Śrī Rāmcharitmānas (Hindi रामचरितमानस) is an epic poem composed by the great 16th-century Indian poet, Goswami Tulsidas (c.1532–1623) (also transliterated as Tulasidasa). As he mentions in Baal Kaand of the composition, he started writing it in Vikram Samvat 1631 (1574 AD) in Avadhpuri, Ayodhya. It was completed in two years and seven months. A large portion of the poem was composed at Vārāṇasi, where the poet spent most of his later life. It is considered one of the greatest works of Hindi literature. Jump to: navigation, search HindÄ« (हिन्दी) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... In mathematics, see epic morphism. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Goswami Tulsidas (1532-1623; Hindi: तुलसीदास) was a medieval Hindi poet and philosopher. ... Events May 16 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. ... Events August 6 - Pope Urban VIII is elected to the Papacy. ... Events April 14 - Battle of Mookerheyde. ... Ayodhya (अयोध्या) is an ancient city of India, the old capital of Awadh, in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh. ... Jump to: navigation, search Varanasi Varanasi (वाराणसी) (also known as Benares, Banaras, Benaras, Kashi, and Kasi) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges) in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Jump to: navigation, search Literature in Hindi, the language spoken by the majority of people in India. ...

Raamcharitmaanas is a retelling of the events of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, concerning the amazing exploits of Rama. The great poem is popularly called Tulsi-krita Ramayana, but entitled by its author Raamcharitmaanas, or the Lake of Rama's Deeds. It is as well known among Hindus in northern India as is the Bible among the rural population of England. The composition is in Avadhi, a local dialect of Hindi, spoken in the Gangetic plain of North India. The language is flowery with free use of metaphors and similes. Many of its verses are popular proverbs in that region; an apt quotation from them by a stranger has the immediate effect of instilling confidence in the listener. As with the King James Bible and Shakespeare, Tulsidas's phrases have passed into common speech, and are used by millions of Hindi speakers (and even speakers of Urdu) without the speakers being conscious of their origin. Not only are his sayings proverbial: his doctrine actually forms the most powerful religious influence in present-day Hinduism; and, though he founded no school and was never known as a guru or master, he is everywhere accepted as both poet and saint, an inspired and authoritative guide in religion and the conduct of life. Jump to: navigation, search Sanskrit ( संस्कृता) is an Indo-Aryan language, and a classical language of India. ... Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman(crouching) The Ramayana (Sanskrit: march (ayana) of Rama) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ... Deities of Sri Sri Sita (far right), Rama (center), Lakshmana (far left) and Hanuman (below seated) at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford England Lord Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. ... Jump to: navigation, search It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Hindu people. ... The Indo-Gangetic Plain is a rich, fertile and ancient land encompassing most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, and virtually all of Bangladesh. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK... Awadhi is a dialect of Hindi, spoken in the Awadh (Oudh) region of Uttar Pradesh. ... Jump to: navigation, search HindÄ« (हिन्दी) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... The Indo-Gangetic Plain is a rich, fertile and ancient land encompassing most of northern and eastern India and parts of Pakistan. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ...

Tulsidas professed himself the humble follower of his teacher, Narhari-Das, from whom as a boy in Sukar-khet he first heard the tale of Rama's exploits that would form the subject of the Raamcharitmaanas. (Narhari-Das was the sixth in spiritual descent from Ramananda, the founder of popular Vaishnavism in northern India.) Ramananda was a vaishnava saint, a Ramayat - devotee of Lord Rama. ...

The poem is a revisiting of the great theme of Valmiki (the ancient author of the Ramayana), but is not a mere retelling of the Sanskrit epic. Where Valmiki has condensed the story, Tulsidas has expanded, and, conversely, wherever the elder poet has lingered longest, there his successor has condensed. Raamcharitmaanas consists of seven books, of which the first two, entitled Childhood and Ayodhya, make up more than half the work. (The second book, an expansive recounting of the meeting of Rama with his brother Bharata in the forest, is often the most admired.) Maharishi Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana. ... Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman(crouching) The Ramayana (Sanskrit: march (ayana) of Rama) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ...

The tale begins at King Dasaratha's court, and tells of the birth and boyhood of Rama and his three brothers, his marriage with Sita, his voluntary exile which is the unfortunate result of Kaikeyi's guile and Dasaratha's rash vow, the dwelling-together of Rama and Sita in the great central Indian forest, her abduction by Ravana, Rama's expedition to Lanka and the overthrow of the ravisher, and life at Ayodhya after the return of the reunited pair. It is written in pure Baiswari or Eastern Hindi, in stanzas called chaupais, broken by dohas or couplets, with an occasional sortha and chhand – the latter a hurrying metre of many rhymes and alliterations. SITA (originally an acronym for Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques) is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT services to the aviation industry. ... Jump to: navigation, search HindÄ« (हिन्दी) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ...

Dr. George A. Grierson, an early-20th-century translator and anthologist of vernacular Hindi literature, describes the work as follows:

"As a work of art, it has for European readers prolixities and episodes which grate against occidental tastes, but no one can read it in the original without being impressed by it as the work of a great genius. Its style varies with each subject. There is the deep pathos of the scene in which is described Rama's farewell to his mother; the rugged language depicting the horrors of the battlefield Рa torrent of harsh sounds clashing against each other and reverberating from phrase to phrase; and, as occasion requires, a sententious, aphoristic method of narrative, teeming with similes drawn from nature herself, and not from the traditions of the schools. His characters, too, live and move with all the dignity of an heroic age. Each is a real being, with a well-defined personality. Rama, perhaps too perfect to enlist all our sympathies; his impetuous and loving brother Lakshmana; the tender, constant Bharata; Sita, the ideal of an Indian wife and mother; Ravana, destined to failure, and fighting with all his demon force against his destiny, the Satan of the epic. All these are characters as lifelike and distinct as any in occidental literature." Deities of Sri Sri Sita (far right), Rama (center), Lakshmana (far left) and Hanuman (below seated) at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford England Lord Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. ... Lakshaman (far left) with Rama (centre), Sita (far right) and Hanuman (kneeling) - Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, England Lakshmana was the son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya and Sumitra. ... Bharata is the name of three different persons in Hindu mythology. ... SITA (originally an acronym for Soci̩t̩ Internationale de T̩l̩communications A̩ronautiques) is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT services to the aviation industry. ... Ravana, Indian Demon King of Lanka In Hindu mythology, Ravana is one of the principal antagonists of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. ...

As the author claims the book is a précis of selections from the Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, different Raamaayans (including Vaalmiki and Aadhyaatma Raamaayan) and discourses as heard by the author. The selections are for the author's swanthaha sukh (self-delight) : last shloka of starting invocations in Baal Kaand RCM. As it features Puraans it takes inputs from Vyaas-created Aadhyaatma Raamaayan and Bhagavad Gita as well. The Vedas are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ... The Puranas are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss devotion and mythology. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, UpaniÅŸad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman(crouching) The Ramayana (Sanskrit: march (ayana) of Rama) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Rishi Veda Vyasa is a Hindu figure of yore, a divine guru, a luminary of spirituality whose status in Hinduism is equal to that of the gods and goddesses. ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ...

See also

• Text of the poem on Wikisource (in Hindi)