Rama-caritabdhi-ratna of Nityananda Shastri
by Satya Vrat Shastri | 2005 | 75,230 words
This is the English translation of the Rama-caritabdhi-ratna by Pandit Nityananda Shastri. It is a distinguished Sanskrit Mahakavya (epic poem) that chronicles Lord Rama’s life in fourteen cantos, symbolic of the jewels yielded from the Milk Ocean when churned. His work showcases an extraordinary command of grammar, vocabulary, and rare poetic tech...
Invocation (Mangala)
sriramacaritabdhiratnaprarambhah Begins Sriramacaritabdhiratna
mangalyadhama dviradananam tam mangalam nityam namo vighnavinasahetum | sanmaturam bandhumivanukartum dadhati saktim ripusatanim yah || 1 || atha vidyadhisthatrim sarasvatim prarthayate- prabheva suryasya tamo haranti tisthantyatha'ntahkamale'liniva | stham sthamiva vyakaranavyavastha tvamamba vagu mam kuru vijnamajnam || 2 || adhuna suryam yacate risosmiine anige 2 matva ya ekadasatam sivasya gadacchide dvadasatam dadhati masya ivandhasya haran sa duhkham saririkim hantu rujam ravirnah || 3 || idanim visnumanukulayati- svasamstrayim yo'sphutayad bhavabdhi- tih sajjananam taranim tribhumam | sa patu bhunirakhavayutejo- mahsamvadaderjanako ramesah || 4 || 2
INVOCATION�1. For the unhindered completion of this composition, and for the removal of all obstacles in my path, I incessantly bow to the elephant-headed Ganesa, who is the repository of all that is auspicious. In imitation of his elder brother, the son of six mothers- Kartikeya, Ganesa carries the power that vanquishes all enemies. P 15 Hymn to Sarasvati, fountainhead of knowledge: 2. O Amba! O Sarasvati! As the rays of the sun dispel darkness, destroy the woe (born out of ignorance) in my mind. Be seated like a bee in the lotus of my heart, You who establish, the norms of grammar by turning: stha into tha, bless me, the ignorant one, with wisdom. Hymn to Surya, the sun: 3. Although in the form of Mrtyunjaya they destroy disease, the eleven Rudras are not able to protect our physical bodies from all harm. Hence, the sun assumes twelve forms to shield us from all infirmities. As collerium relieves ailment-afflicted eyes, may Surya destroy all the diseases of the body. Hymn to Visnu: 4. He who is the creator of the earth, waters, skies, winds, light, months, days, and all else; who brought forth the Vedas with His own breath, and who fashioned out of them the boat that ferries great souls across the vast 3
samprati sivamabhimukhikaroti- yat - tejasa khelati murdhni sarpah kraumcarikekindrabhayadabhiruh | candiharescandrasaso'pyabhito'- mitam mudam yati, sa vah sivo'vyat || 5 || itah param kuladevatam dadhimathim (tim ) sammukhayati- thudantyasarmani nuta dadhica narayani brahmayapi sambhavi ca | devi trirupa dadhimathyathaika kastani nastani karotu sa nah || 6 || atha sriramasya paramabhaktam hanumantam pranamati- marutsutam ramapadaravinda- vandaruvrndarakamasu vande | dhih saktibhaktidyutisiddhayo yam kantam svakanta iva kamayante || 7 || mangalam ante prastutakavyarambhe avasyakatvena adikavim valmikim stauti- mahaprakarsena surarsinoptam moghetaram ramacaritrabijam | hite'phalad yasya hi cittavapre tam naumi valmikimunim kavindram || 8 || iti mangalam |
ocean of this material world, may that Visnu, the Lord of Laksmi, grant us protection. Hymn to Siva: 5. Snakes nestle playfully in his tresses, undaunted by his son Kartikeya's mount, the peacock. The moon ornaments his head, and the hare that inhabits it is not afraid of the lion that is the mount of his consort Gauri. I bow to Siva, by whose grace such fearlessness is acquired, and seek his protection. Hymn to Dadhimathi, the family deity: 6. O Dadhimathi! You put an end to all the woes of the descendants of the sage Dadhica. You have three forms of Narayani, Brahmani and Rudrani. We implore you to relieve us of our sufferings. Hymn to Hanumat, Supreme devotee of Sri Rama: 7. I bow in all haste, to Hanumat, the foremost of the devotees of Sri Rama. The son of the Wind-God, He is endowed with the supreme virtues of true wisdom, power, devotion, radiance and success; which are attached to him as the beloved to her lover. Hymn to Sage Valmiki: 8. I offer my salutations to the holy feet of the sage Valmiki, the greatest of the great poets; in the field of whose heart, the divine sage Narada planted the seed of the saga of Sri Rama, which bore fruit (in the form of inspiration to compose the Ramayana). With this concludes the Invocation of Sriramacaritabdhiratnam of Nityananda Shastri.