Surdas Jayanti is celebrated as the birth anniversary of great poet and musician Surdas. The renowned saint was born blind. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna and sang numerous poems and songs in his reverence. His soulful poetry dedicated to the deity earned him the name of Bhakt Kavi Surdas (devotee and poet Surdas). His collection of poetry named Sur Sagar is significant with respect to the Bhakti movement in India during 16th century.
Surdas Jayanti Date
His date of birth is unknown but it is believed that he was born between 1479 AD or 1478 AD. According to the Hindu calendar, Surdas Jayanti falls in the month of Vaishakh during the Shukla Paksha on Panchami tithi that is the fifth day.
This year, the Jayanti will fall on May 17 and will mark the 543rd Birth anniversary of the saint. The day will begin from 10:00 a.m. on May 16 and will prevail till 11:34 a.m. on May 17.
Surdas Jayanti Significance
The original account of the birthplace of the poet is shrouded in mystery. Some believe that he was born in a Saraswat Brahmin family in the small district of Runkata in Agra, while others claim that he belonged to a Sihi village in Haryana. As per anecdotes, his family never accepted him because of his blindness. Dejected by negligence, he left the home and became the disciple of Sri Vallabhacharya. He learnt about Lord Krishna from the acharya who introduced him to the scriptures dedicated to the Lord.
Later, Surdas became an ardent devotee and started crafting songs or Bhajnas in praise of Krishna. He dedicated his entire life to writing and singing about the different phases of Krishna’s life.
The day is celebrated to pay tribute to the marvellous saint and poet for his incredible contribution to religious poetry. He is claimed to have composed a hundred thousand songs in his magnum opus the ‘Sur Sagar’ (Ocean of Melody), out of which only about 8,000 exist today.
The day is commonly celebrated in the northern part of India. All devotees of Lord Krishna worship and offer prayers to the Lord and observe a fast in honour of the great poet. To acknowledge the day, several communities organise seminars and discourses to preach the teachings of the saint. Many sing bhajans from his collection to commemorate the day.
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