Tulsi Manas Mandir (

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 ...

: तुलसी मानस मंदिर) is one of the most famous temples in the holy city of

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

. This temple has great historical and cultural importance in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

since the ancient

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 ...

epic '' Ramcharitmanas'' was originally written at this place by Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher

Goswami Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnava ( Ramanandi) Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit, ...

in the 16th century (c. 1532–1623).

History

One of the famous

epics, '' Ramayan'' was originally written in

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 ...

language by Sanskrit poet

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

between 500 and 100 BC. Being in Sanskrit language, this epic was not accessible to and understood by masses. In the 16th century,

wrote the '' Ramayan'' in Awadhi dialect of

language and the Awadhi version was called '' Ramcharitmanas'' (meaning Lake of the deeds of

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' ...

). In 1964, the Sureka family constructed a temple at the same place where

wrote '' Ramcharitmanas''.

Construction

Construction finished in 1964 and was funded by the Thakur Das Sureka family of Bandhaghat,

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The temple was constructed in

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is typically not foliat ...

and

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

all around the temple. Verses and scenes ( pictorials) from '' Ramcharitmanas'' are engraved on the marble walls all over the temple. File:Tulsi Manas temple (7122033771).jpg, Entrance to the temple. File:Figurines in Tulsi Manas Mandir (24337898740).jpg, Figurines in Tulsi Manas Mandir

Location

Tulsi Manas Mandir is situated on the Sankat Mochan road, 250 meters south of Durga Kund, 700 meters north-east of Sankat Mochan Mandir and 1.3 kilometers north of

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

Historical importance

Due to '' Ramcharitmanas'', the epic '' Ramayan'' was read by larger number of people, who otherwise could not have read '' Ramayan'' since it was in

. Reportedly, prior to '' Ramcharitmanas'', the depiction of Lord Rama as Supreme God was quite subtle in Valmiki's Ramayana (as most of the Hindu religious scriptures are highly subtle in their meaning giving scope for more personal interpretation) but in Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas this depiction was more obvious than Valmiki's Ramayana . The temple was inaugurated by

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 188817 April 1975; natively Radhakrishna) was an Indian academician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of ...

. The temple houses a museum with rare collection of manuscripts and artifacts.

References

External links