Kamasika Ashtakam
कामासिकाष्टकम्
Also known as: kamasika ashtakam · kamasikashtakam · kamasika ashtakam vedanta desika · shrutinam uttaram bhagam · yoga narasimha ashtakam
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✦ Meaning
The Kamasika Ashtakam is an exquisite eight-verse Sanskrit hymn by Sri Vedanta Desika in praise of Lord Narasimha as enshrined at the Ashtabhuja-Vegavati shrine in Kanchipuram, where the Lord is worshipped as Kamasika (Yoga-Narasimha) seated in serene meditative posture. The poet hails him as the wondrous man-lion whose three eyes are sun, moon and fire, the very essence of the Nrisimha-tapaniya Upanishad, fierce in destroying Hiranyakashipu yet tender as a mother. It culminates in the famous declaration of total surrender (prapatti): 'When you protect, what need of any other guardian?'
Origin & Story
Composed by Sri Vedanta Desika (Stotra literature, Kanchipuram) · Sri Vedanta Desika (Venkatanatha) · c. 13th–14th century CE
At Kanchipuram, near the Ashtabhuja temple on the bank of the river Vegavati, Lord Narasimha is enshrined in the serene Yoga-Narasimha form known as Kamasika. Sri Vedanta Desika, who spent much of his life at Kanchi, composed this eight-verse hymn in praise of this very deity. Rather than dwelling only on the terrifying man-lion who tore apart Hiranyakashipu, Desika reveals the Lord's inner calm and boundless compassion — a yogi seated in meditation, fierce only as a 'disguise' for his grace toward devotees.
✦ As told in scripture
Devotees of Kamasika Narasimha hold that the Lord, though fierce enough to rend a demon with his bare claws, is in truth as tender as a mother nursing her child; it is said that sincere recitation of this hymn, especially its closing verse of surrender, draws the Lord's protective grace so completely that no fear or affliction can touch one who has taken refuge in him.
Complete Text with Meaning
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श्रुतीनामुत्तरं भागं वेगवत्याश्च दक्षिणम् । कामादधिवसन् जीयात्कश्चिदद्भुतकेसरी ॥ १ ॥
śrutīnāmuttaraṃ bhāgaṃ vegavatyāścha dakṣiṇam | kāmādadhivasan jīyātkaśchidadbhutakesarī || 1 ||
Meaning:May that wondrous Lion-Lord (Narasimha) be ever glorious, who out of loving desire dwells to the north of the Vedas' crown (the Upanishads) and to the south of the river Vegavati (at Kanchipuram).
तपनेन्द्वग्निनयनः तापानपचिनोतु नः । तापनीयरहस्यानां सारः कामासिकाहरिः ॥ २ ॥
tapanendvagninayanaḥ tāpānapachinotu naḥ | tāpanīyarahasyānāṃ sāraḥ kāmāsikāhariḥ || 2 ||
Meaning:May Kamasika Hari — whose three eyes are the sun, moon and fire, and who is the very essence of the secrets of the Nrisimha-tapaniya Upanishad — take away all our afflictions.
आकण्ठमादिपुरुषं कण्ठीरवमुपरि कुण्ठितारातिम् । वेगोपकण्ठसङ्गाद्विमुक्तवैकुण्ठबहुमतिमुपासे ॥ ३ ॥
ākaṇṭhamādipuruṣaṃ kaṇṭhīravamupari kuṇṭhitārātim | vegopakaṇṭhasaṅgādvimuktavaikuṇṭhabahumatimupāse || 3 ||
Meaning:I worship that Primal Person who is man up to the neck and a lion above, who blunts the power of his foes, and who, drawn to the bank of the Vegavati, has set aside even his fondness for Vaikuntha to abide here.
बन्धुमखिलस्य जन्तोर्बन्धुरपर्यङ्कबन्धरमणीयम् । विषमविलोचनमीडे वेगवतीपुलिनकेलिनरसिंहम् ॥ ४ ॥
bandhumakhilasya jantorbandhuraparyaṅkabandharamaṇīyam | viṣamavilochanamīḍe vegavatīpulinakelinarasiṃham || 4 ||
Meaning:I extol that fierce-eyed Narasimha who sports on the sandy shore of the Vegavati — the true kinsman of every creature, beautiful as he sits bound in the graceful yogic posture upon his couch.
स्वस्थानेषु मरुद्गणान् नियमयन् स्वाधीनसर्वेन्द्रियः पर्यङ्कस्थिरधारणाप्रकटितप्रत्यङ्मुखावस्थितिः । प्रायेण प्रणिपेदुषः प्रभुरसौ योगं निजं शिक्षयन् कामानातनुतादशेष जगतां कामासिका केसरी ॥ ५ ॥
svasthāneṣu marudgaṇān niyamayan svādhīnasarvendriyaḥ paryaṅkasthiradhāraṇāprakaṭitapratyaṅmukhāvasthitiḥ | prāyeṇa praṇipeduṣaḥ prabhurasau yogaṃ nijaṃ śikṣayan kāmānātanutādaśeṣa jagatāṃ kāmāsikā kesarī || 5 ||
Meaning:Controlling the vital airs in their seats, master of all his senses, fixed in steady meditation upon his couch and turned inward — this Lord, as though teaching his own yoga to those who bow before him, the Lion of Kamasika, fulfils the desires of all the worlds.
विकस्वरनखस्वरुक्षतहिरण्यवक्षःस्थली निरर्गलविनिर्गलद्रुधिरसिन्धुसन्ध्यायिताः । अवन्तु मदनासिका मनुजपञ्चवक्त्रस्य मां अहम्प्रथमिका मिथः प्रकटिताहवा बाहवः ॥ ६ ॥
vikasvaranakhasvarukṣatahiraṇyavakṣaḥsthalī nirargalavinirgaladrudhirasindhusandhyāyitāḥ | avantu madanāsikā manujapañchavaktrasya māṃ ahamprathamikā mithaḥ prakaṭitāhavā bāhavaḥ || 6 ||
Meaning:May the arms of the Man-Lion protect me — those arms that, rivalling one another as if each cried 'I first!', revealed open battle, while his blossoming claws tore open Hiranyakashipu's golden chest so that the unchecked torrent of gushing blood glowed red like the twilight sky.
सटापटलभीषणे सरभसाट्टहासोद्भटे स्फुरत्क्रुधिपरिस्फुटभ्रुकुटिकेऽपि वक्त्रे कृते । कृपाकपटकेसरिन् दनुजडिम्भदत्तस्तना सरोजसदृशा दृशा व्यतिविषज्य ते व्यज्यते ॥ ७ ॥
saṭāpaṭalabhīṣaṇe sarabhasāṭṭahāsodbhaṭe sphuratkrudhiparisphuṭabhrukuṭike'pi vaktre kṛte | kṛpākapaṭakesarin danujaḍimbhadattastanā sarojasadṛśā dṛśā vyativiṣajya te vyajyate || 7 ||
Meaning:O Lion whose fierceness is but a mask of grace! Even when your face is made terrible with its mane-like bristling, your roaring laughter and the quivering knit of your wrathful brows, your love shines through — tender as a mother offering her breast to the demon's child, beheld in your lotus-soft eyes.
त्वयि रक्षति रक्षकैः किमन्यैस्त्वयि चारक्षति रक्षकैः किमन्यैः । इति निश्चितधीः श्रयामि नित्यं नृहरे वेगवतीतटाश्रयं त्वाम् ॥ ८ ॥
tvayi rakṣati rakṣakaiḥ kimanyaistvayi chārakṣati rakṣakaiḥ kimanyaiḥ | iti niśchitadhīḥ śrayāmi nityaṃ nṛhare vegavatītaṭāśrayaṃ tvām || 8 ||
Meaning:When you protect, what need of any other guardian? And when you do not protect, what use is any other guardian? Resolved in this conviction, O Narahari, I take eternal refuge in you who abide on the bank of the Vegavati.
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting Kamasika Ashtakam
Invokes the protective grace of Yoga-Narasimha, who calms and shields his devotees
A model hymn of prapatti (total surrender) — its final verse expresses complete refuge in the Lord
Believed to remove the three afflictions (tapatraya) — bodily, mental and external sufferings
Distils the secret teaching of the Nrisimha-tapaniya Upanishad into devotional verse
Carries the blessing of Sri Vedanta Desika, the great Sri Vaishnava acharya-poet
Balances the fierce and gracious aspects of Narasimha, inspiring both awe and love
Traditionally recited for protection, fearlessness and steadiness of mind
How to Chant Kamasika Ashtakam
Sit calmly facing east before an image of Lord Narasimha, light a lamp and recite the eight verses slowly, picturing the serene Yoga-Narasimha of Kanchi seated in meditation on the bank of the Vegavati. Dwell on the final verse of surrender, offering yourself wholly to the Lord's protection. It is especially recited on Narasimha Jayanti and as a daily prayer for fearlessness.
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