Sri Siksastaka

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The Siksastaka (Devanagari: शिक्षाष्टकं ; IAST Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu prayer of eight verses composed in the Sanskrit language. They are believed to be the only verses left personally written by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,^[1] with the majority of his philosophy being codyfied by his primary disciples, known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan.^[2] The Siksastaka is quoted within the Chaitanya Charitamrita,^[3] Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami's biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, written in Bengali. The name of the prayer comes from the Sanskrit words Śikṣā meaning 'instruction', and aṣṭaka meaning 'consisting of eight parts', i.e., stanzas. The teachings contained within the eight verses are believed to contain the essence of all teachings on Bhakti yoga within the Gaudiya tradition.

Text

The first eight verses of the following are the complete text of the Siksastaka, as written in Sanskrit by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and as translated by Srila Prabhupada. They are found in Krishnadasa Kaviraja's Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita (Antya-līlā, verses 12, 16, 21, 29, 32, 36, 39 and 47).^[4] The final verse is a Bengali quotation from Sri Caitanya Charitamrita, Antya-līlā 20.65 - it is not part of the actual Siksastaka, but is often appended to the end when it is recited, describing the result of reciting the Siksastaka faithfully.^[5][6]

1

ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaḿ śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaḿ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam
ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaḿ prati-padaḿ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaḿ
sarvātma-snapanaḿ paraḿ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-sańkīrtanam

Translation

Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

2

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgah

Translation

O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by chanting Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

3

tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā harih

Translation

One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

4

na dhanaḿ na janaḿ na sundarīḿ kavitāḿ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi

Translation

O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.

5

ayi nanda-tanūja kińkaraḿ patitaḿ māḿ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-pańkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaḿ vicintaya

Translation

O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krishna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms of Your lotus feet.

6

nayanaḿ galad-aśru-dhārayā vadanaḿ gadgada-ruddhayā girā
pulakair nicitaḿ vapuḥ kadā
tava nāma-grahaṇe bhaviṣyati

Translation

O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs on my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?

7

yugāyitaḿ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam
śūnyāyitaḿ jagat sarvaḿ
govinda-viraheṇa me

Translation

O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.

8

āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāḿ pinaṣṭu mām adarśanān marma-hatāḿ karotu vā
yathā tathā vā vidadhātu lampaṭo
mat-prāṇa-nāthas tu sa eva nāparah

Translation

I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly in His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.

9

prabhura ‘śikṣāṣṭaka’-śloka yei paḍe, śune kṛṣṇe prema-bhakti tāra bāḍe dine-dine

Translation

If anyone recites or hears these eight verses of instruction by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, his ecstatic love and devotion for Krsna increases day by day.

Significance

Within his Siksastaka, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stresses on the importance of singing (bhajan) and chanting (japa) the Names of God. This is the primary feature of Gaudiya Vaishnava spiritual practice (sadhana). This is particularly evident in the first three verses of the Siksastaka.
The starting verse of Siksastaka states a number of reasons why sankirtana (congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, which in Gaudiya Vaishnavism especially refers to Hare Krishna) should be emphasized in spiritual practice.