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Home › Mantras › Achyutashtakam
Rajagopala Achyutashtakam (Achyutam Keshavam): Lord Krishna playing the flute between Radha and Rukmini, a cow and calf at his feet
Krishna between Radha and Rukmini in Vrindavan
Mantra · Shankara's sung octet that moves between Rama and the child Krishna

Achyutashtakam

अच्युतं केशवं रामनारायणं कृष्णदामोदरं वासुदेवं हरिम् । श्रीधरं माधवं गोपिकावल्लभं जानकीनायकं रामचन्द्रं भजे ॥

Also known as Achyutam Keshavam

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

What the Achyutashtakam is

The Achyutashtakam, sung by its opening words Achyutam Keshavam, is addressed to Vishnu as Achyuta, 'the one who does not fall' from his own nature, and it moves freely between two of his descents, Rama and Krishna. Tradition attributes it to Adi Shankaracharya; the colophon in the 1910 Vani Vilas edition names Shankara Bhagavatpada, disciple of Govinda Bhagavatpada, though the attribution cannot be proved historically. It has eight verses and a ninth phala verse, all in Sragvini, a twelve-syllable metre made of four long-short-long units, which is why it falls so easily into song. Each verse changes its grammar. Verse 1 lists names ending in bhaje, 'I worship'. Verse 2 holds them in the mind (sandadhe). Verse 3 offers salutation, namah, verse 4 calls out name after name, verses 5 and 6 ask Rama and the child Gopala for protection, and verses 7 and 8 describe his form, from the lightning-bright garment to the tinkling bells.

Two epics folded into eight verses

No account survives of when or where the Achyutashtakam was composed, and the traditional biographies of Shankara tell no story about it. What the hymn carries instead is a compressed retelling of two epics. Verse 5 follows Rama into exile: the Dandaka forest, Lakshmana at his side, the monkey army, and the sage Agastya. In the Ramayana, Agastya lived with his wife Lopamudra on the southern slopes of the Vindhyas, received Rama at his hermitage and gave him a divine bow and arrows; tradition also credits Agastya with the Aditya Hridayam, the hymn to the Sun he taught Rama before the battle with Ravana. Verse 6 moves to Krishna's childhood in Vraja and names the demons sent against him: Putana, the bull Arishta, and the horse Keshi, whom Krishna choked by thrusting his arm into its mouth, the deed behind the name Keshava. The verse also counts Dhenuka, the donkey-demon of the palm forest, among the boy's victims, although the Harivamsa and the Vishnu Purana give that killing to his elder brother Balarama. Verse 4's 'protector of Draupadi' recalls the dice-game scene of the Mahabharata, where her garment kept extending. Following Franklin Edgerton's work on the Critical Edition, scholars regard Krishna's part in that rescue as a later addition, but it is the version the hymn assumes.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiअच्युतं केशवं रामनारायणं कृष्णदामोदरं वासुदेवं हरिम् । श्रीधरं माधवं गोपिकावल्लभं जानकीनायकं रामचन्द्रं भजे ॥
Tamilஅச்யுதம் கேஶவம் ராமநாராயணம் க்ருஷ்ணதாமோதரம் வாஸுதேவம் ஹரிம் । ஶ்ரீதரம் மாதவம் கோபிகாவல்லபம் ஜாநகீநாயகம் ராமசந்த்ரம் பஜே ॥
Teluguఅచ్యుతం కేశవం రామనారాయణం కృష్ణదామోదరం వాసుదేవం హరిమ్ । శ్రీధరం మాధవం గోపికావల్లభం జానకీనాయకం రామచన్ద్రం భజే ॥
Kannadaಅಚ್ಯುತಂ ಕೇಶವಂ ರಾಮನಾರಾಯಣಂ ಕೃಷ್ಣದಾಮೋದರಂ ವಾಸುದೇವಂ ಹರಿಮ್ । ಶ್ರೀಧರಂ ಮಾಧವಂ ಗೋಪಿಕಾವಲ್ಲಭಂ ಜಾನಕೀನಾಯಕಂ ರಾಮಚನ್ದ್ರಂ ಭಜೇ ॥
Malayalamഅച്യുതം കേശവം രാമനാരായണം കൃഷ്ണദാമോദരം വാസുദേവം ഹരിമ് । ശ്രീധരം മാധവം ഗോപികാവല്ലഭം ജാനകീനായകം രാമചന്ദ്രം ഭജേ ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationacyutaṃ keśavaṃ rāmanārāyaṇaṃ kṛṣṇadāmodaraṃ vāsudevaṃ harim | śrīdharaṃ mādhavaṃ gopikāvallabhaṃ jānakīnāyakaṃ rāmacandraṃ bhaje ||
“I worship Achyuta, Keshava, Rama, Narayana, Krishna, Damodara, Vasudeva and Hari; Shridhara, Madhava, the beloved of the gopis, and Ramachandra, the lord of Janaki (Sita).”
अच्युतं
acyutaṃ — Achyuta, the unfallen one
केशवं
keśavaṃ — Keshava
रामनारायणं
rāmanārāyaṇaṃ — Rama, Narayana
कृष्णदामोदरं
kṛṣṇadāmodaraṃ — Krishna, Damodara
वासुदेवं
vāsudevaṃ — Vasudeva
हरिम्
harim — Hari
श्रीधरं
śrīdharaṃ — Shridhara, bearer of Lakshmi
माधवं
mādhavaṃ — Madhava
गोपिकावल्लभं
gopikāvallabhaṃ — beloved of the gopis
जानकीनायकं
jānakīnāyakaṃ — lord of Janaki (Sita)
रामचन्द्रं
rāmacandraṃ — Ramachandra
भजे
bhaje — I worship

Achyutam Keshavam lyrics in full

All 9 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Achyutam Keshavam PDFAll 9 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

अच्युतं केशवं रामनारायणं कृष्णदामोदरं वासुदेवं हरिम् ।
श्रीधरं माधवं गोपिकावल्लभं जानकीनायकं रामचन्द्रं भजे ॥

I worship Achyuta, Keshava, Rama, Narayana, Krishna, Damodara, Vasudeva and Hari; Shridhara, Madhava, the beloved of the gopis, and Ramachandra, the lord of Janaki (Sita).

Verse 2

अच्युतं केशवं सत्यभामाधवं माधवं श्रीधरं राधिकाराधितम् ।
इन्दिरामन्दिरं चेतसा सुन्दरं देवकीनन्दनं नन्दजं सन्दधे ॥

In my mind I hold Achyuta, Keshava, the husband of Satyabhama, Madhava, Shridhara, the one worshipped by Radha; the dwelling place of Lakshmi, the beautiful one, the son of Devaki who grew up as the son of Nanda.

Verse 3

विष्णवे जिष्णवे शङ्खिने चक्रिणे रुक्मिणीरागिणे जानकीजानये ।
वल्लवीवल्लभायार्चितायात्मने कंसविध्वंसिने वंशिने ते नमः ॥

Salutations to you: to Vishnu, the ever-victorious, who holds the conch and the discus, who loves Rukmini, whose wife is Janaki; to the beloved of the cowherd women, the worshipped one, the inner Self, the destroyer of Kamsa, the flute player.

Verse 4

कृष्ण गोविन्द हे राम नारायण श्रीपते वासुदेवाजित श्रीनिधे ।
अच्युतानन्त हे माधवाधोक्षज द्वारकानायक द्रौपदीरक्षक ॥

O Krishna, O Govinda, O Rama, O Narayana, O lord of Lakshmi, O Vasudeva, O unconquered one, O treasure of splendour; O Achyuta, O endless one, O Madhava, O Adhokshaja, O lord of Dwaraka, O protector of Draupadi.

Verse 5

राक्षसक्षोभितः सीतया शोभितो दण्डकारण्यभूपुण्यताकारणः ।
लक्ष्मणेनान्वितो वानरैः सेवितोऽगस्त्यसम्पूजितो राघवः पातु माम् ॥

May Raghava (Rama) protect me: he who was roused against the demons, who shines with Sita, who made the land of the Dandaka forest holy, who is accompanied by Lakshmana, served by the monkeys and honoured by the sage Agastya.

Verse 6

धेनुकारिष्टहानिष्टकृद्द्वेषिणां केशिहा कंसहृद्वंशिकावादकः ।
पूतनाकोपकः सूरजाखेलनो बालगोपालकः पातु मां सर्वदा ॥

May the child cowherd Gopala protect me always: the slayer of Dhenuka and Arishta, who brings harm to those who hate him, the slayer of Keshi and of Kamsa, the flute player, who turned his anger on Putana and played on the banks of the Yamuna, daughter of the Sun.

Verse 7

विद्युदुद्योतवत्प्रस्फुरद्वाससं प्रावृडम्भोदवत्प्रोल्लसद्विग्रहम् ।
वन्यया मालया शोभितोरःस्थलं लोहिताङ्घ्रिद्वयं वारिजाक्षं भजे ॥

I worship the lotus-eyed Lord, whose garment gleams like a flash of lightning, whose form glows like a rain cloud of the monsoon, whose chest is adorned with a garland of forest flowers and whose two feet are red.

Verse 8

कुञ्चितैः कुन्तलैर्भ्राजमानाननं रत्नमौलिं लसत्कुण्डलं गण्डयोः ।
हारकेयूरकं कङ्कणप्रोज्ज्वलं किङ्किणीमञ्जुलं श्यामलं तं भजे ॥

I worship that dark-hued Lord whose face shines framed by curling locks, who wears a jewelled crown and earrings glinting on his cheeks, who is resplendent with necklace, armlets and bracelets, and charming with tinkling bells.

Phala Shruti 1

अच्युतस्याष्टकं यः पठेदिष्टदं प्रेमतः प्रत्यहं पूरुषः सस्पृहम् ।
वृत्ततः सुन्दरं कर्तृविश्वम्भरस्तस्य वश्यो हरिर्जायते सत्वरम् ॥

The verse says that for the person who reads this wish-granting octet of Achyuta, beautiful in its metre, every day with love and longing, Hari, the maker and sustainer of the universe, quickly comes under his loving sway.

The syllable people get wrong

In acyutaṃ, the first word of the hymn, the c is the 'ch' of 'church' and a y glide follows it, so it is said ach-yu-tam with the ch and y run together. The common spelling and sound 'Achutam', seen even in bhajan titles, drops the y of cyuta, 'fallen', which is the very word the name negates.

When the Achyutashtakam is chanted

Weekday. Thursday

Festival. Krishna Janmashtami

Questions

Achyuta is a-cyuta, 'not fallen'. Shankara's commentary on the Vishnu Sahasranama, where the name occurs twice (as names 100 and 318), explains it as the one who never loses his inherent nature and powers. In the Bhagavad Gita Arjuna uses it for Krishna, first when he asks him to drive the chariot between the two armies (1.21) and again near the end (18.73). The hymn opens and closes on this name.
No. The popular Hindi bhajan takes names from the first verse of the Achyutashtakam and rearranges them into a refrain, then adds stanzas in Hindi that are not part of Shankara's text. The Achyutashtakam itself is entirely in Sanskrit, has nine verses, and its first line runs acyutam keshavam ramanarayanam krishnadamodaram vasudevam harim. The two share the opening word and the Sragvini rhythm, which is why they are often confused.
The ninth verse, beginning acyutasyashtakam, is the phala shruti. The verse says that for the person who reads this wish-granting octet of Achyuta, lovely in its metre, every day with love and longing, Hari, the maker and sustainer of the universe, quickly comes under their loving sway. Editions differ on one phrase: most read kartr-vishvambharah, 'maker and sustainer', while the 1910 Vani Vilas print and some later editions read vedya-vishvambharam.
The opening quarter of verse 6 survives in three forms. Some editions print dhenukarishtako'nishtakrid-dveshinam, others dhenukarishtakanishtakrid-dveshiha, and the 1910 Vani Vilas edition, with some later ones, prints dhenukarishtahanishtakrid-dveshinam. The text on this page follows the last, which reads cleanly as 'slayer of Dhenuka and Arishta, who brings harm to those who hate him' and matches keshiha and kamsahrit, 'slayer of Keshi' and 'slayer of Kamsa', that follow. All three forms fit the metre.
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