Surdas Biography In English Life Story 1478 -1584

Surdas Biography In English

• Surdas was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer, known for his works in praise of the Supreme Lord Krishna.
• He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a revered poet and singer.
•  His compositions glorified and captured his devotion to Lord Krishna.
• Most of his poems were written in Braj Bhasha, while some were also written in other dialects of medieval Hindi such as Awadhi.
• There are many beliefs about Surdas, but the most popular one is that he was born blind. In his time, there lived another saint by the name of Vallabhacharya.
• Vallabhacharya was the founder of the Pushti Marga sect, and his successor, Vitthalanatha, selected eight poets who would help him spread the glory of Lord Krishna by composing musical compositions.
• These eight poets were known as “Ashtachhap”, and Surdas is considered the foremost among them because of his outstanding devotion and poetic genius.
• The book Sur Sagar (Ocean of Sur) is traditionally attributed to Surdas. However, many of the poems in the book appear to have been written by later poets under Sur’s name.
• Sur Sagar in its current form focuses on the description of Krishna as the beloved child of Gokul and Vraja, written from the point of view of the gopis.

Birth Details –

Place – Renuka Village

Date of Birth – 1478

Marital Status – Single

Nationality -Indian

Teacher – Vallabh Acharya

Early life –

• There is disagreement about the exact date of birth of Surdas, with the consensus among scholars placing it in the year 1478.
• We are unsure of the exact date of his death, but it is believed to be somewhere between 1561 and 1584.
• There is also some difference of opinion regarding the birthplace of Surdas, as some scholars say that he was born in Ranukta or Renuka village, which is situated on the road from Agra to Mathura, while some say that he was born in Delhi. The pass happened in a village called Sihi.
• According to one theory, Surdas was born blind and neglected by his poor family, forcing him to leave his home at the age of six.
• Later, he met Vallabha Acharya and became his disciple. Under Vallabha Acharya’s guidance and training, Surdas memorized the Srimad Bhagavata, studied Hindu scriptures, and delivered lectures on philosophical and religious subjects. He remained unmarried throughout his life.

Poetic works

• Surdas is known for his composition Sur Sagar. Most of the poems in the composition, though attributed to him, seem to have been composed by later poets in his name.
• In addition, Sura’s own personal devotional poems are prominent, and episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata also appear.
• Surasagar’s modern reputation centers on the description of Krishna as a beloved child, usually drawn from the point of view of one of the cowherd gopis of Braj.
• Surdas also composed Sur Saravali and Sahitya Lahari. In contemporary writings, it is said to contain a million verses, many of which were lost due to obscurity and uncertainty of the time.
• He describes the stories of Dhruva and Prahlad as well as the 24 incarnations of the Lord. Then he narrates the story of Krishna’s incarnation. This is followed by a description of the festivals of Vasant (spring) and Holi.
• The Sahitya Lahari has 118 verses and the emphasis is on bhakti (devotion).
• Sur’s compositions are also found in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.

Effect

Bhakti movement

• Surdas was part of the Bhakti movement that spread across the Indian subcontinent. This movement represented the spiritual empowerment of the masses.
• The Sangat spiritual movement of the masses first originated in South India in the 7th century and spread to North India in the 14th–17th centuries.

Braj Bhasha

• Surdas’s poetry was written in a dialect of Hindi called Brajbhasha, until then considered a very lingua franca, as the prevailing literary languages ​​were either Persian or Sanskrit.

Philosophy

• The eight disciples of Vallabha Acharya are called Ashtachhap, (eight seals in Hindi), after the oral signature chaps wrote at the conclusion of literary works. Sur is considered the most prominent among these.

Other information –

Date of Death – The death of Surdas is believed to be between 1561 and 1584.

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