Sant TulsÄ«dÄs ā 16th c. author of RÄmcaritamÄnas
GosvÄmÄ« TulsÄ«dÄs (1532ā1623) ā author of the RÄmcaritamÄnas (Awadhi retelling of the Ramayana), which is arguably the most-read Hindu scripture of the last 400 years. He lived at Assi Ghat in Varanasi; his Hanuman temple at Sankat Mochan (Varanasi) is one of the most-visited Hanuman shrines. The RÄm-LÄ«lÄ of Ramnagar (Varanasi) ā performed every ÄÅvin ā is based on his text; 31 consecutive evenings of theatrical performance attended by the Maharaja of Banaras in traditional form. His verses are memorised by village women and sung daily.
ÅrÄ« RÄm Jay RÄm Jay Jay RÄm
Every tradition in India ā textual, oral, tribal, regional, syncretic ā deserves first-person recognition. This entry honours Hindu on its own terms.