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
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.
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.
Read the ebook
Read the Ramcharitmanas Hindi-English-Romanized Hindi transliteration version from Gita Press
Tags: Indian classics, Ramayana, literature, poetry, translations
About the Author
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.