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JAC : A JOURNAL OF COMPOSITION THEORY ISSN : 0731-6755

Tulsidas and his Expression of Emotions Through the Medium of Vernacular

Sanskriti Huckoo School of Humanities and Social Sciences Ph.d Scholar G. D Goenka University, Gurgaon, Haryana, [email protected]

Abstract: The paper examines how Tulsidas expresses his own feelings, perceptions and sentiments through his poetry which is in vernacular. The paper displays Tulsidas responding to the movement and blending his own life experiences with it. His various emotions come across through a dealing of his important works like and Kavitavali. All in all, his ideas converge towards the most important theme of his works: and devotion to god. As the paper shows, vernacular poetry can thus be used as an important source to write history. Poetry throws significant light on the poet’s emotional attachments and touches the heart of the people.

Key Words: Ramcharitmanas, Dialogues, Narratives, -Nama, Divine Transformation

INTRODUCTION Tulsidas (A.D. 1532-1623) was a poet-scholar who functioned as a popular bhakti saint during the 16th and the 17th century. He was the contemporary of Mughal emperor (A.D. 1542-1605). He wrote in the vernacular medium of Avadhi and Brajbhasha. His most popular works include the Ramcharitmanas, Kavitavali, Vinay- Patrika and Dohawali. In each of his works he devotes himself to the bhakti of lord Rama and his name. This paper suggests that the various life experiences that Tulsidas had shaped up the way in which he wrote. As a historic personality he reacted to his socio-religious times on one hand and on the other hand was impacted by the turn of events in his life. Both of these acted as a stimulus to which he responded through the medium of his vernacular compositions. The paper examines the pattern of his emotions and sentiments that resulted in his adoption as well as expression of love towards god. This love primarily directed towards god was part of the larger picture of his contemporary society which saw bhakti as the need of the hour. The emerged as a stronghold for medieval socio-religious flux characterised by adoration and loving devotion that got transformed to a passionate form of personal worship in order to please god. Hence love described bhakti and vice-versa. Let us now try to see how Tulsidas felt and expressed himself through his compositions.

TULSIDAS AS HURT AND DECIEVED Tulsidas had many takings from the different events that occurred in his life. He experienced various moods and temperaments at different points of time. A kind of love and hate relationship developed between his inner self and the external world. He felt hurt, betrayed, disgusted and discouraged with his present but yet looked for inspiration within this world itself and resorted to writing as the only means to find relief. Love towards god was his final destination. The bhakti movement with popular saints such as , and Mirabai had discredited the and had resolved to do away with the system. Tulsidas could feel this constant scorn for the Vedas as well as the varna system in his surroundings. His apprehensions emerged in the form of words of hate especially during his later works Kavitavali and Vinay Patrika. When he wrote to express his displeasure with the major bhakti saints and their ways, he opened up a window of his inner intense self which had been wounded and deceived. The following lines from the Kavitavali captures his emotions when he critically mentions how the new saints have stylized themselves:

बेष सुबनाइ सुिच बचन कह चुवाइ जाइ तौ न जरिन धरिन-धन-धाम क । कोटक उपाय कर लािल पािलअत देह, मुख किहअत गित रामहीके नामक ।। गट उपासना, दुराव दुरबासनािह, मानस िनवासभूिम लोभ-मोह-कामक ।

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राम-रोष-इरषा-कपट-कुटला भरे 1 besa subanai suci bacana kahaim cuvai jai tau na jarani dharani-dhana-dhamaki. koṭika upaya kari lali paliata deha, mukha kahiata gati ramahike namaki. pragaṭaim upasana, duravaim durabasanahi, manasa nivasabhumi lobha-moha-kamaki. - rosa - irisa - kapaṭa - kuṭilaim bhare Those who make appearances like saints and speak words that are deceivingly sacred like nectar but from within cannot leave their attachment towards land, money and estate, those who use innumerable ways to take care of their bodies but falsely claim that they believe only in the name of god. Those who show off their devotional strength but hide their devilish activities continue to reside in greed, attachment, jealousy, desires, lust, selfishness, jealousy, betrayal and crookedness.

For him, such outwardly appearing men were full of hypocrisy and deceit as they reviled the Vedas. 2 Scholars are of the view that he denounced saints as heretics in order to circulate rediscovery for the story of Rama. According to Heidi Pauwels, for Tulsidas these saints were seen as enemies of the community that he wanted to re-construct.3 Irfan Habib too reflects how Tulsidas must have been disturbed at what the sants taught: a wholesale rejection of and Islam, new preaching addressed solely to the poor, an acceptance of God and rejection of formal religion.4 What Tulsidas seems particularly to object was the sardonic way of preaching by Kabir’s followers which included criticism for Vedas and in popular couplets or dohas.5 Edmour Babineau is of view that in his desperation to protect the Vedas, Tulsidas was seeking a common ground which she calls to be the revival of the orthodox theism that required reconciliation of love to god with traditional duties in order to maintain the balance of the society. 6 Tulsidas was attempting to re-establish the legitimacy of the tradition that had been lost in the wake of newer preaching’s by the bhakti saints. He sensed deception by the various elements in the society and he felt that his compositions could act as an anti-dope to them healing him and his emotions.

IN SEARCH FOR A LOST IDENTITY Tulsidas was an abandoned child. He had spent his entire childhood in poverty only to be rescued by a Vaishnav saint who instilled in him the importance of a devoted mind. As Tulsidas got close to the aura of Rama and experienced his story he began to associate his identity and purpose of living with his lord. In an attempt to search for his identity which had been lost he started witnessing the dramatic effect of the narrative of Rama on him. He was so charged that he realized that the only way to assert a strong identity for himself as well as his community was through a direct approach to god in the form of bhakti. His apprehensions about the imbalance in the society and the losing faith of people in Vedas became a recurring theme in his writings. His desperate attempt to maintain his livelihood and the constant struggle with his unworthy perceived self during his early days left him grappling with his identity within the society. The narrative of Rama provided him a reason to assert the lost self-identity. In this way narrations formed an important part of his life experiences. He had heard the narrative of Rama in his childhood but was fascinated only when it was presented in front of him by his in the form of dialogic engagement with the narrative. This dialogic form given to the story of Rama facilitated his desires and instincts to appropriate a more significant rendering of it. As one goes through the Ramcharitmanas, one gets a feeling of Tulsidas’s intimate wish to present a dialogic narrative that could inspire others just like it did to him. He maintains his predisposition clearly throughout his composition when he aims to spread his message to the maximum people through the use of dialogues.

The dialogues between and is the main framework of the text. In the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas creates some doubts in the minds of the characters who are seeking for love towards the divinity of Rama. Dialogues are introduced to clarify certain doubts so that the characters as well as the audience love their lord unquestionably. So, the four speakers- Shiva, Bhushundi, and Tulsidas himself are eliminating the doubts of the four listeners- Parvati, , and other saints. Through his life experiences he realized

1 Indradevnarayan, trans., 1994. Kavitavali by Tulsidas. Gorakpur: Geeta Press: 178 2 Ibid. 1014 3 Heidi Pauwels, 2010. “Who Are the Enemies of the bhaktas? Testimony about "śāktas" and "Others" from Kabīr, the Rāmānandīs, Tulsīdās, and Harirām Vyās”. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 130 (4): 509-539 4 Irfan Habib, 1993. “Medieval Popular Monotheism and Its Humanism: The Historical Setting.” Social Scientist, 21 (¾): 78-88. 5 Ibid. 525 6 Edmour Babineau, 1979. Love of God and Social Duty in the Ramcaritmanas. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

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that this could be done only when he engages with the narrative on Rama not only in dialogic form but also in the language of the masses. Thus, the chosen tool for self-efficacy was the popular dialect of his social environment- Avadhi. Through the medium of dialogues written in Avadhi, Tulsidas sought to exemplify love towards god in Ramcharitmanas and propagate it as a guideline for the rest of the society in order to reduce his sense of apprehension. With a manas devoted to self-actualisation, his artistic bent of mind preoccupied with elaborate imagery, Tulsidas fashioned the narrative in different dialogic stages to reach god.

A SENSE OF HARMONY AND PEACE The desire for harmony is reflected all across his works. His claims, ideas and concepts appear as if he is avoiding conflict and antagonism. His search for calmness and urge for a structure which is free of turmoil leads him towards a middle ground between love and hatred. Tulsidas proposes the recitation of Rama-Nama as the middle path. His emotional acceptance of this middle path leads him to assure a compatibility between the Nirgun and the Sagun bhakti. The Nirgun and the Sagun formed two distinct groups in the bhakti movement. Nirgun bhakts believed in the concepts of Nirakar (unmanifested) and (supreme soul). They did not believe in incarnations and denounced idol worship. Sagun bhakti, on the other hand believed in a personal god which had a human form and could be worshipped in a manifested form. Commenting upon them, Tulsidas claimed that the Nirgun form was present everywhere but people did not have true knowledge of it. While the Sagun form was visible and present in the hearts of the people, it made them unhappy. In order to pacify this antagonism between the two, he suggested the recitation of the name of Rama as the only solution:

उभय अगम जुग नाम त । कहेउँ नामु बड़ ा राम त ।। यापकु एकु ा अिबनासी । सत चेतन घन आनँद रासी ।। Ubhaya agama juga sugama nama te, kaheu namu Bara Brahma rama te Byapaku eku brahma abinasi, sata cetane ghana anada rasi 7 There are two facets of God- the qualified and the other unqualified. Since both of the facets are easily achievable through the Name, the Name is called to be greater than the Brahma and lord Rama. The absolute is at a lower pedestrian than the Name which is infinite.

By using allegories, Tulsidas brought novelty to his sense of emotional dealing with the name of Rama. At one place he even calls the name of Rama as the jewelled lamp. He urges to put this jewelled lamp at the threshold of the tongue in the mouth so that it enlightens both inside and outside.8 It is through this mystical technique which is very personal, the devotee can achieve the highest level of love for his lord. By repetition of name, Rama becomes immanent in the life of his followers.

Another important component of Tulsidas’s urge for compatibility is his love towards Shiva and Rama. As various narratives on his life showed, played a significant role in the life of Tulsidas as he proved to be an intermediary link between Tulsidas and his emotional enlightenment. Hanuman is similarly shown in Ramcharitmanas to be a bridge between the two traditions of and as he leaps the sea separating Rama (avtar of ) at the mainland from devout Shaivas in Lanka. 9 Shiva is shown to be the original composer of the Ramcharitmanas and Rama is equally devoted to Shiva as Shiva is devoted to him. This reciprocal relationship of devotion established by Tulsidas between the two can be traced to his location. He lived at Banaras which was the city of Shiva and it became obvious that Tulsidas was influenced by the devotion to Shiva as well and reconciled the two in his writings. Tulsidas goes to the extent of saying that all those who do not worship Shiva will be treated as enemies of Rama bhakti. For example, In the Lanka Kanda, he asserts that:

संकरिय मम ोही मम दास । ते नर करहं कलप भर घोर नरक मँ बास ।। Samkarapriya mama drohi siva drohi mama dasa Te nara karahi kalapa bhari ghora naraka mahu basa 10 People who follow Shankar and are antagonistic towards me or those who have enmity with Shiva but devotee to me (Rama) will find themselves in the most horrible hell till the end of this world.

7 Sri Ramcaritmanasa by Tulsidas, trans., 1968.Gorkhpur: Geeta Press: 50. 8 Ibid. 48 9 , 1991. The Life of a Text: Performing the Ramcaritmanas of Tulsidas. Berkeley: University of California Press: 48. 10 Shri Ramcaritmanasa 1986: 826

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A DIVINE AND SENSORY TRANSFORMATION It was not just the harmony between different strands like Nirgun, Sagun, Vaishnavism and Shaivism that reflected Tulsidas’s state of mind. His choice of words resonated with his idea of a complete transformation of his physical body, mind and senses. His unambiguous presentation of Rama as the divine absolute highlights his vision. The divine Rama works as an illuminate who not only acts upon Tulsidas’s senses but also energizes his existence. Tulsidas’s inclination towards divinity was influenced by the bhakti movement. As a result, moving away from the original storyline of Rama in ’s , Tulsidas considered Rama as an avtar- a divine who had taken birth on this earth to eliminate the evil.

Yet his divine and worldly appearances are questioned. He uses different characters as agents to question divinity and get answers that provide solace to them. In this way, Tulsidas experiences a sensory transformation that leads to unquestioned divinity of Rama. Tulsidas plays with these different characters in order to pacify his own soul. He develops dialogues and his hidden sentiments emerge through them. At one instance, Paravati is confused of Rama’s divinity because she is unable to understand as to how the two who are distinct in terms of the Nirgun and the Sagun trends can be one and the same. Paravati asks Shiva if Rama who is praised as the Brahma is the same as the king of . Shiva answers Paravati saying that she is in delusion because the essence of both the forms is same. He says this by comparing it with water:

जो गुन रिहत सगुन सोई कैस । जलु िहम उपल िबगल नहं जैस ।। जासु नाम म ितिमर पतंगा । तेिह किम किहअ िबमोह संगा ।। jo guna rahita so saguna so kaiseṃ, jalu hima upala bilaga nahiṃ jaise jasu nama timira patanga, tehi kimi kahia bimoha prasanga 11 The question is: how the absolute can be constructed to be as qualified? In a similar fashion, water and hailstone are same in their constitution. He cannot be infatuated as his very Name acts as light in darkness. Ram is the light, since he is the truth, consciousness and bliss together. Even a tiny bit of ignorance cannot survive in Him.

The transformation that Tulsidas feels is elaborated to explain how his divinity can be achieved. He suggests nine methods and clearly states that whosoever follows even one of them becomes extremely dear and close to lord Rama.12 Here he seems to reveal his own state of sensory transformation that emerged as he experienced the divinity of Rama. Tulsidas believed that love for god detached one from fraudulent things that brought strive. Once a person is free from desires, the charm of god is realized. So, either the devotee god or the god loves him. And when Rama begins to love his devotees that forms the highest level of bhakti.13 Such love received from god should be seen as a mark of generosity and kindness by his worshippers to others. Tulsidas taking the voice of Rama says that:

एिह कर फल पुिन िबषय िबरागा । तब मम धम उपज अनुरागा ।। वनादक नव भि दृढाहं । मम लीला रित अित मन माह ।। Ehi kara phala puni bisaya biraga, taba mama upaja anuraga Sravanadika nava bhakti drrhahi, mama rati ati mana mahi 14 Firstly, people should develop extreme dedication at the feet of saints. Secondly, they should continue to be involved in their own duties as prescribed by the Vedas. This involves a repugnance towards the pleasures of senses and dispassion that jeopardizes love towards me. This will initiate one towards the nine methods of devotion such as Sravana i.e. listening to lord’s praises and will engage the mind in affection towards god.

We saw how Tulsidas wrote in the vernacular to express his own emotions and feelings about his life experiences as well as the bhakti movement. A piece of vernacular poetry can thus be used as a source to study the state of mind and understand its contribution in history writing. Through a study of the works by Tulsidas we saw how he poured his heart out. The pain and betrayal felt by him was portrayed through his detailed report on the bhakti saints. In search for a lost identity he looked towards the recitation of the name of Rama. Situated at Banaras he was against any kind of antagonism and projected a sense of harmony between Nirgun and Sagun bhakti. He also

11 Ibid. 141. 12 Ibid. 716 13 R K Tripathi, 1977. “Tulsi’s Concept of Bhakti” In Nagendra ed. Tulsidas: His Mind and Art. Delhi: National Publishing House: 126. 14 Shri Ramcaritmanas 1986: 687.

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exemplified compatibility between Vaishnavism and Shaivism. What he sought for was not a mere bodily transformation but a sensory one that led to his absorption into divinity. Detachment through devotion thus became the primary life goal of Tulsidas who emerged as one with god.

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