Kodanda Rama Charitam Vol III Book X Chp 15 Shlokas 9 - 17
आसीत्पूर्वं चेन्यपुर्यां विरक्तो ब्राह्मणोत्तमः |
नाम्ना कोदण्डरामार्यो विट्ठलध्यानतत्परः ||
आषाढशुक्लैकादश्यां गन्तुं श्रीपण्डरीपुरम् |
इच्छन् कार्यालयं गत्वा ययाचेsनुमतिं महान् ||
पाक्ष्चात्यः क्रैस्तवः स्वामी ददावनुमतिं न च |
चिन्तामवाप भक्तक्ष्च बहुधा दूनमानसः ||
अर्थसंपादनं त्यक्त्वा सुखं जीवन्ति पक्षिणः |
यदृच्छालाभसंतुष्टाः स्वच्छन्दं सञ्चरन्ति हि ||
किन्तु मर्त्यमुपाश्रित्य मर्त्या दुःखसमाकुलाः |
स्वातन्त्र्यरहिता लोके जीवन्ति किल दुर्भगाः ||
तथाहमपि निर्लज्जो व्यर्थमेवोदरंभरः |
विस्मृत्य पाण्डुरङ्गं तु पाक्ष्चात्यमिमामाश्रितः ||
अनन्यनिष्ठं भक्तञ्च निर्भयं निर्भरम् तथा |
शरण्यः सर्वलोकानां किं न रक्षति मां प्रभुः ||
क्ष्वः करिष्यामि तद्भक्तिमिति केचिद्वदन्ति हि |
पक्ष्चादेव स्थितं मृत्युं ते न जानन्ति वञ्चकाः ||
तस्मादद्यैव सहसा निर्भयो निर्भरस्त्वहम् |
सन्निधिं पाण्डुरङ्गस्य गमिष्यामि न संशयः ||
Long back there was a devout and exalted brahmana called Kodanda Rama Iyer residing in Madras. He was rid of worldly desires and had the dhyana of Panduranga as the only goal to be attained in life. That exalted personality wanted to visit Pandaripuram on the Shukla Paksha Ekadashi day in the Tamil month of Aadi (August-September). Hence he sought permission to be away from his work spot. The christian white chief declined to give him permission to go. The Bhakta was very sad and was entertaining varied thoughts in his mind. He thought, "Oh! These birds lead a happy life, they are quite contented with their lot and fly freely. They do not have to worry about making money. But we men have to serve our fellow-beings, lose freedom and suffer a lot. Thus our lives become miserable. I have forgotten Lord Panduranga and have made myself a slave of these white men. Shamelessly, I am earning my livelihood in this mean way. If I give up all other ways and surrender to Him as the last resort, will He not protect me? He is the refuge of all. Taking refuge in Him, I can lead a fearless life rid of all burden. People on this earth postpone the cultivation of Bhakti. But those deceitful men forget that life is short and death awaits them incessantly. Hence, I am going to shed all my burden, all my fears and am going to take refuge in Lord Panduranga immediately. Yes! I will do it now itself.
