'I'HE INTERACT ION OF LOVE OF GOD

AND SOCIAL DUTY

TN THE RAMCARITMANAS

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AlH> SI)t.:lhL J)lJ'l'Y

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IIJ TH g HAl"IGIIIUTP.A I;t. S

By

Eu\uUH 13AB1NMll, B.A" ji,A,

11 Thesis

Subrni tl.cd to the School of Grf1dll~te Studies

ill Parl,ia.l. fulfilrnflllt of the Hcqu ircmcllts

fOI' t.he DeGree

Due tor of Phil osophy

McMa:>ter Univer:,; ty

, DOCTOly OF PH1LOSUPHY (1975)

(Religiou~ Sciencco)

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Mcl1J\STER UrUVERSITY

Hamilton, Ontario

•TITLE: 'fhe Int.erac1;.ion of Love' of God and Social Duty in the·

Ramcaritmanas

AUTHOR: Edmour & bineau, B.A. (vlalsh College)

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M.h. (McMdst~r University)

3UP&VISORi Profess OF D. Kinsley

NUMBER OF' PA GES : vi, 298

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',' , . '. t.lIhe ~,J.:P980 of thi.s the'sis: i~ to..:stu·dy .Tuls-i-nib' vidws on tho, .'. ... ~ . . .. ~. '.. ..... --'..

interact-ion 'of i ove of God .~n'd ~ocia f Q.~ty: ,as expre':~r,ed ill the' Rnrn- .. ,'" ",' - ' --

G~rit·mRn;-.£:.: I,~;ot{br :~<.i .dct·(.!~minc·\he·':~iG·t~il~tiveneRDof' ~lsi Dps"~ ,,' ...

p0131tfOl~ on· the.' ;'\;bjc~t under' COl'lA~tfo'itiQjl;.;ln' effdrt is made .~t,} .,. -

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0'On 'the b~lBi~lov'3' of ,Go<L i'l.r1ci Gocinr dti.tY.1vlt-hin the Hindu trnc!itic n.. .

emer/<,:cd thre~ clifferr.mt PIIIPh~,'<'\t~B whic;h ~ nlc(liova1 timer; hOli bec~m~. . . ~ . ... ~ .. ., • l • '

(hscernibl~ ;::> rlint1nct -types: "Ol.·t~iodox theiGm" l'qrre~el1tinc tho Jllirldle.. .

," , . ~~ '~;i tu.,atinr,' o,t b~ .H~l'lcr'!.'i tmanas. ~oii t4il1 .tl1e. oy Jr-;--<lll con text qf 1;}u3' Hindu~ " JI''- _:, .; ••".-.' ".. ... .. • ...: - ,''co ..

~. .:. traditio~, 't~:)vlhich'T~l:si Dis' ~eJ;~:ft~d;r,y' 'cl';nmed.'hls own indebt~dheUs •.

f..:: :;<- >.:... Tho: t/:"~O1b~io~! ',;:;: -ro. oh .~~ u ~cd ;" pro f ;~""co to the hi"tod co1~~ " c: , '. '~ " ,_. '",

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or centr~l ntre<l':J. IVh~r:r~'hoth SOCial duty ;;lnd lava of God ?re kept in. . . .. .. ' .. '

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. ~ba,lrlpcc; Itv~(lin ortlJoclox,y'" r(~;?repe'l1hn& tho posi-tiol'l -ivh.;re ~oc~~l ciutJ,r T ~ "". ... , • .'" ..' :' • •••• •

is consitlel:ec\ 'th~ G:J]vi,f:j..c "pt'tli ri.li' .exccllenco whilt'l, l()v~ oi.Go.d pl:oys• t ~. • ~ •• • ,.. "

a n~eli(iible' ),'()}e.;· ~tl;(l fi.n:>tily ~";ntinom;i~n th~inr~" ·ro}.+r~:~cn~in,'J' Cl:

position \Olhc>ca thl)o CIlli'hilG;S is pn lQv\) of GoeL ,to the ,llO(slL';eno~ of"

" ·t.rad~ tional duti3-r;;. ... ~. .'. ~ ..

~hf3 .prt3r.:on~ thcni y cV,imr; that .the H;'\-lcr ri trnfi.p.:.:.:::. rcpr~Bohtf\ all

fittmll1)t to ,toviv~ th·~.'firf;t ,or·llini~lrnofl ·P9riitioh.~ili-1~d.ic.vftLf{O~th~-. . ,

In.~lia. ': Thif> cl-.tlll in ..,1Ibfitnntinted boy /J ntudy 9i: TI lni ·,n~~'" ~l.,,r'ltl~~lr).', . ....."

,~ afar; in 'Lb!~, liGht of, its E\ooip-:-'politicpl, '1'0'1 i:,;iQu!3' <)Ild li:t'erl':ryof'... " f • " •

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Das.' own r~l1eious views. On the"btl:~i8 'of a. s!stematic ompar~,aon'< .." I

between the Hamcaritrnan~s and its majn lj~ePRry.spurces~ the thesis\ .. 'f.-.,

, .establishes' that' while Tulei 'Das reaff.inn~d, the centr91 o.s~tion, ,he,

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maintPoined a, ~istinc~iYenes~' of ~iS own, 'l'~~s h~ llchiev d' by doaling

It is ~rgued)1at the R~ca,ritmana.s can O~ consid~r~d a ,ll.

reaffit~ation o~/tJe.~~ndu '~radition againet the mepa.cing im.....~ ' ... -I..... .~ .. '." '. .'. .

ofo'the lausliiR politicd{, rule', wb~ch Culminated in' Akbar's U iver.salist" , ,"

.'~6·li¢Y;: ag~irtst tb:e a~tinon\ian d.~voti()mil t-rend, v.ery lln.l9h~ ..' I~ ...."' ,

modi-ev~l 1lorih;n~1a,' wbi9b tbreat~ne4 t:'ddi tiona} ,,:~lue3,• • • ~ I I'"

those, a?Roch,ted \'i~th sooial' fl,nd dome~ti;~dutiesJ', ;gai.n~t Vedic: " ' ',' , ,' , ~ \ ,I?rt~odo~ ciroles, Whi~~'t,ende~ t~ .dirninisIl ,t~e ' importa,n:ce ,of.. Iov~ '~f

Go~' ~:6 'an import~nt COt'atitu~nt 'of ~induisln: , ' I' ,• J • " " " ' I. ' ,

The :t~tentiori givon. to the 1i~,e~ary,~~.okgroundof tbr R~mc[tr.it:-

manas' is :;I,iDled lit' d~terrn~nitl~ :th~ de~re'e o~ distinctivenebG in ,Tulsi/

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., ~iih ~he tension ~~~ween lov.e of God and ~ocial duty. as I~~ ~mportant

i6~ue, ani hi ~~le~tl~ssi~ emphasi~ine love of God aB,t~e preeminent

s;l.lyi.:t:ic ,path." j,Finally, it,i" ~~own tbai'Tuls1 D'SOf~.;.~a ~ay' f ~.~ol~inB '

:the grO\;:i.ng, tensic'm 'betw.eon love' ~f GC!d :and :.soci<J:l dut{ by p'rop~sing' . '• • •• '~,,'''''- ." .~~I ~

tp,o wiU of G~Hr as ~h~ 111~imR ~~ qrito~ion. of. decisioJ Q.nd the supr~me• • ~ • .' , • '. • •• j, • .. f ~

. p.rinc:l.pli! of irrteRr~tion. ·'Tlrl.s Bol~ttion enabled him' both to 'en~~urageJ' " • ~ • ',' I :.. • ~ 'j • ....;.., ".. ~. • • • • ") • I •

. ' ,- the devot!'? h9\lSeho~dar :to :f:ulfill his, soc~al and domestic dl.1tio's, ~nd. ", '" .

~~,t}~.ri~o 't}m~> ' ~~st~fy th~ ~esir.e of ce~t~in. enthusiasts' to ~p~nd'. • A •

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.their whole life and tim~ in the praise and-worship of the Lord.

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ACK NQ\rlLlWGI1 EN'l'S,-----------'---

I,would like to expre~s Il\Y gl"atitude to a,11 those 'Who

contributed in any way to the success of this dis~ert~tion.

Among these, ~ thanks goes !irst and foremost to Professor

..'iravid Kinsley, -my. chief advisor, whose promp'titude in offez:­

ing the ~eedeQ help and guidance ena uied me to work at a'

steady pace. I also 'Want to thank ~rofessors \aul Younger and 0

John Hitchcock, ...,hose interest in the subject of Il\Y thesis

prompt.ed them t,O offer stimulatiM '.stl'!f.i~,tion::l ~nci nnmprollS

criticisms, and to Professor ~. 'Sivaraman, who w~s par~icttla'1"1y

helpful durine the initial stages of nv-~research.

To Hr~ Sinha and Mr.. Tiwari, ,fellow-students at

McMaster University, my h6artf~lt appreciation for their assist­

ance in 1~anslating Sanskrit texts. I also want to thank. ~

Prafessora Yvonne ~hiass~n and Charles Soong, for,re~ding the, .

firs"t draft of this work and sugge'sting improve'mtlnts'i·n·,s.f;,.ie

and eJqlz;ession.

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'l'A BLE OF CUNTElnS',

1. The Literary ~haractcristics of th.e I~mc<lritmana3 '101

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LOVE, OF· GOD AND SOCIAL D'l.rrY IN IrHE RAI1CA Ri:rMANlIS~J !

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2. 1'h'e Immediato Context

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HIS LIFE AND 'IlORKS.TULSI . DAS,

J. The Hevival of the Middle Stream

2., WorkfJ of Tulsi oils

1.', :'lhe Historical Background

1. ' Life of TUlst Das

PART THREE:

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PAHT i'\~o:' THE TMDTrION,

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE:

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2. Social Duty in th~ na~caritmanas 122. ;

, J.~din~.I~moaritlnana;:J 161

4. . deal Dt3votee.'

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CONCLUSION 239

NOTES 244

•BIBLIOGRAP BY 290

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IHTRODUCTlliN

The Rfuncaritm~.nas is tl:\e most popular relitiou.G. text of North

India, fi.pd its cxc~llcn0e i:s I;chera.t!y ;>cknowlodr?)(l ar:Jpng HitJdtw of

the whol~,sub-continont. In order to rCOId it in nroper perspodive,

it is irpportant to oC.l'r in mind thfit' it w:.s'monnt to b<~ ;l rifacimtmto

of the V?lroiki Harn~yana, written appro:Ximntely twenty' centudes a~rlier.·, .'

That is, in rewrHuw tho storj1, of n:ll1J;l, 'Tulsi Dn.R felt froe to mako a

:l-nd inclin'ati 'liS.

The I(JOst consequ6n:tial change tha.t Tlllsi DaR introduced in his

now version of tho n~maya~a i~ t'he impol't;;n::o ~ivory to the .interaction

'Of ~ov.c of God ~nd Hocinl duty •. It will be nrc,ued il) t.his theoir; th~~

tho attcl:lpt to .!.'ol:~te tho'so two .colllpotin,; Cl"ll'l~ ill $ho~n in tho HfllR-, (

caritm~n~s to restll t i:h ::I sbte or" t'3nsicn in the :,H~}We thv.t the intensi-

ty of the dcVO:tO·~15 love or' God causes;;, dileullfla vis-i'-vis: .his obli~;ttion

to pcrfonn hi~ norm~1 social duties: \vhathor to endu ~ ph:/sic::ll scpa!':l-

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t~ori from tho Lb~d in ordol' to fulfi 1'1 his oblie:; tion, or to' ablmdon

h~s duties' ir. order to follow the Lord morc clo~e ]y.

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particui?r· theory on r.ociHl causality, thlfl tncsi:: wi 1: ~ttal:lrt to

attflin Cl ,cle<trc:',F inr:irrht into the !1rpblcm of rcl,~tin~ lov.) of God ~nd

socid duty as it .u:one from Tulsi b$s" own cOlwciou!:;n'cns., In order

to d'o so, .o.n ef"'ort will be Illade in Pa~t I to nrcsent ilio ~vd.ilable

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infoI'm .... tlon· on his liTI:) ;>.nd work, .thu:; hif,hU'-;hti.nr: hiG importnnco".j,Q

the history of 1il')U iev;'l I ilfJrth Indiil.

In tha hi~Jtoricn.l soction, whi,cry form::; tho. GC1cond p'lrt cf the

to ~it'J;\tc hi~ poci!,ioll in terms. of thn Hil du tL',Hliti()n to which he

ropeatedly clnlUI:: hi:1 own illd(,.~btedne:J~ throu!;hou.t the :ifi.mc;lritm5n:~r-;.

It Will 013 'trr...wd ~t ;'D he lookcd.b;}ck, h'~ could db'corn, on tho.'

Ilue"tion of the tm~;;i(m bct~·..c;m rov::: of'Ood ;~ntl :;ocid duty, .ilt Ie,lst. ~

. .role of soci:d c1ut:r to tho point of ·,}nhc ..' tot.llly i>ubordin:,tinc or

pl'ionty of love of"CI)cl wyrL~ n~f.lcctli1r, th~ v:->lu~ (\f ~oci:'). duty,

A -third ,,1 t'~l'Jl'lti ve~~}; for tho ~:mko of 'convenience :·"ill no rofQrl'~d

to liS the' lI;fliddl~ positicnll, helP. tbr-t 'lovo of God wm; not inconsi:>t'1nt.

with the 'Pol'fOrm:'llcc (If' ;:OCi:l1: dllty.

th~r:e alt,n'lrtiv::-; lod him to choose the thi.:-Q in his "t.tQ'.11~t to for::l-

.uh.te ~ :;()lu ti"nn \'Ih lch.would emi>hil[~iz0 love of God whi10 at the 0:.lme

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", , -"-The th~:;lfl then studies to ',h;~t oxt-:mt 'I'll bol D'::;' p0 ':cHT~tion of

It will-bc'::h'l\"11 th t tho im,lodi'ltc conte'lt cO',lld boJ viewou, '1t;:J ch:ll-

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altqrnahvc, 'fhil; G~ctiQn is not rnoRnt to cs);i,bUoh th:l.t Tulsi Dar:

ir: mG~nt t·o :n':,l".u~ h..,·,v 'he cho~c to f;),~(lt th·) eh'" t' ')l"ln;>J of hi..r> d;:y on ~

the b?S~f;'of. lU:i, O\~.:f1.igl0US il1cliI1;~,tions, ';~lld in '.vhr t, t.onne his. .,

reST'nnt,o could h';"'~ I 111fl,lll)d the eY,h)ct:>tion;:' of.hlf; i:l'Jcl.i·,tc

hOilrcrr"

, .Th,; f\11111 :',~<)tl' n of' the th,nr.l:," i" devoted' t(· ');;"J.CJ:~i3 '9f the

'. -. h~r:lc:trltr;IPtn.ir.;, ;lll~:d at illuGtr.dinr: Tulsi ])~~I l\lHlet'f;b'ndill~ of love

,.'of 'God ;>nd 30Qi'11 duty. In tho fir. ,1 ch:'11't r:,r, it w,l.ll be lwld th;)t

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r)~:; fornrll h:d :'1 h',l ~Il'.':1 r:h.ich w;u:; 'rl 8 '" ill the ll?'I,',ynilic tr:'di~l(,n of

.Horth 111(11;1., :Ind ";hi,c111rl ene·of thl3 moct iPl;,'ol't.nt nolutiol1o to'th1.S

p'0ronllHl nrohlJ!'1 ,;r l\)lil'ioUG rny,·tioi;;m.---"

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~n bb"kti I1tl'l (1h:n~, r" ..tl? D?C,'"u!>c the l;'tt'~r flt'O fr'YlUl.lntl.y urad

\',ith d.iffctlnr; connot·,ti;,n:1 .m'a l'nl'tly bfH'r,'I~;') the H~:'1c"ritr~il.nbr;,. ."

concept::;, Thn IFI,r,':: ion "love of Gnd" i~ t',ken h:,!.·~"1 in ;, bro',d .

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mont, to the Di Vil.h1, which. Tulst Dns d<e:::;cn bOG u:oillC 1'31lch torm~ ;:f~

.'rlw c':hI'o~;r;iol1

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.-----A A

PART ONE;: LIFE i\ND WORKS OF TllLSI DAS

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1 •. LIFE OF, TULSI DAS

The biographical sources for a life of Tulsi Das are abundant,

although much of ' the available material is not considered reliable.

First, we shall examine the autobiographical indications generally con-, ,

sidered authentic. Then, we shall examine too early biographical ac­

counts' of Tuls! Da~, parj:,icul~l.y the GautamacandI:~ka and the Bhakta

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Mala. Finally, 'We shall try- to ascertain, from both the legendary

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'Jno?-t-erial and the teseaz:'ch of modern scholars, the central events of

Tule! Das' life.

1. Autobiog£aphical indications

Althou&h Tuls! DaB frequentl.y·refc~s to his per~nal ~ife,

particularly in the V.!naya-patrik( s.uon di!!~l~~..lres ~o ms~~t tv ~cnfes9, , .-

bis s1nful condition, to proclaim his ,utter dependence ~n R~, or to, ~ '. ..

deplor.e his physical ailments, and they do 'not supply u.s with much in­

formation. When he does make allusions to particular ·:events in his ~e,

their'mean'ing is no t always clear.

'In a'section'or ·Kavitaval~, which.he ~ote in hi6 later yeara)"

Tulsi 'Das writes thi~ conqernirig his earlier chilcUtood:

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. .His father and mothe r brought l-.im into'the~world anq a~lndoned him, .Dest.:j.ny has written nothing good uponhis forehead,He was low;'a vessel for disrespect,a coward who was, glad to get even the8Crapl:! thrown out {o r dogs. 1 .. . ; .

Th~ interpretation gen~rally given of this passage is that the

poet wa.s bOrn. on an ~auspicious day-, and as a, result- his pr~ll.~ f' felt.obliged' to disown their neW-born ba~y" as an ~.m~ure and untouchabl~ child.•

Such an' inter~~~trtio" is corroborated by another ata:telOOnt found iil,

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The Pe'tition to I~:

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. About. his chi:ldhood~ Tuls!' DaB makes only one· reference

indicating that he was 1:escued bY' sants ,i.e,. belie,vers of &Sma:

'Where astrological indications recommended that he be .ab~doned.

'If this explanat~on is oorrect j,t may account for the l1an~ish and

remors~1t of his parents alluded to'in Kavitavali Vll.73;

And as the wretched snake casts of.! itsslough, 8) did my father ani motherabandon me •••TheY teared even to touch my shadoW'such was ll\Y misfortune. 2

According to the current interpretation of those passa~e~,Jthe child was born at the ill.-omened conjunctio~ of two asterir.ll),g

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I was born in a family pf beggars,when the band played in celebration,My father and. mother hearin~ feltdoJll!.l.tl~jl and n~lWL·~~.

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I told my poverty at' 'every dqor,'I gnashed ~ teeth and fell at teet,till ,some holY men (sants) saw nvmisery and said: , ' 'Sorrow no mor~, ~ is tJ1e .re·fugaot wretche 8. 4

On the basis of a passage in the opening linea o~ the Rfun­

caritnonas, i~ is u~ua1.}.Y' thought that Tulsi Das was adopted by a

Rfun!nan'di gtlfu5 n~ed' Narahari:

~ do l}omage 't:9 the lotus-feet' of,my" guru,Ocean ?f grace, ~ar<.\.-rupa Hari. o· .

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.~{It is probably fr~m his ~:that he received the name Mat

Das, since itl Kavitav'ali Vll.• lOO he clailns that his natn8 is Mma". .. .

A 'Boll. ·No· indications are given, however, as to Tcici Das l age when

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ed on the banks of the

hor, 'Krsna Datta,

this ch;mge of name miGht have (.ccured.

According to the Gautamacandrlka, ~ whose

river Nannad;i ; nd ,It Sltb '~clh()Lr~. This is con!' n~d by the infonnatiQn

giv~~ in t~e RamC3ritmanas that, as a child, Tulsi Das h~ard from his ,

• 8guru at SUka.rakh~la the story of Rama, which because 0 f his tender age'. "

was a contemporary of Tulsi Das, Narahari Das

h~~was at first una.ble to understand..

He may also ha v,e !teen initiated

earll' to the other works which ~e admits using, as sources of the Ram-I • • •

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carl tminas, such as the Puranas, particularly tile Bh5.g;J,va ta-E\trana,. .and otl\er- sources ilhlch 1 shall try to identify in a lalar section of

th;Ls 'dissertati-on. 9 A<idition~l information may be obtained on, this

point trom another work which has been'recently established as one or<. , ()'

LU~8i DM" ea.r,l.i~r M)rks, n'amel..y'the Jiiiinad:tpik~.~~ The ~lophons of, -

this te~ give either direct or indirect references to the ~~habharata,. '

-d'the Bhagavata Puranfl, a:nd the Yoga Vas1sth:l., with which we may as-. ..

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awne '.lw.si nas was t:amiliar .from ~ ~a,ther early age •.

Tulsi. nas mkes a few allu-sions to what may have. beeu" either

. his ntarl:iage or 8om~ love adventure. The following is 'typical':

. In childhood,t my mind went straight to Raina.And -taking Rama' s' I1c"l1OO I begged and 'ate the acr~p8Jbut then I fell into the ways of the 'world.". 1])" ,

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Of the mic,idle years of his life, Tulsi Das says next to nothing.'

His earlie5t clearly dated po~ is the llamajn.1.praena, co~osed in Sanivat. .1621: (A.D~ 1564). The poem also ine!1Uon~ tho name of Ganga Mm, who

was" a.ccording t;---t'he Gautamacandrika.', a ~p.~ident ot Banaras a.nd s-

.personal friend of Ttilsi !\is .12' According 'to a recently discovered. ,