Sri Ranganatha Ashtakam

Aananda roopE nijabodha roopE brahma swaroopE srutimoorthi roopE

Sashaanka roopE ramaneeya roopE Sri Ranga roopE ramathaam manOmE ||

Kaveri theerE karuna vilOlE mandaara moole dhritha chaaru kaylE

Daithyaantha kaalE akhila lOka leelE Sri Ranga leelE ramathaam manOmE ||

Lakshmi nivaasE jagathaam nivaasE hridpadma vaasE ravi bimba vaasE

Kripa nivaasE guna vrinda vaasE Sri Ranga vaasE ramathaam manOmE ||

Brahmaadi vandyE jagadega vandyE mukunda vandyaEsuranaatha vandyE Vyaasaadi vandyE sanakaadi vandyE Sri Ranga vandyaE ramathaam manOmE  ||

Brahmaadi raajE garuDaadi raajE vaikunTha raajE suraraaja raajE

ThrailOkya raajE akhila lOka raajE Sri Ranga raajE ramanthaam manOmE ||

AmOgamudrE paripoorna nidrE sreeyOga nidrE sasamudra nidrE

Srithaika bhadrE jagathaika nidrE Sri Ranga bhadrE ramathaam manOmE ||

Sa Chitra saayee bhujagendra saayee nandaanga sayee kamalaanga saayee

Ksheerabhi saayee vatapathra saayee Sri Ranga saayee ramathaam manOmE ||

Itham hirangam thyajathaamihaangam punarna saangam yathisaangamEthi  Baanou rathaangam charanembu kaangam yaanE vihangam shayanE bhujangam ||

Ranganatha Ashtakam punyam praatharutthaaya ya patheth

Sarvaan kaamanavaapnOthi Ranga saayoojya maapnuyaath ||

Ranganatha Ashtakam was composed by Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada when he stood before Lord Sri Ranganatha in Srirangam, which he visited during his travels. This Ashtakam (an octet) reveals that Adi Shankara was overwhelmed by Lord Ranganatha that his mind is instantly captivated and he reveals in that feeling. As a Sanskrit sloka mentions

‘Pratikshanam yannavathaamupaithi thadayvaroopam ramaneeya thaayah’.

Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada sings in praise of Sri Ranganatha in 8 slokas, of which 7 of them end with the words ‘Ramathaam manomay’. He is immensely captivated by the Lord and he sings by bringing out all the attributes in every word.

In the first sloka he addresses the lord as the cause of all happiness (Aananda roopE), pure consciousness (nijabodha roopE), and manifestation of the ultimate truth (brahma swaroopE) and as the embodiment of the learnings of the Vedas (srutimoorthi roopE) and says that his mind is revealing in Lord Ranganatha.

River Kaveri finds mention in the second sloka. We can visualize Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada taking a holy dip in Kaveri before going to offer worship to Sri Ranganatha, as any devotee would. He addresses Sri Ranganatha as extremely merciful (karuna vilOlE) and as the lord of all times (Daithyaantha kaalE) and that the whole world sings in praise of Sri Ranganatha (akhila lOka leelE).

In the third, he addresses Sri Ranganatha as he in whom Goddess Lakshmi resides (Lakshmi nivaasE) and in whom the whole world resides (jagathaam nivaasE). This is a reference to Purusha Sooktam in which is said that the whole world emanates from the Lord (Sahasra sheersha purushah….). Jagatguru sees Sri Ranganatha in everything around him – in the sunshine around him (ravi bimba vaasE) and in the heart of every devotee! The fulfillment that Jagatguru experiences when he is standing in front of Sri Ranganatha can be visualized with the flowery language that he uses.

The deity of Sri Ranganatha that is in Srirangam was first worshipped by Lord Brahma himself, before passing it onto the kings of Ikshwaku clan in which is born Lord Ram. After defeating Ravana in the war, Lord Ram thanks Vibheeshana by gifting the deity of Sri Ranganatha to him. But en route from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka, Vibheeshana stops at Srirangam on seeing a big crowd on the banks of Kaveri. The deity of Sri Ranganatha stays put there and Vibheeshana leaves for Sri Lanka as he could not carry it from Srirangam. Most temples are facing east but in Srirangam, Sri Ranganatha is facing south, looking at Sri Lanka. A reference to the fact that Sri Ranganatha was worshipped by Brahma, Vyasa, Indra, Sanakaadi rishis and by every devotee in the world is brought out in the 4th and 5^th slokas.

Sri Ranganatha is in blissful sleep on the bed (paripoorna nidrE) provided by the body of Anantha or the serpent king, in the milky ocean – Paalaazhi. Goddess Lakshmi is at his feet (srithaika bhadrE).  These attributes find mention in the 6^th sloka.

References to Lord Krishna’s childhood could be found in the 7^th sloka – of sleeping on the lap of NandagOpa, his foster father (nandaanga sayee). Sri Ranganatha, who sleeps with his head resting on his right arm (bhujagendra sayee) is the one who slept on NandagOpa’s lap, on the leaf of peepal tree (vata pathra sayee)  and he is referred to as the one who sleeps in the milky ocean (ksheeraabdi sayee).

After singing in praise of Sri Ranganatha in the first 7 slokas by mentioning his attributes, Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada praises Srirangam, in the 8^th sloka as the place where if a devotee leaves his body, will attain nirvana.

The ‘phalashruti’ – the benefit of singing Sri Ranganatha Ashtakam is mentioned outside of the octet. The devotee who sings this in the morning will fulfill his wishes and will attain the abode of Sri Ranganatha.