TULSĪDĀS, late medieval Indian poet whose plays and other works have had great influence on Hindu devotionalism, especially in communities that make Rāma the focus of worship. Despite his great popularity, or perhaps because of it, very little accurate information is available about the life of Tulsīdās. There is abundant material about him in the form of hagiographies and oral legends, but these legitimize his saintly life and the holy nature of his literary works rather than record the actual events of the biography.

While there is disagreement as to the date of Tulsī's birth, his death is generally agreed to have occurred in 1623. The traditionally accepted date of his birth is 1503, which would mean that he lived for 120 years. This is logical from the point of view of his hagiographers, because...