Tulsi Smarak Bhawan, Ayodhya: The Tulsidas Memorial, Daily Ramleela, Timings and Visit Guide

ॐEssential info at a glance

ॐTulsi Smarak Bhawan timings

The Bhawan is open through the day and into the night, and entry is free, but note that the museum is closed on Mondays and on the second Sunday of every month, so plan around that. Its great highlight, the live Ramleela, is performed every single evening from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, so an evening visit is the most rewarding of all.

*Entry is free.

ॐTulsi Smarak Bhawan: a memorial to the poet of the Ramcharitmanas

Ayodhya is the city of Ram, and no one did more to place the story of Ram in the hearts of the ordinary people of North India than Goswami Tulsidas, the great sixteenth-century poet-saint. And so it is fitting that Ayodhya honours him with this beautiful cultural memorial, the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan, built in 1969 on the initiative of the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, on a spot that tradition holds to be one of the places where Tulsidas himself composed his immortal Ramcharitmanas. In its main hall stands a large statue of Goswami Tulsidas, seated in meditation, and around it are galleries of manuscripts, paintings and sculptures depicting the scenes of the Ramayana and the life of the poet, along with modern audio-visual presentations that bring his story and his epic vividly to life. It is at once a memorial, a museum, a library and a living cultural centre, all devoted to Tulsidas and to the tale he told.

ॐThe daily Ramleela

The jewel of the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan, and the reason so many visitors come here in the evening, is its Ramleela. In a purpose-built cultural theatre within the Bhawan, a live enactment of the Ramleela, the dramatic telling of the whole story of Lord Ram, is staged every single evening of the year, from six to nine o'clock, and has been for many years. This is a rare and wonderful thing, for while the great Ramleelas of other places, such as the famous month-long Ramnagar Ramleela near Varanasi, are seasonal, this one plays daily, so that any evening you are in Ayodhya, you can watch the beloved story unfold before you, the exile and the forest, Sita's abduction, the war at Lanka, and the joyful return. It is a well-organised, moving performance, warmly recommended, and one of the loveliest ways to spend an evening in the holy city. See our guide to Ramnagar Fort for the great seasonal Ramnagar Ramleela.

ॐThe library, the research institute and the Ram Katha museum

Beyond the Ramleela, the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan is a serious and important centre of learning. It houses a great library, a treasure-store of the literature of Tulsidas, of the Ramcharitmanas and the Ramayana and of Ram devotion, of immense value to scholars and historians, and open to visitors. It is home to the Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan, the Ayodhya Research Institute, which studies and gathers the literary, cultural and spiritual heritage of Ayodhya and of the Ram tradition, including the many forms of the Ramleela across the world. And within the complex is the Ram Katha Sangrahalaya, a museum added in 1988 to collect, conserve and display the antiquities and art connected with the saga of Lord Ram. For anyone who wishes to go deeper into the story that makes Ayodhya holy, this is the place, a quiet, scholarly, devoted counterpoint to the great temples.

ॐGoswami Tulsidas: the poet who brought Ram to every home

To understand why this memorial matters so much, one must know a little of the man it honours. Goswami Tulsidas, who lived across the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was a poet-saint of the Bhakti movement, so great a poet that he is called the Valmiki of Hindi, and he did something that changed the spiritual life of North India forever: he retold the ancient Sanskrit Ramayana of Valmiki in Awadhi, the language of the common people, as the Ramcharitmanas, so that the story of Ram, once the preserve of scholars, poured into every village, every home, every heart, sung and loved by all. He also gave the world the Hanuman Chalisa, recited daily by millions to this day. His devotion to Ram was total, and his life belonged to both of the holy cities: to Ayodhya, the birthplace of his Lord, and to Kashi, where he lived, wrote and died, where the ghat is named after him and where he founded the famous Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple. His birth anniversary, Tulsi Jayanti, on the seventh day of the bright half of Shravan, is celebrated here with joy.

For pilgrims who journey between Kashi and Ayodhya with us, Tulsidas is a golden thread joining the two cities. See our guides to the Tulsi Manas Mandir, Tulsi Ghat and Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple.

ॐThe poet of both my cities, in my own words

By Rajeev Sharma, guide with Experience My India

Tulsidas is very dear to me, because he belongs to both of the cities I guide in: to Ayodhya, whose Lord he sang, and to my own Kashi, where he lived and wrote and died, where we have his ghat, and the Sankat Mochan temple he founded. So when I bring pilgrims to the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan in Ayodhya, I feel I am introducing them to an old family friend. I show them his statue, seated in meditation, and I tell them the great thing he did, that he took the story of Ram out of the Sanskrit of the scholars and gave it to all of us, in our own language, in the Ramcharitmanas, so that even a poor villager could sing of Ram. That is why we love him.

But the thing I most love to arrange here is the evening Ramleela. I tell my guests: come at six o'clock, and you will see the whole story of Ram acted out, right here, every single night. Families love it, children love it, and it is a beautiful, gentle end to a day of temples. I remind those who will also visit my Kashi that there we have the great Ramnagar Ramleela, a month long, and the Tulsi Manas temple with the Ramcharitmanas written on its walls, so the thread of Tulsidas runs through their whole pilgrimage. To sit and watch the Ramleela at Tulsidas's own memorial, in Ram's own city, is a lovely thing.

In more than forty years of guiding, this is the evening I most often arrange to close a happy day in Ayodhya.

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ॐWhat to see and do

• Watch the daily Ramleela, the live enactment of the Ram story, every evening from 6 to 9 PM.
• See the meditative statue of Goswami Tulsidas and the galleries of Ramayana art and manuscripts.
• Explore the library and the Ram Katha museum of Ram antiquities.
• Learn of the Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan and the study of the Ramleela traditions.
• Enjoy the devotional programmes, bhajans, kirtan and discourses, and the peaceful gardens.

ॐHow to reach Tulsi Smarak Bhawan

The Bhawan is on the National Highway at Rajgang Crossing, in New Colony, Ayodhya, easily reached by road from the temples and the town.

Because the Ramleela is in the evening, it fits perfectly at the end of a day of temples and the Saryu aarti.

ॐBest time to visit and how to plan it

• Pair the museum by day with the core temples, and the Ramleela in the evening.
• Allow an hour for the museum and library, and the full evening for the Ramleela.

For Ayodhya, or a combined Kashi and Ayodhya pilgrimage, planned end to end, see our tour packages.

ॐAccessibility for elderly and mobility limited visitors

• The Bhawan is a modern building, largely at ground level, reachable by road, easier than the old-city temples.
• The Ramleela is a seated performance, comfortable for elderly guests; come a little early for a good seat.
• The museum, library and gardens are calm and unhurried.
• We arrange transport and plan a gentle visit and an evening Ramleela within your Ayodhya day.

ॐNearby sacred sites in Ayodhya

Tulsi Smarak Bhawan sits near the heart of Ayodhya, among the great Ram sites.

For the Ram Mandir darshan and its free Sugam booking, see our Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir guide.

ॐOur guided visit and Ayodhya cultural evenings

We are a Varanasi and Ayodhya based operator, a unit of Experience My India, with more than forty years of guiding pilgrims across Kashi, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj, and we have our own local guide and pandit in Ayodhya. Entry is free, so what we arrange is a rich cultural visit: a guide who tells the story of Tulsidas and the Ramcharitmanas, a walk through the museum and library, and, above all, an evening at the daily Ramleela, woven into a full and well-planned day of Ayodhya with the temples and the Saryu aarti.

Inclusions and exclusions are stated up front, with any taxes and conditions, and no charge appears later that was not named. Entry is free; our charge is only for guiding and services. See all our tour packages for the full range.

Experience My India is a travel operator, not the Bhawan administration. Entry is free; our charge is only for our guiding and services. Timings and the Ramleela schedule are set by the Bhawan and can change.