How Sri Krishna got the name Damodara?

Damodara, or Damodar, is one of the popular names of Sri Krishna. The Kartik month (October – November) in traditional Hindu calendar is also known as Damodar month and is dedicated to Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna got the name Damodar when He as a child was tied to a grinding mortar by Yashoda, His foster mother at Vrindavan.

Gopal Krishna, or the child Krishna, was very naughty and once fed up with his naughtiness, Mata Yashoda tied him to a grinding mortar. This divine act of Mata Yasoda tying Lord Krishna to the grinding stone and him moving it around got him the name Damodara.

By readily agreeing to be bound by Mata Yashoda, Sri Krishna proved that the Supreme Being can be bound only by the true love of his devotee.

Story of Sri Krishna moving the wooden grinding mortar ends when he pulls it through two trees that were standing close by in Vrindavan. The two trees were Nalakuvara and Manigriva who were cursed by Sage Narada to become trees. They got Moksha when Krishna pulled the two trees down using the wooden grinding mortar.

It is believed that a devotee can experience the unfathomable love of Sri Krishna by performing any puja or service dedicated to the Lord in the Damodar month.

Sri Damodara Ashtakam from the Padma Purana is chanted by devotees in the Kartik Month.