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Home › Mantras › Jagannath Ashtakam
Vishnu Jagannath Ashtakam: Adi Shankara with folded hands before Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra at Puri
Shankara before Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannath on the jewelled platform at Puri
Mantra · Eight verses asking only that the Lord of Puri come into sight

Jagannath Ashtakam

कदाचित्कालिन्दीतटविपिनसङ्गीतकरवो मुदाभीरीनारीवदनकमलास्वादमधुपः । रमाशम्भुब्रह्मामरपतिगणेशार्चितपदो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

Also known as Kadachit Kalindi

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

What the Jagannath Ashtakam is

The Jagannath Ashtakam, printed in Sanskrit as the Jagannathashtakam, is a hymn of eight verses to Jagannatha, the Lord of the World enshrined at Puri on the coast of Odisha, and its colophons name Adi Shankaracharya as the author. It is written in the Shikharini metre, seventeen syllables to each quarter, and every verse ends on the same line: may Jagannatha, the Lord, come into the path of my eyes. The verses move from Vrindavana to Puri. Verses 1 and 2 show the Krishna of the Yamuna groves, with flute, peacock feather and silk at the waist. Verse 3 places him on the Blue Hill by the ocean, between his brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra. Verse 5 puts him on his chariot in the street. Verse 7 turns down a kingdom, wealth and a bride, and verse 8 asks to be freed from samsara. A single closing verse states the reward.

A hymn for the Lord of the Blue Hill

According to tradition, Shankara wrote these verses when he came to Puri on his journeys across India, and Puri remains one of the four seats he is held to have founded: the Govardhana Matha, whose presiding deity is Jagannatha himself. The hymn reads like the record of a visit. It names the ocean shore, the hill called Nilachala or Niladri, the temple building and the order of the three images on their jewelled platform, with Subhadra seated between her two brothers. Its fifth verse describes the Lord riding his chariot while Brahmins crowd the road singing, which is the scene of the Ratha Yatra, when Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are drawn on three wooden chariots down the Bada Danda to the Gundicha temple in the bright half of Ashadha. The hymn's second life came in Bengal Vaishnavism. Gaudiya tradition holds that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who lived at Puri for some twenty-four years, recited this ashtakam before Jagannatha, and some of its devotional books go so far as to describe the verses as first spoken by Chaitanya. The printed colophons keep Shankara's name, and the two accounts are usually reconciled by calling Shankara the author and Chaitanya its most celebrated singer.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiकदाचित्कालिन्दीतटविपिनसङ्गीतकरवो मुदाभीरीनारीवदनकमलास्वादमधुपः । रमाशम्भुब्रह्मामरपतिगणेशार्चितपदो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥
Tamilகதாசித்காலிந்தீதடவிபிநஸங்கீதகரவோ முதாபீரீநாரீவதநகமலாஸ்வாதமதுபஃ । ரமாஶம்புப்ரஹ்மாமரபதிகணேஶார்சிதபதோ ஜகந்நாதஃ ஸ்வாமீ நயநபதகாமீ பவது மே ॥
Teluguకదాచిత్కాలిన్దీతటవిపినసఙ్గీతకరవో ముదాభీరీనారీవదనకమలాస్వాదమధుపః । రమాశమ్భుబ్రహ్మామరపతిగణేశార్చితపదో జగన్నాథః స్వామీ నయనపథగామీ భవతు మే ॥
Kannadaಕದಾಚಿತ್ಕಾಲಿನ್ದೀತಟವಿಪಿನಸಙ್ಗೀತಕರವೋ ಮುದಾಭೀರೀನಾರೀವದನಕಮಲಾಸ್ವಾದಮಧುಪಃ । ರಮಾಶಮ್ಭುಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಮರಪತಿಗಣೇಶಾರ್ಚಿತಪದೋ ಜಗನ್ನಾಥಃ ಸ್ವಾಮೀ ನಯನಪಥಗಾಮೀ ಭವತು ಮೇ ॥
Malayalamകദാചിത്കാലിന്ദീതടവിപിനസങ്ഗീതകരവോ മുദാഭീരീനാരീവദനകമലാസ്വാദമധുപഃ । രമാശമ്ഭുബ്രഹ്മാമരപതിഗണേശാര്ചിതപദോ ജഗന്നാഥഃ സ്വാമീ നയനപഥഗാമീ ഭവതു മേ ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationkadācitkālindītaṭavipinasaṅgītakaravo mudābhīrīnārīvadanakamalāsvādamadhupaḥ | ramāśambhubrahmāmarapatigaṇeśārcitapado jagannāthaḥ svāmī nayanapathagāmī bhavatu me ||
“Now and then he fills the groves on the banks of the Yamuna with music, and like a joyful bee he savours the lotus faces of the cowherd women. His feet are worshipped by Lakshmi, Shiva, Brahma, Indra and Ganesha. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.”
कदाचित्कालिन्दीतटविपिनसङ्गीतकरवो
kadācitkālindītaṭavipinasaṅgītakaravo — who at times fills the groves on the Yamuna's bank with music
मुदाभीरीनारीवदनकमलास्वादमधुपः
mudābhīrīnārīvadanakamalāsvādamadhupaḥ — a joyful bee tasting the lotus faces of the cowherd women
रमाशम्भुब्रह्मामरपतिगणेशार्चितपदो
ramāśambhubrahmāmarapatigaṇeśārcitapado — whose feet Lakshmi, Shiva, Brahma, Indra and Ganesha worship
जगन्नाथः
jagannāthaḥ — Jagannatha, Lord of the world
स्वामी
svāmī — the Master
नयनपथगामी
nayanapathagāmī — travelling the path of the eyes, visible
भवतु
bhavatu — may he be
मे
me — to me

Jagannath Ashtakam lyrics in full

The eight verses as sung at Puri, followed by the closing phala shruti verse.

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

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

Verse 1

कदाचित्कालिन्दीतटविपिनसङ्गीतकरवो मुदाभीरीनारीवदनकमलास्वादमधुपः ।
रमाशम्भुब्रह्मामरपतिगणेशार्चितपदो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

Now and then he fills the groves on the banks of the Yamuna with music, and like a joyful bee he savours the lotus faces of the cowherd women. His feet are worshipped by Lakshmi, Shiva, Brahma, Indra and Ganesha. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Verse 2

भुजे सव्ये वेणुं शिरसि शिखिपिञ्छं कटितटे दुकूलं नेत्रान्ते सहचरकटाक्षं विदधते ।
सदा श्रीमद्वृन्दावनवसतिलीलापरिचयो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

He holds the flute in his left hand, wears a peacock feather on his head and fine silk at his waist, and casts sidelong glances at his companions from the corners of his eyes. He is ever known by his play while dwelling in lovely Vrindavana. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Verse 3

महाम्भोधेस्तीरे कनकरुचिरे नीलशिखरे वसन् प्रासादान्तः सहजबलभद्रेण बलिना ।
सुभद्रामध्यस्थः सकलसुरसेवावसरदो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

On the shore of the great ocean, on the Blue Hill shining like gold, he lives inside his temple with his mighty brother Balabhadra, with Subhadra between them. He grants every god the chance to serve him. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Verse 4

कृपापारावारः सजलजलदश्रेणिरुचिरो रमावाणीरामः स्फुरदमलपङ्केरुहमुखः ।
सुरेन्द्रैराराध्यः श्रुतिगणशिखागीतचरितो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

He is an ocean of mercy, beautiful like a row of rain-filled clouds, the delight of Lakshmi and Sarasvati, with a face like a shining, spotless lotus. He is worshipped by the chief gods, and the summits of the Vedas sing of his deeds. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Verse 5

रथारूढो गच्छन् पथि मिलितभूदेवपटलैः स्तुतिप्रादुर्भावं प्रतिपदमुपाकर्ण्य सदयः ।
दयासिन्धुर्बन्धुः सकलजगतां सिन्धुसुतया जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

Riding on his chariot along the road, at every step he listens kindly to the hymns rising from the crowds of Brahmins gathered there. With Lakshmi, the daughter of the ocean, he is an ocean of compassion and the friend of all the worlds. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Verse 6

परब्रह्मापीडः कुवलयदलोत्फुल्लनयनो निवासी नीलाद्रौ निहितचरणोऽनन्तशिरसि ।
रसानन्दो राधासरसवपुरालिङ्गनसुखो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

He is the crown of the Supreme Brahman, with eyes wide open like blue lotus petals; he dwells on the Blue Hill and rests his feet on the head of Ananta. He is joy itself and delights in the loving embrace of Radha. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Verse 7

न वै याचे राज्यं न च कनकमाणिक्यविभवं न याचेऽहं रम्यां निखिलजनकाम्यां वरवधूम् ।
सदा काले काले प्रमथपतिना गीतचरितो जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

I do not ask for a kingdom, nor for riches of gold and rubies, nor for a beautiful bride desired by all people. I ask only this: may Jagannatha, the Lord whose deeds are sung at all times by Shiva, lord of the Pramathas, come into my sight.

Verse 8

हर त्वं संसारं द्रुततरमसारं सुरपते हर त्वं पापानां विततिमपरां यादवपते ।
अहो दीनेऽनाथे निहितचरणो निश्चितमिदं जगन्नाथः स्वामी नयनपथगामी भवतु मे ॥

O Lord of the gods, quickly take away this worthless round of birth and death; O Lord of the Yadavas, take away the endless mass of my sins. Surely he sets his feet upon the lowly and the helpless. May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight.

Phala Shruti 1

जगन्नाथाष्टकं पुण्यं यः पठेत् प्रयतः शुचिः ।
सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा विष्णुलोकं स गच्छति ॥

The verse says that whoever recites this sacred Jagannatha Ashtakam with care and purity is cleansed of all sins and goes to the world of Vishnu.

The syllable people get wrong

In the refrain, nayanapathagāmī is often clipped to 'nayan-path-gami', dropping the vowels after the n and the th as everyday Hindi speech does. Every syllable is sounded: na-ya-na-pa-tha-gā-mī, seven in all, with the long ā and long ī held, or the line loses its place in the metre.

When the Jagannath Ashtakam is chanted

Weekday. Thursday

Festival. Ratha Yatra at Puri

Questions

Nayana is the eye, patha a path, and gami 'one who goes'; nayanapathagami is one who travels the path of the eyes, that is, who becomes visible. Bhavatu me means 'may he be for me'. The line asks 'May Jagannatha, the Lord, come into my sight'. It is a prayer for darshan, the act of seeing and being seen by the deity, which is the heart of worship at Puri. All eight verses close on it.
Jagannatha is worshipped at Puri as Krishna, with Balabhadra as his elder brother Balarama and Subhadra as their sister. The hymn therefore opens with Krishna's youth on the Yamuna, playing music in the riverside groves and holding the flute in his left hand, and only in verse 3 arrives at the temple by the sea. Verse 6 joins the two pictures, calling him the dweller on the Blue Hill who delights in Radha's embrace.
Yes. The form sung at Puri and in Vaishnava devotion, printed here, has eight verses and a closing phala shruti. An older printed form, found in a 1910 collection of Shankara's hymns, differs in verses 1, 4, 7 and 8 and has no phala verse. In verse 4 it lists Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Soma and Brahma among the Lord's worshippers, and verse 7 opens with 'na vai prarthyam rajyam' in place of 'na vai yace rajyam'. The refrain is the same in both.
The ninth verse, the phala shruti, says that whoever reads this sacred Jagannathashtakam with care and purity becomes pure in spirit, free of all sins, and goes to Vishnuloka, the world of Vishnu. It sits outside the eight-verse count, and the older printed version of the hymn does not have it. The phala verse also stands apart from verse 7, where the speaker asks for nothing at all except sight of the Lord.
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