Shri Ram Stuti

Story Behind Shri Ram Stuti

“Shri Ram Stuti” was Ilajna’s first released song, which made it especially meaningful as an introduction to her devotional voice.

Rather than rewriting or modernising the text, the intention was to honour Goswami Tulsidas Ji’s original verses and let their beauty remain at the center. The stuti is both praise and prayer: it describes Shri Ram’s beauty, compassion, strength, nobility and divine nature, while gradually becoming more intimate in its appeal.

One of the most beautiful ideas in the prayer is that devotion is not only about admiring Shri Ram from afar. It culminates in the desire that He reside within the heart and remove the inner enemies of desire and attachment.

The later verses, with Sita receiving the blessing of Gauri, add another layer of tenderness, destiny and divine grace. So the composition moves naturally between majesty and intimacy, between worship of the Lord and the deeply human longing to be close to Him.

For Ilajna, this was a fitting first release because it established something important from the beginning: devotional music would not be treated merely as traditional material to be reproduced, but as living poetry to be felt, interpreted and offered sincerely.

At its heart, her rendition of “Shri Ram Stuti” is simply an offering of reverence to Shri Ram and Sita, carried through one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bhakti tradition.

श्री रामचन्द्र कृपालु भजुमन, हरण भवभय दारुणं ।
नव कंज लोचन कंज मुख, कर कंज पद कंजारुणं ॥१॥

कन्दर्प अगणित अमित छवि, नव नील नीरद सुन्दरं ।
पटपीत मानहुँ तडित रुचि शुचि, नोमि जनक सुतावरं ॥२॥

भजु दीनबन्धु दिनेश दानव दैत्य वंश निकन्दनं ।
रघुनन्द आनन्द कन्द कोशल चन्द दशरथ नन्दनं ॥३॥

शिर मुकुट कुंडल तिलक चारु उदारु अङ्ग विभूषणं ।
आजानु भुज शर चाप धर संग्राम जित खरदूषणं ॥४॥

इति वदति तुलसीदास शंकर शेष मुनि मन रंजनं ।
मम् हृदय कंज निवास कुरु कामादि खलदल गंजनं ॥५॥

मन जाहि राच्यो मिलहि सो वर सहज सुन्दर सांवरो ।
करुणा निधान सुजान शील स्नेह जानत रावरो ॥६॥

एहि भांति गौरी असीस सुन सिय सहित हिय हरषित अली।
तुलसी भवानिहि पूजी पुनि-पुनि मुदित मन मन्दिर चली ॥७॥

जानी गौरी अनुकूल सिय हिय हरषु न जाइ कहि ।
मंजुल मंगल मूल वाम, अङ्ग फरकन लगे।