Tulsidas
Saint poet Tulsidas is one of the stalwarts of the Bhakti tradition in India whose literary contributions added immensely to the devotion of the populace towards Sri Ram. Being a disciple of Guru Naraharidas, he belongs to the Ramanandi tradition which is a branch of Ramanujacharya’s tradition. Nabhadas mentions in ‘Bhaktamal’ (a vital text of the Ramanandi tradition) that he is the reincarnation of Sage Valmiki, as is also mentioned in the Bhavishyottar Purana.
Amidst disputes, it is ascertained that he was born in 1497 in Rajapur, Banda (Uttar Pradesh) to Hulasi and Atmaram. He was born under extremely inauspicious planetary alignments, with full set of teeth which caused his parents to abandon him. He was named Rambola because instead of crying at birth, he uttered ‘Ram’. His wet nurse Muniya took care of him for some time, and after her death his Guru Naraharidas found him, and initiated him as Tulsidas. At age 7 Naraharidas completed his Upanayan Sanskar at Ayodhya, and then took him to Varah-kshetra Soron (Uttar Pradesh) and narrated Ram’s story to him there. When grown enough, he then sent Tulsidas to study Sanskrit, Veda, etc under Shesh Sanatan at Panchganga ghat in Varanasi.
It is famously known that Tulsidas married Ratnavali, and was deeply in love with her. But Ratnavali once chided him saying he could have attained god had he similarly loved Him. This remark turned out to be an eye-opener for Tulsidas, and he left worldly life forever. However, there is a contesting view (backed by the likes of Rambhadracharya and others) that Tulsidas was a lifelong bachelor as is evident from some lines in Vinay Patrika and Ramcharitmanas.
In Varanasi, he first met Lord Hanuman – Tulsidas was in the habit of pouring water to a particular tree which happened to be inhabited by a ‘pret’ (unsatisfied spirit, mentioned in Ramcharitmanas). Since the water quenched it, the pret granted Tulsidas a wish. He wished to see Sri Ram. The pret deemed itself incapable of granting this wish, but told Tulsidas that the old man who was the first to come and last to leave his Ram-katha recital was Hanuman in disguise, only Hanuman can lead to Ram. The very next day, Tulsidas followed that old man, and fell at His feet. Lord Hanuman then revealed His form and instructed Tulsidas to go to Ramghat in Chitrakoot. At this exact spot where he met Lord Hanuman now stands the famous Sankatmochan Hanuman temple in Varanasi.
In Chitrakoot, while circumabulating the Kamadgiri, Tulsidas was attracted by two magnificently dressed dark and fair complexioned princes on horses, but failed to recognize that they were Ram-Laxman who had come to him upon Hanuman’s request. Lord Hanuman arranged a second meeting. Tulsidas was rubbing sandalwood at Ramghat when two young boys came and asked for sandal paste. This time Hanuman forewarned Tulsidas who finally had his heart’s wish fulfilled.
Tulsidas authored a mountain of work, mostly in Awadhi and Braj, all steeped in devotion. The more famous ones are Ramcharitmanas, Vinaya Patrika, Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman Ashtak, Hanuman Bahuk, Krishna Gitavali, Vairagya Sandipani, and Gitavali. There is an interesting account of how he authored the Hanuman Chalisa. A woman bowed to him and he blessed her ‘Akhand saubhagyavati bhav’, but the woman told him her husband had just died. Tulsidas replied that now that the words have been uttered from my mouth, your husband will live. As the husband came back to life, the story spread like wildfire and reached Mughal Jahangir. Jahangir summoned him and asked him to perform a miracle in the court. When Tulsidas refused, the king had him imprisoned. In captivity, he wrote the Hanuman Chalisa, and a large number of monkeys created such havoc that Jahangir had to release Tulsidas with an apology. Other works include Ramlala Nahachhu, Barvai Ramayan, Parvati Mangal, Janaki Mangal, Ramagya Prashna, Sahitya Ratna, Dohavali, and Tulsi Satsai.
Tulsidas began writing the story of Sri Ram at Prahlad Ghat in Varanasi in Sanskrit but whatever he wrote in a day somehow vanished the next day. This continued until Lord Shiva Himself instructed him to move to Ayodhya and write in Awadhi. Tulasidas completed Ramcharitmanas in around two and a half years, and recited it first in the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Tulasidas left his mortal body in 1623 at Asi Ghat in Varanasi. Not only was Tulasidas one of the greatest devotees, he helped protect and revive India’s traditions and knowledge systems through his literary works. With the arrival of Islamic invaders, religio-cultural repression was forcing Gurukuls and their Sanskrit-based knowledge traditions out of remembrance. Tulasidas performed the superhuman task of compiling all that knowledge and giving it back to the people in the popular language.