philosophy

Published on January 29th, 2026 | by Harmonist staff

3

Śrī Nityānandāṣṭakam

Eight verses glorifying Lord Nityānanda by Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, translated by Śrīla Gaura Govinda Swāmi.

1.
sarac-candra-bhrāntiḿ sphurad-amala-kāntiḿ gaja-gatiḿ
hari-premonmattaḿ dhṛta-parama-sattvaḿ smita-mukham
sadāghūrṇan-netraḿ kara-kalita-vetraḿ kali-bhidaḿ
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Lord Nityananda’s lotus face is so beautiful, I have no language to describe. The moon in the autumn season is very beautiful but Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s face is more beautiful than this. So cooling like the autumn moon. The effulgence coming out from His body and His bodily features are very, very beautiful, supremely beautiful. Such beauty cannot be found anywhere. He always moves like a mad elephant because He is intoxicated with krsna-prema-rasa-madhira. Krsna-prema-rasa is like a liquor and He has drunk it and become intoxicated like a mad elephant. His movement is always very slow, mrdu-manthara, very slow movement. He is always mad after krsna-prema. His body is suddha-sattva-maya. He always has a smiling face, never morose, always smiling, su-hasya-vadana. His eyes are very fickle moving to and fro. He is catching hold of a cane in his hand. That Lord Nityananda, who by the beating of this cane destroys the reactions of the people affected by Kali-yuga, kali-kala-nasa. They should take shelter of Nityananda Prabhu and cry for the mercy of Lord Nityananda. He is the root of the tree of krsna-bhakti-kalpa-taru. Taru means tree. If krsna-prema-bhakti is a tree then Sri Nityananda Prabhu is the root. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

2.
rasānām āgāraḿ svajana-gaṇa-sarvasvam atulaḿ
tadīyaika-prāṇa-pramita-vasudhā-jāhnava-patim
sadā-premonmādaḿ param aviditaḿ manda-manasām
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Lord Nityananda is the reservoir of all mellows. He is the life and soul of all the devotees. No one can compare to Him in the three planetary systems. He is very dear to one and all. He is the Lord of Jahnavi Devi and Vasudha Devi, who consider Lord Nityananda dearer than life. He is always in an ecstatic mood of divine love, ecstatic love! Always maddened and intoxicated with pure love of Godhead, intoxicated with krsna-prema-rasa-madhira. The unintelligent, non-devotees, manda-mati, cannot understand that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. He is not known to them. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

3.
śacī-sūnu-preṣṭhaḿ nikhila-jagad-iṣṭaḿ sukha-mayaḿ
kalau majjaj-jivoddharaṇa-karaṇoddāma-karuṇam
harer ākhyānād vā bhava-jaladhi-garvonnati-haraḿ
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Lord Nityananda is very dear to Gauranga Mahaprabhu, the son of Sacidevi. He always does good to the whole world. He is always supremely blissful. He is the embodiment of supreme happiness and blissfulness. He is sat-prema pleasurable portion. He is so merciful, one cannot trace out the end of His mercy, it is unlimited. He is so merciful to the people of Kali-yuga, those who are most degraded and fallen. To them, He is very merciful. In Bhagavad-gita, it has been said, daivi hy esa gunamayi, mama maya duratyaya (7.14). This material world is a manifestation of maya-sakti. It is very, very difficult to surmount. She is insurmountable. But Nityananda Prabhu, by doing hari-sankirtana has just crushed the pride of maya-sakti. He is always chanting the holy name of Lord Hari:

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

By chanting the holy name of Lord Hari, He checks the flooding ocean of repeated birth and death and delivers the souls drowning in the age of Kali. In other words, He is showing an easy way to cross this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

4.
aye bhrātar nīṇāḿ kali-kaluṣiṇāḿ kiḿ nu bhavitā
tathā prāyaścittaḿ racaya yad-anāyāsata ime
vrajanti tvām itthaḿ saha bhagavatā mantrayati yo
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Nityananda Prabhu speaks to Gauranga Mahaprabhu: “O my brother, what will happen to those most distressed and fallen jivas of Kali-yuga? What will happen to them, unless You shower Your mercy on them. How will they be able to atone for these sins? Please show them a way, for their deliverance, as a result of which they can approach and get Your lotus feet.” He always talks to Sriman Mahaprabhu in this way. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

5.
yatheṣṭhaḿ re bhrātaḥ kuru hari-hari-dhvānam aniśaḿ
tato vaḥ saḿsārāmbudhi-taraṇa-dāyo mayi laget
idaḿ bāhu-sphoṭair aṭati raṭayan yaḥ pratigṛham
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

That Nityananda Prabhu goes to every house and raising His arms, and requests, “O my brother, all of you engage yourself in the chanting of harinama:

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

If you do this, you will be able to cross over the dreadful ocean of birth and death of this material world. I remain assurity for you that this promise is true! I am responsible for it, do not fear.” He says, I am assurity for you, guarantee. Lord Nityananda goes to every doorstep and says like this. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

6.
balāt saḿsārāmbhonidhi-harana-kumbhodbhavam aho
satāḿ śreyaḥ-sindhūnnati-kumuda-bandhuḿ samuditaḿ
khala-śreṇī-sphūrjit-timira-hara-sūrya-prabham ahaḿ
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Nityananda Prabhu is like Agastya Muni who by drinking a handful of water made all the oceans dry up, forcibly swallowing the ocean of material existence. He arose like the moon to swell up the ocean, kalyana-samudra. To swell the ocean of mercy, jivera-kalyana, the welfare of the jivas. His kalyana (mercy) is like an ocean. Nityananda Prabhu very easily destroys the sinful reactions of the most sinful, degraded persons, kali-hata-jana (victims of the Age of Kali). He is always doing good to the devotees and is very, very dear to them. He is the rising full moon that expands the ocean that is the welfare of the saintly devotees. He has arisen like the cooling moon that is like the soothing moonshine of crores of moons, koti-candra-susitala. He is the blazing sun that dispels the darkness of multitudes of ignorant fools that has arisen from their sinful activities. He destroys their sinful reactions. He is like the sun for them. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

7.
naṭantaḿ gāyantaḿ harim anuvadantaḿ pathi pathi
vrajantaḿ paśyantaḿ svam api na dayantaḿ jana-gaṇam
prakurvantaḿ santaḿ sa-karuṇa-dṛg-antaḿ prakalanād
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Nityananda Prabhu travels on every path, always singing, dancing, and chanting “Hari! Hari! Hari bol! Hari bol!” Chanting “Hare Krsna,” He is always engaged in harinama-saìkirtana, thereby attracting those devotees doing hari-kirtana. He always casts merciful sidelong glances over His dear devotees. In this way, without considering His own interests, He moves through the streets of all the towns, cities and villages throughout the material world, casting His merciful glance over the devotees and sadhus. He is very merciful to the devotees of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

8.
su-bibhrāṇaḿ bhrātuḥ kara-sarasijaḿ komalataraḿ
mitho vaktrālokocchalita-paramānanda-hṛdayam
bhramantaḿ mādhuryair ahaha madayantaḿ pura-janān
bhaje nityānandaḿ bhajana-taru-kandaḿ niravadhi

Nityananda Prabhu holds the very beautiful soft lotus hand of His brother, Gauranga Mahaprabhu, and when They glance at each other’s faces, Their hearts become full of transcendental bliss and ecstacy. Wherever He goes, all the people become mad and intoxicated with the beauty of Nityananda Prabhu. His beauty is incomparable that cannot be described in languages. He wanders through the towns, cities and villages making the people happy and blissful by His chanting of the harinama maha-mantra. He is always doing harinama-kirtana. To that Lord Nityananda, who is the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service, I offer my obeisances, and I worship that Lord Nityananda.

9.
rasānāḿ ādhāraḿ rasika-vara-sad-vaiṣṇava-dhanaḿ
rasāgāraḿ sāraḿ patita-tati-tāraḿ smaraṇataḥ
paraḿ nityānandāṣṭakam idam apūrvaḿ pathati yaḥ
tad-ańghri-dvandvābjaḿ sphuratu nitarāḿ tasya hṛdaye

Vrndavan Dasa Thakura says, “Nityananda Prabhu truly gives bhakti-rasa. He is the reservoir of all mellows of devotional service. He is the wealth, life and soul of the rasika-bhaktas, those Vaisnavas expert at relishing those mellows. He is the essence of the entire universe, the three planetary systems, by whose remembrance, the sinful reactions of all the sinful persons are destroyed. Whomever reads and recites these eight verses, the Nityanandastaka everyday with firm faith, written by Vrndavan Dasa Thakura will achieve Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy and the two lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu will very soon be revealed to Him, which is very rare. These verses are very sweet. By remembering them the fallen souls are delivered by destroying their sinful reactions. May the two lotus feet of Lord Nityananda eternally appear in the hearts of those who read these eight unprecedented transcendental verses glorifying Lord Nityananda. This is what Vrndavan Dasa Thakura says.

Jaya Sri Nityananda Prabhu ki jaya!
Patita-Pavana Sri Nitaicand ki jaya!
Patita-Uddhara Sri Nityananda ki jaya!

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