I reverence Sarasvati and Ganesha, the originators of letters and their meaning, of poetic sentiments and metres, too, and of all blessings.

I reverence Parvati and Shankara, the embodiments of faith and trust, without which even adepts cannot perceive God who dwells within them.

I reverence, as the incarnation of Shankara, the all-wise and eternal guru, through whom even the crescent moon, though crooked in shape, is universally honoured.

I reverence the lord of poets, Valmiki, and the monkey king, Hanuman, of pure intelligence, who haunt the holy forest of Rama and Sita’s infinite perfection.

I bow before Sita, the beloved of Rama, the cause of creation, preservation and dissolution, the destroyer of sorrow and the source of all blessings.

I reverence the Lord Hari, whose name is Rama, who is supreme overall causes, whose Maya (illusive power) holds away over the entire universe with Brahma and all the gods and demons; by whose light all this unreal world seems true, as when a rope is thought to be a snake; and whose feet are the only boat for those who are eager to cross the sea of birth and death.

In accord with all the Puranas, the Vedas and the Agamas, and with what has been told in the Ramayana (of Valmiki) and elsewhere, I, Tulasi, for his own soul’s delight, have composed these exceedingly elegant lays of Raghunatha in modern speech.