"Bhaja Govindam" (Sanskrit : भज गोविन्दं, meaning "Praise/Seek Govinda"), also known as "Moha Mudgara" ("Destroyer of illusion"), is a popular Hindu devotional poem in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankara. This work of Adi Shankara underscores the view that bhakti (devotion) is also important along with jñāna (knowledge), as emphasised by the bhakti movement. [1]
The first stanza of the composition, featuring the eponymous line "Bhaja Govindam", reads as follows: [2]
| Devanagari | ISO 15919 Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं | bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ | Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, |
There is a story related to the composition of this Hymn. It is said that Shri Adi Shankaracharya, accompanied by his disciples, was walking along a street in Varanasi one day when he came across an old aged scholar reciting the rules of Sanskrit grammar of Panini repeatedly on the street. Taking pity on him, Adi Shankara went up to the scholar and advised him not to waste his time on grammar at his age but to turn his mind to God in worship and adoration, which would only save him from this vicious cycle of life and death. The hymn "Bhaja Govindam" is said to have been composed on this occasion. [3]
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This composition is a reminder that Adi Shankaracharya, who is often regarded as reviver of Hinduism Jnana Marga (Jnana Yoga) or the "Path of Knowledge" to attain Mukti, also was a proponent of Bhakti Marga (Bhakti Yoga) to attain the same goal, [4] and as C. Rajagopalachari put in his commentary, "When intelligence (jnana) matures and lodges securely in the heart, it becomes wisdom (vignyana). When that wisdom (vignyana) is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes devotion (bhakti). Knowledge (jnana) which has become mature is spoken of as devotion (bhakti). If it does not get transformed into devotion (bhakti), such knowledge (jnana) is useless tinsel." [5]
In this prayer, Adi Shankaracharya emphasizes the importance of devotion for God as a means to spiritual development and to liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The prayer leaves one in no doubt that the renunciation of our egotistical differences and surrender to God makes for salvation. Many scholars hold that this composition encapsulates with both brevity and simplicity the substance of all Vedantic thought found in whatever other works that Adi Shankaracharya wrote:
The refrain "Bhaja Govindam" which defines the composition and gives it its name invokes the almighty in the aspect of supreme god Shree Krishna; it is therefore very popular not only with Sri Adi Shankaracharya's immediate followers, the Smarthas, but also with Vaishnavas and others.
The metre is moraic (मात्राछन्दस्). Apart from the first verse, all other verses have 16 matras, which tend to fit the description of the padakulakam variety of matrasamaka [मात्रासमक] in vrtta-ratnakara.
Bhakti literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity". It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to devotion and love for a personal god or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha, as in bhakti marga.
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th century CE, it gained prominence through the poems and teachings of the Vaishnava Alvars and Shaiva Nayanars before spreading northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
Adi Shankara, also called Adi Shankaracharya, was an 8th-century Indian Vedic scholar and teacher (acharya). His works present a harmonizing reading of the sastras, with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing the Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time.
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Shankaracharya is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of teachers retrospectively dated back to him are known as Shankaracharyas.
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