{"id":6192,"date":"2026-05-12T19:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/?p=6192"},"modified":"2026-05-12T19:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:54:21","slug":"a-close-look-at-the-m%e1%be%b1nas-language-baleshwar-thakur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/a-close-look-at-the-m%e1%be%b1nas-language-baleshwar-thakur.html","title":{"rendered":"A Close Look at the M\u1fb1nas Language\u00a0: Baleshwar Thakur"},"content":{"rendered":"

Balkeshwar Thakur, Janakpurdham.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Generally, people found a view by hearing from others and become a butt of criticism. Instead, they ought to go deep into the idea themselves and come up with what is right. A philologist, born and brought up between Nepal and Ayodhya in India and exposed to Engilsh and Hindi, can discover on a careful reading that the M\u1fb1nas is in Hindi and not in Awadhi as many suppose.<\/p>\n

A language is a living thing and it keeps on growing with the passage of time. An English reader knows how the English language has developed over times by assimilating, adopting and adapting neighbouring languages. Hindi too has followed the same process to build up itself and flourish all over \u1fb9ryavarta.<\/p>\n

Key words: M\u1fb1nas, assimilating, adopting, adapting, epic, distribution, k\u1fb1nda, annotator.<\/p>\n

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After the Vedic Age began the Epic Age in \u1fb9ry\u1fb1varta, when two great epics the R\u1fb1m\u1fb1yana and the Mah\u1fb1bh\u1fb1rata were written. V\u1fb1lmiki was the first to compose the R\u1fb1m\u1fb1yana in Sanskrit that, in course of time, was translated into numerous versions of other languages across the land, the most famous being \u015arir\u1fb1macaritam\u1fb1nas, popularly known as the M\u1fb1nas for short, by Tulasid\u1fb1s in the 16th century. Unfortunately its language aroused a controversy and gained wide currency with the faux pas committed by Jw\u1fb1l\u1fb1 Prasad, an annotator, who remarked at the outset that Tulsid\u1fb1s wrote the epic in the Awadhi language. By the time he stood himself corrected, the idea had lodged into the readers\u2019 mind who but read it with a religious point of view, leaving aside the linguistic lineage that exists between the people of Ayodhya in India and Nepal.<\/p>\n

Drawing a conclusion on the basis of speculation and hearsay is a wrong trend. Recently, an Indian woman teacher at a quiz event was heard asserting that the M\u1fb1nas by Tulasid\u1fb1s is in the Awadhi language. Yet another, who loves to be called Poetess, a poetess Sweta Pandey, was also noticed on her Tiktok giving voice to the same. When cross-questioned, she shied away. Some Nepali philologists, versed both in English and Hindi, navigate none the better. The fault lies not with their expertise rather with their guesswork they take for granted.<\/p>\n

In general, people reckon that the language of the M\u1fb1nas must be Awadhi since its author was born in Ayodhya and also since it was authored there. Here they miss the point: they ought to know that Tulsidas did not live all his life in Ayodhya. Son of a Br\u1fb1hmin, he had to leave for Kashi, the modern Ban\u1fb1ras, where he had the privilege of studying Vedas, Upanishads, Purans and other scriptures for 15 years at a stretch. After his studies were over, he attended to R\u1fb1ma Kath\u1fb1s told by his gurus and also, he himself travelled to various locations for telling the same, familiarizing with different languages and their dialects.<\/p>\n

Truly speaking, Hindi laid its foundation at the hands of Tulasid\u1fb1s assimilating, adopting and adapting contemporary languages, Awadhi in particular and Nepali, Magahi, Bajjika and Bhojpuri in general, all of which have branched off Sanskrit. Surprisingly, there is no tinge of Maithili in the epic. Has the Maithili tongue its roots in Magahi, Bajjik\u1fb1 and Bhojapuri?<\/p>\n

A careful reading of the M\u1fb1nas reveals south-north distribution of the languages mentioned above. Just take the case of the Nepali language. There is no K\u1fb1nda in it without at least a few Nepali words. The Lank\u1fb1 K\u1fb1nda tops all with no less than 78 verbs alone, besides the words of other parts of speech. The Following couple of verses on page 777 in Lank\u1fb1 k\u1fb1nda are a striking example:<\/p>\n

Mandodari sunyo Phrabhu \u1fb1yo<\/p>\n

Kautukahi p\u1fb1dhodi bandh\u1fb1yo<\/p>\n

\u2018Sunyo\u2019, \u2018\u1fb1yo\u2019 and \u2018bandh\u1fb1yo\u2019 are pure Nepali verb words contained by these two very short verse lines. It does not mean that the M\u1fb1nas is in Nepali. Neither does it imply that it is in the Awadhi language simply because it resembles Awadhi. The thriving of the Hindi language can be likened to the process the English language followed for putting up its empire. The English scholar knows well how the English language, which has not more than 10% of its original words, has especially built itself up on the languages like French, Greek, Latin and others.<\/p>\n

The following distinctive features determine the language of the M\u1fb1nas to be Hindi:<\/p>\n

The gender of the verb must agree with the gender of the subject in all tenses, however, in the past when followed by \u2018ne\u2019 case- ending, it is not the subject\u2019s gender but object\u2019s the verb\u2019s gender goes with:<\/p>\n

sayan kiye dekh\u1fb1 kapi tehee<\/p>\n

mandir mahu na deeki baidehi (page no. 719, Sundark\u1fb1nda)<\/p>\n

puni saba kath\u1fb1 bibheeshan kabee<\/p>\n

jehi bidhi janak sut\u1fb1 taha rahee (page no. 721, Sundark\u1fb1nda)<\/p>\n

nara b\u1fb1narahi sanga kahu kaise<\/p>\n

kahee kath\u1fb1 bhai sangati jaise\u00a0 (page no. 726, Sundark\u1fb1nda)<\/p>\n

kahahu t\u1fb1ta kehi bh\u1fb1nti j\u1fb1naki<\/p>\n

rahati karati rachchh\u1fb1 swapr\u1fb1naki (page no. 741, Sundark\u1fb1nda)<\/p>\n

\u2018ne\u2019 case-ending is deleted from (i), (ii) and (iii) to equate the meter of the verses.<\/p>\n

In addition to the concord between nouns, verbs and objects, the agreement between the number of the object and its past verb is also well-observed in the M\u1fb1nas:<\/p>\n

main durbachan kahe bahu tere<\/p>\n

kaha muni p\u1fb1pa mitihi kimi mere (page no. 147, B\u1fb1lak\u1fb1nd)<\/p>\n

n\u1fb1th dekhi pada kamala tumh\u1fb1re<\/p>\n

aba pure saba k\u1fb1ma ham\u1fb1re (page no. 155, B\u1fb1lak\u1fb1nd )<\/p>\n

bachan kahe kachhu janak kumari (page no. 741, Sundark\u1fb1nd)<\/p>\n

\u2018Durbachan\u2019 and \u2018k\u1fb1ma\u2019 are plural nouns without \u2018ne\u2019 case-ending, therefore the past plural verbs \u2018kahe\u2019 and \u2018pure\u2019 are matched.\u2018p\u1fb1pa\u2019 is being plural, the plural possessive adjective \u2018mere\u2019 is used.<\/p>\n

The Hindi grammar has that the gender of the noun and its pronoun must match together. In the sentence, \u201cmama janakahi tohee rahee mitai\u201d, (you and my father had a friendship), the feminine noun \u2018mitai\u2019 and the feminine pronoun \u2018tohee\u2019 match together in their gender.<\/p>\n

The use of the first person \u2018main\u2019 (I) also marks the M\u1fb1nas to be in Hindi.<\/p>\n

These features from (a) to (d) are absent from the other sister languages. The spellings of words used by Tulasidas are those that suited the contemporary common folks. They baffle the modern readers a little as Geoffrey chaucer\u2019s do.<\/p>\n

Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, the greatest annotator Hanuman Prasad Poddar and noted Hindi litterateurs share the same point of view that the M\u1fb1nas has been written in Hindi. In the last chapter titled the R\u1fb1mayana and the Mahabharat of his book Nehru Letters, Nehru writes on page 79 that Tulsid\u1fb1s composed the greatest epic in Hindi. Hanuman Prasad Poddar comes up with a breathtaking revelation in regard to its language. He says in his biography of Tulasid\u1fb1s that the latter aged 77 first initiated writing it in the Sanskrit language. But then, what he wrote by day vanished by night. This miracle happened for seven consecutive days; thereupon on the eighth night God Mahadeva and Parvati appeared in his sleeping room and asked him to leave k\u1fb1shi for Ayodhya and compose the sacred text there in the Hindi language, so that it would reach more and more devotees of Lord Rama, Who too is His God Who He keeps in His meditation day and night. Tulasid\u1fb1s\u2019s 15th couplet in the B\u1fb1lk\u1fb1nda is an admission of the episode regarding the language. It reads:<\/p>\n

Sapanehun s\u1fb1chehun mohi para jaun Hara Gauri pasau<\/p>\n

Tau phoor hohu so kahahu saba bh\u1fb1sh\u1fb1 bhanti prabhau.<\/p>\n

On top of all that, Hindi litterateurs take the epic for being in the said language. For conformation the readers are suggested to turn on page no. 89 of Hindi S\u1fb1hitya k\u1fb1\u00a0 Itih\u1fb1s by \u1fb9ch\u1fb1rya\u00a0 R\u1fb1mchandra Shukla.<\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

\u1fb9charya, Bh\u1fb1nubhakta (BS2077). Asali \u1fb9tha k\u1fb1nda R\u1fb1m\u1fb1yana: \u015ari Durga s\u1fb1hitya Bhand\u1fb1r, Nepali khapad\u1fb1, v\u1fb1r\u1fb1nsi.<\/p>\n

Carter, Ronald and Mcrae, John(AD2001). The Routledge History of Literature in English: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.<\/p>\n

Nehru, Jawaharlal(AD1925). Nehru Letters: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n

Poddar, Hanum\u1fb1n Prasad (BS 2071).\u00a0 \u015arir\u1fb1macaritam\u1fb1nas: Gita Preass, Gorakhpur.<\/p>\n

Pras\u1fb1d, Jwal\u1fb1(AD2016). \u015arir\u1fb1macaritam\u1fb1nas\/R\u1fb1m\u1fb1yana: Rupesh Thakur Pras\u1fb1d, kachauri Gali, v\u1fb1r\u1fb1nsi.<\/p>\n

Shukla, R\u1fb1mchandra \u1fb9charya (AD 2011). Hindi S\u1fb1hitya k\u1fb1 Itih\u1fb1s: Anupam Prak\u1fb1shan, AShok R\u1fb1japath, Patan\u1fb1.<\/p>\n

Wrenn, C.L. (AD1983). The English Language: Vik\u1fb1s Publishing House Pvt Ltd.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Balakeshwar Thakur
Retired Associate professor, English
R R Multiple campus, Janakpurdham
Contact no: 9813279604
Gmail I\u2019d: thakurbalkeshwar52@gmail.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Balkeshwar Thakur, Janakpurdham. Generally, people found a view by hearing from others and become a butt of criticism. Instead, they ought to go deep into the idea themselves and come up with what is right. A philologist, born and brought up between Nepal and Ayodhya in India and exposed to Engilsh and Hindi, can discover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,16,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-education","category-opinion","category-top-stories-of-madhesh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260512_193107_Docs-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C2467&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS11m-1BS","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6195,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6192\/revisions\/6195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}