Yasomati Nandana
Nama Kirtana Song 1
Author: Bhaktivinoda Thakura | Book: Gitavali | Language: Bengali
About Yasomati Nandana
Yasomati Nandana is the opening song of the Nama-kirtana section in Gitavali, one of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's most celebrated devotional anthologies. The Thakura's Gitavali was composed in the late 19th century as a collection of original Bengali songs that make the deepest philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism accessible to ordinary householders through melodious, heartfelt kirtana. Bhaktivinoda Thakura's genius was his ability to compress entire theologies into a few memorable lines — and Yasomati Nandana is one of his finest examples.
The song's opening name — Yasomati-nandana, "the beloved son of mother Yasoda" — reveals the Thakura's meditation: he approaches Krishna not as the omnipotent Supreme God but as the intimate darling of Vrindavana, the cowherd boy who steals butter, dances the rasa dance, and defeats the Kaliya serpent. This is the mood of Vraja-bhakti, the spontaneous love of Vrindavana's residents — a mood the Thakura considered the highest expression of devotional life and the goal toward which all of the Bhagavatam's teachings point. Each verse's cascade of names pulls the chanter deeper into Vrindavana's eternal atmosphere.
Srila Prabhupada described Bhaktivinoda Thakura as "the pioneer of the Krishna consciousness movement" and credited him with single-handedly reviving the authentic Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition in Bengal at a time when it had been badly misrepresented. The Thakura's writings — including Gitavali, Saranagati, Harinama-chintamani, and many others — form the literary backbone of ISKCON's kirtan repertoire. Yasomati Nandana's place at the very opening of the Nama-kirtana section signals its importance: it is the song through which the Thakura invites every sincere seeker to enter the world of Krishna's transcendental names.
Lyrics
(1)
yaśomatī-nandana, braja-baro-nāgara,
gokula-rañjana kāna
gopī-parāṇa-dhana, madana-manohara,
kāliya-damana-vidhāna
(2)
amala harinām amiya-vilāsā
vipina-purandara, navīna nāgara-bora,
baṁśī-badana suvāsā
(3)
braja-jana-pālana, asura-kula-nāśana
nanda-godhana-rākhowālā
govinda mādhava, navanīta-taskara,
sundara nanda-gopālā
(4)
yāmuna-taṭa-cara, gopī-basana-hara,
rāsa-rasika, kṛpāmoya
śrī-rādhā-vallabha, bṛndābana-naṭabara,
bhakativinod-āśraya
Translation
1) Lord Krsna is the beloved son of mother Yasoda; the transcendental lover in the land of Vraja; the delight of Gokula; Kana [a nickname of Krsna]; the wealth of the lives of the gopis. He steals the mind of even Cupid and punishes the Kaliya serpent.
2) These pure, holy names of Lord Hari are full of sweet, nectarean pastimes. Krsna is the Lord of the twelve forests of Vraja, He is ever-youthful and is the best of lovers. He is always playing on a flute, and He is an excellent dresser.
3) Krsna is the protector of the inhabitants of Vraja; the destroyer of various demoniac dynasties; the keeper and tender of Nanda Maharaja's cows; the giver of pleasure to the cows, land, and spiritual senses; the husband of the goddess of fortune; the butter thief; and the beautiful cowherd boy of Nanda Maharaja.
4) Krsna wanders along the banks of the River Yamuna. He stole the garments of the young damsels of Vraja who were bathing there. He delights in the mellows of the rasa dance; He is very merciful; the lover and beloved of Srimati Radharani; the great dancer of Vrndavana; and the shelter and only refuge of Thakura Bhaktivinoda.
Spiritual Significance
Yasomati Nandana is the first kirtan in Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Gitavali Nama-kirtana section. In just four short verses the Thakura strings together more than a dozen of Krishna's most intimate Vraja names — Yashomati Nandana, Kana, Gopi-paranadhana, Madana-mohana, Govinda, Madhava, Navanita-taskara, Gopi-vasana-hara, Rasa-rasika and Sri Radha-vallabha. Each name evokes a complete pastime, so chanting this song is itself a meditation on the entire Vraja-lila.
Scriptural Source & Tradition
The song is drawn from Gitavali, one of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's most celebrated devotional anthologies, composed in Bengali in the late 19th century. Bhaktivinoda Thakura — described by Srila Prabhupada as the pioneer of the modern Krishna consciousness movement — wrote this collection so that ordinary householders could relish the holy names through simple, melodious kirtans rather than through complex Sanskrit liturgy.
Commentary from the Acharyas
Srila Prabhupada repeatedly highlighted that the holy names of Krishna are not different from Krishna Himself (abhinnatvad nama-naminor, Padma Purana). By singing so many names of the Lord at once, the devotee is simultaneously serving Krishna in many of His most loving pastimes. The tradition of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan teaches that hearing names like navanita-taskara (butter-thief) softens even the hardest heart, because they reveal Krishna's irresistible vulnerability before His devotees.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura himself ends the song with bhakativinod-asraya — declaring Krishna as his only shelter. This is not a poetic flourish but a model for every sadhaka: by repeatedly invoking the names, we, too, take shelter of the same Lord who is the shelter of all the great acharyas.
When to Sing / Chant
- Daily morning sadhana, immediately after Tulasi-arati and before japa
- Before commencing Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita study
- At weekly Sunday programs and home satsangs as the opening nama-kirtan
- During Janmashtami, Nandotsava and Kartik month sankirtans
- While travelling — the easy rhythm makes it ideal for group singing
Benefits for the Devotee
- Cleanses the heart of material desires through nama-sankirtan
- Awakens natural affection for Krishna's Vraja-lila pastimes
- An easy entry point for new devotees — short, sweet, and rich in meaning
- Helps focus a wandering mind before japa, by giving it Krishna's names to hold on to
- Serves as a daily reminder that Krishna is approachable in His sweetest, most intimate form
Gratitude to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
We offer our humble obeisances at the lotus feet of our founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, without whose causeless mercy the priceless prayers, bhajans and sacred literature of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition would have remained inaccessible to most of the world. By his herculean preaching efforts, his unparalleled translations and his founding of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the holy names, pastimes and instructions of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are today chanted in every town and village.
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to the Vaishnava acharyas in the disciplic succession.
