Sri Ranga Gadyam is the second among the three short prose
works (gadya traya) of Acharya Ramanuja. It is a prayer to Lord Ranganatha to
accept one as His eternal servant. The other two works of Ramanuja are
Saranagati Gadyam and Vaikunta Gadyam.
The three short prose works are of great cultural
importance. They were composed before the divine couple Lord Ranganatha and
Ranganayaki (Mahalakshmi) at the Srirangam Temple. Ramanuja surrendered
himself to them and felt a mystic experience.
Sri Ranga Gadyam is shorter than the others, a follow-up of
the first. It consists of seven aphorisms.
The first aphorism deals with upeya (end to be attained),
and the second describes upaya (means to that end). The first stipulates that
service (kainkarya) unto the divine couple is the end (upeya) and the second
affirms that the jivatma (individual self) should seek refuge at the feet of
Narayana through the mediatrix, Mahalakshmi (upaya).
The aphorisms state that animate and inanimate beings owe
their form and activity to God, who controls them. The Lord is free from all
afflictions and is above the results of both good and bad actions. He is the
foremost of the trinity. He is the Parabrahman, the all-pervasive Purushottama.
Such a Supreme Lord descended to this world and took his
abode at Srirangam, so that all humanity could worship Him and do kainkarya
(serving Him) at His lotus feet.
Ramanuja gives an account of how his self (atmaswarupa)
shone in brilliance anew. He takes pride in becoming His eternal servant. He
yearns to do all types of services for Him at all times and at all places.
Bibliography
History of Visishitaadvaita Literature (1979) – V K N S
Raghavan – Delhi Ajanta Publications