Listen, my stupid soul : who has not been saved by adoring Ýr¶ RŒma, the purifier of the fallen? The harlot (Pi˘galŒ), AjŒmila, the hunter (VŒlm¶ki), the vulture (Ja¢Œyu), the elephant and many other wretches have been delivered by Him. Even bh¶ras (a hilly tribe inhabiting the south-west coast in the ancient times), Yavanas, KirŒtas (Bh¶las), Khasas (another hill-tribe found in Assam), CŒ˜˛Œlas (the pariah) and others, the very embodiments of grievous sin, are hallowed by merely uttering Your name even once : I adore You, O RŒma. Men who repeat to others, listen to (when repeated by others) or chant alone this narrative of Ýr¶ RŒma (the Ornament of Raghu’s race) thereby wipe out the sins that are incident to the Kali age as well as the impurities of their soul, and ascend to the Abode of Ýr¶ RŒma without any difficulty. Nay the Chief of the Raghus 1100 * ÝR” RMACARITAMNASA* cures the perversities, caused by the fivefold * ignorance, of those men who treasure up in their heart even a few CaupŒ¶s (small four-footed verses) of this narrative that appeal to them as most charming. If there is anyone who is all-beautiful, all-wise and all-merciful and who is fond of the forlorn, it is RŒma and RŒma alone; who else can compare with Him as a disinterested friend and a bestower of eternal bliss? Nowhere can we find a lord like Ýr¶ RŒma, by an iota of whose grace even the dull-witted Tulas¶dŒsa has found supreme peace. (1—3)