About Ramcharitmanas
Shri Ramcharitmanas, is an epic poem in the language of Awadhi, composed by the 16th-century Indian poet, Goswami Tulsidas (c.1532–1623). Ramcharitmanas literally means the lake of the deeds of Rama. Tulsidas compared the seven Kāndas of the epic book to the seven steps leading into the holy waters of the Himalayan Lake Mansarovar (Mānasa) which which purifies the body and the soul at once. The core of the work is a poetic retelling of the events of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, centered on the narrative of Rama, the crown prince of Ayodhya. The poem is also called Tulsikrit Ramayan (literally, The Ramayan composed by Tulsi or, loosely, The Ramayan of Tulsidas).
Tulsidas (sometimes simply referred to as Tulsi) began writing the scripture in Vikram Samvat 1631 (1574 CE) in Avadhpuri, Ayodhya. The exact date is stated within the poem as being the ninth day of the month of Chaitra, which is the birthday of Ram, Ram Navami. A large portion of the poem was composed at Varanasi, where the poet spent most of his later life.
Today, it is considered one of the greatest works of Hindu literature, and is often referred to as the Bible of northern India by Western Indologists. Its composition marks the first time the story of Ramayana was made available to the common man. The text is associated with the beginning of the tradition of Ramlila, the dramatic enactment of the text. It was Tulsidas' aim to make the story of Ramlila accessible to the masses. Sanskrit was seen as a very complicated language to master, at his time, and so for this reason the Shrī Rāmcharitmānas was written in Avadhi, which belongs to the Eastern Hindi language family.