Shivraj Singh Chouhan pays tribute to Tulsidas on Jayanti
Synopsis
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan marked Tulsidas Jayanti on 19 August 2026 by paying tribute to the 16th-century Awadhi poet-saint, calling the Ramcharitmanas an invaluable heritage of Sanatan culture that continues to inspire human welfare.
Key Takeaways
Shivraj Singh Chouhan posted a tribute to Goswami Tulsidas on his Jayanti on 19 August 2026 .
He described the Ramcharitmanas as a 'Mahagranth' that shows humanity the path to a disciplined and benevolent life.
Tulsidas composed the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi in the sixteenth century, making the Ramayana accessible beyond Sanskrit scholarship.
Chouhan called Tulsidas's works an 'invaluable heritage' of Sanatan culture that will inspire welfare 'for eternity.' The tribute fits a consistent BJP pattern of invoking medieval saint-poets as symbols of India's living cultural inheritance.
A sixteenth-century poet-saint still commands the reverence of cabinet ministers in twenty-first-century India. On Wednesday, 19 August 2026, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid homage to Goswami Tulsidas on the occasion of the saint's Jayanti, calling him a guide who showed humanity the path to a 'disciplined and benevolent life.'
Chouhan wrote in Hindi: 'Mahakavi Goswami Tulsidas ji ki jayanti par unke charno mein kotish naman karta hun' — 'On the Jayanti of the great poet Goswami Tulsidas, I bow at his feet a crore times.' He described Tulsidas's works as 'an invaluable heritage that keeps Sanatan culture flowing and will continue to inspire the welfare of the people for eternity.'
The poet behind the 'Mahagranth'
Tulsidas composed the Ramcharitmanas in the Awadhi language during the sixteenth century — a devotional retelling of the Ramayana that moved the epic from Sanskrit scholarship into the homes of ordinary North Indians. The text is recited in temples, performed in Ram Lilas every autumn, and remains one of the most widely read works in the Hindi literary tradition. Chouhan's post specifically calls it a 'Mahagranth' — a 'great scripture' — underscoring the reverence it commands beyond purely literary circles.
BJP's pattern of saint-poet tributes
BJP leaders and ministers have made the public honouring of medieval saint-poets a consistent feature of official communications. Figures such as Tulsidas, Kabir, Mirabai, and Surdas are invoked as living threads connecting modern India to what the party frames as its Sanatan cultural inheritance. For Chouhan — a former four-term Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and one of the party's most prominent mass leaders — such tributes also carry regional resonance: Madhya Pradesh is home to Chitrakoot, one of the sites most closely associated with Tulsidas's life and work.
The Ramcharitmanas endures not as a museum piece but as a living text. That staying power is precisely Chouhan's point.
Point of View
The party reinforces its claim to be the custodian of India's Hindu literary and devotional heritage. For Chouhan specifically, such messaging also serves a regional constituency — Madhya Pradesh has deep Tulsidas associations through Chitrakoot. The consistency of these jayanti tributes across the BJP leadership signals a deliberate, coordinated effort to keep classical devotional figures in the public conversation, blurring the line between cultural memory and political identity.
NationPress
19 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Tulsidas Jayanti celebrated?
Tulsidas Jayanti marks the birth anniversary of the 16th-century poet-saint Goswami Tulsidas, who composed the Ramcharitmanas, a devotional retelling of the Ramayana in the Awadhi language that remains central to North Indian religious life.
What is the Ramcharitmanas?
The Ramcharitmanas is an epic devotional poem composed by Goswami Tulsidas in Awadhi during the sixteenth century. It retells the story of Lord Ram and is one of the most widely read and recited texts in the Hindi literary tradition.
What did Shivraj Singh Chouhan say about Tulsidas?
Chouhan said he bows at Tulsidas's feet a crore times on his Jayanti and described the poet's works as an invaluable heritage of Sanatan culture that will continue to inspire human welfare for eternity.
What is Shivraj Singh Chouhan's current role?
Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, and a senior BJP leader who served four terms as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
What is the connection between Tulsidas and Madhya Pradesh?
Chitrakoot, located in Madhya Pradesh, is one of the sites most closely associated with the life and work of Goswami Tulsidas, giving the state a special place in the Tulsidas devotional tradition.
