May the beauty of your hair free my heart from Maya’s lair

vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā

By gentle curls of reddish glow,
Your face was framed in tender flow.
The gopī watched with love’s embrace,
Her heart absorbed in your sweet face.

(Damodarashtakam — Verse 5, Line 2)

My dear Lord, every aspect of your being is all-attractive, including your hair. In this world, we all try to have beautiful hair, but it takes constant attention and care for it to remain attractive. Without that effort, it becomes messy and unkempt. Yet you, my Lord, need no effort to enhance or maintain even a single aspect of your beauty—including your hair. Even when Mother Yashoda decorates you, it is not to beautify you further but simply to express her overflowing affection. You, ever kind and accommodating, accept her service out of love.

Your soft curls, gentle and silken, dance upon your face as you run—excited to share in the unending adventure of your divine play with your loving devotees. O enchanting Lord, when you tilt your head and cast your mischievous side glance—a skill you began practicing in childhood and perfected in youth—your hair falls gracefully to one side, creating a sight that no heart can ever forget. When you plead with your mother with that innocent expression, those soft curls perfectly frame your face, amplifying your charm.

O heart-throb of all hearts, may your beautiful face—encircled by your charming hair—draw my heart away from the fleeting beauties of this world and free it from Maya’s lair, leading it toward your eternal, ever-enchanting beauty.