Bhaja Govindam: grammar will not save you
भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं गोविन्दं भजमूढमते ।
संप्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे ॥
bhajagovindaṃ bhajagovindaṃ govindaṃ bhajamūḍhamate |
saṃprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛñkaraṇe ||
Translation
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, you fool! When the appointed time is near, "ḍukṛñ karaṇe" will not save you.
Meaning
This hymn, also called Mohamudgara, "the hammer for delusion", is attributed to Ādi Śaṅkara. Tradition says he composed it in Vārāṇasī on seeing an old scholar still busy memorising grammar rules.
The joke is very Sanskrit: ḍukṛñ karaṇe is an entry from the Dhātupāṭha, Pāṇini's list of verb roots. It means "the root kṛ (with its technical markers ḍu- and -ñ), in the sense of doing". You can know every root by heart, says the verse, and it will not help you when death comes.
The refrain, in a lilting rhythm, made the hymn one of the most sung Sanskrit poems.
Word by word · 10 words
| Devanagari | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| भज | bhaja | worship, turn to (2nd sg. imperative of √bhaj) |
| गोविन्दम् | govindam | Govinda, a name of Kṛṣṇa (acc. sg. m.) |
| मूढमते | mūḍhamate | O foolish mind! (voc. sg.; mūḍha "deluded" + mati "mind") |
| संप्राप्ते | saṃprāpte | when it has arrived (loc. sg.) |
| सन्निहिते | sannihite | when it is near at hand (loc. sg.) |
| काले | kāle | the time, i.e. the hour of death (loc. sg. m.) |
| नहि नहि | nahi nahi | no, not at all |
| रक्षति | rakṣati | protects, saves (3rd sg. present of √rakṣ) |
| डुकृञ् | ḍukṛñ | "ḍukṛñ", the root kṛ "to do" as listed in Pāṇini's list of roots, with its marker letters |
| करणे | karaṇe | "in the sense of doing" (loc. sg. of karaṇa): the meaning given for that root |
Pronunciation
bhajagovindaṃ bhajagovindaṃ govindaṃ bhajamūḍhamate |
saṃprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛñkaraṇe ||
- ḍukṛñ: retroflex ḍ, then kṛ with the vowel ṛ, then the palatal nasal ñ: ḍu-kṛñ.
- mūḍhamate: long ū, aspirated retroflex ḍh: mū-ḍha-ma-te.
- ṛ is a vowel, a short syllabic r (like the "ri" in "rhythm" said quickly): mṛ-tyu, not mar-tyu.
- ṃ (anusvāra) is a nasal: it sounds like m before p/b/m, n before t/d, ṅ before k/g, and a nasalised vowel before s/ś/h.