Some facts about Tulasi Das

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Tulsidas, the devotional Hindi poet, is believed to have lived in the 16th century, although there is much conjecture concerning his exact date of birth. Some confer that he was born in 1554 in a small town in Rajapur, now known as Uttar Pradesh. His father's name was Atmaram Dube and his mother's name was Hulsi.

Tulsidas is considered a sagun poet because of the fact that he wrote poetry about God. The poems depict God as having attributes or a recognizable form. The opposite of this is a nirgun poet, who wrote devotional poetry in which God was formless. Surdas is another example of a sagun poet in the devotional period. He wrote about Krsna as a small boy. An example of a nirgun poet is Kabirdas.

Tulsi, as he is affectionately known, grew up in extremely adverse conditions. He was apparently abandoned by his parents and nurtured by Baba Narharidas who took him in. He was married to the daughter of Dinbandhu, Ratnavali. Legend has it that he lived to the age of approximately 127 years.

Tulsi was completely devoted to his wife. So much so that on one occasion when she returned to her parents, he was so lost without her that he couldn't help but to followed her there. She chastised him by suggesting that he should be ashamed that he had so little devotion towards God: 'laaj na aayi aapko daure aaehu saath' - 'you should be ashamed that you have come running behind me'.

Hindus believe that Tulsi's devotional poem, based on the Sanskrit epic poem the Ramayana by Valmiki, was instrumental in reinvigorating people's faith in Lord Rama. Tusli's wife inspired him to leave worldly pleasures behind and devote himself to God. The result was the Ramcaritmanas, or The Story of the Acts of the Holy Lake of Rama. At the time mystical, magical sects called nagapathas had managed to sway many and the north of India was rapidly turning towards Islam.

The popularity of the Ramcaritmanas has continued to grow. While Valmiki's epic gradually faded from view, many Hindus still read the Ramcaritmanas today. One of the reasons for its growth in popularity over and above Valmiki's Ramayana is that it was composed in Tulsi's native language of Avadhi, in the region where he lived, being Lucknow and Kanpur.

The opening verses of each chapter of the poem are written in Sanskrit, the language of the most important Hindu Scriptures. The reason for this may have been that Tulsi wanted to demonstrate that he was also versed in this language. It is believed that by the time Tulsi wrote his epic, Brahmanical Hinduism had become so far removed from the people that they its followers had become attracted to other sects, such as the aforementioned nagapathas.

The Ramcaritmanas bestowed Tulsidas with the means to provide a social and political model for the people at a time when morality had been greatly eroded. Tulsi's poem is thought to have united the Hindu community with its words of deep devotion to Lord Rama and the beauty of his text.

Tulsi's efforts to unite a divided society are evident in his text. He portrays Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) and Shiva as being devotees of each other. This was an effort to unite the vaishnava and shaivite sects of Hinduism, which were prone to periodic fighting. The fact that this epic was produced in the people's language was an attempt to reunite the common person with the religious traditions that they had been alienated.

In addition to the Ramcaritmanas, Tulsi is accredited with having produced several other poetic works. According to some there are 12, including works such as another Ramayana, Kavitta, Dohavali, Ramajna Prashnavali and Vinayapatrika. Today the Ramcaritmanas is recited on feast days devoted to Ram and during the time of the Rama Lila during the festival of Dashera. Many devout Hindus will read it every morning.

[mahima_tiwari]

sir,
can u tell me form where u got it?I like history but we are not having much in our book and the objects which u ahve written i ahve little bit heard from my grand pa.I will feel very happy and glad if u tell me more abt it.
thanking you

mahima tiwari