Tulsidas

Tulsidas
Picture of Tulsidas published in the Ramcharitmanas, by Sri Ganga Publishers, Gai Ghat, Benaras, 1949
Personal life
Born
Rambola Dubey

(1511-08-11)11 August 1511
Died30 July 1623(1623-07-30) (aged 111)
Banaras, Oudh Subah, Mughal Empire (present-day Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India)
SpouseRatnavali
Parents
  • Aatmaram Dubey (father)
  • Hulsi Devi (mother)
Known forComposing the Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa
Reincarnation of Valmiki
HonorsGoswami, sant, Abhinavavālmīki, Bhaktaśiromaṇi
Religious life
ReligionHinduism
PhilosophyVishishtadvaita
SectRamanandi Sampradaya
Religious career
GuruNarharidas (Narharyanandacharya)

Rambola Dubey (Hindi pronunciation: [rɑːməboːlɑː d̪ubeː]; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (Sanskrit pronunciation: [tʊlsiːdaːsa]), was a Vaishnava (Ramanandi) Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit, Awadhi, and Braj Bhasha, but is best known as the author of the Hanuman Chalisa and of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana, based on Rama's life, in the vernacular Awadhi language.

Tulsidas spent most of his life in the cities of Banaras (modern Varanasi) and Ayodhya. The Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges in Varanasi is named after him. He founded the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple in Varanasi, believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of the deity. Tulsidas started the Ramlila plays, a folk-theatre adaptation of the Ramayana.

He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian, and world literature. The impact of Tulsidas and his works on the art, culture and society in India is widespread and is seen today in the vernacular language, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music, and television series.