Raghavaashtakam

[Guest guest]

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

Pranams.

 

Some time ago I wrote a mail to the list asking for

the name of the composer of Ragahvaashtakam.

I have found it now.

Sri Adhi Shankara has written this beautiful

sthothram.The kind of experience one gets in reciting

/ singing this is something on par with the experience

one gets in Govindhashtakam.

But I have a question to ask.

There are 8 stanzas and 1 phala sruthi.

It is customary to begin with sudharshna sthuthi

'kanaka rajatha chakram'

and end with

'nigama sarasi rathnam..'

There is one stanza of 'namosthuthE' reciting

different names of Sri Rama, which is repeated at the

end of each stanza.

As I have learnt it orally from my parents and had not

seen it in any sthothra book until a week ago, I was

in the opinion that these were later additions. With

these the number of stanzas are 12 in Raghavaashtakam

But in the 2 editions (Sthothra maala on vishnu from

LIFCO and a 1962 edition of sundara khandam )in which

I spotted this sthothra, the 3 additional stanzas are

given as part of Raghavaashtakam.

My question is

'Have these been written by Sri shankara?'

 

If the bhagavathas go through particularly the

bweginning stanza, they may be able to tell.

It runs thus:

'kanaka rajatha chakram

bhasuraa ramya chakram

giri vara guru chkram

kEshava swami chkram.

Asura nidhana chakram

kaala dandaagni chakram

bhavathu bhavathu chakram

bandhavO vishnu chakram

 

Who has authored the above one which is recited as

part of the Sudharshana moola manthra - Sri shankara

or some one else?

 

Let me give the 12 th stanza too.

' Nigama sarasi rathnam

nithyama saktha rathnam

nikila sukruthi rathnam

janaki roopa rathnam.

Bhuvana valaya rathnam

bhoobhrutha mEgha rathnam

prakruthi sulabha rathnam

mythili praaNa rathnam.'

Has this been written by Shankara or not?

 

I request our devotees to part with the information

they have.

 

jayasree sarnathan.

 

PS:-

As far as I know no singer of repute has rendered this

in audio.We follow a certain tune to sing this. I have

framed the notation for this for violin. Interested

persons may write to me for the sthothram and the

notation as well.

 

[ Please limit discussion of non-Sri Vaishnava works and

scriptures in this group so we may appropriately place

focus on the texts that are most relevant to us. Please

feel free to reply to Smt. Jayasree, but conduct extended

discussion of these topics to the sv-poetry and sv-general

groups. Thanks -- Moderator ]