THE RAMAYANA TRADITION IN ASIA
The sculpture reproduced on the endpaper depicts a scene where three soothsayers are i...
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THE RAMAYANA TRADITION IN ASIA
The sculpture reproduced on the endpaper depicts a scene where three soothsayers are interpreting to King Suddhodana the dream of Queen Maya, mother of Lord Buddha. Below them is seated a scribe recording the interpretation. This is perhaps the earliest available pictorial record of the an of writing in India. From Nagarjunakonda, 2nd century A D . Courtesy : National Museum, New Delhi.
THE RAMAYANA TRADITION IN ASIA
Papers presented at the International Seminar on The Raraayana Tradition in Asi% New Delhi* December
Edited by
v. RAGHAVAH
«••
by •••
93
7. THB MIGRATION OF THE RAMAYANA STORY TO INDONESIA AND SOMB PROBLEMS CONNECTED WITH THB STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS OF THB OLD JAVANESE RAMAYANA
by Himansu Bhusan Sarkar
...
...
...
103
8. THE MALAYSIAN RAMAYANA IN PERFORMANCE by Amin Sweeney
...
...
•••
9. RAMAYANA IN MALAYSIA by Ismail Hussein
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122
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142
10. THB RAMAYANA IN THB PHILIPPINES by Jaun R. Francisco
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...
...
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11. THB RAMAYANA TRADITION m KANNADA by V. Sitanuniah
155 178
12. RAMAYANA IN MALAYALAM LITERATURE AND FOLK-LORE
by N. V. Krishna Warrior
...
...
13. RAMAYANA IN TBLUGU LITERATURE AND FOLK-LORE by Cm R« SttHDft ••• ••• ••• ••• •••
204 J»\&
14. JAIN RAMAYANAS AND Tram SOURCE by V. M. Kulkarni
226
45. THE RAMAYANA—ITS CHARACTER, GENESIS, HISTORY, EXPANSION AND EXODUS by Suniti Kumar Chatterji...
242
16. RAMAYANA IN THAI THEATRE by Chamlong Sarapadnuke
245
17. THB RAMAYANA IN LAOS (VIENTIANE VERSION) by Kamala RfttflAIIl
•••
• ••
•••
•••
•••
29D
18. THE KHVAY THUARAPHI by Sachidanand Sahai
...
282
19. RAMAYANA IN BURMESE
by
LITERATURE AND ARTS
U. Thein Han and U. Khin Zaw
...
...
301
20. RE-CREATIONS OF THE RAMAYANA IN TAMIL AND HINDI
by S. Shankar Raju Naidu
...
...
21. RAMAYANA IN INSCRIPTIONS by D. C. Sircar
...
315
...
322
22. TEXTUAL THEME OP RAMAYANA IN JAPAN by Prof. Minora R&BTca • • •
•••
•••
•••
«••
23. RAMAYANA IN NEPALI by Kamala Sankrityayan
•••
JJ^r
...
348
24. RAMAYANA IN SINHALA LITERATURE AND ITS FOLK VERSION by J. TUakasiri ... ... ... 25. THB RAMAYANA AND ITS IMPACT ON GUJARATI LITERATURE
by Prof. Umashankar Joshi
...
...
385
...
397
26. SRI RAMAYANA IN TAMILNADU IN ART, THOUGHT AND ... ... LITERATURE by R. Nagaswamy ...
409
27. RAMAYANA IN SRILANKA AND LANKA OF THE RAMAYANA ... ... ... by C. E. GODAKUMBURA
430
28. TULASI-DASA'S RAMACARITAMANASA IN HINDI AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THB SANSKRTT VBRSKVN OF VALMKI THE TAMIL VERSION OF KAMBAN, AND THB THAI VERSION OP KINO RAMA I by S. Singaraveln ... ...
455
29. BHUSUNDI RAMAYANA AND US INFLUENCE ON THB MEDIAEVAL RAMAYANA LITERATURE by Bhagwati Prasad
Singh...
...
... viii
...
...
...
475
Page 30. RAMCHARITAMANAS AND THE PERFORMING TRADITION OF RAMAYANA by Induja Awasthl ... ...
SOS
31. RAMAVATAR (RAMAYANA) BY GURU GOBIND SINGH by
BaljitTulsi
...
...
...
...
...
517
32. RAMAYANA IN KASHMIRI LITERATURE AND FOLK-LORE by
P . N . Pushp
...
534
...
546
34. RAMA-LITERATURE IN ORISSA AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ... ... ... INDONESIA by K. C. Sahoo
561
33.
...
...
THE RAMAYANA IN BENGAL
...
...
by Bhabatosh Datta
35. RAMAYANA IN MANIPURI LITERATURE AND FOLK-LORE by
E. Nilakanta Singh 36.
...
...
RAMAYANA IN ASSAMESE LITERATURE
SAastn 37. ORAL
•••
...
•••
...
...
573
by Biswanarayan ...
TRADITION OF THE RAMAYANA IN BENGAL
Asutosb Bhattacharya ...
...
...
...
383
by
...
593
38. RAMAYANA IN ORIYA LITERATURE AND ORAL TRADITION
by Nilamani Mfohra 39.
...
...
THE RAMAYANA IN INDIAN SCULPTURE
murti
...
...
40.
RAMAYANA, THE EPIC OF ASIA
41.
RAMAYANA IN MONGOLIA
...
...
617
by C. Sivarama•••
...
636-
by Lokesh Chandra ...
648
by T. S. Damdinsuren
...
653
42. TRB RAMAYANA TRADITION AND THE PERFORMING ARTS
by Suresh Awasthi
...
...
...
...
660
43. RAMAYANA IN SCULPTURE AND PAINTINGS IN THAILAND
by M. C. Subhadradis Diskul 44.
RAMAYANA IN TUB ARTS OF A S U
...
...
...
670
bv Kapila Vatsyayan
689
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
...
...
...
...
703
INDEX
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•••
MJ/
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Internationa) Seminar on RAMAYANA TRADITION IN ASU New Delhi, December, 1975
8th December 1975 Inaugural SeMfoa: 11.30 a.m.
larocattoe Wdeoae
:
DR. R. S. KBLKAR
Secretary, Sahitya Akademi :
DR. SUNIII KUMAR CHATTERJBB
President, Sahitya Akademi A few worii
:
DR. V. RAGHAVAN
:
PROF. NURUL HASAN
Minister of Education and the first puppeteer.*1 As regards the word 'yogKwara* in RK XXVI, 50, c. it may either be the proper name of the author or, in accordance with its lexical meaning, ( king of the yogis \ the most prominent amongst the yogis, etc. We never relate the sage Walmlki, the adikavi with yogiiwara. If we put them together then it might dawn tousthat^fiwwaissynonomouswith tidikavi, the more so as Walmlki is a prominent and respected rj/, whose name is mentioned in the Taittirlya Prati£akhya and in the Vajasaneyi Samhita.1* To strengthen this notion, I would like to put forward other internal evidences. The word yogiiwara in that particular place is followed by the word iiffa, which is, according to Juynboll,M only found once in the RK. Certainly the author 80
J, Kunst, Music in Java, vol.1, p. 17-8, «J. Knebei, • Darmakoeseema etc.,\ r.&alias and any devotional attachment to them. The anti-Ramayana attitudes of southern political movements, traceable at least to 1910 with the formation of the Dravidian
52
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
association by Dr. C. Natesa Mudali&r, and culminating in the figure of E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker ("Periyar") and C. N. Annadurai is well known. Here, as Harrison writes, The Ramayana, so proudly hailed as a force for synthesis, becomes a basic text c'ted to establish Aryan iniquity. In Dravidian propaganda the southward march of Rama to the lair of the evil king Ravana . . . is nothing less than the allegorical story of the triumph of Aryan progress over the original Dravidian inhabitants of India. . . . The Dravidian movement rewrites The RamdyatM to cast Ravana as a Dravidian hero repelling Rama. . . l 8 Positions like these must be viewed with extreme caution. No change of culture is represented in any version of the epic as a result of the conflict, and it is doubtful that either Valmlki or Kamban had such a thing in mind. A noted psychologist once pointed out to me that in any epic story thcie is a tendency-for those on top in a society to identify with the hero and those on the bottom with the vanquished. A Book of Dharma In the earlier portion of this paper we stressed the paradigmatic nature of sacred books. Not only is Rama a paradigm of the ideal man, a model of discriminating choice for those devoted to him, the Ramayana is primarily a book of dharma. Whether set forth by Valmlki, Kamban, or Tulasi Das, Rama upholds (dhr) all his relationships, acting righteously to *riend and foe alike.14 Hence, the Ramayaiia is a popular dharma sastra in narrative form, setting forth the principles of righteous choice. "Sslig S. Harrison, India: The Most Dangerous Decades (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1960), pp. 127. Further information may be found in P.D. Dsvanesan, The Dravida Kaznagam (Bangalore: ChristianInstitute for the Study of Religion and Society, i960). 14 1 am aware that Rama has his detractors. A letter in my files reads as follows: " Since Rama cut off the nose of R&vana's sister, Ravana had every right to take revenge. What right did R&ma have to burn Lanka? It is the duty of every Tamilian to ' get back his face* by destroying the Aryan symbols of Tamil disparagement and the so-called Aryan gods . . . . Valmiki tells us all about Kama drinking, eating meat, killing unlawfully (ambushes . . . .) How can you think of these despicable traits as attributes of a divine being?
The Role of the Sacred Book in Religion
S3
To be human is to choose, and to choose is to subordinate one value to a greater value structure. Few of us are presented with completely simple choices. For every call of duty, every tug at the emotions, and every human relationship demands an anxious search for the most appropriate alternative, the one most likely to uphold those values deemed most significant. The privilege of embracing an obvious good and shunning an evident evil is rarely granted, even if we admit the possibility of knowing precisely what we mean by good and evil. Instead most human choices lie in that ambiguous grey area where the most we can hope for is a decision that will buttress those relationships we value most. On the other hand, one's life need not be a compromise. It can affirm the qualities one values most, and for this reason, value structures can be communicated through narratives that deal with the lives of men and women, their struggles against evil and adversity, better than in didactic prose. For many, the Rama* yana has been just such a guide. An American popular song once contained this refrain, The passions that thrill love, and lift you high to heaven are the passions that kill love, and let you fall to hell.15 The key that can unlock the door to life can also open the chamber of death. Knowledge that can free can also enslave. 4i Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path to the understanding of the self—so the wise say—hard to tread and difficult to cross/'16 The story of Rama is dominated—particularly in Valmlki's version—by the tension between Ayodhya and Lanka, the conflict between dharma and adharma, but not the warfare of heaven and hell in the western sense,17 even though Rama is always the symbol of dharma and Ravaija of adharma. " Rama is duty (dharma) personified," said Marlca (iii, 37). Every character in this drama is charged with the necessity of choosing truth (satya) over his " Rogers and Hammerstein, New Moon. 11 Kathopanfead, I. iii. 14, Nikhilananda translation. "Despite some passages that show that many things RSvaoa did were right and good* V&lmlki never refers to him as dharmic.
54
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
own convenience, even as Naciketas had to remind his father to " consider how it was with the forefathers *' who never went back on their word of obligations " (Kathopanijad I, i, 3). The Valmiki Ramayana distinguishes laukika dharma, garhasthasya dharma, kula dharma, varpairama dharma, and throughout the Ramayana, one is acutely aware of the interrelations of these various dharmas and the consequent necessity of choosing just that appropriate response to each situation that will uphold the proper values for that situation. Rama's choice was to resuscitate dharma so that kama and artha can be enjoyed within legitimate bounds. He puts first the search for righteousness, knowing that all else will follow, a lesson perhaps best illustrated by his choice of the forest. The story of Rama is the story of a man faced with a series of choices, many alternatives defensible. When he finally made his decisions, he did so without denying the values he decided against, and therein is the greatness of the story and the reason it can function as a paradigm. Dharma has failed if it is understood only as the choice of the obviously good over the manifestly evil. The truly dharmic life is lived anyatra dharmad anyatradharmad {" beyond dharma and adharma , , ). M Statesmen and religious leaders alike have praised the ideal of Ramarajya, and Gandhiji used it as the symbol of the coming perfect order, dying with the name of Ram on his lips. But throughout the epic Ramarajya is something like an eschatological ideal, a vision of what can appear in the new age. Present society is in the age of padukarajya, the role of the sandals, between the primal kingdom of Dafiaratha and the coming perfect reign of Rama. Present society is imperfect; we have only the tokens of the book, the age of Padukarajya* while dharmic and adharmic forces are in mortal combat. Closely associated with the paradigmatic search for dharma is the search for truth (satya). Truth in this context, however, is synonymous with true living, connoting fully as much the idea of faithfulness and morality as it does a correct correspondence " Nachiketas asked Yama. " Tell me that which thou seest beyond right and wrong, beyond what is done and not done, beyond past and future.* (Kathopani$ad 1, ii, 14, Radhakrishnan trans.)
The Role of the Sacred Book in Religion
SB
with " objective reality." Truthfulness takes on a certain poignancy in the Ramayaija in connection with the preservation of a good name. When DaSaratha was faced with the excruciating choice forced on him by Kaikeyl, the question of whether Rama or Bharata would make a better yuvarajah was not an operative (consideration. Near the end of the story Rama's harsh words to SIta must be viewed in the same light. A central ethical issue is joined. Rama, so we are told, gave up all personal claims but protected his good name at all costs. The paradigmatic Rama is not the embodiment of the rule of law; he is the embodiment of the rule of perfect righteousness, illustrating the basic belief that " the one unchanging basis on which the success of any form of government depends is human character."19 The truth sought is personal integrity. In this sense truth will conquer (satyam eva jayate). In 1965, President Radhakrishnan went so far as to say, in connection with the Pakistan war, " . . . 'Satyam eva Jayate* • . . meant that if necessary, they would even sacrifice the country for the sake of truth and never truth for the country.''20 Truth, then, becomes as something to be defended. The Battle In the theoretical section of this paper we noted the battle motif and its seven modules. If one focuses not simply on the battle scenes themselves but on the total sweep of the epic, including its later accretions, it will be seen that the Ramayana displays the same features found in the Indra-Vftra conflict:21 1. An asura, Ravana, has provoked the sages, contemplatives, brahmins, and gods, even interfering with the sun and the moon. 1§
Dr. V. Raghavan, •' RSmSyaoa-Trivenf—(V) Duty to People, Vedantha Kesari, July* 1952, pp. 2. M The Hindu, Madras, Dec. 9,1965. 11 This analysis is set forth, together with a similar treatment of the Great Goddess Story in Joanne M. Punzo, The Devi Nfahatmya: A Critical Study of a Devotional Text (Chambsrsburg: Wilson College 1967).
5t
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia 2. The gods petition Brahma to relieve them of this demon, but a boon has been granted to Ravana making him impervious to any but a man. Vishnu is persuaded to incarnate himself. 3. Impregnation of the barren wives of DaSaratha is accomplished by a bowl of payasam divided among the three wives. 4. Brahma beseeches all the gods to incarnate as warriormonkeys to aid Rama. 5. The main body of the epic is concerned with the great battle and lesser battles of Rama. 6. Ravana is defeated, and the gods praise Rama. 7. Rama rules over the three worlds.
In this conflict the three psychological modules of salvationbearing stories are evident: (1) an affront to order, (2) the need for an incarnation, (3) the defeat of disorder as a struggle that must continually be repeated. The Ramayana is a story intended to be rc-enactcd. The slaughter of Ravana is not just a historic event. It is an act of faith and an affirmation of dharma, a pledge to uphold order over disorder. The final book, the Uttara Kanda, shows clearly that the establishment of Ramarajya does not mean the end of all discord. The defeat of Ravana by Rama must be repeated over and over. The Anamnesis Ramayana is the story of perpetual warefare between Ayodhyt and LaAka. In simple terms its message is to imitate Rama and to eschew the works of Ravana. The story attained its popularity because it does reflect a value structure. The story of Rama and Sita, the dharma by which they lived and the adharma they shunned express a value system basic to much education in India. Arts—performing and visual—grow from the story, and the prac* tice of bhakti with its hymns, dances, and other ceremonies has concretely shaped much of Indian life.22 The book, however, concerns itself very little with inner feelings; it stresses external actions. ** Cf. V. Raghavan, " Methods of Popular Religious Instruction in South India.M Journal of Anrrican Folklore, LXXI (1958), 336-344.
The Role of the Sacred Book in Religion
57
The strength of the story lies in the fact that it is a living tradition, appreciated by reflexive beings who reflect on the world in which they live. Throughout the main portion of the work Ramarajya is an ideal, not yet attained. Not surprisingly, then, a popular form of Ramabhakti is Padukabhakti, fidelity to God both present in spirit and yet absent in his full glory and power. Veneration of the sandals and walking on the Path of Lord R&ma belong together. Neither is meaningful if devotion is only to the past. In this paper we have stressed the living tradition of the Ramayana, the wave moving across many different mediums. May this symposium produce not simply firmer devotion to an ancient book but also commitment to the courageous dharma which each of us is called upon to practice in this generation.
A Bibliography of other Articles on Ramayana by Harry M. Buck "The Sandals of Prince A9ma," in SPECIAL VOLUME DEDICATED TO H. H. CHANDRASEKHARENDRA SARASVATI, edited by V. Raghavan (Madras: Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute* 1973). 'Two KrauAca Birds," in PROFESSOR K. A. NILAKANTA SASTRI FELICITATION VOLUME (Madras, Rathnam Press: 1971), 369-30. 1
Saving Story and Sacred Book: Some Aspects of the Phenomenon of Religious Literature," in SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES, edited by J. M. Myers. O. Reimherr, H. N. Bream (Leiden: E. J. Brill: 1969), 79-94.
' The Figure of R&ma in Buddhist Cultures/* in ASIAN PROFILE, 1/1 (August, 1973), 133-158. 'Lord R&ma and the Faces of God in India,9* in JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION, XXXVI, 3 (September 1968), 229-241. 1
An Introduction to the Study of the Rftmftyapa in South and Southeast Asia** (Kuala Lumpur: 1966), 72-88.
RAMACARITAMANASA and ITS RELEVANCE TO MODERN AGE REV. C. BULCKE 1. Introduction Some four hundred years ago, Goswami Tulasidasa composed his Ramacaritamanasa. In his introduction, the author prays that his poem may be appreciated: Hohu prasanna dehu bardanu Sadhu Samaja bhaniti sanamanu
(1, 14)
** Show me your favour and grant this boon, that my verses may be honoured where good men are gathered together/*1 There is no shadow of a doubt, that the poet's prayer has been heard. The Ramacaritamanasa enjoys, since four centuries, among the teeming millions of North India, a popularity unequalled anywhere else. This popularity is richly deserved. All critics agree that the Ramacaritamanasa is the most excellent poem of the whole range of Hindi literature. Dr George Grierson goes even further when he says: " I still think that Tulasidasa is the most important figure in the whole of Indian literature " (quoted by V. Smith, in ' Akbar The Great Mogul,* p. 420). Dr. Vincent Smith calls the work of Tulasidasa, " the tallest tree in the magic garden of medieval Hindu poetry ". He then goes on to say: " His name will not be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, or in the pages of any Muslim annalist, or in the books by European authors based on the narratives of Persian historians. Yet that Hindu was the greatest man of his age in India, greater even than Akbar himself, inasmuch as the conquest of the hearts and minds of millions of men and women effected by the poet was an 1
All English translations are taken from W. Hill's " The Holy Lake of die Acts of Rftina". Oxford University Press, 1952.
JUmacaritamanasa and its relevance to Modern Age
99
achievement infinitely more lasting and important than any or all of the victories gained in war by the monarch " {ibid. p. 417), 2. The purpose of Tulasidasa To arrive at a correct appreciation of Tulsidasa's Ramayaija, we must keep in mind the poet's intention. His chief aim was not the creation of an immortal poem, but rather the exposition of the royal road of devotion to God, the only way of salvation. Tulsidasa saw that the common people were very much impressed by yogic practices, which they admired but could not imitate, that they were misled by various esoteric doctrines and confused by the many sects, each with its own ritual and philosophical tenets. He realised that real religion was far less complicated. He says in his best and deepest work, the Vinayapatrika (no. 173): bahu mata muni, bahu pantha puranani, jahantahan jhagaro so, which means: "The munis propound many opinions, there are many ways of salvation described in the puranas and also quite a lot of bickering ", and he adds: guru kahyo Rama-bhajana niko mohi lagat raja-dagaro so—" My guru told me devotion to Rama is the best way. To me it seems to be the royal road to salvation." When describing Kaliyuga in the last para of his Ramacaritamanasa, (RCM) he makes allusion to the prestige of the yogis and ascetics who mislead the people with regard to real religion: Niracara jo Sruti patha tyagi/kaliyuga soi gyani so biragi/jake nakh aru jafa bisala soi tapasa prasiddha kalikala. Aiubha besh bhushan dhare bhacchabhacha je khahi Tei jogi, tei siddha nara9 pujya te jalijuga mahi (7, 98) " Unprincipled deserters of the Vedic way were styled the wise and the ascetic in that Kaliyuga and those who were long nails and bound their hair in massive coils, the Kaliyuga acclaimed as penitents. These who attired themselves in ghastly ornaments and ate all kinds of food, forbidden or permitted, were held to be ascetics and adepts and worthy of all reverence in that age."
to
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
Strictly speaking, this is a description of a former Kaliyuga, but there is little doubt that Tulasidasa meant the itinerant yogis of his own time, who were addicted to the above mentioned practices. Tulasidasa repeats again and again, that in Kaliyuga, real religion does not consist in these external practices, but in devotion to R£ma— Kaliyuga joga na jagya na gnana Eka Adhara Rama gum gana
(7, 193)
" In the Kaliyuga there is no need of austerity, sacrifice or knowledge; the singing of Rama's praise is the only sure means of salvation.*' 3. Causes of the popularity of RCM If Tulasidasa has been successful in bringing his message to countless millions, this is due to three causes. The first is the universal human appeal of his conception of Bhakti (devotion), and will be explained later. The second is that in order to propound his conception of devotion, Tulasidasa did not write a theological treatise but, in the words of Emerson, " hitched his wagon to a star ", and retold in his own inimitable way the already popular Rama story. Long before the christian era, the genius of Valmiki had worked a miracle, similar to the one of Homer. Itinerant singers had brought his Ramayana to countless villages and cities. The whole of Sanskrit literature bears the imprint of Valmiki and the Rama-story was for centuries the subjectmatter of poetry and drama throughout the Indian subcontinent and a large part of Asia, especially Indochina and Indonesia. The extraordinary influence of Valmiki is due to the pathos and charm of the Rama-story itself, the artistic merit of his poetry and the vivid portrayal of high moral values. The Ramayana of Valmiki conquered the heart of religious-minded India, chiefly because of the importance it attaches to things of the spirit, because of its noble conception of the sanctity of married love and the sacredness of a pledge, its high ideals of duty, truthfulness and self-control, its living examples of domestic and social virtues, its deep faith in the ultimate meaning of life as a struggle between good and eviL It is precisely this ethical aspect of the original R&mayaija that is usually singled out for special praise in Indian
RflmacharitamAnam and its relevance to Modern Age
61
sources. The Padma Puraija says that in the Rama-story "we meet face to face the rules of dharma, a woman's fidelity to her husband, deep brotherly affection and youth's devotedness to the elders. In its verses proper conduct between masters and servants in personified, and before our eyes, punishment is meted out to the evil-door by the scion of Raghu " (Patala KhawJa, 66, 128-9). Tulasidasa has acknowledged his debt to Valmlkl in the following words, " The sages of old having sung Hari's glorious renown, it will be easy for me, my friend, to follow in their footsteps. A river may be very broad, but if a king has built a bridge across it, even very small tiny ants {pipilikau Parama laghu) may mount it and pass to the other side with ease. Even so I shall take heart of grace and relate the charming story of Raghupati" (I. M). The third cause of the unparalleled popularity of RCM is the poetic genius of Tulasidasa. He says in the introduction of his poem, "Kabi na hou nahi bechana praviriu sakalakala saba vidyS Aim* (1,9) "1 am no poet, nor am I skilled in speech; all ignorant am I of every art and science ", but in spite of that he is quite conscious of his poetic talents. In the second part of his introduction he writes that when the poet contemplates the lake of Rama's acts with the eye of the soul and plunges into its waters, " his heart is filled with bliss and ecstacy and swells with a flood of love and happiness. Then flows out the beauteous stream of poetry, filled with the water of Rama's stainless glory ". (I, 39) Tulasidasa has a supreme felicity of expression; dozens and dozens of his verses have become proverbs. He has a truly marvellous gift of effortless alliteration. His verse flows naturally. His language is very simple, so much so that illiterate villagers listen with rapt attention to the recitation of his work and understand his message. Eternal truths and moral aphorisms abound but the construction of his verse is never involved. I often quote the following: 4t Jiva na laha sukha hari-pratikula" No soul can find peace, if at variance with God " (RCM 7, 122). Therefore, in spite of his disclaimer quoted above, Tulasi, no less than Valmlki, was a poet by God's grace, and he used his talent to proclaim his message.
62
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
The greatness and also the popularity of RCM is due to the above-mentioned three factors. Tulasidasa has compared the company of the saints to a living moving Prayaga in the world, the confluent of Ganga, Yamuna of Ramacarita and the Sarasvatl of truly great effortless poetic art. 4. The Sources of RCM. Although shorter than Valmlki's Ramayana, the RCM. is very long. The translation by W. Hill into English prose runs into 500 demi-octavo pages. It follows in broad lines the story of Valmiki and is divided into seven Karujas (books), bearing the names as given by Valmiki, except that the Yuddhakaiitfa is called Lanka-Kaijf late 16th century A.D. The regular acting of the play, called KSfiyattam (literally, acting involving more than one actor), i^ f ery elaborate and technical and is perhaps the only form surviving o this day of Sanskrit play-acting according to the prescriptions
Kamayana in Malayalam Literature
211
of BJiarata's Natya Sastra. It is believed that this kind of playacting was instituted in the temples of Kerala about the 9th century A.D. and thus it claims unbroken succession for more than a millennium. The well-known Kathakali dance-drama is a popularised version of Kutiyaftam, and started its career as Ramandftdm (Rama Ballet), popularly known as Kathakali, in the second half of the 17th century A.D. The text for this new form of dancedrama consisted of eight musical plays covering the story of RamayaQa and composed by a King of Kott&rakkara. Though not possessing much literary value, these plays are still popular because of their stage appeal. Incidents from R&m&yaQa have also been utilised by subsequent authors for composing Katn?. kali plays, and one of the most favoured characters on the Kathakali stage has been Hanuman with his mighty deeds, monkeyish pranks and sublime devotion to the Lord. Another popular performing art of Kerala is Tullal initiated and brought to perfection in the middle of the 18th century A.D. by Kufican Nampiy&r, the scholar-poet, who was also the greatest humourist that Kerala ever produced. Tullal is a one-man dance-drama wherein the dancer-actor presents puranic stories, and incidentally provides much mirth to the rustic audience by introducing, as occasion demands, droll stories and sharp social criticism. Kufican Nampiy&r has composed more than forty " Tale in Verse " for these performances of which eight are based on incidents from R&m&yaQa. In Tullal the narration of the story is in verse; in Pathakam, which is yet another temple art, the story is narrated in prose, based on verses in Sanskrit and fortified by histrionic talents. The stoiy of R&ma is a great favourite also with the performers of Pathakam. For presenting R&ma'? story, the text now utilised is the Ramayofam Prabandham in Sanskrit. Formerly Rdmayariam CampQ of Punam which is in Malayalam, had also been utilised for this purpose. Reference may also be made to the shadow-play known as Tol-p&vakuttu which is confined to a few K&li temples in the Palghat District. In this kind of popular entertainment, shadows of leather puppets representing characters from R&m&yaga are projected
212
His Ramyana Tradition in
on to a screen, and the story is narrated by the chief performer, known as Pulavar, and his assistant, mostly in the form of dialogues, with occasional digressions on many an interesting point. The text used for this performance is Kamban's RamayaQa in Tamil. The story of Rama has several times been adapted for presenting on the modern Malayalam stage. The translation of Bhavabhuti's Uttarardtnacaritam by Cattukkutty Mannatiyar has been played to packed houses several times in the 19th century. Ramardjabhisekam by E. V. Krishna Pi I la i, Kancana Sita by Sri C N. Srikanthan Nair and Puspav^fi by Thikkotiyan are some of the noteworthy successes in adapting the Rama theme to the contemporary realistic theatre. The Rama theme has also found adequate expression through the graphic arts in Kerala. At Cochin there is a historic palace which contains a series of excellent mural paintings depicting the story of. Rama from his birth upto his triumphal return from exile. The temples dedicated to Rama at Tiruvilvamala and Triprayar in Trichur District have selected episodes from R&mayaQa sculptured in wood around the sanctum sanctorum. The temple of Rama at the Padmanabhapuram palace which belonged to Kerala before the re-organisation of States has the whole of Ram&yajja story carved in forty panels of wood. Gold bracelets with episodes from Ramayaga embossed around were once the proud possession of artistocratic ladies in Kerala. In more recent times, many of the dramatic incidents in the career of Rama have supplied the themes for some of the most famous paintings by that gifted and popular artisc, Raja Ravivarma. A few remarks about the place of Rama-worship in popular religion will not be out of place here. Hinduism in Kerala has always been very tolerant and surprisingly free from sharp sectional rivalries. It has been mainly centered on Tantric and Agamic worship in the temples consecreted to £iva, Parvati (Kali, Durga), Vi$Qu, £asta (Ayyappa) and Subrahmaijya. Of the incarnations of Vi$Qu, Knva is the favourite. Rama, though accepted as an incarnation of VI'TOU, has only a few temples dedicated to him Of these the temples at Tiruvilvamala and Triprayar, to which reference has already been made in connection with the wood carvings in them, and the temple at Tellicherry are famous. The
MmAyapa in Malayahm Literature
213
KfltalmaQikyam temple at Irifijalaku0a is dedicated toBharata and the ancient temple ac Muzhikkalam near Alwaye is dedicated to Lakjmajja. Satrughna too has a temple consecreated to him at Pakkil. Hanuman has always been a deity dear to the masses, but surprisingly there is only one important temple dedicated to him in the whole of Kerala. This is the chief temple (Gramakjetra) of Alattur village near PonnaQi and Hanuman installed in this temple is the protecting deity (Paradevata) of this village. Devotees of Hanuman were not satisfied with the role, though by no means an insignificant one, assigned in RamayaQa to their chosen deity. They wanted to see him as the hero of an epic in his own right. Pataiaramayaflam is such an epic, which presents one of several folk versions of the RamayaQa story. PatalaravaQa, the demon lord of the nether world, wanted to help his friend RavaQa of Laftka, when the latter was fighting a losing battle, and abducted Rama and Lak$ma?a to his secret abode. The hero Hanuman knows about this and after a series of adventures and a few episodes of romance, kills the offender and rescues his masters, Rama and Lakgmaga, to continue their fight against RavaQa. Based on this story there is a Kilippaftu in Malayalam which was most likely composed in the 18th century A.D. Yet another folk version of an incident in Ramayana is contained in the song called 'The sorrow of Sita" (Sitadufekham), also composed in the 18th century A.D. After the return of Rama to Ayodhya one day, the three mothers-in-law wanted Sita to paint a picture of Ravana whom they had heard of so much, but did not have a chance to see. Sita reluctantly complied with their command. The mothers-in-law who were very jealous of the favours she received from her fond husband, brought this picture, which was so life-like, to the notice of Rama, who immediately grew suspicious of the chastity of his wife and ordered LakfmaQa to take her to the forest and there to kill her. Lak$maQa, though normally obedient to his brother, could not bring himself to commit such a heinous crime. He therefore placed Siti at the hermitage of an ascetic in the forest, killed a salamander, and showed his sword drenched in blood to Rama. Rama was con* vinced of the death of Siti, but not so the mothers-in-law, who said
214
Hie Ramayana Tradition in Asia
that they could distinguish an animal's blood from that of a human being. Lak$maija therefore had to go again to the hermitage, cut the littlefingerof Sita with his sword, and show the blood to the royal ladies. This too did not carry conviction with the mothers-in-law who said that they could distinguish between the blood of a man and that of a woman. LakgmaQa got angry and asked them to cut one of their own limbs with the same sword and see if the two bloods were not of the same colour. This silenced the ladies, and everybody, except LakgmaQa, thought that Sita was dead. Rama, however, was smitten with acute remorse. In course of time he came to know the truth and went tothe hermitage to see his sons, when suddenly a deep chasm appeared in the earth and Sita disappeared into it. Rama tried to catch hold of her, but got in his hand only a single hair of Sita. There are a number of such folk versions of the incidents of Ram&yaoa, but the songs embodying them have hardly any literary merit.
RAMAYANA IN TELUGU LITERATURE AND FOLK LORE By C. R. SARMA A Telugu proverb observes: " If you want to hear, hear the Bharatam; If you want to eat, eat garelu (round pan-cakes made of black gram)". This interesting and true observation must have come into vogue only after the Telugu version of the Mahabharata became popular among scholars and masses as well. Srlmad Andhra Mahabharatamu, as the Telugu version is titled, written by the famous Poet-trio, is a piece of good literature in Telugu. It is at once a poem of outstanding literary merit and an authoritative book for usage. In fact, it is the first known literary work in Telugu literature. The Telugu Mahabharata and its three authors—Nannaya, Tikkana and Errana—are, therefore, held in high esteem not only by their immediate successors but by the present-day writers too. The well-known twin poets, Tirupati VeAkata Kavulu, have rightly remarked that this work is a Veda to the Telugu people. Among the Poet-trio, Nannaya is a superb story-teller. Even a casual reader can find in him a fascinating poet. Tikkana is a poet-dramatist. He is a master of human psychology and hence his characters appear before us and open their hearts. The last poet, Errana, is a descriptive writer and his poetry is serene and sublime. It is no wonder, therefore, that the Telugu Bharatam is considered a fine poem and is read and enjoyed. But viewing from literary excellence, the same cannot be said about the Telugu RamSycofas though they are great in their own. Despite the fact that the Mahabharata has been a source of inspiration, the story of Rama, as narrated by Valmiki has greatly attracted the Telugu poets, old and modern. The Telugu mind is a stronghold of Rama-cult. There is not a village worth its name which does not have a Rama mandir (temple), big or small, where one can hear bhajans, in praise of Rama sung with devotion. The devotees feel that the entire world is encompassed by Rama. Some scholars have even declared that Rama is the favourite deity
216
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
of the Andhras. The birth-day of Rama, Rama Navamt, is celebrated with great enthusiasm throughout the Telugu region. Several places and persons are named after Rama and other major characters of the RSmayana. It is significant that Rama's name is closely knit with the daily life of the Telugu people. While giving bath to children, usually the mother or any senior female member of the family, will utter at the end; " Let Sri Rama protect you; be blessed with hundred years of life". (Sri RSma rakfa; nurellu ayussu) and this is an age-old custom. Most of the Telugus commence their letters or marriage invitations with the customary phrase * Sri R&ma Jayam * (Victory to Sri Rama). Yet another popular custom is to sing the song beginning with * Anandamaye anandam&ye' during weddings when the mangala sutra is tied. This interesting song refers to the marriage of Sita to Rama. One can also notice the Telugu saying the words ' Rama, Rama' (meaning alas), when they hear any tragic incident or bad news. Thus Rama is invoked in time of trouble and this is a common usage. It is also worth mentioning here that a few incidents of the Ramdycajta story have been preserved in proverbs and phrases and they are in vogue to this day. Thus it can be seen from the above that the story of Rama is not a piece of ancient mythology but a living faith in the Telugu region. The Ramayaffa literature in Telugu is vast and varied and the poets drew inspiration mainly from Valmiki. Works dealing with the Rama-theme either in full or in parts are available in hundreds as the story is narrated in almost all literary gcnrcs-Kavya (poetic composition, including major and minor poems), Dvipada (twoline verse), Sataka (century of verses), YakfagSna (dancc-plav), Dap&ka (a metrical composition in the form of stotra), Geya (song), Catu (stray verse), prose, drama and the like. All the available books can be broadly classified as POrva RSm&yaQa (upto Rama's coronation) and Uttara RamSyafta (the later story). Besides, we have translations of the different versions of the RSm&ya^ay namely AdhyStma, Ananda, Adbhuta and VOsiftha Rim&yagas and also from other Indian languages like Hindi, Ttolasi's RSmacharitrftrtas, Tamil (Kamban's ROmdya^am) and
Rtinayana in Telugu Literature
HT
innumerable Satakas with the refrain addressed to Rftma. There appeared Satakajtfha Rim&yaQas also. £ataka?tha, supposed to be a mighty warrior and a brother of Ravafla, was killed by Sita according to the Satakarttha R&m&yaoam which is also known as Sita Vijayam (Sita's victory) Till recently a feeling prevailed among the poets that writing on Rama will lead to good. In fact, a distinguished poet of the 17th century observed: " A scholar who is endowed with the power of distinguishing the good from the bad and has the gift of writing poetry should not attempt unholy stories discarding the holy story of Rama. If he did so, then, what is the use of his wisdom? What is the use of his fascinating poetry?" Among the full length Telugu Ramayartas that have appeared in the past, Ranganatha Ramaya$am, Bhaskara R&mayatfam, Kafta Varadaraju Ramaya^am and Molla Ramayartam deserve special mention. Of these, Bhaskara and Molla RamayaQams are written in Champu form (mixture of poetry and prose) while the others are couched in the dvipada metre. Ranganatha Rdmayapam composed in the indigenous metre dvipada, is regarded as the earliest and complete RamayaQa in Telugu. Some scholars are of the view that it was written around 1240 A.D. It contains 17,290 dvipadas or 34,580 lines. The author of this poem, like its date, is also open to doubt. Supporting the traditional view, some critics attribute the authorship to one Chakrap&tyi Ranganatha. But curiously enough his name is not mentioned anywhere in the poem. The majority view is that this Ramayaria was written by a poet called Gona Buddha Reddi at the instance of his father Pajtfurafiga Vifthalanatha and that the poet named it after the latter. Hence the name Ranganatha Ramayartam,; though written by Gona Buddha Reddi, Ranganatha is the abbreviated form of Paijtfuranga Vifthalan&tha. Whoever the author may be, Rakganatna R&maya^am is one of the popular poems in Telugu and it is unique in itself for the following reasons: First: it is written in the indigenous metre; it can be conveniently sung and it is the first and complete Ramayafa composed in that metre. Second: some portions of this poem are sung during the shadow-play (TSlubammalSfa) which is veiy popular with the masses. Third: in this poem are found several interesting episodes or details which are not found in VOImiki Mmdya^a
US
11* Ramayana Tradition in Asia
as available in its present form, but prevalent in the Telugu folklore. Lastly, R&vaoa and other members of his family are portrayed in brighter hues in this poem. The story of Sulocanft, the daughterin-law of Ravana, as depicted in the Rahganatha R&miyartam is superb and she can be well compared to Sita regarding the virtue of chastity. The other notable non-Valmiki episodes or details that are found in this poem are: Indra assumes the form of a cock and crows near the cottage of Gautama; after fulfilling his evil desire with Ahalya he leaves the cottage in his own form. The goddess of sleep approaches Lakjmnija and he asks her to stay with his wife Ormila till the exile period is over. Lak$maQa draws seven lines around the hermitage ana warns Sita not to go beyond them; the account of Jambukumara the son of Sflrpariakha, the story of a squirrel which helped Rama in the construction of the Setu, AAgada drags MaQ^odari to the presence of RavaQa when he was performing a homa, VibhigaQa makes a disclosrure (that R&vaQa's navel contains nectar) which finally leads to the ruin of RavaQa; Hanuman, Vibhi$aria and others dine with Rama after the latter's coronation was over; Hanuman distributes to the other monkeys the food that was left out in Rama's plate, and the story of LakfmaQa's laughter in Rama's court. As already stated, Ranganitha R&mayanam presents a good picture of RavaQa. His noble quality of appreciating the greatness of a mighty warrior even if he be his enemy has been well depicted in this poem. RavaQa desires to instil fear in the minds of Rama and his followers and so he exhibits all the precious articles which he acquired in different battles so as to be noticed by Rama. As expected, Rama looks at them and on enquiry learns from VibhifaQa that those precious ornaments were acquired by his brother by defeating the gods. Then Rama gently aims an arrow at RavaQa, which removes the necklaces worn by the maids attending on him, his umbrella is broken, but no one is hurt. This surprises R&vaQa considerably who forgets for the moment his enmity with Rama and begins to priase his wonderful skill in archery. He addresses Rama as Vlragragavya, the first among the warriors. The ministers of RavaQa become impatient and say that an enemy should not be extolled thus. But RivaQa chides them by asking. " should not the greatness of the mighty heroes be extolled?"
fUtnayan* in Tdugu Literature
219
The next poem that deserves mention is the Bh&skara RHm&yagam. Some critics believe that this is anterior to the RanganStha RBmSyaoam. But they are really contemporary works. Bhaskara Ramayanam, a long poem in six cantos interspersed with prose passages, is written in the Kavya style. On account of its sublime poetry, it is held in high esteem by the scholars. As is evident from the title, this poem is called after Bhaskara, one of the four authors, the other three being his disciples and friends. Though the style is not uniform throughout, this is a fine poem which is read much and appreciated. The authors of the Bh&skara Rdmaya^am have been faithful to Valmlki in narrating the main incidents of the story. Still they did not hestitate to include some non-Valmlki episodes in their work. Ahalya becoming a stone as a result of Gautama's curse, the reason for enmity between Rama and Manthara, the maid servant of Kaikeyl, Lak$mana killing Jambukumara, the son of Sflrpanakha, Tara cursing Rama for killing her husband, the account of Kalanemi, the trusted servant cf Ravana, Narada'* disclosure to Rama that he was VigQu when he and Lak$matya were bound by the serpent-arrows, Nala worshipping Lord Vinayaka (Gaoeia) before constructing the Setu, Rama addressing Hanuman as his brother, while urging him to bring the Safijivi herb to bring hack the fainted Lakfmaga to life—are some of the new details or episodes one can find in Bhaskara RSmayaruun. Molla Rdmayanam is also a popular poem which is equally enjoyed by the scholars and masses. A poetess belonging to the potter community, Molla who lived in the middle of the 14th century (some say ISth century) wrote her Ramiya^a in a simple and fascinating style. She narrates in the Ayodhya Kapfa a brief but interesting incident. Rama notices Guha* the devotee-boatman, after reaching the Ganges and asks him to take his party to the other side of the river. Guha immediately agrees with pleasure but fears that if R&ma should step into his boat, it may become a maid as he had already heard that a stone had changed into a sweet maid (Ahalyft) as the dust in the foot of Rama touched it. His apprehension is genuine and so he washes R&ma's feet with water
220
Hie Ramywa Tradition in Asia
until the dost is fully removed and only then requests Rima to get into his boat. This interesting incident not only brings out Guha's devotion to R&ma but gives a slight relief in the grief-striken narrative.* The R&mftyaoa written by Katta Varadaraju, a royal poet of the 17th century, is yet another popular work in Telugu. It consists of six KOnfas and 23,170 dvipadas or 46,340 lines and thus it is the biggest dvipada poem. It may be said that the poet tried to be faithful to the original. Still one can notice here some non-V&lmlki details or episodes. For instance, this poem informs that Rama was born on Wednesday. This non-Valmlki detail is also found in the Rangandtha RamdyoQam and BhSskara Ramayat^am, According to Molla RamSyayam, Rama and his brothers were born on Sunday. Besides the above complete Ramayanas, we have in Telugu a few abridged versions. Among them RBm&bhyudayam written by Ayyalaraju Ramabhadru i.e., the sphere of influence of an Indian imperial ruler, covering the whole of the Indian sub-continent, Kaufilya's Arthai&straP describing it as bounded in the no^th by the Himavat and in the south by the Ocean (i.e. the Southern or Indian Ocean), and R&ja£ekhara's K&vya-mlm&ms3P giving its northern and southern boundaries respectively as Bindusaras, which is located in the Himalayas, and Kumaripura or Cape Comorin in the present Tamilnadu State. Now this Cakravartti-kfetra is often reflected in the conventional description of kings in both literary and epigraphic records, and its limits are usually mentioned as follows: (1) north—Himalaya, Bindusaras, Gandhamfidana, Kail&sa, Kedftra, the mythical Sumeru mountain, Pr&°jyotifa or K&marQpa, the Vamkgu or Oxus and Bahlika; (2) South—Indian Ocean, Cape Comorin, Mahendragiri, the Setu, Suvela, Simhala-dvipa and the Malaya mountain; (3) east—Vanga, the Lauhitya (Brahmaputra), the mythical Eastern or Sun-rise mountain, the Eastern Country and GaAg&s&gara-sangama; and (4) west—the seven mouths of the Sind.hu (Indus), the Western or Arabian Sea, the mythical Mandara or the Western or Sun-set mountain, Manx 17
See Rdmdyam.Ct. Ed., Uttaia-klvda, Introduction, pp. 31ff. "Malaya-lagna-eva Mahmtoah, (NJS. Press ed.9 p. 214; cf. tmnsL CoweU and Thomas, p. 211). lf DCl. »G.OJS.ed.,p.92.
Rftmiyao* in Inscriptions
3»
or the Rajputana Desert and P&rasika (Persia or Iran).*1 We find that, besides the Indian Ocean and Cape Comorin, R&ma's bridge (i.e. Adam's bridge expending from R&mefvaram or Setubandha-RameSvara), Mt. Mahendra (i.e. Mahendragiri in the Tirunelveli-Districti, Mt. Malaya, Mt. Suvela which was a part of the Trikfita range and on which the city of Lafik& was situated, and Simhala-dvipa are located about the southern end of the Indian sub-continent. Among these, the most frequently men* tioned is R&ma's Setu or bridge which is placed at the southern end of the Indian imperial ruler's sphere of influence in both literary and epigraphic records, e.g., in BfiQa's Kadambart (seventh century), in the Pftla inscriptions describing Devap&la (ninth century), in a Somavamfi inscription describing king Dharmaratha (beginning of the eleventh century), Vijfi&ncSvara's Mitdkfara describing Calukya Vikramaditya VI (eleventh-twelfth century), in the Vijayanagara inscriptions describing Viranarasimha, and KrtQadevaraya (both ruling in the early part of the sixteenth century), etc. Baca's Kadambari" has the following passage in king Tftraf Ida's description, in which the boundaries are given as Mt. Udaya (Sun-rise) in the east, Setubandha in the south, Mt. Mandara in the west and Mt. Gandhamadana in the north—i iail&d = Udaya - namnafi, kapi - bala - vilupta - virala - lavall lat& - phalad = udadhi - vinirgata - jaladevatabhivandyamana Righava - padSd — acala - pita - dalita - sankhakuta - iakalatSrakita - iildtalSn = Nala - karatal-akalita - iaila - sahasra sambhStSd = d Setu - bandhSd = aecha - nirjhara - Jala - dhauta t&raka - sarthSd = amfta - mathan - odya - ta - VaikuQfha keyOra - patra - makara - kofi - kar$a$a - masp^ita - grdvQafr sur - Ssura - held - valayita - Vdsuki - sarn&karfaqa - prSrambha Suveiad = 2 Farupf - madia - skhallta - Varuna - varandrl nupura - ravamukhara-kuhara-kukfer=Asta - girer=a Guhyakagehinl - parimala - sugandhi - gandha - pafd$a - vd5/7a - guA£gf/tfc - a* Gandhamadanat*1 Simhala-dvipa or the island of Simhala is mentioned as the southern limit together with the Eastern sea in the east, the Western Sea in the West and the Himalaya in the north in the following verse of the Karhad plates of the Raftrakuta monarch KT§tjaIIl: Anamann = S PUrv-Bpara-Jalantdhi- Himaiaila . Simhala-dvlpdt/ yam janak - SJHa - va£am=api maQJalinas^caQJa -da$di 89
Maitreya, op.tit.,pp. 93. " £>./*/., Vol. I, pp. 233. »N.S. Press, e i , p. 194; Of. Cowdl and Thomas, trans., p. 187. "£/>. /ni, VoL IV. pp. 284-83.
Riniyaoa in Inscriptions
333
In this connection it may be noticed that the Bodhgayft inscription89 (588-89 A.D.) of the Singhalese Buddhist monk named Mohanaman speaks of the fact that he was born in Lafik&dvlpa (island of Lafika) which is no doubt identical with Simhala-dvipa. The same inscription mentions the Lafik&cala or the Lafikft mountains apparently referring to the mountain ranges of Sri Lafiki (Ceylon).3* The location of the bridge built by Rama in the Far South is also indicated by Candella Dhanga's inscription9* (1002 A.D.) from Khajuraho. It describes Vijaya, who was the great-grandfather of Dhanga and flourished in the ninth century, as follows: Desirous of conquering the southern region, the king emulated R&ma in bringing the ocean to the wretched state of captivity, /.*., Candella Vijaya built a bridge (probably of boats) between Iudia and £ i LaAkft as Rama had built a bridge of stone before. Thus the RSmSyana, as understood by the Indians of old, located Ravjjja s Lanka in the island called L&fika or Simhala in modern Sri Ldtka (Ceylon). Of course there we~e other UiAkas and Simhalas in L.dia, and there are many cases of the same name being borne by several places for various reasons;96 but none of the localities bearing the nameLafika or Simhala canebe'dertified with the island home of Ravana as known from the Ram&ya$a and the other early epigraphic and literary records of India. " Corp. Ins. lnd.9 Vol. Ill, p. 276. 94
Cf. LaAk&giri-parvata, which was the mountainous central province of Lartka, as known from Singhalese writings (Sircar, Stud. Geog. Ane. Mea Ind.t 1971, p. 316, note 3). " Ep. tnd.% Vol. I, pp. 14M2, Verse 20. " Cf. e.g., Sircar, op.ciu% p. 110. For the same name borne by different localities within India or in India and outside, see Ibid,, pp. 210ff., 297-98 318ff.
TEXTUAL THEME OF RAMAYANA IN JAPAN MINORU HARA
I present here a translation of two renditions which apparently derive from the Valmiki Ramaya^a as preserved in Mediaeval Japanese literature, and propose a comparative and analytic study of the Indian original and its renditions in the Far East. The first is an abridged version of the Rama-story as given in a collection of popular tales, named the Hobutsushu (Ratna-samgraha ?) by Tairano Yasoyori in the twelfth century,1 and the second is a modified story of an episode given in the second book of the Valmiki Ramayana, that is, Daiaratha's unwitting slaughter of a young ascetic, which foreshadows the tragic death of the king in his later days. The two Japanese versions here presented are in their main frame-work undoubtedly derivations of the Valmiki Ramaya^a, but they have come to differ in detail from their original in the course of their transmission through India to China, and China to Japan. These Japanese versions are not directly taken from their Indian original, but came through the Chinese Tripifaka. It would be the task of the philologist to analyse these points of difference, and to explain the factors which are responsible for the alterations in details. But prior to these detailed philological studies, the first step must be taken in giving here an English translation of these Japanese versions with a brief introduction.
As has been referred to, the abridged Rama-story is preserved in Tairano Yasuyori's Hobutsu.hu. However, its text is not without difficulties, for some Manuscripts do not contain the story 1
CT. O. Tanaka, "Religion as a Transmitter of Literature, "Proceedings of the East-West Cultural Conference in Collaboration with Unesco, The Rama* krishna Mission Institute of Culture (Calcutta, 1961), pp. 3-4. It was Dr. K. Minakata whofirst,in 1914, called the attention of scholars to the Rama-story in Japan {Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 4, pp. 46-51).
Textual Then* of RAmiyaoa in Japan
33S
of Rama here presented. We can distinguish four main recensions of the text, but despite all the efforts of Japanese scholars in the past, we are still not in a position to present its Critical Edition. However, according to the longer versions, there is no doubt that the story of the unnamed king in the Hobutsushu is a derivation of the Rama-story. A tentative English translation of the version is as follows* Once upon a time, when the Tathagata £akyamuni was king of a great and famous kingdom, this kingdom was in order, and the people enjoyed peace. At that time there was a kingdom by the name of Kyushi,* where the people suffered seriously from famine so much that the seeds of the five cereals had died out, and that they had not heard even the word * food' for a long time. On this account the streets were full of corpses, and most of the people were starving to death. The people of the country met in council and decided to invade the country of the Tathagata Sakyamuni in order to take grain from them. The people of the glorious country of the Tathagata Sakyamuni heard of this, but possessing full confidence in the power, they were willing to fight against the invaders. The king Tathagata gakyamuni heard of the plan of his people, and ordered his ministers not to fight, for warfare necessarily results in killing and death of many. The ministers, however, insisted upon the inevitability of the fighting, for otherwise they themselves might perish under the unjust invasion of the enemy. The king Tathagata Sakyamuni communicated the matter secretly to the queen, saying that, if he would permit them to fight it would mean the slaughter of many people. He said to her, " I am reluctant to fight against the enemy, for if I permit them to fight it means the slaughter of many people. I wish to retreat in the depths of a mountain and to practise the Buddhist dharma. What do you think of this?" 1
My translation here is baaed upon the text edited by K. Yoahida and H. Koizumi in the Classical Library Series (Koteo-bunko) No. 258 (Tokyo, 1969). a The word 4 ^ generally means a fathert^ uncle (mdtula). Cf. O. Tanaka, Stdka-sh* (Collected Works by Prof. Tanaka, bakulo*amgraha) (Tokyo. 1974), p. 103. Possibly, it could have been a remnant of a twisted memory of Bharata's stay in die court of his maternal Yudh^jit in mfagiaha, as given in the Vilmflci RlmiyaQa 2*1 and 2-64.
336
The RamayaD* Tradition in Asia
The queen answered, " I have lived with you for many years. How would it be possible for me to part with you ? " The king said, " Since you are a lady, the enemy woul never kill you even when they invade our country," He advised her repeatedly to stay in the capital* Despite his repeated words, the queen did not comply, and finally accompanied him to the depths of a mountain. Surprised by the king's sudden retreat to a mountain, the warriors of the Tathagata Sakyamuni surrendered themselves to the enemy without fighting. The king, on the other hand, led his simple life with the queen in the mountain, taking fruits from the mountain and gathering green herbs from a swamp. One day a Brahmin ascetic went there, and highly praising the king's determination and simple mode of life, offered his company, and attended upon him. The king was greatly pleased with his offer and lived together with him. One day, however, when the king was absent, going out gathering fruits in the mountain, the Brahmin ascetic disappeared, taking the queen with him. When the kijig returned back to his hermitage, he noticed her disappearance and determined to set forth in search in the depths of the mountain. He found a huge bird on the road who was about to die, having broken both wings. The bird said to the king," The Brahmin ascetic who had been your attendant abducted the queen. Seeing this, I determined to fight him until you came back, but the Brahmin ascetic transformed himself into a dragon-king (nOga-rdja ?), and kicked me vehemently so that both my wings wers thus broken." With these words the bird breathed his last. The king was struck with compassion; and burricd the bird at the top of the mountain. The king set out for the south, simply relying upon the bird's word that the offender was a dragon-king. On his way to the south he happened to meet thousands of monkeys in a mountain roaring vehemently. They were pleased to meet the king and communicated him their plan. They sa'd, " The mountain which has been in our possession for a long time has been plundered by a neighbouring king, and in order to recover it we determined to proclaim war against the enemy tomorrow at nvd-d y. We would like to make you general of our army." The king was
Textual Theme of RAmiyaga in Japan
837
perplexed, and hesitated to join the battle, but finally accepted their offer. The monkeys gave him a bow and arrows. At the appointed time the battle began and thousands of soldiers attacked them. In accordance with the advice of the monkeys the king drew his bow to its full extent. Being a skillful archer his elbow even touched his back. The enemy fled without sheeting an arrow, seeing his skill in archery. The group of monkeys were much pleased with and obliged to the king for his help, and expressed their wish to be of help in any way. The king communicated his plan to them, saying, " I am going south in search of the palace of the dragon-king who took my queen by trickery." Hearing this the monkeys said, " You saved our lives. We are eternally grateful to you. Let us join you." Thus, thousands of monkeys followed the king, and they reached the southern end of the continent facing the ocean in the south. But they did not find any means to traverse further south. At this moment the Brahma Sakka was greatly touched at seeing that the king had left his kingdom in the practice of non-killing (ahimsS ?), and that the monkeys accompanied him as far as the south shore in their gratitude to him. He transformed himself into a small monkey and mingled with the thousands of monkeys. The small monkey advised his followers as follows, " It is just a waste of time to stay here without means of proceeding. It would be better for each of us take a piece of timber and a handful of herbs, in order to make a bridge, and then to cross the bridge to the island, the mansion of the Dragon. They followed his advice and made a bridge according to his suggestion, and thus they were successful in reaching the mansion of the Dragon. The dragonking got angry and roared frightfully. At twilight4 he discharged a dazzling light. The monkeys were intoxicated by dew and frightened by snow, and finally fell • The text here is corrupt, and editorial interpretations are also unintelligible. Thus, I present here only a tentative translation. But, if my reading is correct, it may suggest traces of the memory of the demoniac and treacherous attack by Indra upon Vrtra and Namuci at twilight {samdhydkdle\ as given in MBh. 3*10-29 (m dhS na tathd nts'i and 9-42-30 (m rdtrau Htyi vdhani). For similar expressions, cf. also MBh. 7*172-77 and P. Hacker* Prahldda, Wcrdcn and Wandlungen einer Idealgestall (Wiesbaden. 1959), pp. 27ff. and 36ff.
838
The Ramayana Traditioa in Ash
down upon the ground. The small monkey went up to Mt. Himalaya and returned with a branch of the tree called Great Herbs. No sooner had he caressed the fallen intoxicated monkeys with it, than they revived with greater power than before, and attacked the dragons. The king of the dragons was blazing with the light, but was met by the king who was shooting arrows. The dragonking fell amongst the monkeys when he was struck by an arrow. Seeing this the lesser dragonsfledwithout fighting with the monkeys. The monkeys entered the mansion of the Dragon and rescued the Lava and Ku£a, and their visit to Ramagvamedha, Rama's order to bring Sita back, but Sita's entering the earth, then the throne being left to his sons and nephews, the death of Lakgmana, end of Rama and the end of the dialogue between Siva and Parvati are given in the Adhyatma Rdmayaric and the Nepali Ramayana as well. Thus we can have an idea from the above analysis that Bhanubhakta follows the story of Rama till the end, though he was to condense to make his Ramayana short, and leave out many incidents and details. Bhanubhakta's fiiend Pandit Dharmadutta Gyawali felt so much when Bhanubhakta left the Slokas called Ramaglta without translation. This Ramaglta is given in the fifth Sarga of Uttarakantfa. He requested him to translate it also. While Bhanubhakta was very sick and on his death-bed unable to write himself, he dictated to his son Ramakantha the whole Rdmaglta. Thus the Nepali Ramayaija was completed. Some literal English translations of the Slokas of the Nepali Ramayaija are given below: One day Narada went to Satyaloka with a view to do the world good; Brahma was there and he fell at his feet; so he (Brahmft) was pleased. As soon as Brahma permitted him to ask what he desired to ask. He said to
Rlmtyaoa in Nepali
371
him knowing that Brahma was pleased: 4 Oh Brahma. I have heard everything, auspicious and inauspicious. There is nothing left for me to hear, yet I have a desire* When the Kaliyuga will come, human beings will be loose in morals; and will commit sins of many kinds being impelled to do so by low desires. -rBaiakagtfa, glokas 1-2. In his Nepali Version of the Ramaglta, Bhanubhakta says that all men are brothers. He affirms that the universal spirit is without a second, and all that we see and observe are his manifestations and the different conditions, he is the source of energy or force, matter of motion, soul or universal spirit. The RamagltS teaches that he who desires release from the bonds (of passion, etc.) must cease to conceive of a distinction between the Soul and the Infinite Spirit, and must reflect that he and Brahman (Supreme Spirit) are one. lf A few lines of Ramaglta in English20 translation are given below: * O Lord, Thou art the pure knowledge—all human souls have their origin in thee. Despite being invisible, you assumed the human form to cast aside the sinful burden of the world. Thi$ is thy Lila (Divine Drama). The true devotees know all these. They say this Lila is on account of thy merciful and compassionate .divine nature. It is foe'like ignorance which causes all creatures to revolve. Know it for certain, that it is self-knowledge which can put an end to ignorance. It cannot be destroyed by one resorting to various rites with one's desire for getting pleasure and Lordship. There is no other way but wisdom to destroy ignorance, Crystal appears red in touch with red colour. The same is the case of the soul in contact with the three accidents. Crystal is not affected by the merits of red hue. The soul also has no concern with the attributes of the different principles. —Uttarakantfa, Ramaglta, Slokas 122, 127, 136. "Pandit Paramhans Mishra 'Where Nepal Teaches the Foreign Nations'—Preface, p. 2. M Translation by Pandit P. Mishra.
392
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
Bhanubhakta has adorned his Rfim&yaoa with different metres of Sanskrit. These are—Sa-dulvikritfita, gikharitf, Sragdharft, Ihdravajri, Vasantatilakft, Malnil, Drutavilambita, among which he has most frequently used the Sardulvikritfita. The first edition of the Nepali Ramayaga, with a short biography written by Pandit Motiram Bhatta was published from Bharat Jeevan Press, Vaaijasi in 1885 A.D. After a long time, Pandit Homnath Khatiwada again edited and published the Bh&nubhakta Ramayana from Sarva Hitaishi Press, VaraQasi adding his own translation of the Ramasvamedha Yagna as the eighth canto. Bhanubhakta has been popular since then. Dr. Parasmani Pradhan edited and published an edition in 1952 from Darjceling, and in 1955, the Nepali S&hitya Sammelan, Darjeeling, published an edition by Pandit Surya Bikram Gyawali. To compose the Ramayana was for the poet a labour of love. Perhaps he decided to undertake this stupendous task, moved by the desire to bring the story of R&ma to every household in a language spoken and understood from one end of the country to another. If so, he succeeded admirably. For, even within his life-time, a house without a hand-written copy of the Ramayaga could hardly be found. The reasons why his life-work gained such success are not far to seek. Firstly, the subject itself is of eternal human interest, the struggle of good and evil, and, after a long and painful struggle, the triumph of the former. Secondly, all through its seven long Cantos, it is keyed to a regular verse-pattern called Sardulavikritfita which is extremely lively in pace and easy on the ears. SardQlavikritfita is of course a Sanskrit metre but since the great success of the R&mayaQa of Bhanubhakta it has been used so frequently and with such telling effect by other poets that it may be considered a part of the Nepali literary tradition. Thirdly, it is written in simple and chaste Nepali, the usual literary devices like elaborate alliteration, stilted metaphors, and far-fetched similes have been avoided. Familiar Nepali expressions are used in place of highsounding words and phrases in Sanskrit. All things considered, this is the first major work in Nep&li to make use of what we know as standard Nep&li. The indebtedness of the Nepal''-speaking people to Bh&nubhakta, whether they are within or outside Nepal,
lUm&yaoa in Nepali
393
is immense and immeasurable. His memory is cherished even to this day as the father of Nep&li poetry. 5. Adarsa Raghavaf The modern Nepali Kamlyana The prominent Sanskrit scholar, Pandit Somnath Sigdel was born in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1884. He had his early education from Kathmandu and V&r&gasi (India). Later he passed the examination * Kavya-Tirtha * in Sanskrit from Calcutta with distinction and obtained the highest title of ' PaQt found by Valamiga (Valmiki), who provided her with the necessary protection. Eventually she gave birth to a son. One day during her absence the child fell from the bed and began to scream and the sage, unwilling to touch him, threw a lotus on to the bed and it forthwith became a child. Seeing two sons on her return, Siti was confused as regards the identity of her own son. Going to the sage for help she received his explanation, but remained unconvinced, and finally requested him to create another child. In response to her request he produced a third child with a blade of grass. When all the three boys grew up they left their mother and went to the Malaya country where they lived happily in separate places known by their names as Sandalindu, Mala and Kitsiri. In the latter part of the story an attempt has been made to change the content and transform the characters to a form compatible with local tradition and to fit it into an existing legend* It is also noteworthy that the authentic part of the story of Rima has not been altered, but the portion dealing with the
RUnlyaea in SfnhgJ* Literate* recorded in the so-called spurious section, the has been freely adapted.
Wf Uttank&rfa*
The Kohomba legend also shows how the deified heroes of the K&mdyaga were assimilated into the folk religion and abo invested with Buddhist traits. Rftma's identification with Vifgcu is, therefore, significant and as the protector of Buddhism, he holds a high position in popular mythology. In the legend it is further stated that Vifpu sent the three Malaya brothers to Lafikft to cure King Panduvasdeva of his illness. This statement has been interpreted to mean that Rftma as VifQu sent his three sons to Laijka for this purpose. King Malaya, born of a blue lotus, has to be identified as a son of V'fQU (Rftma) whose colour is blue. Kitsiri, born of sacrificial grass (kida grass) has to be identified as Kuia, a twin son of Rftma, and Sandalindu, as the son bom to Sltft by ViWu.*• The folk religion of the Buddhists of Sri Lanka had at all times been subjected to the influence of religious cults and with increasing intercourse between the two countries. The sectarian faiths, Saivism and VaifQavism, associated with Hinduism, have left their mark on the changing form of popular Buddhism as practised here. VifQu worship has become exceedingly-popular and even today every Buddhist temple has a shrine dedicated to the deity. In the mediaeval period of the island's history it was prevalent and in the 15th and 16th centuries, also, Rftma a% an incarnation of V:f(ui was incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon, thereby enhancing the prestige of the R&m&yaoa. The Kokila SandesaycP refers to a Rfima-temple in Jaffna. Thus R&ma-worship also became popular in due course and perhaps the ordinary people looked upon Rftma not merely as the incarnation of a deity but as the protector, who vanquished the forces of evil. In the same way Vibhlfafla (the Dreadful) who did not approve of the hostile acts of his brother Rftvapa, and in fact joined Rftma, was also transformed and earned a special position as a dei+y, revered by the Buddhists of the island. He was installed as the king of LaAkft by Rftma on Rftva*a's death. Tht Saklihtml " M. Wfattsmta, AHtmryftoMm ftta—i, VoL I (ttHfc pp. 4H4BS. "A.SmviratBa,4p.dk »v.SL
394
The lUiMyaat Tradition in A^t
Sandesaya has been written with the purpose of conveying a message carried by a starling (salalihini) to God Vibhijaija in Kelaniya (a few miles from Colombo). This god is particularly invoked for his beneficience and readiness to grant the wishes of his supplicants. The fascination of the people for the Rama-story can also be accounted for geographically. First and foremost, the events of the latter part of the Ramayana narrative are set in Lanka and RavaQa was the ruler of the island, vanquished by the hero, Rama, and secondly, the proximity of Lafika to the Indian sub-continent to which it is said to have been connected in pre-historic times gave to the story and its events a natural colouring. It is in the folk culture of the island, however, that Rama and Sita are still revered as the ideal types of hero and heroine, respectively, embodying all that is good and true in human character. This admiration for them is irrespective of their Indian origin and is a recognition of common cultural values which even tend to look down upon LaAka's indigenous ruler, Ravana, as deserving his fate. There is, of course, a certain school of thought which has persisted to this day that sees in RavaQa, the exemplar of a brave indigenous Sinhala hero, who withstood the might of the Indian attack on the country—an obvious distortion of the accepted orthodox version of the story. Among such enthusiastic supporters of the Rava9a-legend the belief is firm that Ravapa was proficient in several arts and sciences, such as music, both in its theory and practice, medicine and in healing diseases, He is supposed to have composed several musical pieces (ragas), written medical text-books and his name is associated with the instrument called R3vana Vina}1 The rustic folk of Lanka, relishing the romantic flavour of the Rama-story, have transmitted it in their traditional lore, showing a high regard for particular episodes of the RBmSyaoa* located in Lafika, and considering names such as LaAka, Sita, Hanuman and R&vaQa, hallowed for their legendary and semi-historical associations with local places. It is in the RSmHya^a that we come across the ancient name for the island, LaAki. It is believed C. de S. Kulatitaka, Lmkan Sam*to Stmbhavaya (1974), pp. 38-39.
Rtmftyao* in Sinhala Literature
MS
from traditional accounts that ancient Lanka, as known to the RSmayana, was much more extensive than Lanka as it exists today, and that after Ravana's death the island was reduced in size as a result of physical changes. The word LankS is taken to mean * an island' according to some," its literal meaning ' tall or high' signifying the elevated situation of the land. But the usual meanings attached to the word are "resplendent*, * delightful \ • adorned \ etc. Book V of the Ramayaria contains such a romantic description of the scenery, the palace and harem of Rava$a that the canto is accordingly named " Beautiful section" (Sundara k8$4. S. Siva temple—Thinippurampiam: RflmAyaoa panels, Early Chola—9th, century AJX 9, Siva temple, Pullamartgai: Rim&yapa panels, Early Chola—10th century A.D. 10. Amalttvaram—PichchQr, Trichi District: R&mtyapa panels, Early Chola—10th century A.D., Miniatuie panels are also seen in a number of other temples. 11. Kampahareftvara temple, Kumbakonam: RAmAyaoa Story, 13th century A.D. 12. Siva temple, Dharmapuri: Rlmtyapa story, 13th century A.D. 13. Sri RAmasvftmi temple, Kumbakonam: A temple solely dedicated to Rflma as a teacher. N&yak period— 17th century A.D.
Bronzes: 1. R&ma Group from Va^akkuppanaiyQr: Now in the Madras Museum, early Chola—10th century. 2. Rftma Group from ParuthiyOr, Tanjore district: Early Chola— 10th century. 3. Rfima Group from Thiruchcherai, Taiyore District: Early Chola—10th century. 4. Rftma Group—ThiruppathQr, Ramanad District: Pfijtfya—early 10th century. 5. R&ma Group—KftppalOr, North Arcot District: Chola—11th century. A.D. 6. Rftma Group from Nathamlogugi, Trichi District: Chola—Uth century A.D. Also in a number of other lumpier
Sri Rim&yata in Tamilnadu
429
Pointings: 1. Eluttu Mapdapa, TiruvapQ&malai, North Arcot District: Vijayanagar, 16th century. 2. Vishnu temple, GheAgdm, North Arcot District: N&yak School, 16th century. 3. Vishnu temple—Gingee, North Arcot District: N&yak School, 17th century. 4. Vishnu temple, AthamaAkottai, Dharmapuri District: N&yak School, 16th century. 5. Vishnu temple, Thiruvellarai, Trichi Vijayanagar period, 16th century.
District:
6. Rangan&tha temple, Srlrangam, Trichi District: N&yak school, 17th century. 7. Vishnu temple, SrivilliputtQr, Ramnad District: Madurai N&yak School, 17th century. 8. Siva temple, Thirugokarpam, Pudukkottah District: Tondaim&n school, 18th century. 9. Palace, Tanjore—R&ma-patt&bhijeka, Maratta School, 19th century. 10. Saraswati Mahal Library, Taqjore, Painted paper Manuscripts, N&yak school, 17th century.
RAMAYANA IN &RILANKA and LANKA OF THE RAMAYANA C. E. GODAKUMBURA
The Sinhalese poet Kumaradasa's Mahakavya, the J&nakU haraQQ {Jnk)% is now published in full, and I believe is known to students of Sanskrit literature, particularly to those who interest themselves in the Ramayana and the ornate poetry and drama which followed, based on the same theme. Before dealing with any special features noticeable in this poem of KumaradSsa, I want to place before you a folk story related to the Ram&ya^a. with important characters of the epic, Rama, Sita and Ravafla, also Valmiki, and further three sons of Sita(—not twins as in the epic)—: one a real son and two created miraculously for Sltft by the Sage. Here also are related the exploits of the monkey* chief V&lin, who is credited here with the exploits of Hanumant in the epic. To this story Um& or P&rvati, the consort of Siva, is also introduced. In this connection I shall attempt to deal chronologically with the spread of the Rama-Sita and R&vatya story in the island, both from literary sources and folklore. Here we will have to take into account the geographical position of Lafikft, from time to time as it was in the imagination of the Sinhalese during different periods, both by the literate and by the common folk. Now let me first relate the folk version of the RSrndya^a story in Sri Lanka. I must add that this story is not wide-spread, and that it is even now known only to traditional performers of the occult rite or folk ceremony practised only in a few villages in the central districts of the island. Others who know it are only students of folklore and folk art who have read it in recent publications. The Folk Version* This version of the story of Sttft is related durirg the performance of the c Kohombft Yakkama• or the' KohomhA Kank&riya' popularly called " Kank&riya ", the most interesting and elaborate
RAmtyapa in SrllaAkft
431
ritual dance drama extant among the Sinhalese, in order to recount the origin of the cult. The rite is said to have been first performed during the reign of Paritfuvasadeva, the second Sinhalese King of Ceylon. (C. 5th century B.C.) Paotfuvasadeva, it is said, was tormented by frightful dreams believed to be due to his predecessor's, that is, King Vijaya's violation of a promise of marriage to the Yak$a princess KuveflL Magicians, charmers or medicine men could do nothing until finally, at the request of the gods, King Malaya came from India and performed the first Kohomba Yakkama ceremony. During this ceremony several stones or legends are related some of which may have a historical basis, and others mere myth Among them is the story of the birth and childhood of Prince Malaya. Malaya (Sinhalese: mala=3iflower)was created out of a lotusflowerand was brought up by Sita in her exile with her own son, and another boy who had a similar miraculous birth. The dancers and drum-beaters who perform the rite know from memory the whole text of the ceremony, with all the anecdotes, in Sinhalese verse, together with detailed narratives in prose. Among them is the story of the three sons of Sita. The following account of the story of Sita is gathered from the text of the Kohomba Yakkama obtained from a dancer in the village of Kotaligo^a in Yatinuvara in the District of Kandy. VffQU (incarnate as R&ma) was under an inauspicious aspect of Saturn, the malefic planet, and in order to avert its evil effects, he left his queen, Sita, and taking the guise of an elephant passed the seven unlucky years in the forest. Meanwhile, when there remained but one week to complete the period of exile, Rftvaija, the ten-headed R&kjasa king, carried Sita away in his aerial car to his capital in LaAk& and attempted to seduce her. Sita told him that she was under a vow of chastity for three months and added that at the end of that time she would allow him to fulfil his wishes. At the end of the seven years R&ma returned home and not finding his wife began to roam the forest in search of her, where he met Vftlin wandering around, lamenting the loss of his wife, who had eloped with the king of the apes. VAiin came to VI'IQU and told him, " Friend, help me to get my wife back and I will
412
Hie Ramyina Tradition in Am
accompany you to battle. Moreover, I shall go to R&vaQa, deceive him, and bring back your queen Sita." Vi§nu agreed and shot the king of the apes with his arrow. Valin recovered his wife and obtained three boons from Vi$gu: ability to walk on the sea, protection from fire, and immunity against arrows. Valin then entered RavaflaV park, climbed the best of his mango trees, and ate the fruits thereof. The parkkeeper tried in vain to capture the vicious animal, and in the end brought the matter to the notice of the king. The royal guards surrounded the monkey; amused at his antics, Sita, too, was present there enjoying the fun in the company of Ravana, and she suggested that they wrap cloth round his tail and set it on fire. The guards dipped the monkey's tail in oil, wrapped rags round it, and set fire to them. Valin jumped on the roof, setting fire to it, and setting the whole city ablaze. Then while confusion reigned in Ravana's court he seized Sita and carried her back to Vl$QU.
A short while after, Sita conceived a child and at this time had to attend a meeting of the assembly of the gods, leaving Sita alone at home. Iftna paid a visit to Sita and inquiring about her life in Lanka, asked her to describe how Ravapa looked like. To satisfy the curiosity of her friend Sita made a sketch of Ravaga's figure on the leaf of an ash-plantain. Hardly had Sita completed her drawing when V §pu came home, and seeing him come she threw her drawing under the bed. Vi$pu sat on the bed, but by the puissance of Ravaija the bed began to shake, and when VI$QU looked underneath to see what the matter was he discovered Sita's drawing. Enraged at the sight of it, and suspecting Sita to be in love with RavaQa, Vi$gu sent for his brother Saman (=Sanskrit: Sumana) and commanded him to kill Siti, adding, " I want you to take this wicked woman into the forest and behead her". Saman led Sita to the Himalayas, left her near a hermitage, and returned with his sword wet with the blood of a wild animal which he had cut, and reported to his brother that his command had been carried out. VI'SQU
Sita was weary and slept there for a long while. At last she woke, and wept being afraid of the lonely focst where she waft left helpless. The sage V&lamiga (^Sanskrit- Valmiki) who lived
MmAyapa in SrilaAkA
433*
in the hermitage close by, went towards the direction of the cries and saw Sita in that pitiable condition. The compassionate sage thought it his duty to help a pregnant woman and therefore built her a hut of leaves near his own pond. Sita lived in this hut subsisting on the fruits of the forest, and when her time of delivery came she gave birth to a son whom she showed to the hermit. The holy man gave his blessing to the little one and the mother and child continued to live there enjoying his protection. One day when the mother left the child in bed and went to the forest in search of fruits he fell off his bed and began to scream. The hermit drawn by the shrieks of the infant, went to the hut and discovered him on the ground. The sage could not touch him to put him back on the bed, for it did not befit his holy life. He therefore, plucked a lotus from the pond and threw it on to the bed where it turned into child. Ignorant of what had happened, Sita came back, took up the child that was on the bed, and was feeding him when her own child cried from under the bed. Seeing her son there she was confused and ran to the ascetic, who told her what had happened and tried to console her, but it was all in vain. " I shall not believe you *\ said she, " unless you create for me another child." . How will you feed a third child! asked the sage. " I shall feed two at my breasts and third I shall feed on my little finger *\ replied Sita. Valamiga went back with her and threw a blade of scarificial grass on to the bed from which forthwith another child was created. When the three boys were only seven years old, they left their mother and went to the Malaya country where they built three royal parks and places and flourished under the names of Sandal indu, Mala, and Kistri (Kit-gri, Kisti). Traces of the Rimlyana: Before commenting on the date of this folk version of the Rama-Sita story and the occult ceremony in the course of which it is related, we must search for traces of the R&mayopa epic in the early literature and the art of £rl Lanka. The oldest chronicle of Ceylon, the Dtpavarpsa (C. 4th century A.D.) has nothing about the Sinhalese Prince Vijaya's dealings with the Yakkhini (YaV$nii^ eM Kuvrjji or KuvaQQa, nor of his promise of making her his queen. The name LaAk& is employed when speaking of the Siqihala-dvipa, but there is no mention of
434
The Ramayana Tradition in Asii
Lankapura. The Mahavarpsa (Mhv.) (5th century A.D.) gives the incident of the encounter of Vijaya and his men with the Yakkhinis (Skt. Yak§ini) and the prince lives with Kuvanna as man and wife. There are two cities of the Yakkhas, one Sirisavatthu (Mhv. ch. 7 v. 32), and the other Lankapura or Lankanagara (ib. vv. 33, 62). In order to be crowned with a queen of equal birth Vijaya sends away the Yak§a girl, and lets her down but there is no account of the result of curses suffered by Pan^luvasadeva, Vijaya's successor, on account of his predecessor's bleach of promise to a woman to stand by her. The account of the frightful dreams of Pa^uvasadeva appears only in the Rajavallya, a Sinhalese chronicle of about the fifteenth century, and in an occult text, the Kuveniasna " the Story of Kuveni " of the same period. The Rajavallya mentions Ravana, and further more, attempts to give him a date, about 2300 B.C. The chronicle also goes on to say that by the time of the Buddha, that is, the arrival of Vijaya in Sri Lanka, in the sixth century B.C. there were no Pisacas (Rak§asas) in the island. The Rajavallya also speaks of the rock Lak-gala and the city Sirisavatthu (Sirivatpura). The Lak-gala here may be the Lankapura of the Mhv., but there is also another Yakha settlement, Lok-gala or Lot-gala (Rajavallya, ed. Watuwatte Pemananda, 1926, pp. 17-22). The name Lanka for the island of the present S'i Laijka or the former Sfiphaladvipa or Ceylon, is no evidence to place the home of Ravana in Sri Lanka, and in this connection, reference may be made of T. Paramasiva Iyer's Ramayana and Lanka, parts I & II, Bangalore, 1940; and H. D. Sankalia, Ramayana, Myth or Reality, New Delhi, 1973. True, there was an ancient port which still bears the name lUankaturai situated South of Trincomalee, but this llankai is only the Tamil form of the word Lanka. One may be tempted to take Lankapura as the Rajadhani or the capital of the Rakjasa king Ravana. It is possible that the name may have been suggested to the author through the name of the Rak§asa city in the epic, and in the language of the Mah&varflsa we clearly notice the influence of the Sanskrit epics. But it is only the name and nothing more. Lankapura (Nagara) is a city of the Yakfas and not of the Rakjasas.
Rftmftyaoa in .Srilafttt
435
It has been pointed out in a thesis that the name of RavaQa's brother Vibhi$a?a, who for a just cause befriended Rama and became his ally, is connected with Sri Lanka in the Mahayana magical text, the Mahamayuri as " Vibhi$aijas Tomraparpyam" {Ananda Guruge, the Society of the Ramayana, Maharagana, 1960, p. 68). The text has been taken to be before the fourth century A.D. on the strength of a Chinese translation which is dated in that period. The position has, however, to be re-examined. Common material can exist in two texts, and names of gods can be interpolated. We can find examples in the * Afanatiyasutta * of the Dtghanikaya. We shall presently come to instances where the name of Vibhi$afla occurs in the inscriptions and literature of Sri Lanka. This is in and after the fourteenth century A.D. The Epics. Allusions to the Ramayana story, and figures of speech, usually similes with the names of the chief characters of the epic, —Rama, Sita, and Ravafla,—occur in the latter portion of the Mahavamsa, namely, the Culavarpsa, in the portions that were added to the chronicles in the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries. In the accounts of King Parakramabahu I (A.D. 1153-1186) we meet with the following statements. This king heard the worldly stones such as those contained in the Ramayarta and the {Mahay bharata, while yet a boy (Mhv. ch.64, vv. 43-44). Once when his ministers told king Parakramabahu that they could not build a causeway or bridge across the Daduru-oya (a river in the North Central Province of Ceylon), he replied to them: " The whole world still knows how King Rama once built a causeway across the ocean, employing only monkeys " (ib. ch. 68, v. 20). Similarly the king's soldiers who had crossed a certain river are likened to the monkeys who waded over the waters of the ocean in the Rama-Ravana war (ib. ch. 75, v. 59). One of the King Parakramabfihu's queens, Rupavati, loved the King as Sita did love Rama; and she won the affection of the King, as Sita earned the love of Rama. Her praise is like the eulogies of poets on Sita: 4*. • . most beauteous of beautiful women, clever, virtuous, pure in action, highly famed . . ." (ib. ch. 73, w. 137-143). During the reign of Parakramabahu II (A.D. 1236-1270) Prince Virabahu slew numbers of the enemy as Rama did the Rak§asas (ib. ch. 83, v. 46). The king who followed Parakramabahu II, namely Virabahu
436
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
(1270-1272), "went forth with Vijayabahu . . . surrounded the great army of Candrabhanu on all sides and fought a great battle, terrible as the combat of Rama (with Ravafla) (ib. ch. 88, v. 69). These are poetic and learned figures of speech and not folklore; and as to their sources we have to look for a recension of the Ramiyana\ or it can be Kumaradasa's Janaklharana, for which there was a sanne, that is, a word-for-word translation, which may be dated on the evidence of language in about the twelfth century. The Raghuvarpsa had been studied by the Sinhalese. Rajasekhara was known to the author of the Sasadavata-sanne (12th century) and among quotations from his Kavyamimarftsa in this commentary, there is also one from the Balaramdyana (Br.) as comment on verse 117 (Sasadavata-sanne, 1934, p. 37), and this agrees with Br., Banares cd. v. 35. Idle Talk: Papaficasudant, the Pali Commentary on * the Majjhima-nikaya (of the fifth century A.D.), classes narratives such as the story of the Bharata war and the tale of the abduction of Sita as frivolous and useless talk: " Bharatayuddha-Sitaharanadiniratthakathapurekkharata, tatharupikathakathanam ca." (op. cit. P.T.S. ed. pt. K p. 201). This was re-echoed and elaborated upon by Sinhalese writers. The preacher monk, Dharmasena, a contemporary of the writer of the above cited portions of the Culavamsa, who was slightly earlier, in his book of Buddhist stories, the Saddharma-ratnavaliya (Jayatilaka ed. p. 952), while speaking of the recital of the epics in the North Indian kingdoms and cities,— a list of which he gives,—says that the people of those countries paid gold, bullion and coins, and got the stories such as those of Rama and Sita, which are a hindrance to the attainment of heaven and Release, related to them. Dharmasena adds that they merely neglect the hearing of stories that are productive of good thoughts. This collection of Buddhist stories is meant to be read out to the masses, and the author's admonition and the condemnation of the stories of the Epic may be to prevent the common folk beginning to relish these tales in preference to Buddhist religious stories. It is after this period that we find the Ramayapa story beginning to be popular, and the worship of Vijgu, Utpalavarija and Rama getting some prominence. King Parakramabahu II was a loyal devotee of Utpalavanja, and other gods of
fttm&yaoa in SrOaAkft
437
Devinuvara and he had the statue of one of them conveyed to a new temple at Alutnuvara, closer to his capital at Dambadeniya, and near the home of his viceroy who advised him in such matters. We shall shortly see that this God was identified with Rama before long. Ramayana and Sinhalese Literature: 145. On the other hand, Tulasidasa's elaborate account of the wedding ceremony includes the descriptions of the gods' arrival, their admiration of the gorgeous pavilion, the wedding procession, the divine beauty of the couple, the performance of Vedic and social rites, the value of the dowry, the fun and merriment in the women's apartments, the wedding banquet, and even king Janaka's offer of tambula (betel-leaf and areca-nut, or pan) to king Da&ratha and the other guests.. RCM(H\ Book 1, Doha 312-329, Caupai 310-326, pp. 137-148. M VR{HPS\ Vol. Ill, Book 7, Ch. 1-36, pp. 375-498; Ch. 37-111, pp. 499-636. " RCM(H)t Book 7 (Epilogue), pp. 431-499, K&kabhusupdi is a crow that has become a votary of R&ma after having heard the Rama-story from Siva while being his devotee. See RCM(H\ Book 1, Caupdl 30, p. 19. In the epilogue of his poem Tulashttsa makes Kftkabhusutrfi relate the adventures of his former lives and also repeat the Rftma-story to Garura (Garuda), the King of Birds, to resolve his doubts.
Tulasid&sa's Ramacharitam&nasa in Hindi
461
attributed by Valmiki to Lakjmana when he becomes furious at his father's decision to exile Rama, 22 nor does he repeat Sita's unkind suggestion that, because of Lak§mana*s own selfish designs upon her, he refuses to go to Rama's aid when he seems to be in danger while trying to track down the mysterious golden deer.1* There is also no mention in his poem about Rama's justification of his unethical act of killing Vali that after all Vali is only a monkey. 24 Most significant of all omissions is the story of Rama's conduct in repudiating Sita and later banishing her to the forest because of the slanderous allegations made by the people of Ayodhya impugning her conjugal fidelity.25 According to Valmiki's version, Rama refuses to accept Sita after having rescued her from Ravana and causes her to undergo an ordeal by fire; Sita is restored by the fire-god Agni while Rama declares that he only acted thus to prove Sita's innocence publicly. 26 Tulasidasa, on the other hand, takes care to protect Sita's reputation from all possible stain by the device of causing the true Sita to enter the fire so that Ravaiia abducts only her illusory form; the real Sita returns from the fire when the substitute Sita undergoes the ordeal by fire after she is rescued by Rama from Ravana. 27 Moreover, there is no mention of Sita's exile in Tulasidasa's poem. 28 It would thus seem quite evident from the above that the Ramacaritamanasa is certainly not a translation of the Sanskrit Adi-kavya, though Tulasidasa is known to have acknowledged 2
- VR(HPS\ Vol. I, Book 2, Ch. 21, pp. 216-217. Ibid., Vol. II, Book 3, Ch. 45, pp. 93-94. s « Ibid., Vol. II. Book 4, Ch. 18, pp. 210-212. -5 Ibid., Vol III, Book 6, Ch. 117, pp. 334-336; Book, Ch. 43-45, pp. 521-525 * Ibid., Vol. HI, Book 6, Ch. 120, pp. 341-342. 27 RCM(H\ Book 3, Caupdi 22, pp. 311; Book 6, Doha 108, Chanda 33, pp. 422-423. It is believed that Tulasld&sa adopted this device probably from the Adhydtma-Rdmdyana (III, 7, 1-4). Ibid.% p. xix, A similar device is also known to be employed by the authors of the Yoga Vdsiftha-Rdmdyana and the Adbhuta-Ramayana.* C. G. E. Grierson, "On the Adbhuta-R&m&yapa," BSOAS, Vol. IV, Pt. 1 (1926-1928), p. 12. See also Ch, Vaudeville, Etude sur les sources vt la composition du Rdmdyana de TuhUDds (Paris, 1955) p. 191. -8 The Lavakuiakdnda, found in some editions of the Ramacaritamanasa as the eighth book is not considered to be the work of Tulasid&sa. See RCM{H). pp. xviii-xix and 516. 23
462
The Ramayana Tradition in Asa
Valmiki's poem as one of the major sources on which he based his account of the Rama story.29 The relationship of Tulasidasa's poem to the other sources has also been examined in a thorough manner by Prof. Charlotte Vaudeville among others and it would appear quite clear from her study that Tulasidasa has adopted several elements from many different sources such as the Adhyatma-Ramayajta, the Yoga Vasistha-Ramayana, Bhusmtfi-Ramayava, the Siva-Pura#a, the Bhagavata-Purapa, the Hanuman-Nataka, and Jayadeva's Prasanna-Rdghava™ In addition to these sources, we may also refer to the possibility of certain other Hindu versions of the Rama story such as the Tamil version of Kamban having exerted some influence of Tulasidasa in the composition of his poem.81 Kamban's Iramavataram, which is commonly known as Kambaramayanam, has been acclaimed to be the "greatest epic of Tamil literature "32 and its author is also known by the title * RCM{H\ Book 1, Sloka 14D, p. 11. * Ch. Vaudeville, Etude sur les sources et la composition du Ramayana du Tulsi Das (Paris: Librairie d'Amerique et d'Orient, 1955); traduction on hindi par J. K. Balbir 2 fasc. ^4W •M^'M fafil*d *RRft 3^T II
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The Saving of Kafkevi's Character In Valmlki RamSya^a the responsibility of the exile of Rama has been placed on the cruel nature of Kaikeyl. But B.R. gives the story of changing the mind of Manthara by Sarasvatl through the connivance of gods and thereby inducing Kaikeyl to ask for
ghufundi Rlmtyaoa and its influence
501
the banishment of Rama. All the later Ramayanas, specially Adhyatma and Xnanda, have followed the suit. Tulasi Das on his part accepted the idea and presented it in his magnum opus, -with a psychological setting—
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3TOT so also in many other regions the language Ramayanas became the base of the Ramayana theatre and supplied episodes and textual material not only to the human theatre but to the various forms of puppet theatre. We can see that Ramcharitamdnas and Tulasidas are greatly respected in some regions. In some of the forms such as Rama Katha Dodatta of Karnatak verses from R&macharitamanas are used and in the introductory part of the play. Tulasidas is referred to very respectfully as the greatest writer of Rama-story. In Orissa R&macharitamanas has been
SOB
The Ramayana Tradition in A s k
read and recited for centuries, and has inspired and influenced the Oriya Ramayaija theatre also called Ramalila. The literary tradition of the Ramayana played a role in building up popular theatre tradition of the Rama saga and Ramacharitamdnc* has a unique place in this respect. In the Hindi region, it is the ' Sandesh Rasak' of poet Abdu Rahman written in the 13th century where one comes across » mention of plays based on the Ramayana for the first time. Spe aking of Multan, the traveller says, stories of Sudavachchha, Na la and the Mahabharata are recited here and there. Brahmins, who have renounced the world, bless the people and in, some places 4 Kayvarihi' are enacting the Ramayapa. Next, we come across * Asa di var * of Guru Nanak ( 14691538) in which a reference has been made to a dance-dram a pertaining to Rama-theme. Referring to some popular dr amatic performances, Nanak says that the people of Virendrava na are singing and dancing as Kr§na and Gopis as well as Sit a and Rama for the sake of earning a living. It is a well known fact that Guru Nanak had visited Vrindavan and witnessed Krishnalila, but he mentions Rama along with the performances pertaining to Krishna, which shows that both of them had become themes of dramatic performances by that time. These quotations have great significance as they indicate that traditional dramatic performances pertaining to Rama and Krishna themes were in vogue in the Hindi speaking region. Tulasi himself was familiar with Ramalila as is amply shown by the statement of KakabhuSundi in the Uttarkantf of Ramcharitmanas People generally believe that Tulasidas was the originator of that form of Ramalila which is performed nowadays in the Hindi-speaking region. Dr. Shyam Sunder Das has stated in the preface of Manas published by the Kashi Nagari Pracharini Sabha that "although the Rasalila of Krishnachandra was in vogue earlier, yet it is equally well known that Ramalila accompanied with singing of bhajans, was also prevalent; but the Ramalila as witnessed these days, has its origin in the Ramayana of Tulasi." While discussing the religio-dramatic tradition of the medieval times, Kunwar Chandra Prakash Singh writes: "Although the
and Performing Tradition of Rfimiyaoa
309
tradition of Ramalila is very old yet it has undergone several changes due to the circumstances and also at the hands of eminent persons, as to its form and technique." That form of Ramalila which is prevalent in the Hindi-speaking regions, owes its origin to Goswami Tulasidas. In his book entitled ' Gosain Tulasidas', Dr. Vishwa Nath Mishra has stated that " there is no doubt that the Rama-story and the tradition of dramatic performances based on the classical literary plays, is very old. Tulasi took it upon himself to prcpagate Ramalila. He planned it in such a way that it became popular throughout the Hindi-speaking region. In this way Tulasidas is the originator and propagator of the modern form of Ramalila." The study of the structure of the Manas reveals a sound dramatic design. Each episode has been conceived as a single dramatic unit. Following the pattern of the traditional theatre it has narrative and dramatic portions, properly balanced and fulfilling dramatic requirement. The narrative portions introduce the story, describe the locale and characters involved in that particular episode. The dialogue portions enn e sily be assigned to the characters. Episodes like Pushpavatika, Dhaniryajfb, KaikeyiManthara dialogue, departure for t'e forest, Surpariakha-event, abduction of Sita and Agokavatika event, etc., are so dramatic that even the recitation gives one a theatrical expedience. The dramatic portions have been conceived and developed in the Pauranic style of question and ansver or Samvada Parampara, and Tulasidas seems to have fully utilised t1 is tradition to build up and sustain his dramatic design. It is because of such a dramatic structure that episodes from the Manes are bodily lifted and arc presented on the Ramalila stage. An important characteristic of the Ramalila is that it is not confined to a particular region but is presented in many regions. It is the major dramatic form in the Hindi-speakig States, Uttara Pradesh, MadHya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab and Bihar also. Ramalila troupes from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are also invited to give performances in different cities of Gujarat and Maharashtra. It can, therefore, be stated that the region of Ramalila extends -to Kumaon and Nepal in the north, Punjab in the west, Orissa in the east and Maharashtra in the south.
SM
Hie Ramayana Tradition in Asia
It is natural that a dramatic form extending over such a large part of country, must have some local variations; but the remarkable fact is that all these variations betray the inherent oneness. One may witness the performance of the Ramalila troupe in Janakpurdham (a town on the border of Nepal and Bihar) or the Ramalila being enacted at the Assi Ghat of Varanasi or the one in Ramnagar. or the one in Satna in Madhya Pradesh, or the RamalTla being sung in Patunda village of Rajasthan, the total effect and dramatic experience will be the same. All these Ramalilas have certain common characteristics, viz., serialised representation, complete identification and devotional attitude of the audience, importance given to certain religious rituals, the presentation technique, arrangement of characters and costumes and make-up. There are many styles of presenting Ramalila. One of the old styles of Ramalila is pantomimic full of tableaux and processions. In the Ramalila of Chitrakut (Varanasi) or Bisau (Rajasthan) while the Manas is being recited, the actors enact in pantomime, there may be some brief dialogues sometimes. The * Swarupas' and other characters are taken out in decorated carriages in the form of a procession accompanied with the * Ram&yanis * (a group of reciters of Manas) in separate carriages and certain situations from the Manas are colourfully represented on the floats. The second style of Ramalila is dialogue-based. Different situations of the Rama-story are rendered into suitable dialogue form and then a lengthy text is prepared of the dramatised versions of all such situations. Dialogues from literary sources other than Manas, songs and folk songs are used for the preparation of the text. Perhaps for the first time, representation of Ramalila in such detail and on such a panoramic scale was carried out in the Ramalila of Ramnagar. This style of Ramalila is the most widespread and is presented in most places in the Eastern and Western UP., Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Another traditional style of R&malila is operatic, it goes back not more than a hundred years. In this style the recitation from the Manas is set to classical ragas and the dialogues art also delivered in song. They include bhajan, dadra, fhumri,
RAmcharitikntaas and Performing Tradition of Rimftyapa
511
gazal, etc. Operatic Ramalila is Performed in the Kumaon region, in Haryana at certain places and in the Patunda village of Rajasthan. The styles of Ramalila may diffei but some of the main situations are presented in the same way in all styles for example, Ramajanma (Rama's birth) and his coronation is presented everywhere in tableau form. Slaying of Ravana is presented in the same manner, irrespective of the style of Ramalila. Large paper effigies of Ravana and Kumbhakarija are placed in an open field. * Rama * and ' Lakshmana' arrive in some sort of a carriage, enact a few battle movements and then set the effigies on fire by releasing a burning arrow. The effigies burst into flames and the exploding crackers appear to signalize the triumph of truth over untruth. This Ramalila is enacted at most places on the day of Dassehra. Similarly, processions are taken out on the day of Rama's marriage and on the day of Bharat-Milap, at all the places. These processions, comprising gorgeously decorated tableaux and accompanied with fan-fare, go round the entire city. The people hail them heartily and they are offered • arati \ The importance of the institution of tableaux and procession in all styles of Ramalila, together with the essential recitation of the Manas, conclusively indicates that this pantomimic form of Ramalila is its earliest form. The Ramalila of every style is presented as a serial play. The main episodes are presented on different drama days, the period can range from ten to 31 days according to local customs and also resources of the Ramalila Committee, but it always has to be a cycle play, meaning that in the traditional Ramalila the whole story cannot be performed in one day. The traditional Ramalila has developed its dramatic form on the basis of a recitation of Ramacharitamanas. It is the recitation which determines the structure of the performance. The recitation of the Ramayana has a religious significance. There is a group of singers called Ramayani attached to the play and they recite the entire text of the epic poem sequence by sequence stopping at various points to give scope to the actors to present the dialogues which are quite often a paraphrase of the verses oj the Ramacharitamanas. Actually the dramatic performance has been conceived as a commentary on the Hindi Ramayana. This
512
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
has been stated clearly in the Ramnagar Ramalila—" Ramalila is the premier commentary on the Raamacharitamanas . . . all the compositions of the Manas become clear in the Ramalila . . ." thus recitation of the epic is an essential part of all styles of the Ramalilas—now in some places some portions are skipped over or shortened. Even the modern presentation of the drama-story is based on the recitation. The element of recitation is so important in the Ramalila that for several days prior to the dramatic presentation, the portion of Ramacharitamanas upto the birth of Rama is recited, similarly the portion after the coronation of Rama is also recited after the Ramalila performance is over. This tradition of reciting these portions has both ritualistic and dramatic significance because these are not directly related to the Rama-story. The recitation and the relevant dramatic representation, along with dialogues, go side by side. The actors stand motionless on the stage as long as the relevant recitation comes to an end. The modern audience, used to the concept of dramatic illusion in the western tradition, may perhaps feel that the recitation of the text, while freezing the emotional scenes and the dialogues in the middle, mars the dramatic effect. But in the Indian popular dramatic tradition, more importance has been given to the creation of suitable atmosphere and less to dramatic effects and countereffects. Creation of suitable atmosphere is all the more important in the case of religious dramas. The audience of Ramalila never feel aware of any short-coming in the performance on this account. They are familiar with the story, all the dialogues and the narration, completely. For this reason, the recitation between the dialogues does not dampen or lessen their enjoyment. This sort of punctuation, in fact, provides them a few more rapturous moments of the particular mood created by the situation. Even otherwise, the object of Ramalila to satisfy the devotional urge of the audience is fulfilled by prolonging their ecstasy. The Ramayana stage has evolved forms and structures, and dimension of the staging and retains many practices and conventions of the medieval staging. The two basic values of the medieval theatre namely multiplicity of locale and simultaneity of action determine the nature of Ramayana stage and its staging conditions in different regions and its variety of styles*
R&mcharitam&nas and Performing Tradition of R&m&yaoa
513
An interesting feature is to be seen m the Ramalilas of Varanasi where various episodes are enacted in different locales suited to the setting of the that particular piece. It is believed that this practice was started by Tulasidas who used this device to involve pcf pie from all parts of the city. The Ramnagar Maharaja went a step ahead and built palaces, gardens and ponds in Ramnagar according to the description of Rama charitamanas. Thus the whole town there is used as a theatre with permanently built locales such as DaSaratha's palace, Janaka's palace and his garden, Citrakuta; Pancavati, Ravana's palace and Aioka garden where Sita was kept in captivity. In Mathura they have another interesting stage convention. In the day-time the Ramalila is presented as an open air pantomimic show in a largefieldand in the night the same episodes are performed on a platform stage. The multiple setting convention, however, is maintained even in the professional Ramalilas or the modern experiments in dance drama style due to the epic character of the presentation. Ramalila evokes a unique personal involvement in every town and village where it is performed. Whether it is due to the popularity of the Rama saga or the special staging conditions the audience involvement is much more than accorded in any other theatre and this feature gives it a strong and unprecedented dimension. On the day Rama leaves for the forest with Sita and Lakshmana the audience follows them with sobbing, on the day of marriage the procession is received by all the rich householders at their gate and gifts are offered to the bridegroom amidst great festivity; on the day of Rama's return to Ayodhya and meeting with Bharata the houses and streets are decorated and there is general atmosphere of gaiety. The persons taking part in the dramatic performance are all amateur artists, sometimes the offerings received at the closing * a m i ' are wholly or partly distributed among them. Most of them take pride and act their roles with singular dedication. In numerous Ramalilas, some of the roles are reserved for the families, generation after generation. It does happen that people who go abroad for a
514
The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
living or otherwise, return to their villages at the time of Ramalila for the sake of acting their roles, just as one returns to a family celebration. There are a few rules about the characters which are observed in every Ramalila, for example, all the roles are assigned to men only—females are completely prohibited from acting in the Ramalila. Boys from 12 to 16 years are selected from Brahmin families for the roles of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, Satrughna and Sita, Their looks and speech, etc. is attractive so that they appear as * Swarup * i.e. god-like. They have to behave in a dignified manner during the period of Ramalila and are shown usual deference by the audience and the people managing the show. The traditional Ramalila is performed and presented on an amateur, i.e. non-professional basis. There is usually a Ramalila committee and the members thereof are elected every year from amongst those who take interest in Ramalila. This Committee takes subscriptions from the people and spends the money so collected on the performance. Generally there is only the Ramalila Committee in a city which sponsors the ft „tival, but in bigger cities there can be more than one Ramalila Committee and each one of them has its own plan for the festival These Committees take great pride in organising the festival and the members work with utmost dedication. The organisation of these Committees and the high degree of co-operation inspired by them, is indeed an indication of the people's devotion towards Ramalila which is observed year after on a big scale without any financial help from the State. This theatrical form based on recitation was primarily evolved to propogate Ramabhakti. The word Lila itself meaning the f actions of incarnation' has theological significance. Ramalila has, therefore, been conceived as a religious ritual and to act in it or even to witness the performance is considered an expression of devotion to Rama. Before the Ramalila is started, on an auspicious day the crowns of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, Satrughana and Sita are worshipped. These characters are called ' Swarups\ images of Gods, and are supposed to be embellished with divine qualities after putting on
Ramcharitamdnas and Performing Tradition of Ramayana
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these crowns. Everyday at the beginning and end of the performance, the Swarups are worshipped and 4 arati' is performed with great pomp and show. On the last day, the coronation is celebrated with song and dance. In Ayodhya, Rama's birth-place, the dance festivities go on for the whole night. In Ramanagar the whole town flocks for the * Darshan * of the * Panchayatan Jhanki *— the grand Tableau of the five epic characters in the coronation scene. The Ramalila is also a theatre of conventions. These conventions and practices can be recognised as the classical Sanskrit and medieval theatre traditions. The multiplicity and simultaneous nature of the action, the alternation of prose and verse dialogues, use of a group of singers for singing the entire text are some of the conventions that truly represent the spirit of the Indian Theatre. Apart from the traditional Ramalila, Ramcharitamdnas also greatly contributed to the evolution of Stage Rama plays written during 19th century in the wake of the realistic modern Indian theatre. The thematic structure of these plays is broadly based on Ramcharitamdnas and these draw their textual material primarily from the Ramcharitamdnas. It is significant that the very first literary play in Hindi is 'Anand Raghunandan *; it covers main episodes of Ramayana as presented in the Ramcharitamdnas and the first play presented on the Hindi stage is Jdnaki Marigal— 'Sita's marriage' in which many of the dialogues are paraphrases of chaupayees from the Manas. These and the other Rama plays are presented on proscenium theatre with painted curtains and in their entire presentation style follow the professional Parsi theatre of the mid 19th century. These plays encouraged professional Rama theatre and led to the emergence of professional companies called Ramalila Mandalis who perform Ramalila as a play on the curtain-stage. A substantial body of dramatic writing in Hindi belongs to these Rama-plays. During the last thirty years or so new theatrical performances based on Ramayana have been created in various forms such as shadow play, ballets, dance-dramas and marionettes. In all these new creations, bulk of textual material has again been drawn from the Ramcharitamdnas; also in presentation style, costumes, music, stage conventions are related to the traditional Ramalila. In its
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fourth century celebration the Ramcharitamanas was also used for the sole dance styles such as Kathak, Bharatanatyam and Odissi very successfully and with great effect. Studying the vast and multi-dimensional aspects of the Ramalila one realises that a very large part of our cultural heritage is contained in this theatre form. It is through this performing tradition of the Ramcharitamanas that the great ideals and values of the epic have become part of the social and ethical life of the Indian people and integrated with the traditional culture. We know that the Rama-story is part of the traditional theatre of the whole country but embellished with the deep devotion, great poetic quality and the dramatic capacity of the Ramcharitamanas, the Ramalila has become one of the most popular among all the traditional theatre forms of India.
RAMAVATAR (RAMAYANA) By GURU GOBIND SINGH By BAUIT TULSI A nation survives which has the strength of character, which has sense of high-souled duty, which has power of self and collective discipline, which has high mental and moral conduct and above all which has resources of inspiring literature. India is fortunate to have Ramayaija as its spring of inspirational literature. Literature is the main and most fundamental medium which has the force to bring about change in the pattern of thinking, which has the strength to brighten up the heights of the high ideals, which has the power to move the highly hard and ever unmoved individuals, which has the capacity of performing miracles of transforming human, mental and moral self. The first great epic written in the Indian Literature was composed by Maharishi Valmlki. It has its forceful effect over the life of common or uncommon man, high or low, rich or poor, man or woman, husband or wife, mother or brother. It has a message for all, ideal for all and inspiration for all. Valmlki Ramaya^a is written in Sanskrit. Three hundred and fifty years ago, it was again written by Goswami TulasI Das in the spoken language Hindi (Briji). The Bhakti movement was greatly in force during those days. Therefore, he wrote Rama Charita Manas in a devotional attitude to bring about Bhakti Bhflva in the social atmosphere. Three hundred years ago, a great heroic drama was enacted on the soil of the five rivers against communal tyranny, narrowmindedness, treachery and perfidy of the fanatical rulers of those times and their myopic policies. It was a crusade for truth, justice, human freedom and equality. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth master of the Sikhs, was the hero of the play. Communal tyranny had rendered the nation weak, timid and insecure. Guru Gobind Singh revived the oriental spirit of the Indians, infused in them the spirit of nationalism, filled in them the spirit of courage and
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heroism, made them fearless and dauntless, stirred in them the spirit of truth and self-respect. He changed the outlook of the common man. He transformed them into heroes of the great epic, Ramayana, made them realise their own intrinsic and essential worth. He was a great litterateur. He was an eminent scholar. He wrote the great epic in the language of the common man and effected a thorough change in the mental, moral and spiritual life of the people. Aim of writing: In the most explicit words he made n declaration "call me Gobind Singh only if I am able to produce great warriors, distinguished soldiers and brave heroes**. He applied all his force, all his strength, all his knowledge, all his ability, all his competence and all his talents of writing to make it a living reality. Place of writing: In the words of the great writer: " Netar tung he charan tal Sakidruv tlr tarang. Sri bhagwat puran klo Raghubar hatha Parsang.
(861)
I composed tie whole narrative of Rama, the incarnate, at the bank of river Sutlcj, flowing at the foot of mount Naina Devi. Date and year of writing: Samat satrau sehas pachavan Har Vadi pratham sukhdavan Tav prasad kar granth sudhara Bhul pari le leha sudhara (860) During the samvat year 1755 on the first of the month of Aharh, I completed the narrative by the Grace of the Almighty. Any error therein may kindly be set right because: Teh te kahl thorl at bin hatha, Bal tave upjl sudh math jatha. Jeh bhul bhahl ham te lehlo, Suhboteh achhar bona kahto. (6)
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It is a concise, selected, spontaneous, upsurge of my pure intellect, in a variety of verse. Any error therein may be attributed to me because I have tried to decorate it in various metres. Ramavatar and its Cbhandas (Metres): Ramavctar was written in 864 cantos and 71 types of metres. The metres used are rare, marvellous and admirable. All the Rasas used in the poetic diction have been effectively and remarkably used at proper places. The metre used to depict the gallop of the horses has been wonderfully used. It sounds as if the metre—the rhyme and the rhythm—of the verse also gallops along with the horses. The horses on which the princes proceed from Ayodhya for marriage are restless and quick in speed, and this is depicted beautifully: Nagra ke nain hain, ke chatrl ke hein hain, Baghola mono gain, kaise teise bachrat hain, Nirtka ke pav hain, ke jup kese dav hain, Ke chhal ko dikhau, kou tese behrat hain. Han ke baji bir hain, tuphang kese tlr hain, Ke anjali ke dhlr hain, ke duja se phirat hain. Lehran anang ki, tarang jese gang ki, (171) Anang kese ang, jeun na kau thehrat hain. The horses are as quick in speed as the eyes of a fickle woman, or the words of a dexterous quick-witted man, or the whirlwind in the sky or the rhythm of the feet of a dancer, or the quickness of the trick of a gambler or the swiftness of the craft of a knave or jugglery of a magician, or the speed of the bullet of a gun, or the speed of an arrow released with great force, or the flash of beauty, or the flutterings of a banner, or the rapidity of the movements of the sexual intercourse, or the upsurge of the waves of the Ganges; they were ever restless and moving, never never at rest. In extreme anguish or pain, one cannot talk many words. Long talks, discussions and dialogues vanish ; instead one talks in single, limited words. This type of agony was created at the time of banishment. It has been depicted in beautiful Nagas half chhand as: Na bdjiai . na bhajiai Raghues ko . Banes ko.
(207)
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The Ramayana Tradition in Aria
The queen repeated the fatal words to send Rama, the incarnate to the woods and fulfil the promise without any reservation and fear. Nares ji, uses ji. Ghumaln gire, dhara gire. (210) In anguish and bereavement, King Da£aratha, cried in pain, and extremely bewildered and feeling giddy, he staggered and fell down. When the warriors fight in the battle-field, their swords clink, their arrows whiz and there is a strange type of music produced with the armament and falling of the heroes, etc. This type of music has been produced with the sound of certain words introduced in the beginning of the first line of verses in an extremely appropriate way in sangeet Chhape Chhand: Nagarh di narantak girat, Dagarh di devdntak dhaeo, Jagarh dijudh karat malf Sagarh di sur lok sidaeo, Dagarh di dev rahansat, Agarh di asuran ran sogang, Sagarh di sid/i sarsant, Nagarh di nachat tajjogang Khankhagarh di khaye bhaye prapat lakh9 Pagarh di pohap darat amor Janjagarh di sakal jai jai jampai, Sagarh di sur purat nor nar (392) After the fierce fight, Narantaka, the mighty demon, fell down dead with a thud and in his place Devantaka appeared on the scene quickly. He roared in war-delight and engaged in fierce combat. Though proud in valour, he was slain, with a fatal blow. The Rakshasas were smitten with grief. There was intense sorrow in the vast army. The gods were greatly delighted in excitement the destruction of Narantaka and showered flowers and sung the glory of Rama, the incarnate, in jubilation. In another Chhand named Nav Namak, the rhyme and rhythm is worth appreciating: Tar bhar per sar9 nirkhat sur nar. Har pur pur kar9 nirkhat her ner.
(454)
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The gods in heaves, beheld the whole city of Lanka, over-cast with arrows. The whole city was besieged by the Vanaras. There is another wonderful, Tarrinin Chband, (Metre) depicting how the arrows were released, how they pierced the warriors, how the shields banged and how sparks of fire were emitted: Trinnin terang, Brinin blrang Dhunnan Dhalang, Jaman jwStang
(533)
Whizzling the arrows were released, with a shrill the warriors were pierced. The shields clanked and constantly emitted sparks. In fact the words in which they have been written cannot be translated and explained properly in the true spirit. Language fails to help. In another Chhand, as the speed of the battle enhances, so the speed of the metre becomes faster still. It is written in Trigodha Chhand: Tak terang, bob berang Dhadh dhalang, Jaj jwalang
(541)
Volleys of arrows were showered. The warriors reeled, roared and screamed. The shields rattled and emitted sparks of fire. There is another wonderful metre named Chhachri Chhand. When Lava, and Kuga fight, it depicts how bravely they take up swords: Vthae, dikhae naehae, chalae
(737)
They drew swords, brandished it, swirled it and swept the enemies. The whole scene of fighting is depicted in four words so artistically that the fighting heroes in action become vivid in the imagination. The whole descnpticn is so clear, strong, concise and vigorous that you are filled with reverence to see the poetic art and erudition of Guru Gobind Singh.
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Some Salient verses: Some of the descriptions, dialogues, and discussions are so marvellous that they are worth mentioning. The dialogue between ParaSurama and Rama: Yo jab bain sune art ke, tab sri ragubir bali balkane Sat samundaran lo girve, gir bhum akas doyu behrane Jachh bhujang disa bedisan ke, danav dev doyu dar mane Sri raghunath kaman le hath, kahe ris ke keh pais ratane (149) After hearing the arrogant speech of the haughty Parasurama Rama, letorted that those who were like high and mighty mountains had fallen deep into the ocean. All the gods, Nagas and the demons were afraid of him. He challenged him to show him the place where his shaft could be discharged: Jaitak bain kahe so kahe, jo pe pher kahe to pe jitanjai ho Hath hathiar gehe so gehe, jo pe pher gehe, to pe pher na lai ho Ram riseran main raghubir, koho bhaj ke kat pran bachai ho Tor sirasan Shankar ko, har Siya chale gher jan na (ISO) pai ho Parasurama replied in fury to Rama, that he was demented and perverse, he should stop his senseless and reckless words, or he shall be in the jaws of death He should surrender his arms. He should also learn about his glory, might and fierceness of temper. If he still persisted in fighting and did not restrain his passion he shall not be allowed to take £ita along, although he has broken Siva's mighty bow. In reply to these haughty words, brave though young, Rama replied in appropriate words: Bol kahe, so sahe dijju, jupe pher kahe to pe pran khavai ho Bolak ainth kahan sathjlu, sabh dant turai abay gharjal ho Dhir tabe lahe hai turn kau, jab bhlr pari Ik tlr chalai ho Bat sambhar kaho mukh te, in baton ko ab he phal pai ho (151)
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I have patiently heard your rude find haughty words. If you repeat again, you will lose your life the next moment. You will become tormented fiercely and rendered unable to take up arms. You will be put to perm jient rest for your sharp tongue, if you do not talk sense. Hearing these bold, courageous and firm words of Rama spoken with confidence, ParaSuiama retorted: Tab tim sack lakho man main, prabh jau turn rdmavtar kahao Rudar kuvand brihand karyojlm, turn apno bal mohe dikhao Tohi gadha kar sarong choker, lata bhrig kl ur mad suhao mero utar kuvand mahanbal, mohe ko aj charai dikhao (152) In a contemptuous rage, Para£urama retorted that Rama should forget himself as the incarnation of Vi§nu, the effulgent by breaking the bow of lord Siva. His doubts could only be removed if he drew the mighty and formidable bow of Lord Vi§nu, belonging to his ancestors: Sri raghubir, siroman sir, kuvand Ho kar main hus kel Llo chap chatak charhai bali, khai tuk kio chhin main kas kel Nabh ki gati tahi hati sarson, ad blch hi bat rahl bas kai Nab sat, kachhu not ke bat jlun, bhav pas nisang rehiophas kai. (153) Rama, the exalted among warriors, picked up the mighty and formidable bow of Bhrigu. No sooner did he stretch it, than it broke into six pieces. A lad of sixteen years dazzled and baffled ParaSurama, the axe bearer. It is only a brave man who can appreciate esteem and recognise the worth of an act of bravery. So how Paraiurama felt after seeing an act of bravery is narrated: Bhet bhuja bhar ang bhare, bhar naln doyu nirkhe raghurae. Gunjat bhrlng kapolan upar, nag lavang rehe llv lae. Kanj kurang kala nisi ke, her kokal her hie hchrae. Bal lakhe chhab khat pare, kahe batchati nirkhe adhka. (154)
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The Ramayana Tradition in Aria
Paraiurama embraced and clasped Rama, in his arms. With eyes filled with love and affection, he looked at his dazzling features. His whole soul was set on his lovely cheeks like a maggot. His lotus-eyes, moon-like face, and honeyed words beseached him. Lying on a bed, Rama looked like a lad, most beautiful, most graceful that the eyes got fixed on him and Paraiurama could not move them from him. There is another verse which must be mentioned about the sword of Rama. Djal usidharang last aparang, karan lujharang chhabidarang. Sobhat jim arang ati chhabi dharang, subid sudharang arigarang. Jai pattar dati maddan mati saron tali, jai karanang. Durjan dal hanti achhal jayantU kilvikh hanti bhcA haranang. (589) The bright saber of Rama, flashed, diffused brightness like storm of lightning, chopped the bodies and stroke the arms. It looked incomparably and magnificently radiant. Bathed in blood and besmirched with gore it appeared like red hot iron furnace. Most skilfully and tactfully, it destroyed the enemy-host. It reckoned the most arrogant presumptuous and intoxicated in blood. It was that destroyer of the enemy's vast host, warriors bestower of victory to the holy ones, remover of painand affliction, annihilator of the terror and troubles. Every one sang the glory of the magnificent, exalted and heavenly sword of Rama. Another verse in which the description of Ravaga, the demon-King, his ten heads and twenty arms is given is worth mentioning: Chandar has ekankar dhari. Duti dhap seh triti katari. Chatrath hathi saihathi ujiari. Gofan guraj karat chamkarL
(602)
Ravaga, the twenty-armed demon-king, held in one hand the special sword obtained from Lord Siva. In the second hand he
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held a fine rapier. In the third a dagger and in the fourth he held a dart, in the fifth a sling and in the sixth a mace. Pate sahas bhari, gadeh ubharl, Trisul sudhari jhurkari. Janbua arbanang, sukan kamanang. Charam anupanang dhar bhari. Pandre golalang pas amolang, Paras adolang hath nalang. Bichhua pehraung pata bhramaung, Jim jim dhaung bikralang. (603) Ravana held the double-edged scimitar in his seventh hand, in his eighth he held a club, in the ninth a TrisQla, in the tenth a sharp knife, in the eleventh a Tambura and in the twelfth arrows, in the thirteenth a formidable bow, in the fourteenth a heavy shield, in the fifteenth a pallet bow, in the sixteenth a noose and in the seventeenth an axe, in the eighteenth an auto gun, in the nineteenth a dagger and in the twentieth a sabre. In this way in a horrible and dreadful appearance, he rushed forth: Shiv shiv shiv mukh ek ucharang. Dutya prabha janakt niharang. Tritya jhund sabh subhat pacharang. Chatrath karat mar hi marang. (604) Ravana the ten-headed, chanted the name of Siva with one face, with the second he beheld the charming Sita, with the third, he challenged the warriors and with the fourth he shouted 4 kill them', * kill them \ Pachai hanvant lakhdut mandang, sabal durantang taj kalinang. Chhatai lakh bharatang tak tap patang, lag tan ghatang jie jalang. Satai lakh raghupati kapidal adipati, subhat bikat mat jut bharatang. Athio sir dhorei, navam nihorei, dasyan bourei risratang. (60S) The fifth face of Ravana, the ten-headed, was beholding the marvellous appearance of Hanuman, his strength, radiance and blissful appearance. The sixth face was looking at his real brother,
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Vibhl§ana, who was responsible for his downfall. He felt irritated, wounded and extremely angry to see the treacherous brother. The seventh head beheld Rama, the commander of the monkey-host, the tenacious warrior with whom his foolish brother had joined hands. The eighth head was most irrational and foolish. The ninth face was making entreaties while the tenth was made with fury. Similes and metaphors: If we ever want to taste the cup of great poetry, if we ever want to realise its greatness, if we ever want to take delight in its high sources, we can never dispense with its art and diction, s':ape and size, sound and rhythm, similes and metaphors, hints and suggestions, attributes and epithets. Guru Gobind Singh was perfect in this poetic art. He applied all t^e methods, procedures and arrangements to make the Ramayana complete in all respects. The whole narrative is decorated and o~namented with beautiful similes and metaphors. He has used seventy-one types of various metres to produce different and non-identical effects. All the metres vary in lengthshape and size. There are metres which produce martial sounds, martiaf imagery and martial scenes. A select few are given below: Baj gajlrath saj gire dhar, pattar anaik su kaun ginavai. Phagan paun prachand bahai, ban pattran te jan pattr udavai. (609) When Rama, discharged the formidable arrow, the horses, the elephants, the chariots, the armours, and innumerable hosts of demons fell on the ground like the leaves falling in the winter wind-storm. The simile used in this verse is so wonderful, the imagery so clear and vivid that you are inspired with the feelings of reverence and awe: Baj gajirath raj rathi ran, bhum gire ih bhaut sanghare. Jano basant ke ant samai kadli-dal paun prachand ukhare. (610)
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The horses, elephants, chariots and drivers all fell on the ground like the bananas uprooted and thrown on the ground by the whirlwind storm at the end of the spring season. These similes imply that while in the battle-field, fighting fiercely, Guru Gobind Singh could imagine how the enemy-hosts fell on the ground. To see his imagery, personification and clarity of thought, let us examine another verse which makes the scene vivid, distinct and clear: Ravan ros bhareo ran main geh beson hi bahain hathiar prahare. Bhoom akas disa badisa chak char chuke nahi jat nihare. Phokan tei phal tei, mad teiy ad tei, badh kei, ran mandal dare. Chhattar duja bar baj rathi, rath kat sab hei raghurdj uftarei. (619) In terrible wrath Ravana wrought havoc by assaulting with weapons held in his twenty arms. Earth, sky and all the regions were terror-stricken and stood aghast. Thereupon Rama with his sharp arrows struck off the royal umbrella of Ravana, the demon King, smote the banner, pierced the horse, crushed the chariot and smashed the charioteer. In this manner Ravaiid was thrown violently on the ground like the peel of the fruit. In another simile it is shown how the monkey-army attacked the enemy-forces: Janak sichan mas lakh tute
(598)
He pounced upon the enemy like the hawk on a piece of flesh. masihare bhukhiae tim ari dhai
(599)
They pounced upon the enemy like wild animals. mukh tambor ar rang surangang, nider bharmant bhum uh jangang Lipat malei ghansai surangang, rupwan gatiwan uttangang (600) The mouths of the warriors were red as if they had taken betel leaves. Bathed in blood they moved about undauntedly. It
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appeared as if they had applied deep red colour of the kapoor flower on their bodies but they looked terribly charming. How Rama addresses his sword when he comes face to face with Ravaija, the demon King, in the battle-field, and this is described in a beautiful way. It is an excellent piece of personification: Gaje mahansur ghumi ran hur, bhrami nabh pur bhakhang anupang Vale val sane, jivaln iugan tone, tain te gholijanU alanvin aise Lago larthane, barhe raj mane, kaho our kane hathi chhad khesang, Baro an moko, tajo an toko, chale dev loko, taje teg lanka (607) Rima, the mightX warrior, moved swiftly in the battle-field like a dancing fairy. Addressing his sword he said, " May your Lord be blessed till eternity, I dedicate my life to you, o mighty one. Perform some remarkable deed today." The sword spoke to Ravaija, the demon King, " O my Lord, I beseech your honoured company today. Leaving you the most arrogant one, whom else can I wed? Do wed me and proceed to Heaven leaving Lanka behind." Hamajana, Rama Charita Manas and Ramavatar, a comparison The Ramlycria written by Maharshi Valmlki, the Rama Charita Manas written by Goswami Tulasi Das and the Ramavatar written by Shri Guru Gobind Singh are three great epics. All the three writers have brought up the story in their own way, enriched it with their own experiences, ornamented it with their own capabilities, and introduced their own styles. There are some striking differences which are brought out here: (i) Maharshi Valmlki was aholy saint, a sage of great repute and a great personage of his times. Being a Rishi, he has delineated the past of his chaiacters. It is his privileged style, which no one else could bring out, but being a sage, it was within his capacity. Goswami Tulasi Das was a saint, a devotee, or a Bhakta, He has written the story of Manas in a devotional attitude, in a
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reverential way and with great respect and affection. He has raised the hero of the story to the status of a worshipped deity. Shri Guru Gobind Sirgh, the writer of Ramavatar was a holy saint, a spiritual leader and tenacious warrior. He brought out an aspect of the hero of his epic which only a warrior could bring out. His hero is a great warrior. He has great martial powers. He is strong enough to fight with great hosts of enemy force . He has a rare power of resistance. He is excellent in the science of archery. He is perfect in wielding the sword. He is vigorous enough to strike down thousands single-handed. He is fearless and forceful. (ii) Valmlki has written the whole epic in two metres of poetry, Maharshi was not a poet by birth. He was inspired to write the great epic on hearing the waitings of Maharani Sita, banished in the forest. On hearing the woeful cries of the holy Sita, his heart melted and flowed into a flood of poetry. Goswami Tulasi Das was original in thinking and tender in feelings. He was forced by the exceptional circumstances into the realm of spiritualism and poetiy. He surrendered himself to the devotion of his deity. The Goddess of Muse descended on him and inspiied him to write the great epic. He has used only three metres, Doha, Chaupai and Sortfia. Shri Guru Gobind Singh was a poet of high merit by birth. He was a great scholar. He was thoroughly skilled in the art of poetry. He has exhibited his excellence in usii g seventy-one types of metres in the great epic. He surpassed all in the art of poetry and erudition. (iii) The characters of the Ramayana are common i*nman beings. They have mLny weaknesses. Th' y are emotional, ti:ey cry, they weep, they say harsh words in anger, they get upset in odd situations. The characters of Ram Charita Manas are very reasonable. At the time of disturbed situations, they do not get emotional but seek their higher sense, reason uid judgement ard act moderately. They have control over their tongue, they do not use rough and harsh words. The characters of Ramavatar believe in the acts of God and the Divine Will. They take the oddities of life as acts of Supreme
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power. They talk sense, they are sagacious and do not use harsh words. They talk softly, gracefully and with full propriety. To illustrate these is not out of place: (a) In Ramayana DaSaratha says to Rama, * While yet Bharata is away, I want to perform your coronation ceremony." On hearing this, Rama keeps silent. This shows that the King and Rama were aware that if Bharata was present, he may demand his right. In Manas, Dafiaratha makes the declaration of coronation through the Raja Guru and does not take advantage of the absence of Bharata. In Ramavatar9 the King DaSaratha takes counsel of the Raja Guru and seeks his advice, considers his opinion and takes joint decision. (b) In Kamayarxa, Kausalya says to Rama: " Son, during your presence here I used to be humbled by my co-wife (Kaikeyi); now when you go to the forest, how will I be treated by her and how will I survive? Your father has ordered you to go to the forest; \ am your mother, I order you not to proceed to the forest." In Manas, Kausalya does not feel the sting of the co-wife. She advises Rama to act in accordance with the orders of his father and mother. In Ramavatar also, Kausalya does not feel the sting of the co-wife. She embraces his son and with tears in her eyes, ;he blesses him and gives him good wishes. (c) In Ramayana, Rama says to Sita " Do not talk of my virtues to Bharata in my absence. Those in power would not like others* praise," and cannot stand my greatness. There is nothing like this in Manas or Ramavatar. (iv) Maharishi Valmiki wrote the great epic and introduced it through Lava and Kusa in the court of Rama. At the time of Agvamedha Yajna, the two children sing Ramayana most melodiously. Through Maharshi Valmiki, Rama comes to know that they were his sen? and Sita was as pure as the water of the Ganges. He asks Sita to be brought back in the presence of t* e huge gathering, present at the time of ASvuned' a Yajfta. He demands another
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Agni Parik§a from her for the satisfaction of public and his glory. Hearing this, Sita prays to the Goddess Earth and disappears. Goswami Tulasi Das is very tender in feelings. He cannot bear the idea that the deity of his devotior can ever banish Sita, who was ever pure and holy. He has not dwelt on this part of the story. After Rama's return frcm Lanka, he writes about his great acccmpli&hmtnts. Guru Gobind Singh was a great soldier, excellent in the art of fighting. In Rdmdvatar, he has brought out the fact that the sons of Rama, were as good in fighting as he was. When the horse of the Asvamedha Yajna is released, it is caught by the two boys. They fight " fierce battle with £atrughna, Lak$ma$a, Bharata and many other warriors. On asking them to release the horse, the boys challenge them to fight. In the end, Rama, the incarnate, also comes. In full enthusiasm, they fight so violent a battle that they throv/ all the heroes inert on the ground. It is through the earnest service of holy Sita that Rama and his forces are brought back to life. Rama recognises the purity of Sita and takes her to his kingdom. They live happily for many years. One day the friends of Maharanl Sita inscribe the name of demonking Ravana. On seeing it, Sita gets frightened. Unexpectedly Rama happens to come there. He was infuriated to see the name of Ravana and accused Sita of having some consideration for the demon-king. Thereupon Sita becomes immediately agitated for being suspected about the purity of her character, prays to Mother E^rth for protection. Mother Earth opens up and takes Sita, the Pure, into her bosom. (d) Maharshi Valmlki gives human quality to his characters in the Ramaycna. In the case of Sita however he speaks very highly of her and the purity of her character. He stands witness to her character before Rama at the time of Asvamedha Yajna. The significance of the following verse of Goswami Tulasi Das in Rama Chcrita Manes is beyond comprehension: Dhol gcrhvar Sud'a pa&u narl ye Si b taiun ke c dhikarl Goswami Tulasi Das was very tender in feelings. It is impossible to imagine that he could tolerate the presence of his mother, wife,
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The Ramayana Tradition in Asia
sister and daughter along with donkeys and dogs. It seems some* one else has introduced this doha in the great epic; it pollutes the Manas. Guru Gobind Singh has given a very high status to Sita. When she saw Rama, among the wounded warriors she bewailed and wanted to immolate herself on the funeral pyre of her Lord Rama, the incarnate. At that time she heard the voice from heaven, " Hearken, o holy Sita, why behave like an ignorant? Bring water and sprinkle it on the wounded and they will revive." Hearing of these words and reviving the wounded with water are miracles of high order, attained through purity of character. Again at the time of exit from the stage of wordly existence she says: " If in my imagination I have ever thought of anyone else, But Lord Rama, If in my words, I have ever uttered the word of anyone else But Lord Rama, If in my deeds, I have ever acted as a wife of anyone else, But Lord Rama, Then Mother Earth may take me In her holy embrace." Instantaneously, the Earth splits, and takes holy Sita in her eternal lap. This is a miracle of the extreme order exhibited *at the time of great anguish by very pure and holy people. Ramayana in Punjabi literature from the last century: From the last century, because of the press facilities, the Ramayana has been written in many languages and published in thousands. There are many translations available in Hindi language but theres is no Ramayana in Punjabi language. The scarcity of Ramayana in Punjabi language was felt by (i) Shri Amar Nath Chopra, Sub-Judge (1857-1905). He used to write in English and Urdu. It was very hie in life that he felt the need to write in Punjabi. He translated Valmflci
Jt&mftvatflr by Guru Govind Singh
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Ramayana into Punjabi, giving the meanings of the difficult words of Sanskrit in Punjabi. (ii) In 1953, Brij Lai Shastri, wrote the Ramayana of Valmlki under the caption of Ram Katha in prose- It was published by Punjabi Department, Patiala. He made another attempt in 1955 to write it in verse. He completed this volume of Ram Geet in poetry form. Ram Katha is the translation of Valmlki Ramayana in prose and Ram Geet is the narrative in poetry. It has been written without any alteration. The language used is very simple, accurate and full of idiomatic expressions. Ram Geet, written in the second attempt, has been composed in one metre only. The rhyme and rhythm of the metre is like the flow of river in rainy days. Having used only one metre the writer has felt the difficulty in expression of various emotions. Gyani Sant Singh is another writer who has written Tulasl RamayaQa, Satika. with (Commentary) It was published in 1894 by Munshi Nawal Kishore, Lahore. Gyani Ishar Singh Nara has translated the Kavitavati Ramayat/a of Goswami Tulasl Das in Punjabi language in 1957.
RAMAYANA IN KASHMIRI LITERATURE AND FOLK-LORE By P. N. PUSHP
The Rama-theme entered the Kashmiri language much later than the Krishna-legend. This was so in spite of the fact that Sanskrit literature produced in Kashmir recorded not only awareness of the Rama-tradition but also its incorporation into critical as well as creative writing. The views of the Dhvanikara as to how ioka was transformed into sloka are matched only by Kal dasa's classical utterance: ilokatvam apadyata yasya &okcb\ while the pithy observation of Mammafa (in his Kavyaprakaia) that * one should behave like Rama, etc., and not like Ravapa, etc.* (Ramadivad vartitavyam na Ravartadivat) has become our national heritage. The Ramayanamanjarl of K$emeridr;t that appeared alongside his Bharatamcfijarl and Bfhatkathamchjarl, is not (as is generally taken for granted) merely an abridgement Valmlki's of masterpiece, but is also a re-doing of certain portions that specially captured his imagination. K$emendra's handling of the story in his KcnakcJanckl% and of the incarnation of Rama in his Da&avataracaritam also bears out that the Rama-tradition was very much alive in the literary memory of the Kashmiri. Even the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva has preserved certain anecdotes of the Ramaya$a, including a few not found in Valrriki's work, but shared in part by versions peculiar to Khotan and Tibet. The stray verse on the Ramatheme, quoted by K$ mendra in his works on poetics and metrics, aho bear out the fart that Sanskrit in Kashmir exulted in variations on the theme. It is not surprising, therefore, that the folk-tale, traditionally handed down in Kashmiri about the travails of Rama and Sita, and the affectionate devotion of Lak$mai)a are not confined to the Hindus but are widely shared among the non-Hndu population as well, most of whom (by the way) happen to be converts. In fact the Kashmiri language itself has crystallised this l
