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In the history of Indian cinema and television, the life story of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram has always been the center of indelible reverence in the hearts of the people. The first official devotional song ‘Jai Jai Ram’ of the upcoming much-awaited mythological film ‘Ramayan’ starring actor Ranbir Kapoor has gone viral at a rapid pace among music lovers and Ram devotees as soon as it was released. As soon as this modern musical composition became public, crores of devotees across the country got fresh memories of the timeless title track of director Ramanand Sagar’s historical serial ‘Ramayan’ (1987), which was broadcast on Doordarshan 39 years ago, whose echo used to fill the courtyards of entire India with devotion on Sunday mornings. The life element of that immortal title song was the sacred stanza – ‘Mangal Bhavan Amangal Hari’, which is actually an excellent proven quatrain of the immortal text ‘Shri Ramcharitmanas’ written in Awadhi language by the great poet Goswami Tulsidas Ji Maharaj.
In the Vedic and Sanatan Hindu religion tradition, whenever the daily recitation of the entire Akhand Shri Ramcharitmanas, Shri Ramkatha or Shri Sunderkand is organised, it is considered mandatory to recite this specific Chaupai in the form of a packet after the completion of each Soratha, Doha and Chhand. According to the Sant Samaj and the storytellers, adding this couplet like a capsule to any religious hymn increases the spiritual fruit of the text manifold. When Ramanand Sagar prepared the outline of his television Ramayana, he made this traditional Chaupai the main musical formula of the serial, which was immortalized by Ravindra Jain’s divine music direction and charming singing. But despite being much talked about, most of the listeners of the modern generation are only familiar with its melodious rhythm and remain unaware of its actual philosophical meaning.
This original Chaupai quoted from Balkand of Shri Ramcharitmanas is written as follows:
That which brings in the auspicious and takes away the inauspicious. Dravahu Sudsarath Ajir Bihari॥
Each word of this sacred quatrain contains the deep spiritual mystery of devotion and surrender:
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Mangal Bhavan: ‘Mangal’ means all kinds of welfare, happiness, peace, prosperity and auspiciousness; ‘Bhavan’ means that supreme abode, storehouse or inexhaustible storehouse where auspiciousness itself resides. That is, Lord Shri Ram himself is the source of all auspiciousness and happiness.
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Inauspicious loss: ‘Auspicious’ means misfortune, calamity, sin, pain, disease and all kinds of evils; ‘Hari’ means the one who completely abducts or destroys them.
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Dravihu: Its literal meaning is to melt, to be fluid, to be extremely kind or to shower compassion easily.
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Sudsaratha: The most virtuous Chakravarti Maharaj Dashrath.
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Azir: The sacred courtyard of a palace or house.
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Bihari: Those who play or roam around in childish form.
In this way, the simple meaning of the entire Chaupai is that the Supreme God himself is the supreme abode of all welfare and happiness, who is the destroyer of all the sufferings, adversities and evils of the devotees, may Lord Shri Ramchandra Ji Maharaj, who used to play in the form of a child in the courtyard of Maharaj Dasharatha, keep his infinite compassion and kind eye on me, the poor and destitute.
This quatrain is present in the first step ‘Balkand’ of Shri Ramcharitmanas written by Goswami Tulsidas ji. Tulsidas ji has expressed this sentiment while praising the supernatural beauty and pastimes of childhood of the four brothers – Shri Ram, Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan – as the full incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Avadhpuri. When Brahma himself, in the form of an innocent child, walks on his knees in the courtyard of father Dasharatha and mother Kausalya and enchants the people of Ayodhya with his childlike actions, then the child form of that Supreme Brahma has been worshiped affectionately through this Chaupai. When the devotee remembers this sinless child form of the Lord, his ego automatically vanishes and a deep feeling of love awakens in his heart.
According to religious, astrological and psychological beliefs, ‘Mangal Bhavan Amangal Hari’ is not just a poetic line but is as effective as a proven and awakened Vedic Mahamantra. When a person regularly chants this Chaupai 108 times in the morning or evening, there is wonderful mental peace and stability in his heart. The specific phonetic structure of Awadhi Chhand Shastra proves helpful in calming the nerves of the brain and eradicating depression or anxiety. It is believed that in a family where this Chaupai is sung collectively every day, negative waves like planetary defects, fear of the unknown, Vaastu defects and poverty are automatically expelled and an atmosphere of positive energy and family harmony is created in the entire Vaastu.
Today, when in the digital era, there is a renaissance of Sanatan culture through cinema and modern music, then this flow of ancient Chaupais proves that Tulsidas ji’s literature is eternal. When the new generation connects with the old memories of Ramanand Sagar through the songs of Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana, it becomes clear that the techniques and presentations may change, but the spiritual power, the juice of devotion and the philosophy that takes life from darkness to light, contained in the four chapters of Shri Ramcharitmanas, is as relevant, inspiring and venerable even today as it was centuries ago.