Quick answer: The Ramcharitmanas ("the lake of Rama's deeds") is the Ramayana of the poet-saint Tulsidas, written in Awadhi, a form of Hindi, in the 16th century. Tulsidas says in the poem that he began it in Ayodhya on Rama Navami in Samvat 1631 (1574 CE). It tells Rama's story in seven kands, as Valmiki does, but as a work of devotion (bhakti) to Rama as the Supreme. It is the Ramayana most read and sung in North India.

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For many Hindu families, "the Ramayana" means the Manas: it is recited at home, sung in temples, and acted every autumn in the Ramlila. This page explains how it is built, how it differs from Valmiki's Sanskrit epic, and how it is read.

Ramcharitmanas at a glance
AuthorGoswami Tulsidas
LanguageAwadhi (Eastern Hindi)
BegunRama Navami, Samvat 1631 (1574 CE), in Ayodhya, as the poem itself states
BooksSeven kands: Bal, Ayodhya, Aranya, Kishkindha, Sundar, Lanka, Uttar
Verse formsMainly chaupai (four-line stanzas) punctuated by doha and soratha couplets, with some chhand
CharacterDevotional: Rama as the Supreme Lord, the story told as a series of nested dialogues
Standard editionGita Press, Gorakhpur, with Hindi meaning

Why the name?

Manas means a lake (as in Manasarovar) and also the mind. Tulsidas presents the poem as a sacred lake of Rama's deeds, first held in Shiva's mind and then given to the world, with four ghats or landing places where its four narrators speak.

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The four narrators

The Manas is told as dialogues within dialogues:

  1. Shiva to Parvati, who asks him about Rama's true nature.
  2. The crow-sage Kakbhushundi to Garuda, who doubts Rama's divinity after seeing him bound by serpent-arrows in battle.
  3. The sage Yajnavalkya to Bharadvaja at Prayaga.
  4. Tulsidas to the reader and to his own mind.

This frame lets the poem stop often for praise, teaching and the voices of devotees.

The seven kands

KandWhat it covers
Bal KandThe prologue, the dialogues that frame the poem, the story of Shiva and Sati and Parvati, the reasons for Rama's birth, his childhood, Vishvamitra, Ahalya and the wedding at Janakpur
Ayodhya KandThe coronation plan, Kaikeyi's boons, the exile, Dasharatha's death, Bharata's journey to Chitrakuta and the sandals
Aranya KandThe forest, Shurpanakha, the golden deer, the abduction, Jatayu and Shabari
Kishkindha KandHanuman, Sugriva and Vali, and the search (the shortest kand)
Sundar KandHanuman's journey to Lanka, his meeting with Sita and the burning of Lanka
Lanka KandThe bridge, the war and the defeat of Ravana
Uttar KandThe return and coronation, Rama's reign, and Kakbhushundi's long teaching to Garuda on devotion

The Sundar Kand is often read on its own, especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays; see our Sundar Kand guide.

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How it differs from Valmiki's Ramayana

The Manas follows the same outline as Valmiki but differs in emphasis and in many details:

  • Rama as God. Valmiki's Rama is an ideal man whose divinity is mostly in the background. Tulsidas's Rama is the Supreme Lord from the start, and the poem constantly turns to praise.
  • Maya Sita. Before the abduction, Rama asks Sita to enter the fire and leaves a likeness in her place; the fire ordeal after the war brings the real Sita back. This idea comes from the Adhyatma Ramayana and is not in Valmiki. See Sita in the Ramayana.
  • Ahalya. In the Manas, Ahalya has become a stone and is restored by the touch of Rama's feet. In Valmiki she is unseen, not a stone (Bala Kanda 1.48.29 to 30).
  • The garden scene. Rama and Sita see each other in Janaka's garden before the bow ceremony, which is not in Valmiki.
  • Devotees in the foreground. Figures like Shabari, Kevat the boatman (who washes Rama's feet before ferrying him across the Ganga), Jatayu and Vibhishana are presented as models of bhakti.
  • The Uttar Kand has none of Valmiki's later events about Sita's banishment; it ends with Rama's ideal reign and Kakbhushundi's teaching.
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For one episode compared side by side, see Ram Sita Vivah Katha in Valmiki and the Ramcharitmanas.

How the Manas is read

  • Daily reading. Many families read a few dohas a day.
  • Navahparayan and Masparayan. Printed editions such as the Gita Press text mark breaks for reading the whole poem in nine days (navahparayan) or in a month (masparayan).
  • Akhand path. A continuous recitation of the whole poem, usually over about a day, often by a group in turns.
  • Sundar Kand path. The fifth kand on its own, common on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
  • Ramlila. The Ramlila of North India, such as the month-long Ramlila at Ramnagar near Varanasi, is built on the Manas. See Ramnagar Ramlila and Ramlila in India and beyond.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote the Ramcharitmanas?

Goswami Tulsidas, the 16th-century poet-saint. See Tulsidas: the poet behind the Ramcharitmanas.

What language is the Ramcharitmanas in?

Awadhi, a dialect of Eastern Hindi, with Sanskrit verses at the opening of each kand.

How many kands does it have?

Seven, with the same names as Valmiki's books except that the sixth is called Lanka Kand.

Is the Ramcharitmanas a translation of Valmiki?

No. It is an independent poem on the same story, drawing also on the Adhyatma Ramayana and other sources, with its own devotional vision.

When was it written?

Tulsidas says he began it on Rama Navami in Samvat 1631, that is 1574 CE, in Ayodhya.

Which kand is read on Tuesdays?

The Sundar Kand, which tells Hanuman's journey to Lanka.

Related reading

Sources

  1. Tulsidas, Sri Ramacharitamanasa, with Hindi meaning (Gita Press, Gorakhpur), including its navahparayan and masparayan divisions; the composition date is given in the Bal Kand.
  2. Valmiki Ramayana, IIT Kanpur: heritage.iitk.ac.in/VRAM, for the comparisons.
  3. Philip Lutgendorf, The Life of a Text: Performing the Ramcaritmanas of Tulsidas (University of California Press, 1991), for recitation and Ramlila.

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.