SpiritualThe Brahma-saṁhitā in English poetry and music
31 verses and 8 illustrated refrains · 17:24 · Music by MANDIR
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Refrain 1
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 1
Kṛṣṇa, the supreme controller of all,
is condensed eternity, knowledge and bliss,
without beginning, yet the beginning of all,
the cause of all causes—Govinda.
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Verse 29
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
who dwells in realms of cintāmaṇi gems,
tending surabhi cows amid desire trees;
countless gopīs serve Him with unalloyed love.
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Verse 30
Govinda, the primeval Lord I adore,
with lotus-petal eyes, playing on His flute;
dark blue as a rain cloud, peacock plume in His hair,
His beauty enchanting millions of Cupids—gods of love.
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Refrain 2
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 31
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
a garland, flute and moon-locket grace His beauty.
In loving playful pastimes He ever delights,
eternally revealing His threefold-bending form.
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Verse 32
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose form is radiant with bliss and truth.
Each of His limbs holds the power of each sense,
creating and sustaining worlds without end.
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Verse 33
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
nondual, infallible, beyond beginning.
Ancient of days, yet ever fresh in youth,
above all Vedic knowledge, yet known to loving souls.
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Verse 34
Though yogīs and jñānis strive millions of years,
swift as the wind and outrunning the mind,
they reach but the tip of the lotus toes
of transcendent Govinda, whom I adore.
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Refrain 3
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 35
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
though one, from Him countless worlds arise.
All the universes rest within His being;
He dwells in His fullness in every atom.
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Verse 36
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose love floods the hearts of those devoted.
Endowed with forms and realms reflecting His glory,
they praise Him with the hymns of the holy Vedas.
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Verse 37
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
the self of all, who dwells in Goloka,
with Rādhā and Her sakhīs, Her own expansions,
immersed in eternal blissful rasa.
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Verse 38
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whom saints perceive with love-anointed eyes,
beholding Him forever within their hearts,
Śyāmasundara, whose qualities transcend all thought.
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Refrain 4
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 39
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
as Rāma and others, His portions descend.
In many forms He appears throughout the worlds,
yet He is Kṛṣṇa Himself—Svayaṁ Bhagavān.
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Verse 40
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose effulgence is the endless brahmajyoti,
all-pervading, yet adorned with countless worlds
and all their planets, powers, and glories.
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Verse 41
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
who is never touched by material nature.
His Māyā brings forth the worlds of three modes,
yet He resides beyond, in pure transcendence.
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Verse 42
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
the essence of bliss and the nectar of grace.
He shines in the hearts of all those who remember,
and conquers the world with His joyful pastimes.
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Refrain 5
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 43
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
who grants each realm its glory and might.
Above all the worlds stands His abode,
Goloka, the dwelling of sweetness supreme.
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Verse 44
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose potency shapes and dissolves the worlds.
As Durgā she sustains the whole creation,
moving like a shadow according to His will.
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Verse 45
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
who acts as Śambhu for a sacred deed.
As milk becomes yogurt yet stays one in essence,
He takes on this form to bless the world.
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Verse 46
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore;
as one lamp kindles countless others,
though each burns separately, their light is one;
He shines forth in countless forms of Viṣṇu.
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Refrain 6
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 47
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
who lies in mystic slumber on the Causal Ocean.
Infinite universes drift from His pores,
upheld by Śeṣa, His all-sustaining power.
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Verse 48
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose breath is the lifespan of each universe.
The lords of the worlds live but a single breath
of His great expansion—Mahā-Viṣṇu.
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Verse 49
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
who empowers Brahmā to fashion the worlds.
As the Sun reflects its fire in sūryakānta gems,
Govinda shines through the second creator.
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Verse 50
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose lotus feet rest on Gaṇeśa’s head.
Touching those lotus feet, he receives the power
to clear all obstacles from the three worlds.
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Refrain 7
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 51
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
from whom the elements of the worlds arise.
In Him they rest, and to Him they all return,
the source and the end of time, soul, and space.
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Verse 52
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
whose eye is the Sun, king of the planets.
By His command it moves through space,
mounted upon the wheel of time.
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Verse 53
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,
by whose bestowed power all things prevail—
dharma and sin, the Vedas and penance,
and every life, from Brahmā to insects and birds.
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Verse 54
Govinda, the primeval Lord, I adore,
who awards the fruit of every deed to all,
from Indra in heaven to the insect Indragopa,
yet burns His devotee’s karma to ashes.
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Refrain 8
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
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Verse 55
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord;
those fixed upon Him in many moods—
like anger, fear, affection, reverence, or love—
attain a form according to their meditation.
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Verse 56 a
In Goloka, divine lakṣmīs dwell as lovers;
Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, is their one beloved.
Trees grant every wish in cintāmaṇi lands,
where every single step is a graceful dance.
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Verse 56 b
Every word is song, the flute His dear companion,
water flows as nectar, light is conscious bliss.
Surabhi cows streaming oceans of milk,
time does not pass, not even half a blink.
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Verse 56 c
That Śvetadvīpa is known to saints as Goloka;
few are they who walk this Earth and truly see
that transcendental realm overflowing with nectar.
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