Surdas was a 16th-century blind

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

devotional

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, who was known for his works written in praise of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. His compositions captured his devotion towards Krishna. Most of his poems were written in the Braj language, while some were also written in other dialects of medieval Hindi, like Awadhi. Sūrdās's biography is most often told through the lens of the Vallabha Sampradāya aka the Puṣṭimārga. The Puṣṭimārga regards Sūrdās as an initiated disciple of

Vallabha Vallabha, also known as Vallabhācārya or Vallabha Dīkṣita (May 7, 1478 – July 7, 1530 CE), was the founder of the Krishna, Kr̥ṣṇa-centered Pushtimarg, Puṣṭimārga sect of Vaishnavism, and propounded the philosophy of Shuddhadvait ...

, and his hagiography is told in the '' Caurāsī Vaiṣṇavan kī Vārtā'' by Gokulnāth and Harirāy. Sūrdās' poems, along with those of other Aṣṭachāp poets, form a central part of Puṣṭimārga liturgical singing-worship. However modern scholars consider the connection between Sūrdās and Vallabha and his sect to be ahistorical. The book ''Sur Sagar'' (Sur's Ocean) is traditionally attributed to Surdas. However, many of the poems in the book seem to be written by later poets in Sur's name. The Sur Sagar in its present form focuses on descriptions of Krishna as the lovely child of

Gokul Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. History In the ''Viṣṇu Purāṇa'' and '' Bhāgavata Purāṇa'', the term "gokula" does not refer to any specifi ...

and Vraj, written from the ''

gopis Gopi (, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are commonly referred to the group of milkmaids of Braj. They are regarded as the consorts and devotees of Krishna and are venerated for their unconditional love and devotion (''Bhakti'') to him as described ...

perspective.

Life and work

'' The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature'' suggests a birth year of 1258 into a Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh.''''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

states that his lifespan is "traditionally" given as 1483-1563. Sources state he was either a Sārasvata Brāhmaṇa, a Jāṭa, or a Ḍhāṛhī. Surdas, whose name translates to "servant of the sun", is celebrated as the pinnacle of poetic artistry in

Braj bhasha Braj is a language within the Indo-Aryan language family spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered on Mathura. Along with Awadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually ...

. This language is linked to the

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...

region, where Krishna is said to have spent his childhood. The hagiographer Nabha Dass, in his Bhaktamal, praised Surdas for his poetic skill, especially in depicting "Hari's playful acts", a reference to Krishna's divine activities. Surdas also composed poems about Ram and Sita but primarily focused on Krishna's life and deeds.

Poetry

Surdas's poetry was written in a dialect of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

called

Braj Bhasha Braj is a language within the Indo-Aryan language family spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered on Mathura. Along with Awadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually ...

, until then considered to be a very plebeian language, as the prevalent literary languages were either

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. His work raised the status of the Braj Bhasha from a crude language to that of a literary one. Surdas's poems are collectively known as the ''Sursagar'' or "Ocean of Sur" due to a large volume of poems attributed to his name. The traditional format of the Sursagar is divided into twelve parts, similar to the Hindu scripture, the ''

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

''. Just as the ''Bhagavata Purana'' describes the life and actions of

, the Sursagar also takes on a similar feat with a majority of its poems dedicated to Krishna. Many of the poems found in Sursagar are ''pads,'' containing six to ten rhymed verses. Other subject matter covered include

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, heroes within Hinduism like Gajendra and King Bali, and the poet's spiritual struggles.

Philosophy

Eight disciples of Vallabha Acharya are called the '' Aṣṭachāp'', (Eight seals in Hindi), named after the oral signature ''chap'' written at the conclusion of literary works. Sur is considered to be the foremost among them.

Coverage

Several films have been made about the poet's life. These include: ''Surdas'' (1939) by Krishna Dev Mehra, ''

Bhakta Surdas ''Bhakta Surdas'' is a Bollywood films of 1942, 1942 Indian Hindi film, Hindi language film devotional film. It was the third highest grossing Indian film of 1942. This was K. L. Saigal's first film after his move to Bombay from Calcutta. The fi ...

'' (1942) by

Chaturbhuj Doshi Chaturbhuj Doshi (1894–1969) was a Hindi and Gujarati language, Gujarati writer-director of Indian cinema. He was one of the top Gujarati screenplay writers, who helped script stories for the Punatar productions. He is stated to be one of the ...

, ''Sant Surdas'' (1975) by

Ravindra Dave Ravindra Dave (16 April 1919 – 21 July 1992) was an Indian film director, producer, editor and screenwriter. He directed more than 30 Hindi Cinema, Hindi films in the 1950s and 1960s including several hits like ''Nagina'' (1951), ''Agra Road ( ...

, ''Chintamani Surdas'' (1988) by Ram Pahwa. The legend of the blind poet Bilwamangala (identified with Surdas) and Chintamani has also been adapted several times in Indian cinema. These films include: '' Bilwamangal'' or ''Bhagat Soordas'' (1919) by Rustomji Dhotiwala, ''Bilwamangal'' (1932), ''Chintamani'' (1933) by Kallakuri Sadasiva Rao, ''Chintamani'' (1937) by Y. V. Rao, ''Bhakta Bilwamangal'' (1948) by Shanti Kumar, ''Bilwamangal'' (1954) by D. N. Madhok, ''Bhakta Bilwamangal'' (1954) by Pinaki Bhushan Mukherji, ''Chintamani'' (1956) by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao, ''Chintamani'' (1957) by M.N. Basavarajaiah, '' Chilamboli'' (1963) by G. K. Ramu, ''Bilwamangal'' (1976) by Gobinda Roy, ''Vilvamangal Ki Pratigya'' (1996) by Sanjay Virmani.

References

External links