Mangalacharanam

vande śrīrāmakṛṣṇānandasya pādāravinde
kāruṇyābdhorgurorme tattvaprabodhapradīpteḥ |
divyapremṇaḥ sudhāśrotāmmaḥpramagnaḥ sadaiva
bhaktemyo'sau dadāti śrīdevadevānurāgam ||

I bow down before the lotus feet of my Guru, Ramakrishnananda Swami Shaktipada, who is an ocean of mercy and the illuminator of the wisdom of Reality.

He is always immersed in the waters of the nectarine stream of Divine Love, and bestows upon the devotees love for the God of gods.

Praise to Vyasadeva, the composer of the Mahabharata

narayanam namaskrtya
naram caiva narottamam
devim sarasvatim vyasam
tato jayam udirayet

Before reciting this Mahabharata, which is the very means of conquest, one should offer respectful obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, Narayana, unto Nara—narayana Rsi, the supermost human being, unto mother Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, and unto Srila Vyasadeva, the author.

Praise to the Mahabharata

May the wisdom of this poem, like gently applied collyrium, opens the eyes of a world blinded by the darkness of ignorance.
As the sun dispels the dark, so doth this Bharata by its discourse on Dhrama, gain, pleasure and ultimate liberation, dispel the ignorance of men and women.
As the delicate moonlight expands the buds of the lotus flower, so this poetry expands the human intellect.
By the lamp of history, which destroys the darkness of ignorance, the entire realm of nature is completely illuminated.