CM Yogi Pays Tribute to Tulsidas on His Jayanti
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
On the birth anniversary of Goswami Tulsidas — the poet-saint whose Shri Ramcharitmanas shaped how hundreds of millions of Indians understand devotion, duty, and dharma — Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offered reverence on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, calling him a timeless guide for the welfare of all people.
Opening with a celebrated doha from the Ramcharitmanas — 'Ram naam mani deep dharu, jih dehri dwar. Tulsi bheetar baherahun, jaun chahasi ujiyar.' ('Place the jewel-lamp of Ram's name at the threshold of your tongue; Tulsidas says, if you seek light within and without, this is the way') — CM Yogi framed the tribute not merely as a birthday greeting but as an invocation of living wisdom.
The poet who gave Ram a voice for every home
Goswami Tulsidas, revered with the honorific Pujyapad (most venerable), composed the Shri Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi — the vernacular of the common people — in the sixteenth century, deliberately stepping away from Sanskrit to ensure the story of Ram reached every household regardless of caste or learning. The epic became arguably the most widely recited text in the Hindi heartland, its verses embedded in weddings, funerals, morning prayers, and political rhetoric alike.
CM Yogi's message described how Tulsidas, through his 'divine compositions,' carried the ideals of Lord Shri Ram, the values of Sanatan Sanskriti (the eternal Indian civilisational tradition), and the 'nectar message of Indian life-values' to every person. His literature, the Chief Minister wrote, is 'the eternal guide for lokmangal' — the well-being of all society.
Jayanti, Gorakhnath Math, and the Bhakti tradition
The Tulsidas Jayanti holds particular resonance for CM Yogi, who heads the Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur — one of the most influential religious institutions in the Hindi belt, rooted in the Nath tradition of devotional practice. For a Chief Minister who governs from within an active monastic lineage, honouring the architects of the Bhakti movement is simultaneously an act of personal faith and public cultural leadership.
CM Yogi extended 'heartfelt congratulations' to the people of Uttar Pradesh on the occasion — a state of over 240 million people where Ramcharitmanas recitation remains a living daily practice in millions of homes.
Tulsidas belongs to every era that needs reminding what it means to seek light. That, for CM Yogi, is the point.