|| śrī tulasīdāsa viracita rāmacaritamānasa nāndīślokaḥ ||
yanmāyāvaśavarti viśvamakhilaṃ brahmādidevāsurā
yatsattvādamṛṣaiva bhāti sakalaṃ rajjau yathāhebhramaḥ |
yatpādaplavamekameva hi bhavāmbodhestatīrṣāvatāṃ
vande'haṃ tamaśeṣakāraṇaparaṃ rāmākhyamīśaṃ harim ||
Re-ordered word-by-word meaning
ahaṃ vande harim īśaṃ - I bow down to Hari, Narayana, the Supreme God,
tam aśeṣakāraṇaparaṃ - Him, who is above and beyond all causes ( as the Primal Cause),
rāmākhyam - and goes by the name of Rama! And who is that One
yanmāyāvaśavarti viśvam akhilaṃ - by whose Maya, this entire creation is possessed,
brahmādidevāsurāḥ - which includes Brahma and other gods as well as demons;
yatsattvāt sakalaṃ bhāti amṛṣā eva - by whose essence, everything appears to be indeed real (in the sense of permanent),
yathā hebhramaḥ rajjau - just like a serpent is seen by illusion in a mere rope,
yatpāda plavam ekam eva hi - and whose holy feet are like the only boat for
tatīrṣāvatāṃ bhavāmbodheḥ -those desirous of crossing the ocean of worldliness.
Glory to Goswami Tulsidas, who retold the Ramayana in that exquisite poetry overflowing with devotion and wisdom!
Glory to Gita Press for spreading our scriptures through their books.
Happy Navaratri!
