Tulsi the Singer

Although there is no reliable documentation of performance of the Manas in Tulsidas's time, it seems reasonable to assume that as the fame of the work spread, it came to be systematically expounded in Vaishnava devotional assemblies. The hagiographic tradition describes Tulsidas as performing his own works, and even though the authenticity of some of these sources (such as the Mulgosaim^[*]carit , discussed earlier) may be questioned, the portrayal of Tulsi as a devotional singer seems plausible, particularly in light of certain references in his poetry. In some of the introspective and confessional songs of the Kavitavali and the Vinay patrika , probably composed late in the poet's life,^[37] Tulsi complains of his own hypocrisy, lamenting that, though inwardly a sinner, he "fills his belly" by singing Ram's praises.^[38] Such verses suggest that, like many contemporary sadhus, he may have derived a meager livelihood from the offerings made by devotees at the conclusion of bhajan or Katha programs.

Another glimpse of Tulsi as a performer is supplied by the Gautamcandrika , a work purportedly composed within a year of Tulsi's death by Krishnadatt Mishra, the son of one of Tulsi's intimate companions and ostensibly an eyewitness to many of the events he records. One passage describes Tulsi's performance of a Visnupad^[*] (the reference may be to Vinay patrika , which is an anthology of pads , or short lyrics) and its popular reception:

One night many sadhus came
and Tulsi sang a new Visnupad^[*]
to drive away intellectualism and establish bhakti .
The night passed, but no one noticed.

Tulsi went to the temples,
prayed and sang the Visnupad^[*] .

[37] The Kavitavali alludes to the poet's sufferings due to the infirmities of old age and mentions a plague in Banaras, believed to have occurred in c. 1615. On the dating of these two works, see Allchin's introductions to his translations; Kavitavali , 63; The Petition to Ram , 34-35.

[38] E.g., Vinay patrika 158:5,6, "I rattle on like a pandit about the secrets of supreme detachment; moreover I let myself be called your servant"; 171:4, "Calling myself your servant, I fill my belly"; 185:5, "I preach to others that saints are boats to cross illusion's stream." Similarly, Kavitavali 7:61, "I fill my belly by singing your praises, Ram!"; 7:63, "I call myself yours, Ram, and sing your virtues, and from respect of you I obtain my daily bread."

Having listened with devotion to this new song
men and women began singing it everywhere.
On every ghat, in houses, lanes and squares,
the Visnupad^[*] spread throughout Kashi.
The conceited traditionalists became offended,
[as did] the hypocritical goswamis of the city.^[39]

Other hagiographic works depict Tulsi as both a singer and a kathavacak . A famous story of Tulsi's meeting with Hanuman in the context of a Katha performance is found in Priyadas's commentary on the Bhaktamal , composed some ninety years after Tulsi's death.^[40] The relevant verses, in which a ghost addresses Tulsi, read:

Your Ramayan Katha is elixir to Hanuman's ears.
He comes first and departs last, though in repugnant guise.^[41]

During the four lunar months of the rainy season (caturmas ), when travel became difficult, mendicants would traditionally remain in an ashram or religious center, where lay devotees would provide for their maintenance. Among the favored activities for these months were satsang^[*] and the hearing of Katha . The Mulgosaim^[*] carit describes Tulsi's activities during one caturmas as follows:

He stayed there for the rainy season
and daily told the Ram-katha with a glad heart.
The saints who dwelt in that forest listened daily
and listening, experienced great delight.^[42]