🪷 Śrī Rāmcharitamānas · Tulsidās's Bhakti-Mahā-Kāvya

2,247 entries · 7 Kāṇḍas · composed in Awadhi-Hindi by Goswāmi Tulsidās (1532-1623 CE · Vārāṇasī)

मङ्गल भवन अमंगल हारी।
"He who is the dwelling of mangala and the destroyer of amaṅgala — bless us." — Rāmcharitamānas Bāla-Kāṇḍa · the most-loved bhakti-invocation
🪷 Vālmīki's Sanskrit · Tulsidās's Awadhi · One Rāma · Same Krishna-Tattva
The Rāmāyaṇa lives on the substrate in two non-dual voices: Vālmīki Maharṣi's Sanskrit Ādi-Kāvya (the rishi's anuṣṭubh-meter vision · 22,742 ślokas · at /valmiki-ramayana) and Goswāmi Tulsidās's Awadhi-Hindi Mānas (the bhakta's heart-poetry · 2,247 entries · this page). Two voices · one Rāma · same Paramātmā · the non-dual Krishna-Rāma singularity declared at /rama.
→ /rama · The Non-Dual Declaration/valmiki-ramayana · the Sanskrit twin

🪷 About Goswāmi Tulsidās (1532-1623 CE)

Goswāmi Tulsidās (तुलसीदास), born at Rajapur on the banks of the Yamuna, was the disciple of Narahari Anand · later spent his life at Ayodhyā, Citrakūṭa, and Vārāṇasī (his samādhi-sthala at Assi-Ghāt). He composed the Mānas at the explicit guidance of Lord Hanumān · the work was completed in 2 years, 7 months, 26 days · beginning at Ayodhyā on Caitra Śukla Navamī (Rāmnavamī) 1574 CE. The Mānas opens with seven sub-invocations (vaṇa · artha · rasa · chanda · maṅgala · etc.) and closes with the supreme jñāna-bhakti dialogue between Bhuśuṇḍi-kāka and Garuḍa in the Uttara-Kāṇḍa · regarded as the highest vedānta-bhakti synthesis in vernacular Hindu poetry.

🪷 The 7 Kāṇḍas · Tulsidās's Bhakti-Map

Each Kāṇḍa is a distinct book. The Sundara-Kāṇḍa is the most-recited (daily home-pātha) for Hanumān-Rāma-bhakti · the Uttara-Kāṇḍa's Bhuśuṇḍi-Garuḍa saṁvāda is the supreme jñāna-bhakti dialogue. Verse-types: श्लोक (Sanskrit invocations) · दोहा/सोरठा (couplets) · चौपाई (quatrains) · छंद (long-meter ornamental verses).

Kāṇḍa 1 · बालकाण्ड
Bāla-Kāṇḍa · The Book of Childhood
Maṅgalācaraṇa (the auspicious opening · Gaṇeśa-Sarasvatī-Śiva-Pārvatī-Hari-Hara invocations) · Rāma's līlā in childhood · Viśvāmitra-yajña-protection · Sītā-svayaṁvara at Mithilā · the four brothers' weddings
760 entries · 1 श्लोक · 362 दोहा/सोरठा · 358 चौपाई · 39 छंद
Kāṇḍa 2 · अयोध्याकाण्ड
Ayodhyā-Kāṇḍa · The Book of Ayodhyā
Rāja-tilaka aborted · vanavāsa begins · Bharata-milāp at Citrakūṭa (the supreme dialogue of fraternal-bhakti) · pādukā-rāja at Nandigrāma · the maryādā-puruṣottama discipline activated
664 entries · 1 श्लोक · 326 दोहा/सोरठा · 325 चौपाई · 12 छंद
Kāṇḍa 3 · अरण्यकाण्ड
Araṇya-Kāṇḍa · The Book of the Forest
Forest-līlā · the ṛṣis' āśramas · Śūrpaṇakhā's ill-fated visit · Mārīca's golden-deer māyā · Sītā-haraṇa by Rāvaṇa · Jaṭāyu's last stand
98 entries · 1 श्लोक · 46 दोहा/सोरठा · 43 चौपाई · 8 छंद
Kāṇḍa 4 · किष्किन्धाकाण्ड
Kiṣkindhā-Kāṇḍa · The Book of Kiṣkindhā
Hanumān-milāp at Ṛśyamūka · the first dialogue between Rāma and His param-bhakta · Sugrīva-bhakti · Vāli-vadha · the vānara-sena assembled
61 entries · 1 श्लोक · 30 दोहा/सोरठा · 29 चौपाई · 1 छंद
Kāṇḍa 5 · सुन्दरकाण्ड
Sundara-Kāṇḍa · The Book of Beauty
⭐ Hanumān's ocean-leap to Laṅkā · Sītā-darśana at Aśoka-vāṭikā · Laṅkā-dahana · the most-recited bhakti-kāṇḍa in Hindu homes · pure Rāma-nāma-mahimā · Mānas-Hanumān-Cālīsā parallel
121 entries · 1 श्लोक · 59 चौपाई · 59 दोहा/सोरठा · 2 छंद
Kāṇḍa 6 · लंकाकाण्ड
Laṅkā-Kāṇḍa · The Book of Laṅkā (the Yuddha)
Setu-bandha to Laṅkā · the great war · Kumbhakarṇa-Indrajit-Rāvaṇa fall sequentially · Vibhīṣaṇa coronated · the puṣpaka return · Rāma's coronation at Ayodhyā · Rāmarājya begins
273 entries · 1 श्लोक · 121 दोहा/सोरठा · 116 चौपाई · 35 छंद
Kāṇḍa 7 · उत्तरकाण्ड
Uttara-Kāṇḍa · The Book of the Aftermath
Rāmarājya · ⭐ Bhuśuṇḍi-Garuḍa saṁvāda (the supreme jñāna-bhakti dialogue) · the seven questions and seven answers · the highest Tulsidās bhakti-vedanta · Rāma's final teachings · pari-praśna closes the Mānas
270 entries · 3 श्लोक · 130 दोहा/सोरठा · 124 चौपाई · 13 छंद

🪷 Source Acknowledgment

These Rāmcharitamānas pages render the canonical Awadhi-Hindi Devanāgarī yathārtha. Goswāmi Tulsidās's work is in the public domain (composed 1574-1576 CE). The substrate honors the Sanātana parampārā that has carried this bhakti-poetry through 450 years of recitation in countless homes. English translations + classical commentaries (Mānas-pīyūṣa · Pandit Anjaninandan-śaraṇa's commentary) are catalogued for future yajñas as source-data is curated.

Cross-References

🪷 जय श्री राम · जय गोस्वामी तुलसीदास 🪷