vAme BhumisuthA slokam

[VK RAMAN]

I like to have the meaning of this sloka and who wrote this under what context?

vAme BhumisuthA purasccha HanumAn pascchaath Sumitraa sutha:
SatrugnO Bharathasccha paarsva dhaLayOrvaayvaadhi kONeshu cha I
Sugreevasccha VibhishaNasccha Yuvaraat Taaraa suthO JaambhavAn
MadhyE NEELA SAROJA KOMALA RUCHIM RAAMAM bhajE syAmaLam II

Trichur Brothers recited this slokam before rendering pibare ramarasam

[Rajani]

I think this is by Tulasidasa and appears in the Ram Charita Manas.

vAme BhumisuthA - To (his) left is Seetha,
purasccha HanumAn - Hanuman in front,
pascchaath Sumitraa sutha - Lakshmana behind (him),
SatrugnO Bharathasccha - Shatrughna and Bharata
paarsva dhaLayOr - on the sides
vaayvaadhi kONeshu cha - In the four corners ruled by the Gods Vayu etc
Sugreevasccha VibhishaNasccha Yuvaraat Taaraa suthO JaambhavAn - are Sugriva, Vibhisha, the crown prince Angada and Jambavan
RAAMAM bhajE syAmaLam - I adore Rama, the dark one,
MadhyE - (who is )In the middle,
NEELA SAROJA KOMALA RUCHIM - who has the softness and beauty of a blue lotus

Vayu and others are among the Ashta-dik-paalakas and govern a direction each.

[rshankar]

Rajani - very nice!
Aren't the lords of the different corners (8) along with the one at the center propitiated with the nava- (9) sandhi kauttuvams?
Just to fix the pronunciation, I have tried to correct the words, and use our transliteration system. Can you check if I have it correctly?

vAmE bhUmisutA purasca hanumAn pascAt sumitrA sutaha
SatrughnO bharatasca pArSva daLayOr vAyvAdi kONeSu ca I
sugrIvasca vibhIshaNasca yuvarAT tArA sutO jAmbavAn
madhyE nIla sarOja kOmaLa rucim rAmam bhajE SyAmaLam II

A few expansions to Rajani's translation (if I may):

bhUmi sutA - daughter (sutA) of the earth (sItA)
sumitrA sutaha - son (sutaha) of sumitrA (lakshmaNa)
tArA sutO - son of tArA (angada)

[PUNARVASU]

Vayu and others are among the Ashta-dik-paalakas and govern a direction each.

Rajani

I remember this 'shlokam'

indrO vanhihi pitrupathihi
nairrutO varuNO marut
kubEra Ishaha patayha
pUrvAdInam dishAm kramAt.

Meaning: The eight Gods for the eight directions starting from East in the order are:
Indra, vanhi(fire), pitrupatihi(yama) nairruta, varuNa ,marut, kubEra and Isha.

[Pratyaksham Bala]

वामे भूमिसुता पुरश्च हनुमान् पश्चात् सुमित्रासुतः
शत्रुघ्नो भरतश्च पार्श्वदलयोः वाय्वादि कोणेषु च।
सुग्रीवश्च विभीषणश्च युवराट् तारासुतो जांबवान्
मध्ये नील सरोज कोमळरुचिं रामं भजे श्यामळं॥

Ref #3 -
SatrughnO - shatrughnO
pArSva daLayOr - pArshva dalayOr
vibhIshaNasca - vibhISaNasca
SyAmaLam - shyAmaLam

[Rajani]

Thanks Punarvasu, Ravi and Bala for those wonderful additions. Ravi - it is interesting how the three people are remembered with their mothers!

[PUNARVASU]

As an aside-The Maharashtra State Board of Education started the practice of writing the mother's name of the students in their H.Sc. (XII Std) certificate-I think it was started in 2000. I remember it very well because I felt cheated(my younger son passed his XII Std. in 1999.)

[VK RAMAN]

PUNARVASU - That is very interesting and I also did not know. Is it in Maharashtra or all other states too?

[rshankar]

Ravi - it is interesting how the three people are remembered with their mothers!

An axiom in genetics states that while paternity is conjectural, maternity is certain. This axiom has lead to many genetic discoveries - for instance, if a boy's Y chromosome did not match his father's, it would, in all probability be considered a case of disputed paternity and ignored. When a boy's X chromosome did not match his mother's, it lead to the identification of rare chimeras! Although, in these days of surrogate motherhood, I am not so sure about the validity of such axioms...

[PUNARVASU]

VK Raman, I do not know bout the other states in India.

[Pratyaksham Bala]

The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education, India) amended its bye-laws in 2001 to incorporate this provision:-
"68 Provision of mother’s name
The candidates will have the option either to mention the mother's name or the father's name or both into the records of the Board (Certificate, Marks Statement etc.)"

[VK RAMAN]

Thanks PB. It is now up to each State Board of Education to adopt such a provision in their bye laws. At least schools coming under CBSE will follow this provision.

[Sundara Rajan]

I doubt if this sloka in pure Sanskrit is from Tulasi's Ramacharita Manas, which is in Awadi, an Eastern dialect of Hindi. It should be from another source in Sanskrit.

[Pratyaksham Bala]

IMHO this is a Sanskrit dhyna slokam usually sung before reciting Ramayana.
It is also recited at the end of Shri Ramabhujangaprayata Stotram.

[Rsachi]

Friends,
I dont know the authorship of this shloka, but Tulsidas has composed many Sanskrit shlokas as a part of Ramacharitmanas. Here is the first page: