Pralaya Payodhi Jale
Song 1; Sri Dasavatara Stotram
pralaya-payodhi-jale
dhṛtavān asi vedaṁ vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
pralaya-payodhi-jale -in the turbulent waters of devastation; dhṛtavān - holding; asi -You are; vedam -the Vedas; vihita -done; vahitra-caritram - acting as a boat; akhedam -easily; keśava -O Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛtamīna-śarīra -You who have accepted the form of a giant fish; jaya -all glories to You!; jagat-īśa -O Lord of the universe!; hare-O Lord Hari!
kṣitir
iha vipulatare tiṣṭhati tava pṛṣṭhe dharaṇi-dhāraṇa-kiṇa-cakra-gariṣṭhe keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra jaya jagadīśa
hare
Word for word
kṣitih ̣-the great Mandara Mountain; iha -here; vipulatare -gigantic; tiṣṭhati -rests; tava pṛṣṭhe -upon Your back; dharaṇi-dhāraṇa -holding up the world; kiṇa-cakra -a large circular scar; gariṣṭhe -the heaviest; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra -who have accepted the form of a tortoise; jaya jagadīśa hare...
vasati
daśana-śikhare dharaṇī tava lagnā śaśini kalaṅka-kaleva nimagnā keśava dhṛta-śūkara-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
vasati -sits; daśana-śikhare -upon the tip of Your tusk; dharaṇī -the earth; tava -Your; lagnā -sits fixed; śaśini -of the moon; kalańka-kala -a faint spot; iva -just like; nimagnā -which had become immersed (in the Garbhodaka Ocean); keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-śūkararūpa -who have accepted the form of a boar; jaya jagadīśa hare...
tava
kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
tava -Your; kara-kamala-vare -upon the beautiful lotus hands; nakham - the nails; adbhuta-śṛńgam -wonderfully sharp tips; dalita -ripped apart; hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu -the body of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu; bhṛńgam -the wasp; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-narahari-rūpa -who have accepted the form of half-man, half-lion ( nara -man, hari -lion); jaya jagadīśa hare...
chalayasi
vikramaṇe balim adbhuta-vāmana pada-nakha-nīra-janita-jana-pāvana keśava dhṛta-vāmana-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
chalayasi -You deceive; vikramaṇe -by Your massive steps; balim -King Bali; adbhuta-vāmana -O wonderful dwarf!; pada-nakha -from the nails of Your lotus feet; nīra-janita -by the (Ganges) water that has emanated; jana-pāvana -You deliver all living beings within this world; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-vāmana-rūpa -who have accepted the form of a dwarf- brāhmaṇa; jaya jagadīśa hare...
kṣatriya-rudhira-maye
jagad-apagata-pāpam snapayasi payasi śamita-bhava-tāpam keśava dhṛta-bhṛgupati-rūpa jaya jagadiśa hare
Word for word
kṣatriya-rudhira-maye -in the rivers of blood from the bodies of the demoniac kṣatriyas that You have slain; jagat -the earth; apagatapāpam -the sins are taken away; snapayasi -You cause to bathe; payasi -in the water; śamita -people are relieved; bhava-tāpam -from the blazing fire of material existence; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta - bhṛgupati-rūpa -who have accepted the form of Paraśurāma, protector of the sages ( bhṛgu -of the sages, pati -the protector); jaya jagadīśa hare...
vitarasi
dikṣu raṇe dik-pati-kamanīyaṁ daśa-mukha-mauli-balim ramaṇīyam keśava dhṛta-rāma-śarīra jaya jagadiśa hare
Word for word
vitarasi -You distribute; dikṣu -in all directions; raṇe -in the battle (of Lańkā ); dik-pati -to the presiding deities of the ten directions; kamanīyam -which was desired by all of them; daśa-mukha -the tenheaded demon Rāvaṇa; mauli-balim -as a great offering; ramaṇīyam - delightful; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-rāma-śarīra -who have accepted the form of Rāmacandra; jaya jagadīśa hare...
vahasi
vapuṣi viśade vasanaṁ jaladābhaṁ hala-hati-bhīti-milita-yamunābham keśava dhṛta-haladhara-rūpa jaya jagadiśa hare
Word for word
vahasi -You wear; vapuṣi viśade -on Your brilliant white body; vasanam - garments; jalada-ābham -the color of a fresh blue rain cloud; hala-hati - due to the striking of Your plowshare; bhīti -who feels great fear; milita - happened; yamunā-bham -the personified river Yamunā appeared; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-haladhara-rūpa -who have accepted the form of Lord Balarāma, the wielder of the plow ( hala -plow, dhara -the holder); jaya jagadīśa hare...
nindasi
yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
nindasi -You decry; yajña-vidheh ̣-performed by the rules of Vedic sacrifice; ahaha -oh!; śruti-jātam -according to the scriptures; sadayahṛdaya -of compassionate heart; darśita -shown; paśu-ghātam -the slaughtering of poor animals; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛtabuddha-śarīra -who have accepted the form of Lord Buddha; jaya jagadīśa hare...
mleccha-nivaha-nidhane
kalayasi karavālaṁ dhūmaketum iva kim api karālam keśava dhṛta-kalki-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
mleccha-nivaha -the multitude of wicked barbarian men (at the end of the Kali- yuga ); nidhane -for annihilating; kalayasi -You carry; karavālam -a sword; dhūmaketum iva -appearing like a comet; kim api - indescribably; karālam -terrifying; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta-kalki-śarīra -who have accepted the form of Lord Kalki; jaya jagadīśa hare...
śrī-jayedeva-kaver
idam uditam udāraṁ śṛṇu sukha-daṁ śubha-daṁ bhava-sāram keśava dhṛta-daśa-vidha-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
Word for word
śrī-jayadeva-kaveh ̣-of the poet Jayadeva; idam -this hymn; uditam - which has arisen; udāram -which is most exalted; śṛṇu -please hear; sukha -dam-a bestower of happiness; śubha -dam-a bestower of auspiciousness; bhava-sāram -and is the best thing in this dark world; keśava -O Lord Keśava, of fine hair!; dhṛta -who have accepted; daśavidha-rūpa -these ten different forms of incarnation; jaya jagadīśa hare...
vedān
uddharate jaganti vahate bhū-golam udbibhrate daityaṁ dārayate baliṁ chalayate
kṣatra-kṣayaṁ kurvate paulastyaṁ jayate halaṁ kalayate kāruṇyam ātanvate mlecchān mūrchayate daśakṛti-kṛte
kṛṣṇāya tubhyaṁ namaḥ
Word for word
vedān uddharate -rescuing the Vedas; jaganti vahate -bearing the Mandara Mountain on Your back; bhū-golam udbibhrate -lifting the earth; daityam dārayate -tearing apart the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu; balim chalayate -tricking the demon king Bali; kṣatra-kṣayam kurvate -slaying all of the wicked kṣatriyas; paulastyam jayate -conquering the son of Pulastya [the rākṣasa king Rāvaṇa ]; halam kalayate -carrying a plow; kāruṇyam ātanvate -showing compassion; mlecchān mūrchayate -killing the degraded low-class men; daśa-ākṛti kṛte -O You who appears in the forms of these ten incarnations!; kṛṣṇāya -O Lord Kṛṣṇa!; tubhyam namah ̣-I offer my obeisances unto You
Notes
Verse 4 is sung with the Nrsimha pranama. Verse 8 is sung with the Balarama Pranama. This song had been sung by M.S. Subbulaksmi in a ragamala format. Carnatic musicians practice the ragas using this song. The ragas for the first eleven verses would be Bhairava, Bhupali, Jaya Jayanti, Malkauns, Kedar, Patdipa, Bihaga, Durga, Puriya Dhanasri, Vrndavani Saranga, and Bhairavi. The twelfth verse is not sung in this recording.
Prabhupada commentary
2Pralaya-payodhi-jale-dhṛtavān asi vedam, vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam. Today is the incarnation day of Lord Kṛṣṅa's appearing as the Boar. He lifted the world when it was submerged within the water of Garbhodakśa, Garbhodaka Ocean. The universe which we are seeing, it is only half. The other half is filled with water, and in that water is Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṅu lying.
So one demon, Hiraṅyākṣa, he pushed this earthly planet within that water, and Lord Kṛṣṅa delivered this earthly planet from water in the shape of a boar. So that auspicious day is today, Varāha-dvadaśī. This is called Varāha-dvadasi. So on this day it is better to sing, to glorify the different incarnations of Lord within this universe. The first incarnation is the fish form.
So these prayers were offered by Jayadeva Gosvāmī. One Vaiṣṅava poet advented about seven hundred years before Lord Caitanya’s appearance. He was a great devotee, and his specific poetry, Gīta-govinda, is very famous all over the world. Gīta-govinda. Gīta-govinda is the subject matter of Kṛṣṅa playing on flute about Rādhārāṅī. That is the subject matter of Gīta-govinda.
The same poet, Jayadeva Gosvāmī, has offered this prayer, pralaya-payodhi-jale-dhṛtavān asi vedam. He says, “My dear Lord, when there was devastation within this universe, everything was filled with water. At that time You saved the Vedas stacked in a boat, and You held the boat from being drowned in the water, in the shape of a big fish.” This fish first of all was caught in the waterpot just like a small fish. Then it enlarged, and the fish was kept in a bigger water reservoir. In this way, the fish was increasing. Then the fish informed that “Devastation is coming. You just save all the Vedas on a boat, and I shall protect it.” Jayadeva Gosvāmī is offering prayer, “My Lord, You saved the Vedas when there was devastation in the shape of fish.”
The next is Kūrmāvatāra. There was churning of the ocean. One side all the demigods and one side all the demons, and the churning rod was a great hill called Mandara-pārvata. And the resting place was on the back of the Lord appeared as a tortoise. So he’s offering his prayer that “You appeared as a tortoise just to become the resting place. And this happened because You were feeling some itching sensation on Your back. So You accepted this big rod, Mandara Hill, to itch, as the itching instrument.”