Ramcharitmanas

In News

  • Recently, Bihar Education Minister Chandra Shekhar said the Ramcharitmanas “spreads hatred in society”.

About Ramcharitmanas

  • The Ramcharitmanas is based on the Ramayana, sage Valmiki’s great epic.
  • The poem was written in the 16th century in the Awadhi dialect which is mainly spoken in the areas that are today’s Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya districts.
  • It is divided into seven chapters (Kand) that tell the story of Lord Ram from birth to his becoming King of Ayodhya.
  •  It is the holiest book of the Indo-Gangetic region, and among the world’s most-read holy books — by one estimate, Geeta Press (Gorakhpur) has sold almost 7 crore copies.

Goswami Tulsidas

  • Tulsidas, a Brahmin whose original name was Ram Bola Dubey. 
  • 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.
  • He 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.
  • Besides Ramcharitmanas, Ramlalla Nahachhu, Barvai Ramayan, Ramagya Prashna, Parvati Mangal, and Janaki Mangal in the Awadhi language are some of Tulsidas’ popular works.

Source:IE