Jayadeva's Geeta Govinda - A Love Song 1 - The Ten Incarnations Of Mahavishnu Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon
Jayadeva's Geeta Govinda - A Love Song 1 - The Ten Incarnations Of Mahavishnu
Hayayagreeva stole the Vedas and hid them in the Ocean,
The floods occurred,
The great Lord in the form of a giant fish,
Lifted the Vedas from the bottom of the sea,
Above the turbulent waters,
And preserved them for the benefit of mankind!
As Meenasarira or the Fish incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara- the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
During the churning of the milky ocean,
The Lord in the form of a Tortoise
Lifted the Mandara mountain
In the form of a giant Tortoise,
Protected the world by bearing its weight,
On His strong, broad back,
The scars of which are still visible.
As Kacchaparupa or the Tortoise incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
Hiranyaaksha pushed the earth into the deepest hole of hell,
But the earth saved itself,
By holding on to the tip of the giant boar's tusk,
The earth appeared like a spot on the crescent moon.
As Shookararupa or the Boar incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
The conceited king Hiranyakashipu,
Disgusted with his son Prahalada's extreme devotion to Vishnu,
Resolves to kill his own son for uttering the name of the Lord!
The moment the king raised his sword to slay Prahalada,
The Lord appeared as man-lion and tore the king to pieces,
The soft lotus hand with sharp nails and claws resembled a stinging bee.
As Narasimharupa or the Man- Lion incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
The generous king Mahaabali bestowed his subjects
With the best of things and made them happy and content.
The Gods watching the king were jealous.
The Lord in the garb of a Dwarf
Begged for three footsteps of terrain! Mahaabali granted the wish.
With two steps the Dwarf covered heaven and earth,
The third step he placed on Mahaabali's head,
Pushing him down to the depths of the earth!
As Vamanarupa or the Dwarf incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
To fight against evil forces
And relieve the people of their trauma and pain,
The Lord took the form of Parashurama.
This Brahmin annihilated the Kshatriya class
With his weapon- the axe!
As Bhrigupatirupa or the Parashurama incarnation,
O Jagadeeshavara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
The handsome Prince Rama,
Fought against the ten headed Ravana and killed him,
And then, He hurled each of Ravana's ten heads, far and wide.
As Raghupatirupa or the Rama incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
Balarama, strong and broad shouldered,
Protected the cowherds along the Yamuna River.
Yamuna embraced and enveloped Balarama,
With her water, dark blue, like the rain clouds,
Bestowing him with a magnanimous personality,
His weapon -the plough, becoming a symbol of great strength!
As Haladhararupa or the Balarama incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
Deeply compassionate and empathetic,
To one and all, be it a human or an animal,
As the epitome of Ahimsa-The Buddha!
As Buddhasharira or the Buddha incarnation,
The enlightened Buddha,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
The tenth incarnation is the fierce avenger - the Kalki,
To destroy, all evils and barbarism existing in this world!
As Kalkisharira or the Kalki incarnation,
O Jagadeeshvara - the Lord of the world,
O Keshava! We salute you!
This beautiful song of Jayadeva,
Is as sweet as the nectar for those who sing it!
The ten incarnations are the ten cosmic forms of Mahavishnu.
May it shower blessings and happiness
On all those who listen to it!
This famed song of Geeta Govinda has been translated by me from Sanskrit to English.
I published this work in the form of a book in 2002. The second Edition was published in 2006 and later, the third edition came out in 2010.
I am now happy to publish it in Poem Hunter for the poetry lovers.
A great informative poem about the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. All Hindus know it but for a non-Hindu it's a work that helps them to understand Hinu mythology. When we start understanding each other we start learning the lesson of coexistence.
Thank you so much Akhtar Sahab! You are a great human being! To know each other's religion and respect them is a quality rare. Most important in life is to co-exist with plenty of love and peace.
I am intrigued with poetry from various cultures, the phrases and settings accompanied with beliefs both old and new add a versatile spice that I adore, I think this makes poetry rich and encourages creativity for those who are willing to read beyond their own style....thank you for posting this.
Thank you for reading this song of love which belongs to the 12th century. There are 24 songs. Hope you will have the time to read them from time to time. God bless Bill
as sweet as the nectar, geeta govinda, right, namaskar. if you so like read my poem sanket, the essence of geeta goinds is there.
Nanaskar Gajanan ji, Geeta Govinda is as sweet as the nectar. Yes, i shall surely read Sanket. Thank you for reading this poem.
Lifted the Vedas were from the bottom of the sea, above the turbulent waters and this act was done by the great Lord in incarnation. Deeply compassionate and empathetic moment was felt by sages. This beautiful song of Jayadeva was very sweet at that time as it is today. Interesting and beautifully presented poem is shared.10
I feel blessed that a leading poet like you of poem hunter took time to read this poem which depicts the Dashavatara. Of Mahavishnu. Thank you so much. Your comments are always a source of inspiration.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/5/2024 9:03:02 AM # 1.0.0.1119
A long read, but it was worth it, I love these stories from the early days, you have done well with this translation. Thanks Geeta
Thank you for the patience, Loke. These ten stories are rather long. I have shortened them to the best of my ability. It is also rather strenuous to write long poems. Thanks again. God bless