Ramcharitmanas

Ramcharitmanas
Ramcharitmanas
A 19th century manuscript of the Ramcharitmanas
Information
ReligionHinduism
AuthorTulsidas
LanguageAwadhi
Chapters7 Khands/Sopans
Verses10,902

Ramcharitmanas (Devanagari: रामचरितमानस rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1511–1623). It has many inspirations, the primary being the Ramayana of Valmiki.

This work is also called, in popular parlance, Tulsi Ramayana, Tulsikrit Ramayana, Tulsidas Ramayana or simply Manas. The word Ramcharitmanas literally means "Lake of the deeds of Rama".[1] It is considered one of the greatest works of Hindu literature. The work has variously been acclaimed as "the living sum of Indian culture", "the tallest tree in the magic garden of medieval Indian poetry", "the greatest book of all devotional literature" and "the best and most trustworthy guide to the popular living faith of the Indian people".[2]

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Tulsidas was a great scholar of Sanskrit, but due to limited accessibility of the language, he chose to write it in the vernacular, Awadhi, making his work more accessible to the general public.[3] Tradition has it that Tulsidas had to face much criticism from the Sanskrit scholars of Varanasi for being a vernacular poet. However, Tulsidas remained steadfast in his resolve to simplify the knowledge contained in the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Puranas to the common people. Subsequently, his work was widely accepted.

Ramcharitmanas made available the story of Rama to the common man to sing, meditate and perform on. The writing of Ramcharitmanas also heralded many a cultural tradition, most significantly that of the tradition of Ramlila, the dramatic enactment of the text.[4] Ramcharitmanas is considered by many as a work belonging to the Saguna school[5][6] of the Bhakti movement[7][8][n 1] in Hindi literature.

In May 2024, during the tenth meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific, the Ramcharitamanas manuscripts were added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register. One manuscript was authored by Tulsidas, and the other was written in Arabic in the 18th century, showcasing the text's appeal in West Asia and other parts of the world.[12]

  1. ^ K.B. Jindal (1955), A history of Hindi literature, Kitab Mahal, archived from the original on 26 January 2024, retrieved 15 November 2015, ... The book is popularly known as the Ramayana, but the poet himself called it the Ramcharitmanas or the 'Lake of the Deeds of Rama' ... the seven cantos of the book are like the seven steps to the lake ...
  2. ^ Lutgendorf 1991, p. 1.
  3. ^ Grierson, George Abraham. Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 6. p. 12.
  4. ^ Tulasīdāsa & Subramanian 2008, p. 19
  5. ^ McLean 1998, p. 121
  6. ^ Puri & Das 2003, p. 230
  7. ^ Lele 1981, p. 75
  8. ^ Lorenzen 1995, p. 160
  9. ^ Lutgendorf 2006, p. 92
  10. ^ Sadarangani 2004, p. 78
  11. ^ Kumar 2001, p. 161
  12. ^ "Ramcharitmanas included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Register: Its significance". The Indian Express. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.


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