27 Oct 2023
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Damodara, Damodarastakam
Tags: Kartika, Krishna, Krsna, krsna consciousness, Lord Damadora, month of Damadora, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, Sri Damodara
“To the supreme controller who possesses an eternal form of blissful knowledge, whose glistening earrings swing to and fro, who manifested Himself in Gokula, who stole the butter that the gopis kept hanging from the rafters of their storerooms and who then quickly jumped up and ran in retreat in fear of Mother Yasoda, but was ultimately caught-to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.“
We are now in the month of Damodara (Kartika). In honor and in celebration of the month of Damodara, we will be focusing our attention on the pastimes of Krishna in Vrndavan. Especially Krishna’s childhood pastimes. The following song is sung morning and evening and it is customary to offer a candle or gee lamp as well to a picture of Lord Krsna and Mother Yasoda.
Full Song
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13 Oct 2019
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Damodara, Damodarastakam, Kartika, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
Tags: Damodara, Kartika, Krishna, month of Damodara, Mother Yasoda, namamisvarm, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, Sri Damodarastaka, vishnujana swami
” Upon seeing His mothers whipping stick, He cried and rubbed His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes were fearful and His breathing quick, and as Mother Yasoda bound His belly with ropes, He shivered in fright and His pearl necklace shook. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, who is bound with His devotee’s love, I offer my humble obeisances.” (Damodarastakam)
We are now in the month of Damodara (Kartika). In honor and in celebration of the month of Damodara, we will be focusing our attention on the pastimes of Krishna in Vrndavan. Especially Krishna’s childhood pastimes. The following song is sung morning and evening and it is customary to offer a candle or gee lamp as well to a picture of Lord Krsna and Mother Yasoda.
Following song lyrics is a link of Vishnujana Swami chanting the Damodara Prayers
Full song
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22 Oct 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Damodara, Kaliya Serpent, Krishna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Ppabhupada, black serpent kaliya, books of Srila Prabhupada, childhood pastimes of Krishna, Damodara, Kaliya, Kartika, Krsna Book, Lord Krsna, month of Damodara, pastimes of krsna, Yamuna river
“O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for liberation, nor eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon. My only prayer is that Your childhood pastimes may constantly appear in my mind. O Lord, I do not even want to know Your feature of Paramatma. I simply wish that Your childhood pastimes may ever be enacted in my heart.” (Damodarasatka prayers)
Continuining our month long attempt to stay focused on the childhood pastimes of Krsna, during this month of Damodara (Kartika), we bring you another exciting chapter from; Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Today we are posting the chapter entitled “Subduing Kāliya”
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Sixteen
Subduing Kāliya
When He understood that the water of the Yamunā was being polluted by the black serpent Kāliya, Lord Kṛṣṇa took action against him and made him leave the Yamunā and go elsewhere, and thus the water became purified.
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20 Oct 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, B. G. Sharma Art, Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Kartika, Krishna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nalakuvara and Manigriva
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, art of B.B. Sharma, B.G. Sharma, demigods, ecstatic love, Gokula, Krishna's childhood pastimes, Krsna, Krsna The Supreme Personality of Godhead, liberated, Lord Krsna, lotus feet of the Lord, Mother Yasoda, Nalakurvara and Manigriva, Narada Muni, ropes of Yasoda, wooden grinding mortar
click on image to enlarge
“O Lord Damodara, in Your form as a baby, Mother Yasoda bound You to a grinding stone with a rope for tying cows, You then freed the sons of Kuvera, Manigriva, and Nalakuvera, who were cursed to stand as trees, and You gave them the chance to become Your devotees. Please bless me in this same way, I have no desire for liberation into Your effulgence.” (Damodarastka Prayers)
So…continuining our month long attempt to stay focused on the childhood pastimes of Krsna, during this month of Damodara (Kartika), we bring you another exciting chapter from; Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Today we are posting the chapter entitled “The Deliverance of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva”.
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Ten
The Deliverance of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva
The story of the cursing of Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva and their deliverance by Kṛṣṇa, under the all-blissful desire of the great sage Nārada, is here described.
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16 Nov 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Childhood Pastimes of Krsna
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, childhood pastimes, Krsna, month of Damodar, Mother Yasoda, Sampradaya sun, Srila Prabhupada lecture, Universal Form, vatsalya rasa, Yasoda Vishvarupa-darshan
We are reprinting here a nice article which appeared on the Sampradaya Sun a few days ago, entitled “The Glorious Month of Damodara”. These are excerpts from Srila Prabhupada’s Lectures and a question and answer discussion, concerning the childhood pastime of Mother Yasoda seeing the Universal form in Krsna’s mouth.
Yasoda Vishvarupa-darshan
One of the Krsna-lila pastimes glorified during the month of Damodar is that of Yasoda Ma getting vishvarupa-darshan in Krsna’s mouth. In a lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.25, Srila Prabhupada explained the pastime in terms of vatsalya-rasa:
“When Kṛṣṇa was playing as a child, He ate earth and the playmates complained to mother Yaśodā: “Mother, your son Kṛṣṇa is eating earth.” Mother Yaśodā called for explanation: “Kṛṣṇa, why You are eating earth? I have given You sandeśa. ” Kṛṣṇa said, “No, mother, I have not eaten.” “No, Your friends are complaining.” “No, they have become My enemies this morning. We had some quarrel. Therefore they have combined together to make Me chastised by you.” So in this way… Then mother Yaśodā wanted to solve this problem: “All right, show Your mouth, open Your mouth. I want to see.” And when Kṛṣṇa opened the mouth, the mother saw innumerable universes are within the mouth. This is Kṛṣṇa. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. Kṛṣṇa enters within the universe, but at the same time, millions of universes are within His mouth. This is the explanation of “the greater than the greatest and the smaller than the smallest.” Of course, mother Yaśodā, although she saw, she could not believe it because mother Yaśodā never thought of that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She always thought that “He is my teeny child.” That’s all. “I have to take care of Him.” This is called paternal feelings. Vātsalya-rasa.” (Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.25 — Hyderabad, November 29, 1972)
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15 Nov 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Makhana-chora
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna's childhood pastimes, Krsna is known as Makhana-cora, Makhana-cora, the butter thief, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vrndavan pastimes
The month of Damodara is winding down, only a few days left. So we are continuing with our posts on “Krsna Childhood Pastimes”, with a few excerpts on Krsna’s pastimes of sealing butter.
…Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is sometimes described as a thief. He is very famous amongst His pure devotees as the Mākhana-cora. He used to steal butter from the houses of neighbors at Vṛndāvana in His early age. Since then He is famous as a thief. But in spite of His being famous as a thief, He is worshiped as a thief, whereas in the mundane world a thief is punished and is never praised. Since He is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, everything is applicable to Him, and still in spite of all contradictions He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (from purport SB 1.10.19)
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12 Nov 2013
…There is no parallel to His childhood pastimes as exhibited at Vrajabhūmi, which are the prototypes of His eternal affairs in the original Kṛṣṇaloka described as the cintāmaṇi-dhāma in the Brahma-saṁhitā [Bs. 5.29]. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa descended Himself at Vrajabhūmi with all His transcendental entourage and paraphernalia. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore confirmed that no one is as fortunate as the residents of Vrajabhūmi, and specifically the cowherd girls, who dedicated their everything for the satisfaction of the Lord. His pastimes with Nanda and Yaśodā and His pastimes with the cowherd men and especially with the cowherd boys and the cows have caused Him to be known as Govinda. (from purport to SB 1.8.21)
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by The Hare Krishna Movement
01 Nov 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Festivals, Govardhana-puja, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Devastating Rainfall in Vrndavana, Govardhana Hill, Indra, Krsna The Supreme Personality of Godhead, lifting Govardhana Hill, Supreme Controller, Vrndavana
…Lord Kṛṣṇa picked up Govardhana Hill with one hand, exactly as a child picks up a mushroom from the ground. Thus He exhibited His transcendental pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. Lord Kṛṣṇa then began to address His devotees, “My dear brothers, My dear father, My dear inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, you can now safely enter under the umbrella of Govardhana Hill, which I have just lifted. Do not be afraid of the hill and think that it will fall from My hand. You have been too much afflicted from the heavy rain and strong wind; therefore I have lifted this hill, which will protect you exactly like a huge umbrella. I think this is a proper arrangement to relieve you from your immediate distress. Be happy along with your animals underneath this great umbrella.” Being assured by Lord Kṛṣṇa, all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana entered beneath the great hill and appeared to be safe along with their property and animals.
…The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and their animals remained there for one week without being disturbed by hunger, thirst or any other discomforts. They were simply astonished to see how Kṛṣṇa was holding up the mountain with the little finger of His left hand.
… After this incident, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surrounded by His dear friends and animals, returned to His home. As usual, the gopīs began to chant the glorious pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with great feeling, for they were chanting from the heart. (Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Chapter 25)
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30 Oct 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Childhood Pastimes of Krsna, Krsna Consciousness, Spiritual World, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vrndavana
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, asura, Bakasura, BBT, Bhaktivedanta purports, cowheard boys, fruit vendor, go carana, Gokula, Krishna and Balarama, Krsna, Mother Yasoda, Nanda, Nanda Maharaja, pastimes of krsna, SB 10.11, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vatsasura, yamala arjunas, Yasoda
Today is Rama Ekadasi (fast from grains and beans), so on this auspicious day, in the auspicious month of Damodara, we wanted to do a special post. The following is the entire 11th chapter of the Tenth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam entitled “The Childhood Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa”.
The following two verses are just an example of the nectar one will find in the following chapter…
…The gopīs would say, “If You dance, my dear Kṛṣṇa, then I shall give You half a sweetmeat.” By saying these words or by clapping their hands, all the gopīs encouraged Kṛṣṇa in different ways. At such times, although He was the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead, He would smile and dance according to their desire, as if He were a wooden doll in their hands. Sometimes He would sing very loudly, at their bidding. In this way, Kṛṣṇa came completely under the control of the gopīs.(Text 7)
…To pure devotees throughout the world who could understand His activities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, exhibited how much He can be subdued by His devotees, His servants. In this way He increased the pleasure of the Vrajavāsīs by His childhood activities. (Text 9)
Srimad Bhagavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto 10, Chapter 11
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