Padavali Kirtana

[madanmohandas]

Here are some selections that I have had the pleasure to work on.


Without a trace of anger, full of joy;
Prideless, roaming the towns, my Lord Nitai.
From door to door to low dwellings he goes,
And to the base, Hari's great name bestows.
Whoever he sees as by him they pass,
He takes between his teeth a piece of grass,
And to them says, 'Now you may purchase me,
'If you but worship my Gaura Hari.'
Then, having said so, Nityananda falls,
And on the ground like a gold mountain rolls.
In whom no love for such a saviour grows,
Says Lochan Das, That sinner comes and goes.


bhajahu re mana

Oh brother mind! I earnestly implore,
The lotus-feet of Nanda's son adore;
Whose feet are the sure refuge from all fear;
And since a human life is short and rare,
Avail yourself of holy company,
And cross beyond this existential sea.

The inclemency of the world gives pain,
As scorching heat, cold winds, and driving rain;
That keep me wakeful all the night and day,
Serving miserly masters for no pay;
In hopes of drops of pleasure to receive,
And thereby only I myself deceive.

This wealth, and youth, and sons, and retinue,
What benefit from them might here accrue?
For this our life is unstable and brief,
Like water balanced on a lotus leaf;
Wherefore this is the only remedy;
Adore the lotus-feet of Shri Hari!

Hearken unto his deeds, his name repeat,
Contemplate, and bow down before his feet;
Worship those feet with pure solicitude,
In self-dedicatory attitude;
Hari as one's own bosom friend admire;
Govinda Das says, to this I aspire.


Ye anila prema dhana...

Oh where has such a master gone who brought
The wealth of love, with deep compassion fraught?
That wealth of love, immaculately pure,
Where have you gone, Oh Acharya Thakur?*
Where are my Svarup, Rup, and Sanatan,
Raghunath das, saviour of the fallen?
Where have my Bhattas twain*, and poet prince,*
At once gone with Gora, Lord of the dance?
Oh let me enter fire till I'm dead!
Or dash against the stoney slab my head!
Oh how shall I attain, and in what place,
Is Gauranga, the ocean of all grace?
Since those associates who with him keep,
Not gaining, Narottam Das can but weep.



A kirtan pada by Yadunath Das.

A beauteous golden moon has risen o’er,
Dispelling darkness, fair Nadiya Pur;
The sorrow of all beings to assuage,
Bestowing love concealed in scripture’s page.

Oh my Lord Gauranga sundara ray!
The cynosure of beauty to each eye; (Burden)

The lotus hearts of his devotees bloom,
Receiving nourishment from that fair moon;
He has himself the highest method shown,
To those who think of nothing as their own.

The mighty Shesha and lord Shankara,
Narad, and Four-faced Chaturaanana;
Sans intermission sing his hallowed fame,
HIs graces and his qualities proclaim;
And hearing how his virtues they extol,
That same Lord on the ground begins to roll.

HIs dawn-red eyes shed streams of gushing tears,
Like sluices of vast water reservoirs,
That all in floods of love-water showers.
Says Yadunath das, so from lotus flowers,
That radiate a soft and golden hue,
Like shiny pearl drops, flows the balmy dew.

Gaura Gostha Lila

Ah me! what moods of loving ecstasy
Rise in the mind of the Fair-limbed today!
He calls in his resonant voice sublime,
'Dhavali! Shyamali! and other kine;
With bugle horns and flutes both short and long,
They raise the auspicious victory song;
Gauranga turns about and cries, 'hoy! hoy!'
With his companions, rapturous with joy.
Ramai and Sundaraananda are there
With the Master, and Nityananda dear,
And Gauridas and Abhiram Thakur,
Absorbed in ecstasy of love most pure.
Vasudev Ghosh exuberantly says,
See how Gaura the cow-tending sport plays!

A song by Dvija Madhava Dasa

Conches and drums throughout the worlds expanse
Resound with Hari's fame, the great gods dance.
In Bhadra's month on the eighth dark-moon day
Under Rohini's all auspicious ray,
Was born the cowherd chief's own darling son,
While from the sky the gods rained flowers down.
Now with five cow-products, and fragrant scents,
Five nectars, and other ingredients,
The goddesses with joyous cheers and cries,
Pouring the liquids, the baby baptise.
Now gandharvas sing dulcet melodies,
Now dance the beautiful apsarasees,
And all the chaste wives of the blessed gods,
Sing hail and glory from their bright abodes;
A million million moons fade nigh this boy,
As Dvija Madhav sings with heart's full joy.


Shri Rupa Manjari Pada

The lotus-feet of Rupa manjari
Constitute the most precious wealth to me;
They are my worship and adoration,
My heart's treasure and true decoration;
Life of my life, the hopes I entertain
Of that high perfection I wish to gain;
They are to me of loving faith increase,
My Vedic study and my righteousness;
They are my vow and my austerity,
My good works and my acts of piety;
They are the prayer and mantra that I sing.
When destiny does fortune to me bring,
And grants to me those feet, my cherished prize,
I shall behold them with these very eyes.
Abundant sweetness will my soul infuse,
And soothing moonlight over me diffuse;
And nourished by the light of that fair moon,
The sprouts of my desire springs to bloom;
In transport of ecstasy and delight,
With nothing to divide the day and night.
But still the serpent of blindness conspires
To burn me with intolerable fires;
Ah me alas! have mercy and give aid,
And grant me of your lotus-feet the shade.
This Narottam, who lamentation makes,
At those fair lotus-feet his refuge takes.

[madanmohandas]

The Conscious One lay swooning, unaware,
In Sarvabhauma's house, who brought him there;
Preceptor Gopinath sits by to tend
His feet, while Sarvabhauma's glances bend
Upon his countenance, and in dismay,
Or what or who he was he could not say.
At one moment the Lion-man he saw,
Now the prime dwarf Vamana, struck with awe,
And now the forms of Fish, Turtle, and Boar,
Then Bhrgu Rama who a sharp axe bore;
And then a form of Durva grasses' hue,
Next a flute holding form of rain cloud blue.
When Sarvabhauma had all this beheld,
He stood amazed, with all his doubts dispelled,
At last the mighty Six-armed form he viewed,
Which thrilled him with supreme beatitude.
He knew this son of Sachi was the same,
As he who bears of Butter thief the name;
Inside black Kanu, outward Gaura fair;
Fell Sarvabhauma in prostration there.
And such the grace he thereby did attain,
Says Vasu Ghose, Wherefore labour in vain?

[madanmohandas]

Parama Karuna....

The two Masters, Nitai and Gaura fair,
A supreme compassionate nature bear;
The crest jewel incarnate divinities,
And of pure bliss the repositories.

O brother! this I earnestly implore,
Chaitanya and Nitai with faith adore,
Forsake sense pleasure, steeped in ecstasy,
Compel your mouth to say Hari, Hari!

See! O brother, in all the triple sphere,
No gracious benefactor may compare;
When even birds and beasts that love have felt,
To hear his praises even stone would melt.

But I, the bonds of worldly life constrain,
To wallow in this existence mundane,
And for the deeds that I myself commit,
Love for those feet stern fate will not permit;
The Chastiser will thus his judgment pass,
In lamentation thus says Lochan Das.

[madanmohandas]

A song by Gokula Chandra Das, cited in Nayanananda Dasa's Preyo Bhakti Rasarnava. From the English edition by Dasaratha Suta Dasa.

utho utho more, nandera nandana,
prabhaata hoila raati/
angane daandaayaa, rayeche sakala,
baalaka tomaara saathi//

Arise, arise! my child, Nanda's delight.
The morning has come following the night;
Your friends within the courtyard congregate,
And standing there, eager your presence wait.

mukhera upari, mu'khaani diyaa,
daakaye yashodaa raani/
koto sukha paayaa, ghumaaicho suyaa,
aami kichu naahi jaani//

With her cloth, Yashoda, the cowherd queen,
His face, with tender loving care, wiped clean;
And said, What happiness, I do declare,
O child, do you derive while sleeping there?

nayana meliyaa, dekhaho caahiyaa,
udaya hoilo bhaanu/
sridaama sudaama, daakaye saghana,
utho bhaayyaa ohe kaanu/

Oh I know nothing; look, open your eyes,
Bhanu, the sun, is climbing up the skies;
Hear, Sridama, Sudama, calling you,
Get up, arise, O dear brother Kanu!

anga modaa diyaa, uthilo satvare,
sundara yaadava raaya/
mukha praksaali. gokula candrahi,
jala jhaari loyaa jaaya/

Stretching his limbs the handsome Yadu prince
Eftsoons rises, and then proceeds to rinse
His face, and Gokul Chandra there attends,
And takes the water pot with him and wends.

[madanmohandas]

Another delightsome song from Preyo Bhakti Rasarnava, this one by the author Nayananada Dasa Thakura.

sakha sange range hari kari nrtya gaana
ksaneka basiyaa taahaa karilaa visraama
taarapara naanaa mishtha saamagri bhaksana
susitala jalapaana purna aacaman

Hari with his friends danced and sang and played,
Then sat him down to rest in cooling shade;
Thereon with diverse confections they make
A forest banquet, and sweet water take.

sakarpura taambula taahaa karilaa bhaksana
sucandra prabhriti kare anga samvaahana
madhura ukti narmakathaa subalaadi sane
haasya parihaasa kare laiyaa priyagane

On camphor scented Tambula they chew,
Suchandra and others their limbs shampoo,
Subal and others sweet laughter provokes,
In the dear company, with playful jokes.

baahu yuddha dandaadandi hastaahasti kriyaa
lagudaalagudi yuddha priya sakhaa laiyaa
vaahya vaahakakridaa kataye kakhana
skendhe vahi laiyaa jaaya haaraye ye jana

With arm to arm and hand to hand opposed,
And stick to stick, the boys in battle closed;
The victors in the skirmish and attack,
Are carried by the losers on their back.

eakabaara raamera gana kridaa jinila
sridaamake kari skandhe kaanaai rahila
kabhu sridaamera skandhe caape bhagavaan
jaare sambhavaye siebhaave nayana

Once, when Rama had won the contest fare,
Kanai had to Sridama's burden bear;
Thus sometimes Sridama attains the prize;
Whoso believes will see it with their eyes.

[madanmohandas]

A song based on Govinda Dasa's well known kirtana pada. Sarada chanda pavana manda etc.

The Sharat full moon and the breeze,
Intoxicates the greedy bees,
Surcharging all with sweetest scent,
Of Mallika, Madhavi blent.
Beholding such a beauteous night,
When sheds the moon his balmy light,
Hearing the delectable strains,
From the flute, robs the minds of dames.
The cowherd girls that music heard,
Their hearts with love-longing were stirred.
Unseen they take their eager way,
The flute made them eager for play;
Forgetful of themselves they fly,
With collyrium on one eye,
Another in her haste to meet,
Had but one anklet on her feet,
Another in her wild career,
Had but one earring on her ear;
As they pursue the path in haste,
The belts loosen around their waist,
Their garments slacken as they go,
Their unbound hair swings to and fro,
And though they could not see the way,
They could not tolerate delay.
And thus with paces swift and fleet,
With Gokula's bright moon they meet;
And thus the sport of Sharat Ras,
Is sung by Sri Govinda Das.

[madanmohandas]

On the random opening of the Vaishnava Padavali, came across a pada by Prema Dasa, which translates something like this.

Alas, alas! and will that day be mine,
When hairs will rise in ecstasy divine,
By merely uttering the name adored,
Of fair-limbed Gauranga, my dearest Lord.
And when the name 'Nityananda' I call,
Will water from my eyes in torrents fall?
Then when I call the Lord Advaita's name,
Will perturbation shiver through my frame?
Chaitanya, Nitai, Sita's Lord, I cry,
And doing so, when will I faint away?
Hearing that name sudden I rise again,
And yell in ecstasy Gauranga's name.
The tender child of Sri Nanda is there,
Along with Vrishabhanu's daughter fair,
In Vrindavan, and their exploits display,
According to season and time of day.
Then wandering and gazing on each site,
I shall recall their deeds in pure delight;
And seeing the site of the Rasa dance,
Will I perceive, and fall into a trance?
Says Premdas, Ah when will that day appear,
When I shall be indifferent to all care,
And on that path Gaura's lovers ensue,
I also shall that path eager pursue.

Vaishnava Padavali, page 314

[madanmohandas]

A pair of handsome youths, one dark, one fair,
With laden cloud and the bright moon compare;
Shyama is as a glowing sapphire blue;
And Rama shines with the fair crystal hue.

On blue-clad Rama's left side, radiant,
Hari is dressed in a yellow raiment;
One bears a plough and pond'rous mace in hand,
The other a flute and a lute; both stand
In charming posture curved in places three,
Who show in arts of love dexterity.

Bright jasmine wreaths are hung from Shyama's neck,
Dark Kavari wreaths Rama's form bedeck;
Contrasting with their complexion and hue,
One shining white, the other gleaming blue.
Their adolescence, dress, and beauty rare,
Are most splendid and beyond all compare;
Surrounded by dear friends on every side,
Dama, Sudama; many more beside.

They laugh, and in their friends laughter incite,
Tending the cattle-wealth they take delight;
Therefore, Oh brother mind, I thee implore,
This pair of adolescent youths adore;
Whom Shiva, Suka, and Narad, elate,
In deep profound absorption contemplate!

(Nayanananda Thakura. Preyo Bhakti Rasarnava, Ch, 5)

[madanmohandas]

Sri Navadvipa Jhulana pastime. A song by Mahajana pada-karta Uddhava das.

Behold, behold this most wonderful thing!
The adolescent Gaura on a swing;

Sri Gaura in Gadadhar's company
Proceed to the banks of Suradhuni;
Most beautiful and pleasant was the night,
Bathed in the rays of the balmy moonlight.

The monsoon clouds gather and rumble nigh,
Flashes of lightning illumine the sky;
And thence a soft and gentle rain is sent,
Which the waves of holy Ganga augment.

A swing is there prepared of colours bright,
Engarlanded and with fresh flowers dight;
Then from Banyan tree branches that protend,
With flower entwined ropes the swing suspend.

Gaura mounts on the swing and there beside,
Dear Gadadhar sits on his left hand side;
Then the devotees gather in a ring,
And gently push the flower bedecked swing.

With beating of drums and the dulcet voice,
They sing the previous sports, and rejoice;
The Lord Nityananda in ecstasy,
The Lord of Shantipur and company,

Haridas, Srivas, many more beside,
Purushottam Sanjaya flowers plied.
Says Uddhav das, 'will the Lord favour me,
That these sublime amusements I may see?


..............

A kirtana pada (song) by padakarta (song maker) Uddhava dasa on the jhulana pastime.

The sakhis, vigorously push the swing,
Which does excitement to the couple bring,
And as they gently moderate the pace,
Into their mouths succulent leaf-wraps place.

Some sakhis with the fragrant sandal scent,
With fresh odours and flower pollen blent,
Anoint the limbs of Naagar Naagari,
Which fills them with delight and ecstasy.

One sakhi graceful dance posture displays,
Another the charming Mridanga plays;
Others impassioned modulations sing,
Responsive to the woodwind and the string.

Observing this the goddesses on high,
Confounded wait on pathways of the sky,
A shower of sky flowers they prolong,
And Uddhava das sings this gladsome song.