📖 Brahmanda Purana — Budha Kaushika Rishi
1
अस्य श्रीरामरक्षास्तोत्रमन्त्रस्य ।
बुधकौशिक ऋषिः । श्रीसीतारामचन्द्रो देवता ।
अनुष्टुप् छन्दः । सीता शक्तिः ।
श्रीमद्धनुमान् कीलकम् ।
श्रीरामचन्द्रप्रीत्यर्थे रामरक्षास्तोत्रजपे विनियोगः ॥
Asya Shri Ramraksha stotra mantrasya |
Budha Kaushika rishih | Shri Sita Ramachandro devata |
Anushtup Chhandah | Sita Shaktih |
Shrimad Hanuman keelakam |
Shri Ramachandra prityarthe Ramraksha stotra jape viniyogah ||
ऋषिः
the rishi (seer) — Budha Kaushika
देवता
the presiding deity — Shri Sita Ramachandra
छन्दः
the meter — Anushtup
शक्तिः
the Shakti (energy) — Sita
कीलकम्
the keelaka (pin/seal) — Hanuman
विनियोगः
the purpose — for the pleasure of Ramachandra
This opening verse is the viniyoga (dedication) of the stotra. It names the rishi who received the stotra — Budha Kaushika — along with the presiding deity (Shri Sita Ramachandra), the meter (Anushtup), the Shakti (Sita), and the keelaka or seal (Hanuman). According to the Brahmanda Purana, Budha Kaushika received this stotra in a dream, and composed it for the protection of Ram's devotees.
2
चरितं रघुनाथस्य शतकोटिप्रविस्तरम् ।
एकैकमक्षरं पुंसां महापातकनाशनम् ॥
Charitam Raghunathasya shata koti pravistaram |
Ekaikam aksharam pumsam mahapatakanashanam ||
चरितम्
the story, the life
रघुनाथस्य
of Raghunath (Ram)
शतकोटिप्रविस्तरम्
spread across a hundred crore verses
एकैकम् अक्षरम्
each single syllable
महापातकनाशनम्
destroyer of great sins
The story of Raghunath — Ram — is said to span a hundred crore verses across all its tellings. And each individual syllable of that story, the tradition holds, has the power to wash away the heaviest burdens a person carries.
3
ध्यात्वा नीलोत्पलश्यामं रामं राजीवलोचनम् ।
जानकीलक्ष्मणोपेतं जटामुकुटमण्डितम् ॥
Dhyatva nilotpala shyamam Ramam rajivalochanam |
Janaki Lakshmanopedam jata mukuta manditam ||
नीलोत्पलश्यामम्
dark as a blue lotus
राजीवलोचनम्
with eyes like lotuses
जानकीलक्ष्मणोपेतम्
accompanied by Janaki (Sita) and Lakshmana
जटामुकुटमण्डितम्
adorned with a crown of matted hair
Before recitation, the devotee is invited to hold a mental image of Ram: his complexion the deep blue of the nilotpala lotus, his eyes wide and lotus-shaped, Sita at his side and Lakshmana close by, his matted hair wound into a noble crown. This act of visualization — dhyana — prepares the mind before the words of the stotra begin.
4
सासितूणधनुर्बाणपाणिं नक्तंचरान्तकम् ।
स्वलीलया जगत्त्रातुमाविर्भूतमजं विभुम् ॥
Sa asi tuna dhanur bana panim naktamcharantakam |
Svalilaya jagat tratum avirbhutam ajam vibhum ||
सासितूणधनुर्बाणपाणिम्
bearing sword, quiver, bow and arrow in hand
नक्तंचरान्तकम्
the destroyer of those who roam the night (rakshasas)
स्वलीलया
through his own divine play
जगत्त्रातुम्
to protect the world
आविर्भूतम्
who manifested, who appeared
Ram holds in his hands a sword, a quiver, a bow, and arrows — the warrior complete. He is the one who brought an end to the rakshasas who tormented the world. And yet, the stotra reminds us: he who appears as a warrior is in truth the unborn, all-pervading reality — one who took this form through his own divine play, simply to protect.
5
रामो राजमणिः सदा विजयते रामं रमेशं भजे ।
रामेणाभिहता निशाचरचमू रामाय तस्मै नमः ॥
Ramo rajamanih sada vijayate Ramam Ramesh am bhaje |
Ramenabhihata nishachara chamu Ramaya tasmai namah ||
राजमणिः
the jewel among kings
सदा विजयते
is ever victorious
रमेशम्
the lord of Lakshmi
भजे
I worship, I offer devotion
निशाचरचमू
the army of rakshasas
Ram is the jewel among kings — ever victorious. I offer my bhakti to Ram, the lord of Lakshmi. He who defeated the entire army of rakshasas — to that Ram, I bow. This verse opens the lyrical center of the stotra, where the word 'Ram' appears in multiple grammatical forms, each one a different facet of the same devotion.
6
रामेण्णाभिहता निशाचरचमू रामाय तस्मै नमः ।
रामान्नास्ति परायणं परतरं रामस्य दासोऽस्म्यहम् ॥
Ramennabhihata nishachara chamu Ramaya tasmai namah |
Ramannaasti parayanam parataram Ramasya dasosmyaham ||
रामान्नास्ति
there is nothing beyond Ram
दासः अस्मि अहम्
I am a servant
There is no refuge higher than Ram — nothing beyond him. The poet declares simply: I am Ram's servant. This is not a philosophical argument; it is a statement of the heart. The verse continues the wordplay with 'Ram' across verb forms, drawing the reader into the same current of bhakti.
7
रामे चित्तलयः सदा भवतु मे भो राम मामुद्धर ।
श्रीरामे रमणीयधाम्नि भवतो भूयात्सदा मङ्गलम् ।
श्रीराम श्रीराम श्रीराम ॥
Rame chitta layah sada bhavatu me bho Rama mamuddhar |
Shri Rame ramaniya dhamni bhavato bhuyat sada mangalam |
Shri Ram Shri Ram Shri Ram ||
चित्तलयः
the dissolving of the mind
सदा भवतु मे
may it ever be mine
मामुद्धर
lift me up, deliver me
रमणीयधाम्नि
in the beautiful abode
मङ्गलम्
auspiciousness, well-being
May my mind always dissolve in Ram. O Ram, lift me up. May there always be well-being in the beautiful abode of Shri Ram — and then, three times: Shri Ram, Shri Ram, Shri Ram. The triple repetition is not decoration. It is the natural overflowing of a mind that has lost itself in Ram's name.
8
रामाय रामभद्राय रामचन्द्राय वेधसे ।
रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीतायाः पतये नमः ॥
Ramaya Ramabhadraya Ramachandraya vedhase |
Raghunathaaya naathaaya Sitayah pataye namah ||
रामभद्राय
to Ram the auspicious
रामचन्द्राय
to Ramachandra
रघुनाथाय
to the lord of the Raghu lineage
सीतायाः पतये
to Sita's husband
One name is not enough. Salutations to Ram, to Ramabhadra (the auspicious Ram), to Ramachandra, to the creator of all things, to the lord of the Raghu lineage, to the master, to Sita's devoted husband. Each name reaches for a different quality — warrior, creator, husband, lord. Together they circle the whole of who Ram is.
9
श्रीरामं दशरथपुत्रमप्रमेयं सीतापतिं रघुकुलान्वयरत्नदीपम् ।
आजानुबाहुमरविन्दनिभं किरीटिनं कौसल्यानन्दवर्धनम् ॥
Shri Ramam Dasharatha putram aprameyam Sita patim Raghukulanvaya ratna deepam |
Ajanubahum aravinda nibham kireetinam Kausalyananda vardhanam ||
दशरथपुत्रम्
son of Dasharatha
अप्रमेयम्
immeasurable, beyond all measure
रघुकुलान्वयरत्नदीपम्
the lamp-jewel of the Raghu lineage
आजानुबाहुम्
with arms reaching to the knees
अरविन्दनिभम्
like a lotus
किरीटिनम्
wearing a crown
कौसल्यानन्दवर्धनम्
the one who increases Kaushalya's joy
Shri Ram: son of Dasharatha, immeasurable in his nature, Sita's husband, the shining jewel of the Raghu lineage, with those famous long arms reaching to his knees, radiant as a lotus, crowned — and always, the one whose presence fills his mother Kaushalya's heart with joy. The stotra builds Ram's portrait detail by detail, each line adding another face to a beloved form.
10
कूजन्तं रामरामेति मधुरं मधुराक्षरम् ।
आरुह्य कविताशाखां वन्दे वाल्मीकिकोकिलम् ॥
Koojantam Rama Rameti madhuram madhurakshharam |
Aruhya kavita shakham vande Valmiki kokilam ||
कूजन्तम्
singing sweetly, cooing
रामरामेति
the words 'Ram, Ram'
मधुराक्षरम्
with sweet syllables
कविताशाखाम्
on the branch of poetry
वाल्मीकिकोकिलम्
Valmiki as a cuckoo
Perched on the branch of poetry, Valmiki coos 'Ram, Ram' — sweetly, with sweet syllables — like a cuckoo bird. This is a beautiful image: Valmiki the great poet reimagined as a cuckoo, and his entire poetic offering reduced to those two syllables. The stotra bows to him here at the close of this first section.
References
The Ramraksha Stotra is described in the Brahmanda Purana. Its rishi is Budha Kaushika, who, according to tradition, received this stotra in a dream. The opening verses establish the viniyoga (dedication), the dhyana (visualization of Ram's form), and a set of salutations using Ram's many names.
Verses 5–7 display a distinctive poetic technique: the word 'Ram' appears in different grammatical cases across consecutive lines — Ramo, Ramam, Ramen, Ramaya, Ramat, Ramasya, Rame. This pattern is the heart of the 'Ramraksha' (Ram's protection) — devotion expressed through the very grammar of the sacred name.
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