Goswami Tulasidas was born at the close of the 15th century and lived upto the beginning of the 17th century.

It was a bad period for the Hindus. They had lost their freedom and had to struggle hard to maintain their unity. All their scriptures were in Sanskrit; so many people found them difficult to understand.
As the Hindus had no freedom, it was difficult for them even to attempt to expound the ideas of their religion. Women and also some groups among the Hindus did not have equality.

This state of affairs made gifted and liberal-minded poets unhappy.
Sri Ramananda was a disciple of Sri Ramanujacharya, the founder of the Srivaishnava faith. He and his disciples lived in North India. He opened the doors of 'Bhakti' (devotion) to all and brought hope into the lives of the masses.

It was at this time that Sri Ramananda spread the cult of Rama Bhakti by preaching that Rama is the protector of all people. Saint Kabirdas extolled the greatness of 'Rama - the formless God' saying that Ram and Rahim were not different. Thus he tried to bring about unity among the Hindus and the Muslims.

Sri Tulasidas set before the people the image of Sri Rama as all virtuous, all powerful, the Lord of the World, and the very embodiment of the Supreme Reality (Parabrahma). He gave them the light of 'Bhakti' and thus dispelled the darkness of fear from their minds. Sri Rama shone as an ideal man and the protector.

Opinions differ regarding the exact date and place of birth of Sri Tulasidas. The majority of scholars hold that Sri Tulasidas was born in Rajapur of Uttar Pradesh in the year 1544 of the Vikrama Era (that is, 1488 A. D.). Some scholars say that he was born in 1532 A. D. Others mention different other dates also.