Sri Ramacaritamanasa
(The Manasa lake containing the exploits of Sri Rama)
(Descent One)
(Balakanda)
I reverence Vani (the goddess of speech) and Vinayaka (Lord Ganesa), the originators of sounds represented by the alphabet, of the multitudes of objects denoted by those sounds of poetic sentiments as well as of metres, and the begetters of all blessings.(1)
I greet Goddess Parvati and Her consort, Bhagavan Sankara,embodiments of reverece and faith repectively, without which even the adept cannot perceive God enshrined in their very heart. (2)
I make obeisance to the eternal preceptor in the form of Lord Sankara, who is all wisdom, and resting on whose brow the crescent moon, though crooked in shape, is universally adored. (3)
I pay homage to the king of bards (Valmiki) and the chief of monkeys (Hanuman), of pure intelligence, bothe of whom sport in the holy woods in the shape of glories of Sita and Rama.(4)
I bow to Sita the beloved consort of Sri Rama, who is responsible for the creation, sustenance and dissolution (of the universe), removes afflictions and begets all blessings. (5)
I adore Lord Hari, known by the name of Sri Rama, who is superior to and lies beyond all causes, whose Maya (illusive power) holds sway over the entire universe including gods from Brahma(the Creator) downwards and demons, whose presence lends positive reality to the world of appearances---even as the false notion of a serpent is entertained with reference to a rope---and whose feet are the only bark for those who are eager to cross the ocean of mundane existence. (6)
For the gratification of his own self Tulasidasa brings forth this very elegant composition relation in common parlance the story of the Lord of Raghus, which is in accord with the various Puranas, Vedas and the Agamas (Tantras), and incorporates what has been recorded in the Ramayana (of Valmiki) and culled from some other sources. (7)
Soratha -
May Lord Ganesa, the leader of Siva's retinue, whose very thought, ensures success, who carries on his shoulders the head of a beautiful elephant, who is a repository of wisdom and an abode of blessed qualities, shower his grace. (1)
May that merciful Lord, whose grace enables the dumb to wax eloquent and a cripple to ascend an inaccessible mountain, and who burns all the impurities of the Kali age, be moved to pity. (2)
May the Lord who ever sleeps on the ocean of milk, and who is swarthy as a blue lotus and has eyes resembling pair of full-blown red lotuses, take up His abode in my bosom. (3)
May the crusher of Cupid, Bhagavan Siva, whose form resembles in colour the jasmine flower and the moon, who is the consort of Goddess Parvati and an abode of compassion and who is fond of the afficted, be gracious. (4)
I bow to the lotus feet of my Guru, who is an ocean of mercy and is no other than Sri Hari Himself in human form, and whose words are sunbeams as it were for dispersing the mass of darkness in the form of gross ignorance. (5)
Chaupala -
I greet the pollen-like dust of the lotus feet of my preceptor, receptor, refulgent, fragrant and flavoured with love. It is a lovely powder of the life-giving herb, which allays the host of all the attendant ills of mundane existence. It adorns the body of a lucky person even as white ashes beautify the person of Lord Siva, and brings forth sweet blessings and joys. It rubs the dirt off the beautiful mirror in the shape of the devotee's heart; when appled to the forehead in the form of a Tilaka (a religious mark), it attracts a host of virtues. The splendour of gems in the form of nails on the feet of the blessed Guru unfolds divine vision in the heart by its very thought. The lustre disperses the shades of infatuantion, highly blessed is he in whose bosom it shines. With its very appearance the bright eyes of the mind get opened; the attendant evils and sufferings of the night of mundane existence disappear; and gems and rubies in the shape of stories of Sri Rama, both patent and hidden, wherever and in whatever mine they may be, come to light.