Stothras in Sanskrit means hymns in praise of God and Rathna means gems. So the word stothra rathna is used to express the meaning of gems among the praise of God. Sanskrit was the lingua franca of the intellectuals in ancient India. Most of these hymns were composed by great sages and saints in the language of Sanskrit. To truly appreciate the beauty of a hymn and to chant it with purest devotion, it is imperative to know its meaning. But in these modern times when an average man is supposed to learn the language of his livelihood i.e. English, even mother tongue and not to mention cultural languages like Sanskrit is not spoken with confidence. Hence the need to translate these ancient gems to English and to bring them to masses.
Thanks to Sri. P R Ramachander a famous retired scientist, whose Bhageeratha prayatna has resulted in the translation of more than 350 Stothra Ratnas. He has published 150 papers and 4 books and has interests in Astrology and horoscopes, Historical studies, English poems, Translating Stothras in to english. You can visit his homepage: http//www.geocities.com/ramya475 The Stothrarathnas website is maintained by Mr. Vinay Yadav who is a software professional.
You can enjoy the magnificence of the ancient hymns at the following link.
Thanks to good souls like Mr. P R Ramachander, the sanatana dharma is kept alive.
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