Achyuta Shataka

The Achyuta Shataka (Sanskrit: अच्युतशतक, romanized: Acyutaśataka) is a Prakrit hymn written by the Hindu philosopher Vedanta Desika.^[2][3] Comprising 100 verses, the Achyuta Shataka extols Krishna, an avatar of the deity Vishnu. The hymn is composed in the arya metre. It is regarded to have been inspired by the Tiruvaymoli of Nammalvar.^[4]

Achyuta Shataka
Painting of Krishna and the gopis taking shelter from the rain, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Information
Religion	Hinduism
Author	Vedanta Desika
Language	Prakrit (Maharashtri Prakrit)[1]
Verses	100

Etymology

Achyuta is an epithet of Krishna and Vishnu, literally meaning, "the infallible one",^[5] and shataka means "hundred", referring to a genre of literature containing one hundred verses.^[6]

Description

Vedanta Desika is regarded to have composed the Achyuta Shataka when he visited the Devanathaswamy temple located at Tiruvahindrapuram, addressing it to the deity. He is regarded to employ the theme of nāyikā-bhāva in the hymn, the mysticism of a heroine, owing to the prevailing dramatic convention of heroines speaking in Prakrit in Sanskrit dramas.^[7] In the verses of this work, the poet asks Krishna to accept him as he would accept a bride.^[8]

Hymn

In the first hymn of the work, the poet extols Krishna:^[9]

Bow down before Acyuta,
the Lord of Gods,
Lord of Truth to his servants,
inextinguishable radiance,
dark cool tamāla tree
on the banks of the Garuda River:
a king of elephants
who wanders the slopes of Medicine Hill
in the town
of the Serpent King

— Achyuta Shataka, Verse 1

See also

• Mukundamala
• Madhurashtaka
• Gita Govinda

References

1. Hopkins, Steven P. (2002) Singing the Body of God The Hymns of Vedantadesika in Their South Indian Tradition, p. 216
2. University, Vijaya Ramaswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru (2007-05-22). Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Scarecrow Press. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-8108-6445-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. Raghavan, Appaswamy Srinivasa (1991). The Life and Works of Sri Nigamanta Maha Desikan. K.R. Ramaseshan. p. 42.
4. Dr.Satyavrata Singh (1958). Vedanta Desika. p. 59.
5. Vemsani, Lavanya (2016-06-13). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. ABC-CLIO. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.
6. Rao, Velcheru Narayana (2017-06-01). Text and Tradition in South India. State University of New York Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4384-6777-1.
7. Narasimhachary, Mudumby (2004). Śrī Vedānta Deśika. Sahitya Akademi. p. 31. ISBN 978-81-260-1890-1.
8. Olson, Carl (2007). Hindu Primary Sources: A Sectarian Reader. Rutgers University Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-8135-4070-2.
9. Hopkins, Steven P. (2007-10-18). An Ornament for Jewels: Love Poems For The Lord of Gods, by Vedantadesika. Oxford University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-19-804372-0.