---
title: "Kevat in the Ramayana: Shri Ram's Boatman"
canonical: "https://ramayana.com/characters/kevat"
lang: "en"
---

# Kevat in the Ramayana: Shri Ram's Boatman

Kevat is the boatman who ferries Shri Ram, Mata Sita and Lakshman across the Ganga during their exile in the Ramcharitmanas by Goswami Tulsidas. In Ayodhya Kand, Dohas 100 and 101, he asks to wash Shri Ram's feet before bringing his boat. His playful concern for his livelihood expresses his devotion to the Lord.

## Why Kevat asks to wash Shri Ram's feet

Devotion gives Kevat the freedom to place an unusual request before the Lord. In Ayodhya Kand, Doha 100, Shri Ram reaches the Ganga after directing Sumantra to return. He calls for a boat, but Kevat first raises a concern about the dust of His feet.

**His boat is his livelihood.** Kevat recalls that the touch of Shri Ram's feet transformed a stone into a woman. Wood, he reasons, is no harder than stone. If his boat also becomes a woman, he will lose the means by which he earns his living. The humour of his explanation prepares the way for his request to wash the Lord's feet.

## Shri Ram accepts the boatman's request

In Ayodhya Kand, Doha 101, Shri Ram smiles and tells Kevat to bring water and wash His feet. He accepts the boatman's concern and asks him to take them across, since they are getting late. The exchange reveals the Lord's gracious response to devotion.

**The Lord allows His devotee to serve Him.** Goswami Tulsidas draws attention to the wonder of this moment. The Lord whose Name carries people across the ocean of worldly existence now asks a boatman for passage across a river. His greatness does not prevent this simple exchange. Kevat has a boat and an opportunity to serve. Shri Ram makes room for that service.

## A crossing remembered as devotion

The crossing brings separation to those who remain behind. In Ayodhya Kand, Doha 153, Sumantra recalls how the boatman moves towards the opposite bank at Shri Ram's signal. Sumantra stands watching, burdened with sorrow. His recollection places Kevat's service within the grief surrounding Shri Ram's departure.

**The same event reveals different responses to the Lord.** Sumantra remembers the pain of parting. The later retelling in Uttar Kand, Doha 65, expressly remembers the boatman's devotion alongside the crossing of the Ganga. Thus, Kevat's place in the story rests on the love expressed through his service. Begin with the duty at hand and offer it to Shri Ram.

## Questions

### Who is Kevat in the Ramayana?

Kevat is the boatman who serves Shri Ram by ferrying Him, Mata Sita and Lakshman across the Ganga during their exile. In the Ramcharitmanas, Ayodhya Kand, Dohas 100 and 101 describe his concern about his boat and Shri Ram's smiling acceptance of his request to wash His feet.

### Why does Kevat want to wash Shri Ram's feet?

In Ayodhya Kand, Doha 100, Kevat says that Shri Ram's feet transformed a stone into a woman. He playfully fears that their touch could transform his wooden boat too, taking away his livelihood. In Doha 101, Shri Ram accepts his request to wash His feet before taking them across.

### What does Kevat's story teach us?

Kevat's story teaches us to express devotion through the service available to us. In Ayodhya Kand, Doha 101, Shri Ram graciously accepts the boatman's request and asks for passage. Uttar Kand, Doha 65 later remembers the episode expressly as the boatman's devotion. His ordinary work becomes an opportunity to serve the Lord.