Tulsidas Quotes

Yatha Raja Thatha Praja

[I] begged for crumbs and morsels door to door...Plodding and dawdling around lanes.

Mother and father abandoned me at birth and the author of my life also did not write any worth or merit on the page of destiny.

Faith is that which dispels desire,
Devotion is that which generates knowledge.
And Vedas say that knowledge is that which fashions freedom.

In the year sixteen hundred and thirtyone bright, With my head lowly placed at my lord’s feet I write; On Tuesday, the ninth day of Chaitra, month pleasing, In the city of Avadh my story releasing. ‘Tis the birthday of Rāma, as scriptures declare, And the day when the pilgrims are gathering there. All demons, birds, serpents, men, saints and gods too There are meeting to bring their lord homage true; On this festival day of lord Rama’s birth They all sing with acclaim his high praises and worth.

There is no difference between knowledge and devotion, Both of them save the soul from the miseries of worldly life.

Although all have extolled Vaikuntha (my divine Abode), which is familiar to the Vedas and the Puranas and known throughout the world, it is not so dear to Me as the city of Ayodhya: only some rare soul knows this secret. This beautiful city is My birthplace; to the north of it flows the holy Saryu, by bathing in which men secure a home near Me without any difficulty. The dwellers here are very dear to me; the city is not only full of bliss itself but bestows a residence in My divine Abode.

God refuses to be mine,
thine or his. For him the truth is but one but the proud and the vain have forged many out of their desires and fancies.

He walks without legs, hears without ears, does all the deeds without hands.
He enjoys all the juices without a mouth, spells all the truth without a voice, touches everything without hands.
He see very object without eyes and inhales all the scents without a breath.

Listen, Vibhishan, Angad, Sugriv! Pure and clean "Is my city; my land is the fairest e'er seen! "Tho' for beauty men always of Paradise dream, "And tho' scripture, as all know, declares it supreme, "Tho' but few know the secret, yet this I declare- "That dear to me is Avadh beyond all compare! "Here's my birthplace, this city delightful, secure; "On the north River Sarju flows, sacred and pure, "In which bathing, without any labours or pains, "His abiding-place with me forever man gains; "Very dear to my heart are all those who here dwell; "They attain thus my realm, there and here all is well."

To follow the path of knowledge is to tread on the edge of a sword.
Once you get into it, there is no escape.

I call him Rama. You can call him by any other name but have faith in him, surrender all worldly desires and passions to his will and without effort, become disciplined and principled.

This story shed its lustre at Ayodhya. on this day of Sri Rama's birth the presiding spirits of all holy places flock there...

I honour Ayodhyā, all holy within; And the fair Sarju River, destroyer of sin. All honour again to that town’s sons and daughters, Whom Lord Rāma loved with love deep as deep waters. For their sake he Sita’s defamer forgave, That a realm free from, sorrow they always might have. I honour Kausalya, like eastern sky bright, Whose fair fame has spread, to the world giving light. From whence Rāma fair as the moon has arisen, By whom the world’s blest, evil’s blooms are all frozen.(After Dohā 15)

On Tuesday, the ninth day of Chaitra, month pleasing, In th’ city of Avadh my story releasing. 'Tis the birthday of Rāma, as scriptures declare, And the day when the pilgrims are gathering there. All demons, birds, serpents, men, saints and gods too There are meeting to bring to their lord homage true; On this festival day of the lord Rama’s birth They all sing with acclaim his high praises and worth.(After Dohā 33)