Surdas (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Sūr,
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...
: सूर) was a 16th-century blind
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
devotional
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, who was known for his works written in praise of
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
, the supreme lord.
He was a
Vaishnava
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a revered poet and singer. His compositions glorified and captured his devotion towards lord Krishna. Most of his poems were written in the Braj language, while some were also written in other dialects of medieval Hindi, like Awadhi.
There are many theories about Surdas, but most popularly, he is said to have been blind from birth. During his time, lived another saint by the name of Vallabhacharya. Vallabhacharya was the founder of the Pushti Marg Sampraday, and his successor, Vithalnath, had selected eight poets who would help him to further spread the glory of lord Krishna, by composing works of music. These eight poets were known as the "Astachap", and Surdas is believed to be the foremost among them due to his outstanding devotion and poetic talent.
The book ''Sur Sagar'' (Sur's Ocean) is traditionally attributed to Surdas. However, many of the poems in the book seem to be written by later poets in Sur's name. The Sur Sagar in its present form focuses on descriptions of Krishna as the lovely child of
Gokul
Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. According to Bhagavata Purana, Krishna spent his childhood in Gokul.
Geography
The town has an average elevation of .
Demo ...
and
Vraj
Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Haryan ...
, written from the ''
gopis
Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion ('' Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the ...
perspective.
Biography
There is disagreement regarding the exact birth date of Surdas, with the general consensus among scholars holding it to be in the year 1478. The birthday of Surdas is celebrated as Surdas Jayanti in the Vaishnav calendar, on the 5th day of the Hindu month of Vaishakh. We are uncertain of his exact date of death, but it is considered to be somewhere between 1561 and 1584. (Age 101 years).
There is some disagreement regarding the birthplace of Surdas too, as some scholars say he was born in the village Ranukta or Renuka which lies on the road passing through Agra to Mathura, while some say he was born in a village called
Sihi
Sihi is a village panchayat, or village counsel, located in the Gurugram district of Haryana state, India. The village is dominated by dalits. Sihi is located away from Chandigarh, the capital of Haryana. The nearest state capital to Sihi is Delh ...
, near Delhi.
According to one theory, Surdas was blind from birth and neglected by his poor family, forcing him to leave his home at the age of six. Later, he met
Vallabha Acharya
Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...
and became his disciple. Under Vallabha Acharya's guidance and training, Surdas memorized the Shrimad Bhagvata, studied the Hindu scriptures, and gave lectures on philosophical and religious subjects. He remained celibate throughout his life
Poetic works
Surdas is best known for his composition the ''Sur Sagar''. Most of the poems in the composition, although attributed to him, seem to be composed by later poets in his name.
Sursagar in its 16th century form contain descriptions of
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and
Radha
Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...
as lovers; the longing of Radha and the
gopi
Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion ('' Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the ...
s for Krishna when he is absent and vice versa. In addition, poems of Sur's own personal bhakti are prominent, and episodes from the
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
and
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
also appear. The Sursagar's modern reputation focuses on descriptions of Krishna as a lovable child, usually drawn from the perspective of one of the cowherding gopis of Braj.
Surdas also composed the ''Sur Saravali'' and ''Sahitya Lahari''. In contemporary writings, it is said to contain one lakh verses, out of which many were lost due to obscurity and uncertainty of the times. It is analogical to the festival of ''(Holi)'', where the Lord is the Great Player, who, in his playful mood, creates the universe and the Primerial man out of himself, who has the three ''
gunas'', namely ''
Sattva
Sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.Jame ...
'', ''
Rajas
Rajas (Sanskrit: रजस्) is one of the three Guṇas (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, Rajas, in The Illustrated Encycloped ...
'' and ''
Tamas''. He describes 24 incarnations of the Lord interspersed with the legends of
Dhruva
Dhruva (Sanskrit: ध्रुव, , lit. "''unshakeable, immovable, or fixed"'') was an ascetic devotee of Vishnu mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana.
The Sanskrit term ''dhruva nakshatra'' (ध्रुव नक्ष ...
and
Prahlada
Prahlada () is an asura king in Hindu mythology. He is known for his staunch devotion towards the preserver deity, Vishnu. He appears in the narrative of Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, who rescues Prahlada by slaying his wicked fa ...
. He then narrates the story of the incarnation of Krishna. This is followed by a description of the ''
Vasant
Basant or Vasant is a Hindustani classical raga.
Raga
Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has to be adhered to for the composition of a tu ...
'' (Spring) and Holi festivals. ''Sahitya Lahari'' consists of 118 verses and emphasises on ''
Bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
'' (devotion).
Sur's compositions are also found in the
Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...
, the holy book of the
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
s.
Influence
Bhakti Movement
Surdas was a part of the
Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th centur ...
spreading across the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. This movement represented spiritual empowerment of the masses. The corresponding spiritual movement of the masses first happened in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
in the seventh century and spread to
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
in the 14th-17th centuries.
Braj Bhasha
Surdas's poetry was written in a dialect of
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
called
Braj Bhasha
The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...
, until then considered to be a very plebeian language, as the prevalent literary languages were either
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
or
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. His work raised the status of the Braj Bhasha from a crude language to that of a literary one.
Philosophy
Eight disciples of
Vallabha Acharya
Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...
are called the ''
Aṣṭachāp'', (Eight seals in Hindi), named after the oral signature ''chap'' written at the conclusion of literary works. Sur is considered to be the foremost among them.
In popular culture
![Surdas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Surdas.jpg)
Several films have been made about the poet's life. These include:
''Surdas'' (1939) by Krishna Dev Mehra, ''
Bhakta Surdas
''Bhakta Surdas'' is a 1942 Indian Hindi language film devotional film.
It was the third highest grossing Indian film of 1942. This was K. L. Saigal's first film after his move to Bombay from Calcutta. The film was directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi ...
'' (1942) by
Chaturbhuj Doshi
Chaturbhuj Doshi (1894–1969) was a Hindi and Gujarati writer-director of Indian cinema. He was one of the top Gujarati screenplay writers, who helped script stories for the Punatar productions. He is stated to be one of the leading figures who ...
, ''Sant Surdas'' (1975) by
Ravindra Dave
Ravindra Dave (16 April 1919 – 21 July 1992) was an Indian film director, producer, editor and screenwriter. He directed more than 30 Hindi films in the 1950s and 1960s including several hits like ''Nagina'' (1951), '' Agra Road'' (1957), ''Po ...
, ''Chintamani Surdas'' (1988) by Ram Pahwa.
The legend of the blind poet
Bilwamangala (identified with Surdas) and Chintamani has also been adapted several times in Indian cinema. These films include:
''
Bilwamangal
''Bilwamangal'' (pronounced ), also known as ''Bhagat Soordas'', is a 1919 Indian black-and-white silent film directed by Rustomji Dhotiwala, based on a story by Champshi Udeshi about the medieval Hindu devotional poet Bilwamangala (also ident ...
'' or ''Bhagat Soordas'' (1919) by Rustomji Dhotiwala, ''Bilwamangal'' (1932),
''Chintamani'' (1933) by Kallakuri Sadasiva Rao,
''Chintamani'' (1937) by
Y. V. Rao
Yaragudipati Varada Rao (Telugu: యెర్రగుడిపాటి వరదరావు; 30 May 1903 – 13 February 1979) was an Indian director, producer, actor, screenwriter, and editor known for his works primarily in Telugu, Kannada, ...
, ''Bhakta Bilwamangal'' (1948) by Shanti Kumar, ''Bilwamangal'' (1954) by
D. N. Madhok, ''Bhakta Bilwamangal'' (1954) by Pinaki Bhushan Mukherji,
''Chintamani'' (1956) by
P. S. Ramakrishna Rao
P. S. Ramakrishna Rao (12 October 1918 – 7 September 1986) was a veteran Telugu film director and producer. He married Bhanumathi, a multi-talented film artist from South India, on 8 August 1943.
Filmography
*'' Gruhalakshmi'' (1967) (Prod ...
, ''Chintamani'' (1957) by M.N. Basavarajaiah, ''
Chilamboli'' (1963) by G. K. Ramu, ''Bilwamangal'' (1976) by Gobinda Roy, ''Vilvamangal Ki Pratigya'' (1996) by Sanjay Virmani.
See also
*
Main Naahin Maakhan Khaayo
''Main Naahin Maakhan Khaayo'' is a popular Indian bhajan, a Hindu devotional song written by 15th-century mystic-poet, Surdas set to Raga Ramkali. It is written in Braj Bhasha, a dialect of Hindi native to Braja, and epitomizes Vātsalya (Paren ...
*
Sant Mat
Sant Mat was a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th–17th centuries CE. The name literally means "teachings of sants", i.e. mystic Hindu saints. Through association and seeking truth by following ''sants'' and their teac ...
*
Bhajan
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
*
Sant Surdas (Sihi) metro station
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Hindu poets
Sant Mat
16th-century Hindu religious leaders
Vaishnava saints
Hindi-language poets
Hindu revivalists
Sikh Bhagats
Indian centenarians
Blind writers
Bhakti movement
15th-century Indian scholars
15th-century Indian poets
Poets from Uttar Pradesh
Scholars from Uttar Pradesh
1478 births
1561 deaths
Blind poets