The Shikshashtakam (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ) is a 16th-century Gaudiya Vaishnava

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

prayer of eight verses composed in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; 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-cultural diffusion ...

language. They are the only verses left personally written by

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 Krishn ...

(1486 – 1534) with the majority of his philosophy being codified by his primary disciples, known as the

Six Goswamis of Vrindavan The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were a group of devotional teachers (gurus) from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism who lived in India during the 15th and 16th centuries. They are closely associated with the land of Vrindavan where they sp ...

. The Shikshashtakam is quoted within the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami's biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, written in Bengali. The name of the prayer comes from the Sanskrit words ', meaning 'instruction', and ''aṣṭaka'', meaning 'consisting of eight parts', i.e., stanzas. The teachings contained within the eight verses are believed to contain the essence of all teachings on

Bhakti yoga Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of ''Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014 ...

within the Gaudiya tradition.

Text

The first eight verses of the following are the complete text of the Shikshashtakam, as written in

by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They are found in Krishnadasa Kaviraja's Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita (Antya-līlā, chapter 20, verses 12, 16, 21, 29, 32, 36, 39 and 47). The final verse is a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

quotation from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya-līlā 20.65 - it is not part of the actual Shikshashtakam, but is often appended to the end when it is recited, describing the result of reciting the Shikshashtakam faithfully.

Verse 1

Translation

Literal: Glory to the Shri Krishna sankirtana (congregational chanting of the Lord's holy names), which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. That sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

Verse 2

Translation

Literal: In your (divine) names manifested various kinds of full potencies (shaktis) therein bestowed, with no rules according to time for remembering them, O Lord, you are so merciful, but it is my misfortune here that I have no anuraga (interest) in those names.

Verse 3

Translation

Literal: By considering (self) lower than straw, more tolerant than a tree, giving honour to those devoid honour, always do kirtana of hari.

Verse 4

Translation

Literal: No wealth, no followers, no beauty or poetic praise desire I; in birth after birth let there be devotion unmotived unto thee o ishvara. Alternatively: O Lord of the Universe, I do not desire wealth, followers, beautiful women, nor the flowery language of the vedas; let me have only causeless devotion to you, birth after birth.

Verse 5

Translation

Literal: o son of nanda, servitor me fallen in venom of ocean of material existence, by your mercy (kripa) consider me as particle of dust at your lotus-feet.

Verse 6

Translation

Literal: With eyes flowing tear-streams, voice faltering, words choked, with ecstatic feelings in body, when shall i be able to chant your (divine) name?

Verse 7

Translation

Literal: moment comparable to yuga, eyes showering tears, empty appears whole world to me in separation of govinda

Verse 8

Translation

Literal: by embracing with enraptment or trampling with feet, or breaking my heart by not granting vision, or flirting here and there as destined, master of my life is he, verily no other.

Extra verse

This verse follows the 8 verses written by Chaitanya in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta:

Translation

If anyone recites or hears these eight verses of instruction by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, their ecstatic love and devotion (prema-bhakti) for Kṛṣṇa increases day by day.https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/antya/20/65/

References

External links

Sikshashtaka: Lord Chaitanya's Mission
(vedabase.net)
Shikshashtakam / शिक्षाष्टकं in English and Devanagari
* {{cite web , url=http://sdgonline.org/satsvarupa_dasa_goswami/japa/siksastakam , title= Sri Siksastakam , publisher=www.iskcon.com 16th-century poems Gaudiya Vaishnavism Hindu devotional texts Hindu texts Poetry about spirituality Sanskrit poetry 16th-century Indian literature

Text

Verse 1

Translation

Verse 2

Translation

Verse 3

Translation

Verse 4

Translation

Verse 5

Translation

Verse 6

Translation

Verse 7

Translation

Verse 8

Translation

Extra verse

Translation

See also

References

External links