The Shikshashtakam (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...
: ) is a 16th-century
Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
prayer of eight verses composed in the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
language. They are the only verses left personally written by
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...
(1486 – 1534)
with the majority of his philosophy being codified by his primary disciples, known as the
Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. The Shikshashtakam is quoted within the
Chaitanya Charitamrita,
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami's biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, written in Bengali. The name of the prayer comes from the Sanskrit words ', meaning 'instruction', and ''aṣṭaka'', meaning 'consisting of eight parts', i.e., stanzas. The teachings contained within the eight verses are believed to contain the essence of all teachings on
Bhakti yoga within the Gaudiya tradition.
Text

The first eight verses of the following are the complete text of the Shikshashtakam, as written in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They are found in
Krishnadasa Kaviraja's Sri
Chaitanya Charitamrita (Antya-līlā, chapter 20, verses 12, 16, 21, 29, 32, 36, 39 and 47). The final verse is a
Bengali quotation from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya-līlā 20.65 - it is not part of the actual Shikshashtakam, but is often appended to the end when it is recited, describing the result of reciting the Shikshashtakam faithfully.
Verse 1
Translation
Literal:
Glory to the Shri Krishna sankirtana (congregational chanting of the Lord's holy names), which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. That sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
Verse 2
Translation
Literal:
In your (divine) names manifested various kinds of full potencies (shaktis) therein bestowed, with no rules according to time for remembering them, O Lord, you are so merciful, but it is my misfortune here that I have no anuraga (interest) in those names.
Verse 3
Translation
Literal:
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, feeling oneself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind, one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
Verse 4
Translation
Literal:
No wealth, no followers, no beauty or poetic praise desire I; in birth after birth let there be devotion unmotived unto thee o ishvara.
Alternatively:
O Lord of the Universe, I do not desire wealth, followers, beautiful women, nor the flowery language of the vedas; let me have only causeless devotion to you, birth after birth.
Verse 5
Translation
Literal:
O son of Nanda (Krishna), I am Your eternal servant, yet somehow I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please consider me as a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.
Verse 6
Translation
Literal:
O Lord, when will my eyes be filled with tears of love flowing incessantly as I chant Your holy names? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
Verse 7
Translation
Literal:
A moment seems like an eternity, tears flow from my eyes like torrents of rain, and the whole world feels empty in Your absence, O Govinda (Krishna).
Verse 8
Translation
Literal:
Let Krishna tightly embrace this maidservant who has fallen at His feet, or let Him trample me or break my heart by not appearing before me. He is a debauchee after all and can do whatever He likes, but He is still none other than the worshipable Lord of my heart.
Extra verse
This verse follows the 8 verses written by Chaitanya in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta:
Translation
If anyone recites or hears these eight verses of instruction by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, their ecstatic love and devotion (prema-bhakti) for Kṛṣṇa increases day by day.
See also
*
Hare Krishna
*
Vrindavan
Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...
*
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
*
Svayam Bhagavan
*
Radha Krishna
Radha-Krishna (IAST , ) is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and ''shakti'' Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God and gender in Hinduism, God, in several Krishnaism, Kr ...
*
Chaitanya Bhagavata
References
External links
Sikshashtaka: Lord Chaitanya's Mission
(vedabase.net)
Shikshashtakam / शिक्षाष्टकं in English and Devanagari
* {{cite web
, url=http://sdgonline.org/satsvarupa_dasa_goswami/japa/siksastakam
, title=Sri Siksastakam
, publisher=www.iskcon.com
, access-date=2010-06-12
, archive-date=2011-07-26
, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726171444/http://sdgonline.org/satsvarupa_dasa_goswami/japa/siksastakam
, url-status=dead
16th-century poems
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Hindu devotional texts
Hindu texts
Poetry about spirituality
Sanskrit poetry
16th-century Indian literature
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu