Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mālā-stotra 43

krishno rakshatu no jagat-traya-guruh krishnam namadhvam sadā

krishnenākhila-śatravo vinihatāh krishnāya tasmai namah

krishnād eva samutthitam jagad idam krishnasya dāso 'smy aham

krishne tishthati viśvam etad akhilam he krishna rakshasva mām

SYNONYMS

krishnah — Krishna; rakshatu — may He protect; nah — us; jagat — of the worlds; traya — three; guruh — the spiritual master; krishnam — to Krishna; namadhvam — all of you bow down; sadā — constantly; krishnena — by Krishna; akhila — all; śatravah — enemies; vinihatāh — killed; krishnāya — to Krishna; tasmai — Him; namah — obeisances; krishnāt — from Krishna; eva — alone; samutthitam — risen; jagat — world; idam — this; krishnasya — of Krishna; dāsah — the servant; asmi — am; aham — I; krishne — in Krishna; tishthati — stands; viśvam — universe; etat — this; akhilam — entire; he krishna — O Krishna; rakshasva mām — protect me.

TRANSLATION

May Krishna, the spiritual master of the three worlds, protect us. Continually bow down to Krishna. Krishna has killed all our enemies. Obeisances to Krishna. From Krishna alone this world has come into being. I am the servant of Krishna. This entire universe rests within Krishna. O Krishna, please protect me!

PURPORT

Gopīparānadhana Prabhu notes, "This verse uses each of the eight grammatical cases of the word Krishna, one after another." By this Krishna-ized Sanskrit composition, the poet reveals various ways to approach Lord Krishna's name and pastimes.

This verse is reminiscent of how Lord Caitanya (then known as Nimāi Pandita) taught Sanskrit grammar when He was a sixteen-year-old schoolmaster. He opened His own catush-pāthī (village school) in the area of Navadvīpa, and at first He would teach grammar in the traditional way. But after returning from Gaya, where He received initiation from Śrīla Īśvara Purī, He would simply explain Krishna in all the readings of grammar. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "In order to please Lord Caitanya, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī later composed a grammar in Sanskrit in which all the rules of the grammar are exemplified with the holy names of the Lord. This grammar is still current and is known as Hari-nāmāmrita-vyākarana and is prescribed by the syllabus of Sanskrit schools in Bengal even today" (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Introduction).

Here King Kulaśekhara addresses Lord Krishna as the spiritual master of the three worlds, the killer of enemies, and the creator and maintainer of the universe. Although the Supreme Lord appoints intermediaries to represent Him as guru, protector, creator, and maintainer, Lord Krishna is the ultimate person behind all those who act on His behalf. The bona fide initiating and instructing gurus faithfully carry the message of the original guru, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Also, the Lord is a guru in a more direct sense, since He personally becomes a spiritual master for any aspiring devotee, even today, through His teachings in the Bhagavad-gītā. And as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within the heart, He is also the personal inner guide for every living being. In a similar way, Lord Krishna protects all jīvas as Mahā-Vishnu when they merge into Him at the time of universal annihilation, and He kills demons for the benefit of all human beings when He appears in His various avatāras.

Although one should not expect the Lord to come running to protect us or teach us, as if He were our servant, a sincere devotee should expect Krishna's guidance and protection — and also accept them in whatever form they come. The standard method of receiving Krishna's instructions and protection is through the paramparā, or disciplic succession, which embodies the combined potency of guru, śāstra, and sādhu (the spiritual master, the scriptures, and the saintly devotees). Therefore we may all call out directly to the Lord, "O Krishna, please protect me!" and receive His mercy in paramparā.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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