Original text
अच्युतं केशवं रामनारायणं कृष्णदामोदरं वासुदेवं हरिम् । श्रीधरं माधवं गोपिकावल्लभं जानकीनायकं रामचन्द्रं भजे ॥ १ ॥ अच्युतं केशवं सत्यभामाधवं माधवं श्रीधरं राधिकाराधितम् । इन्दिरामन्दिरं चेतसा सुन्दरं देवकीनन्दनं नन्दनं सन्दधे ॥ २ ॥ विष्णवे जिष्णवे शङ्खिने चक्रिणे रुक्मिणिरागिणे जानकीजानये । वल्लवीवल्लभायाऽर्चितायात्मने कंसविध्वंसिने वंशिने ते नमः ॥ ३ ॥ कृष्ण गोविन्द हे राम नारायण श्रीपते वासुदेवाजित श्रीनिधे । अच्युतानन्त हे माधवाधोक्षज द्वारकानायक द्रौपदीरक्षक ॥ ४ ॥ राक्षसक्षोभितः सीतया शोभितो दण्डकारण्यभूपुण्यताकारणः । लक्ष्मणेनान्वितो वानरैः सेवितोऽगस्त्यसम्पूजितो राघवः पातु माम् ॥ ५ ॥ धेनुकारिष्टकोऽनिष्टकृद्द्वेषिणां केशिहा कंसहृद्वंशिकावादकः । पूतनाकोपकः सूरजाखेलनो बालगोपालकः पातु माम् सर्वदा ॥ ६ ॥ विद्युदुद्योतवत्प्रस्फुरद्वाससं प्रावृडम्भोदवत्प्रोल्लसद्विग्रहम् । वन्यया मालया शोभितोरःस्थलं लोहिताङ्घ्रिद्वयं वारिजाक्षं भजे ॥ ७ ॥ कुञ्चितैः कुन्तलैर्भ्राजमानाननं रत्नमौलिं लसत्कुण्डलं गण्डयोः । हारकेयूरकं कङ्कणप्रोज्ज्वलं किङ्किणीमञ्जुलं श्यामलं तं भजे ॥ ८ ॥ अच्युतस्याष्टकं यः पठेदिष्टदं प्रेमतः प्रत्यहं पूरुषः सस्पृहम् । वृत्ततः सुन्दरं कर्तृ विश्वम्भरस्तस्य वश्यो हरिर्जायते सत्वरम् ॥ ९ ॥ ॥ इति श्रीशङ्कराचार्यविरचितमच्युताष्टकं सम्पूर्णम् ॥
Transliteration
Achyutam keshavam ramanarayanam krishnadamodaram vasudevam harim Shridharam madhavam gopikavallabham janakinayakam ramachandram bhaje ||1|| Achyutam keshavam satyabhamadhavam madhavam shridharam radhikaradhitam Indiramandiram chetasa sundaram devakinandanam nandanam sandadhe ||2|| Vishnave jishnave shankhine chakrine rukminiragine janakijanaye Vallavivallabhayarchitayatmane kamsavidhvamsine vamshine te namah ||3|| Krishna govinda he rama narayana shripate vasudevajita shrinidhe Achyutananta he madhavadhokshaja dvarakanayaka draupadirakshaka ||4|| Rakshasakshobhitah sitaya shobhito dandakaranyabhupunyatakaranah Lakshmanenanvito vanaraih sevito'gastyasampujito raghavah patu mam ||5|| Dhenukarishtako'nishtakriddveshinam keshiha kamsahridvamshikavadakah Putanakopakah surajakhelano balagopalakah patu mam sarvada ||6|| Vidyududyotavatprasphuradvasasam pravridambhodavatprollasadvigraham Vanyaya malaya shobhitorahsthalam lohitanghridvayam varijaksham bhaje ||7|| Kunchitaih kuntalairbhrajamananam ratnamaulim lasatkundalam gandayoh Harakeyurakam kankanaprojjvalam kinkinimanjulam shyamalam tam bhaje ||8|| Achyutasyashtakam yah pathedishtadam prematah pratyaham purushah saspriham Vrittatah sundaram kartri vishvambharastasya vashyo harirjayate satvaram ||9||
A bhajan everyone knows
Many people who have never heard of the Achyutashtakam can sing its first verse, because it lives on as one of the best-known bhajans in India: Achyutam Keshavam Rama Narayanam, Krishna Damodaram Vasudevam Harim, Shridharam Madhavam Gopika Vallabham, Janaki Nayakam Ramachandram bhaje. The full stotra, which its colophon ascribes to Adi Shankaracharya, has eight such verses and a closing promise. All are in the rolling sragvini metre, whose da-di-da rhythm makes it so easy to sing.
Achyuta means "one who never slips or falls": the Lord who never loses his nature and never lets his devotee fall.
Rama and Krishna in one breath
The most striking thing about the hymn is how freely it moves between Vishnu's two great avatars. The very first verse begins with Achyuta and Keshava, passes through Rama, Narayana, Krishna, Damodara, Vasudeva and Hari, and ends on "Lord of the gopis" and "husband of Janaki, Ramachandra". In the same line, Krishna's lovers and Rama's wife stand side by side. Verse 3 does the same: Rukmini's beloved and Janaki's husband, the gopis' darling and the destroyer of Kamsa, the bearer of conch and discus and the flute-player.
Then the hymn gives each avatar a verse of its own, both ending with a plea for protection:
- Verse 5, Rama: harassed by demons, made beautiful by Sita's company, the reason Dandaka forest became holy ground, accompanied by Lakshmana, served by the monkeys, honoured by the sage Agastya. "May Raghava protect me."
- Verse 6, Krishna: slayer of the demons Dhenuka, Arishta and Keshi and of Kamsa, the flute-player, Putana's undoing, the boy who plays by the Yamuna (Suraja, "daughter of the Sun"). "May Bala Gopala protect me always."
The point is Shankara's own: the names differ, the Lord is one.
A portrait to meditate on
Verses 7 and 8 slow down into a dhyana, a picture to hold in the mind. His garment flashes like lightning, and his body glows like a monsoon cloud. A forest garland adorns his chest, his two feet are red, and his eyes are like lotuses. His face shines with curling locks, under a jewelled crown with earrings swinging at his cheeks, and he wears necklaces, armlets, bright bangles and a girdle of tinkling bells. "That dark one I worship." Verse 4, between them, is pure invocation, a string of names in the vocative (Krishna, Govinda, he Rama, Narayana… Dvaraka-nayaka, Draupadi-rakshaka) that many people chant on their own as a short prayer.
When to recite it
The closing verse promises that whoever recites this beautifully metred octet every day with love and longing will soon find that Hari, who sustains the universe, comes under their loving control. It is recited in daily Vishnu and Krishna worship, on Ekadashi, on both Janmashtami and Ram Navami (fittingly, given its double focus), and at the close of bhajan sessions. The first verse alone is sung everywhere, from temple kirtans to school assemblies.
Spotted a mistake?
If you find any grammatical, Hindi, English, mantra-text or other mistake on this page, tell us — we will correct it within 24 hours.