The Place of Tulsī dās in North Indian Devotional Tradition

F. R. Allchin

doi:10.1017/S0035869X0012489X

The Place of Tulsī dās in North Indian Devotional Tradition

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011

F. R. Allchin

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To the outside observer the history of Hindu sectarianism often appears as a disorganized tangle, lacking clarity and precision. The whole process is made if anything more complex by the ill-defined relationship of sect and non-sect. As Renou remarks: Though no statistics are available, even for the present day, we have grounds for supposing that the most active sects were themselves only isolated groups within the great body of believers. From another point of view, however, the history is more understandable. A considerable part of sectarian activity during the past 1,500 years has been concerned with the spread and regional development of a single great devotional movement. Seen from this position, the uniformity and theological coherence of the sects, whether they be called Vaiṣṇavite, Śaivite, or by some other name, is remarkable and often overrides the no less real disparities of doctrine or detail at another level. Again, in this process regional variations have arisen in no small measure as a result of the popular character of the writings of particular saints. Thus, for example, Basava or Purandara Dāsa hold pride of place in the Karnāṭka, the one Vīra Śaiva, the other Vaiṣṇava; in Mahārāṣṇra devotion has in no small part been moulded by the thought of Jāân Dev or Tukā Rām; in the Pañjāb by Nānak; and in the Hindī region by Kabīr Dās, Tulsī Dās, and Sūr Dās. Throughout north India the influences which lay behind the movement were largely, but by no means exclusively, Vaiṣṇavite; yet other streams contributed, Śaivite, Buddhist, Tāntrika, Yogī, etc.

Type: Articles
Information: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 98 , Issue 2 , April 1966 , pp. 123 - 140

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X0012489X [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1966

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References

^{page 123 note 1} Renou, L., Religions of ancient India, 1956, 89Google Scholar.

^{page 123 note 2} RCM. (Rāma-carita-mānasd), I, Soraṭtha 5. All references are to the Kāśīrāj ed., Banāras, 1962.

^{page 123 note 3} Miśra, Viśvanāth Prasād, “Tulsī Dās's biography in the Gautamacandrikā”, Nāgarīpracārinī Patrikā, Sam. 2012, no. 1, 1–22Google Scholar.

^{page 123 note 4} Dās, Nābhā, Srī Bhakta Māla, ed. Rūpkalā, Bhagavān Prasād, Lucknow, 1926, 304–5Google Scholar; 766, n.

^{page 124 note 1} SirGrierson, G., “Notes on Tulsī Dās”, Indian Antiquary, XXII, 1893, 266Google Scholar.

^{page 124 note 2} Nābhā Dās, loc. cit.; Gupta, Mātāprasād, Tulsī Dās, Allāhābād, 1946, 142, n. 4Google Scholar.

^{page 124 note 3} Nābhā Dās, op. cit., 867.

^{page 124 note 4} RCM., I, 46, 2; I, 14, 2; I, 14, 19, etc.

^{page 124 note 5} ibid., I, sloka 7.

^{page 124 note 6} Among others see Sinha, Vyohār Rājendra, “Rāma-carita-mānasa and the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa”, Kalyān, vol. 5, no. 1, 1930Google Scholar; Mātāprasād Gupta, op. cit., 255 ff.; Vaudeville, C., Etude sur les sources et la composition du Rāmāyaṇa de Tulsī Dās, Paris, 1955, xvi–xviiGoogle Scholar.

^{page 124 note 7} Mātāprasād Gupta, op. cit., ch. 6. The date of the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa is discussed in Bagchi, P. C.Studies on the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa, Calcutta, 1935Google Scholar. The work is mentioned by Ek Nāth, Tulsī's contemporary, as being modern (Bhandārkar, R. G., Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism, etc., Strassburg, 1933, 48)Google Scholar. It was first translated into Malayalam by Eluttacan, c. 16th century.

^{page 124 note 8} Vi. (Vinaya-patrikā), 240, 4. All references are to Viyogī Hari's ed., Allāhābād, 7th ed., 1950.

^{page 125 note 1} RCM., I, 14, 5.

^{page 125 note 2} Ranade, R. D., Pathway to God in Marāṭthī literature, Bombay, 1961, 180Google Scholar.

^{page 125 note 3} See also Ranade, R. D., Pathway to God in Hindī literature, Bombay, 1959, 43–4, 63–4, etc.Google Scholar; and Pathway to God in Kannada Literature, Bombay, 1960, 31, 36–7, etcGoogle Scholar.

^{page 125 note 4} See also the introduction to my translation of Kavitāvalī, London, 1964, 47–9Google Scholar.

^{page 125 note 5} Kav. (Kavitāvalī), VII, 84.

^{page 125 note 6} RCM., II, 167, 7; VI, 31,2.

^{page 125 note 7} Dohāvalī, 553–5.

^{page 126 note 1} Bhakta Māla, Chappay 60.

^{page 126 note 2} RCM., I, 13, 1–2, 1, 12, dohā; cf. Brṛhadāraṇyaka U., 3, 9, 26.

^{page 126 note 3} RCM., VII, 108, 3.

^{page 126 note 4} ibid., I, 23, 1, etc. We discuss the terms Nirguṇa and Saguṇa again on p. 132 below, n. 6.

^{page 126 note 5} ibid., I, 13, 4–5.

^{page 127 note 1} ibid., I, 23, 1.

^{page 127 note 2} ibid., I, 116, 1–4.

^{page 127 note 3} ibid., I, 108, 5–8.

^{page 127 note 4} ibid., I, 116, 2.

^{page 127 note 5} ibid., VII, 72, dohā.

^{page 127 note 6} Kav., VII, 122; RCM., I 121–2.

^{page 127 note 7} Bhagavadgītā, 4, 6–9.

^{page 127 note 8} Antaryāmī occurs first in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, III, 7, 1–7. In the Pañcarātra system it is used as one of the pañcavyūhaor five levels of divine emanation, coming fourth in the series, between vibhava (incarnatory) and areā (as idols). It gains new significance in the system of Rāmānuja, in the context of the relationship of the individual jīva and Brahma; and it has a related plural usage in Vallabhācārya (see Dāsgupta, S., History of Indian Philosophy, vol. 4, 332, 348)Google Scholar. Bāharayāmīis probably Tulsī's own coining; it occurs only once, in Kav., VII, 129. But it may be compared with Īsopanişad, 5. See also Ranade, op. cit., 1959, 306–8.

^{page 128 note 1} e.g. Vi., 203, 1.

^{page 128 note 2} RCM., I, 19, 1–2.

^{page 128 note 3} ibid., I, 21, 2–8.

^{page 128 note 4} ibid., I, 23–5.

^{page 129 note 1} Vi., 239, 7.

^{page 129 note 2} ibid., 113, 3–5.

^{page 129 note 3} ibid., 79.

^{page 129 note 4} ibid., 136, 10.

^{page 130 note 1} Kav., VII, 129.

^{page 130 note 2} See a useful paper by Śāstrī, Viṣṇukānta in Mānas Mayūkh, 1, 1965, 429–449Google Scholar.

^{page 131 note 1} Since writing this section I have seen a copy of DrSinha's, Uday BhānuTulsī Darśan Mīmāṃsa, Lucknow, 1961Google Scholar, in which chapters 2–4 are devoted respectively to Brahma-Rām, the animate jīva, and the material world. This thorough study goes far to answer the need. See also Ranade, op. cit., 1959,11–15.

^{page 131 note 2} RCM., III, 35–6.

^{page 131 note 3} ibid., VII, 43–6.

^{page 131 note 4} ibid., III, 16, 8.

^{page 131 note 5} ibid., III, 35, 3.

^{page 132 note 1} VI, 205.

^{page 132 note 2} ibid., 202, 1; 203, 8.

^{page 132 note 3} RCM., III, 16, 3.

^{page 132 note 4} Dohavali, 254–5.

^{page 132 note 5} ibid., 256.

^{page 132 note 6} The description of Brahma as Nirguṇa is already implicit in Bṛhadāraṇyaka U., 4, 4, 22, 25, etc. The term itself occurs in Śvetāsvatara U., 6, 11, and in Mahābhārata, XII, 293, 40–7 and XII, 339, 14. It is found in both Śaivite and Vaiṣṇavite texts. The concept of a Saguṇa aspect is already apparent in Taittirlya U., 2, 1, where Brahma is described as satyam, jñānam, and anantam; and in Svetāsvatara U., where the Lord is described as guṇī (endowed with qualities), guṇeśa (Lord of qualities), prabhu, suhṛt, śaraṇa, etc. It occurs in the Mahābhārata, XII, 293, 43. The two terms do not occur in Bhagavadgītā, but they are implicit in the polarity of avyakta, unmanifested, and vyakta, manifested, the latter being used for the incarnate form of Kṛṣṇa. See Śrīnivāsācārī, P., Philosophy of Viśiṣṭādvaita, for a discussion of the terms in Śaṅkara, the Bhedābheda, and Rāmānuja (particularly pp. 97–102)Google Scholar.

This is not otherwise necessary; for example, the Yoga-Vāṭhatreats the Saguṇa aspect without reference to incarnation. The philosophical interpretation of the identification is variously seen. Thus Madhva in his Nyāya-sudhā discusses the difficulties of a monist interpretation of the identity of the Saguṇa and the Nirguṇa; he quotes the Bhāgavata Purāṇnain support of the former aspect, and takes the latter to mean devoid of bad qualities (Dāsgupta, op. cit., vol. 4,125–26). Again, the explanation of the two aspects by Vallabha follows the Bhāgavata and differs from that of Tulsī (ibid., 348).

^{page 133 note 1} The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, III, 28, takes Saguṇa Bhakti to be that in which one of the three guṇas predominates, and Nirguṇa to be that which is devoid of or beyond the guṇas. Nirguṇa Bhakti is identified as nirhaituka, that which is without specific ends in view. Vallabhācārya follows this usage, and so also do the Śaiva Siddhānta texts. This usage is old and is found, for example, in describing the nature of dhyāna in Yogic meditation in the Mahabharata, XII, 294, 8; 304, 8–9. However, in recent Hindi writing a somewhat different usage is followed, treating Nirguṇa Bhakti as devotion to the unmanifested form of God, etc. This usage seems to spring from that of Jīva Gosvāmī who treats Bhakti as Nirguna, that is as knowledge of the Nirguna Brahma (see S. Dāsgupta, op. cit., vol. 4, 418).

^{page 133 note 2} RevMacleod, W. H., Ph.D. thesis for London University, 1965Google Scholar, “The life and doctrine of Guru Nānak”.

^{page 133 note 3} Dvivedī, Hazārī Prasād, Kabīr, Bombay, 1950, 122Google Scholar.

^{page 133 note 4} Ranade, , Pathway to God in Marāṭhī literature, 153Google Scholar.

^{page 135 note 1} Yoga-Vāsisṭha Mahā-Rāmāyaṇa, Nirvāṇa prakarana, VI, 38, 1–3, and ibid., Uttārarddha, 35, 57, 179, etc.

^{page 135 note 2} ibid., Nīrvāṇa prakaraṇa, VI, 35, 38, 1–3, 57, etc.

^{page 135 note 3} Ranade, op. cit., 1961, 272; Abh., 320.

^{page 135 note 4} Bhagavadgītā, 12, 2–12.

^{page 135 note 5} Bhakta Māla, chappay 1.

^{page 136 note 1} The sentiment of devotion does not find a place in the classifications of the sentiments of poetry and drama. It seems that its introduction and elaboration was the work of Vaiṣṇava scholars. Its germ may be traced in the Bhagavadgītā (11, 44) when Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa to bestow on him grace as a father on a son, a comrade on a companion, or a lover on the beloved. Here three sentiments are clearly invoked in the context of the relationship of God and the devotee. This scheme was elaborated with time and together the separate elements came to be known as Bhakti rasa, either the sentiment of devotion collectively, or singly as the several sentiments of devotion. In the ninefold devotion of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa three items are sakhya, dāsya, and ātma nivedana, the former two being the sentiments of companionship and servility, and the latter self-surrender. The Nārada Bhakti Sūtra adds two more sentiments, those of vātsalya and kāntāsakti (the parental and the attachment to the beloved). The systematic exposition of the five sentiments, with their accompanying emotions, was, however, reserved for Rūpa Gosvāmī, the disciple of Caitanya. In his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu the Bhakti rasa pañcaka or pentad of devotional sentiment appears in its full form, the five being dāsya, prīta or vātsalya, preyān or sakhya, sānta, and madhura, otherwise known as ujjvala or sṛngāra. This system is followed by Priya Dās in his commentary Bhakti Rasa Bodhinī upon the Bhakta Māla.

This classification is of more than theoretical interest. It appears to us to have also great psychological importance in its attempt to classify the sentiments appearing in man's devotion to God in terms of the sentiments of human relationships, and therefore of human personality. It must be noted that the devotional sentiments are plainly to be distinguished from their secular equivalents. When we speak of the erotic sentiment of devotion, for example, most exponents of the Vaisnava tradition agree that it has little connexion with the grosser sensuous content of physical love, although psychologically it seems improbable that the two aspects can be entirely divorced. See Raghavan, V., The Number of the Rasas, Adyar, 1940Google Scholar; De, S. K., “Bhakti Rasa Śāstra of Bengal Vaiṣṇavism”, IHQ, VIII, 1932Google Scholar; Dvivedī, Hazārī Prasād, Hindī Sāhitya kī bhūmikā, 4th ed., Bombay, 1950Google Scholar; introduction to my forthcoming translation of Vinaya-patrikā, The petition to Rām, 57–60.

^{page 136 note 1} Śrīnivāsācārī, P. N., The philosophy of Viśiṣṭādvaita, Adyar, 1946, 347–9, 395–7Google Scholar.

^{page 136 note 2} S. Dāsgupta, op. cit, vol. 3, 85–6; Śāstrī, K. Nīlakaṇṭha, History of South India, 420–1Google Scholar.

^{page 136 note 3} Dāsgupta, loc. cit.

^{page 136 note 4} Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa, III, 10, 22–7.

^{page 136 note 5} Bhaāavata Purāṇa, VII, 5, 23–4.

^{page 137 note 1} Vi, 61–3. See also my Petition to Rām, 270, note 61.

^{page 137 note 2} Kav., VII, 127–8.

^{page 137 note 3} Granth Sāhib, Rāg Āsā, Mah., v. 23.

^{page 137 note 4} For instance, in the often quoted line “The three worlds sing the praises of Daśaratha's son, but the depth of Rām's Name is something else”; or in the following verse, “Neither did he take incarnation in Daśaratha's house, nor did he destroy the king of Lankā”, etc. (Kabīr Granthāvalī, ed. Dās, Syām Sundar, 243)Google Scholar.

^{page 138 note 1} Dvivedī, Hazārī Prasād, Kabīr, 117–9Google Scholar.

^{page 138 note 2} VI, 38, 39.

^{page 138 note 3} Granth Sāhib, Var. Saraṅg, p. 1245.

^{page 138 note 4} Ranade, op. cit., 1961, 169.

^{page 138 note 5} Gaur, Rām Dās, Hindutva, 684–5Google Scholar.

^{page 138 note 6} See Viyogī Harī's commentary on Vinaya-patrikā, for example notes to no. 45.

^{page 139 note 1} Uday Bhānu Sinha, op. cit., 348–9, refers to Śrīvāstav, Badarī Nārāyaṇa, Rāmānand sampradāy tathā Hindī sāhitya par uskā prabhāv, Allāhābād, 1957Google Scholar.

^{page 140 note 1} e.g. Byauhār (Vyohār) Sinha, Rājendra, Gosvāmī Tulsī Dās kī samanvay sādhanā, Banāras, 1948Google Scholar; Uday Bhānu Sinha, loc. cit.

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