The month of Damodar

The month of Damodar - Kartika

Image Courtesy : Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Krishna.com

Image Courtesy : Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Krishna.com

The auspicious Month of Kartik, more popular as the Month of Damodara, is here once again heralding the spiritually enlivening ‘Festival of Lights’.

Mother Yasoda bound little mischievous Krishna with ropes to the grinding mortar for having stolen butter and thus He came to be known as Damodara. The significance is in that the Lord of the Universe can be bound only by the rope of pure love.

The Kartik Month is the period when the enchantingly beautiful child Krishna starts playing this sweet pastime of stealing butter.

During thus Damodara month, devotees get the opportunity to personally offer Arati to Lord Damodara with ghee lamps and sing the very enchanting ‘Damorashtakam’, to receive the special mercy of the Lord.

The Glories Of Kartik month
“Pure devotional service to Me which, because it places Me under My devotee’s dominion, is very difficult to attain, is easily attained by following this vow in Mathura during Karttika.”

“In the month of Kartik, which is very dear to Sri Hari, one who bathes early in the morning attains the merit of bathing in all places of pilgrimage. Anybody who offers the Lord a ghee lamp in the month of Kartik, O brahmana, becomes free from all kinds of sins, such as killing a brahmana, and he goes to the abode of Lord Hari.” (Brahma Khanda).

In the month of Karttika, one should daily worship Lord Damodara and sing the Damorashtaka (the eight prayers of Lord Damodara) which pleases Lord Damodara, written by the sage named Satyavrata. - (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 16/198)

The month of Kartika - Damodara ends on November 2nd 2009.