📖 Brahmanda Purana — Budha Kaushika Rishi
21
रामं दूर्वादलश्यामं पद्माक्षं पीतवाससम् ।
स्तुवन्ति नामभिर्दिव्यैर्न ते संसारिणो नरः ॥
Ramam durvadala shyamam padmaksham pita vasasam |
Stuvanti namabhir divyair na te samsarino narah ||
दूर्वादलश्यामम्
dark as a blade of durva grass
पीतवाससम्
wearing yellow garments
स्तुवन्ति
who praise, who offer salutations
नामभिः दिव्यैः
with divine names
संसारिणः
bound to the cycle of the world
Those who praise Ram — dark as durva grass, lotus-eyed, clothed in yellow — with his divine names are, the verse says, not caught in the ordinary current of worldly existence. The image of Ram here is particularly gentle: not the warrior, not the destroyer of rakshasas, but a figure of luminous beauty addressed by his many names.
22
रामो राजमणिः सदा विजयते रामं रमेशं भजे ।
रामेणाभिहता निशाचरचमू रामाय तस्मै नमः ॥
Ramo rajamanih sada vijayate Ramam Ramesham bhaje |
Ramenabhihata nishachara chamu Ramaya tasmai namah ||
राजमणिः
the jewel among kings
सदा विजयते
ever victorious
रमेशम्
the lord of Lakshmi
निशाचरचमू
the army of rakshasas
This is the signature verse of the stotra's central section — the 'Ramraksha' pattern that gives the hymn its name. Here it recurs in its full form: Ram the jewel of kings, ever victorious; Ram the lord of Lakshmi, whom I offer bhakti to; Ram through whom the rakshasa armies were defeated; Ram to whom I bow. The repetition is deliberate, structural, devotional.
23
रामान्नास्ति परायणं परतरं रामस्य दासोऽस्म्यहम् ।
रामे चित्तलयः सदा भवतु मे भो राम मामुद्धर ॥
Ramannaasti parayanam parataram Ramasya dasosmyaham |
Rame chitta layah sada bhavatu me bho Rama mamuddhar ||
दासः अस्मि
I am a servant
चित्तलयः
the dissolving of the mind
मामुद्धर
lift me, deliver me
There is nothing higher than Ram — he is the ultimate refuge. I am Ram's servant. May my mind always dissolve in Ram. O Ram — lift me. The prayer moves from declaration to petition in four lines. The poet does not explain what he means by 'refuge' or 'lifting.' He just asks. That directness is the whole of bhakti.
24
तत्प्रभावात् अहं सर्वान् संकटान् उत्तरे सदा ।
मरणेषु अपि सर्वेषु रामरक्षा परा गतिः ॥
Tat prabhavat aham sarvan sankatan uttare sada |
Maranesu api sarveshu Ramraksha para gatih ||
तत्प्रभावात्
by the power of that
संकटान्
all dangers, all hardships
मरणेषु
even in death-like situations
परा गतिः
the supreme destination, the ultimate refuge
By the power of this stotra, one crosses all hardships. And even in the most extreme situations — conditions that feel like death itself — the Ramraksha remains the highest refuge. The stotra does not promise escape from difficulty; it promises a presence that can carry one through.
25
आत्तसज्जधनुषाविषुस्पृशा- वक्षयाशुगनिषङ्गसङ्गिनौ ।
रक्षणाय मम रामलक्ष्मणा- वग्रतः पथि सदैव गच्छताम् ॥
Atta sajja dhanushav ishusprishaav akshaya shuga nishanga sanginau |
Rakshanaya mama Rama Lakshmanaav agratah pathi sadaiva gachchhatam ||
आत्तसज्जधनुषा
with bows drawn and readied
विषुस्पृशा
touching the arrows
अक्षयाशुगनिषङ्गसङ्गिनौ
with inexhaustible quivers at their sides
अग्रतः पथि
ahead on the path
May Ram and Lakshmana — bows drawn, arrows at hand, quivers inexhaustible — walk ahead of me on the path. Always. The image is vivid: two brothers in the forest, fully armed, as guardians. The devotee asks not to be carried, but to be led — with Ram and Lakshmana a few steps ahead, clearing the way.
26
संनद्धः कवची खड्गी चापबाणधरो युवा ।
गच्छन्मनोरथोऽस्माकं रामः पातु सलक्ष्मणः ॥
Sannaddah kavachi khadgi chapa bana dharo yuva |
Gachhan manoratho asmakam Ramah patu sa Lakshamanah ||
संनद्धः
armored, battle-ready
चापबाणधरः
carrying bow and arrows
मनोरथः
the fulfiller of wishes
सलक्ष्मणः
along with Lakshmana
Armored, sword at the hip, bow and arrows in hand — and young. The stotra paints Ram as a young warrior in full readiness. Together with Lakshmana, may he protect us and fulfill what we long for. The word 'yuva' — young — carries warmth. This is not an old god sitting on a throne; this is Ram as he walked through the forest, alive and present.
27
रामो दाशरथिः शूरो लक्ष्मणानुचरो बली ।
काकुत्स्थः पुरुषः पूर्णः कौसल्येयो रघूत्तमः ॥
Ramo Dasharathih shuro Lakshmana anucharo bali |
Kakutsthah purushah purnah Kausalyeyo Raghotttamah ||
दाशरथिः
son of Dasharatha
लक्ष्मणानुचरः
attended by Lakshmana
काकुत्स्थः
of the Kakutstha lineage
रघूत्तमः
the best of the Raghu lineage
Ram: son of Dasharatha. Courageous. With Lakshmana at his side. Powerful. Of the ancient Kakutstha lineage. A complete and whole being. Son of Kaushalya. The finest of all who have come from the house of Raghu. These are not flattery — they are a portrait, assembled name by name, so the mind has something true to hold.
28
वेदान्तवेद्यो यज्ञेशः पुराणपुरुषोत्तमः ।
जानकीवल्लभः श्रीमानप्रमेयपराक्रमः ॥
Vedanta vedyo yajneshahah Purana Purushottamah |
Janaki vallabhah Shriman aprameyaparakramah ||
वेदान्तवेद्यः
knowable through Vedanta
यज्ञेशः
the lord of yajna
पुराणपुरुषोत्तमः
the Purushottama of the Puranas
जानकीवल्लभः
Janaki's beloved
श्रीमान्
radiant with splendor
अप्रमेयपराक्रमः
of immeasurable valor
The portrait continues on a different register now — not the warrior or the son, but the cosmic reality. Ram as the one the Vedanta texts point toward. Ram as the lord of all yajna. Ram as the Purushottama (supreme person) of the Puranas. And then, the warm descent back: Janaki's beloved, radiant, of valor beyond measure. The stotra moves between the cosmic and the intimate with ease.
29
इतीदं कृतवान् स्तोत्रं सर्वापद्विनिवारणम् ।
मृतसञ्जीवनं चैव रामरक्षास्तवं पठेत् ॥
Itidam kritavan stotram sarvapadvinivaranam |
Mritasanjeevanam chaiva Ramraksha stavam pathet ||
सर्वापद्विनिवारणम्
the remover of all calamities
मृतसञ्जीवनम्
restorer even of the near-dead
Thus was this stotra composed — the one that removes all calamities, and that is said to restore even the near-dead to life. The verse is announcing the completion of the stotra and placing it in the hands of the devotee. The hyperbole of 'mritasanjeevana' — life-restorer — echoes the Sanjeevani herb that Hanuman fetched for Lakshmana, a memory the stotra seems to consciously invoke.
30
रामरक्षामिमां हस्ते यस्तु राजन् सदा स्मरेत् ।
सर्वशत्रुविनिर्मुक्तो विजयी भवति ध्रुवम् ॥
Ramraksha imam haste yastu rajan sada smaret |
Sarva shatru vinirmukto vijayee bhavati dhruvam ||
रामरक्षाम् इमाम्
this Ramraksha
सदा स्मरेत्
who always remembers
सर्वशत्रुविनिर्मुक्तः
freed from all enemies
ध्रुवम्
certainly, without doubt
Whoever holds this Ramraksha close and remembers it always — that person becomes free from all that opposes them, and victorious. The word 'dhruvam' — certainly — gives the verse its confidence. The tradition is not hedging. It is simply affirming what it believes about Ram's name and Ram's protection.
References
Verses 25–26 picture Ram and Lakshmana as armed guardians walking ahead of the devotee on the path — bows drawn, armor on. This is the distinctive style of kavach-stotras, where the deity is imagined as a warrior-protector stationed at each part of the body and leading the way.
Verses 27–28 gather a cluster of Ram's names and attributes: Dasharathi, Kakutstha, Vedantavedya, Yajnesha, Purushottama. Each name reaches a different facet — lineage, cosmic identity, the intimate. Together they form a complete portrait of the Ram the stotra offers for devotion.
Ramraksha · 3 / 4