The Vaishnava observance of Damodara Utsav seva
during Kartika (Damodar mase)

Summary of the Damodar Lila from Srimad Bhagavatam 10th Canto 9th chapter: While mother Yaçodä was allowing Kåñëa to drink her breast milk, she was forced to stop because she saw the milk pan boiling over on the oven. The maidservants being engaged in other business, she stopped allowing Kåñëa to drink from her breast and immediately attended to the overflowing milk pan. Kåñëa became very angry because of His mother’s behavior and devised a means of breaking the pots of yogurt. Because He created this disturbance, mother Yaçodä decided to bind Him. These incidents are described in this chapter.
    One day, the maidservants being engaged in other work, mother Yaçodä was churning the yogurt into butter herself, and in the meantime Kåñëa came and requested her to allow Him to suck her breast milk. Of course, mother Yaçodä immediately allowed Him to do so, but then she saw that the hot milk on the oven was boiling over, and therefore she immediately stopped allowing Kåñëa to drink the milk of her breast and went to stop the milk on the oven from overflowing. Kåñëa, however, having been interrupted in His business of sucking the breast, was very angry. He took a piece of stone, broke the churning pot and entered a room, where He began to eat the freshly churned butter. When mother Yaçodä, after attending to the overflowing milk, returned and saw the pot broken, she could understand that this was the work of Kåñëa, and therefore she went to search for Him. When she entered the room, she saw Kåñëa standing on the ulükhala, a large mortar for grinding spices. Having turned the mortar upside down, He was stealing butter hanging from a swing and was distributing the butter to the monkeys. As soon as Kåñëa saw that His mother had come, He immediately began to run away, and mother Yaçodä began to follow Him. After going some distance, mother Yaçodä was able to catch Kåñëa, who because of His offense was crying. Mother Yaçodä, of course, threatened to punish Kåñëa if He acted that way again, and she decided to bind Him with rope. Unfortunately, when the time came to knot the rope, the rope with which she wanted to bind Him was short by a distance equal to the width of two fingers. When she made the rope longer by adding another rope, she again saw that it was short by two fingers. Again and again she tried, and again and again she found the rope too short by two fingers. Thus she became very tired, and Kåñëa, seeing His affectionate mother so tired, allowed Himself to be bound. Now, being compassionate, He did not show her His unlimited potency. After mother Yaçodä bound Kåñëa and became engaged in other household affairs, Kåñëa observed two yamala-arjuna trees, which were actually Nalaküvara and Maëigréva, two sons of Kuvera who had been condemned by Närada Muni to become trees. Kåñëa, by His mercy, now began to proceed toward the trees to fulfill the desire of Närada Muni. (Summary of Srimad Bhagavatam SB 10 th Canto 9 th chapter "Mother Yashoda Binds Lord Krishna.)
Baby Damodara and the broken pot - Binding took place on the Diwali Day SB 10:9:1-2.

[Srimad Bhagavatam 10:9:1-2 txt] :  Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued:  One day when mother Yasoda saw that all the maidservants were engaged in other household affairs, she personally began to churn the yogurt.  While churning, she remembered the childish activities of Krsna, and in her own way she composed songs and enjoyed singing to herself about all those activities.
PURPORT:  Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quoting from the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of Krsna's breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by mother Yasoda took place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika.  Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay.  It is to be understood that among all the cows of Nanda Maharaja, several of mother Yasoda's cows ate only grasses so flavorful that the grasses would automatically flavor the milk.  Mother Yasoda wanted to collect the milk from these cows, make it into yogurt and churn it into butter personally, since she thought that this child krsna was going to the houses of neighborhood gopas and gopis to steal butter because He did not like the milk and yogurt ordinarily prepared.
 While churning the butter, mother Yasoda was singing about the childhood activities of Krsna.  It was formerly a custom that if one wanted to remember something constantly, he would transform it into poetry or have this done by a professional poet.  It appears that mother Yasoda did not want to forget Krsna's activities at any time.  Therefore she poeticized all of Krsna's childhood activities, such as the killing of Putana, Aghasura, Sakatasura and Trnavarta, and while churning the butter, she sang about these activities in poetical form.  This should be the practice of persons eager to remain Krsna conscious twenty-four hours a day.  This incident shows how Krsna conscious mother Yasoda was.  To stay in Krsna consciousness, we should follow such persons. (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam 10:9:1-2. purport.)

Sri Damodara-ashtakam
(found in the Padma Purana of Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa, spoken by Satyavrata Muni in a conversation with Narada Muni and Saunaka Rsi)

"In the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodara-ashtakam, which has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata and which attracts Lord Damodara. (Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2:16:198)

In Iskcon temples, centres, and devotees homes world wide devotees gather for the entire month of Damodar (Kartika) to offer lamps (candles - dipas, etc) and in ecstacy sing the glories of Sri Damodar. Check locally for the timings of that ceremony - usually it is done in the evening, but some temples and communities perform the ceremony morning and evening.

1
 namamisvaram sac-cid-ananda-rupam
 lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam
 yasoda--bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam
 paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya

(1) To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who I (due to the offence of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed-to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.

2
 rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrjantam
 karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram
 muhuh svasa-kampa-trirekhanka-kantha-
 sthita-graivam damodararm bhakti-baddham

(2) (Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand,) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.

3
 itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
 sva-ghosam nimajjantam akkyapayantam
 tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam
 punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

(3) By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbues with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.

4
 varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va
 na canyam vrne 'ham varesad apiha
 idam te vapur natha gopala-balam
 sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih

(4) 0 Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon (which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti). O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?

5
 idam te mukhambhojam atyanta-nilair
 vrtam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais' ca gopya
 muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me
 manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih

(5) O Lord, Your lotus face, which is encircled by locks of soft black hair tinged with red, is kissed again and again by mother Yasoda, and Your lips are reddish like the bimba fruit. May this beautiful vision of Your lotus face be ever manifest in my heart. Thousands and thousands of other benedictions are of no use to me.

6
 namo deva damodarananta visno
 prasida prabho duhkha jalabdhi-magnam
 krpa-drsti-vrsyati-dinam batanu-
 grhanesa mam ajnam edhy aksi-drsyah

(6) O Supreme Godhead, I offer my obeisances unto You. O Damodara! O Ananta! O Vishnu! O master! O my Lord, be pleased upon me. By showering Your glance of mercy upon me, deliver this poor ignorant fool who is immersed in an ocean of worldly sorrows, and become visible to my eyes.

7
 kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat
 tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca
 tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha
 na mokse graho me 'sti damodareha

(7) 0 Lord Damodara, just as the two sons of Kuvera-Manigriva and Nalakuvara--were delivered from the curse of Narada and made into great devotees by You in Your form as a baby tied with rope to a wooden grinding mortar, in the same way, please give to me Your own prema-bhakti. I only long for this and have no desire for any kind of liberation.

8
 namas te 'stu damne sphurad-dipti-dhamne
 tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne
 namo radhikayai tvadiya-priyayai
 namo 'nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam

(8) 0 Lord Damodara, I first of all offer my obeisances to the brilliantly effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.

Sri Damodar astakam ki jaya


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