Surdas Jayanti 2021

Sant Surdas (1478-1581 C.E.) was a great poet and musician known for his devotional songs dedicated to Lord Krishna. Surdas was born blind and because of that, he was neglected by his family. As a result, he left his home at the tender age of six and started praising Lord Krishna at a very young age.

According to historians, Sant Surdas was born on 1478 C.E. in village Sihi, Faridabad, Haryana. However some claims that he was born at Runkta near Agra. The birth anniversary of Sant Surdas is observed as per Hindu lunar calendar and falls on Shukla Paksha, Panchami in Vaishakha month.

Surdas’ music and fine poetry attracted many laurels. As his fame spread far and wide, the Mughal emperor Akbar became his patron. Surdas spent the last years of his life in Braj and lived on the donations, which he received in return for his Bhajan singing and lecturing on religious topics.

Surdas is said to have written and composed a hundred thousand songs in his magnum opus the Sur Sagar (Ocean of Melody), out of which only about 8,000 are in existence.