan ||9
Then, sage Narada, in keeping with Thy wishes, went to the lord of Bhoja and told to the king of Bhoja, Kansa, that did he not know that his clan was of Asuras, whereas, the Yaadavas were Devas. Hari, the master of the Maayaa, will be born to kill him, as result of the prayers of the Devas. Hearing this, Kansa drove out the Yadavaas and killed the sons of Vasudeva
Dasakam: 037 -- Shlokam: 10
प्राप्ते सप्तमगर्भतामहिपतौ त्वत्प्रेरणान्मायया
नीते माधव रोहिणीं त्वमपि भो:सच्चित्सुखैकात्मक: ।
देवक्या जठरं विवेशिथ विभो संस्तूयमान: सुरै:
स त्वं कृष्ण विधूय रोगपटलीं भक्तिं परां देहि मे ॥१०॥
sa tvaM kR^iShNa vidhuuya rOgapaTaliiM bhaktiM paraaM dehi me ||10
At the seventh pregnancy when the king of serpants, Aadishesha entered the womb of Devaki, by Thy prompting, the foetus was transferred to the womb of Rohini by Yoga Maaya. O Maadhava, Thou also who are Existence Conciousness and Bliss alone, entered in Devaki's womb, being well praised by the Devas. O Lord! That Thou O Krishna! May Thou of such glory,remove my numerous maladies and grant me supreme devotion.
Parasurama is one of the Avatars of Vishnu. Parasurama (axe-wielding Rama) is an avataar (incarnation) of Vishnu. Among the ten avataars prominently counted, this is the sixth. Parasurama is the son of saint Jamadagni. He did penance about Lord Shiva and got an axe from him as weapon.
Once, a king by the name of Kaartaveerya-arjuna visited the hermitage of Jamadagni, along with his army during the course of a hunting trip in the forest. Jamadagni arranged to feed his guest and his vast army with the help of his divine cow. Amazed at this, the king became greedy and wanted the cow to be given to him. Jamadagni refused, saying that the cow is required in the performance of religious rites. The king sent his soldiers and forcibly took the cow away to his city. Hearing this, Parasurama went to the king's place and destroyed his army and finally killed the king with his axe. In retaliation, the sons of Kaartaveerya-arjuna killed Jamadagni by beheading him while in meditation and at that time Parasurama was not at home When Parasurama’s father (Jamadagni) was beheaded by a Kshatriya King, his mother Renuka, cried in anguish: "Rama! Rama! Parasurama, who was away from the ashram(hermitage) could ethereally hear the cries of his mother from afar and rushed home. He counted that his mother had called him twenty-one times. On reaching the ashram he saw his father’s head severed from his body. The horrible crime had been committed by the king Kartavirya’s sons. Parasurama took a vow to wage a war against the vile kshatriya rulers twenty-one times and end their rule on earth. Parasurama accomplished his mission by defeating the Kshatriya kings twenty-one times and came to his ashram to pray to his ancestors for restoring his father’s life. The sage Bharadwaja, to whose gotra (lineage) Jamadagni belonged, appeared before Parasurama and restored Jamadagni to life by placing the head and body together.
After this, Parasurama felt that the purpose of his advent had been achieved as he had no desire to be a ruler, he made a gift of all the territories he had conquered to the sage Kashyapa. He felt that having given away everything, it would not be right for him to live on the land he had gifted. When Vishnu incarnated as Rama (the hero of Ramayana), Parasurama had to submit before him as his avataara-kaarya (mission) was over. He then surrendered to Rama, gave away all his punya-lokas (the fruits of his good deeds) to Rama and became an ordinary saint, and is said to be still living on Mahendra parvata, spending time in penance, as he is a Chiranjeevi. It is said that Parasurama will become one of the Saptarishis (seven great saints who will direct the mankind towards dharma) in the next Manvantara.
Long ago Thou were born as Dattatreya to the sage Atri and Anasooyaa. Mentally tired by the pesterings of Thy various disciples, Thou wandered about with Thy wife immersed in blissful peace. Thus Thou were seen by the great devotee Kaartaviryaarjuna, the king of Hehaya. Pleased, Thou bestowed on him all psychic powers consisting of the eight Sidhis and also promised him death at Thy hands in the end.
Dasakam: 036 -- Shlokam: 02
सत्यं कर्तुमथार्जुनस्य च वरं तच्छक्तिमात्रानतं
ब्रह्मद्वेषि तदाखिलं नृपकुलं हन्तुं च भूमेर्भरम् ।
सञ्जातो जमदग्नितो भृगुकुले त्वं रेणुकायां हरे
रामो नाम तदात्मजेष्ववरज: पित्रोरधा: सम्मदम् ॥२॥
satyaM kartumathaarjunasya cha varaM tachChakti maatraanataM
brahmadveShi tadaakhilaM nR^ipakulaM hantuM cha bhuumerbharam |
sa~njaatO jamadagnitO bhR^igukule tvaM reNukaayaaM hare
Oh Hari ! To fulfill the boon given to Kaartaviryaarjuna, who oppressed Brahmins and hadbecome a burden on earth, and were restrained only by Arjuna's might, Thou were born to Jamadagni and Renuka in the line of the Bhrigus, by the name Raama. Thou were the youngest among Jamadagni's sons and gave Thy parents great joy.
Dasakam: 036 -- Shlokam: 03
लब्धाम्नायगणश्चतुर्दशवया गन्धर्वराजे मना-
गासक्तां किल मातरं प्रति पितु: क्रोधाकुलस्याज्ञया ।
jiivanayOgamaapitha varaM maataa cha te(a)daadvaraan ||3
By the age of fourteen years Thou acquiered the knowledge of the Vedas. Thy father was greatly enraged with Thy mother who was a little bit attached to the Gandharva king Chitraratha. By the command of Thy father Thou cut of Thy mother's head and also of Thy brothers' as they had failed to carry out the same order of Thy father. After Thy father had calmed down, as a boon from him, Thou got to restore them to life. Thy mother also being pleased gave Thee boons.
To please Thy mother Renuka, Thy father Jamadagni, brought by prayer the heavenly cow Kaamdhenu to his aashrama. On the advice of Bhrigu, Thou set out from Thy aashrama to the Himaalayaa and worshipped Shiva. Thou were bestowed with his battle-axe and other various divine missiles, and killed the asura pointed out by him.Then making friends with sage Akritvrana, Thou returned to Thy aashrama.
Once, when Kartaveeryarjuna had come hunting to the forest, Thy father welcomed him as his guest and showered on him the various treasures given by the celestial cow. On returning to his capital, he was wrongly advised by his evil-minded minister and he sent a minister to purchase the cow, but Thy father did not agree to sell it. So he tried to take her away by force and killed the sage when he tried to stop him. Kamadhenu,overcome by rage, produced hosts of warriors from her body, who destroyed the minister’s army, but in the confusion the minister abducted her calf
Thy father was brought back to life by Shukraachaarya. When Thy father related the whole incident Thou were very angry. With Thy friend Akritavrana Thou meditated upon Mahodara who then equipped Thee with bow, arrows and the battle axe. Boarding the chariot with the horses and the charioteer, Thou entered Maahishmati. Even when the king was requested, he did not give the calf back, Thou started the battle.
The lord of Hehayas, Kartaveeryarjuna, encountered Thee on the battlefield with his ten thousand sons, seventeen divisions of army, powerful army chiefs and numerous friends, but Thou destoyed them all in no time, with Thy axe and arrows. Many run away in fear and many others were killed; the king then attacked Thee with his remaining sons.
dhyaayantaM ChitasarvadOShamavadhiiH sO(a)gaat paraM te padam ||8
Kartaveeryarjuna, who had a thousand powerful arms was well known for his mighty feats. Once while sporting in the waters of the river Narmada, he had stopped the flow of water by using his thousand hands to form a dam; he had even curbed the pride ofRavana, who was performing a worship on the banks of the Narmada, by immersing him in the waters, making him breathless. Now with these thousand mighty hands, he fired numerous missiles and weapons on Thee. When all these and even the disc of Vishnu, that he sent turned out to be futile against Thy strength, he realized that Thou wert none other than Hari himself and he was overjoyed. He meditated on Thee and was at once liberated from all his sins. Thou killed him and he attained salvation in Thy supreme abode, Vaikunta.
Overcome by rage at the killing of their father by Thee, the remaining sons of Kartaveeryarjuna killed Thy father in revenge. Unable to bear the sight of Thy mother Renuka, beating her breast and weeping for Thy father, Thou took a terrible oath to kill all Kshatriyas, who hated Brahmins. Through meditation, Thou acquired a chariot and weapons, and massacred all Kshatriyas with axe and arrows, clearing the earth of their presence in all directions.
Thy father was revived and Thou defeated the clan of kings twenty one times. Thou then performed tarpana to the ancestors in the vast lake of blood named Samant Panchaka. In the sacrifice Thou also gave away land to Kaashyapa and other Rishis. Thou fighting again with Saalva, refrained, on being restrained by Sanata Kumaars who told Thee that he was destined to be killed by Krishna.
Oh Lord! Then throwing away all missiles, Thou did penance on the Mahendra mountain. The earth was submerged up to Gokarna in the ocean; so thesages entreated Thee for help. Through Thy power of meditation, Thou acquired bowand arrow and aimed the missile of fire at the ocean; the lord of the ocean shaken by fear, started to withdraw; Thou threw the sacrificial ladle, the Sruva, into the ocean and brought up the land of Kerala, beyond which the waters of the ocean receded. Oh Lord Guruvayurappa ! May Thou of such wonderful exploits, protect me.
