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Tulsidas Quotes (1497-1623)
Philosopher, Author, Poet
About Tulsidas
Tulsidas Hindi pronunciation: t̪ʊls̪iːd̪aːs̪, also known as Goswami Tulsidas; (1497–1623) was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion to the god Rama. A composer of several popular works, he is best known as the author of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana in the vernacular Awadhi. He was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit. He is also considered to be the composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, a popular devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman, the divine devotee of Rama. Tulsidas spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi. The Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi is named after him.
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“In dependence, there is no happiness, even in a dream.”
“There is no difference between knowledge and devotion,
Both of them save the soul from the miseries of worldly life.”
Both of them save the soul from the miseries of worldly life.”
“I call him Rama. You can call him by any other name but have faith in him, surrender all worldly desires and passions to his will and without effort, become disciplined and principled.”
“Faith is that which dispels desire,
Devotion is that which generates knowledge.
And Vedas say that knowledge is that which fashions freedom.”
Devotion is that which generates knowledge.
And Vedas say that knowledge is that which fashions freedom.”
“He walks without legs,
hears without ears,
does all the deeds without hands.
He enjoys all the juices without a mouth,
spells all the truth without a voice,
touches everything without hands.
He see very object without eyes
and inhales all the scents without a breath.”
hears without ears,
does all the deeds without hands.
He enjoys all the juices without a mouth,
spells all the truth without a voice,
touches everything without hands.
He see very object without eyes
and inhales all the scents without a breath.”
“Unless one cultivates slave-master relationship with the Lord,
No one can go across the ocean of this material world.
Who is as virtuous a master as Rama?
And who is as vicious as I am?”
No one can go across the ocean of this material world.
Who is as virtuous a master as Rama?
And who is as vicious as I am?”
“This fair city opens to all Rama’s heaven,
The whole world knows well here is holiness given.
Beyond number souls from the four wombs are born.
But the souls who in Avadh die never return.
Well knowing this city the home of delight,
The giver of wealth, source of all that is bright,
Its history pure I’ll begin to relate;
Once heard it destroys passion, envy and hate.”
The whole world knows well here is holiness given.
Beyond number souls from the four wombs are born.
But the souls who in Avadh die never return.
Well knowing this city the home of delight,
The giver of wealth, source of all that is bright,
Its history pure I’ll begin to relate;
Once heard it destroys passion, envy and hate.”
“On Tuesday, the ninth day of Chaitra, month pleasing,
In th’ city of Avadh my story releasing.
'Tis the birthday of Rāma, as scriptures declare,
And the day when the pilgrims are gathering there.
All demons, birds, serpents, men, saints and gods too
There are meeting to bring to their lord homage true;
On this festival day of the lord Rama’s birth
They all sing with acclaim his high praises and worth.(After Dohā 33)”
In th’ city of Avadh my story releasing.
'Tis the birthday of Rāma, as scriptures declare,
And the day when the pilgrims are gathering there.
All demons, birds, serpents, men, saints and gods too
There are meeting to bring to their lord homage true;
On this festival day of the lord Rama’s birth
They all sing with acclaim his high praises and worth.(After Dohā 33)”
“Although all have extolled Vaikuntha (my divine Abode), which is familiar to the Vedas and the Puranas and known throughout the world, it is not so dear to Me as the city of Ayodhya: only some rare soul knows this secret. This beautiful city is My birthplace; to the north of it flows the holy Saryu, by bathing in which men secure a home near Me without any difficulty. The dwellers here are very dear to me; the city is not only full of bliss itself but bestows a residence in My divine Abode.”
“In the year sixteen hundred and thirtyone bright,
With my head lowly placed at my lord’s feet I write;
On Tuesday, the ninth day of Chaitra, month pleasing,
In the city of Avadh my story releasing.
‘Tis the birthday of Rāma, as scriptures declare,
And the day when the pilgrims are gathering there.
All demons, birds, serpents, men, saints and gods too
There are meeting to bring their lord homage true;
On this festival day of lord Rama’s birth
They all sing with acclaim his high praises and worth.”
With my head lowly placed at my lord’s feet I write;
On Tuesday, the ninth day of Chaitra, month pleasing,
In the city of Avadh my story releasing.
‘Tis the birthday of Rāma, as scriptures declare,
And the day when the pilgrims are gathering there.
All demons, birds, serpents, men, saints and gods too
There are meeting to bring their lord homage true;
On this festival day of lord Rama’s birth
They all sing with acclaim his high praises and worth.”
“I honour Ayodhyā, all holy within;
And the fair Sarju River, destroyer of sin.
All honour again to that town’s sons and daughters,
Whom Lord Rāma loved with love deep as deep waters.
For their sake he Sita’s defamer forgave,
That a realm free from, sorrow they always might have.
I honour Kausalya, like eastern sky bright,
Whose fair fame has spread, to the world giving light.
From whence Rāma fair as the moon has arisen,
By whom the world’s blest, evil’s blooms are all frozen.(After Dohā 15)”
And the fair Sarju River, destroyer of sin.
All honour again to that town’s sons and daughters,
Whom Lord Rāma loved with love deep as deep waters.
For their sake he Sita’s defamer forgave,
That a realm free from, sorrow they always might have.
I honour Kausalya, like eastern sky bright,
Whose fair fame has spread, to the world giving light.
From whence Rāma fair as the moon has arisen,
By whom the world’s blest, evil’s blooms are all frozen.(After Dohā 15)”
“The story of Ramachandra, as narrated in the Valmiki Ramayan and the Adhyatma Ramayan, after reinforcing and revitalizing it with the essence of whatever the Puranas, the Vedas, and other scriptures could give, I, Tulsidas, am writing for the delight of my own soul.”
Tulsidas Quotes by Topic
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Tulsidas on Rama 4 quotes
“Am a servant of Rama, Accredited to His Court, What for should I Be a Courier of man?”
Tulsidas on Parvati 2 quotes
“... befriending good by the destruction of hell in the same way as Parvati befriended the gods by destroying the army of demons; like Lakshmi rising from the sea in the assembly of the saints”
Tulsidas on Hanuman 2 quotes
“English translation: Doha: With the dust of guru’s lotus feet having, I cleanse the mirror of my soul sparkling, Raghuvar’s spotless glory I be singing, The four fruits of life it ever is giving.”
Tulsidas on Ayodhya
Tulsidas on Bhakti
“From the invocation to the conclusion, the poet Tulsidas seeks the grace of Rama and announces over and over again that the final object of his poetic performance is the attainment of bhakti – complete dedication to Rama. The narrative ends with an elaborate discourse on the supremacy of the devotional sentiment.”
Quotes About Tulsidas
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Tulsidas from others.
Constance Jones on Tulsidas 2 quotes
“It can be said without reservation that Tulsidas is the greatest to write in the Hindi language. Tulsidas was a Brahmin by birth and was believed to be a reincarnation of the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana, Valmiki.”
Tulsidas’s wife admonished him for his unbounded possessive impulse which lead on Tulsidas
F.S.Growse on Tulsidas 2 quotes
“Tulsidasa alone, though the most famous of them all, has no disciples that are called after his name. There are Vallabhachars and Radha Vallabhs and Maluk Dasis, Pran Nathis and so on in interminable succession, but there are no Tulsidasis. Virtually, however, the whole of Vaishnava Hinduism has fallen under his sway; for the principles that he expounded have permeated every sect and explicitly or implicitly now form the nucleus of the popular faith as it prevails throughout the whole of the Bengal Presidency from Hardwar to Calcutta.”
M. Callewaert on Tulsidas 2 quotes
“Tulsidas’s poetry, like that of most other bhakti-saints, is assumed to reflect an underpinning of personal religious experience and to contain allusions to events in author’s life.”
Gautam Candrik quoted on Tulsidas
Shiva Kumar Tripathi on Tulsidas 2 quotes
“Tulsidas was a poor recluse who lived an ascetic life and prompted by an inner light, adapted an old epic in folk-verse which broke all barriers and spread far and wide.”
Gandhi on Tulsidas
““I regard the Ramayana of Tulsi Das,” says Gandhi, “as the greatest book in all devotional literature.””
About Tulsidas
Tulsidas Hindi pronunciation: t̪ʊls̪iːd̪aːs̪, also known as Goswami Tulsidas; (1497–1623) was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion to the god Rama. A composer of several popular works, he is best known as the author of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana in the vernacular Awadhi. He was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit. He is also considered to be the composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, a popular devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman, the divine devotee of Rama. Tulsidas spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi. The Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi is named after him.