राम

The most fearless practice 91 of 100

Bhakti as Refuge

10 verses

Śrī Krishna, your-feet-service, the most fear-removing, the binder-and-illusion-vision of the bound-by-falsehood mortal, the suffering one, fear, I think, departs, by which entirely from him, the daśaka begins the philosophical close: bhakti is the path that fits the bound human as no other does.

Daśaka 91, Verse 1
श्रीकृष्ण त्वत्पदोपासनमभयतमं बद्धमिथ्यार्थदृष्टे
र्मर्त्यस्यार्तस्य मन्ये व्यपसरति भयं येन सर्वात्मनैव ।
यत्तावत्त्वत्प्रणीतानिह भजनविधीनास्थितो मोहमार्गे
धावन्नप्यावृताक्षः स्खलति न कुहचिद्देवदेवाखिलात्मन्

śrīkṛṣṇa tvatpadopāsanamabhayatamaṁ baddhamithyārthadṛṣṭe rmartyasyārtasya manye vyapasarati bhayaṁ yena sarvātmanaiva yattāvattvatpraṇītāniha bhajanavidhīnāsthito mohamārge dhāvannapyāvṛtākṣaḥ skhalati na kuhaciddevadevākhilātman

Śrī Krishna, your-feet-service, the most fear-removing, the binder-and-illusion-vision of the bound-by-falsehood mortal, the suffering one, fear, I think, departs, by which entirely from him.

Daśaka 91, Verse 2
भूमन् कायेन वाचा मुहुरपि मनसा त्वद्बलप्रेरितात्मा
यद्यत्कुर्वे समस्तं तदिह परतरे त्वय्यसावर्पयामि ।
जात्यापीह श्वपाकस्त्वयि निहितमनः कर्मवागिन्द्रियार्थ
प्राणो विश्वं पुनीते न तु विमुखमनास्त्वत्पदाद्विप्रवर्यः

bhūman kāyena vācā muhurapi manasā tvadbalapreritātmā yadyatkurve samastaṁ tadiha paratare tvayyasāvarpayāmi jātyāpīha śvapākastvayi nihitamanaḥ karmavāgindriyārtha prāṇo viśvaṁ punīte na tu vimukhamanāstvatpadādvipravaryaḥ

The path of bhakti is the path that fits the bound human as no other does. Other paths are too high or too low; bhakti is the right human size.

Daśaka 91, Verse 3
भीतिर्नाम द्वितीयाद्भवति ननु मनःकल्पितं च द्वितीयं
तेनैक्याभ्यासशीलो हृदयमिह यथाशक्ति बुद्ध्या निरुन्ध्याम् ।
मायाविद्धे तु तस्मिन्पुनरपि न तथा भाति मायाधिनाथं
तं त्वां भक्त्या महत्या सततमनुभजन्नीश भीतिं विजह्याम्

bhītirnāma dvitīyādbhavati nanu manaḥkalpitaṁ ca dvitīyaṁ tenaikyābhyāsaśīlo hṛdayamiha yathāśakti buddhyā nirundhyām māyāviddhe tu tasminpunarapi na tathā bhāti māyādhināthaṁ taṁ tvāṁ bhaktyā mahatyā satatamanubhajannīśa bhītiṁ vijahyām

By devotion, the bound human is gradually loosed. The loosening is so gentle that the human does not at first notice he is being freed.

Daśaka 91, Verse 4
भक्तेरुत्पत्तिवृद्धी तव चरणजुषं सङ्गमेनैव पुंसा
मासाद्ये पुण्यभाजां श्रिय इव जगति श्रीमतां सङ्गमेन ।
तत्सङ्गो देव भूयान्मम खलु सततं तन्मुखादुन्मिषद्भि
स्त्वन्माहात्म्यप्रकारैर्भवति च सुदृढा भक्तिरुद्धूतपापा

bhakterutpattivṛddhī tava caraṇajuṣaṁ saṅgamenaiva puṁsā māsādye puṇyabhājāṁ śriya iva jagati śrīmatāṁ saṅgamena tatsaṅgo deva bhūyānmama khalu satataṁ tanmukhādunmiṣadbhi stvanmāhātmyaprakārairbhavati ca sudṛḍhā bhaktiruddhūtapāpā

By the time he notices, he is mostly free. The path has done its work without taking on the look of a path.

Daśaka 91, Verse 5
श्रेयोमार्गेषु भक्तावधिकबहुमतिर्जन्मकर्माणि भूयो
गायन्क्षेमाणि नामान्यपि तदुभयतः प्रद्रुतं प्रद्रुतात्मा ।
उद्यद्धासः कदचित्कुहाचिदपि रुदन्क्वापि गर्जन्प्रगाय
न्नुन्मादीव प्रनृत्यन्नयि कुरु करुणां लोकबाह्यश्चरेयम्

śreyomārgeṣu bhaktāvadhikabahumatirjanmakarmāṇi bhūyo gāyankṣemāṇi nāmānyapi tadubhayataḥ pradrutaṁ pradrutātmā udyaddhāsaḥ kadacitkuhācidapi rudankvāpi garjanpragāya nnunmādīva pranṛtyannayi kuru karuṇāṁ lokabāhyaścareyam

By such hidden working, devotion is the lord's chosen instrument. He does not advertise his own removal of his devotee's bonds.

Daśaka 91, Verse 6
भूतान्येतानि भूतात्मकमपि सकलं पक्षिमत्स्यान्मृगादीन्
मर्त्यान्मित्राणि शत्रूनपि यमितमतिस्त्वन्मयान्यानमानि ।
त्वत्सेवायां हि सिध्येन्मम तव कृपया भक्तिदार्ढ्यं विराग
स्त्वत्तत्त्वस्यावबोधोऽपि च भुवनपते यत्नभेदं विनैव

bhūtānyetāni bhūtātmakamapi sakalaṁ pakṣimatsyānmṛgādīn martyānmitrāṇi śatrūnapi yamitamatistvanmayānyānamāni tvatsevāyāṁ hi sidhyenmama tava kṛpayā bhaktidārḍhyaṁ virāga stvattattvasyāvabodho'pi ca bhuvanapate yatnabhedaṁ vinaiva

By that hiddenness, the path is suited to the everyday person. The everyday person does not need to know that he is being walked on a path; he needs only to keep walking.

Daśaka 91, Verse 7
नो मुह्यन्क्षुत्तृडाद्यैर्भवसरणिभवैस्त्वन्निलीनाशयत्वा
च्चिन्तासातत्यशाली निमिषलवमपि त्वत्पदादप्रकम्पः ।
इष्टानिष्टेषु तुष्टिव्यसनविरहितो मायिकत्वावबोधा
ज्ज्योत्स्नाभिस्त्वन्नखेन्दोरधिकशिशिरितेनात्मना सञ्चरेयम्

no muhyankṣuttṛḍādyairbhavasaraṇibhavaistvannilīnāśayatvā ccintāsātatyaśālī nimiṣalavamapi tvatpadādaprakampaḥ iṣṭāniṣṭeṣu tuṣṭivyasanavirahito māyikatvāvabodhā jjyotsnābhistvannakhendoradhikaśiśiritenātmanā sañcareyam

Day by day. Word by word. Name by name.

Daśaka 91, Verse 8
भूतेष्वेषु त्वदैक्यस्मृतिसमधिगतौ नाधिकारोऽधुना चेत्
त्वत्प्रेम त्वत्कमैत्री जडमतिषु कृपा द्विट्सु भूयादुपेक्षा ।
अर्चायां वा समर्चाकुतुकमुरुतरश्रद्धया वर्धतां मे
त्वत्संसेवी तथापि द्रुतमुपलभते भक्तलोकोत्तमत्वम्

bhūteṣveṣu tvadaikyasmṛtisamadhigatau nādhikāro'dhunā cet tvatprema tvatkamaitrī jaḍamatiṣu kṛpā dviṭsu bhūyādupekṣā arcāyāṁ vā samarcākutukamurutaraśraddhayā vardhatāṁ me tvatsaṁsevī tathāpi drutamupalabhate bhaktalokottamatvam

By that day-by-day, the work is done. By the end of a life of such days, the devotee is found to have walked the whole path without noticing it.

Daśaka 91, Verse 9
आवृत्य त्वत्स्वरूपं क्षितिजलमरुदाद्यात्मना विक्षिपन्ती
जीवान्भूयिष्ठकर्मावलिविवशगतीन् दुःखजाले क्षिपन्ती ।
त्वन्माया माभिभून्मामयि भुवनपते कल्पते तत्प्रशान्त्यै
त्वत्पादे भक्तिरेवेत्यवददयि विभो सिद्धयोगी प्रबुद्धः

āvṛtya tvatsvarūpaṁ kṣitijalamarudādyātmanā vikṣipantī jīvānbhūyiṣṭhakarmāvalivivaśagatīn duḥkhajāle kṣipantī tvanmāyā mābhibhūnmāmayi bhuvanapate kalpate tatpraśāntyai tvatpāde bhaktirevetyavadadayi vibho siddhayogī prabuddhaḥ

Lord, by such gentle path, walk me without my noticing.

Daśaka 91, Verse 10
दुःखान्यालोक्य जन्तुष्वलमुदितविवेकोऽहमाचार्यवर्या
ल्लब्ध्वा त्वद्रूपतत्त्वं गुणचरितकथाद्युद्भवत्भक्तिभूमा ।
मायामेनां तरित्वा परमसुखमये त्वत्पदे मोदिताहे
तस्यायं पूर्वरङ्गः पवनपुरपते नाशयाशेषरोगान्

duḥkhānyālokya jantuṣvalamuditaviveko'hamācāryavaryā llabdhvā tvadrūpatattvaṁ guṇacaritakathādyudbhavatbhaktibhūmā māyāmenāṁ taritvā paramasukhamaye tvatpade moditāhe tasyāyaṁ pūrvaraṅgaḥ pavanapurapate nāśayāśeṣarogān

Lord of the wind-house, save me by such hidden walking.