श्रीचौराग्रगण्यपुरुषाष्टकम्
Śrī Caurāgragaṇya-puruṣāṣṭakam
Eight verses in praise of the Lord, the foremost of thieves
Of unknown authorship
(Though sometimes attributed to Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura)
व्रजे प्रसिद्धं नवनीतचौरं
गोपांगनानां च दुकूलचौरम् ।
अनेकजन्मार्जितपापचौरं
चौराग्रगण्यं पुरुषं नमामि ॥१॥
vraje prasiddhaṁ navanīta-cauraṁ
gopāṅganānāṁ ca dukūla-cauram |
aneka-janmārjita-pāpa-cauraṁ
caurāgragaṇyaṁ puruṣaṁ namāmi ||1||
The butter-thief famous in Vraja,
The thief of the gopīs’ garments,
And the thief of many births
Of accumulated sin—
I offer obeisance to the Lord,
The foremost of thieves.
श्रीराधिकाया हृदयस्य चौरं
नवांबुदश्यामलकान्तिचौरम् ।
पदाश्रितानां च समस्तचौरं
चौराग्रगण्यं पुरुषं नमामि ॥२॥
śrī-rādhikāyā hṛdayasya cauraṁ
navāmbuda-śyāmala-kānti-cauram |
padāśritānāṁ ca samasta-cauraṁ
caurāgragaṇyaṁ puruṣaṁ namāmi ||2||
The thief of Śrī Rādhikā’s heart,
The thief of the dark luster
Of fresh rainclouds,
And the thief of everything
Of those who take shelter at his feet—
I offer obeisance to the Lord,
The foremost of thieves.
अकिञ्चनीकृत्य पदाश्रितं यः
करोति भिक्षुं पथि गेहहीनम् ।
केनाप्यहो भीषणचौर ईदृग्
दृष्टः श्रुतो वा न जगत्त्रयेऽपि ॥३॥
akiñcanī-kṛtya padāśritaṁ yaḥ
karoti bhikṣuṁ pathi geha-hīnam |
kenāpy aho bhīṣaṇa-caura īdṛg
dṛṣṭaḥ śruto vā na jagat-traye’pi ||3||
Aho!
Such a fearsome thief,
Who makes those who take shelter at his feet possessionless
And turns them into beggars on the road without homes,
Has never been seen or heard of by anyone
Anywhere throughout the three worlds!
यदीयनामापि हरत्यशेषं
गिरिप्रसारानपि पापराशीन् ।
आश्चर्यरूपो ननु चौर ईदृग्
दृष्टः शृतो वा न मया कदापि ॥४॥
yadīya nāmāpi haraty aśeṣaṁ
giri-prasārān api pāpa-rāśīn |
āścarya-rūpo nanu caura īdṛg
dṛṣṭaḥ śruto vā na mayā kadāpi ||4||
Nanu!
Such a thief of astonishing form,
Even whose name completely destroys
Even a mass of sin spanning [the size of] a mountain,
Has never been seen or heard of by me ever!
धनं च मानं च तथेन्द्रियाणि
प्राणांश्च हृत्वा मम सर्वमेव ।
पलायसे कुत्र धृतोऽद्य चौर
त्वं भक्तिदाम्नासि मया निरुद्धः ॥५॥
dhanaṁ ca mānaṁ ca tathendriyāṇi
prāṇāṁś ca hṛtvā mama sarvam eva |
palāyase kutra dhṛto’dya caura
tvaṁ bhakti-dāmnāsi mayā niruddhaḥ ||5||
Having stolen my wealth,
Honor, senses, and prāṇas—
Indeed everything [that was mine]—
Where do you flee?
O Thief!
Today you are caught
And bound by me with the rope of bhakti.
छिनत्सि घोरं यमपाशबन्धं
भिनत्सि भीमं भवपाशबन्धं ।
छिनत्सि सर्वस्य समस्तबन्धं
नैवात्मनो भक्तकृतं तु बन्धम् ॥६॥
chinatsi ghoraṁ yama-pāśa-bandhaṁ
bhinatsi bhīmaṁ bhava-pāśa-bandham |
chinatsi sarvasya samasta-bandhaṁ
naivātmano bhakta-kṛtaṁ tu bandham ||6||
You cut away the awful snare of Yama.
You sever the fearsome snare of material existence.
You cut away all of everyone’s bondage,
But [you cannot] not [cut away] your own bondage made by your bhakta.
मन्मानसे तामसराशिघोरे
कारागृहे दुःखमये निबद्धः ।
लभस्व हे चौर हरे चिराय
स्वचौर्यदोषोचितमेव दण्डम् ॥७॥
man-mānase tāmasa-rāśi-ghore
kārāgṛhe duḥkhamaye nibaddhaḥ |
labhasva he caura hare cirāya
sva-caurya-doṣocitam eva daṇḍam ||7||
Confined in the frightful, dense darkness
Of the miserable prison of my mind,
O Thief! O Hari!
Forever undergo the punishment
Appropriate for your own crimes of theft!
कारागृहे वस सदा हृदये मदीये
मद्भक्तिपाशदृढबन्धननिश्चलः सन् ।
त्वां कृष्ण हे प्रलयकोटिशतान्तरेपि
सर्वस्वचौर हृदयान्नाहि मोचयामि ॥८॥
kārāgṛhe vasa sadā hṛdaye madīye
mad-bhakti-pāśa-dṛḍha-bandhana-niścalaḥ san |
tvāṁ kṛṣṇa he pralaya-koṭi-śatāntare’pi
sarvasva-caura hṛdayān na hi mocayāmi ||8||
Always reside in the prison of my heart
Being firmly bound and fixed by the tie of my bhakti!
O Kṛṣṇa!
O Thief of one’s all!
I will not free you from my heart
Even after a hundred crores of pralayas!
Meter
Indravajrā (Triṣṭup)
Source
Sādhana-ratna-mañjuṣā edited by Śrī Priyācaraṇa Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja.