Dasavathara
Stotram
Translated
by
P.R.Ramachander
(Lord Vishnu took
several incarnations in the world. Of them the most important are ten
incarnations(Dasavathara).This prayer addresses the ten avatharas. It is
written in a way that complains to god that he does not show the same haste in
solving the devotee’s problems, as he did when he took these incarnations.)
Yaa thwara jala
sanchare,
Yaa thwara Veda
Rakshane,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 1
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in your travel through the water,
And which you showed in
your Protection of Vedas,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(The asura called
Hayagreeva stole the four Vedas from Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu took the
incarnation of fish(Mathsyavathara) to
chase and kill that Asura and bring back the Vedas.)
Yaa thwara mandharodhare
Yaa thwara deva
rakshane
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 2
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in lifting
mandhaara mountain
And which you showed in taking care of devas,
When it did concern with solving
my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(To retrieve the
lost vigour of the devas, it was decided to churn the ocean of milk with the
Mandhara mountain , with snake Vasuki as the rope. The mountain was not
standing in a stable manner. Lord Vishnu took the form of Tortoise
(Koormavathara) and lent stability to
the mountain under the sea)
Yaa thwara kroda veshasya,
Vidhruthou bhoo
samudhyathou,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 3
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed when you took the shape of boar,
And bring back and save the
earth,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(The rakshasa
called Hiranyaksha took away the earth and hid himself under the sea. Lord
Vishnu took the form of a boar (Varahavathara) followed and killed him and
brought back the earth.)
Yaa thwara Chandra
maalaya,
Dharane potha
rakshane,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 4
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in wearing
the garland of guts
And in saving the young boy,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(The Rakshasa
Hiranya Kasipu who was the brother of Hiranyaksha tormented the universe. He
could not be killed either by a man or animal. So Lord Vishnu took the form of
man-lion(Narasimhavathara) , killed Hiranya Kasipu and wore his guts as garland
and also protected his so Prahladha.)
Yaa thwara vatu
veshasya,
Darane bala
bandhane
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 5
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in assuming
the form of a boy,
And which you showed in catching hold of
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(The King Mahabali
by his great strength ruled over the entire universe. Lord Vishnu took the form
of a young dwarfish boy(Vamanavathara) and requested King Mahabali for three
feet of land. Once given he measured the entire earth by two feet and Pushed
Mahabali in to the Patala.)
Yaa thwara raja
hanane,
Yaa thwara vakhya
rakshane
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 6
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in killing
of kings
And which you showed in
keeping your word,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(The kings and
emperors of the earth became powerful and started to torment the earth. At that
time Lord Vishnu was born as Parasurama(Parasuramavathara) .When the kings
killed his parents he took the vow of exterminating the earth of its kings and
killed several generations of all kings)
Yaa thwara raksho hanane,
Yaa thwara brathru palane,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 7
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in killing
of Rakshasas
And which you showed in protection of brother,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(Several Asuras
lead by the great Ravana , because of their boons defeated several devas and
killed many sages. Lord Vishnu was born as Lord Rama(Ramavathara) and killed
all as auras including Ravana. He was helped in this job by his brother
Lakshmana)
Yaa thwara kapi
rajasya poshane,
Sethu bandhane,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 8
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in protecting
kingdom,
Of monkeys and building of a
bridge,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(Lord Rama took
the help of monkeys, crossed the ocean between
Yaa thwara gopa
kanyanam,
Rakshane, kamsa
hanane,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 9
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in
protecting gopis
And in killing of Kamsa,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(Evil kings with
bad qualities again grew up in this earth. Lord Vishnu was born as Lord
Krishna(Krishnavathara) killed Kamsa. He also befriended Gopis in his
childhood, possibly to show the myth of caste superiority.)
Yaa thwara baishmi
harane
Yaa thwara rugmi
bhandane
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 10
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed when
stealing Rugmani
And which you showed in tying Rugmi
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(As Lord Krishna
he waged war and made Rukhmani as his wife and in the process killed her
brother Rugmi.)
Yaa thwara budha
sidhantha
Kadhane budha
mohane,
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 11
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in telling
principles of Budha
And attracting the wise ones,
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(The religion of
Sanathana dharma was corrupted by fanatics. Lord Vishnu took birth as Lord
Budha and reformed the great religion. Many people do not agree that Budha is
an incarnation. They believe that Balarama (the brother of Rama) was an
incarnation.)
Yaa thwara thuraga
rohe
Yaa thwara mlecha
marane
Mayyarthe
karunamurthe ,
Saa thwara kwa
gatha hare. 12
Why did you not show the same
haste
Which you showed in riding
the horse
And which you showed in killing the foreigners
When it did concern with
solving my sorrow, Hey Vishnu.
(It is predicted
that Lord Vishnu will be born as Kalki (Kalkiavathata), who will ride on a
horse and kill all foreigners who would be corrupting the Hindu religion.)
Sathya avatharya
puthrena
Bhakthiko
niraneridham,
Dasavathara
sthavakam,
Vadan
Mokshamapunyath. 13
He who recites with devotion,
And deep interest,
This prayer of the ten
incarnations,
Would himself attain salvation at the end.