Vinaya Patrika or a petition letter is a collection of 280 short poems written in the Braj Bhasha dialect by poet-saint Tulsidas (1532–1623?).
The entire work is presented as a letter of petition to Tulsidas' chosen deity, Rama, through the monkey god Hanuman, who acts as his intermediary.
The letter's main theme is a plea for deliverance from the
current degenerate age's evils (kali yuga).
The first sixty-odd verses are a series of invocations to various
gods, demonstrating Tulsidas' devotion's ecumenical quality.
The poem's remainder is addressed to Rama and emphasizes
other themes that run throughout Tulsidas' poetry.
One of the themes is the kali yuga's corrupted nature, which makes devotion the only effective means of salvation.
Another pervasive theme is the incomparable power of God's
name to rescue the devotee (bhakta).
Finally, the listeners are cautioned not to squander the
gift of human birth.
Much of the poetry has an intensely personal quality to it,
and it seems to reflect both the poet's despair and eventual hope for
salvation.
The Vinaya Patrika is generally thought to have been written
in the poet's later years, though it cannot be precisely dated, based on its
general tone.
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