॥ अथ श्री कृष्णाष्टकम् ॥
वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥१॥
अतसीपुष्पसङ्काशं हारनूपुरशोभितम् ।
रत्नकङ्कणकेयूरं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥२॥
कुटिलालकसंयुक्तं पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननम् ।
विलसत्कुण्डलधरं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥३॥
मन्दारगन्धसंयुक्तं चारुहासं चतुर्भुजम् ।
बर्हिपिञ्छावचूडाङ्गं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥४॥
उत्फुल्लपद्मपत्राक्षं नीलजीमूतसन्निभम् ।
यादवानां शिरोरत्नं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥५॥
रुक्मिणीकेलिसंयुक्तं पीताम्बरसुशोभितम् ।
अवाप्ततुलसीगन्धं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥६॥
गोपिकानां कुचद्वन्द्व कुङ्कुमाङ्कितवक्षसम् ।
श्रीनिकेतं महेष्वासं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥७॥
श्रीवत्साङ्कं महोरस्कं वनमालाविराजितम् ।
शङ्खचक्रधरं देवं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥८॥
कृष्णाष्टकमिदं पुण्यं प्रातरुत्थाय यः पठेत् ।
कोटिजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति ॥
॥ इति श्री कृष्णाष्टकम् सम्पूर्णम् ॥
|| Atha Śrī Kṛṣṇāṣṭakam ||
Vasudevasutaṃ devaṃ kaṃsacāṇūramardanam |
Devakīparamānandaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||1||
Atasīpuṣpasaṅkāśaṃ hāranūpuraśobhitam |
Ratnakaṅkaṇakeyūraṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||2||
Kuṭilālakasaṃyuktaṃ pūrṇacandranibhānanam |
Vilasatkuṇḍaladharaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||3||
Mandāragandhasaṃyuktaṃ cāruhāsaṃ caturbhujam |
Barhipiñchāvacūḍāṅgaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||4||
Utphullapadmapatrākṣaṃ nīlajīmūtasannibham |
Yādavānāṃ śiroratnaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||5||
Rukmiṇīkelisaṃyuktaṃ pītāmbarasuśobhitam |
Avāptatulasīgandhaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||6||
Gopikānāṃ kucadvandva kuṅkumāṅkitavakṣasam |
Śrīniketaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||7||
Śrīvatsāṅkaṃ mahoraskaṃ vanamālāvirājitam |
Śaṅkhacakradharaṃ devaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ||8||
Kṛṣṇāṣṭakamidaṃ puṇyaṃ prātarutthāya yaḥ paṭhet |
Koṭijanmakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ smaraṇena vinaśyati ||
Each verse offers worship to Krishna, the Guru of the universe (jagad-guru). I bow to the son of Vasudeva, the slayer of Kamsa and Chanura, the supreme bliss of Devaki. I bow to him whose hue is like the atasi flower, adorned with garlands and anklets, bracelets and armlets of jewels. I bow to him with curling locks and a face like the full moon, wearing glittering earrings; fragrant with mandara, of charming smile and four arms, his crest decked with a peacock feather. I bow to the lotus-petal-eyed Lord, dark as a rain-cloud, the crown-jewel of the Yadavas; companion of Rukmini's play, resplendent in yellow silk, fragrant with tulasi; his broad chest marked with the kumkum of the gopis and bearing the Srivatsa, garlanded with forest flowers, holding conch and discus. The closing verse promises that whoever rises at dawn and recites this holy Krishnashtakam destroys, by mere remembrance, the sins of a million births.
The Shri Krishnashtakam is a classical eight-verse Sanskrit hymn portraying the enchanting form of Lord Krishna and saluting him as Jagad-guru, the teacher of the worlds. Beloved across Vaishnava traditions, it is recited especially at dawn and on Janmashtami. Its vivid imagery makes it both a devotional praise and a meditation on Krishna's divine beauty.
The phala-shruti promises that morning recitation washes away the accumulated sins of countless births through the simple act of remembering Krishna. Devotees chant it for purification, devotion, peace of mind and the grace of Krishna in family and worldly life. Its meditative descriptions help fix the mind on the Lord's form, deepening bhakti.
Krishna, a complete avatar of Vishnu, is associated with the Moon (he was born in the lunar Vrishabha/Rohini nakshatra) and his worship soothes an afflicted Moon and brings emotional balance and peace of mind. As Jagad-guru he also strengthens Jupiter (Guru), the karaka of wisdom, dharma and devotion. The Krishnashtakam is thus recommended for those seeking mental calm, marital harmony and spiritual guidance, and during challenging Moon or Jupiter periods.
The stotra specifies recitation at dawn (pratah). After bathing, sit before an image of Krishna, light a lamp and offer tulasi leaves, butter or makhan, and flowers. Recite the eight verses with devotion and the closing phala-shruti. Conclude with Krishna's name and the distribution of prasad.
Early morning is specified by the text itself. Wednesday and Ekadashi are auspicious, and Janmashtami (Krishna's birth, on Ashtami of Krishna-paksha in Bhadrapada) is the most powerful occasion. The Rohini nakshatra is especially dear to Krishna.
Jagad-guru means 'teacher of the universe'. Krishna, who gave the Bhagavad Gita, is revered as the supreme guide and teacher of all beings, which the refrain of every verse affirms.
The stotra itself recommends dawn — 'pratarutthaya yah pathet'. Reciting it on rising in the morning is said to destroy the sins of a million births.
There are several Krishna ashtakams. This widely recited 'Vasudeva-sutam Devam' version is a traditional, public-domain hymn distinct from other ashtakams attributed to various acharyas.
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The dawn hymn that offers Krishna's beauty to the waking mind
The Krishnashtakam beginning with Vasudeva-sutam Devam is a composition steeped in what the bhakti tradition calls madhurya rasa — a sweetness of devotion that lingers like fragrance. Its eight verses move through Krishna's divine form, drawing in details of his ornaments, his enchanting smile, his role as Jagad-guru, in a manner designed to fill the mind completely at the start of the day. This is the traditional logic of dawn recitation: the mind at waking is unusually pliable, not yet cluttered by the day's preoccupations, and offering it a vivid, beautiful image of the divine at that threshold moment is understood to shape the quality of consciousness for the hours that follow.
In the Jyotish tradition, Krishna is intimately connected with the Moon — his birth on Rohini nakshatra under a glorious Moon is one of the most celebrated astrological moments in the Puranas — and the Krishnashtakam is therefore seen as particularly suited to those who wish to strengthen the lunar dimension of their chart: the emotional mind, the capacity for love, and the ability to receive grace with openness. Devotees believe that regular dawn recitation purifies accumulated karmic residue, not in any mechanical sense, but in the way that prolonged loving attention to the beautiful gradually dissolves what is contracted and fearful within us. The eight-verse format is itself auspicious: eight is the number of the Ashtadikpalas, the guardians of all directions, so the hymn implicitly calls Krishna's protection from every quarter.