Swamusings – Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram – Original vs Popular!

A tweet on @PrakashSwamy twitter timeline was intriguing. It was about how the popular ‘Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram’ bhajan isn’t really the original song. Really… 🤔 Whoa!🙄

My head spins when I think about who made this song – the well-known, apparently non-original version – popular… None other than the ‘father of the nation’ Bapuji himself! 🥴 வாழ்க்கையில் எதையும், யாரையும் அப்படியே நம்பாமல் இருத்தலே உத்தமம்! 🤦🏻♂️😷🤘

The tweet that triggered this post and the investigation leading to it…

The ‘real’ bhajan, also known as ‘Ram Dhun’ is attributed to Shri Lakshmanacharya and is said to have been ‘derived’ from his book ‘Shri Nama Ramayanam.’ So I promptly went to BiG, aka Googleji and started the investigation – curious only, not criminal. Surprisingly, when reading or listening to the original, the reference to the bhajan itself is hard to find, or rather non-existent! 🥴

The ‘Nama Ramayanam’ itself is a very short book of 12 pages & is available on Amazon (surprisingly, not in Archive.org, though an audio version is available there 🙄). I’ll probably check that out as well (& I did – details further down in this post itself). 🤘

Three – yes, that’s 3 – versions of ‘Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram’, lyrics with meaning

About ‘Nama Ramayanam,’ which is said to be the origin of the ‘Ram Dhun’ bhajan

Listen to ‘Nama Ramayanam’ bhajan

… the intrigue continues… for now! 😂🙏

Hmmm… Downloaded the ‘Nama Ramayanam’ book by Shri Lakshmanacharya (thanks to Kindle unlimited 🤪) and checked quickly 🧐

‘Raghupati Raghava Raja Rama… Pathitha Paavana Sita Rama…’ itself isn’t found in any of the kaandas! 🥴🤷🏻♂️😷

Now the investigation is really stuck. It’s time someone more knowledgeable and more conversant with Sanskrit/Hindi took over this investigation and reveal the Truth, because the ‘Nation wants to know!’ Unlike a certain actor’s untimely demise, the enquiry about which has been taken over by CBI due to ‘popular request,’ a quiet scholar – of the sanatana dharmic kind, of course – would do for this one! 

In tamil there’s a famous saying…

கண்ணால் காண்பதும் பொய்… காதால் கேட்பதும் பொய்… தீர விசாரிப்பதே மெய்..! 

‘kannaal kaanbadhum poi… kaadhaal ketpadhum poi… theera visaarippadhe mei..!’

Translation:

Whatever is seen, with eyes, isn’t true…

Whatever is heard, with ears, isn’t true…

Whatever is found through elaborate / detailed (self) enquiry is the Truth!

Who really wrote ‘Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram..?’

Was it really based on ‘Sri Nama Ramayanam..?’

If so, then Why doesn’t the original have neither ‘Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram’ nor ‘Pathita Paavana Sita Ram’ in it, anywhere..?’

Is ‘Ram Dhun’ written by someone, at the behest of Gandhiji, and religiously sung in all his meetings, in order to emphasise religious harmony? If that’s the intent, that obviously didn’t seem to have yielded the desired results – even during Bapu’s days, though the song itself has become quite popular and is instantly associated with the Mahatma, by the general public. The present digital generation, as ever, is most likely unaware of all this and may not even have heard this bhajan, unless it’s played during Independence/Republic Day assembly at their school!

Well, whatever may be the origin of the bhajan, the ‘Truth’ – not about the bhajan or its writer, but about the Creator and the vast, cosmic creation, in which we too exist in one tiny planet in some nondescript corner, along with millions of other living beings – isn’t out there, somewhere. It’s very much within ourselves. So, the exact lyrics of the bhajan itself isn’t really important. The bhava and the sense of saranagathi (surrender), towards the divine, is all that matters – whichever version of the divine Naama one renders. Whether one likes one version or dislikes another doesn’t matter to either the creator, or the vast cosmic creation!

Jai Shri Ram. 🙌🏻😌🙏

P.S.: Upon completing this brief investigative journalistic venture, I was left wondering ‘Man… Why am I not employed as an ‘investigative journalist’ by any media group…’ 🤔 May be no media talent scouts read blogs with readworthy content… who knows! 😂 

Oh right, almost forgot that I chose to be ‘Non-employed’, few years ago, when I bid farewell to 24×7 paid corporate servitude and took  early retirement – planned of course… 😷

So, this level of ‘investigation’ and sharing is more than enough… I guess! 😂🙏

~Swamy | @PrakashSwamy