The verse, “Varsha Vigat Sharad Ritu Aai. Lakshman Dekhu Param Suhai,” penned by Tulsidas, speaks to the arrival of Sharad, the autumn season. The environment exudes festivity, and the echoes of Ramlila are heard, and the mind becomes Ram-filled. Ramlilas are powerful and can be found everywhere.
Ayodhya and Banaras are the origins of Ramlila. Ayodhya saw the life of Ram in the Treta Yuga, while in the 16th century, Tulsidas started Ramlila in Banaras to take Ram’s story to the masses. It is debatable how many understood Ram’s story by reading the Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas, but there is no doubt that Ramlilas in North India brought Ram’s story to every house.
There is no concrete proof of when Ramlilas started in the country. However, when Goswami Tulsidas depicted the character of Lord Rama in Ramcharit Manas in the Awadhi language in 1500 AD, Ramlila started to be staged in North India. Goswami Tulsidas started Ramlilas on his Ramcharitmanas in Banaras. The main problem was how to market and reach the book to the public. The scholars were not happy with Tulsidas because he was using the language of the people rather than the language of Gods. With no access to modern media and limited handwritten copies, Tulsidas decided to use the Ramlila as a way to make his work popular. He started narrating the Ramkatha to the people and started performing Ramlilas throughout North India. Tulsidas’s idea worked. Ramlilas became popular. It is said that the motive of Tulsidas was to make people feel that the tyrannical Mughal rule would end, like Ravana’s rule.
Megha Bhagat of Banaras is the father of Ramlila. Tulsidas started this by establishing Tulsi Akhada and staging Ramcharitmanas. He used his friend Megha Bhagat’s help. Megha Bhagat taught Sanskrit to the children in the Kamachha area of Varanasi. He used to stage Ramlila based on Valmiki Ramayana, which was not so popular. Tulsidas requested Megha Bhagat to stage Ramlila based on Manas. Megha Bhagat did it. The Ramlila started gaining popularity. This story was also adopted by Amritlal Nagar in his novel Manas ka Hans, depicting the character of Megha Bhagat.
Megha Bhagat’s steadfastness and devotion were inspiring to Tulsidas. Tulsidas considered him the father of Ramlila in Banaras. However, there is not much information about his personal life except that he was a friend and devotee of Goswami Tulsidas. The Ramlila that he started still happens every year and is known as the Ramlila of Nati Imli. Krishna Dutt Mishra, the author of Gautam Chandrika, mentioned Megha Bhagat-“Kamala Ke Megha Bhagat Kari Surdhuni Nahan. Tulsi Charan Pakhari Grih Bhajat Ram Dhanuban.”
Acharya Vishwanath Prasad Mishra wrote that a Ramlila in Varanasi is famous by the name of Ramlila Chitrakoot or Nati Imli Ramlila. It is believed that Ramlila used to be staged according to Valmiki Ramayana in the place of Chitrakoot in Varanasi. Later, Megha Bhagat started the Ramlila according to Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas.