RAMCHARITMANAS

1. Context

2. Ram Charitmanas

• The epic Ramcharitmanas was written in the Awadhi language by Great Rambhakt Sri Tulasidas Ji in the 16th century, where Goswami Tulasidas Ji adapted the original stories of Ramayana with new generations in view.
• The Ramcharitmanas is by no means a word-for-word copy of the Valmiki Ramayana or a condensed account of the latter. Sri Ramcharitmanas has elements from many other Ramayanas previously written in Sanskrit and different Indian dialects and stories from Puranas.
• Sri Tulasidas Ji calls the epic Ramcharitmanas and the story of Rama, which was stored in Shiva's mind (Manasa); later, he narrated the same to his consort, Devi Parvati. Sri Tulasidas claims to have received the story through his guru, Narharidas.
• Sri Tulasidas Ji was a naive child, and the story was stored in his mind (Manasa) for a long time before he wrote it as Ramcharitmanas. Therefore, the epic poem is also known as Tulsikrit Ramayana (The Ramayana composed by Tulasidas). The Ramcharitmanas is a masterpiece of vernacular literature.
• Sri Tulasidas Ji wrote the work in seven Kandas, and they are called Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkindakanda, Sundar Kanda, Lanka Kanda, and Uttar Kanda.

3. About Goswami Tulasidas

• Tulsidas, a Brahmin whose original name was Ram Bola Dubey, is believed to have been born in Rajapur by the Yamuna in today’s Banda district.
• He composed the Ramcharitmanas on the bank of the Ganga in Varanasi- he is said to have begun writing on Ram Navami day in 1574 and completed the poem over the next few years.
• Tulsidas lived in the time of Emperor Akbar, and some believe that he was in touch with Abdurrahim Khan-e-Khanan, the son of Akbar’s commander Bairam Khan, and they possibly exchanged some poetic communication as well.
• In the seventh shloka of the first chapter (Baal Kand), Tulsidas declares, “Swantah sukhay Tulsi Raghunathgatha…”- that is, he has written the “story of Raghunath (Lord Ram) for his happiness”. 
• Tulsidas made the story of Lord Ram popular among the masses because he wrote in the regional dialect that most people understood. This earned him the ire of Sanskrit scholars of the time, and Tulsidas recorded his anguish in his Kavitawali.

4. Past Controversies

• While in the Ramcharitmanas, Lord Ram is maryada purushottam, the epitome of righteousness, his conduct has been criticized by leaders of anti-Brahmin movements like E V Ramasamy Periyar.
• One of the 22 pledges that Dr. B R Ambedkar administered to his followers while embracing Buddhism in October 1956 was: “I shall have no faith in Rama and Krishna, who are believed to be the incarnation of God, nor shall I worship them.”
• Non-upper caste assertion in politics has sometimes been manifested in criticism of the Ramcharitmanas. Critics have used these parts of the poem to accuse Tulasidas of being against the non-upper castes and women, and a flagbearer of the idea of Brahminical superiority.

For Prelims