Wishing a Very Happy Diwali

 Jai Sri Ram,

Wishing a Very Very Happy Diwali,

May Lord Rama bless all,

Thanks please 

Sri Diwali

Jai Sri Ram

We are at the threshold of the great festival Sri Diwali, The Deepawali, earthen lamps in decorative way to mark the spirit of celebration,

The legendary festival of the year to mark the concluding day unto 14 years of exile of Sri Rama,

Sri Rama returned to Sri Ayodhya on the day, there are infinite reasons to celebrate this divine festival in faith and reverence,

Indeed an auspicious occasion for man to enjoin truth of wealth and eternal prosperity,

May Lord bless all,

Thanks please 

Manasa Lake

 Jai Sri Ram,

The holy stream, issuing as it does from the beautiful manasa lake,

Uproots in its course all the impurities of the Kali age,

Whether in the form of tiny blades of grass or of mighty trees,

The three types of audience are the towns, villages and cities on both the banks, and the congregation of saints is incomparable Ayodhya, which is the fountain of all auspicious blessings,

May Lord bless all,

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Sarayu River

 Jai Sri Ram,

Sarayu is the name of this river,

Which is very fountain of pure bliss,

The secular view point and point views of the Vedas,

There represent its two charming banks,

May Lord bless all,

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Torrent of love

 Jai Sri Ram,

The heart was flooded with joy,

And alacrity and a torrent of love and rapture welled from it,

Thence flowed a stream of beautiful poetry,

Carrying the water of sri Rama's fair renown,

May Lord bless all,

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diligently practice Satsanga

 Jai Sri Ram,

He alone reverently bathes in the lake and thus escape the threefold agony of the fiercest kind,

Those men who cherish ideal devotion to the feet of sri Rama never quit this lake,

Let him who would bathe in this lake, brother, diligently practice Satsanga that association of saints,

Having seen the said manasa lake with the mind's eye and taken a dip into it, the poet's intellect got purged of all its dross,

May Lord bless all,

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sri Rama regards with overwhelming kindness

 Jai Sri Ram,

Finding himself unable to take a plunge into the lake or to drink from it,

He returns with a feeling of pride,

And if anyone comes to inquire about the lake, he tries to satisfying it,

All these obstacles do not, however, deter him whom sri Rama regards with overwhelming kindness,

May Lord bless all,

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stupor overtakes his heart

Jai Sri Ram,

The Manasa is most inaccessible to those who lack provisions for the journey in the shape of piety,

Who do not enjoy the company of saints,

And who have no love for the lord of Raghus,

Even if anyone makes his way to it undergoing so much hardship, he is forthwith attacked by ague in the shape of drowsiness benumbing cold in the shape of stupor overtakes his heart, so that the unhappy soul is deprived of a dip even after reaching there,

May Lord bless all,

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many tigers, lions and serpents

 Jai Sri Ram,

The bad company, which is so obdurate, constitutes a terribly rough road,

And the words of such companions are so many tigers, lions and serpents, 

The Various occupations and entanglements of domestic life are huge mountains, Which are so difficult to approach, 

Infatuation, arrogance and pride are so many inaccessible words and sophism of various kinds are frightful streams,

May Lord bless all,

Thanks please 

pleasures of senses

 Jai Sri Ram,

For here there are no varied  talk of the pleasures of senses,

Corresponding to snails, frogs and moss,

That is why poor crows and herons in the form of lustful men lack the heart to visit this place, 

For there is much difficulty in getting to this place and it is not possible to reach it without grace of Sri Rama,

May Lord bless all,

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Mansarovar Lake

 Jai Sri Ram,

Those who carefully recite this poem, 

They alone are the vigilant guardians of this lake,

And those men and women who reverently hear it everyday are great gods exercising jurisdiction over this Mansarovar Lake,

Sensual wretches are the accursed herons and crows who never approach the lake,

May Lord bless all,

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moisture of love

 Jai Sri Ram,

The various other episodes forming part of this narrative are birds of different colors such as the parrot and the Cuckoo,

This thrill of joy that one experiences while listening to this narratives represents the flower gardens, orchards and grooves,

And the delight one feels is the sporting of birds,

While a noble mind is the gardener, who waters the garden, with the moisture of love through the charming jars of eyes,

May Lord bless all,

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so declare by the Vedas

 Jai Sri Ram,

Even so mind control, the five Yamas or forms of self restraint,

That non violence, truthfulness, non thieving, continence and non acquisition of property, 

The five Niyamas or religious vows that those external and internal purity, contentment, austerity, study of scared books, or repetition of the divine name, and self surrender to God, are blossoms of these creepers,

Spiritual enlightenment in their fruit and loving devotion to the feet of sri Hari constitute the sap of this fruit of spiritual enlightenment, so declare by the Vedas, 

May Lord bless all,

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Eulogies on virtuous men,

 Jai sri Ram,

Eulogies on virtuous men, pious souls and the name of God, 

These correspond to water birds of various kinds,

The assemblage of saints referred to herein are the mango groves hemming the lake on all sides and piety has been likened to the vernal season,

The exposition of the various types of devotion and the references to forbearance, compassion and sense control represent the canopies of creepers, 

May Lord bless all,

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charming aquatic creature

 Jai Sri Ram,

The four ends of human existence,

Worldly riches, religious merit, enjoyment and liberation,

The reasoned exposition of Jnana that knowledge of God in his absolute formless aspect, and the Vijnana that knowledge qualified Divinity both with and without form,

The nine sentiments of the poetry and references to Japa that muttering of mystic formulae, austerity, yoga that contemplation with god, and detachment from the world-all these represents the charming aquatic creatures of this lake,

May Lord bless all,

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The incomparable sense

 Jai Sri Ram,

The incomparable sense, the beautiful ideas and the elegant expression represent the pollen, honey and fragrance of those flowers respectively,

The virtuous acts mentioned therein are the charming swarms of bees,

The reference to spiritual enlightenment, dispassion and reason represent the swan,

The implication and involution and the lovely fishes of various kinds,

May Lord bless all,

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lovely shells that yields beautiful pearls

 Jai Sri Ram,

The glory of sri Rama and Sita constitutes the nectarean water, the similes represent the soul ravishing sports of its wavelets, 

The beautiful caupais represent the thick growth of lotus plants,

The various poetic devices constitute the lovely shells that yields beautiful pearls,

The other metres, Chandas, Sorathas and Dohas, are the cluster of charming many colored lotuses,

May Lord bless all,

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delights to look upon

 Jai Sri Ram,

The seven books are the seven beautiful flights of steps,

Which the soul delights to look upon with eyes of wisdom,

The unqualified and unbounded greatness of sri Rama, 

Which will be presently discussed, represents the unfathomable, depth of the holy water, 

May lord bless all,

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Holy and charming lake

 Jai Sri Ram,,

The four beautiful and excellent dialogues, those between_Bhusandi and Garuda,

Shiva and Parvati,

Yajnavalakya and Bharadwaj,

Tulsidasa and other saints, and have been cleverly woven into this narrative are the four lovely Ghatas of this holy and charming lake, 

May Lord bless all,

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holy water

 Jai Sri Ram,

The same holy water, when it dropped on the soil of the intellect,

Flowed in a volume through the beautiful channel of the ears and,

Collecting in the lovely spot called the heart, came to be stationary,

Having remained there for a long time, it become clear, agreeable, cool and refreshing,

May Lord bless all,

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It is life itself

 Jai Sri Ram,

Pastimes of a personal God that such holy men narrate in extenso are the transparency of this water, which cleanses all impurity,

While loving devotion, which defies all description, represents its sweetness and coolness,

This water is beneficial for the paddy crop in the form of virtuous deeds,

It is life itself to the devotees of sri Rama,

May Lord bless all,

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Sri Dushera today

 Jai Sri Ram,

Sri Dushera today, a legendary event from the pastime time of sri Rama, 

On this day Sri Rama vanish the demon race from the planet along with their king Ravana,

On the day in that era, lord let fly thirty one shafts which blew forth like serpents of death, one arrow sucked up the nectar of the navel, while the rest struck his ten heads and twenty arms, the earth reels as the ten headed monster fell dead, after depositing the heads and arms before Mandodary-the consort of Ravana, the darts returns to the Lord Rama, 

This marks the victory of truth over the falsehood, a chapter to enjoin with celebration, 

May Lord bless all,

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sri Rama's glory

 Jai Sri Ram,

The Author has polished his composition to the best of his intellect,

Yet listen to it with a sympathetic mind, O noble souls, and correct it,

A refined intellect is the catchment area, heart is the fathomless depression,

The Vedas and Puranas constitute the ocean, while holy men represent the clouds which rain down pure, sweet, agreeable and blessed water in the form of sri Rama's glory,

May Lord bless all,

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श्री श्री माँ महा गौरी,

 Jai Sri Ram,

Obeisance to Goddess Gauri on the pious occasion of Sri Durga Ashtami,

Fourfold rewards of the journey are easily attainable through the worship of Mother Gauri,

All who revere the lotus feet of mother attain happiness, be they gods, men or sages, 

Greet the lotus feet of Mother on the occasion with all faith and reverence,

May Lord bless all,

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Ramacaritamanasa

 Jai Sri Ram,

Invoking Uma and Lord Shiva,

I proceed to give a full account as to what this Ramacaritamanasa is like,

How, it came to be and what led to its popularity in the world,

The Grace of Lord Shiva, a blessed idea inspired the mind of Tulsidasa, which made him the anther of Ramacaritamanasa,

May Lord bless all,

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three kinds of error

 Jai Sri Ram,

It puts down three kinds of error, sorrow and indigence and uproots all evil practices and impurities of the Kali age,

Having conceived it, the great lord Shiva treasured it in his mind till,

When a favorable opportunity presented itself, he communicate it to his consort Siva that Parvati,

Therefore, after due consideration Lord Hara joyously give it the excellent title of Ramacarita manasa, i repeat the same delightful charming story,

May Lord bless all,

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wild fire of sensual enjoyment

 Jai Sri Ram,

One drives solace by hearing its very name, Ramacaritamanasa,

The manasa lake of sri Rama's exploits, 

The elephant of our mind, which is being scorched by the wild fire of sensual enjoyment, is sure to get relief should it drop into this lake,

The holy and beautiful Ramacarita Manasa is the delight of sages, it was conceived by Lord Shiva,

May Lord bless all,

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impulses of lust, arrogance and hypocrisy

 Jai Sri Ram,

Knowing the town to be charming in everyway,

A bestower of all forms of success and a storehouse of blessings,

I commenced writing this sacred story there,

The impulses of lust, arrogance and hypocrisy disappear from the mind of those who hear it,

May Lord bless all,

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never born again

 Jai Sri Ram,

No one can describe the infinite glory of this most sacred river,

The beautiful town of Ayodhya, grants an abode in sri Rama's heaven,

It is celebrated through all the worlds and is the holiest of the holy,

There are countless living beings in this world belonging to the four species, whoever of these shed their mortal coil in Ayodhya are never born again,

May Lord bless all,

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touch of the Sarayu

 Jai Sri Ram,

Numerous groups of pious men take dip in the holy water of the Sarayu River,

And visualizing in their heart the beautiful swarthy form of sri Rama, mutter his Name,

The very sight and touch of the Sarayu, 

A dip into its waters or a draught from it cleanses one's sins-so declare the Vedas and Puranas,

May Lord bless all,

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Sri Rama's birth

 Jai sri Ram,

On this day of Sri Rama's birth,

The presiding spirits of all holy places flock there so declare the Vedas,

And demons, Nagas, Birds, human beings, Sages and gods come and pay their homage to the lord of Raghus,

Wise men celebrate the great birthday festival and sing the sweet glory of sri Rama,

May Lord bless all,

Thanks please 

Samvat 1631

 Jai Sri Ram,

Placing my head on the feet of Sri Hari,

I commence this story in Samvat 1631 that 1574 A.D.

On Tuesday, the ninth of the lunar month of Chaitra,

This story shed its luster at Ayodhya,

May Lord bless all,

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Now i proceed

 Jai Sri Ram,

Putting away all doubts in this way and placing on my head the dust from the lotus feet of my preceptor,

I supplicate all with joined palms once more, so that no blame may attach to the telling of the story,

Reverently bowing my head to Lord Shiva, 

Now i proceed to recount the fair virtues of sri Rama,

May Lord bless all,

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Sri Rama is infinite, Infinite are his virtues

 Jai Sri Ram,

Bearing this in mind, the reader should not entertain any doubt and should hear this narrative reverently and with devotion,

Sri Rama is infinite, Infinite are his virtues 

And the dimension of his story are also immeasurable,

Those whose thoughts are pure will,, therefore, feel no surprise when they hear it,

May Lord bless all,

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Sri Ekadasi Parv

 Jai Sri Ram,

Sri Ekadasi Parv today with divine fragrance of Purushotam Maas, indeed a meaning chapter for Man to make it for self,

Life is a complex issue for all and all are in swat of Yoga-Maya, the divine illusion, hard to sustain with but for Man,

There are many inclusive chapters for man to recover from and among them one is Adoration of Sri Ekadasi Parv, in the light of this divine festival man may update self with eternal power of lord Vishnu to counter the affliction of life,

Lord Vishnu, the most venerable truth that embodiment of compassion, refuge in him ever act as tangible support to man and sri Ekadasi is the day to take refuge in sublime truth of Lord Vishnu,

May Lord bless all,

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sri Rama has bodied himself forth in diverse ways

 Jai Sri Ram,

Let no one who should happen not to have heard this anecdote before be surprised to hear it,

Wise men who hear this uncommon, legend marvel not, for they know there is no limit to the stories of sri Rama in this world,

They are convinced in their heart that sri Rama has bodied himself forth in diverse ways and that the Ramayana, though consisting of thousand million verses, is yet infinite,

Great sages have diversely sung the charming stories of sri Hari, relating as they do to different Kalpas or cycles, 

May Lord bless all,

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strange narrative

 Jai Sri Ram,

I shall now relate at some length the seed of the story,

How Goddess Bhavani questioned Lord Shankara,

And how the latter answered her question, 

Waving a strange narrative round this episode,

May Lord bless all,

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Blazing fire

 Jai Sri Ram,

The hosts of virtues possessed by Sri Rama are like a blazing fire to consume the dry wood of evil ways,

Fallacious reasoning, mischievous practices, deceit, hypocrisy and heresy prevailing in Kali,

The exploits of sri Rama are delightful to one and all even as the rays of the full moon, they are particularly agreeable and highly beneficial to the mind of the virtuous,

Who can be compared to the white water-lily and the Cakora bird,  

May Lord bless all,

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Rich harvest

 Jai Sri Ram,

Exploits of Sri Rama, a rich harvest of enjoyments as it, were yielded by the totality of one's meritorious deeds,

And sincerely devoted to the good of the world like holy men,

Supporting in the mind of the devotees as swans in the Manasarovara lake,

And purifying as the waves of the holy Ganga,

May Lord bless all,

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venom of serpents

 Jai Sri Ram,

They are spells and valuable gems as it were for counteracting the venom of serpents in the form of sensuous enjoyments, 

And efface the deep marks of evil destiny contained on the forehead,

They are sunbeams, as it were, dispelling the darkness of ignorance,

And clouds nourishing the paddy crop in the form of devotees, trees of paradise, as it were, yielding the object of one's desire, easily available are service and gratifying like Vishnu and Shiva, stars as it were adorning the autumnal sky in the shape of the poet's mind, and the very life's treasure for the devotees of sri Rama, 

May Lord bless all,

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wild fire of indigence

 Jai sri Ram,

Practices and observances, antidotes and sins, agonies and griefs, and beloved guardians in this as well as in the next world,

Valiant ministers to king reason, and a veritable Agastya drinking up the illimitable ocean of greed,

Young lions residing in the forest of the devotees's mind to kill the herd of elephants in the shape of lust, anger and impurities of Kali age dear to lord Shiva as a highly respectable and most beloved guest and wish yielding clouds quenching the wild fire of indigence,

May Lord bless all,

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contemplative union with God,

 Jai Sri Ram,

They are true teachers of wisdom, dispassion and Yoga,

That contemplative union with God,

And celestial physician for the fell disease of metempsychosis,

Parents of devotion to Sita and Rama and the seed of all holy vows, 

May Lord bless all,

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The narrative of Sri Rama

 Jai Sri Ram,

The narrative of Sri Rama is lovely wish yielding gem,

And a graceful adornment for saintly wisdom,

The hosts of virtues possessed by sri Rama are a blessing to the world,

And bestower of liberation, riches, religious merit and the divine abode,

May Lord bless all,

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Sita Rama carry on their pastime

 Jai Sri Ram,

It is to noble qualities what mother Aditi is to gods, 

It is the culmination as it were of devotion to and love for Sri Rama,

 The story of Sri Rama is the river Mandakini which washes the foot of Chitakoot,

One of the happy resort of sri Rama during his wanderings in the forest while pore love, says Tulsidasa, is wonderland in which Sita Rama carry on their divine pastime,

May Lord bless all,

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Hulasi

 Jai Sri Ram,

Like the sacred River Yamuna in this world it scares away the messengers of Yama-the death god,

It is holy Kashi as it were for the liberation of souls,

It is clear to Rama as the sacred basil plant and is truly beneficent to Tulsidasa as his own mother, Hulasi,

It is beloved of Lord Shiva as river Narmada which has its source in mount Mekala,

May Lord bless all,

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sprang from the ocean

 Jai Sri Ganesha,

It is beneficent to pious soul, even as Goddess Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya, is friendly to gods,

Again, it puts an end to hell even as Parvati exterminated the army of demons,

It flows from assemblage of saints, even as Lakshmi-goddess of wealth, sprang from the ocean,

And like the immovable Earth it bears the burden of the entire creation,

May Lord bless all,

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river of nectar

 Jai Sri Ram

It is a beautiful life giving herb for the virtuous,

It is veritable river of nectar on the surface of globe,

It shatters the fear of birth and death, 

And it is a virtual snake for the frog of delusion,

May Lord Bless all,

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In this age

 Jai Sri Ram,

The story I am going to tell is such as will dispel my own doubts, errors and delusion and will serve as a boat for crossing the stream of mundane existence, 

The story of Rama is a solace to the learned and a source of delight to all men and wipes out the impurities of the Kali age,

Again it is a wooden stick for kindling the sacred fire of wisdom,

The tale of sri Rama is the cow of plenty in this age of Kali,

May Lord Bless all,

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critical power i possess

 Jai Sri Ram,

I shall versify the same in the popular tongue,

So that my mind may derive satisfaction from it,

Equipped with what little intellectual and critical power i possess,

I shall write with a heart inspired by Sri Hari, 

May Lord bless all,

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preceptor repeated the story time after time

 Jai Sri Ram,

Both the listener and the reciter of the mysterious story of Sri Rama must be repositories of wisdom, 

How, then could I, a dull and stupid creature steeped in the impurities of the Kali age, Expect to follow it,

Nevertheless, when the preceptor repeated the story time after time,

I followed it to a certain extent according to my poor lights,

May Lord bless all,

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Sukaraksetra

 Jai Sri Ram,

Beside these, other enlightened devotees of sri Hari too recite, hear and understand this story in diverse ways,

Then i heard the same story in the holy Sukaraksetra, 

The modern soron in the western united Provinces, from my preceptor,

But as i had no sense in those days of my childhood, i could not follow it full well,

May Lord bless all,

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Myrobalan Fruit

 Jai Sri Ram,

Shiva imparted it once more to Khakabhusandi,

A sage in the form of crow, knowing him to be a devotee of sri Rama and one qualified to hear it,

And it was Yajnavalakya who received it from the latter and narrated it to Bharadwaja, 

Both these, the listener and the reciter are equally virtuous, they view it all alike and are acquainted with the pastime of sri Hari, like a myrobalan fruit placed on one's palm, they hold the past, present and future within their knowledge, 

May Lord Bless all,

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Sri Ekadasi

 Jai Sri Ram,

Sri Ekadasi parv is being celebrated to gratify self on the path of virtue, 

This one is special being with truth of sri Purushotam Maas, 

Adoration of the day glorify self in many forms in both the worlds,

It is not just a divine festival from celestial cult but a truth to make it for self to reach at the sole motto of being man in the journey of life,

May Lord Bless all,

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Ravishing tale

 Jai Sri Ram,

The charming story which Yajnavalakya related to the good Sage Bhardwaj,

I shall repeat the same dialogue at length,

Let all good soul hear it with a feeling of delight,

This ravishing tale was conceived by Shambhu, who graciously communicate it to his consort Uma Kalyani that Goddess Parvati,

May Lord bless all,

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immaculate glory of Sri Rama

 Jai Sri Ram,

Your goodness, O Rama, is beneficent to all, if this is the fact,

Tulsidasa too will be blessed by the same,

Thus revealing my merits and demerits and bowing my head once more to all,

I proceed to sing the immaculate glory of Sri Rama, by hearing which the impurities of the Kali age are wiped away, 

May Lord bless all,

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