Tulasidasa: A Bibliography

by Sudha Verma

The most comprehensive bibliography about the works and life of Hindi poet Goswani Tulsidas, who authored his own version of the Ramayana epic

Tulasidasa Cover

Type: e-book

Publisher: BRPC, Delhi

Edition: digitized by SEAR, reformatted by ADB

Published: 1998

Author: Sudha Verma

Pages: 173

ISBN: 81-7018-964-0

Language : English

Published in 1998 by her widow, Dr. Sachchidanand Sahai, the vast bibliography on Hindi saint and poet Goswani Tulsidas (1532-1623) by Dr. Sudha Verma includes some 1,800 entries comprising references to works in Indian languages and dialects (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Halibi, Hindi, Kanarese, Kurukha, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, etc.) as well as in English (7% of the total), French, German and Russian.

In his foreword, Prof. H. Daniel Smith, professor of Religion at Syracuse University (USA), notes that Sudha Verma's work included 'general cultural studies-over 200 citations-pertaining to reflections on the poet's impact on bhakti, philosophy, psychology and culture.'

Tulsidas is famous as the author of the epic Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana based on Rama's life in the vernacular Awadhi.

Goswami_Tulsidas.jpg#asset:5177

A portrait of Tulsidas in a 1949 edition of the Ramcharitmanas

ADB Input: About some 300 versions of the Ramayana exists around Asia. Website Amar Chitra Katha described some, including the Cambodian Reamker, in 2020.

Tags: Indian classics, Ramayana, literature, poetry, translations

About the Author

Sudha Verma

Sudha Verma

Sudha Verma (17 Sep.1941, Baghalpur, Bihar, India - 29 Jan. 1988) was a professor of Hindi Literature at Gautama Buddha Mahila (Women’s) College, Gaya, Bihar. She authored two books on the Tulsi Ramayana, Maanas ke Patra (1987) and Agneya Asia mein Ramakatha (1982). A poetess herself, Dr. Sudha Verma devoted a 1,800-entry bibliography to famous Indian poet Goswami Tulsidas (1532-1623), considered by some as a reincarnation of Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana epic: Tulasidasa: A Bibliography (1998).

Initially, eye doctors had pressed her parents to dissuade her from studying, due to her poor eyesight. In spite of this challenge, she was to become one of the leading women researchers in India.

A passionate womens’rights advocate, a celebrated linguist and writer, and the co-founder of the South East Asian Review with her husband, Dr. Sachchidanand Sahai, she has inspired the creation in 2019 of the Sudha Verma Memorial Trust, an institution encouraging higher education among Indian women.