Tulsi’s dismal picture of society
A slice of history
By Pramod Sangar

TULSI DAS in his celebrated work Ramacharitamanasa has inadvertently referred to the condition of contemporary society during 16th and 17th centuries. In the last chapter of his magnum opus and in two of his famous books Kavitavali and Vinayapatrika, he succinctly refers to the life of the people observed by him. His passing references are of utmost importance for the student of contemporary social history. In his Vinayapatrika and Kavitavali there are references to some details of his own life and his political, social and economic environment, but it is misleading to interpret them literally. They are designed to remind the readers of the sinful condition of Kalyuga. Alien rulers had plunged the country into a progressive decline of piety and ethical values. The overwhelming changes in society during his times were rather alarming Tulsi Das portrayed a dismal picture of society.

He ascribes these changes to the prevalence of Kalyuga. The learned author would have us believe that caste system had suffered erosion, and circumstances had vastly changed the people’s attitudes towards the mighty structure of ancient society. In a similar way the old existing system in education had undergone a significant change. The fall in moral standards further depressed him. For all those changes, he blamed Kalyuga. The three terrible afflictions of this age were poverty, sin and distress. Every one felt uneasy, wretched and miserable.

Tulsi further portrays a dismal picture in the Uttrakand of Ramacharitamanasa. He laments that there was an increase of tamas in Kalyuga. Real knowledge was being ignored and people had become more materialistic. In fact Tulsi bemoans the general decline of society. Everyone seemed averse to social welfare. Tulsi makes no secret of his abhorrence for the actions of the rulers of the day and politicians of the age. The great and petty among them had abandoned the path of dharma and no longer cared to serve the people in an earnest way. In his world-view, hypocrisy and tyranny were common to all temporal rulers, whom he compares with Ravana.

In fact Tulsi does not spare even the people of his own caste as he ridicules Brahmins for having betrayed the path of righteousness. Right from 1608 to 1618, Varanasi, the abode of "Siva", suffered unspeakable agonies as the result of pestilence that had taken the holy city of Sankara in its firm grip. Again, he blames Kalyuga for these disastrous happenings. The Brahmins became victims of greed, avarice and lust, and were forced to resort to beggary. Tulsi’s picture of contemporary society was black.

The poet’s agony could be due to the great economic crisis which rendered the people helpless in securing a livelihood. Times were terrible indeed. It was sunshine for the notorious evil-doers and hell for the noble and the good. Tulsi showed his surprise at people, who under the false notion of prestige, strutted about like peacocks parading their deceit, ignorance and arrogance in a shameless manner. The learned author also made a scathing attack on the impatience of the people. Everybody believed in quick results. They desired to fulfil their life ambitions within the shortest possible time and dreamt of becoming kings. Tulsi bemoans that such a foolish way of thinking had ruined many a household in the past. Many were being ruined at that particular time and a large number were bound to perish in future. Everybody talked of tomorrow without realising that such an eventuality might not occur at all. Tomorrow of their dream might not even dawn.

It seems that Tulsi’s condemnation was due to various external factors which had eroded the base of Indian society, as Muslim influence had adversely affected the psyche of a once peaceful society of the country. The Muslim conquests had changed the course of Indian history. The changes in social and cultural spheres were noticeable as the Hindus made a desperate bid to save themselves from a cultural crisis. This gave rise to various superstitions which were certainly not there in the early period of Indian history. What Tulsi Das perhaps could not visualise was the transition of society due to the Muslim impact, with which emerged various social evils.