Lord Rama: Who He Is, With His Mantras and Prayers

Who is Lord Rama?

Hindus revere Lord Rama as an incarnation of Vishnu and an embodiment of dharma, or righteousness. Sita is his wife, and Lakshmana is his younger brother. He is depicted with blue skin. His birth is celebrated at Ram Navami.

Ram mantras with meaning

Below are the 13 mantras and verses to Lord Rama in Diya's prayer library, in Sanskrit and in English letters, each with its meaning in plain English.

Mantra (Sanskrit and transliteration)	Meaning in English
Śrī Rāma Jaya Rāma Jaya Jaya Rāma श्रीराम जय राम जय जय राम śrīrāma jaya rāma jaya jaya rāma	Victory to Lord Rama! Victory to Rama, victory upon victory to Rama!
Invocation to Rama ॐ श्री रामाय नमः । oṃ śrī rāmāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to Lord Rama.
Invocation to Sita and Rama ॐ श्री सीतारामाभ्यां नमः । oṃ śrī sītārāmābhyāṃ namaḥ |	Om. I bow to revered Sita and Rama together.
Invocation to Ramachandra ॐ श्री रामचन्द्राय नमः । oṃ śrī rāmacandrāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to Lord Ramachandra, moonlike Rama.
Rāma Rāmeti Rāmeti रामरामेति रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे । सहस्रनामतत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥ rāmarāmeti rāmeti rame rāme manorame | sahasranāmatattulyaṃ rāmanāma varānane ||	Repeating 'Rama, Rama, Rama,' I delight in Rama, who delights the heart. O lovely-faced Parvati, Rama's name is equal to Vishnu's thousand names.
Rāmāya Rāmabhadrāya रामाय रामभद्राय रामचन्द्राय वेधसे । रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीतायाः पतये नमः ॥ २७॥ rāmāya rāmabhadrāya rāmacandrāya vedhase | raghunāthāya nāthāya sītāyāḥ pataye namaḥ || 27||	I bow to Rama, gracious Ramabhadra, moonlike Ramachandra, the creator; to the Lord of Raghu's line, the Lord who is Sita's husband.
Mātā Rāmo Matpitā Rāmacandraḥ माता रामो मत्पिता रामचन्द्रः स्वामी रामो मत्सखा रामचन्द्रः । सर्वस्वं मे रामचन्द्रो दयालुर्नान्यं जाने नैव जाने न जाने ॥ ३०॥ mātā rāmo matpitā rāmacandraḥ svāmī rāmo matsakhā rāmacandraḥ | sarvasvaṃ me rāmacandro dayālurnānyaṃ jāne naiva jāne na jāne || 30||	Rama is my mother; Ramachandra is my father. Rama is my Lord; Ramachandra is my friend. Compassionate Ramachandra is everything to me. I know no other—truly, no other, no other.
Rāma Rakṣā 28 श्रीराम राम रघुनन्दन राम राम श्रीराम राम भरताग्रज राम राम । श्रीराम राम रणकर्कश राम राम श्रीराम राम शरणं भव राम राम ॥ २८॥ śrīrāma rāma raghunandana rāma rāma śrīrāma rāma bharatāgraja rāma rāma | śrīrāma rāma raṇakarkaśa rāma rāma śrīrāma rāma śaraṇaṃ bhava rāma rāma || 28||	Lord Rama, joy of Raghu's family; Rama, Bharata's elder brother; Rama, fierce in battle—Rama, be my refuge.
Rāma Rakṣā 29 श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ मनसा स्मरामि श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ वचसा गृणामि । श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ शिरसा नमामि श्रीरामचन्द्रचरणौ शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥ २९॥ śrīrāmacandracaraṇau manasā smarāmi śrīrāmacandracaraṇau vacasā gṛṇāmi | śrīrāmacandracaraṇau śirasā namāmi śrīrāmacandracaraṇau śaraṇaṃ prapadye || 29||	In my mind I remember Lord Ramachandra's feet; with my words I praise them. I bow my head to his feet and surrender to them as my refuge.
Rāma Rakṣā 31 दक्षिणे लक्ष्मणो यस्य वामे तु जनकात्मजा । पुरतो मारुतिर्यस्य तं वन्दे रघुनन्दनम् ॥ ३१॥ dakṣiṇe lakṣmaṇo yasya vāme tu janakātmajā | purato mārutiryasya taṃ vande raghunandanam || 31||	I bow to Rama, joy of Raghu's family, with Lakshmana on his right, Sita, Janaka's daughter, on his left, and Hanuman, son of the wind, before him.
Āpadāmapahartāraṃ आपदामपहर्तारं दातारं सर्वसम्पदाम् । लोकाभिरामं श्रीरामं भूयो भूयो नमाम्यहम् ॥ ३५॥ āpadāmapahartāraṃ dātāraṃ sarvasampadām | lokābhirāmaṃ śrīrāmaṃ bhūyo bhūyo namāmyaham || 35||	Again and again I bow to Lord Rama, delight of the world, praised here as the remover of troubles and the giver of every kind of prosperity.
Rāmaṃ Lakṣmaṇapūrvajaṃ रामं लक्ष्मणपूर्वजं रघुवरं सीतापतिं सुन्दरं काकुत्स्थं करुणार्णवं गुणनिधिं विप्रप्रियं धार्मिकम् । राजेन्द्रं सत्यसन्धं दशरथतनयं श्यामलं शान्तमूर्तिं वन्दे लोकाभिरामं रघुकुलतिलकं राघवं रावणारिम् ॥ २६॥ rāmaṃ lakṣmaṇapūrvajaṃ raghuvaraṃ sītāpatiṃ sundaraṃ kākutsthaṃ karuṇārṇavaṃ guṇanidhiṃ viprapriyaṃ dhārmikam | rājendraṃ satyasandhaṃ daśarathatanayaṃ śyāmalaṃ śāntamūrtiṃ vande lokābhirāmaṃ raghukulatilakaṃ rāghavaṃ rāvaṇārim || 26||	I bow to beautiful, dark-hued Rama, Lakshmana's elder brother, Sita's husband, Dasharatha's son, and descendant of Kakutstha. Raghava, finest descendant and crowning glory of Raghu's line, is an ocean of compassion, a treasure of virtues, dear to Brahmins, righteous, a king among kings, true to his promises, peaceful in form, a delight to the world, and Ravana's enemy.
Rāma Rakṣā 32 लोकाभिरामं रणरङ्गधीरं राजीवनेत्रं रघुवंशनाथम् । कारुण्यरूपं करुणाकरं तं श्रीरामचन्द्रं शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥ ३२॥ lokābhirāmaṃ raṇaraṅgadhīraṃ rājīvanetraṃ raghuvaṃśanātham | kāruṇyarūpaṃ karuṇākaraṃ taṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ śaraṇaṃ prapadye || 32||	I take refuge in Lord Ramachandra, delight of the world, steadfast on the battlefield, with lotus-like eyes, Lord of Raghu's line—the very form of compassion and its source.

Diya's English gives the meaning of each verse in plain language; it is not a word-for-word translation.

Prayers to Lord Rama

• Ram Raksha Stotra Lyrics in English, With Meaning
• Mangal Bhavan Amangal Hari Lyrics, With Meaning

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• Hindu Gods and Goddesses: Who They Are and Their Prayers
• Ram Navami: meaning and approaches to observance
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