Mukundamala
Encyclopedia
Mukundamala is a poem in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 written by Kulashekhara Alvar
Kulashekhara
Kulasekara Varman also known as Kulashekhara Alwar was the founder and King of the Later Chera Kingdom from 800 AD until his departure from public life, a devotional Vaishnavism poet and one of the 12 celebrated Alwars.The initial territories of Kulasekhara Varman included Kudamalainadu only...

, one of the last kings of the Chera dynasty
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...

 in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, and the 9th Alvar
Alvars
The alwar or azhwars were Tamil poet saints of south India who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries A.D. and espoused ‘emotional devotion’ or bhakti to Visnu-Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service. Sri Vaishnava orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though there are...

 (one of 12 mendicant saints venerated by south Indian Srivaishnavism) c.1100CE. It is written in the style of Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...

 saints and asks Mukunda, another name for Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

, to give the unworthy author freedom from Samsara
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...

. It describes the misery of the soul trapped in this world and exhorts that Krishna is the only means of salvation.

See also

translation hosted by the Bhakti vedanta book trust, associated with ISKCON
http://www.krishnamedia.org/e-books/Mukunda_Mala_Stotra.pdf
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