Author – Awadhesh Sharma
Shree Ramcharitmanas, the retelling of the Valmiki Ramayan in Awadhi language, is a highly revered Hindu scripture. Traditional Hindu families in northern India, and those originating from there, normally keep a copy of it in their homes, as a sacred object. Goswami Tulasidas composed Ramcharitmanas in poems in the language of the common people. It made the story of Ram available to the general public in an easy to memorise and recite format. Awadhi was the language of Ayodhya region during Tulasidas’ time and is considered a precursor of modern Hindi and other north Indian languages.
Little facts about events of Tulasidas’ life are available in his works. Ancient sources describing his life’s events are books entitled Bhaktamal composed by Nabhadas, Bhakti-Rasbodhini by Priyadas, Mul-Gosain-Charit by Veni Madhav, Gosain-Charit by Bhavanidas and Gautam-Chandrika by Krishna Datta Mishra. Nabhadas and Veni Madhav were contemporaries of Tulasidas, and Krishna Datta’s father was his close companion. Books by Priyadas and Bhavanidas were written almost a century after Tulasidas’ death. The modern biography of Tulasidas is derived from his own works and from details specified in the above-listed books.
Tulasidas was born in a village named Rajapur in the Chitrakoot district of modern Uttar Pradesh, on the seventh day of the bright fortnight in the month of Shravan of Vikram Samvat VS1554 (July-August 1497AD). He was born after a twelve-month gestation period in his mother’s womb. His father’s name was Atmaram and mother was Hulasi Devi. At birth he uttered the word Ram. He looked like a five years old boy at birth and had all his adult thirty-two teeth grown. According to the astrological calculation, he was born during an inauspicious constellation of stars. Local astrologers asserted the newborn baby was dangerous to his parents and close relatives. Fearing for the safety of her child, and bad omens, the mother Hulasi gave the baby to her helper Chunia and sent her to her village. The next day Hulasi passed away.
Chunia Devi took care of the baby despite disapproval from family members, relatives and friends. When the child was five and half years old, Chunia passed away and the boy became an orphan. Now the boy had to fend for himself. He survived on the kindness of others. It is believed that during this time, goddess Parvati used to feed him in the disguise of a devout woman. The boy had an innate attraction to lord Ram and he used to chant his name regularly.
A saint named Naraharidas of Ramanandi Vaishnav sect during his travel noticed the boy on the streets and recognised his traits. The saint asked the boy to accompany him to his Ashram, where he would be taken care of food, accommodation and education. The boy agreed and went with him. Naraharidas named the boy Rambola after learning about his past.
At the Ashram, the saint performed Rombola’s thread ceremony and other relevant rites and then initiated him into the Ramanandi Vaishnav sect. Rambola started studies at his Ashram in Ayodhya at the age of seven years. He had a sharp mind and could commit to memory whatever he heard from his teachers’ mouth even once. At the Ashram, Rambola was assigned to water and take care of Tulasi, the basil plants, which are considered especially sacred to Vaishnav sect. Being a carer of Tulasi plants, Rambola became known as Tulasidas, an aide of Tulasi.
Tulasidas followed his teacher Naraharidas to the Soron Sookar region, where a popular temple dedicated to Varah incarnation of lord Vishnu was located. There he listened to the stories from the Ramayan, delivered by his teacher. After spending some time in Soron, Tulasidas went to Kashi for further studies. In Kashi, he stayed with Shesh Sanatanji, a friend of Naraharidas and a renowned scholar on literature and philosophy. He studied Vedic texts including the Vedas, Vedangas, Jyotish and Hindu Philosophies, for around fifteen years. Towards the end of this period, Tulasidas had become known amongst educated communities for his expertise in telling spiritual tales.
With permission from his teacher, Tulasidas returned to his village and found none of his family members or close relatives alive. He performed sacred rites for departed family members and commenced regular religious discourses in the village. His sermons were well liked by the local public. A father looking for a groom for his daughter attended the lecture and was mesmerised by his charm and scholarship. The father offered him to marry his daughter Ratnavali. Tulasidas agreed and the wedding was solemnised in VS1583. They lived happily in the village. Tulasidas was very fond of his wife and was unwilling to be apart from her.
One day when Tulasidas had left the house for some work, Ratnavali went with her brother to their parents’ house. Her sick father was keen to see his daughter, as she had not visited him since a long time. When Tulasidas returned home and could not find her, he immediately started for his in-laws’ house. It was raining heavily and rivers were flooded. He crossed the river over a floating corpse. After walking a long distance during the night he arrived at his destination.
He entered the house through a window, which he reached by climbing a dangling snake, assuming it to be a rope. When Ratnavali and his in-laws learnt of his adventure, they were shocked. Ratnavali was especially upset and ashamed of his conduct. She rebuked him and said, ‘you are too attracted to my body made of bones and flesh. If you had even half of that attraction to God, your life would have been redeemed.’ Tulasidas was made speechless by the remark and left her immediately. He went to Prayagraj and renounced his Grihastha, householder stage of life. He became a Sadhu, holy man.
He travelled to many sacred places across India and the Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, and finally arrived at Kashi. In Kashi, he used to sit under a tree and chant the name of Ram. He also used to water the tree with the water from River Ganga. It is believed that the spirit of the tree became pleased with his chanting of word Ram and offering of Ganga water. The spirit requested Tulasidas to ask for a boon to repay his services. Tulasidas asked the spirit to arrange a meeting with Ram. The tree spirit expressed its inability to do so, but explained him how he could locate Hanuman who would help him meet Ram.
Tulasidas located Hanuman, who regularly used to listen to discourses on Ram. Hanuman, in human form, was the first to arrive at the discourse venue and the last to depart. Hanuman provided details to Tulasidas of how he could meet Ram at Chitrakoot. Tulasidas went to Chitrakoot, and there he saw both Ram and Lakshaman riding horses near him but could not recognise them. Next day, when Tulasidas was grinding sandalwood paste at the bank of a river, Ram and Lakshaman came to him and applied the paste on their own and Tulasidas’ forehead. Hanuman, in the form of a parrot, sang signalling their presence. Tulasidas recognised the two princes, and became fully absorbed in devotion to Ram.
Tulasidas left Chitrakoot for Ayodhya in VS1628. On the way, he stopped at Prayagraj during the Kumbhmela, in the month of Magh. While there, he met sages Yagyavalkya and Bharadwaj under a sacred banyan tree. Yagyavalkya was narrating the same story to Bharadwaj that Tulasidas had heard from his teacher Naraharidas in Soron.
Tulasidas then went to Kashi and stayed at Prahaladghat. He intuited his ability to compose poems and started writing poems in Sanskrit. However, whatever he wrote during the day was lost in the night and this happened on a daily basis for several days. On the eighth day, he saw in a dream lord Shiva, who instructed him to compose the poems in his own language, the language of the general masses and promised him that his compositions would fructify like the Samved. Shiva also instructed him to go to Ayodhya and write his works there. Tulasidas following their advice moved to Ayodhya.
Tulasidas started writing the Ramcharitmanas in Ayodhya in VS1631 on the Ramnavami day. He completed the epic over two years, seven months and twenty-six days in VS1633.
Tulasidas came to Kashi and recited the Ramcharitmanas at the Vishwanath Temple. After complete recital, the book was left in the temple during the night and doors were locked. In the morning when the doors were opened, the words “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” that is truth, auspiciousness and beauty, as well as a symbol of trident as a signature of Shiva, were found inscribed on the cover of the book. This was witness by people present there.
Conceited academics of Kashi became jealous of Tulasidas and attempted to destroy the Ramcharitmanas. They sent two thieves to steal the manuscript. The thieves tried to break into Tulasidas’ Ashram, but were confronted by two guards of dark and fair complexions, both armed with bows and arrows. The thieves had a change of heart, and came to Tulasidas in the morning to ask about the identity of the two guards. Believing that they could be none other than Ram and Lakshman, Tulasidas was aggrieved to know that they were troubled to guard his home at night. He sent the manuscript of Ramcharitmanas to a friend and donated all his money to charity. The thieves were reformed and became devotees of Ram. Tulasidas wrote another copy of the Ramcharitmanas, which was copied and circulated as its popularity spread.
Critics were still not satisfied. They demanded to test the status of the Ramcharitmanas among other scriptures. A manuscript of the Ramcharitmanas was kept at the bottom of the pile of Sanskrit scriptures in the Vishvanath Temple in the night, and the doors of the temple were locked. In the morning, when the doors were opened, the Ramcharitmanas was found located at the top of the pile. Now critics were ashamed of their acts and apologised for their behaviour.
Since then the popularity of the Ramcharitmanas has remarkably grown. The complete text of the book is inscribed on the walls of Tulasi Manas Mandir in Varanasi. Ramlila, a show presenting episodes of Ram’s life based on the Ramcharitmanas, is staged throughout north India. Stories based on the Ramcharitmanas have been produced in numerous films and television serials.
In addition to Ramcharitmanas, Tulasidas wrote many other books including major works such as Kavitavali, Dohavali, Gitavali, Krishnavali and Vinay-Patrika. Janaki Mangal, Parvati Mangal, Barvai Ramayan, Ramlala Nahachhu, Ramagya Prashna, Tulasi Satsai and Vairagya Sandipani are his other compositions. Hanuman Chalisa, Hanumanastak and Hanuman Bahuka, all prayers to Hanuman, are also credited to him. His compositions continue to have mass appeal and it is not uncommon for an illiterate person in India to recite verses from his works.
Tulasidas spent most of his later life in Kashi on the banks of River Ganga at Assi Ghat. He died there at the age 125 years in the month of Shravan (July–August) VS1680 (1623AD).
It is believed that he performed many miracles. According to one, a widow was following her dead husband procession to the cremation ground. Tulasidas was passing by near the procession. The widow noticed his saintly appearance and offered her veneration to him. Tulasidas blessed her to be “Saubhagyavati” which means to be loved by her husband. People were surprised to hear his words, as her husband was dead. Tulasidas and other people following him started chanting the name of Ram near the corpse. Soon after, the dead man came back to life.
Tulasidas established the Sankatmochan temple dedicated to Hanuman in Varanasi. He belonged to Vaishnav sect but he always preached and worked for unity among various denominations of Hinduism. Similarly, he supported the devotion to Sagun and Nirgun Brahma, God with and without attributes.
Tulasidas is addressed by many honorific titles including Goswami, the master of senses, Sant or saint and Bhaktashiromani or crest among devotees. He has been described as an incarnation of sage Valmiki who composed the original Ramayan in Sanskrit. His works continue to inspire generations of humanity and motivate to follow the ideals of Maryada Purushotam Ram, the main characters of the Ramcharitmanas.