Ramavali

(“Series [of poems] to Rama”) A series of
330 short poems dedicated to the god
Rama, written in the Braj Bhasha form
of Hindi by the poet-saint Tulsidas
(1532–1623?). The Ramavali is one of
Tulsidas’ longest extant works—shorter
only than the Ramcharitmanas. The
seven sections in the Ramavali parallel
the structure of the Ramayana, but differing sections receive unequal emphasis. Tulsidas gives his greatest attention
to Rama’s childhood and paints lyrical
images of the child Rama’s divine play
(lila). Here Tulsidas clearly borrows
from devotional poetry to the god
Krishna, in which such childhood
images are well established. Yet the
Ramavali’s portrayal of Rama deemphasizes the mischievous qualities
associated with Krishna, to stress
instead the generally milder nature of
Rama, and to highlight the devotee’s
(bhakta) quiet delight in sharing his
divine presence.