Sri Ramcharitmanas in the Sixteenth Century: A New Historicist Study of Socio-Political Crisis, and Cultural Response

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to critically examine Goswami Tulsidas‘s Sri Ramacaritamanasa in the socio-political and cultural context of sixteenth-century India through a New Historicist perspective. The theory of new historicism examines ―the textuality of history and historicity of the text‖. It means the text is not only a devotional retelling of the Ramayana but also a literary and cultural response to the religious tensions, social changes, and political uncertainties during the Mughal rule of that time. The study discusses the impact of Muslim rule on Hindu society. It also discusses the rise of the Bhakti movement as a spiritual and social response of the time, and Tulsidas‘s use of vernacular Awadhi to make sacred literature accessible to common people. It further analyses how the ideals of devotion, moral order, and Ram Rajya in Sri Ramacaritamanasa reflect a desire for justice, harmony, righteousness, and cultural continuity in a period of crisis. By applying the theory of New Historicism, it shows that Tulsidas‘s work is deeply connected to the historical realities of its age. It functions as both a spiritual text and a cultural intervention. Tulsidas‘s epic poem Sri Ramacaritamanasa played an important role in preserving religious identity, promoting devotional equality, and shaping the literary and cultural imagination of Indian society.