Lord Sri Krishna, is considered a complete incarnation or purna-avataar (पूर्णावतार) of Lord Vishnu. ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’ is a mantra of Lord Sri Krishna. This mantra first appeared as a part of the Srimad Bhagavatam, which describes the many glories of Krishna.
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय नम:
Invocation and Obeisance to Lord Krishna
One literal translation is:
O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Swami Krishnanda’s intrepretation is:
Prostration or Namaskara to Bhagavan Vasudeva. This namaskara, and the joining of the palms are indicative of the feeling of union of oneself with the other. ‘I and you are one’ – that is prostration, that is namaskara. ‘Bhagavan Vasudeva, I am one with you’ is a spirit of surrender, and here begins meditation on Bhagavan Vasudeva. When this mantra is chanted you have also created the requisite atmosphere in the mind for contemplation on Bhagavan Vasudeva, to begin meditation and to feel His presence.
Complete context of the Vasudevaya Mantra
(Source: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.1.1)
oḿ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
om — the pranava; namaḥ — offering my obeisances; bhagavate — unto the Personality of Godhead; vāsudevāya — unto Vāsudeva (the son of Vasudeva), or Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Lord;
O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
janmādi asya yato ‘nvayād itaratah cārtheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
जन्मादि अस्य यतोन्वयाद इतरत् चार्थेश्षु अभिज्न् स्वरात्
janma-ādi — creation and related actions; asya — of the manifested universes; yataḥ — from whom; anvayāt — directly; itarataḥ — indirectly; ca — and; artheṣu — purposes; abhijñaḥ — fully cognizant; sva-rāṭ — fully independent;
I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes.
He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him.
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
तेने ब्रह्मा हृदय अादि-कव्ये मुहय्नति यत सूर्य:
tene — imparted; brahma — the Vedic knowledge; hṛdā — consciousness of the heart; yaḥ — one who; ādi-kavaye — unto the original created being; muhyanti — are illusioned; yat — about whom; sūrayaḥ — great sages and demigods;
It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion,
tejo-vāri-mṛdāḿ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ‘mṛṣā
तेजो-वारि-मृदं यथा विनिमयो यत्र त्रिसर्गो
tejaḥ — fire; vāri — water; mṛdām — earth; yathā — as much as; vinimayaḥ — action and reaction; yatra — whereupon; tri-sargaḥ — three modes of creation, creative faculties; amṛṣā — almost factual;
as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal.
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaḿ satyaḿ paraḿ dhīmahi
धामना स्वेन सदि निरस्ता कुहकं सत्यम् परम् धीमहि
dhāmnā — along with all transcendental paraphernalia; svena — self-sufficiently; sadā — always; nirasta — negation by absence; kuhakam — illusion; satyam — truth; param — absolute; dhīmahi — I do meditate upon.
I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
Audio version of Vasudevaya mantra for meditation
We present a remixed version of the Vasudevaya mantra sung beautifully by Yogi Hari. Enjoy!
Chant the Vasudevaya Namah Mantra with Yogi Hari
References:
- Swami Krishnanada at Divine Life Society
- Srimad Bhagavatam Online
- Vasudevaya Namah Mantra by Yogi Hari – remixed by eaglespace.com editors
Related Reading at EagleSpace:
- Lord Krishna’s Birthday – Janamashtami
- Lord Krishna’s Gita – The Nature of Faith
