Doha 130b

This blessed dialogue between Lord Śambhu and Goddess Umā begets joy and lifts the gloom of depression. It puts an end to transmigration, dispels doubt, delights the devotees and is dear to the saints. (1) To the worshippers of Śrī Rāma, nothing is so dear as this narrative of Śrī Rāma. By the grace of Śrī Raghunātha Himself I have sung this sacred and charming story to the best of my ability. (2) In this age of Kali no other discipline is of any avail—neither Yoga (mind-control) nor sacrifices, nor Japa (muttering of prayers), nor austere penance, nor any sacred vows, nor ritual: Rāma alone should be remembered, Rāma alone should be glorified: and it is the conglomeration of Śrī Rāma’s virtues alone that should be given ear to. (3) Forswearing perversity, O my mind, adore Him whose great vow is to sanctify the fallen, as is declared by seers and saints, the Vedas and Purāṇas: who has not secured redemption by worshipping Śrī Rāma? (4)

Listen, O my stupid mind: who has not achieved salvation by adoring Śrī Rāma, the purifier of the fallen? The harlot (Piṅgala), Ajāmila, the hunter (Vālmīki), the vulture (Jaṭāyu), the elephant and many other wretches have been delivered by Him. Even Abhiras (a hilly tribe inhabiting the south-west coast in the ancient times), Yavanas, Kirātas (Bhīlas), Khasas (another hill-tribe found in Assam), Caṇḍālas (the pariah) and others, the very embodiments of grievous sin, are hallowed by merely uttering the name ‘Rāma’ even once; I adore You, O Śrī Rāma! (1) Men who relate to others, listen to (when narrated by others) or chant alone this narrative of Śrī Rāma thereby wipe out the sins that are incident to the Kali age as well as the impurities of their mind, and ascend to the Abode of Śrī Rāma without any difficulty. Nay, Śrī Raghunātha cures the perversities, caused by the fivefold* ignorance, of those men who treasure up in their heart even a few Caupāīs (small four-footed verses) of this narrative that may appeal to them as most charming. (2) * The fivefold ignorance has been characterized as mistaking (1) the unreal for real, (2) the ephemeral for the eternal, (3) the painful as pleasurable, (4) the impure for pure and (5) that which is worth discarding for something worth acquiring. If there is anyone who is all-graceful, all-wise and all-merciful and who is fond of the forlorn, it is Rāma and Śrī Rāma alone; who else can compare with Him as a selfless friend and a bestower of eternal bliss? Nowhere can we find a lord like Śrī Rāma, by an iota of whose grace even the dull-witted Tulasīdāsa has found supreme peace. (3)

There is no one so miserable as I am, nor such a benefactor of the distressed as You are, O Raghuvīra! Realizing this, O Śrī Rāma, take away my fear of transmigration, which is so terrible. (130 A) May You be ever so loving to me, O Śrī Rāma, as woman is dear to a lustful man, and as lucre is dear to the greedy, O Śrī Raghunātha. (130 B)

The same mysterious “Mānasa-Rāmāyaṇa” (the story of Śrī Rāma figuratively spoken of as a Mānasa lake) which was composed of yore by the blessed Lord Śaṅkara, the best of all poets, with the object of inculcating unceasing devotion to the lotus-feet of Śrī Rāma, has been likewise rendered into the dialect of the common people by Tulasīdāsa for lifting the gloom of his heart, cognizing the fact that it is devoted to the Name of Śrī Raghunātha. (1) This glorious, holy, purifying, blessed and most limpid Mānasa lake of Śrī Rāma’s exploits ever begets happiness; nay, it bestows both wisdom and Devotion, wipes out delusion, infatuation and impurity and is brimful with the pure water of love, which is so very propitious. Men who devoutly take a plunge into it are never scorched by the burning rays of the sun of worldly illusion. (2) [PAUSE 30 FOR A THIRTY-DAY RECITATION] [PAUSE 9 FOR A NINE-DAY RECITATION] Thus ends the seventh descent into the Mānasa lake of Śrī Rāma’s exploits that eradicate all the impurities of the Kali age.