The Indian Journal of Research Anvikshiki

published by mpasvo publication

 These are Chandrika's offerings
To God, Almighty
Who alone hath power,
Glory and total peity
To graciously forgive, forget
And Again to raise
And to generously grant
His vision at Him to gaze.
CHANDRIKA PRASAD SRIVASTAV
{ 1 }
Shri Krishna, O God,
I pray to thee.
Immense is the ache,
In my Heart to see
{2}
Thy glimpses, no doubt,
That are present.
Everywhere and in all
Thy light is meant.
{3}
I dare not deny,
Yet how can I believe,
Unless I, O God,
The glory and form perceive ?
{4}
O beloved of devotees,
Quench the thirst of my eyes,
Strengthen me to control,
Concentrate and to rise.
{5}
Lo! how dejected, desolate,
Poor and weak,
Helplessly I lie,
At Thy lotus feet and seek
An Offering To Lord Krishna 1
{6}
Thy boundless mercy
For all my short-comings
And tears in my restive eyes
Have forgotten all timings.
{7}
O God, Bestower to all,
To Thee what can I offer.
Knowth Thou, There is nothing
In my humble coffer,
{8}
Save what Thou giveth me,
For the upkeep of those,
Attached to me, as to a plant,
Like blossoms of rose.
{9}
Creator of the Universe
So great is Thy power,
In vain I search Thee
From tower to tower.
{10}
Thou art present in him,
In her and in me alike.
I fail to understand
Why to call Thee from mike
2 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{11}
So long, I depended on me,
I met with fall and failure.
Discarded, dishonoured,
And dejected I was sure.
{12}
Beholden to my despair
That has attached me,
With Thee and set me
Free from pain and glee.
{13}
Hold me fast, O God,
In Thy steady grip,
As sands below my feet
Every moment slip.
{14}
Myself I am surrounded,
By mighty illusions.
Indeed to me, they are
Like unpassable oceans,
{15}
I fear, O God and tremble
And despaired I stand,
Like Thy creatures of helpless
And powerless brand.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 3
{16}
To save me, except Thee,
None I have, my God.
Belive me, Thou art
My only unfailing guard.
{17}
To Thee, nothing is hidden
About this humble self,
Knowth, Thou, his mind,
Heart and his entire self.
{18}
I stand charged, before Thee,
As an unparalleled sinner.
But to forgive me, no bound,
Thy mercy knows, O Dear,
{19}
Emeralds, rubies and jewels,
Indeed I have none.
To make a garland for thee,
Nothing I have done.
{20}
To Thee, abundant are
The drops of my tears;
On thy lotus feet,
I shed them without fears.
4 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{21}
Fears, I don’t have,
Despite my sins so great,
For Thy power to forgive
Is of greater rate
{22}
In fact, proud I am,
For my nefarious deed.
But thy forgive me,
Thou art more pound indeed.
{23}
How to pray to Thee,
I know not Thy glory, O Father.
Emotions overfill my heart
And tongue begins to quiver,
{24}
Being tied in the mouth,
No words to express,
I have for Thy mighty form
And Thy glorious dress.
{25}
In Thy reverence, when Gods,
Goddesses and the Sun,
The Moon, with all its heavenly
Bodies, are in the run,
An Offering To Lord Krishna 5
{26}
Then how can I venture
To write a poem or a sonnet,
When neither adept in learning
I am, nor, at all, a poet?
{27}
Extreme are my dejections
And limitless are my sorrows.
Neither yesterdays pleased me
Nor I expect from tomorrows.
{28)
Unless Thou holdth my hands
And granth me strength,
Rejected and fallen, no double
I’m bereft of mirth,
{29}
In times to come.
I may forget Thee
To God, O Dear, pray,
Even to remember me.
{30}
Without Thy Sturdy prop,
This creeper, like plant,
Will flutter, flop and perish
And all will jeer and taunt.
6 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{31}
Arjuna’s1 chariot
Thou drovest to victory;
Mira’s2 dances
Thou sawst with ecestacy
{32}
To enjoy Sura’s3 songs,
Thou sat all times;
Attentive Thou wert
To Rai Dasa’s4 rhymes.
Note :
1. Arjuna :- The most beloved devotee of
God Shri Krishna who drove his chariot in the battle
of Mahabharat and got him out victorious against
Kaurvas. Who were Arjunas kith kin am refused
Pandaas their shares in the kingdom.
2. The Rajput Princess who devoted her life
in the love and worship of God Shri Krishna In her
devotion she used to dance before his statue Sri
Krishna the God, used to appear before her to see
her dances.
3. Sur :- The blind devotee of God, Shri
Krishna. He composed one and a quarter lakhs of
songs in the praise of God, Shri Krishna.
4. Rai Das is another devotee of the God, a
cobbler, by profession. He had composed many song
in the reverence of God Shri Krishna.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 7
{33}
In Thy supreme glory,
Benevolence and might
And Thy peerless power
To protect the right,
{34}
To sing Thy praise
And befitting words to say,
My throat is choked,
And my voice knows on way.
{35}
To get to Thee I do try,
But so great is Thy sway,
That illusions surround,
deceive and divert me a way.
{36}
Still I hesitate, fall,
Rise, falter and devise,
In the path of Thy love
I amuse and agonise.
{37}
How compassionate and considerate
Thou art in Thy dealings
That endless Thou extended
Her sari, at Dropadi’s callings.
Lady’s wearing in Bharat specially. Note : Dropadithe
Queen of Pandavas and relative of Lard Shri
8 An Offering To Lord Krishna
Krishna. When Pandavas lost her in gambling go
Kaurvas, Dushashn, one of ……..
{38}
That tired Dus hasan, while
Pulling to make her naked.
Thus saved her honour
And ended his plan, so wicked.
{39}
I pray to Thee, O God,
So they may not waste,
As they are my tears,
befitting to Thy taste,
{40}
For, to Thee, dearest are
Those who are humble
And helpless in the world,
here, like a bubble.
Kaurvas dragged her out and wanted to make her
naked by pulling her clothes from her body There
upon she called God Shri Krishna Who extended
her sari (Indian dress for ladies) endlessly.1 Dushashan
was tired of snatching away her clothes and making
her naked.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 9
{41}
Sweetest of all sweets
And tenderness personified,
In might no parallel,
And hardness identified.
{42}
Thou art the patron
And God of all.
With folded hands, I stand
At Thy beck and call
{43}
For the sake of Prah1lada
Thou emerged from the pillar,
When full of fury, Harnak2yashap
Held him, as a killer
Note : 1 & 2: The giant king Prahlad was the son of
Harnakshyap. Prahlad was his son but the dearest
devotee of Lord Rama, which his father did not like,
as he used to say that the himself was God. But
Prahlad did not change him. At last Harnakashyap
took up his sward and asked him where his Ram
was Prahlad replied, “Everywhere” Then he asked
“Is He also in this pillar”? The reply came ‘Yes’
Thereupon he hurled a blow from his sword on the
pillar. Then the God appeared from the pillar, half
lion & half man and tore Harnakashyap with his paws
and killed him.
10 An Offering To Lord Krishna
An Offering To Lord Krishna 11
{44}
And loudly rorared at him
Where his God was;
Half-lion and half-man,
Thou tore him with Thy paws.
{45}
Creator, nourisher
And destroyer, Thou all.
The whole universe
Thou rolleth like a ball.
{46}
Yet eyes are closed
And conscience dim,
Deeming immortals,
Though at life’s brim.
{47}
In the fierce battle
Of Mahabh1arata, at Kuru2Kchetra,
Firm promise Thou madest
Not to hold shas3tra.
Note : 1 & 2 : The fierce battle, that is known as
Mahabharata, took place at Kurashetra between
Kaurwas and Pandswas and Lord Shri Krishna made
promise not to hold weapons in it.
12 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{48}
But to keep the words
Of Bhi1sma, Thou broke Thy own,
As wheel in hand, rushed at him,
Having changed Thy tone.
{49}
With courage and joy,
Inded it overfills my heart,
For the sake of Thy devotee,
Thou discarded Thy part,
{50}
I pray to Thee, “I’m not at all
A devotee, as Bhisma was.
Yet in the path of Thy love
Earnestly I look to Thy laws.
1. Bisma was the Commander – in Chief of
Kaurwa’s army and he was also a devotee of God
Shri Krishna. In the battle field he made promise
that he would force Shri Krishna to hold weapons.
It so happened that the God had to give up his vow
and rushed to kill Bhisma with a wheel of the chariot
in his hand. Thus for the sake of his devotee. He
broke his own vow.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 13
{51}
In the horrible water battle,
Gaj1raj, the elephant chief,
Lost all courage and was
Considerably filled with grief,
{52}
Against Gara2ha, crocodile King,
And his Kith and Kin
Deserted him, when the water
Came up to his chin.
Note : 2- Graha was the king of crocodiles. When
Gajraj went to drink water in the river the crocodile
king caught hold of his leg and began to drag him
inside the river water. Then the fierce battle took place
between the two. Sometimes crocodile King
succeeded in dragging him in water and sometimes
the Elephant king used to drag him outside. All the
kith & Kin of he Elephant king helped him but they
failed and the crocodile king dragged him inside the
water. Heuce his kith & Kin left him, Then the
elephant king cried to Lord Sri Krishna who saved
him as said in the poem above
Note : 1- Gajraj was the forest King of all elephants
(2) Was the king of crocodiles.
14 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{53}
Shorn of all the wordly help,
A lotus he picked up from the water.
Tears in his eyes, offered it to Thee
O God, with remedies no better.
{54}
Hoving completely surrendered
His pride, dear and near,
With his heart so sincere,
He cried to Thee, without fear,
{55}
On his surrender and weepings,
Thy resistance broke its moorings,
To rescue him, no time
Thou lost according to Thy bearings.
{56}
With Cha1kra in Thy hand,
Thou cut the crocodile King,
Having seen Thy unlimited mercy,
In Thy praise, D1ve2as began to sing.
Note : Chakra-Sudarshan, the weapon of God Shri
Krishna (2) Devas mean Gods
An Offering To Lord Krishna 15
{57}
Against the declared invincible
Masters of the warfare,
Like Bhish1 ma, Doo2rna and Kar8na
To stand who could dare,
{58}
To fight to, kill them
And to make them4 free
God yet Arju5 na’s chariot
Thou drovest to victory.
{59}
Mira6s dances Thou sawst
With great ecstacy,
Engrossed in Thee, when
Surrendered at Thy mercy.
Note : (1-3) Were the chieftains of the Kaurvas army
and held the command of the Kaurvas army4 stand
for the Pandavas.
Note : 5- Arjuna – One of the five Pandavas and the
chief devotee of God Shri Krishna.
6- The Rajput princess who devoted her life in the
rupreme devotion of God Shri Krishna and discarded
worldly attachments.
16 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{60}
Revealed Thyself to her
With Thy supreme glory
And saved her for ever
Form Ra2na’s fury.
{61}
Dressed in garments,
Yellow, green, blue and red,
Flute in Thy hand
And peacock crown on Thy head,
{62}
To enjoy Sura’s melodies,
Unfailingly, Thou sat all times,
While Thy blind devotee,
In Thy praise, composed his rhymes,
2- Rana was the husband of Mira. He was deadly
against Mira for her devotion to God Shri Krishna
and planned to destroy her. Then Shri Krishna came
to her rescue and saved the princess.
3- The most renowned poet of Hindi litature and more
reowred as a great devotee to God Shri Krishna.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 17
18 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{63}
Many immortal poems,
On his behalf, Thou composed,
Wherein such exquisite
Quality of Poetry was exposed,
{64}
As in human memory
Was neither made nor attempted.
Indubiously beyond reach
They are, only to be covetted.
{65}
Ka1re Thy endeared most
Muslim devotee, went to see
Thy glimpses in Thy holy
Temple of Shri Jagann2 athpuri.
{66}
At Thy door-step stopped
Was, he, by Thy Hindu Puj3ari,
Saying, “Being a Muslim,
Connot enter the temple of Shri H4ari.”
Note : 1- Kare a beloved devotee of God Shri
Krishna, 2 Jaggannathpuri is on the coast of the bay
of Bengal. There stands very ancient temple of God
Shri Krishna. Baldeo and Subhadra. 3- Temple
worshipper. 4- God Shri Krishna.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 19
{67}
Down sat Kare dejected.
But with unshakeable devotion,
Profuse tears in his eyes
And heart in Thy meditation,
{68}
To Thee he addressed, “If Thou
Art the God of Hindus alone,
Then, by the temple Pujari, to him,
Right behaviour was shown.
{69}
“And should nt have a grudge
And crave a claim on Thee,
For a Muslim I’m indeed
And wrongly aspired to see”
{70}
“Thy vision, but if Thou art
The God of the whole Universe,
Full right I’ve to catch thy sight
And with Thee to converse.”
{71}
To Thee my God,
While drowning at Thy Kanire,1
Shedding tears, impatiently
Thus cried Kare
Note : 1- Border
{72}
20 An Offering To Lord Krishna
“Mush1fiq, Sha2fiq, Ra3fiq
Dil4dost Ham5are
Shri Krish6na Gov7ind
Hare Mu8rare”
{73}
Having heard his prayer, O God,
Thy patience exhausted.
Between Kare and Thee
No distance a moment lasted.
{74}
Thou appeared in person
And held him in Thy embrace
And disappeared with Thy devotee
In Thy usual grace.
Notes :
1. Kind
2. Kind
3. Friend
4. Bosom Friend
5. My own
6-8. Names of God Shri Krishna.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 21
{75}
Chaita1nya Maha Prabhu while
Reciting Thy exalted name,
Became one like Thee
And attained immortal fame.
{76}
Lions and Tigers, having seen him,
Engrossed in Thy name recitations,
Surrounded him in the thick forests,
having left their wild commotions.
{77}
Reciting Hare Kris2hna
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Clasping with their front paws,
Began to dance round Chaitaniya.
{78}
Standing on their hind legs
themselves, They totally forgot
Their inborn enmity with
Human beings that for ever they los.S.
Note: 1- Chaitanya Maha Prabhu- The supreme most
devotee of God Shri Krishna and He is. 2 – Names
of God.
22 An Offering To Lord Krishna
An Offering To Lord Krishna 23
{79}
Namdeo Thy favourite,
Exceedingly poor no doubt he was.
But to him not an iota
Of dejection, poverty could cause.
{80}
Shri Krishna, Thy soothing name,
Always he used to shout,
Overjoved with Thy spiritual ecstacy,
Even he moved about.
{81}
With Bhagwa2to’s spouse, his wife,
Raj3ie was be-friended
And requisite help to her
From time to time was extended.
Note : 1- A great devotee to Lord Shri Krishna.
2- A rich man of Nam Deo’s village
3- Rajaie the name of the wife of Nam Deo
24 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{82}
As Bhagwata, the Brahman, possessed
A piece of peculiar Paras-1 Store,
With its touch converted iron
Into gold, to other, without having shown.
{83}
One day Bhagwata’s wife
Took pity on Rajaies poverty,
That to her husband Nam Deo
Never caused any anxiety.
{84}
Confided she with Rajie
Quietly, Lest she be not heard
“Sister, take my Paras
And make gold,” thus she whispered.
Note : 1- A kind of stone. Its mere touch can convert
iron into gold.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 25
{85}
Agreed Rajaie, being stick
Of her poverty, extented her hand
For Paras that she tested
On an iron piece, picking from land.
{86}
Into yellow gold it changed
And filled her with smiles
As if it drove away immediately
Rajaie’s poverty hundred miles.
{87}
Tasty dishes she commenced
Cooking, for her loving husband
Away who had gone to perform
Worship on the river sand.
{88}
On return, he found her busy
That startled him all at once.
Rajaie he asked “These provisions
Wherefrom she and whence.”
{89}
To her husband poured forth,
Rajaie, the entire story,
“How she got gold and
Prepared all food and curry”
26 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{90}
Unaffected remained Nam Deo
And said “All provision here piled,
Will serve no purpose to us,
Having been completely defiled.”
{91}
“Of course gladly and freely,
To others, they can be offered as charity,”
To the river, with Paras, he returned
Immediately, To recite Thy name, for piety.
{92}
Having noticed delay in the return
Of the Paras, Bhagwata’s wife,
To Rajaie’s house ran considering.
It, a problem of death and life.
{93}
Demanded back her Paras.
But Rajaie Sadly replied to her
That Paras, Nam Deoji took,
To the side of the river.
{94}
She hurried back to Bhagwata
Who when heard the whole matter,
Swiftly paced to the river
For the Paras, to meet the latter.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 27
{95}
When face to face came both.
Nam Deo Ji greeted him well.
But Bhagwata did not relish
And in anger soon he fell.
{96}
Spread his hand for Paras ,
But Nam Deo told him all at once
“His stone he threw in the river
For to own it, was sheer non sense.”
{97}
Shacked was Bhagwata, beyond measure
And said nothing, except why.
Thereupon replied Nam Dao ‘Disgrace
It is to Him Hence he should n’t try”
{98}
On Bhagwatas insistence for his Paras,
Some stones Nam Deo began to touch.
All turned into goes proving
That the glory of thy name was such.
{99}
Uplifted, now no doubt I’m,
As my frustrations are dispelled,
In definite superiority, Thy name
To human wealth, I’ve held.
28 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{100}
In the sphere of my heart,
Down deep I’ve planted Thy love,
But fear I, it may not die, unless,
Thou saveth it against times rub.
{101}
To God Shri Krishna,
The peurless flute player,
Most reverently I offer
My heartiest prayer,
{102}
For Thou art the soul
Consolation to Thy devotees
In their troubles and to set
Them free from anxieties.
{103}
I bow at Thy lotus feet,
O Bestower of all pleasures.
Thou art all knowledge
And Thou art all treasures,
{104}
O Shy1 am Thou art, like
Unfading flowers, to Thy devotees
And from Thee, alone
Emerge all enchanting beauties.
Note : 1- Another name of God Shri Krishna
An Offering To Lord Krishna 29
{105}
O Ghan2shyam, to the worried hearts
Certainly Thou art the repose.
To Thy devotees, perennial blisses
Always, from Thee, expose
{106}
When Thy devotees
Remember Thee, ceaselessly
All Thy patience to resist
Exhausts immediately.
{107}
Unmindful of all hesitations,
Thou appearth presently.
And all their troubles,
Thou removeth immediately.
{108}
indubiosly Thy sight
Keeps Thy devotees happy,
Who, ever in the recitation
Of Thy name, are busy.
{109}
Pray, offer me the love
Of Thy ceaseless devotion,
And in the temple of my heart
Pray, show me Thy vision.
30 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{110}
Thou art the soul support
To my worried life.
Kindly raise me, above
The worldly strife.
{111}
From Thee, all Thy devotees
Receive perennial strength.
And from Thee, to them
Emnates all heavenly mirth.
{112}
My reverence to Thee,
O Kana1hiya Behari,
My respects to Thee,
O Moh2an Murari.
{113}
My homage to Thee,
O God Khar3ari,
My compliments to Thee,
O Radha4 Behari
Note : 1 to 4 are the different names of God Almidhly
by which. He is affectanately remembered by his
devotees.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 31
{114}
Successful Thou maketh
Always their lives.
Hence for Thee, alone,
Each devotee strives.
{115}
Let my devotion for Thee
Always, be firm in my heart
Like bees, to the lotus,
I yearn to perform my part.
{116}
On Thee I want to fix
My concentration, O Murli1 Manohar
Engrossed in Thee I wish,
To remain O Shyam2 Sunder.
{117}
Eager for Thee, ever I wish
To be, O Murli Manohar,
After my demise, I want to be
Mingled with Thee, O Shyam Sunder.
Note : 1 & 2 are the names of God Shri Krishna.
32 An Offering To Lord Krishna
An Offering To Lord Krishna 33
{118}
Grant me Shri Krishna
Thy ever-increasing love,
With unmitigating devotion
And burning desire to rub
{119}
Always, my head, reverently
On Thy lotus feet.
Give me the unquenchable thirst,
Thy vision to meet.
{120}
O God, I bow before Thee
With tears in my eyes
“If I love Thee for fear of hell”
Thus I raise loud cries,
{121}
“Let me suffer the atrocities
Of hell, no objections have I.
But if, for Thy vision, the principle
Of Thy love, I never defy,”
{122}
“If only to see Thy glory,
I pray to Thee, day and night,
Then pray, ever please my eyes
By never departing from my sight”
34 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{123}
No moment I wish to pass
In Thy unbearable separation,
For always I long to enjoy
The trance of Thy supreme devotion.
{124}
Tears rolling down my eyes
And my heart attached to Thee,
Mind to Thy unshaken devotion,
With burning desire to see
{125}
Shri Krishna, my reverent God,
With all Thy supreme glory
That hither-to has been denied,
Despite my hair turning hoary.
{126}
To the dejection, caused to me.
I am wholly indebted,
For always deeming myself doer
Never I was frustrated,
{127}
In all my success and renowns,
I forgot that Thou were the only cause.
This, Oh, I realized fully well,
When, at every step, I had to pause.”
An Offering To Lord Krishna 35
{128}
To such a difficult standstill,
I have come across,
As has spoiled all my hopes
And I do not know how to pass.
{129}
Failures after failures,
Are meeting all my efforts,
Whereas once I considered
Myself expert of all experts
{130}
Uplift me, O God and fulfil
All my desires, with Thy grace.
Dispel my dejections and eliminate
All my sorrows, leaving no trace.
{131}
Grant Thy generosity and overfill
My heart with love for Thy name
So that always I may pass my days,
Breath by breath, repeating the same.
{132}
Shri Krishna, my God,
Thou alone canst run my cart
That, up till now, has refused
To move, despite my efforts a lot.
36 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{133}
Having tried all my strength,
My well-wishers and their support
Bodly I failed, But now I lie
At Thy lotus feet and Thy love I import.
{134}
Thou art my God,
Thou art my life
Thou art to me above
My sons and wife
{135}
Thou art my health,
Thou art my breath,
Thou art to me,
Above all the wealth
{136}
Solemnly Thou declared to Narda,
The sage “I live not in the Heaven,
Nor in the hearts of Yogis2,
My abode can be seen”
Note : 1. The most beloved Maharish to God Shri
Krishna
2. Yogis-supreme devotees who are busy in constant
meditation on God.
An Offering To Lord Krishna 37
{137}
Whereever my devotees,
Sing my glorious praise,
There alone there alone,
I pass my nights and days.”
{133}
Shri Krishna, O God,
I pray to Thee.
Always in Thy presence,
I long to be.
{139}
Thy separation, so severe,
I cannot bear.
I cannot live, unless
Thy voice I hear.
{140}
Shri Krishna, O God,
I pray to Thee.
The petals of my heart
I offer to Thee.
{141}
By the throbs of my heart,
I remember Thee.
Earnestly all these I do,
Mostly to get to Thee
38 An Offering To Lord Krishna
{142}
Enough, enough, what further
More, can I sing?
In Thy service, what offerings
Can I bring?
{143}
Save these broken words,
From my heavy heart.
To Thee, O God,
This is my humble part
{144}
My prayer to Thee, O God,
Shall never be complete,
Unless, before Shri Radha1Rani
I bow at Her lotus feet
{145}
At the lotus feet of Shri Radha
Rani, most reverently, I bow,
Mother, indeed, I know not
At all, as to worship Thee how
{146}
Yet the prayer of Shri Krishna
I venture to write
Kindly granth me strength
To make my line bright.
Note : Goddess Mother feternal spouse to God Shri
Krishna
An Offering To Lord Krishna 39
{147}
father, unless, Thou granth
me the requisite strength
Confident, I am to fail
In my attempt, at length.
{148}
But pretty sure I am
For Thy support, at the same time
For God’s prayer, I am going
To reproduce into rhyme.
{149}
These are Chandrika’s offerings
To God, Almighty
Who alone hath power
Glory and total piety
{150}
To graciously forgive, forget
And again to raise
And to generously grant
His vision at Him to gaze.
CHANDRIKA PRASAD SRIVASTAV
: } END { : -
40 An Offering To Lord Krishna
An Offering To Lord Krishna 41