Devanagari
मां केशवो गदया प्रातरव्याद्
गोविन्द आसङ्गवमात्तवेणु: ।
नारायण: प्राह्ण उदात्तशक्ति-
र्मध्यन्दिने विष्णुररीन्द्रपाणि: ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
māṁ keśavo gadayā prātar avyād
govinda āsaṅgavam ātta-veṇuḥ
nārāyaṇaḥ prāhṇa udātta-śaktir
madhyan-dine viṣṇur arīndra-pāṇiḥ
Synonyms
mām
—
me
;
keśavaḥ
—
Lord Keśava
;
gadayā
—
by His club
;
prātaḥ
—
in the morning hours
;
avyāt
—
may He protect
;
govindaḥ
—
Lord Govinda
;
āsaṅgavam
—
during the second part of the day
;
ātta
—
veṇuḥ — holding His flute
;
nārāyaṇaḥ
—
Lord Nārāyaṇa with four hands
;
prāhṇaḥ
—
during the third part of the day
;
udātta
—
śaktiḥ — controlling different types of potencies
;
madhyam
—
dine — during the fourth part of the day
;
viṣṇuḥ
—
Lord Viṣṇu
;
arīndra
—
pāṇiḥ — bearing the disc in His hand to kill the enemies .
Translation
May Lord Keśava protect me with His club in the first portion of the day, and may Govinda, who is always engaged in playing His flute, protect me in the second portion of the day. May Lord Nārāyaṇa, who is equipped with all potencies, protect me in the third part of the day, and may Lord Viṣṇu, who carries a disc to kill His enemies, protect me in the fourth part of the day.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
May Keśava protect me with his club in the first portion of the day, and may Govinda, who is always engaged in playing his flute, protect me in the second portion of the day. May Lord Nārāyaṇa, who is equipped with all potencies, protect me in the third part of the day, and may Lord Viṣṇu, who carries a disc to kill his enemies, protect me in the fourth part of the day.
He recites mantras for protection during different times, through the presiding deities of those times, in three verses. Keśava is the lord of Mathurā. Prātardina lasts until end of the fifth ghaṭikā from sunrise. [Note: A ghaṭikā is twenty-four minutes.] Govinda is the Lord of Vṛndavana. Āsaṅgava starts from the sixth ghaṭikā and lasts till the tenth ghaṭikā . Prāhna lasts from the eleventh ghaṭikā until the fifteenth ghaṭikā. Madhyandina (noon) lasts from the sixteen ghaṭikā to the twentieth ghaṭikā.
Purport
According to Vedic astronomical calculations, day and night are each divided into thirty
ghaṭikās
(twenty-four minutes), instead of twelve hours. Generally, each day and each night is divided into six parts consisting of five
ghaṭikās.
In each of these six portions of the day and night, the Lord may be addressed for protection according to different names. Lord Keśava, the proprietor of the holy place of Mathurā, is the Lord of the first portion of the day, and Govinda, the Lord of Vṛndāvana, is the master of the second portion.