TULASIDASA: THE POET, REFORMER AND DEVOTEE PAR EXCELLENT

TULASIDASA: THE POET, REFORMER AND DEVOTEE PAR EXCELLENT

Today we observe Tulasidasa Jayanti—the birth of the poet, Hindu reformer, devotee, philosopher and most celebrated synthesizer of Hindu thought of recent.

Tulasidasa is regarded as the greatest Ramaite poet. He was not only the supreme poet, but the unofficial poet-laurete of India. He was a religious thinker and reformer as well. He strove to harmonize the divergent facets of Hindu culture.

Tulasidasa was born of Atmaram Dube and Hulasi in the year 1532. At an early age he was abandoned by his parents and was brought by an old maid servant. When he was about eight years old, a sadhu named Narahari Ananda saw him and recognized his inherent greatness. He took him away to his Ashrama. He named the boy Rambola and started training him by narrating the story of Ramayaṇa. At the time of his Upanayana, Rambola was given the new name Tulasidasa by his guru and mentor.

Tulasidasa was then sent to Kaśhi for higher education. After a vigorous course of education in the Vedic lore, allied literature and training in austere life, spread over fifteen years, Tulasidasa returned to Rajpur, his native place. There, he started spending most of his time delivering religious discourses based on the Ramayaṇa.

He was married to Ratnavali. The marriage, however, did not last long. Due to his overly passionate attachment to her, she admonished him and advised him to direct his love towards the Lord Sri Rama instead. As a result, Tulasidasa renounced the world and went to Kashi. There he started giving discourses on the Ramayaṇa, which became extremely popular.

At Kashi, Tulasidasa was lucky enough to have the darshana of both Hanuman and Sri Rama. As per the direction given by Lord Shiva in a vision, he went to Ayodhya and started writing the Ramacharitamanasa in the local dialect Avadhi.

Tulasidasa was not only a poet, but a seer, a law-giver and a liberator. When the country was plunged in that sinister, gloomy and morbid atmosphere, which the Muslim rule had from time to time unleashed, it was Tulasidasa who brought them hope and liberation. Hindus got a new and fresh inspiration. Tulasidasa was so passionately devoted to Sri Rama, so intensely in love with him, that by the sheer liveliness of his poetic imagination he transformed the hero of the Solar race (Rama), first into the qualified incarnation of Vishnu, and then into the Lord himself ‘whom even the Vedas and the Puranas cannot fully comprehend’.

He now started the real work of his life, spreading Rama’s story and his powerful name. He also organised the youth of his times to become strong, both physically and morally. Hanuman was projected as their hero, for whom he built a number of temples.

Tulasidasa on the downfall of Hinduism and its rejuvenation

Tulasidas knew what India had been in olden times, and also the process that led to its downfall. The words he uses in his Ramcharitmaanas indicate that he was fully convinced that, for India and Sanatan Vaidic Dharma to be great again, she has to go back to the Religion of the Vedas.  No wonder the religion has been called ‘Sanatan Vaidic Dharma.’ It is rooted in the Vedas. Tulasidasa knew that the Vedas is the bed-rock of Hindu Religion and Culture, and used words to vigorously condemn those who disregard the Vedas.

Taking his inspiration from Rishi Valmiki, Tulasidasa portrays his Hero, Sri Rama, as the very epitome of Vedic characterization. The details of Rama’s birth, parentage, upbringing, schooling, relationship with brothers and friends, service to elders, marriage, and practice of ideals are all aimed at portraying Him to be a living representation of Vedic ethics. In Rama’s life, there is an application of the Vedic spiritual culture of Yajna and Sanskaaara – rituals and sacraments. This is the life Tulasidasa wanted to see rejuvenated in India and the Hindu world. So focused is Tulasidasa in portraying Rama in Vedic terms that he says:

He was a defender of the Vedic Path and a champion of righteousness. (Uttar Kand 23. 1)

An ocean of compassion, he has assumed the human form for the good of all. He brings joy to righteous people, and breaks the ranks of evildoers; He is the Champion of the Vedas and of righteousness.  (Sundarkand 38.2) 

Even Rama’s parents are depicted as practitioners of the Vedic ideals. His father, Dasharatha is shown as having been brought up in accordance with Vedic ethics.

Dasharatha was the jewel of the Raghu Dynasty and the king of Ayodhya City. His name was taken from the pages of the Rg. Veda.  (Balkand 187.4)

Tulasidasa’s works have had a profound impact on Indian art, culture, and society. The Ramacharitamanasa is still widely read, performed, and studied. The Tulasi Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi and the Sankatmochan Temple, dedicated to Hanuman, are testaments to his legacy. He is revered as one of the greatest poets in Hindi literature and his influence continues to be felt in various forms of cultural expression.

He passed away at the age of 91 years in A. D. 1623 at the Sankatamochan-ghat on the bank of the river Ganga in Kashi.

(Pandit Ramdial Balbadar is a prominent Aachaarya (Teacher) of Hinduism in Guyana. He is the compiler and author of many titles and has over 30 years experience in Pandits’ Training across Guyana. He is currently the President of the Sanatan Vaidic Dharma Pandits’ Sabha, Region 3).