Tulsidas Jayanti (redirected from Birthday of Tulsidas)

Tulsidas Jayanti (Birthday of Tulsidas)

July-August; seventh day of the waxing half of the Hindu month of Sravana

The Indian poet Tulsidas (1532?-1623) is best known for his retelling of the epic Ramayana in Hindi, the language of the common people. Another work, Ramcaritmanas ("The Holy Lake of the Deeds of Rama"), has been so influential that it is often referred to as "the Bible of North India." In fact, he and his works are so greatly revered that tradition regards him as a reincarnation of Valmiki, the legendary author of the Ramayana .
Tulsidas wrote that he was the son of a brahman, a member of the highest Hindu caste, but his parents didn't want to keep him because of the astrological interpretation of the planets and stars dominant at the time of his birth. Therefore they turned Tulsidas over to a Hindu holy man who raised him. Tulsidas went on to marry a woman with whom he was very much in love. Apparently, at some point she told him, "If you loved Rama half as much as you love this perishable body, your sorrows would be over," which is credited with awakening his devotion to Rama and changing the course of his life.
Many Hindus believe that Tulsidas died on the same day that he was born. They spend this day fasting and performing works of charity. Reading and reciting the Ramayana is another popular activity, as are discussions, lectures, seminars, and symposia on his life and works.

SOURCES:
DictWrldRel-1989, p. 770
EncyRel-1987, vol. 15, p. 81
OxDictWrldRel-1997, p. 995
RelHolCal-2004, p. 172