FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.73.16

कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने । प्रणतक्लेशनाशाय गोविन्दाय नमो नम: ॥ १६ ॥
kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya
[krishnaaya vaasudevaaya]
haraye paramātmane
[haraye paramaatmane]
praṇata-kleśa-nāśāya
[pranata-klesha-naashaaya]
govindāya namo namaḥ
[govindaaya namo namah]
kṛṣṇāya — to Kṛṣṇa vāsudevāya — the son of Vasudeva haraye — the Supreme Lord, Hari parama - ātmane — the Supersoul praṇata — of those who have surrendered kleśa — of the distress nāśāya — to the destroyer govindāya — to Govinda namaḥ namaḥ — repeated obeisances .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya
kṛṣṇāya
to Kṛṣṇa
vāsudevāya
the son of Vasudeva
haraye paramātmane
haraye
the Supreme Lord, Hari
parama - ātmane
the Supersoul
praṇata-kleśa-nāśāya
praṇata
of those who have surrendered
kleśa
of the distress
nāśāya
to the destroyer
govindāya namo namaḥ
govindāya
to Govinda
namaḥ namaḥ
repeated obeisances .
  • vāsudevāya — to the son of Vasudeva
    The Vasudeva-tanaya is the para-tattva of Gauḍīya theology — svayaṁ-bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, not a vyūha. Naming Him as son of Vasudeva insists on the personal, hugged, kissed Lord of Mathurā-Dvārakā.
  • haraye — to Hari
    Hari — He who takes away. Specifically takes away suffering and sin. The kings, just released, name Bhagavān by the very function He has just performed.
  • parama-ātmane — to the Supersoul
    Paramātmā — Bhagavān as inner witness of every heart. The kings, who had ruled outwardly, now address Him as the inward King; the same Person under another epithet.
  • govindāya — to Govinda
    Go-vinda — knower / finder / pleaser of cows and senses and earth. Brahma-saṁhitā's first verse — govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ — points to Him as ādi-puruṣa. The chapter's prayer closes on the Gauḍīya Name.
  • namaḥ namaḥ — repeated obeisances
    The doubling enacts the verse: japa as the form devotional prayer takes when the analytical mind has finished.
Again and again we offer our obeisances unto Lord Kṛṣṇa, Hari, the son of Vasudeva. That Supreme Soul, Govinda, vanquishes the suffering of all who surrender to Him.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Again and again we offer our obeisances unto Lord Krishna, Hari, the son of Vasudeva. That Supreme Soul, Govinda, vanquishes the suffering of all who surrender to Him.
Commentary

Laying down on the ground with eight limbs touching, and singing the names of the Lord, they offered respects with the request to teach them out of mercy though they were unqualified. "We offer respects to Krsna, svayam bhagavan, to Vasudeva, who appears from Vasudeva giving mercy to all jivas, to Hari, who delivers even the demons from the suffering of the material world, to Paramatma, who appears as the supersoul for the devotees of santa rasa, and as the source of supreme prema for the devotees of dasya and other rasas, to the remover of suffering which create obstacles to bhakti for the sadhaka bhaktas (pranata), to Govinda, who reaches out to our senses such as the eyes, ears and nose, in order to give the nectar of his beauty, sweet sounding voice, and fragrance."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Thinking themselves unqualified to pray to the Lord, they conclude by chanting his dear names sweetly in order to attain their goal. They offer respects with eight limbs on the ground. We offer respects to you, Svayam Bhagavān (kṛṣṇāya), who appeared to Vasudeva to show mercy to all people (vāsudevāya), and then destroyed the suffering of even the demons (haraye), not looking for their qualification, and showed yourself as attractive to all (haraye). And you are the supreme soul by your nature, the shelter of pure prema for all beings (paramātmane). Moreover you destroy the obstacles to bhakti for your devotees (praṇata). You are most affectionate to your devotees and promote bhakti. This is shown by becoming a cowherd who walks in the forest (govindāya). They offer respects repeatedly (namo namaḥ).

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)
Related verses
'Again and again we offer obeisances unto Lord Kṛṣṇa, Hari, son of Vasudeva.' Repetition is not weakness; it is the structure of love. Devotion lives by saying the same thing again.
Reflection Questions
  • What devotional phrase or practice am I bored with that I should renew through repetition?
  • How does 'again and again' actually deepen rather than dilute?

When mere words run out, the bhakta does what a child does at the gate of the house — repeats the name. The verse is a small japa: kṛṣṇāya, vāsudevāya, haraye, govindāya, namaḥ namaḥ — six addresses, one Person, the kings spending the only currency that the dungeon could not confiscate.

Ajāmila at the threshold

In Canto 6.1–3, the fallen brāhmaṇa Ajāmila, dying, called his son's name — Nārāyaṇa — and the Viṣṇu-dūtas arrived because the syllables themselves are non-different from Bhagavān.

The kings end their prayer with the same logic: repeated namaskāra to the Names. Caitanyadeva later raises this to the very yuga-dharma — harer nāma eva kevalam — and the kings, in their small way, perform it here at the gate of Indraprastha.

📝 My note

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