Bhaja Govindam
|| भज गोविन्दम् ||
Verse 1
भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं गोविन्दं भज मूढमते । सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले न हि न हि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे ॥१॥
bhaja govindaṃ bhaja govindaṃ govindaṃ bhaja mūḍhamate | samprāpte sannihite kāle na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛṅkaraṇe ||1||
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O foolish one! When the appointed time (death) arrives, your knowledge of grammar will not save you.
Verse 2
मूढ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णां कुरु सद्बुद्धिं मनसि वितृष्णाम् । यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तं वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तम् ॥२॥
mūḍha jahīhi dhanāgamatṛṣṇāṃ kuru sadbuddhiṃ manasi vitṛṣṇām | yallabhase nijakarmopāttaṃ vittaṃ tena vinodaya cittam ||2||
O fool, give up the thirst for wealth. Cultivate right understanding in your mind free from craving. Whatever wealth you have earned through your own efforts, be content with that and delight your mind.
Verse 3
नारीस्तनभरनाभीदेशं दृष्ट्वा मा गा मोहावेशम् । एतन्मांसवसादिविकारं मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम् ॥३॥
nārīstanabharanābhīdeśaṃ dṛṣṭvā mā gā mohāveśam | etanmāṃsavasādivikāraṃ manasi vicintaya vāraṃ vāram ||3||
Do not be captivated by the form of a woman with heavy breasts and navel. These are merely modifications of flesh, fat, and other substances. Reflect on this again and again in your mind.
Verse 4
नलिनीदलगतजलमतितरलं तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम् । विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं लोकं शोकहतं च समस्तम् ॥४॥
nalinīdalagatajalamatitaralaṃ tadvajjīvitamatiśayacapalam | viddhi vyādhyabhimānagrastaṃ lokaṃ śokahataṃ ca samastam ||4||
Life is as unstable as a drop of water on a lotus leaf. Know that the entire world is afflicted by disease, pride, and grief.
Verse 5
यावद्वित्तोपार्जनसक्तः तावन्निजपरिवारो रक्तः । पश्चाज्जीवति जर्जरदेहे वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति तस्मिन् काले ॥५॥
yāvadvittopārjanasaktaḥ tāvannijaparivāro raktaḥ | paścājjīvati jarjaradehe vārtāṃ ko’pi na pṛcchati tasmin kāle ||5||
As long as you are earning wealth, your family is attached to you. But when your body becomes old and decrepit, no one even asks about your welfare.
Verse 6
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी । यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः ॥६॥
yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṃ tasyāṃ jāgarti saṃyamī | yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ ||6||
What is night for all beings, the self-controlled one keeps vigil over. Where all beings are awake, that is night for the sage who sees.
Verse 7
बालस्तावत्क्रीडासक्तः तरुणस्तावत्तरुणीसक्तः । वृद्धस्तावच्चिन्तासक्तः परमे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः ॥७॥
bālastāvatkrīḍāsaktaḥ taruṇastāvattaruṇīsaktaḥ | vṛddhastāvaccintāsaktaḥ parame brahmaṇi ko’pi na saktaḥ ||7||
The child is absorbed in play. The youth is absorbed in young women. The old are absorbed in worries. But no one is absorbed in the supreme Brahman.
Verse 8
कान्ता कान्तं पुत्रः पौत्रं भ्राता बन्धुः सखा सुहृत् चेत् । स्वामिनि किं तव कार्यं यतः सर्वे भवन्ति परार्थाः ॥८॥
kāntā kāntaṃ putraḥ pautraṃ bhrātā bandhuḥ sakhā suhṛt cet | svāmini kiṃ tava kāryaṃ yataḥ sarve bhavanti parārthāḥ ||8||
Wife, husband, son, grandson, brother, relative, friend - what is all this to you, O master of the Self? All these are for others, not for you.
॥ इति भजगोविन्दम् सम्पूर्णम् ॥
This composition of Adi Shankaracharya is traditionally said to have been inspired when he saw an old scholar memorizing grammatical rules, realizing that the man was wasting his last days on intellectual pursuits instead of turning to the Lord.