SŪRDĀS (also called Sūr Dās and Sūradāsa; c. 1483–1563), a North Indian devotional poet. Known for his brilliant padas (lyrics) in the Braj dialect of Hindi, Sūrdās is one of the most popular poets of Kṛṣṇa bhakti (devotion) in the North Indian heartland.

The traditionally accepted story of his life has come down through the hagiographic accounts of the Vallabhite sect of Kṛṣṇa bhakti, which claims Sūrdās as the first of its "eight seals"—eight poets who lived during the early days of the sect and whose compositions are part of the sect's daily liturgy. According to these accounts, Sūrdās was born near Delhi in 1478, the same year as Vallabhācārya, the founder of the sect, and, like him, was of the Sārasvat...