📖 Brahmanda Purana — Budha Kaushika Rishi
31
श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ मनसा स्मरामि ।
श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ वचसा गृणामि ।
श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ शिरसा नमामि ।
श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥
Shri Ramachandra charanau manasa smarami |
Shri Ramachandra charanau vacasa grinami |
Shri Ramachandra charanau shirasa namami |
Shri Ramachandra charanau sharanam prapadye ||
मनसा स्मरामि
I remember with the mind
वचसा गृणामि
I praise with speech
शिरसा नमामि
I bow with the head
शरणं प्रपद्ये
I take refuge
With the mind — I remember Shri Ramachandra's feet. With speech — I praise them. With the head — I bow to them. With my very being — I take refuge in them. This is the traditional threefold path of devotion: manas (mind), vachana (speech), karma (action) — here expressed as remembrance, praise, and surrender. The stotra makes it concrete: not devotion in the abstract, but these three acts, done at the same feet.
32
माता रामो मत्पिता रामचन्द्रः ।
स्वामी रामो मत्सखा रामचन्द्रः ।
सर्वस्वं मे रामचन्द्रो दयालुः ।
नान्यं जाने नैव जाने न जाने ॥
Mata Ramo matpita Ramachandrah |
Svami Ramo matsakha Ramachandrah |
Sarvsvam me Ramachandro dayaluh |
Nanyam jane naiva jane na jane ||
नान्यम् जाने
I know no other
Ram is my mother. Ramachandra is my father. Ram is my lord. Ramachandra is my friend. Compassionate Ramachandra is my everything. I know no other — I know no other — I know no other. The triple denial at the end is one of the most moving moments in the stotra. The poet does not say Ram is the best or greatest. He simply says: I know no other. There is no comparison. There is only Ram.
33
दक्षिणे लक्ष्मणो यस्य वामे तु जनकात्मजा ।
पुरतो मारुतिर्यस्य तं वन्दे रघुनन्दनम् ॥
Dakshine Lakshmanah yasya vame tu Janakatmaja |
Purato Marutir yasya tam vande Raghunanadanam ||
जनकात्मजा
Janaka's daughter, Sita
मारुतिः
Hanuman, son of the wind
रघुनन्दनम्
the joy of the Raghu lineage
Lakshmana to the right. Sita to the left. Hanuman in front. To that Raghunandam — the joy of the Raghu house — I bow. This is the classic image of Ram Parivar (Ram's family) as devotees have held it for centuries. The four figures together form a complete picture: Ram, his devoted brother, his beloved Sita, and Hanuman whose very presence signals devotion itself.
34
लोकाभिरामं रणरंगधीरं राजीवनेत्रं रघुवंशनाथम् ।
कारुण्यरूपं करुणाकरं तं श्रीरामचन्द्रं शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥
Lokabhiramam ranarangadhiram rajivanetra Raghuvansha natham |
Karunyarupam karunaakaram tam Shri Ramachandram sharanam prapadye ||
लोकाभिरामम्
the delight of all worlds
रणरंगधीरम्
steady in the arena of battle
रघुवंशनाथम्
lord of the Raghu lineage
कारुण्यरूपम्
compassion itself in form
करुणाकरम्
the ocean of compassion
The delight of all worlds. Steady in battle. Lotus-eyed. Lord of the Raghu lineage. Compassion in form. The ocean of compassion. I take refuge in that Shri Ramachandra. The verse pairs warrior qualities — steadiness in the field of battle — with the deepest tenderness: compassion itself, compassion as an ocean. Ram holds both, and this is why the stotra calls on him for protection.
35
मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् ।
वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥
Manojavam Maruta tulya vegam jitendriyam buddhimatam varishtham |
Vatatmajam vanara yutha mukhyam Shri Rama dutam sharanam prapadye ||
मारुततुल्यवेगम्
fast as the wind
जितेन्द्रियम्
master of the senses
बुद्धिमताम् वरिष्ठम्
the foremost among the wise
वातात्मजम्
son of the wind
वानरयूथमुख्यम्
chief of the vanara army
श्रीरामदूतम्
Ram's messenger
Swift as thought. Fast as the wind. Master of the senses. Foremost among the wise. Son of the wind god. Chief of the vanara army. Ram's own messenger. I take refuge in Hanuman. This is the famous Hanuman dhyana shloka, one of the most widely recited verses in the stotra. It appears here near the stotra's close, as if Hanuman — who stands before Ram — must be honored before the final bow.
36
कूजन्तं रामरामेति मधुरं मधुराक्षरम् ।
आरुह्य कविताशाखां वन्दे वाल्मीकिकोकिलम् ॥
Koojantam Rama Rameti madhuram madhurakshharam |
Aruhya kavita shakham vande Valmiki kokilam ||
कूजन्तम्
cooing, singing sweetly
रामरामेति
the words 'Ram, Ram'
मधुराक्षरम्
with sweet syllables
कविताशाखाम्
on the branch of poetry
वाल्मीकिकोकिलम्
Valmiki as a cuckoo
This verse appeared earlier, at the close of the first section, and returns here in the stotra's conclusion. Valmiki on the branch of poetry, cooing 'Ram, Ram.' The repetition is intentional — the stotra opens with Valmiki's image and closes with it. What was the first poet's whole life work reduces, in this image, to two syllables: Ram, Ram. And somehow that feels like enough.
37
आपदामपहर्तारं दातारं सर्वसम्पदाम् ।
लोकाभिरामं श्रीरामं भूयो भूयो नमाम्यहम् ॥
Apadamapahhartaram dataram sarva sampadam |
Lokabhiramam Shri Ramam bhuyo bhuyo namamyaham ||
आपदाम् अपहर्तारम्
the remover of calamities
सर्वसम्पदाम्
of all prosperity
लोकाभिरामम्
the delight of all the worlds
भूयो भूयः
again and again
Again this verse returns — it appeared as verse 11 and now closes the stotra as verse 37. The one who removes calamities, who gives all abundance, who delights all the worlds — to that Shri Ram, I bow again and again. The stotra ends as it must: not with a conclusion, not with a summary, but with the same devotion it began with. Again and again.
38
इति श्रीबुधकौशिकविरचितं श्रीरामरक्षास्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ।
श्रीसीतारामचन्द्रार्पणमस्तु ॥
Iti Shri Budha Kaushika virachitam Shri Ramraksha stotram sampurnam |
Shri Sita Ramachandrarpanamastu ||
बुधकौशिकविरचितम्
composed by Budha Kaushika
श्रीसीतारामचन्द्रार्पणमस्तु
may this be offered to Shri Sita and Ramachandra
Thus the Shri Ramraksha Stotra composed by Budha Kaushika Rishi is complete. May it be offered to Shri Sita and Ramachandra. The closing line is an act of return — the poet gives back what was given to him in a dream. The stotra began with Ram's name and ends with Ram's name, and everything in between belongs to him.
References
The final section opens with verses 31–32 — among the most beloved in the stotra. Verse 31 offers devotion through mind, speech, and action at Ram's feet. Verse 32 declares Ram as mother, father, lord, friend, and everything — with the triple denial 'I know no other' as its close. Verse 35 contains the celebrated Hanuman dhyana shloka, recited widely as a standalone verse.
The Ramraksha Stotra, attributed to Budha Kaushika Rishi and associated with the Brahmanda Purana, contains 38 verses covering viniyoga (dedication), dhyana (visualization), anga-nyasa (body protection), nama-stuti (praise by name), and phala-shruti (fruits of recitation). It is composed in the Anushtup meter and stands as one of the most complete kavach-stotras in the Ram bhakti tradition.
Ramraksha · 4 / 4