The ''Brahma Samhita'' () is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

Pancharatra ''Pancharatra'' (IAST: ''Pāñcarātra'') was a religious movement in Hinduism that originated in late 3rd-century BCE around the ideas of Narayana and the various avatars of Vishnu as their central deities.

'' text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

glorifying the Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

, as well as his avatars such as

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

, at the beginning of creation. It is revered within

Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meani ...

, whose 16th-century founder,

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krish ...

(1486–1534), rediscovered a part of the work, the 62 verses of chapter five, which had previously been lost for a few centuries, at the Adikesava Perumal Temple, Kanyakumari in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. Mitsunori Matsubara, in his ''Pañcarātra Saṁhitās and Early Vaisṇava Theology'' dates the text at c. 1300 CE. The text contains a highly esoteric description of Krishna in His abode, Goloka. In 1970, George Harrison produced a modern recording of these prayers performed by devotees of the Radha Krsna Temple in London. Titled "

Govinda Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...

", the song took its title from the main chorus line of the prayer ''"govindam ādi-puruṣam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi"'', meaning "I worship

, the primeval Lord". This prayer was sung by Yamunā Devi, a disciple of

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...

. Sri

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the '' Dvaita'' (dualism) sch ...

(CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317) of

Brahma Sampradaya In Hinduism, the Brahma Sampradaya () is the disciplic succession (''sampradaya'') of gurus starting with Brahma. The term is most often used to refer to the beliefs and teachings of Madhvacharya, his Dvaita Vedanta philosophy and Sadh Vaishnav ...

in his Brahmsutra commentary has quoted Sri Brahma Samhita multiple times.

Recovered text

The recovered fragment of the
Śrī Brahma-samhitā
' commences at the fifth chapter, whose first verse states:

''īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ'' ''anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva kāraṇa kāraṇam''

This translates to:

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
, who is known as
Govinda Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...
, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.{{Cite web, url=http://www.vedabase.com/en/bs/5/1, title=Śrī brahma-saṁhitā 5.1

The text was first translated from Sanskrit into English by

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (; bn, ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্ত সরস্বতী; ; 6 February 1874 – 1 January 1937), born Bimala Prasad Datt (, ), was a Gaudīya Vaisnava Hindu guru (spiritual master), ācārya (phil ...

in 1932 and is often sung or recited as both a devotional and philosophical text.

References

External links

Śrī Brahma Saṁhitā, Chapter 5, English translation with commentary by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

Foreword to Brahma Saṁhitā by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
(vedabase.com) Vaishnavism Hindu texts

Recovered text

See also

References

Further reading

External links