The text
कदाचित्कालिन्दीतटविपिनसङ्गीतकरवो
मुदा गोपीनारीवदनकमलास्वादमधुपः ।
रमाशम्भुब्रह्मामरपतिगणेशार्चितपदो
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
kadācitkālindītaṭavipinasaṅgītakaravo
mudā gopīnārīvadanakamalāsvādamadhupaḥ |
ramāśambhubrahmāmarapatigaṇeśārcitapado
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
He who sometimes makes music in the groves on the bank of the Yamuna; who is as a bee gladly tasting the lotus-faces of the cowherd women; whose feet are worshipped by Rama, Shambhu, Brahma, the lord of the immortals and Ganesha — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
भुजे सव्ये वेणुं शिरसि शिखिपिंछं कटितटे
दुकूलं नेत्रान्ते सहचरकटाक्षं विदधते ।
सदा श्रीमद्वृन्दावनवसतिलीलापरिचयो
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
bhuje savye veṇuṃ śirasi śikhipiṃchaṃ kaṭitaṭe
dukūlaṃ netrānte sahacarakaṭākṣaṃ vidadhate |
sadā śrīmadvṛndāvanavasatilīlāparicayo
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
He who holds the flute in his left hand, a peacock feather on his head and fine cloth about his waist, and casts a sidelong glance upon his companions; who is ever familiar with the play of dwelling in blessed Vrindavana — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
महाम्भोधेस्तीरे कनकरुचिरे नीलशिखरे
वसन् प्रासादान्तस्सहजबलभद्रेण बलिना ।
सुभद्रामध्यस्थस्सकलसुरसेवावसरदो
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
mahāmbhodhestīre kanakarucire nīlaśikhare
vasan prāsādāntassahajabalabhadreṇa balinā |
subhadrāmadhyasthassakalasurasevāvasarado
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
He who dwells within the temple on the shore of the great ocean, golden-bright upon the blue hill, together with his mighty brother Balabhadra; who stands with Subhadra between them and grants to all the gods their occasion of service — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
कृपापारावारास्सजलजलदश्रेणिरुचिरो
रमावाणीसौमस्सुरदमलपद्मोद्भवमुखैः ।
सुरेन्द्रैराराध्यः श्रुतिगणशिखागीतचरितो
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
kṛpāpārāvārāssajalajaladaśreṇiruciro
ramāvāṇīsaumassuradamalapadmodbhavamukhaiḥ |
surendrairārādhyaḥ śrutigaṇaśikhāgītacarito
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
He who is an ocean of compassion, lovely as a row of rain-laden clouds; who is worshipped by Rama and Vani, by the gods and by him born of the spotless lotus, and by the lords of the gods; whose deeds are sung at the summit of the Vedas — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
रथारूढो गच्छन् पथि मिलितभूदेवपटलैः
स्तुतिप्रादुर्भावं प्रतिपद मुपाकर्ण्य सदयः ।
दयासिन्धुर्बन्धुस्सकलजगता सिन्धुसुतया
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
rathārūḍho gacchan pathi militabhūdevapaṭalaiḥ
stutiprādurbhāvaṃ pratipada mupākarṇya sadayaḥ |
dayāsindhurbandhussakalajagatā sindhusutayā
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
He who, mounted on his chariot and moving along the road, graciously hears at every step the hymns that break forth from the assembled brahmins; who is an ocean of mercy and the kinsman of all the world, with the daughter of the ocean — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
परब्रह्मापीडः कुवलयदलोत्फुल्लनयनो
निवासी नीलाद्रौ निहितचरणोऽनन्तशिरसि ।
रसानन्दो राधासरसवपुरालिङ्गनसखो
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
parabrahmāpīḍaḥ kuvalayadalotphullanayano
nivāsī nīlādrau nihitacaraṇo'nantaśirasi |
rasānando rādhāsarasavapurāliṅganasakho
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
He who is the crown of the supreme Brahman, his eyes open wide like the petals of a blue water-lily; who dwells on the blue hill with his feet set upon Ananta's head; who is bliss itself in savour, the friend who embraces the tender form of Radha — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
न वै प्रार्थ्यं राज्यं न च कनकतां भोगविभवं
न याचेऽहं रम्यां निखिलजनकाम्यां वरवधूम् ।
सदा काले काले प्रमथपतिना गीतचरितो
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
na vai prārthyaṃ rājyaṃ na ca kanakatāṃ bhogavibhavaṃ
na yāce'haṃ ramyāṃ nikhilajanakāmyāṃ varavadhūm |
sadā kāle kāle pramathapatinā gītacarito
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
I ask for no kingdom, nor for gold, nor for the splendour of enjoyments; I do not beg for a lovely bride desired by all. He whose deeds are sung age after age by the lord of the Pramathas — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
हर त्वं संसारं द्रुततरमसारं सुरपते
हर त्वं पापानां विततिमपरां यादवपते ।
अहो दीनानाथं निहितमचलं निश्चितपदं
जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे
hara tvaṃ saṃsāraṃ drutataramasāraṃ surapate
hara tvaṃ pāpānāṃ vitatimaparāṃ yādavapate |
aho dīnānāthaṃ nihitamacalaṃ niścitapadaṃ
jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me
Take away, O lord of the gods, this worthless round of existence, and swiftly; take away, O lord of the Yadavas, the boundless mass of sins. Ah, he who is the refuge of the helpless, the fixed and certain ground — may Lord Jagannatha come into the path of my eyes.
Closing
इति श्रीमद् शङ्कराचार्यप्रणीतं जगन्नाथाष्टकं सम्पूर्णं ॥
iti śrīmad śaṅkarācāryapraṇītaṃ jagannāthāṣṭakaṃ sampūrṇaṃ ||
Thus ends the Jagannathashtakam composed by the revered Shankaracharya.
When and how it is recited
Above all during Ratha Yatra (Ashadha Shukla Dvitiya) at Puri — verse 5 describes the Lord on his chariot and is sung as the chariots move. Also at daily darshan at the Jagannatha temple, on Ekadashi, during Kartik, and at Snana Yatra and Nabakalebara. Commonly recited once at darshan; no fixed count prescribed.
About the text
| Author | Traditionally ascribed to Adi Shankaracharya; the colophon reads 'iti śrīmad śaṅkarācāryapraṇītaṃ jagannāthāṣṭakaṃ sampūrṇam'. The ascription is contested: the hymn's Radha-Krishna devotional vocabulary (verse 6, 'rādhāsarasavapurāliṅganasakho') sits awkwardly with 8th-century Advaita authorship and points to a later Vaishnava milieu. Some traditions ascribe it instead to a later Shankara-lineage pontiff. |
|---|---|
| Dating | Ascribed to the 8th century; on internal evidence more probably a later medieval composition, plausibly post-12th century, i.e. after the rise of the Puri temple and of Radha-centred devotion. Pre-modern in any case. |
| Language | Sanskrit |
Variant readings
Editions differ in a few lines. We give both readings with their sources rather than picking one silently.
| verse 1 | करवो — sanskritdocuments.org jagannAthAShTaka.itx (main text) कवरो — sanskritdocuments.org marks a variant |
|---|---|
| verse 1 | गोपीनारी — sanskritdocuments.org jagannAthAShTaka.itx (main text) भीरी — sanskritdocuments.org marks a variant |
| verse 2 | शिखिपिंछं — sanskritdocuments.org jagannAthAShTaka.itx (main text) पिच्छिं — sanskritdocuments.org marks a variant |
| verse 4 | रमावाणीसौमस् — sanskritdocuments.org jagannAthAShTaka.itx (main text) वाणीरामस् — sanskritdocuments.org marks a variant |