कावेरीहृदये वसन् कमलभूतातः कृपावीक्षणैः
जीवांहः शमयन् श्रिया च धरया सेव्योsतिभव्यो विभुः |
देवैरावणस्थितैः कृतनतिः शेषाङ्गशायी सदा
भावे मे विधुपुष्करण्यधिपतिः श्रीरङ्गनाथोsस्त्वयम् || १ ||
May (this) lord ranganatha – who is residing at the heart of river kaveri, who is the progenitor of brahma, who is always reducing the sins of deserving jeevas through his compassion filled gaze, who is being served by sri and dharaa devis, who is most enchanting, who is most capable, who is being worshipped by groups of devatas who have surrounded him, who is residing on the body of shesha and who is the lord of the sacred (chandra)pushkarani tirtha – always stay in my manas!
Notes:
These series of shlokas are in praise of lord ranganatha, the presiding diety of srirangam kshetra.
srirangam is one of the eight swayamvyakta mahakshetras of bharata khanda. It is located very close to Trichy in Tamil Nadu.
In south India, there are three sacred ranganatha temples on the banks of river kaveri. They are known as aadi, madhya and antya ranga. The temple at srirangapatna near mysooru is the aadi ranga. The temple at sivanasamudra, again near mysooru, is madhya ranga. The ranganatha temple at srirangam is the antya ranga.
This temple has seven prakaras and is the biggest temple in the world. The outer most prakara includes a significant portion of the town itself!
The ranganatha murthy here was originally given by chaturmukha brahma to king ikshvaku of the suryavamsha. Even lord rama worshipped this murthy as his kuladevata!!! Lord rama granted this to vibhishana who, on his way to lanka, stopped here for his ahnika and placed it here. Due to the tapas of the chola king dharmavarma, the murthy remained here.
ranganatha here is sleeping on the five-hooded shesha. The murthys of sridevi, bhoodevi and vibhishana are at the feet of paramatma.
The great saints of dvaita tradition – sri madhwacharya, sri jayatirtha, sri vyasatirtha, sripadaraja tirtha, sri raghavendra tirtha and sri vadiraja tirtha have all visited this place, stayed here for considerable time and worshipped ranganatha.
श्रुतिशतपरिगीतः शुद्धभावैर्गृहीतः
कमलनिलयतातः कञ्जनेत्रः प्रतीतः |
सकलजगदतीतः सर्वसम्पत्समेतः
प्रविशतु मम चेतः प्रत्यहं रङ्गनाथः || २ ||
May lord ranganatha – who is specially praised by the infinite vedas, who is (easily) captured by (those with) a clear manas, who is the father of brahma, who has lotus-like eyes, who is famous (in the shastras), who is beyond the entire universe, who possesses all wealth there is – enter my heart every day!
श्रीरङ्गनाथः सुरसिद्धगीतः कारुण्यसिन्धुः कविवर्गबन्धुः |
स्मेरास्यचन्द्रः स्मरतां महेन्द्रक्ष्मारुट् प्रसन्नः क्षपयत्वघं नः || ३ ||
May lord ranganatha – who is praised by the devas and siddhas, who is the ocean of compassion, who is dear (relative) to those with knowledge, who possesses a moon-like face with enchanting smile, who is like a mahendravruksha (kalpavruksha) to those who remember him, who is always pleased – relieve us of all (our) sins.
लये शयानोsप्युदरस्थलोकभरेण लक्ष्मीकरविभ्रमैश्च |
अनिद्रितोsद्यान्घ्रिनिषेवणे तां नियुज्य निद्रासि किमम्बुजाक्ष || ४ ||
O lord (ranganatha), one with lotus-eyes! even during the pralaya, even though you were lying down, due to the weight of the lokas in your stomach and due to the constant service of lakshmi through her hands, you did not fall asleep. However now, after engaging that same (lakshmi) in the service of your feet, are you sleeping?
Notes:
shastra declares that even though paramatma appears to be sleeping during mahapralaya, he is forever awake. Hence sri vadiraja tirtha uses that fact to compose this shloka as if jovially questioning ranganatha at srirangam about his reclining pose. It is also a prayer to appear to be coming out of that sleeping state and bless the devotees.
निजान्घ्रिसेवानिरतान् मनुष्यान्
विधूतनिद्रान् विदधासि यस्त्वम् |
तवेश तस्यामलबोधमूर्तेः
सहामहे सम्प्रति नैव निद्राम् || ५ ||
O lord (ranganatha)! you – who remove the troubles of sleep from the lives of those people who are engaged in the service of your feet – we cannot accept this sleep (of yours) in you who is the embodiment of pure knowledge!
Notes:
Sleep is an indicator of tamo guNa in humans. Hence the reference to the removal of sleep and associated ailments like laziness, ignorance etc.
One must remember paramatma never has any defect even if he is forever appearing in the sleeping posture. He is sarva-dosha-rahita.
नवांबोधनीलः स्फुरद्धेमजालः
स्मरच्चित्तलोलः सुरश्रेणिपालः |
श्रिये रङ्गधामाsस्त्वयं पुण्यनामा
महैश्वर्यसीमा गुणस्तोमभूमा || ६ ||
May lord hari – who resides in this kshetra of (sri)ranga, who has the hue of dark clouds, who possesses numerous shining ornaments, who resides in the hearts of those who think of him, who protects the entire clan of devatas, who possesses a sacred name, who is the resort of excellent wealth, who is complete with auspicious attributes – grant us wealth!
सहस्रवदनः शेषः पञ्चवेदान् पठण्स्तव |
पञ्चास्योsभूद्द्विजिह्वश्च क्षेत्रेण समं स्तुवन् || ७ ||
(O lord ranganatha)! Even though your shesha actually possesses a thousand faces, he has become one with five faces (here) in the course of chanting the five vedas. He has become one with (just) two tongues in order to praise you in this kshetra.
Notes:
shesha in his moolaroopa possesses 1000 faces and 2000 tongues. However, at sriranga, the shesha upon which sriranganatha is resting has 5 faces and 2 tongues. Hence sri vadiraja tirtha praises him in this manner.
यथा श्रिया शयानः सततं रङ्गक्षेत्रे व्यरूरुचः |
तथा हरे मेsन्तरङ्गे रङ्गनाथ विरोचय || ८ ||
O lord ranganatha! Just as you are resplendent at (sri)ranga kshetra while resting along with sri (mahalakshmi), may you always shine in my heart.
Tirtha Prabandha 