Tulsidas Biography In English
- Tulsidas born Rambola Dubey; Also known as Goswami Tulsidas; A Ramanandi was a Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, famous for his devotion to the deity Ram.
- He wrote many popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but is best known as the author of the Hanuman Chalisa and the epic Ramcharitmanas, a local Awadhi retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana based on the life of Rama.
- He is considered one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian and world literature.
- Tulsidas spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi and Ayodhya.
- The Tulsi Ghat on the river Ganges in Varanasi is named after him. He established the Sankatmochan temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Varanasi, believed to stand at the spot where he had a vision of the deity.
- The influence of Tulsidas and his works on art, culture and society in India is widespread and is seen in the vernacular, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music and television series to this day.
Birth Details –
Place- Rajapur, Chitrakoot District
Date of Birth – 13 August 1497
Marital Status: Married
Nationality -Indian
Family –
Mother – Hulsi
Father- Atmaram Dubey
Wife – Ratnavali
Son – Tarak
Early life –
Birth
- Tulsidas was born on Saptami, the seventh day of the Shukla Paksha of the lunar Hindu calendar month of Shravan (July–August).
- Although three places have been mentioned as his birthplace, most scholars identify the place with Rajapur, district Chitrakoot, a town on the banks of the river Yamuna. His parents were Hulsi and Atmaram Dubey.
Childhood
- Legend has it that Tulsidas was born after twelve months in the womb, had all thirty-two teeth in his mouth at birth, had the health and appearance of a five-year-old boy, and did not cry upon sight.
- Instead of crying at the time of his birth, he pronounced Ram. That’s why he was named Rambola (as Tulsidas himself says in Vinay Patrika.
- According to the Gosain Charita, he was born in Abhuktamula Nakshatra, which according to astrology poses an immediate danger to the life of the father. Due to the inauspicious events that happened at the time of her birth, she was abandoned by her parents on the fourth night, sent away with Chuniya, a female servant of Hulsi.
- Chuniya took the child to her village Haripur and took care of him for five and a half years after which he died. Rambola was left to fend for himself as a poor orphan, and wandered from house to house begging.
Marriage and sacrifice
- There are two conflicting views regarding the marital status of Tulsidas. According to Tulsi Prakash and some other works, Tulsidas was married to Ratnavali in Vikram 1589 on the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Kartik (October–November).
- Ratnavali was the daughter of Deenbandhu Pathak, a Brahmin of Vashishtha gotra, who belonged to Badariya village in Kasganj district.
- They had a son named Tarak who died as a child.
- Once when Tulsidas had visited a Hanuman temple, Ratnavali accompanied her brother to her father’s house.
- When Tulsidas came to know about this, he swam across the river Yamuna in the night to meet his wife.
- Ratnavali reprimands Tulsidas for this, and remarks that if Tulsidas had been even half as devoted to the Lord as he was to his flesh-and-blood body, he would have been spared. Tulsidas left him immediately and left for the holy city of Prayag. Here, he renounced the householder and became a hermit.
Work –
- The twelve works, six major works and six minor works are widely considered by the biographers to have been written by Tulsidas.
- On the basis of the language of the works, they are classified into two groups as follows.
Awadhi work
- Ramcharitmanas, Ramlala Nahchu, Barvai Ramayana, Parvati Mangal, Janaki Mangal and Ramgya Prashna.
Braj work –
- Krishna Gitavali, Gitavali, Sahitya Ratna, Dohavali, Vairagya Sandipani and Vinay Patrika.
- Apart from these twelve works, four other works are popularly believed to be composed by Tulsidas which include Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman Ashtak, Hanuman Bahuk and Tulsi Satsai.
Other information –
Date of Death – 30 July 1623
Place – Assi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Question Related to Tulsidas
What is the birth place and date of birth of Tulsidas?
Tulsidas was born on 13 August 1497 in Rajapur, Chitrakoot district.
What is the name of Tulsidas’s father and mother?
Tulsidas’s father’s name was Atmaram Dubey and mother’s name was Hulsi.
What was the name of Tulsidas’s wife?
Tulsidas’s wife’s name was Ratnavali.
When did Tulsidas die and at what place?
Tulsidas died on 30 July 1623 at Assi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
