Vinaya Patrika

01Why a petition

The tradition of Kashi tells why the book was written. Kali, the spirit of the age, began to torment Tulsidas for spreading Rama's name, and in his distress he turned to Hanuman. Hanuman told him that Kali would answer only to the king, and that he should write a petition, a patrika, and send it to Rama's court. So Tulsidas wrote the Vinaya Patrika, the letter of humble request, and asked the members of the court to carry it in. The book never forgets that frame. It begins with the poet seeking friends at court and ends with the petition read out before Rama and accepted.

02A petition to a king

The book is built like a petition sent to a royal court. First Tulsidas seeks the goodwill of those who can carry it in: Ganesha, Surya, Shiva and Parvati, Ganga and Yamuna, Kashi and Chitrakoot, then Hanuman, Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughna and Sita. Only then does he turn to Rama, and the songs become his own plea. In the last pad, the 279th, Lakshmana tells Rama what Hanuman and Bharata have seen in this servant's heart; the whole court rises in support; Rama smiles and says, it is true, I too have had news of him; and the petition is signed in Raghunath's own hand.

03The order of the court

Gita Press numbers 279 pads. The first is to Ganesha, the second to Surya; Shiva has twelve, 3 to 14, including the Bhairava form; Devi two; Ganga four; Yamuna, Kashi and Chitrakoot follow. Hanuman has the longest run among the courtiers, pads 25 to 36, then Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughna and Sita, 37 to 42. From 43 the pads turn to Rama: stutis, the praise of the Name, two aratis, a pad to Hari and Shankar together, hymns to Ranganatha, to Nara-Narayana and to Bindu Madhava of Kashi, and six pads of Rama-nama japa. Pads 71 to 279, the Vinayavali, are the petition proper.

04The voice of the humble

Where the Ramcharitmanas tells a katha, the Vinaya Patrika is Tulsidas speaking for himself, as a sinner who has no claim except Rama's mercy. He lists his faults without sparing himself: a mind that runs after the senses, years wasted, a tongue that praises others. In pad after pad he calls Rama patitapavan, the purifier of the fallen, and dinabandhu, the friend of the poor, and reminds him of the vulture Jatayu, of Shabari, of Ajamila, whom he saved for no merit of theirs. The mood moves between despair and trust, and the trust always wins.

05Shri Ramachandra kripalu

Pad 45, set in raga Gauri, is the best known of all: "Shri Ramachandra kripalu bhaju mana harana bhavabhaya darunam", O mind, worship compassionate Shri Ramachandra, who takes away the terrible fear of worldly existence. Its language leans toward Sanskrit, long compounds of lotus after lotus: lotus eyes, lotus face, lotus hands, feet red as the lotus. In five verses it gives Rama's whole form, dark as a new rain cloud, the yellow cloth bright as lightning, crown and earrings, bow and arrows, the victor over Khara and Dushana. It is sung at Ram Navami and in evening aarti across North India, and many children learn it before they know who wrote it.

06Pads people carry

The first pad, "gaiye ganapati jagabandan", sing of Ganapati whom the world honours, opens many a function in Awadh. Pad 105, "ab laun nasani, ab na nasaihaun", till now I have wasted my life, from now I will waste it no more, is the vow of someone waking from a long night, and Tulsidas says the night ended by Rama's grace. Pad 162 asks who in the world is so generous as Rama, who melts for the poor without being served, who gave Jatayu and Shabari the goal sages cannot reach, and gave Vibhishana with embarrassment the wealth Ravana had won by offering his ten heads to Shiva. These are sung in satsangs, and quoted in sermons as proverbs.

07Written for ragas

Every pad carries its raga at the head, and the book reads like a singer's repertoire. Gita Press's index lists them: Bilaval for the first, Gauri for pad 45 and for a long run from 189 to 197, Bihag for 107 to 134, Sorath for 162, Malhar for 161, and Kalyan, the raga of evening, for most of the closing stretch from 214 to 279. Singers of the Hindustani tradition, from the dhrupad houses to the bhajan singers of the radio age, have taken many of its pads into their repertoire, and the Ramayani mandalis of Awadh sing them between readings of the Manas.

08Read today

Gita Press prints it with a Hindi commentary, and it is read alongside the Kavitavali and the Gitavali among Tulsidas's works. Many readers of the Manas hold the Vinaya Patrika to be its inner side, the private prayer behind the public katha, and kathavachaks quote it when they want to show Tulsidas's own heart. Tulsidas spent his last years at Assi Ghat in Varanasi, and a well-known doha gives his departure there as Shravan Shukla Saptami, Samvat 1680 (1623 CE). The akhara at Tulsi Ghat still keeps objects said to have been his.

What it contains

1. 1
   Stutis to the devas and tirthas (pads 1–24)

   Ganesha, Surya, Shiva (with Bhairava), Devi, Ganga, Yamuna, Kashi and Chitrakoot. Tulsidas asks each for the one thing he needs, devotion to Sita and Rama. The Shiva pads are among the finest hymns to Mahadev in Hindi.

2. 2
   Stutis to Rama's court (pads 25–42)

   Hanuman (25–36), Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughna and Sita, asked to present the petition. Hanuman's twelve pads come first and fill the most space, since he will carry the letter. Sita is asked to mention the poet to Rama at the right moment.

3. 3
   Praise of Rama and the Name (pads 43–70)

   Stutis to Rama including "Shri Ramachandra kripalu" (45), the praise of the Name, two aratis, the Harishankari pad, and hymns to Ranganatha, Nara-Narayana and Bindu Madhava. It ends with six pads urging the mind to Rama-nama japa. Here the courtiers have done their part and the poet stands before the king.

4. 4
   Vinayavali (pads 71–279)

   The petition itself: confession, longing, and trust in Rama's mercy, over two hundred pads. Here are "ab laun nasani" (105) and "aiso ko udar jag mahin" (162). It ends with pad 279, in which the court supports the plea and Rama signs it.

Famous verses

गाइये गनपति जगबंदन। संकर-सुवन भवानी नंदन॥

Sing of Ganapati, whom the world honours, son of Shankar, the joy of Bhavani.Vinaya Patrika, pad 1 (raga Bilaval)

श्रीरामचंद्र कृपालु भजु मन हरण भवभय दारुणं। नवकंज-लोचन, कंज-मुख, कर-कंज, पद कंजारुणं॥

O mind, worship the compassionate Shri Ramachandra, who takes away the terrible fear of worldly existence; his eyes are fresh lotuses, his face a lotus, his hands lotuses, his feet red as the lotus.Vinaya Patrika, pad 45 (raga Gauri)

अबलौं नसानी, अब न नसैहौं। राम-कृपा भव-निसा सिरानी, जागे फिरि न डसैहौं॥

Till now I have wasted my life; from now I will waste it no more. By Rama's grace the night of worldly life has ended; now that I am awake, I will not lie down to sleep again.Vinaya Patrika, pad 105

ऐसो को उदार जग माहीं। बिनु सेवा जो द्रवै दीनपर राम सरिस कोउ नाहीं॥

Who in the world is so generous? There is none like Rama, who melts with pity for the poor without any service done.Vinaya Patrika, pad 162 (raga Sorath)