{{Unreferenced, date=May 2007 Sriranga Gadyam is a Sanskrit prayer written by the

Srivaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

philosopher Swami

Ramanuja Ramanuja ( Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents ...

towards the end of the 11th century. It is one of the first bhakti prayers in this school of thought and is the basis for many prayers, like Raghuveera gadyam of this style. It is recited in the 108

divya desam A Divya Desam or Vaishnava Divya Desam is one of the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples that is mentioned in the works of the Alvars, the poet-saints of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Of the 108 temples, 105 are in India, one is in Nepal, and the las ...

temples including

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...

Context

and his disciples visited the

Ranganathaswamy Temple Ranganatha Temple or Ranganathaswamy Temple may refer to any of several temples dedicated to the Hindu God Ranganatha, including: ;Ranganatha *Ranganatha Temple, Nellore, in Andhra Pradesh * Ranganatha Temple, Thiruneermalai, in Tamil Nadu * Rang ...

on Panguni Uttiram, a day in the Tamil calendar month of Panguni (in spring) on the day of the ascension of the star called Uttiram. In

Tamil mythology Tamil mythology refers to the folklore and traditions that are a part of the wider Dravidian pantheon, originating from the Tamil people. This body of mythology is a fusion of elements from Dravidian culture and the parent Indus Valley cultur ...

, Uttiram was in ascent when the goddess of the temple, Sri Ranganayaki Tayar,

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

, was born. Ramanuja was inspired by the festivities of the day and composed of Sriranga Gadyam and Saranagati Gadyam.

Content

Sriranga Gadyam, unlike the commentaries of Ramanuja on

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

, does not have detailed philosophical debates. Instead it is a pure expression of bhakti and gives a detailed description of the God,

Ranganatha Ranganatha, also known as Ranganathar, Rangan, Aranganathar, Sri Ranga, and Thenarangathan, is a Hindu deity with his origin in South India, serving as the chief deity of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam. The deity is a resting form of ...

as the repository of countless guna, that he calls kalyana guna meaning "virtuous". First he describes Ranganatha as gyan (true and perfect knowledge), Bhala or power, in this case ability to support the whole Universe, Aishwarya (incomparable wealth and ruler ship of the Universe), veerya (untiring virility),

shakthi In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and re ...

(power to act without extraneous help), agni (unmatched radiance), Souseelya (purest character), Vaatsalya (pure unmitigated love), Maardava (affectionate tenderness towards devotees), Aarjava (honesty), Souhardha (thinking of good only), Samya( equanimous one), Karunya(Merciful), Madhurya (sweet even to enemies), Gambheerya (majesty and nobility), Audharya (giving out liberally), Chathurya (intelligence, ability to change even enemies into friends), Sthairya (determined to stay on chosen course), Dhairya (undaunted courage to bring succour to the bhakthas), Sowrya (ability to fight alone), Parakrama (winning the battles effortlessly), Sathya Kaama (having Thy will ever fulfilled), Sathya Sankalpa (having Thy deeds fully executed), Krutithvam (carrying out the duties of God), Kruthangnathai (remembering with gratitude even a little worship offered to Him) and repository and ocean of all such innumerable virtues; He is

parabrahman ''Para Brahman'' ( sa, परब्रह्म, translit=parabrahma, translit-std=IAST) in Hindu philosophy is the "Supreme Brahman" that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. It is described as the formless (in the sense th ...

and Purushotthaman (foremost of men). Next, he explains how he is trapped in Samsara and bound by his

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

into doing actions that result in sins. Neither gyan yoga, the yoga of knowledge nor Karma Yoga, the part of virtuous deeds as described in

Bhagvad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic '' Mahabharata'' (c ...

help him get

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

. Finally, he asks that unworthy as he is in so many ways, he be granted the grace of Ranganatha.

Style

Prose, alternate long and short sentences with many adjectival phrases.

External links

A translation at Sri Vaishnava Satsang's website
Bhakti movement Sri Vaishnavism