Shri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhaju Man is one of the best loved songs to Rama in Hindi. It is a pad, a short devotional song, by Tulsidas, the sixteenth-century poet who also wrote the Ramcharitmanas. It comes from his Vinay Patrika (“the petition”), a collection of songs in which he lays his prayers before Rama as if handing a petition to a king. In the printed editions this pad is headed with the raga name Gauri.
The song speaks first to the poet’s own mind (man) and tells it to worship Rama, then describes him from the lotus eyes down to the bow in his hand, and ends with a plain request that Rama live in the poet’s heart. The last verse names Tulsidas, which is how the authorship is known. The poem carries no date, so this page names only the century.
Many recordings and prayer-books repeat lines or add verses, so the version you have heard sung may be longer. The old printed editions give exactly the five verses below, and that is all this page prints.
The text, transliteration and meaning
Read each verse first, then the meaning beneath it. The language is the Sanskrit-rich Hindi of the Braj and Awadhi devotional poets, and many lines end in a Sanskrit-style am.
Verse 1
श्रीरामचन्द्र कृपालु भजु मन हरण भवभय दारुणं
नवकंज-लोचन कंज-मुख कर-कंज पद-कंजारुणं
Shriramachandr kripalu bhaju man haran bhavabhay darunam
Navakanja-lochan kanja-mukh kara-kanj pada-kanjarunam
MeaningO mind, worship the merciful Shri Ramachandra, who takes away the dreadful fear of worldly birth and death. His eyes are fresh lotuses, and his face, his hands and his feet are lotus-like too, with the soft red of the lotus.
Verse 2
कंदर्प अगणित अमित छवि नवनील-नीरद-सुंदरं
पट पीत मानहुँ तड़ित रुचि शुचि नौमि जनक-सुतावरं
Kandarp aganit amit chhavi navanila-nirada-sundaram
Pat pit manahun tarit ruchi shuchi naumi janaka-sutavaram
MeaningHis beauty is greater than that of countless gods of love. His body is the colour of a new dark rain cloud, and his yellow garment gleams on it like lightning. I bow to the pure Lord who is the husband of Sita, the daughter of Janaka.
Verse 3
भजु दीनबंधु दिनेश दानव-दैत्यवंश-निकंदनं
रघुनंद आनंदकंद कोसलचंद दशरथ-नंदनं
Bhaju dinabandhu dinesh danava-daityavamsha-nikandanam
Raghunand anandakand kosalachand dasharatha-nandanam
MeaningWorship the friend of the poor, bright as the sun, who uproots the demon and Daitya clans. He is the joy of the Raghu line, a root of delight, the moon of the Kosala country and the son of Dasharatha.
Verse 4
सिर मुकुट कुंडल तिलक चारु उदार अंग विभूषणं
आजानुभुज शर-चाप-धर संग्राम-जित-खरदूषणं
Sir mukut kundal tilak charu udar ang vibhushanam
Ajanubhuj shara-chapa-dhar sangrama-jita-kharadushanam
MeaningHe wears a crown on his head, earrings, a mark on his brow and fine ornaments on every limb. His arms reach to his knees, he carries a bow and arrows, and he won the battle against Khara and Dushana.
Verse 5
इति वदति तुलसीदास शंकर-शेष-मुनि-मन-रंजनं
मम हृदय-कंज निवास कुरु कामादि खल-दल-गंजनं
Iti vadati tulasidas shankara-shesha-muni-mana-ranjanam
Mam hridaya-kanj nivas kuru kamadi khala-dala-ganjanam
MeaningSo says Tulsidas: you who delight Shiva, Shesha and the sages, and who break up the band of lust, anger and the other faults, make your home in the lotus of my heart.
Text: Vinay Patrika, pad 45 in the Gita Press numbering, checked word by word against two older Indian Press prints (see the sourcing section below). Transliteration is simplified and drops the final short a as Hindi speech does; meanings are our own.
Notable variants: the Indian Press prints read इति वदत (not वदति) and करु (not कुरु) in verse 5. They also spell the words with स in place of श (कोसलचंद, दसरथ, दिनेस) and with न in place of ण (दारुनं, विभूषनं), which is spelling and not a different word. The prints differ on the nasal in मानहुँ and मानहु in verse 2.
How the text on this page is sourced
The text follows the Vinay Patrika edited and explained by Hanuman Prasad Poddar and printed by Gita Press, Gorakhpur, as scanned on Hindi Wikisource (page 79 of the scan). That page is machine-read text that has not yet been proofread, so it was not trusted on its own. It was checked, word by word, against three other witnesses on archive.org: a second scan of the Gita Press text (Navniketan Publication, New Delhi edition, identifier in.ernet.dli.2015.349917), the Vinay Patrika with notes by Rameshwar Bhatt, Indian Press Ltd, Prayag, 1931 (identifier quwu_vinay-patrika-of-goswami-tulsidas-annotated-by-rameshwar-bhatt-1931-prayag-indian-press-ltd), and a second Indian Press, Allahabad, printing of the same work (identifier UMWi_vinay-patrika-pandit-rameshvar-bhatt-indian-press-allahabad, undated).
Three small slips in the Wikisource machine text were corrected where the other witnesses agree: नवज became नवकंज, कंदर्षे became कंदर्प and शरस्चाप became शर-चाप. Beyond spelling, the witnesses differ in two readings only, both noted above. This page follows the Gita Press reading because it is the printing most readers know, and tells you where the 1931 print differs. The verses sometimes sung after this pad in recordings are not part of it in any of the editions consulted.
When it is sung
The song is a favourite at Ram Navami, the festival of Rama’s birth, and at evening bhajan gatherings at Ram temples. Some families sing it when they begin a day of reading the Ramayana, but there is no rule in the text: it is a song of praise, and any quiet hour suits it.
What the tradition says it is for
Devotees sing the pad to turn the mind towards Rama. The poem itself says what it asks for: the opening line sends the mind to the one who removes the fear of birth and death, and the closing line asks Rama to settle in the poet’s heart and break up desire, anger and the other faults. It makes no promise of worldly results, and this page makes none either. A song of devotion sits beside practical help and does not replace it. If you are unwell or in difficulty, please also see a doctor or an appropriate adviser.
Pronunciation notes
The lines are sung in a slow, flowing tune. In the transliteration a final short a is dropped as in Hindi speech, but the closing am of lines such as darunam and sundaram is the poet borrowing Sanskrit endings. The consonants sh and kh are soft, and bh in bhaju and bhava carries a puff of air. Listening once to a singer you trust is the best way to learn the rhythm.
Related mantras and pages
- Ram Navami: the festival of Rama’s birth, when the song is most often sung
- Ram Navami puja vidhi: how the day is observed at home
- Hanuman Chalisa: another poem of Tulsidas, in praise of Rama’s devotee
- Hanumat Pancharatnam: a Sanskrit hymn to Hanuman
- All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is Shri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhaju Man?
It is a five-verse devotional song, a pad, by Tulsidas from his Vinay Patrika. It tells the mind to worship the merciful Rama, describes his form and ends with a prayer that he live in the poet's heart.
↳ Who wrote it?
The last verse names Tulsidas, the sixteenth-century poet of the Ramcharitmanas. The Gita Press and Indian Press editions of the Vinay Patrika all include it, so the attribution rests on the poet's own name in the text and on the printed tradition.
↳ Why is the song I know longer than five verses?
Singers and recording artists often repeat lines, add verses or join it with other texts. The old editions of the Vinay Patrika print only the five verses given here, so this page prints only those.
↳ What does Kripalu Bhaju Man mean?
Kripalu means merciful, bhaju is the Awadhi form of worship, and man is the mind. The first line therefore says: O mind, worship the merciful Shri Ramachandra.
↳ When is it sung?
It is a favourite at Ram Navami and in evening bhajan gatherings at Rama temples. The text sets no day or number of repetitions, so follow your own family or temple practice.