Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mālā-stotra 43

kṛṣṇo rakṣatu no jagat-traya-guruḥ kṛṣṇaḿ namadhvaḿ sadā

kṛṣṇenākhila-śatravo vinihatāḥ kṛṣṇāya tasmai namaḥ

kṛṣṇād eva samutthitaḿ jagad idaḿ kṛṣṇasya dāso 'smy ahaḿ

kṛṣṇe tiṣṭhati viśvam etad akhilaḿ he kṛṣṇa rakṣasva mām

SYNONYMS

kṛṣṇaḥ — Kṛṣṇa; rakṣatu — may He protect; naḥ — us; jagat — of the worlds; traya — three; guruḥ — the spiritual master; kṛṣṇam — to Kṛṣṇa; namadhvam — all of you bow down; sadā — constantly; kṛṣṇena — by Kṛṣṇa; akhila — all; śatravaḥ — enemies; vinihatāḥ — killed; kṛṣṇāya — to Kṛṣṇa; tasmai — Him; namaḥ — obeisances; kṛṣṇāt — from Kṛṣṇa; eva — alone; samutthitam — risen; jagat — world; idam — this; kṛṣṇasya — of Kṛṣṇa; dāsaḥ — the servant; asmi — am; aham — I; kṛṣṇe — in Kṛṣṇa; tiṣṭhati — stands; viśvam — universe; etat — this; akhilam — entire; he kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa; rakṣasva mām — protect me.

TRANSLATION

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

PURPORT

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

This verse is reminiscent of how Lord Caitanya (then known as Nimāi Paṇḍita) taught Sanskrit grammar when He was a sixteen-year-old schoolmaster. He opened His own catuṣ-pāṭhī (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 Kṛṣṇa 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-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa and is prescribed by the syllabus of Sanskrit schools in Bengal even today" (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Introduction).

Here King Kulaśekhara addresses Lord Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa protects all jīvas as Mahā-Viṣṇu 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 Kṛṣṇa's guidance and protection — and also accept them in whatever form they come. The standard method of receiving Kṛṣṇa'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 Kṛṣṇa, please protect me!" and receive His mercy in paramparā.

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