Tulsidas, also known as Goswami Tulsidas, was a Hindu saint and poet who had immense devotion towards Lord Rama, a revered deity in Hinduism.
Tulsidas, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit words Tulasī, meaning Indian basil, and Dāsa, meaning devotee or servant, was a Hindu saint and poet. The name Tulsidas reflects his devotion to Lord Rama, an important deity in Hinduism. The details of Tulsidas' life are not well known, but information about his life can be found in ancient biographies such as the Bhaktamal composed by Nabhadas and the Bhaktirasbodhini composed by Priyadas. Veni Madhav Das and Dasanidas also wrote about Tulsidas, providing new information about his life. Krishnadatta Misra's Gautam Chandrika, based on an old manuscript, is another source of information on Tulsidas. These biographies, although not completely authenticated by modern scholars, provide the basis for modern biographies of Tulsidas.
Tulsidas, a prominent poet and saint in Hinduism, is believed by many to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana. According to Hindu scripture, Valmiki received a boon from the monkey god Hanuman to sing the glory of Lord Rama in the vernacular language. In the present and last epoch of the cycle of four Yugas, known as Kali Yuga, Valmiki is said to have incarnated as Tulsidas to compose the narrative of Rama in the vernacular language.
The Ramanandi sect believes that Valmiki himself incarnated as Tulsidas, while others believe that he was a reincarnation of Valmiki. Hanuman, who had visited Valmiki to hear him sing the Ramayana, was turned down by Valmiki who considered him unworthy. Hanuman then wrote a play version of the Ramayana called Mahanataka or Hanuman Nataka, engraved on the Himalayan rocks using his nails. Valmiki, upon seeing the play, anticipated that the beauty of the Mahanataka would overshadow his own Ramayana. Hanuman, being a true devotee without any desire for glory, cast all the rocks into the ocean. Valmiki was then instructed by Hanuman to take birth as Tulsidas and compose the Ramayana in the vernacular language.
Tulsidas was a Hindu poet and saint who lived during the 16th century in India. He was born on the seventh day of the bright half of the lunar Hindu calendar month of Shraavana (July-August) in 1511 CE, in Sookar Kshetra Soron, District Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a Sanadhya Brahmin of the Bharadwaj Gotra, and his parents were Hulsi and Atmaram Dubey. There is a difference of opinion among biographers regarding the year of his birth, with some giving it as 1497 CE and others as 1511 CE.
Legend has it that Tulsidas was born after staying in his mother's womb for twelve months, had all thirty-two teeth in his mouth at birth, his health and looks were like that of a five-year-old boy, and he did not cry at the time of his birth but uttered "Rama" instead. He was therefore named Rambola, which means "he who uttered Rama." He was abandoned by his parents on the fourth night after his birth, and he was sent away with a female servant of Hulsi. The servant took care of him until she died when he was five and a half years old. Tulsidas was then left to fend for himself as an impoverished orphan, and he wandered from door to door begging for alms. It is believed that the goddess Parvati assumed the form of a Brahmin woman and fed Tulsidas every day.
At the age of six, Tulsidas was adopted by Narharidas, a Vaishnava ascetic of Ramananda's monastic order, who gave him the Virakta Diksha with the new name of Tulsidas. Tulsidas started his learning at Ayodhya, where his Upanayana ceremony was performed by Narharidas when he was seven years old. Narharidas then took him to Varaha Kshetra Soron, where he first narrated the Ramayana to Tulsidas.
Tulsidas was a prominent Hindu poet and saint of the 16th century who wrote the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Ramayana in Awadhi language. He was born in a Brahmin family in modern-day Uttar Pradesh, India. Tulsidas received his early education in Ayodhya, where he learned the Ramayana from a group of traveling bards. Later, he heard the same narrative from his guru in Varaha Kshetra, but he did not understand it at that time as he was still a child.
Tulsidas then went to Varanasi and studied various subjects, including Sanskrit grammar, Vedas, Vedangas, Jyotisha, and Hindu philosophy, for around 15-16 years under the guidance of his guru, Shesha Sanatana.
There are two different views regarding the marital status of Tulsidas. According to some works, Tulsidas was married to Ratnavali and had a son named Tarak, but he renounced his householder's life after his wife criticized him for being more devoted to her body than to God. However, some authors consider the marriage episode of Tulsidas to be a later addition and maintain that he was a lifelong celibate.
After becoming a Sadhu, Tulsidas spent most of his time in the holy cities of Varanasi, Prayag, Ayodhya, and Chitrakuta. However, he also travelled extensively across India, visiting different places, meeting saints and Sadhus, and meditating. He undertook pilgrimages to the four important Hindu pilgrimage sites, namely Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and Rameshwaram, and also travelled to the Himalayas. According to the Mula Gosain Charita, he even visited the Manasarovar lake in present-day Tibet, where he had a vision of Kakabhushundi, the crow who is one of the four narrators in the Ramcharitmanas.