In which language did Tulsidas compose the Ramcharitmanas?

Goswami Tulsidas (about 1532-1623) was one of the greatest poets of the Bhakti movement and a devotee of Lord Rama. He composed the Ramcharitmanas ("Lake of the Deeds of Rama") in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He began the work in 1574 at Ayodhya and completed it at Varanasi.

The Ramcharitmanas retells the story of Rama in seven chapters called kandas, such as Bal Kand, Ayodhya Kand and Sundar Kand. It is written mostly in the chaupai and doha metres. By writing in the language of common people instead of Sanskrit, Tulsidas made the story of Rama available to millions of people in North India. The epic is recited in homes and temples, and the Ramlila performances held during Dussehra are based largely on it. The Ramlila tradition was inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

Tulsidas lived during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Among his other works are the Vinay Patrika (written in Braj Bhasha), Kavitavali, Gitavali, Dohavali and Hanuman Bahuk. The popular prayer Hanuman Chalisa is traditionally attributed to him. The Tulsi Ghat at Varanasi is named after him.

The Ramcharitmanas was also included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register in 2024.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Braj Bhasha was the language of Surdas's Sursagar and of much of Krishna bhakti poetry; Tulsidas also used it for some works, but not for the Ramcharitmanas.
• ✗Sanskrit was the language of Valmiki's Ramayana.
• ✗Maithili was the language of the poet Vidyapati of Mithila.