Bhaja Govindam
भज गोविन्दम्
What is Bhaja Govindam?
Bhaja Govindam is a 31-verse Sanskrit hymn by Adi Shankaracharya, also called Moha Mudgara, that calls the mind away from wealth, youth and pride toward worship of Govinda before death arrives.
Legend says Adi Shankaracharya composed this hymn on the spot after watching an old scholar in Varanasi drilling Sanskrit grammar rules instead of turning his mind toward God. What followed is one of the most direct spiritual wake-up calls in Sanskrit literature, built around a refrain that returns through the whole hymn: worship Govinda, because grammar will not save you when death comes.
Bhaja Govindam Lyrics (Sanskrit & English)
The Roman transliteration is shown first with the Devanagari beneath it. Tap ‘Meaning’ under any verse to read a plain-English explanation.
bhaja govindaṃ bhaja govindaṃ govindaṃ bhaja mūḍhamate |
samprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛṅkaraṇe
भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं गोविन्दं भज मूढमते ।
सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृङ्करणे
Meaning
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O fool! When your appointed time of death arrives, none of your grammar or worldly learning will be able to save you.
mūḍha jahīhi dhanāgamatṛṣṇāṃ kuru sadbuddhiṃ manasi vitṛṣṇām |
yallabhase nijakarmopāttaṃ vittaṃ tena vinodaya cittam
मूढ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णां कुरु सद्बुद्धिं मनसि वितृष्णाम् ।
यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तं वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तम्
Meaning
O fool, let go of this endless craving to pile up wealth. Cultivate real wisdom and contentment in your mind instead, and be satisfied with whatever honestly comes to you through your own effort.
nārīstanabharanābhīdeśaṃ dṛṣṭvā mā gā mohāveśam |
etanmāṃsavasādivikāraṃ manasi vicintaya vāraṃ vāram
नारीस्तनभरनाभीदेशं दृष्ट्वा मा गा मोहावेशम् ।
एतन्मांसवसादिविकारं मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम्
Meaning
When you notice someone’s physical beauty, do not fall into infatuation over it. Remind yourself again and again that the body is only flesh, fat and blood arranged for a while, nothing more permanent than that.
nalinīdalagatajalamatitaralaṃ tadvajjīvitamatiśayacapalam |
viddhi vyādhyabhimānagrastaṃ lokaṃ śokahataṃ ca samastam
नलिनीदलगतजलमतितरलं तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम् ।
विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं लोकं शोकहतं च समस्तम्
Meaning
Life is as fragile as a drop of water trembling on a lotus leaf, ready to fall at any moment. Understand that the whole world lives under the weight of sickness, ego and grief – that condition is universal, not unique to you.
yāvadvittopārjanasaktaḥ tāvannijaparivāro raktaḥ |
paścājjīvati jarjaradehe vārtāṃ ko’pi na pṛcchati gehe
यावद्वित्तोपार्जनसक्तः तावन्निजपरिवारो रक्तः ।
पश्चाज्जीवति जर्जरदेहे वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति गेहे
Meaning
As long as you are earning money, relatives stay close and attentive. Later, when the body has grown weak and worn, nobody in the house even asks how you are doing.
yāvatpavano nivasati dehe tāvatpṛcchati kuśalaṃ gehe |
gatavati vāyau dehāpāye bhāryā bibhyati tasmin kāye
यावत्पवनो निवसति देहे तावत्पृच्छति कुशलं गेहे ।
गतवती वायौ देहापाये भार्या बिभ्यति तस्मिन्काये
Meaning
As long as breath still moves through the body, the household asks after your welfare. The moment that breath leaves and the body falls still, even your own spouse grows afraid of it.
bālastāvatkrīḍāsaktastaruṇastāvattaruṇīsaktaḥ |
vṛddhastāvaccintāsaktaḥ pare brahmaṇi ko’pi na saktaḥ
बालस्तावत्क्रीडासक्तस्तरुणस्तावत्तरुणीसक्तः ।
वृद्धस्तावच्चिन्तासक्तः परे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः
Meaning
A child is absorbed in play, a young person in attachment to another, an old person in worry – and through all three stages, hardly anyone gives a single moment’s attention to the Supreme.
kā te kāntā kaste putraḥ saṃsāro’yamatīva vicitraḥ |
kasya tvaṃ kaḥ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaṃ cintaya tadiha bhrātaḥ
का ते कान्ता कस्ते पुत्रः संसारोऽयमतीव विचित्रः ।
कस्य त्वं कः कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः
Meaning
Who is your spouse, really? Who is your child? This world is a strange and tangled place. Whose are you? Who are you, underneath it all? Where did you come from? Sit with that question seriously, friend, right now.
satsaṅgatve nissaṅgatvaṃ nissaṅgatve nirmohatvam |
nirmohatve niścalatattvaṃ niścalatattve jīvanmuktiḥ
सत्सङ्गत्वे निस्सङ्गत्वं निस्सङ्गत्वे निर्मोहत्वम् ।
निर्मोहत्वे निश्चलतत्त्वं निश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मुक्तिः
Meaning
Good company leads to detachment. Detachment leads to freedom from delusion. Freedom from delusion leads to steady abiding in truth. And steady truth leads to liberation while still living – each step opening into the next.
vayasigate kaḥ kāmavikāraḥ śuṣke nīre kaḥ kāsāraḥ |
kṣīṇevitte kaḥ parivāraḥ jñāte tattve kaḥ saṃsāraḥ
वयसि गते कः कामविकारः शुष्के नीरे कः कासारः ।
क्षीणे वित्ते कः परिवारः ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसारः
Meaning
Once youth is gone, where does desire still stand? Once a lake dries up, where is the water? Once wealth runs out, where do the relatives go? And once truth is understood, where is this so-called worldly struggle at all?
mā kuru dhanajanayauvanagarvaṃ harati nimeṣātkālaḥ sarvam |
māyāmayamidamakhilaṃ hitvā brahmapadaṃ tvaṃ praviśa viditvā
मा कुरु धनजनयौवनगर्वं हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वम् ।
मायामयमिदमखिलं हित्वा ब्रह्मपदं त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा
Meaning
Do not take pride in your money, your followers or your youth – time takes all of it in an instant. See clearly that this whole world is woven out of illusion, let it go, and step into the ground of Brahman with that understanding.
dinayāminyau sāyaṃ prātaḥ śiśiravasantau punarāyātaḥ |
kālaḥ krīḍati gacchatyāyustadapi na muñcatyāśāvāyuḥ
दिनयामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः शिशिरवसन्तौ पुनरायातः ।
कालः क्रीडति गच्छत्यायुस्तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशावायुः
Meaning
Day turns to night, evening to dawn, winter gives way to spring and back again, endlessly. Time keeps moving and life keeps draining away with it, yet the restless wind of wanting never loosens its hold on the heart.
dvādaśamañjarikābhiraśeṣaḥ kathito vaiyākaraṇasyaiṣaḥ |
upadeśo’bhūdvidyānipuṇaiḥ śrīmacchaṅkarabhagavaccaraṇaiḥ
द्वादशमञ्जरिकाभिरशेषः कथितो वैयाकरणस्यैषः ।
उपदेशोऽभूद्विद्यानिपुणैः श्रीमच्छङ्करभगवच्चरणैः
Meaning
With this bouquet of twelve verses, complete instruction was given to the grammarian by the wise and compassionate feet of the revered Shankara.
kā te kāntā dhanagatavārtā vātula kiṃ tava nāsti niyantā |
trijagati sajjanasaṅgatirekā bhavati bhavārṇavataraṇe naukā
का ते कान्ता धनगतवार्ता वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता ।
त्रिजगति सज्जनसङ्गतिरेका भवति भवार्णवतरणे नौका
Meaning
O restless one, why keep worrying over a spouse and money? Is there no higher power governing your life at all? In all three worlds, the company of good and wise people is the one boat that carries you across the ocean of worldly life.
jaṭilo muṇḍī luñcitakeśaḥ kāṣāyāmbarabahukṛtaveṣaḥ |
paśyannapi ca na paśyati mūḍhaḥ udaranimittaṃ bahukṛtaveṣaḥ
जटिलो मुण्डी लुञ्चितकेशः काषायाम्बरबहुकृतवेषः ।
पश्यन्नपि च न पश्यति मूढः उदरनिमित्तं बहुकृतवेषः
Meaning
Matted locks, a shaved head, plucked-out hair, saffron robes worn in a dozen styles – so many disguises are put on in the name of religion. The fool has eyes yet does not see that most of this dressing up is really just a way to get fed.
aṅgaṃ galitaṃ palitaṃ muṇḍaṃ daśanavihīnaṃ jātaṃ tuṇḍam |
vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaṃ tadapi na muñcatyāśāpiṇḍam
अङ्गं गलितं पलितं मुण्डं दशनविहीनं जातं तुण्डम् ।
वृद्धो याति गृहीत्वा दण्डं तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापिण्डम्
Meaning
The limbs have gone slack, the head has turned grey, the mouth has lost its teeth – the old man walks leaning on a stick. And even then, he still cannot set down the weight of his own desires.
agre vahniḥ pṛṣṭhe bhānū rātrau cubukasamarpitajānuḥ |
karatalabhikṣā tarutalavāsastadapi na muñcatyāśāpāśaḥ
अग्रे वह्निः पृष्ठे भानू रात्रौ चुबुकसमर्पितजानुः ।
करतलभिक्षा तरुतलवासस्तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापाशः
Meaning
Warming himself by a fire in front and the sun at his back, curled up at night with his chin against his knees, eating from cupped hands, sleeping under a tree – even living this hard an ascetic life, the rope of desire still does not let go.
kurute gaṅgāsāgaragamanaṃ vrataparipālanamathavā dānam |
jñānavihīnaḥ sarvamatena muktiṃ na bhajati janmaśatena
कुरुते गङ्गासागरगमनं व्रतपरिपालनमथवा दानम् ।
ज्ञानविहीनः सर्वमतेन मुक्तिं न भजति जन्मशतेन
Meaning
A person might travel all the way to Gangasagar on pilgrimage, keep strict vows, or give generously in charity. But by every school of thought, someone without direct self-knowledge will not reach liberation even after a hundred lifetimes of this.
suramandiratarumūlanivāsaḥ śayyā bhūtalamajinaṃ vāsaḥ |
sarvaparigrahabhogatyāgaḥ kasya sukhaṃ na karoti virāgaḥ
सुरमन्दिरतरुमूलनिवासः शय्या भूतलमजिनं वासः ।
सर्वपरिग्रहभोगत्यागः कस्य सुखं न करोति विरागः
Meaning
Living at the foot of a tree or by a temple, sleeping on bare ground, wearing only a deerskin, having let go of every possession and pleasure – who does that kind of dispassion not bring real happiness to?
yogarato vā bhogarato vā saṅgarato vā saṅgavihīnaḥ |
yasya brahmaṇi ramate cittaṃ nandati nandati nandatyeva
योगरतो वा भोगरतो वा सङ्गरतो वा सङ्गविहीनः ।
यस्य ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव
Meaning
Whether absorbed in yoga or in worldly enjoyment, in company or alone – whoever’s mind has come to rest in Brahman lives in joy, again and again, as their ordinary state.
bhagavadgītā kiñcidadhītā gaṅgājalalavakaṇikā pītā |
sakṛdapi yena murārisamarcā kriyate tasya yamena na carcā
भगवद्गीता किञ्चिदधीता गङ्गाजललवकणिका पीता ।
सकृदपि येन मुरारिसमर्चा क्रियते तस्य यमेन न चर्चा
Meaning
Someone who has studied even a little of the Bhagavad Gita, tasted even a drop of Ganga water, and worshipped Murari even once with real devotion, has nothing to fear when they meet Yama, the lord of death.
punarapi jananaṃ punarapi maraṇaṃ punarapi jananījaṭhare śayanam |
iha saṃsāre bahudustāre kṛpayā’pāre pāhi murāre
पुनरपि जननं पुनरपि मरणं पुनरपि जननीजठरे शयनम् ।
इह संसारे बहुदुस्तारे कृपयाऽपारे पाहि मुरारे
Meaning
Born again, dying again, lying again in a mother’s womb, over and over – this world is genuinely hard to cross alone. Out of your boundless compassion, Murari, protect me.
rathyācarpaṭaviracitakanthaḥ puṇyāpuṇyavivarjitapanthaḥ |
yogī yoganiyojitacitto ramate bālonmattavadeva
रथ्याचर्पटविरचितकन्थः पुण्यापुण्यविवर्जितपन्थः ।
योगी योगनियोजितचित्तो रमते बालोन्मत्तवदेव
Meaning
Wrapped in a patched robe stitched from cloth found on the road, walking a path beyond both merit and sin, a yogi whose mind is settled in that union lives freely, like a child or someone lost in God.
kastvaṃ ko’haṃ kuta āyātaḥ kā me jananī ko me tātaḥ |
iti paribhāvaya sarvamasāraṃ viśvaṃ tyaktvā svapnavicāram
कस्त्वं कोऽहं कुत आयातः का मे जननी को मे तातः ।
इति परिभावय सर्वमसारं विश्वं त्यक्त्वा स्वप्नविचारम्
Meaning
Who are you? Who am I? Where did we come from? Who is my mother, who is my father? Turn these questions over carefully, and let go of this whole insubstantial world the way you would let go of a dream on waking.
tvayi mayi cānyatraiko viṣṇurvyarthaṃ kupyasi mayyasahiṣṇuḥ |
bhava samacittaḥ sarvatra tvaṃ vāñchasyacirādyadi viṣṇutvam
त्वयि मयि चान्यत्रैको विष्णुर्व्यर्थं कुप्यसि मय्यसहिष्णुः ।
भव समचित्तः सर्वत्र त्वं वाञ्छस्यचिराद्यदि विष्णुत्वम्
Meaning
The same Vishnu lives in you, in me and in everyone else, so your anger toward me serves no purpose. If you genuinely want to reach that vision of Vishnu in everything, treat everyone with the same even mind.
śatrau mitre putre bandhau mā kuru yatnaṃ vigrahasandhau |
sarvasminnapi paśyātmānaṃ sarvatrotsṛja bhedajñānam
शत्रौ मित्रे पुत्रे बन्धौ मा कुरु यत्नं विग्रहसन्धौ ।
सर्वस्मिन्नपि पश्यात्मानं सर्वत्रोत्सृज भेदज्ञानम्
Meaning
Do not spend your effort making enemies of some and allies of others, or getting caught up in conflict and reconciliation with enemy, friend, child or relative. See the same Self present in everyone, and drop the habit of dividing people at all.
kāmaṃ krodhaṃ lobhaṃ mohaṃ tyaktvā’tmānaṃ bhāvaya ko’ham |
ātmajñānavihīnā mūḍhāste pacyante narakanigūḍhāḥ
कामं क्रोधं लोभं मोहं त्यक्त्वाऽत्मानं भावय कोऽहम् ।
आत्मज्ञानविहीना मूढास्ते पच्यन्ते नरकनिगूढाः
Meaning
Give up lust, anger, greed and delusion, and instead sit with the question, who am I? Those who go without this self-knowledge stay caught in a kind of hidden suffering, life after life.
geyaṃ gītānāmasahasraṃ dhyeyaṃ śrīpatirūpamajasram |
neyaṃ sajjanasaṅge cittaṃ deyaṃ dīnajanāya ca vittam
गेयं गीतानामसहस्रं ध्येयं श्रीपतिरूपमजस्रम् ।
नेयं सज्जनसङ्गे चित्तं देयं दीनजनाय च वित्तम्
Meaning
Sing the thousand names of Vishnu. Meditate steadily on the form of Sripati. Direct your mind toward the company of good people. And give from your wealth to those who have less.
sukhataḥ kriyate rāmābhogaḥ paścāddhanta śarīre rogaḥ |
yadyapi loke maraṇaṃ śaraṇaṃ tadapi na muñcati pāpācaraṇam
सुखतः क्रियते रामाभोगः पश्चाद्धन्त शरीरे रोगः ।
यद्यपि लोके मरणं शरणं तदपि न मुञ्चति पापाचरणम्
Meaning
Pleasure is chased for the enjoyment it promises, and disease in the body often follows close behind. And even though everyone in this world knows death is coming for them, most still do not give up harmful habits.
arthamanarthaṃ bhāvaya nityaṃ nāsti tataḥ sukhaleśaḥ satyam |
putrādapi dhanabhājāṃ bhītiḥ sarvatraiṣā vihitā rītiḥ
अर्थमनर्थं भावय नित्यं नास्ति ततः सुखलेशः सत्यम् ।
पुत्रादपि धनभाजां भीतिः सर्वत्रैषा विहिता रीतिः
Meaning
Keep in mind that wealth, more often than not, brings trouble rather than happiness – there is truly very little real joy in chasing it. Wealthy people live in fear even of their own children; that pattern shows up everywhere, not just occasionally.
prāṇāyāmaṃ pratyāhāraṃ nityānityavivekavicāram |
jāpyasametasamādhīn kurvavadhānaṃ mahadavadhānam
प्राणायामं प्रत्याहारं नित्यानित्यविवेकविचारम् ।
जाप्यसमेतसमाधीन् कुर्ववधानं महदवधानम्
Meaning
Practice regulated breathing, drawing the senses inward, and constant discernment between what lasts and what does not, along with meditative absorption held together with sacred repetition. Give this your full and careful attention.
gurucaraṇāmbujanirbharabhaktaḥ saṃsārādacirādbhava muktaḥ |
sendriyamānasaniyamādevaṃ drakṣyasi nijahṛdayasthaṃ devam
गुरुचरणाम्बुजनिर्भरभक्तः संसारादचिराद्भव मुक्तः ।
सेन्द्रियमानसनियमादेवं द्रक्ष्यसि निजहृदयस्थं देवम्
Meaning
Surrender fully at your teacher’s feet, and be free of this worldly cycle without delay. Through this kind of discipline over your senses and mind, you will see the Divine, Govinda himself, shining within your own heart.
What Does Bhaja Govindam Mean?
The hymn keeps returning to one blunt image: an old scholar, memorizing grammar rules on the edge of death, having spent his life polishing a skill that cannot follow him anywhere. Shankaracharya uses that scene to needle every reader into asking what they are actually spending their years on. Verse after verse strips away the usual answers – money, youth, family, the body itself – and shows how little any of them hold up once time moves on them.
Read straight through, the 31 verses trace a rough arc. The opening dozen, his own Dvadasha Manjarika, work through wealth, the body, old age and the fear of death. The middle section, one verse from each of fourteen disciples, turns toward disguises and austerities that miss the point, and toward the real ladder out of confusion that verse eight lays down: good company loosens attachment, loosened attachment removes delusion, and a mind free of delusion settles into steady truth. That settling is called Jivanmukti, freedom while still alive in the body.
The closing verses, written by Shankaracharya again, bring it back to something practical: study the Gita, keep company with people who are actually trying to grow, give to those in need, and stay under a teacher’s guidance. Govinda here is not only a name for Krishna. Shankaracharya reads it as the one who is found through the senses when they are turned inward, so the hymn’s real instruction is to look inside rather than chase what is temporary outside.
How Do You Chant Bhaja Govindam?
- Sit somewhere quiet – a settled body and a settled room help the words actually land, rather than just passing through
- Read each verse slowly – pause after every shloka long enough to picture what it is describing before moving on
- Say the refrain out loud each time it returns to you – 'Bhaja Govindam' is the thread the whole hymn hangs on, and returning to it keeps the point from getting lost in the details
- Chant it with others when you can – group recitation, or satsanga, is mentioned in the tradition itself as part of what the hymn is pointing toward
What Are the Benefits of Chanting Bhaja Govindam?
Shankaracharya wrote this hymn to interrupt, not to soothe, so its benefits show up as changes in perspective more than as ritual merit.
- Loosens the grip of delusion: the hymn's other name, Moha Mudgara, means exactly this – it is meant to work like a hammer on the attachments and false identities that keep a person tied to the same old patterns
- Builds genuine dispassion: reading it regularly wears down the automatic pull toward wealth, appearance and status that most of us run on without questioning
- Strengthens devotion to Govinda: the refrain's constant repetition is not filler – it trains the mind to return to one steady point of devotion instead of scattering
- Brings a clearer, calmer mind: facing mortality and impermanence directly, in plain language, tends to quiet the smaller anxieties that usually crowd it out
- Lays out a path to freedom in this life: verse eight gives an actual sequence, from good company to steady truth to liberation while still living, rather than a vague promise
Where Does Bhaja Govindam Come From?
Tradition places the composition in Varanasi, where Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century philosopher who systematized Advaita Vedanta, is said to have passed an elderly man reciting Sanskrit grammar rules under his breath. Struck by how the man was spending his last years on rote memorization instead of turning toward God, Shankaracharya is said to have composed the opening verses right there, with the refrain ‘Bhaja Govindam’ as their spine.
Those first twelve verses are known as the Dvadasha Manjarika Stotram, Shankaracharya’s own composition. Fourteen of his students are each credited with contributing one further verse, called the Chaturdasha Manjarika, and Shankaracharya then added the closing verses that bring the hymn to its instruction to study the Gita, keep good company and stay under a teacher’s guidance. That layered authorship, one teacher and fourteen students building on a shared refrain, is part of why the hymn reads less like a formal composition and more like a live teaching moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Bhaja Govindam also called Moha Mudgara?
Moha means delusion, the confusion of who you are with your body and your circumstances. Mudgara means a hammer. The name describes what the hymn is meant to do – strike at that confusion, one verse at a time, rather than gently talk around it.
Why does the hymn criticize studying grammar?
Grammar itself is not the target. Shankaracharya uses the old scholar's grammar drilling as a stand-in for any skill or pursuit treated as an end in itself rather than a step toward something deeper. The point is about priorities, not about grammar being useless.
Is this hymn only for devotees of Vishnu or Krishna?
No. Govinda is a name of Krishna, but the ideas in the hymn are core Advaita Vedanta and were written by a teacher known for devotion to Shiva as well as hymns to Devi and Lakshmi. Read Govinda here as the awareness within, not as a claim on one deity over another.
What is the sequence described in verse 8?
Verse 8 lays out a chain: company with good people leads to detachment, detachment leads to freedom from delusion, that freedom leads to steady abiding in truth, and steady truth leads to liberation while still alive. It is one of the more concrete descriptions of a spiritual path in Sanskrit literature.
Who actually wrote all 31 verses?
Shankaracharya composed the first twelve and the closing verses himself. In between, fourteen of his direct disciples are each credited with one verse, so the hymn is a joint composition built around Shankaracharya's original refrain and teaching.
How long does it take to recite the whole hymn?
Reciting all 31 verses along with the refrain typically takes about 15 to 20 minutes, longer if you pause to reflect on each verse as the tradition recommends.
॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥