Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kambaramayanamvvsiyer
Kambaramayanamvvsiyer
Kambaramayanamvvsiyer
By
V. V. S. AIYAR
WITH A FOREWORD
BY
H o n b l e S r i K. S A N T A N A M ,
MINISTER OF STATE, TRANSPORT & RAILWAYS, INDIA
By V. V. S. Aiyar
Other Works
E n g l is h
THE TIRUKKURALComplete Translation
(Out of print)
A HISTORY OF INDIA
CUnpublished)
T a m il
MAN GAY ARK A RASI YIN KATHALShort Stories
LIFE OF CHANDRA GUPTA MOURYA
LIFE OF BOOKER WASHINGTON
NAPOLEON
(A book on Military StrategyConfiscated by the late
British Government in India)
THAN-NAMBIKKAI
Translation of Ralph Waldo Emerson's S elf -R eliance .
2nd Edition by Sarvodaya Pirasuralayam, Virapandi, Tiruppur (1950).
GURU GOVIND SINGHA Biographical sketch.
2nd Edition (1950) by Navayuga Pirasuralayam, Karaikudi.
KURUNTOGAI
Translation in English verse of the ancient Tamil Classic.
(Unpublished Manuscript lost in 1942 disturbances.)
By
V. V. S. AIYAR
WITH A FOREWORD
BY
H o n b l e S r i K. S A N T A N A M ,
MINISTER OF STATE, TRANSPORT & RAILWAYS, INDIA
Published in 1950
First Edition
A ll Rights
Reserved
by
the
Publishers
PUBLISHED AT MADRAS BY
THE
DELHI
TAMIL
SANGAM,
PUBLISHERS NOTE
publishers note
p u b l ish e r s note
ix
publishers note
CONTENTS
P age
xiv
KAPPU
F oreword
by
H on ble S ri
T a m il T he L anguage
K. SANTANAM
and
xv
xvii
I ts L iterature
(A Brief Survey)
K am ban A
Short Note
lxv
on
lxvi
lxxii
A iyar
K am ba R a m a y a n a m A S tudy
C hapter
I I ntroductory R emarks
II T he S tory
of the
R am ayana
26
III I n M edias R es
IV T he A rchitectonics
of the
R am ayana
in the
40
R am ayana
VI R a m a
46
34
and
D eath
..
101
K umbhakarna
125
H iranyakashipu
152
and
of
71
169
195
XIII R avana
231
XTV B harata
Sita (Contributed hy a member of the
Delhi Tamil Sangam)
279
311
XU
CONTENTS
P age
A ppendices
I
G aruda s F light
J
II
..
..
>
..
..
..
................
..
..
345
..
347
375
379
380
..
..
S ita
to
E rrata
..
i t
V a l m ik i s V ali
I ndex
I ndex
..
..
..
..
..
..
P lates :
V. V. S. A iyar
F ac- sim il e
..
..
of a page from
M anuscripts
..
..
A iyar s
..
lx x i
F ounder- S ecretary
Sri A. V. K uppusw am y.
J - 0 r ( ft a v i &G iffKonr?(j)
'
c977
n)g)^rvmgyjjjns^S3)of(sgn
h n u t
FOREWORD
xvi
FOREWORD
K. SANTANAM.
TAMIL
A Brief Survey of the Language and its Literature*
(C om piled by a M em ber o f the D elhi T am il Sangam .)
Introductory.
This book, KAMBA RAMAYANAMA STUDY, w as w ritten
b y V. V. S. A iyar w ith th e avow ed object of introducing this g reat
lite ra ry tre a su re th e Epic of th e R am ayana by K am ban to those
w ho do not know th e Tam il language. This fru it of Tam il Poesy
is only one am ong the varied fru its and flowers in th e G arden of
Tam il. We feel, therefore, th a t we should ta k e th e read er w ith
us into this ancient and flourishing garden for a strollhow ever
brief it m ay be so th a t he m ay have an idea of the realm from
w hich this p artic u lar fru it came.
I t is im possible to do any reasonable m easure of justice to
this vast subject of Tam il and its L ite ra tu re in this short essay.
We can b u t m ake b rief m ention of m any im p o rta n t m atters w hich
w ould leave an im pression of dogm atic assertions in the absence
of the volum e of evidence behind them . T his essay would,
how ever, have served our purpose if it did b u t give the readers
a glim pse of th e an tiq u ity and greatness of th e T am ilar, th e ir
language and its literatu re, and th eir place in th e cu ltu re of this
B h arata K h an d a called India, and the w orld. F or a detailed
study, w e w ould refer th e readers to th e various books on th e
subject some of w hich have been m entioned in the B ibliography
a t the end of th is survey.
ii.
11
X vm
t Am f h
*THE L A N G U A G E
A N ) L I T E R A T U R E
X13C
iii.
TAMIL
XX
AND
LITERATURE
xxi
Important Note :
The reader is invited to refer to the Bibliography at the end of this
essay. Abbreviations used in the footnotes while referring to the books
w ill . be found, therein.. Such references w ill be found on almost. $ach
page and should be taken to mean that the paras on the page are either
quotations or are based on the book or books.
bcxii
TAMIL
THE L A N G U A G E
AND
LITERATURE
x x iii
x x iv
TAMIL
v.
THE L A N G U A G E
AND
LITERATURE
XXV
XXv i
TAMIL
H istory of th e T am il L anguage.
words.
T.S., pp. 172, 173 and 174,
AND
LITERATURE
XXV
x x v iii
TAMIL
AND
LITERATURE
X X IX
XXX
TAMIL
r*-
B.C. 000-200
R eligion
Animistic
Jaina.
A.D. 500-950
Brahmanic
L iterature
I Academic
(Tolkappiyam,
Kural, etc.)
II Classic (or
Epic)
(Silappadikaram, Manimekalai, etc.)
Ill Hymnal
(Tevaram,
Tiruvasagam,
Tiruvaymoli,
etc.)
XXXI
L anguage
I Early
Grammar :
Agastyam,
Tolkappiyam
II Mediaeval
Grammar :
Tolkappiyam
Kalladam,
Virasoliyam.
A.D. 950-1200
Sectarian
IV Translations
(Kambans
Ramayana,
Kachiyappas
Kandapuranam, etc.)
A.D. 1200-1450
Reformatory
V Exegetical
(Commentar
ies by Nacchinarkiniyar,
Ill Modern
Adiyarku>
Grammar :
nallar
Virasoliyam
Parimelalagar
and Nannul
etc.)
A.D. 1450-1850
Modern
VI Miscellaneous
762).
* (One of the poems in Pattupattu, a work of the Third Sangam era.)
T.S., pp. 211 and 212.
X X X li
TAMIL
i U
L A N G U A G E AND L I T E R A T U R E
i tX lli
am ong the Tam ils long before his days. A nd even th e com pilation
of th e first g ram m ar for this language by this A ry an sage, aft$r
the S an sk rit model, is an arg u m en t in favour of th e p re-ex isten ce
of lite ra tu re am ong th e Tam ils of an tiq u ity . T h at lite ra tu re
alw ays precedes gram m ar is a stern philological fact recognizd
by A gastya and la te r gram m arians.
I t is th erefo re alm ost certain th a t some sort of lite ra tu re and
also good poets m u st have existed before the academ ic era ; b u t
nothing can a t p resen t be asserted about it in th e absence of any
lite ra ry or o th er records.
R egarding th e F irst Academ y, w e have no reliab le p artic u lars
on w hich w e could base any conclusions reg ard in g its d ate f
inception or its m em bers.
The First
Nor have any of th e w ritin g s a ttrib u te d to
th is academ y come dow n to us in th e ir en tirety ,
excepting p robably a few d o ubtful quotations from A g a stya m an d
one or tw o others. A p p aren tly all these had been lost long before
th e te n th or eleventh century.
The only au th o rs of this period about w hom an y account,
how ever scanty it m ight be, can be ex tracted from T am il lite ra tu re
are A gastya and M u rin jiy u r M udinagarayar. The re st of th e
m em bers seem to be h alf m ythical persons. T he life of A gastyh
is clothed in m y th ; b u t this m uch is certain th a t he w as a B rah m an
of N orth India and th a t he led th e first colony of B rah m an s w hich
settled in th e T am il districts.
He is said to have h ad tw elve students. C hief of them ,
T olkappiyar, w as alsq a m em ber of th e second academ y lik e his
renow ned m aster.
The identification of Ten (S o u th ) M adura, th e seat of th e first
A cadem y has been a controversial point. R egarding th e d estruction
of this place th e re are certain allusions both in th e M adura
Stalapurana and in th e Silappadikaram . The learn ed com m entator
of the la tte r w ork w rites as follows : *B etw een th e riv ers Kurhari
and Pahruli th e re existed an extensive con tin en t occupying an.
area of 700 K avadam s (a Kavadarri being equal to ten m iles). This
land consisting of fo rty -n in e nads (inclusive of K ollam and
K u m ari), innum erable forests, m ountains and r iv e r s ,h a d been
subm erged in th e In d ian Ocean as fa r as th e peaks of K um ari,
'b y a terrific convulsion w hich resu lted in th e u p h eav al of th e
T tim alayah ra n g e /
Geologicl, 'ethnological and linguistic
researches also seem to confirm th e above theory.
T.S., pp. 237,'240 and 241.
Ill
ta iv
T A MI t
THE L A N GU AG E AND L lT H A T t l
Xf ckV
HKKV
TAM IL
P. p.-2&
T H E L A N G U A GJE A N D L I T E R A T U R E
XXXV
P. p. 25.
xxxviii
({)
TAM IL
A h am .
25-27.
XXXX
%A H ht:
The Ettutogai comprises : Narrinoti, K uruntogai; A in g W u tiu ru ,
P adirruppattu, Paripadal, K alittogai, N eduntogai, P u ra n a n u m and
t
Pattupatjtu.
The Narrinal contains 401 stanzas, each ranging from nine to twelve
* lines,; Ih it w e find the hands of 175 poets. The verses deal With the
flye th in a is , 28 on m u lla h 32 on m a r u d a m , 107 on p a la i, 103 on n e ith a l
and 20 on k u r in jt. Its general theme is love and its compilation was
at the instance of a Pandyan king, Pannadutanda Pandiyan Maran
Valudi.
The Kuruntogai literally means a collection of short poems. In
this work is brought together a number of verses attributed to as
many as 205 poets. This collection contains 402 stanzas in the a h a v a l
metre', each stanza ranging from four to eight lines. As in the N a r r in a i
the theme of the work is love and the stanzas can be brought under
the category of the five th in a is . It would appear that the compilation
of the extant work was effected under the patronage of the chieftain
o f Puri (identified with North Malabar) by name Purikko. There
was an ancient gloss on the work by the well-known commentator
Per-Asiriyar which has since become lost.
Nacchinarkiniyar has written a gloss on twenty verses only,
because, in all probability, the other gloss existed in his time.
The Aingurunuru means literally the short five hundred. It
contains 500 a h a v a l verses and the whole book can be conveniently
divided into five parts, each part consisting of 100 stanzas. Each verse
.contains three to six lines. Every part again deals with five th in a is.
Orambagiyar, Ammuvanar, Kapilar, Odalandaiyar, and Peyanar,
are said to be the respective authors of hundred verses each on
m a r u d a m , n e ith a l , k u r in ji , p a la i , and m u lla i th in a is respectively. In
the case of this work, however, the name of the compiler is known
as Kudalur Kilar;
T H E L A N G U A G E 1A N D
LITERATURE
xli*
P a t tu p a ttu
x lii
TAMIL
THE L A NG UA G E
AND
LITERATURE
x lii i
Tamil
Naladiyar
Nanmani-Kadikai
Kar-narppathu.
Kalavali-narppathu
5. Iniathu-narppathu
6. Inna-narppathu
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ain-thinai-aimbathu
Ain-thinai-elupathu
Thinai-moli-aimbathu
Thinai-malai-nuthaimbathu
11. Kainnilai, Innilai
12. Tirukkural
13.
14.
15.
16.
Thiri-kadukam
Acarak-kovai
Paiamoli
Siru-pancha-mulam
17. Muthu-moli-kanchi
18. Elathi
xliv
TAMIL
B ook I
34 Chapters
*
S u b je c t
20
14
Ascetic or Higher
Virtue based on
Grace.
25
10
22
13
Royalty.
Ministers of State.
The Essentials of a
State.
Morality, Affirmativeand Negative.
25
Book II
70 Chapters
'
B ook III
25 Chapters
TH L A N G U A G E
AN
LITERATURE
xv
' TAMI L
x lv i
The chief of them are five, often referred to as A in -p e ru m K appiyam th e Five M ajor Epics. They are th e Silappadikaram ,
th e M anim ekalai, th e Jiva ka C hintam ani, th e
K ^ptyai1"
V alayapati and the K undalakesi. A pleasing
fancy has been coined from th e ir nam es in w hich
the w orks are conceived to be five prin cip al o rnam ents on th e
form of T am il-anangu the Tam il Muse th e w orks sym bolising
the tinklin g anklet, th e g em -studded w aist-g ird le, th e gem on the
chaplet, th e bangles, and ea r-p en d a n ts respectively.
The last tw o w orks are en tirely lost to us. We can give only
a brief sketch of th e o th er th ree works.
S ilap p ad ik aram : llan g o -ad ig al is the celebrated au th o r of th e
Silappadikctram. He w as th e second son of king C eralatan reig n
ing in the city of V anji, th e capital of th e th en C eran ad u and the
younger b ro th er of the fam ous king C eran S en guttuvan. On this
account, he was called Ilango or the younger prince an d he w as
know n as llan g o -ad ig al afte r his ren u n ciatio n of ro y alty and
assum ption of holy orders.
The story of this Epic, according to its payiram (p refato ry
verses) preaches D harm a w reaking vengeance on those w ho failed
in th eir kingly duties ; sings th e praises of th e highly v irtuous
w ife ; and u nderlines th e recoil of ones actions.
The story is sim ple and is as follows :
In Kavirippumpattinam, the capital of the Colas, there lived a wealthy
merchant named Masattuvan. He had a son Kovalan to whom was
married a virtuous and devoted lady Kannaki by name, the daughter of
Manaikan. Being a wealthy young man, Kovalan moved in high social
circles and took an active interest in the amusements of the day. Once
his eyes fell on a beautiful young dancing girl Ma'davi by name, on whom
he directed his love. He Wasted all his wealth and money on this dancing
girl and did not care for his devoted wife. When at last he had lost all
his riches, he thought that Madavis love towards him had cooled and
he became disgusted. Returning home, he realised his past mistakes and
resolved to follow the career of a merchant. The same night he left
for Madura with his wife Kannaki. He had nothing to fall back upon
except her jewels. She placed one of her costly Silambusanklet
ungrudgingly and willingly at his disposal. He took it to the jeweller's
market there to effect a sale. As misfortune would have it, he was
arrested as a thief of the royal jewels. The king without inquiring into
the facts of the case impatiently ordered his execution. It was done.
D. pp. 70, 77 and 78.
AND
LITERATURE
x iv ii
fclviii
T AMI L
.................
THE LA NG UA G E
AND
LITERATURE
'
x llX
t M l L
f cE L A N G U A G E
AND
LITRATUR
ti
TAMIL
Nadu
Fallavanadu
Cola-nadu
Cera-nadu
Fandiyanadu
Name.
Poikayar
Puthatthar
Peyar
Tirumalisaiyar
c
>
)
C
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Tiruppan Alwar
6. Thondaradippodi
7. Tirumangaiyar
<
<
\
c
S
j
c
8. Kulasekhara
9.
10.
11.
12.
Periyalvar
Andai
Nammalwar
Madhura Kavi
' "~No~T
Stanzas.
100
100
100
216
Birth-place.
Conjeevaram
Mahabalipuram
Mailapur
Tirumalisai
10
55
1,351
Urayur
Tirumandankudi
Tirukkurayalur
105
Kollam (Quilon)
473
173
1,296
11
Srivilliputtur
do.
Alwar Tirunagari
Tirukolur
TH L A NG UA G E
ANb
LITERATURE
li
T irm alisai, N am m alw ar, ahd Tirum rigai w ere th e g reatest of the
A lw ars of V aishnava saints ; an d N am m alw ar lived a t a tim e
w hen th e lan d w as alm ost free from alien religious influences and
w hen the V aishnavas and Saivas w ere a t peace.
T heir contributions of hym ns and p ray ers in praise of V ishnu
m ake up th e N alayirap-prabandham also called th e D ivyaPrabandam a sa c re d 'w o rk esteem ed by th e V aishnavas as th e
second Veda. It stands on th e sam e footing of sanctity as th e
Tevaram of th e Saiva saints. E very one of th e A lw ars had
personal, in tu itiv e experience of th e D ivine Presence.
W hen these hym ns are sung or chanted, it m ay be said w ithout
fear of contradiction th a t nothing sw eeter to th e ea r can be found
in the en tire range of Tam il lite ra tu re and very few, if any,
can equal th e ir q u ality of lifting th e soul into realm s of spiritual
ecstasy.
The hym ns sung by the A lw ars w ere collected and arran g ed
in order and published together by St. N atham uni into one volum e
and titled th e N alayira-P rabandam or th e Book of F our Thousand
H ym ns \ N atham uni was a contem porary of N am b i-an d ar-n am b i,
the com piler of th e T iru -m u raisand he w as inspired by the
la tte r to do a like service to the V aishnava hym ns.
xii.
liv
TAMIL
(T he Period o f Criticism ,
a .d .
1200-1450)
i
This section is chiefly composed of a series of extracts from History
of the Tamil Prose Literature, an excellent thesis by V. S, Chengalvaraya
Filial,
m .a ,
THE L A NG UA G E
AND
LITERATURE
Iv
Ivi
TAMI L
200.
THE L A NG UA G E
AND
LITERATURE
Iv ii
T his is th e
lviii
TAMIL
It is not our design nor w ill the space at our disposal p erm it
us to deal w ith the Tam il lite ra tu re of the M odern Period, i.e;
from th e 13th century onw ards. If w e did, w e
Luminaries
shall have to speak of them w ho are called The
Modern Period.
Lesser Trio K alam egam , fam ous for invectives
in poetry ; th e Twins, a lam e m an on the
shoulders of his blind com panion who laughed a t th e w orld in
th e ir inspired poems, tw o lines of w hich one of them w ill sing and
the other w ill cap it w ith an o th er tw o ; and P ad ik k asu P u lav ar.
M ention shall have to be m ade also of the sp iritu al successors
of th e lineage of the F o u r Saiva Saints, viz., A ru n ag iriy ar,
P a ttin a tta r, K u m arag u ru p arar, T hayum anavar, and Ram alingd
Sw am igal.
T here w ere m any outstanding M uslim scholars and poets in
this tim e w hose w orks hav e enriched the Tam il literatu re.
THE L A NG UA G E
AND
LITERATURE
li x
1*
TAMIL
T he m ost im p o rtan t of these fnatam are th e T hirU vavaduth u rai, D h arm ap u ram and in la te r days T h iru p an an d al. A ll of
them have ren d ered an d continue to ren d er noble service to Tam il
and S aiva religion. They m ain tain o rien tal colleges, support
scholars an d authors, and publish all th e im p o rta n t lite ra ry
an d religious literatu re. I t m ay be said th a t b u t fo r th em
m any of o ur ancient w orks could n ev er h av e come dow n
to us. L atterly , these m atam s have ta k en to a new approach to
th e propagation of T am il lite ra tu re and Saiva doctrines. T hey
now publish m ost of th e ancient w ritings w ith E nglish an d H indi
translations. The am ount of ignorance p rev ailin g in In d ia outside
th e T am il-lan d ab o u t th e h eritag e and cu ltu re of th e T am ilar has
to be seen to be p ro p erly assessed. The S aiva m atam s have earned
th e g ratitu d e of all T am ilar and oth er w ell-w ish ers of Tam il
and its literatu re.
It is from these repositories, and from p riv ate hom es th a t
Dr. U. V. S w am inatha A iyar w as able to trace out th e ancient
classics and num erous o th er notable w orks of T am il literatu re.
T he people of In d ia are w ont to call g reat souls as th e avatar of
God Himself. It is as if the T am il-anangu T he T am il M use
herself in carn ated as this T am il scholar, research student, tireless
collector, com piler, and editor and publisher. B orn of a poor
fam ily, educated alm ost by charity, m eagrely paid for m ost of his
life, w ith n othing b u t th e generosity of friends (larg e in th e w ish
to help b u t poor in ab ility to do so), this u n tirin g sav an t bro u g h t
o u t eighty -w o rk s, large and sm all, in his eig h ty -fo u r year$
of life.
xv.
Our Days
i
By kind permission of the author and the
Calcutta.
B h arati T am il San& M ,
THE L A N G U A G E
AND
LITERATURE
xi
- ^ bushbrs.
Ixix
TAMIL
xvi.
Conclusion
t f E L A N G U A G E
AND
LITERATURE
b tiu
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbreviations
used in
foot-notes.
B ooks Consulted
Books in E nglish
1.
T.S.
m .a .
2.
3.
M.R.A.S., F.R.H.S.
4.
T am il L itera tu re
By M. S. P u rn alin g am P illai,
P
b .a ., l .t .5
6*
5.
6.
C
Ch.
ix iv
t a m i l
Books in Tamil
1.
H isto ry o f th e T a m il L anguage
B y V. G. S u ry a n a ra y a n a S a stria r, b .a .
2.
T a m il V aralaru
B y K. S. S rin iv asa P illai.
2.
H u m a n H istory
By G. E. S m ith.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A H isto ry o f India
By C. S. S rin iv asa C h ari & M. S. R am asw am i.
7.
Reprints of this essay are available at Re. 1/- eath copy, postage extra.
A few copies only have been printed.
KAMBAN
K am ban, th e au th o r of th e R am ayana in Tam il, w hich is th e
subject of critical stu d y in th is w o rk by V. V. S. A iyar lived
in th e IX C en tu ry a.d. 1 He w as b o rn in T iru v azh u n d u r in th e
Cola country. His fa th e r w as A thavan, a p riest by caste. K am b an
appears to hav e been a poet in th e court of th e Cola and C era
K ings, b u t his stead fast p atro n w as S ad ay ap p an of T iru v en n ain a llu r w hose n am e is referre d to in te n places in K am ba
R am ayanam ,
K am ban w as a devotee of N am m alvar, one of th e fam ous
V aishnavite saints and poets. K am ba R a m ayanam w as composed
by him about th e eight h u n d red an d eighties an d according to
th e procedure of those days w as recited by h im for ap p ro v al to
an audience of th e lite ra ry elite a sort of A cadem y of L e tte r s 2
assem bled in S riran g am in th e m onth of P anguni (M arch -A p ril)
of the y ear 807 3 of th e S alivahana S akabda (885 a .d.) on th e fu llmoon day w hen th e sta r U ttaram w as in th e ascendant.4 K am ban
w as acclaim ed by th e assem bly as th e K avich a kra va rti th e
E m peror of the Realm s of Poesy a title w hich every succeeding
generation has been b u t confirm ing ev er since.
M any are th e stories w hich have come dow n to us in poem s
and by w ord of m outh about K am b an s difficulties before he h ad
his w ork approved, about his sp irit of independence an d poetic
h a u te u r an d about the jealousies and in trig u es of his contem porary
poets ; b u t fact and fiction have so in term in g led in these anecdotes
th a t it is im possible to sep arate th em today. They, how ever,
bear evidence to the high v en eratio n in w hich K am ban w as
and is held to this day in T am il-land.
We should not om it to m ention th a t in his w ork of over te n
thousand and five h u n d red stanzas of four lines each, th e re are
m any interpolations too difficult to identify, though a h u n d red
of them are now know n to have been in serted by one V elliam bala
T ham biran. These interpolations, how ever, h av e n o t d etra cte d
th e generations of T am ilians from th e ir undying love for th is
g reat w ork.
His o th er w orks a re said to be
Sadagopar-antadi,
S ila iyezh u p a th u ,
A erezh u p a th u ,
Sarasw athi-antadi.
807.
V. V. S. AIYAR
VARAGANERI VENKATSA SUBRAMANYA AIYAR, w as
b o rn his fa th e rs first son, on 2nd A p ril 1881, ip a village n e a r
K a ru r in the T richinopoly D istrict of th e M adras Province. His
fa th e r V enkatesa A iyar h ad settled a t V araganeri, a su b u rb of
Trichinopoly, and in his retired days w as resistin g m ass conversion
of th e H arijan s to C h ristian ity and w as arran g in g for th e ir
reconversion to th e H indu fold.
V. V. S. A iyar, w hom w e sh all h erea fter m ention as A iyar
for short, m atricu lated a t th e early age of tw elv e ran k in g fifth
in the P r e s i d e n c y and w as m arried th e sam e y e a r ; an d
grad u ated w h en r\ b u t sixteen. His college-m ates re la te his
annoying patience du rin g discussions an d controversies an d his
sm iling aw ay all opposition in th e College F ree T h in k ers Society,
his drinkin g deep from Spencer and Spinoza, M ilton an d M oliere,
an d of his being th e fav o u rite of all his professors.
W hen tw enty, he was to be seen p ractising as a law y er a t
th e Trichinopoly B ar ; and five years later, he sailed to Rangoon
to seek his fo rtu n e in B urm a. B ut w ithin a y ea r he w as bound
fo r E ngland to become a barrister.
London : M aster of L atin, he cam e out first in R om an L a w
and w as an all round b rillian t stu d en t . N early th re e y ears
h ad rolled by an d he w as soon to re tu rn to In d ia as an am bitious
b a rriste r to m ake fabulous fortunes, b u t D estiny w as shaping
him for quite a different life.
W rote his associate :
i,
V. V. S. AIYAR
A U f E
SKETCH
Ixvit
Ixviii
V. V. S. A I Y A R
LIFE
SKETCH
lxix
llCK.
,v.
V,
e.
A I Y A R
'
t l F E
SKETCH
fecxi
ix x ii
GANDHIJI
ON
YA
GANDHIJI ON AIYAR.
REMARKS
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
INTRODUCTORY
REMARKS
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
of Europe too w ould have followed a sim ilar course if there had.
been epics th a t trea ted of the stories of A braham or Jesus, greatan d ancient enough to m ake th e greatest poets th in k it a m a tte r
n o t derogatory to th eir dignity to rew rite them in th eir own
language. The absence of such ancient poems of transcendental
m e rit m ay in p a rt explain the fact th a t in m odern Europe th e
n a tu ra l instinct of epic poets to em body in poetry th e
fundam en tal beliefs of th eir race and civilisation has produced
n o t one or m ore central stories for the whole of Europe, but
such different poems as the D ivine C om edy, Jerusalem D elivered,
th e Paradise L ost and Les M artyrs1.
H ow ever this m ay be, here is the fact th a t K am ban has
m erely sung again in Tam il the great story of the Ram ayana
an d yet has been adjudged by his contem poraries, no m ean
judges of poetry, as the E m peror of the Realm s of Poesya title
w hich every succeeding generation in the Tam il country has
been but confirming ever since.
O ther poets have taken th eir stories from earlier authors
or contem porary tradition, and have won im m ortal fam e by
singing them . Indeed it m ay alm ost be said th a t no great poet
has ever cared to in v en t a story. For, even V alm iki got his story
from N arada and Brahm a, Vyasa sang of the events th a t took
place before his own eyes, and Homer w rote th e Iliad and the
O dyssey out of the traditions cu rren t in his tim e. Corneille and
Rachine looked to Greece and Rome and Spain for the them es
of th eir tragedies. It is w ell-know n th a t Shakespeare borrow ed
his stories from any source th a t was n ear a t hand and not
infrequen tly rew rote for his own stage dram as w hich w ere
popular in his day. B ut the sources from w hich these m asters
drew th eir stories w ere alm ost alw ays of very indifferent m erit,
and none b u t the curious student of literary criticism w ould now
care to look into them . K am bans case, how ever, is en tirely
different. He has not m erely taken his them e from the greatest
of Sam skrit epics b u t has followed it in alm ost every detail step
by step. He has him self challenged com parison, though in all
hum ility, w ith th e first of S am skrit poets, and yet not one of
th e critics who have com pared his w ork w ith th a t of V alm iki
has ever denied him place am ong th e g reatest poets of th e w orld.
I t is now for th e larg er critical audience of In d ia and of th e rest
of the (World to appraise K am bans w ork and adjudge to him
his proper place am ong the sons of S arasw ati2.
1 Though this work is in prose, Chateaubriand has conceived ththeme and conducted the story in epic style,
2 the goddess of learning.
CHAPTER II
T HE STO R Y O F THE R A M A Y A N A 1
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
THE
STORY
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
THE
STORY
1 II iii 107-108.
2 II iii 110.
10
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
So saying he bow ed dow n a t h e r feet, pressed them to hiseyes, salu ted th e direction w here his fa th e r lay unconscious, an d
tu rn e d tow ards his m o th ers palace.
W hen K au saly a saw him stan d before h e r alone an d
u n atten d ed , him , w ho she w as every m om ent fondly expecting,
w ould come w ith all th e signs of n ew -an o in ted ro y alty to see
h e r first an d receive a m o th ers h e a rtfu l blessing w hen she saw
him stand th e re in h er presence alone, h er h e a rt thro b b ed with,
a vague sense of im pending evil. A nd w h en he p ro strated
him self a t h er feet she blessed him w ith an anxious trem bling
h eart, and th en
asked him w hy he had not been crow ned th a t
day. The gentle R am a told her, It is now decided, m other, th a t
B h arata, th y son, is to be our king. A nd th e artless queen who
loved all th e sons of h er h usband w ith an equal affection said,
This is co n trary to usage ; b u t renu n ciatio n d o th w ell become
thee, son. And, having bestow ed th e sceptre on
th y b ro th er,
live w ith him in friendship and in peace . R am a w as touched
to h ear h er ex alted sentim ents of d isin terested love and w as
pained at th e necessity of having to disillusion her. He told h er
th a t the king h ad com m anded him to do a certain th in g for th e
salvation of his soul, and th a t w as th a t he R am a should live
in forests in th e com pany of sages, and re tu rn in fourteen years.
L ike a deer stru ck to th e h e a rt by th e m urderous arrow , she
fell to the ground and broke out into h e a rt-re n d in g sobs. B ut
R am a consoled her. He said th a t nothing should m ake him
disobey his fa th e r or m ake his spoken w ord a lie, and th a t she
should help him to obey his fa th e rs com m ands. The d u ty of
th e w ife in th e end conquered the affection of th e m other, and
she blessed him , and w ith a p ainful w rench of th e h e a rt she
le t him go.
The new s of R am as im pending exile soon spread abroad
an d reached the ears of L akshm ana. Im petuous was th e love
w hich L akshm ana bore to Rama. He swore a g reat oath th a t
he w ould place R am a upon th e throne, even w ere th e gods of
all the w orlds to stand betw een him and his purpose. B ut
R am a m et him , spoke gentle w ords to him , soothed his storm y
sp irit, and took him to Sum itra. The gran d queen loved Ram a
as h e r very life. She w as filled w ith grief a t th e tu rn th a t affairs
h ad taken. B ut consoled by R am a she soon recognised th a t
w h a t m ust be m u st not be w ep t over b u t endured. N ot only
this. She com m anded h er son L akshm ana to accom pany R am a
in his exile. She addressed him these m em orable w ords :
4 C onsider R am a as D ash arath as self an d look upon S ita as th y
THE
STORY
11
12
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
THE
STORY
13
14
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
THE
STORY
15
16
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
THE
STORY
17
18
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
THE
STY
20
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
*1
THE
STORY
21
22
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
THE
STORY'
23
2WL
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
2 VI xxviii 49.
4 The name of Ramas bow.
9 VI xxxvi 196
THE
STORY
25
CHAPTER
III
IN M EDIAS RES.1
The read e r w ill have noticed th a t th e R am ayana follow s
in its n a tu ra l o rd er th e life of th e hero from his b irth and
childhood up to the close of the action w hich form s its them e.
On th e oth er h an d th e epics of Europe, as is w ell know n, follow
th eir prototype and exam ple, th e Iliad, and s ta rt th e story as
n ear the end as possible, filling in the earlier events by slight
allusions as w ell as by episodic n arrativ e. These epics have an
undeniable ad v an tag e over the In d ian Malia K a vya s in th a t
th e ir d ra m a tic opening arrests the im agination even at th e very
com m encem ent of th e poem, w hile the In d ian epics have to
g ath er some m om entum before they are able to carry w ith them
th e atten tio n of th e m odern reader. B ut our g reat epic poets
have proved th a t one m ay tell a story in chronological order and
y et w rite a poem th a t .generations w ill not w illingly le t die.
It is A ristotle th a t first fo rm u lated th e ru le th a t th e story
of the epic should not be told in chronological order. He says
in the 23rd ch ap ter of his Poetics as follow s :
C oncerning the poetry w hich is n a rra tiv e and im itativ e
in .m etre, it is ev id en t th a t it ought to have d ram atic fables
in the sam e m an n er as trag ed y and should i be conversant
w ith one w hole and perfect action w hich hasr a beginning,
m iddle, and end in o rd er th a t, like one w hole an im al it m ay
, produce its ap p ro p riate pleasure, and th a t it m ay n o t be
a fte r the fashion of histories in w hich it is not necessary
to tre a t of ,one action, b u t of one tim e. . . . H ence in this
respect also H om er w ill ap p ear to be divine w hen com pared
w ith o th er poets, because he did not a tte m p t to sing of th e
w hole T ro jan W ar though it had a beginning an d an end.
F or if he had, it w ould have been v ery large, an d n o t
sufficiently conspicuous, or if it h ad been of a m o d erate size,
it w ould h av e been in tric ate thro u g h the v arie ty of incidents.
B ut now, h av in g selected one p a rt of th e w ^r, he has m ade
use of m any episodes such as th e catalogue pf ships an d
other such ones w ith w hich he has .em bellished his poem .
i Into the Midst of Things.
IN
MEDIAS
RES
2t
These lines may be translated thus : *In the matter of the order o f
a. poem, m erit and gracefulness consist, if I am not mistaken, in saying
at the commencement those things that ought to be said in the beginning,
and in postponing several things to the end, abstaining from treating them
in the beginning of the poem.
28
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
IN
M EDIAS
RES
29
30
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
IN
M EDIAS
RES
31
32
K AMB A K A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
IN
MEDIAS
RES
33
p re p a re d to go as fa r as th e a u th o r o f o u r Japanese novel, w e
can allow th e epic p o et to choose fo r h im se lf h o w long h e w ill
m ak e his poem. I f p o p u la rity w ith the mass o f th e people, as
w ell as w ith th e learned, is a test of the ju stn ess of a p o ets
choice as to length, w e find th a t In d ian epics, long as. th e y are,
have been listened to from beginning to end w ith o u t flagging
enthusiasm as th ey are read and explained by P an d its d u rin g
evenings continuously for m any m onths at a stretch. A nd as
K am bans R am ayana holds th e read e rs in terest sustained up to
th e very end, we cannot condem n it as excessively long, b u t on
th e contrary we should be th a n k fu l to th e poet for providing us
w ith such abundance of rich and delicate food for our
im agination and our spirit.
CHAPTER IV
T H E A R C H IT E C T O N IC S O F
ARCHITECTONICS
35
2 VI xxxvi 241.
vf
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
ARCHITECTONICS
37
38:
KAMBA
B A M A Y N A M A STUDY
ARCHITECTONICS
39
1
Further remarks on Kambans sklU in the Architectonics of poetry
will be found in the succeeding chapters where the characters are
examined and studied in greater detail. See especially chapter XI where
the episde of Vali is examined closely with special reference to
Architectonics.
CH A PTER V
T H E S U P E R N A T U R A L E L E M E N T IN T H E R A M A Y A N A
SUPER N A TU RA L
ELEM ENTS
41
42
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
SUPERNATURAL
ELEM ENTS
43
44
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
SUPERNATURAL
ELEMENTS
45
CH APTER VI
RAMA
In the delineation of character, K am ban stands on a level
w ith the greatest poets of the world. The lines are draw n w ith
a firm hand, and the characters are painted w ith such accuracy
and fullness th a t from any single sentence, and som etim es even
from a single phrase in a speech, one can tell the person speaking
w ithout any the least doubt.
H ere too, n atu rally , V alm iki has set the stam p on th e
characters of th e R am ayana. B ut in K am bans h and they h av e
become m uch m ore grand. The stu d en t of V alm iki w ill w onder
.how his Ram a and B harata, R avana and K um bhakarna, Vali an d
H anum an, Sita and K ausalya and the rest could be im proved. T h e
fact, how ever, is th ere th a t K am bans heroes and heroines a re
beings of a decidedly higher statu re th an those of Valm iki.
The idealisation of Ram a is
not solely or
chiefly the w ork
of K am ban. The fact is th a t the Ram a of V alm iki has so
captivated the h e a rt of H industhan th a t the w hole nation h as
expended on him all th e love and devotion of w hich its rich n a tu re
w as capable. The Tam il A lw ars, and especially K u lasek h ara th e
C hera Prince, have given literary expression in th eir devotional
verses to the popular pronouncem ent th a t Ram a is the Suprem e
N arayana H im self in hum an form. In K am bans tim e, therefore*
the ideal m an had grown into very God, the m ere repetition of
whose nam e w ith devotion w ould lead unto heaven. W hat
K am ban has done is to give the im press of th e m a ste r-a rtist to
the character th a t h ad grow n into its fullness and g ran d eu r by th e
devotion-filled m editation of generations of the sons of India.
This, how ever, was no ordinary task. It is easy to pile ep ith ets
upon epithets and constantly rep eat th a t Ram a was a divine king.
B ut to create th e poetical im pression of th e divinity of R am as
ch aracter and to m ain tain th e epic in all places at th e level th a t
w ill alone harm onise w ith such an im pression is a vastly different
thing. And K am ban has em inently succeeded in this ex trem ely
difficult task.
W ith reg ard to the other characters, and especially w ith
regard to th e Rakshasas, th e heightening of the colour is m ain ly
K am bans work. W ith the instinct of th e born artist, Kamban.
m u st have seen th a t th e idealisation of R am a alone w ith o u t
RAMA
47
48
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
4 H iv 134.
2 S e e p. 9.
3 V hi 20.
5 II i x 72.
RAMA
49
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A STUDY
1 VI xviii 222-225.
2 VI x x v 78, 79.
RAMA
51
2 II vi 68-71.
52
KAMBA
53
HAMA
54
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A STUDY
u n i*
#
2 VI xxvli 64.
RAMA
55
A nd this is how
2 Oka mata, oka banamu, oka patni ! One his word, one his arrow*
aim, and one his beloved spouse.
4 The God of Love.
3 I xii 33.
56
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H er shapely form.
RAMA
51
58
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
2 III v 31-37.
'
RAMA
S a v e s p e a k to th e e in b o ld n e s s a l l I fe e l ?
I p r a y th e e , s a v e m e f r o m t h e c r u e l d a r ts
T h a t M a n m a th a im s a t m e ! T h u s b o ld ly s h e
H e r b a d a n d lu s t- f ille d h e a r t la id b a r e , th e w h ile
H e r lig h tn in g g la n c e s d id h e r t a le c o n firm ,
W h e r e a t K a u s a ly a s so n th o u g h t in h is h e a r t,
* N o s h a m e h a s s h e , a n d e v il is h e r m in d .
S h e d id n o t s e e h is th o u g h ts , a n d o n c e a g a in
B e g a n : 41 k n e w n o t u n t i l n o w t h a t th o u
W e r t h e r e : a n d so m y tim e a n d y o u th w e r e lo s t
I n s e rv ic e d o n e to h e r m its d e e m e d w is e .
Q u o th R a m , 4 T h e S h a s tr a s d o s u c h u n io n s
C o n d e m n a s th o u d e s ir e s t : f o r th o u c o m s t
O f B r a h m a n s to c k , a n d I a m K s h a t r iy a b o r n .
4 I f th is is a ll th o u u r g s t, s a id S h u r p n a k h a
41 d ie n o t y e t ; f o r th o u g h m y f a t h e r w a s
B r a h m a n , m o th e r w a s a R a k s h a s q u e e n .
H e h e a r d th e lu s t f u l R a k s h a s i : t h e s h a d e
O f a b u d d in g s m ile su ffu s e d h is lo tu s lip s
W h ile th u s h e s p o k e : 4 T h e w is e d e c la r e t h a t m e n
S h o u ld n o t d a m s e l w e d o f R a k s h a s b i r t h .
4 W h a t fo o l I w a s to s a y , th o u g h t S h u r p n a k h a ,
4 T h a t I w a s R a v a n a s s is te r ! T h e n a lo u d
Q u o th sh e , 4 A s f r u i t o f g r e a t a u s te r itie s
I h a v e m y s h a m e f u l R a k s h a s b i r t h c a s t off,
A n d G o d h a s b le s s e d m e w ith th is c o m e ly f o r m .
T o h e r, th u s H e w h o m V e d a s th e m s e lv e s fin d
F o r e e r to b e b e y o n d t h e i r u tm o s t d e p th :
4 I f th o u a r t s is te r to th e s o v e re ig n ,
A s th o u d o s t sa y , o f a ll th e w o rld s , a n d if
T h y o th e r b r o t h e r is K u b e r , a f r a id
A m I to m a r r y th e e u n le s s th e y g iv e
T h e e w a y in s o le m n fo rm ! 4 B u t k n o w s t n o t t h o u /
P e r s is te d sh e , 4 G a n d h a r v a r ite s a r e fix e d
F o r th o s e lik e u s w h o m m u tu a l lo v e h a s jo in e d ?
W h e n th u s o u r lo v e is s a n c tifie d , m y b r o th e r s
W ill g la d ly w e lc o m e th e e . N o w th e y m a k e w a r
O n h o ly m e n ; a n d f u ll o f sin a n d r a g e
A r e th e y ; u n a id e d th o u s h o u ld s t n o t a p p r o a c h
T o w h e r e th e y a r e . W h e n I s h a ll m a k e th e e k in g
O f e a r t h a n d h e a v e n , th e n w ill th e y co m e a n d s e r v e
A n d c la s p t h y lo tu s f e e t. R a m la u g h e d a lo u d ,
A n d s a id , 4 w ith th e e a s w ife , a n d R a k s h a s h o s ts
KAMBA
BAM AYA N A M A
STUDY
RAMA
61
2 V v 77.
3 V xv 82, 83.
62
KAMBA
B A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 I i x 82.
3 I xi 26-28.
63
RAMA
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A STUDY
K now thou the gods them selves w ith all th eir m ight
W in not if u njust is th eir cause. Thou hadst
This very day been dead, did not I stay
My arm for pity sake, because thou sta n d st
Helpless, alone, upon the field. If canst,
T o-m orrow bring the flower of th y troops,
Or seek in flight precarious safety. L isten !
If thou send S ita back, and Svargas throne
Restore to Indra, and V ibhishan crow n
As L an k as king, thyself his w ill obeying,
Then I m y deadly arrow s shall w ithhold.
B ut if, perverse, in th y evil thou persist,
B ring all th y stren g th and face me on the field.
T hy evil soul m ight tu rn to good if thou
Should even die by m y darts. But th in k no m ore
Thou canst retu rn alive from here. 1
B ut such passages w here Ram a him self speaks of his prowess
are com paratively rare. The read er gets an idea of R am as valour
m uch m ore from the lips of the other characters and R am ak acts
of heroism on the field than from R am as speeches. The read er
w ill rem em ber R avanas description of his first b attle w ith Rama.
The terrib le P arash u Ram a w hen he sees him bend w ith ease
th e bow w ith w hich he challenged him, bows down his head in
acknow ledgm ent of defeat and says,
*I doubt not now th a t thou a rt V ishnus self !
Saved is the earth from all her ills, for ev n
The bow I gave thee now cannot suffice
For th y lion strength ! 2
The invincible Vali, as the read er w ill find in C hapter X I,
speaks of R am as valour in no m easured term s. A nd it is his
valour m ore th an anything else th a t binds th e m ighty H anum an
and Sugriva to his cause and to him self for ever. And
.................... it hum bled R avans p ride :
No fu rth e r proof thou needst of R am as valour. 3
1 VI xiv 252-255.
2 I xxii 38.
3 See page 20. We do not describe in this chapter the exploits of
Rama in detail, as we reserve them for the chapters dealing with the
Rakshasas, and especially his great adversary Ravana.
05
RAMA
2 VI xxxvi 216.
66
KAMB
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
67
RAMA
2 VI iv 108, 109.
4 VI xxvii 6.
68
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
B h a ra ta him self places th e crown a t his feet. He would not haveb een the hero th a t he is, if he h ad listened to B h arata and if heh a d taken back the crown th a t he offered to retu rn .
S a t y a s a n k a l p a and D ridhavrata12, these are the titles th a t h e
loves most, and these titles no hero in story or in life deserves in
a n equal degree w ith Rama.
W ith this w e shall close the study of R am as character. Not
th a t we have exhaustively described or even m entioned all the fine
tra its in the character of this great hero. We can w rite about
th e delicate w ay in which he manages his friends and allies. For,
he alw ays knows, as if by instinct, w hat to say to each and w hen
to say. For instance, w hen he accepts H anum ans opinion
regarding the admission of Vibhishana, he m akes the rest of th e
V anaras also accept the opinion cheerfully by saying,
*B ut for your excess of pru d en t care for me, would not
every one of you have told me yourselves th a t we should
unhesitatingly take unto ourselves the suppliant Rakshasa ? 3
A nd look at the delicacy w ith which, after rem oving from
S ugrivas m ind the sense of his defeat in debate by the
preceding words, he asks him to go and bring him th e
R akshasa chief.
We can also w rite m uch about the great respect he alw ays,
shows to his elders, how even w hen he is obliged to contradict
o r disobey them , as, for exam ple, w hen V asishtha reiterates and
supports B h aratas request to him to retu rn to Ayodhya, he m akes
them feel th a t he does not abate one jot from the reverence th a t
h e owes them. We can w rite about his uniform kindness and
ready accessibility even to the lowest of the low. But, all this is
unnecessary. We hope, we have given the read er sufficient
m aterial to form an adequate m ental picture of the Rama of
K am ban, and we hope th a t this w ill create in him a desire to
study the poet in his own words and enjoy the en tire picture w ith
all its details filled in.
And where, is R am as like or superior in epic story ? Can
w e nam e Nestor along w ith him ? Can we nam e Ulysses ? Can
w e nam e the pious JEneas ? Can we nam e Y udhishthira or
Bhishm a ? Can we nam e along w ith him even the Messiah of
th e Paradise L ost or Him of the Paradise Regained ? We th in k
every one of these falls short by m any an inch of the statu re of
1 He whose one dynamic motive is truth.
2 He who never gives up a worthy resolution.
a VI iv 120.
RAMA
69
TO
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
A gain, w hen S ita has been actu ally carried off by Ravana^,
V alm iki m akes his Ram a say to L akshm ana :
' W hen I am dead /o r th e sake o f S ita , and w h en th o u
art gone, w ould n o t K aikeyV s heart be fu ll of jo y ? A n d
w ould n o t holy K ausalya, th e m other bereaved of her son,
have to w a it on K a ikeyi w ho has her son living and w ho has
everyth in g th a t she desires in th e w orld ? 9
B ut th e thoughts of K am bans Ram a, as w e have rem a rk e d
in an o th er connection, n ev er descend to th is w eak accusation of
K aikeyi. They are alw ays pitched in a higher key. N ever from
h is lips fall any w ords th a t condem n K aikeyi who has done h im
so m uch in ju ry not even w hen th e w orst m isfortunes befall him .
V alm iki again, m akes his Sita, w hile at A shokavana, to
apostrophise Ram a and say,
P e rh a p s, th y fath er's hard c o m m a n d s fu lfilled,
T h o u a r t r e tu r n e d to fa ir A y o d h ; a n d th e r e
P e r h a p s , t h y v o w s p e r f o r m e d , t h o u f e a r l e s s s p o r t s t
W ith la r g e -e y e d virgin s yo u n g .9
i V iii 17.
C H A PTER VII
LAKSHMANA
HIS CHARACTER AND HIS FIRST BATTLES WITH INDRAJIT.
In th is chapter, -we tak e up th e stu d y o f th e character and
e x p lo its o f L akshm ana, th e brother and in sep arab le com panion
o f Ram a. L ak sh m an a h as id en tified h im se lf so m uch w ith R am a
th a t th e d ev o tees of R am a in th e T a m il-la n d d e lig h t to call him
b y th e n am e of f younger lord \ H is valou r is eq u al to th at of
R am a h im self, for h e is ab le to bring d ow n th e first o f th ose
th a t w ield th e bended bow , n am ely, Indra jit, th e son o f R avana,
B u t th e m ain sp rin g of h is ch aracter is n ot valou r or h eroism ,
th ou gh h e p ossesses th ese q u a lities to a w o n d erfu l d egree, but
lo v e an a ll-a b so rb in g , se lf-fo r g e ttin g lo v e for h is brother, th e
c h ie f o f h is race and th e first o f m en.
W e do not see m uch o f h im in th e F irst B ook. He, o f course,
accom p an ies R am a to th e fo rest w h en V ish vam itra tak es Ram a
to guard h is sacrificial grounds again st T ad ak a and her host. H e
is p erfected in h is k n o w le d g e of archery b y th e old R ish i w h o
tea ch es h im alon g w ith Ram a th e m ethod of in v o k in g m agical
w eap on s. H e m arries a d augh ter o f Janaka at M ithila. B u t,
g e n er a lly sp eak in g, h e is but th e sh ad ow of R am a all through th e
B alak an d a of th e Ramayana.
H is character, h ow ever, u n fold s itse lf rap id ly in th e Secon d
B ook o f th e poem . H e accom p an ies R am a to th e D urbar H all
w h e n th eir fath er sen d s for th e latter, and is p resen t w h e n
D ash aratha an nou nces to R am a h is in ten tion to crow n h im as
so v ereig n o f A yod h ya. B u t w h en th e n e x t m orn ing K a ik ey i sen d s
su d d en ly for Ram a, L akshm ana does n ot go w ith him , and so is
ign oran t o f th e n e w d ev elo p m en ts th at are tak in g p lace. T he
n ew s, h o w ever, is n ot lon g in reach in g him , and w h en h e h ears
th a t his b elo v ed brother is b ein g d ep rived o f h is rig h tfu l crow n
b y th e m ach in ation s o f h is step -m o th er, h is w h o le fram e throbs
w ith u n con trollab le anger, and h e starts for figh t lik e a cobra
p rovok ed . S a y s th e poet,
W hen L ak sh m an lea rn t th at K aik ai had th e p led ge
R evok ed o f D asharatha, and forced e x ile
On R am , h e rose in d ign an t lik e th e fire
T hat d oth on D isso lu tio n s D ay a ll th in gs
72
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
v ery M en i
even as th e
b o w -strin g s
th e sudden
L A K SH M A N A
73
2 God of Destruction.
3 II iv 137.
s i i iv 140.
74
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 n iv 1ST, 159.
L A K SH M A N A
75
76
KAMBA
HAMAYANAM A STUDY
77'
LAKSHMANA
He replies,
He
2 HI vii 233.
78
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A STUDY
LAKSHMANA
78
VI xv 230.
VI xv 234, 235.
8 VI xv 236.
4
5
80
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A STUDY
Bl
LAKSHMANA
B ut L ak sh m an a only
2 v i xvii 188.
4 VI xvii 191.
82
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A STUDY
and then tw anged his bow and sent an arro w laden w ith
lightning against th e chest of A tikaya. A tik ay a sped first one
arrow to m eet it in th e air and tu rn it off from him , and th e n
Sent sixteen o th er arrow s, fierce like cobras, against L akshm ana.
L akshm ana cu t them off w ith d arts of equal force, pierced
A tik ay as arm our, and w hile he fainted w ith loss of blood
chivalrously tu rn ed to another side and sowed th e R akshasa p a r t
of the battle-field w ith falling corpses.
W hen A tikaya recovered and saw th e havoc played by
L akshm anas arrow s, his pride was up and he sent a v eritab le
iro n -h ail against him.
His arrow s covered th e sky and all th e bounds
Of heaven ; the earth, it bristled w ith his darts.
The V anar heroes scream ing rolled, tossed by
T hat iro n -tem p est . . . . Rocks to pieces flew
S truck w ith the d arts of m ighty A tik ay .1
The sky becam e overcast. The sun was hidden behind a
cloud of arrow s. The earth trem bled u n d er th e shock of m issiles
struggling against each other in m id-air.
The Devas, each his neighbour trem bling asked,
Is all th e V anar host to end th is day ?
Has L akshm an skill and stren g th to m aster him ?
Sit from the God of D eath th a t A tik ay a
His w ondrous archery did learn ? 2
A tikaya w ounded A ngada and L akshm ana as well. B u t
L akshm anas blood w as up ; w ith one show er of lig h tn in g -lad en
arrow s he cut off the heads of th e R akshasas horses and broke
the bow, and w hen he leaped up another chariot, sent against
him th e A gni A stra.3 B ut A tikaya sent th e S u rya -A stra , th e
w eapon inspired by the Sun-G od, to tam e it down. W hile these
tw o w eapons w ere struggling against each other, L aksh m an a
pierced th e R akshasas body w ith his sharpest arrow s, b u t still
h e fought on unm indful of his wounds. Fiercely, and m ore
fiercely, came his arrow s, and L akshm ana could barely p a rry
them . Ju st then Vayu, the W ind-God, w hispered to L akshm ana
th a t his adversary could not die by any other w eapon except th e
1 VI xvii 197, 198.
2 VI xvii 198.
3 Weapon inspired by the Fire-God.
LAKSHMANA
as
2 VI xvii 208.
84
KAMBA
2 VI xviii 21.
3 VI xviii 28.
LAKSHMANA
85
*6
KAMBA
RAMAYA-KAM-A
STUDY
2 VI xviii 73.
4 VI xviii 75.
LAKSHMANA
&
A s soon as th e K akshasa h e a rd th e n am e of L ak sh m an a he
rem em b ered his o ath an d addresged H anum an as follow s :
W here is th a t L ak sh m an a doom ed w ho took th e life
O f m y lion b ro th e r an d reserves his ow n
As ta rg e t to m y tearin g d arts ? I ve come
To cool m y w ra th in his blood ! A nd w hen I shoot
The fiery arrow s th a t th e w orld can burn,
Can he an d th o u and all y our v au n ted force
Suffice to feed th e ir h u n g ry m aw ? I ll send
My troops and generals all aw ay ; alone
I ll stand, w ith none to back m e b u t m y bow
Invincible. A nd you m ay come w ith all
Y our stren g th , an d all th a t m o rtal m en or gods
Can b rin g of force : th e sun goeth n o t dow n
This day or ere your severed heads h ad rolled
Upon th e plain ! 1
So saying, In d ra jit shot h u n d red s of arro w s into H an u m an s
m ig h ty fram e. B ut, though bleeding all over his body, H anum an
aim ed a huge stone a t him saying,
In th e ir thousands though th ey come, can elep h an ts tam e
The lo rd ly lion boiling oe r w ith rage ?
If th o u th e patience lack to w ait S aum itri,
A nd b a ttle w ant, I give th ee this, now g u ard
Thyself, if canst ! 2
an d h u rled a huge rock a t him.
B ut th e rock broke into a thousand frag m en ts w hen it stru ck
th e iron body of th e R akshasa, and, as if no th in g h ad happened,
h e sent his sh a tterin g arrow s against H anum an. H anum an w as
overw helm ed, but, ju st a t th a t tim e, N ila cam e to his side and
sustained th e conflict. B ut n eith er he nor A ngada who cam e to
his suppo rt could long w ith stan d th a t iro n -h ail.
L aksh m an a saw this from a distance an d h asten ed to th e spot.
T he R akshasa leaders w ho w ere furious ag ain st h im for having
k illed A tik ay a concentrated ag ain st him from all sides and aim ed
th e ir deadly d arts at him. B u t th e cunning h an d of L aksh m an a
w as able to b reak th e ir force and b rin g th e R akshasas also to
th e ground. Seeing th e rap id ity and force w ith w hich th e arrow s
flew from his m ig h ty bow, th e gods exclaim ed,
i VI xv iii 76, 77.
2 VI xviii 79.
8$
KAMBA
R A M AY AN A M A S T U D Y
L A K SH M A N A
89
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N M A
STUDY
2 VI x v iii 188-190.
LAKSHM ANA
91
92
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
v i xviii 232.
3 VI xviii 238-240.
LAKSHM ANA
93
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
V I x ix 13.
LAK SH M ANA
95:
2 v i xxi 61.
3 VI xxi 62.
98
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI xxi 67.
L A K SH M A N A
KAM BA
RA M A T A L A M A
STUDY
Stand against this class of weapons, rose up in ^he air and bided
his time.
The field now being absolutely clear of th e R akshasa troops,
R am a w en t back to th e sacrificial ground to com plete his sacrifices
for th e divine astras. B ut soon after, In d ra jit re tu rn e d h av in g
perfected his sacrifices and obtained th e cruel m issiles called
B rahm astra th a t destroy w hole masses a t one fell throw . H e
had not th e com punctions th a t p rev en ted th e b ro th ers from using
such a w eapon, and so standing u n d er th e cover of th e Illusion
again produced by M ahodara he b en t his bow, pronounced th e
m antras of th e B rahm astra an d released th e d art. A t once m illions
on m illions of arrow s flew w ith deadly force from inside th a t
deadly d art, and killed th e V anara heroes by th e m yriad an d even
L akshm ana him self.
H aving achieved his fell w ork, In d ra jit w en t back in triu m p h
to L an k a and pro u d ly told his fa th e r th a t his enem ies w ere now
destroyed for ever, for, said he, w ould Ram a, if living, fo rg et
his valour w hen I stretch ed his d earest friends and b ro th er upon
th e field ?
W hen R am a cam e back to th e field a fte r finishing his sacrifices
and renew ing th e pow er of his a s t r a s , he w as stu n n ed a t th e sight
th a t m et his eyes. W herever he tu rn ed , he saw n othing b u t heaps
of V anara corpses. He saw his S ugriva and H anum an, A ngada
and Nila, and th e rest ploughed w ith bleeding w ounds and falle n
a t th e head of th e ir respective divisions ; and his tears fell lik e
show ers. B ut w hen he saw his L akshm ana also a lifeless corpse,
he fell dow n plum b, like a s a l a tree stru ck by th e th u n d erb o lt.
A nd w ho w as th ere to console him in th a t aw ful m om ent of
so u l-sh atterin g g rief ? Who w as th e re to sep arate him from th e
body of his b ro th er w hich he w as em bracing w ith his trem b lin g
arm s ? A nd w ho w as th ere to lift him up and b rin g him to
him self ? He w as alone, all alone in th a t w ilderness of th e dead !
A fter hours of silent anguish in th a t w eirdly d ark night, R am a
th u s gave expression to the m easureless grief th a t w as ag itatin g
his m ind :
I died not w hen I h eard of our fa th e rs death,
T hough he a kingdom gave,1 for in th y love
I learn ed to forget his loss : but, thee now dead,
W h ats life to me ? I come, m y brother, I come.
1 Read : I died not though he a kingdom gave (to m e). The original
allows also a rendering as *1 minded not when he gave away th e
kingdom. (P)
LA K SH M A N A
0#
100
KMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
i As the Rakshasa dead had been thrown into the sea at the command*
of Havana, the balmy air was of no use for them.
CHAPTER V ili
3 V xii 9-11.
102
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 V xii 5.
4 VI ii 58, 59. .
>
108
INDtfAJIT
2 V xii 15.
3 V xi i 4.
104
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
3 v i xxv 16-18.
s^
INDRAJIT
10&
* VI xfcv 38-41.
;1
106
K A M BA
R A M A Y A N A M ---- A.
STUDY
northward.
H anum an fell w here he stood, stunned, even like a m o u n tain
to m by its roots. The poet describes his grief and lam en t f o r
S ita s fate in these w ords :
O sw an ! he w ould cry out, and sob ; and th en
W ould cry, 1O jew el of w om ankind ! He w ould
Then call aloud, O m other m ine ; th e n groan,
A sking in deep despair, Is th ere no god ?
A nd th en w ould curse his h e a rt th a t it did not
In pieces break w hen she was killed before
His eyes.
He thought of springing on his foe,
B u t lacking force he fell upon th e ground
A nd groaned. His eyes did flash w ith rage. His fra m e
Did shiver for the anguish of his h e a rt ;
A nd knocking his huge head against th e ground
He thus lam ented loud : I th o u g h t th e n ight
W hich did th e th ree w orlds envelop had passed,
A nd daw n w as nigh ; alas, th e th rice black pall
Of M isery has fallen once again
Upon th e E arth, and she subm erged groans
B eneath th e flood of sin. For th e cruel foe
Has felled dow n Sita, and D harm a m angled lies !
The foe does k ill th a t lovely princess pure;.
I see h er killeda w om an killed before
My eyes ! and yet I stand transfixed to th e spot
E en like a bird th a t has its w ings lopped off !
0 bravely have I from captivity
Rescued h er ! M aithili, m y R am as spouse,
T h at m other of unsurpassed austerities,
T h at spotless d au g h ter of a spotless race,
A helpless oneh er he has cleaved in tw ain,
A nd I have let him go : and now I w eep
As if I have a h e a rt th a t compassion feels !
1 braved th e dangers of the deep, O m other,
A nd carried R am as m essage here, and th in e
Oer there, not for to end this cursd race
N or for to force thee from th e ir hands : I can^e
INDRA JIT
107
2 VI xxv 58.
3 VI xxv 60.
108
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
INDRA J I T
109
no
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
INDRAJIT
111
112
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M --- A. S T U D Y
2 VI xxvi 91.
INDRAJIT
113
214
KAMBA
RAM AYANAM A
STUDY
INDRAJIT
115
2 VI xxvi 156-160.
116
KAMBA
RAM AYANAM A
STUDY
117
INDRAJIT
2 VI xxvi 177.
3 VI xxvi 178.
118
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
INDRAJIT
119.
F o r K am ban
So said th e R akshasa
W hose arm s h ad to th e ir cen tre shook th e w orlds ! 2
W hen R avana h eard these words, his h e a rt brim m ed over w ith
contem pt and anger. His p rid e w as up. T he m ere th o u g h t of
som ebody forgiving him w as poison to him . A nd w ith his reason
subm erging passion for S ita still possessing his m ind, how could
he, w ith patience, listen to th e w ords asking h im to conquer his
desire for R am as spouse ? A nd so,
T he king of L an k a laughed, and w ith stinging w ords
He th u s addressed his son : T w een th o u art,
My son, now unfit grow n for w ar ; I see
Confusion in th y m ind ; fear n o t th e race
O f men, an d w o rry th o u no m ore. This d ay
I ll ta k e th e field w ith only bow in hand,
W ith none to g u ard m y side, and I ll b rin g
Thee victory ! T hink not I counted on
The R kshasas w ho are alread y fallen :
T hink not th a t I did count on those w hore y et
A live : th in k n o t I hoped th a t th o u w o u ld st b eat
My foes upon th e field : in m y sole rig h t arm
I placed m y tru st, an d I provoked th is w a r !
Thou ta lk est like k child, m y son : th is life,
T ran sien t as th e bubble in th e stream ,
I m ay e en in th e sight of b eaten gods
F o rfeit upon th e field, for th en t w ill shine
i VI xxvii 3-6.
2 VI xxvii 6.
120
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N M A
STUDY
He went alone.3
i VI x x v ii 7 to 12.
2 VI xxvii 13.
3 VI x x v ii 15.
INDRAJIT
121
122
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI x x v ii 31.
3 VI xxvii 33:
INDRAJIT
123
rose into th e sky. L akshm ana only h eard his th u n d erin g w ar-cries
he saw n o t his form. By the force of th e tapas th a t he h ad done
in form er days, In d ra jit unfastened th e flood-gates of heaven and
rain e d hail-stones upon his foes. The V anaras fell by the
thousand, b u t none could locate him in th e sky. So, L akshm ana
sow ed th e sky w ith his fiery arrow s and forced him to discover
him self. As soon as he saw him , L akshm ana used all his m ight
an d sent a pow erful arro w against him th a t clove his left arm
clean. It fell like a cloud bearing th e m any coloured rain -b o w
in its bosom, and in its crash-dow n it sh attered rocks and trees
an d killed innum erable V anaras also. The gods w ondered and
said,
W ed thought the moon would fall or M eru hill
W ould crum ble and roll upon th e ground, ere arm
Of In d ra jit could broken be. If this
Could from its m ighty tru n k be torn, th en life
Is b u t a m achine toy : w here is the use
In clinging fast to it ? n
B ut even th en In d ra jit w as not daunted. He took a lan ce
w hich In d ra long ago had obtained by doing g reat au sterities and
a t his defeat had surrendered to him, and h u rled it w ith a m ig h ty
force against L akshm ana. It came like a w hirlw ind m ad, like
,-the *m ale th underbolt, like fire, like D eath w hen on th e Day of
D estruction he consum es all. B ut the end of th e R akshasa w as
come. It flashed in th e m ind of L akshm ana ju st a t th a t m om ent
th a t w ithout th e g reatest tapas, a foe who could send such a lance
w ith such force even w hen his left arm w as clean cut off could
n ev er be killed. A nd w h at tapas could be g reater th an tak in g
th e nam e of R am a w ith an act of stupendous faith ? So he tu rn ed
aside to avoid th e lance, placed an arrow in th e rest saying,
4If Ram is none b u t He incarnate, w hom
T he Vedas sing and B rahm ans w orship low,
Then speed, m y faith fu l dart, and hale th e head
O f yonder In d ra jit ! 2
p u lled th e strin g w ith all his m ig h t and let it go.
It clove th e air, sham ing the Chakra of Vishnu, the th u n d e rb o lt.
of Indra, and th e deadly trid en t of the F ire-ey ed God,3 and
i VI xxvii 46.
2 VI x x v ii 51.
3 Shiva.
124
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
CHAPTER IX
V IB H IS H A N A A N D K U M B H A K A R N A
126
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
2 VI 72-75, 77.
VIBHISHANA
& K U M B H A K A R N A
127
128
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
109.
2 V I ii
V IBH ISH A N A
& K U M B H A KAR NA
129
aso
KAMBA
RAM AYANAM A
STUDY
2 S ee
page 67.
3 V I i v 125-127, 129.
V IB H ISH A N A
& K UM BH AK RlT^
131
133
SAMBA
RAM AYA N A M A
STUDY
VXBHISHANA
Sc K U M B H A K A R N A
133
134
K'AM BA
'RA M AY A N .A M A
STUDY
7 IB H IS H A N A
&
K U M B H A KARN"Ar
135
136
KAM BA
RAM A YAN AM A
STUDY
VIBHISHANA
Sc K U M B H A K A R N A
2 VI ii 53.
138
KAMBA
'R A M A Y A N A M ^ A
STUDY
VIBHISHANA
& KUMBHAKARNA
13
2 VI x v 90-93.
3 VI Xv 94.
140
KAMBA
HAM AYAN AM A
STUDY
V 16H ISH N A
& K U M BH AK AR N A
141
142
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M - sA
STUDY
VIBHISHANA
& KUMBHAKARNA
143
a*4
RAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI x v 167.
VIBHISHANA
& K U M BH AK AR N A
145
10
2 VI
XV
192.
146
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
A nd then,
Thy th o u g h t is ju st, said laughing K u m b h ak arn ,
*F or v erily th e w orld w ill laugh a t th ee
If th o u fight not for him w ho from a cover
Concealed did k ill th y p a re n t innocent
W ith a single dart. Now th a t thou fightst his w ars
For T hy fa th e rs foeth e chivalry of th e w orld
W ill sure acclaim thee b rav est of th e brav e !
B ut I believe th o u speakest not th e tru th :
Thou canst not even dream of touching me.
M uch less w ouldst hope to fly w ith m e to Ram.
I fancy tis th y w ish to taste th e point
O f m y fell trid e n t th a t has in th e p ast
The fro n t of Devas oft pierced, and fall
Supine, th y hands and feet u p throw ing w ild
E en like th y tail ! 1
A ngada did n o t care to reply, b u t stru ck a th u n d erin g blow
upon th e ro ck -lik e body of K u m b h ak arn a w ith th e cap tu red m ace.
B ut th e m ace broke into a h u n d red fragm ents, an d th e R akshasa
stood unm oved as if nothing had happened. A ngada now aim ed
a blow w ith his fist, b u t his enem y guarded him self an d knocked
him dow n senseless w ith his own fist. A ngada w as rem oved fro m
th e field by his friends, b ut H anum an appeared on th e scene ju s t
a t th a t m inute. H e lifted up a m assive rock an d aim ed it ag ain st
K u m b h ak arn as head. B ut K u m b h ak arn a caught it in his h an d s
and sent th e sam e w ith force against H anum an. The rock broke
into fragm ents w hen it stru ck th e chest of H anum an, giving o u t
sparks like th e iron ham m ered on th e blacksm iths anvil. H an u m an
now uprooted an o th er and h eav ier rock and, poising it in h is
hand, addressed his enem y th u s :*
*This rock I h u rl a t th ee : if from its shock
Thou canst escape alive, the w orld w ill count
T hy m ight invincible, and I shall deem
M yself defeated a t th y hands, and face
Thee not again in b attle ; and g reat w ill be
T hy fam e on e a rth . 2
1 VI x v 193, 194.
2 V I x v 200.
& K U M BH A K A R N A
147
148
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N M A
STUDY
2 VI x v 286.
'
VIBHISHANA
& K U M B H A KAR NA
149
f
To help ? . . .
The h au g h ty eyes of gods lay quenched
F o r ages by our arm s : th a t th is m ight la st
F o r evr, I p ray ed m y b ro th er to release
S ita, th y spouse : unheeded in th e council
O f th e wise, m y tongue and voice w ere quenched
F o r once and all, b u t th is I bore though grief
Did eat m y h eart. B u t can I now endure
My life, an d shall I seek m y d eath t escape
W hen quenched is m y nose by feeble foes ?
T hou counselst flight : b u t having ta en th e field
F or to d rin k th y blood, and let m y b ro th er w in
The fair he loves, now shall I move th e gods
To lau g h ter by lam entations loud addressed
E en like m y sister to m y b ro th er ? A lthough
T hou a rt th e peerless one, unique in all
The w orlds, a rt not a k n ig h t im m aculate
By instinct come of hum an b irth ? K now st not
The duties of th e knight, w h ateer his race
O r clime ? Then tell m e have I other course
T han fall on thee and ta k e th y head from off
Thy tru n k ? 1
2 VI x v 341, 342.
150
KAMBA
H k A Y A N A M A
STUDY
& K M BH A K A R N A
151
CHAPTER X
HIHANYAKASHIPU
153
154
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
15S
HIRANY A K A SH IPU
2 VI iii 25.
3 VI iii 26.
156
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI iii 27-33.
4 VI iii 37.
HIRANY AKASHIPU
157
158
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H IR A N Y A K A SH IPU
159
160
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
HIRANY AKASHIPU
161
11
162
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H I R A N Y A K A S H I P U
163
F a th e r, a n d h en ce th o u seest n o t H im w h o k ille d
T h y g o ld e n -e y e d b ro th e r. T h re e a re H is fo rm s,
A n d th re e H is q u a litie s : H is ey es a re th re e ,
T h e su n an d th e m oon a n d th e fire. H is w o rld s a r e th re e ,
A n d triu n e t h E ffulgence of H is S elf.
A n d H e is th e w itn e ss a rg u s-e y e d , W ho sees
D elig h ted , t h 9 e te rn a l d an c e of tr a n s ie n t life.
A n d th is is th e final tr u th th a t V ed as te a c h .
*H iranya sm iled co n tem p tu o u s, a n d said,
4 T h o u sa y st, th o u g h h im s e lf o n ly one, h e d w e lls
In e v e ry o b je c t seen in a ll th is v a s t
M u ltip le u n iv e rse . W ell te s t th is first
A n d th e n d ecid e w h a ts b e st fo r us to do.
N ow show m e h im if h e is in th is p ile ?
4W h a t of th is colum n, f a th e r ? sa id P r a h la d :
4 T h o u lt find H im in a sp a n o f sp ace ; d iv id e
A n a to m in t a n h u n d re d p a rts , a n d th o u
W ilt find m y G od in e v e ry o ne of th e m :
H e is in M eru h ill ; th y v e ry w ords,
I say, a re filled w ith H im : a n d th o u w ilt find
1 F o re lo n g m y e v e ry w o rd a so lem n tr u th .
4 E no u g h of w o rd s, H ira n y a spo k e in w ra th ,
* D iscover m e h im in sid e th is p illa r h ere,
W ho, th o u d e c la rst a n d re b e l gods b eliev e,
P e rv a d e s th is u n iv e rse : if th o u d o st fa il
I ll fa ll on th e e as on th e e le p h a n t does
T h e lion, a n d te a rin g th e e to pieces, d rin k
T h y blood a n d e a t th y flesh ! T h e w ise one th u s
S o ftly re p lie d : 4 T h o u c a n st n o t k ill m e, S ire !
B u t th is I v o w : if a t a n y spot a t w h ich
T hou p la ce th y h an d s, m y b lessed L o rd do n o t
R ev eal H im self, I ll m y se lf en d m y life !
F o r e en w h e n I a d d re ss th is so lem n vow
To H im , if H e w o u ld n o t resp o n d to m y p ra y e r,
A n d ev e n a f te r th a t I clin g to m y life,
I sh o u ld n t d e se rv e to see m y God, fo r th e n
M y lo v e co u ld n o t be p e rfe c t. 4 B e it so !
H ira n y a c rie d in w r a th a n d w ith h is arm ,
T h e h o m e of v ic to ry , h e s tru c k a g a in st
T h e m a ssiv e co lu m n h ig h a th u n d e rin g blow .
164
SAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M --- A
STUDY
165
HIRANYAKASHIPU
,S,
k*
them in the
66
K A M BA
R A M AY AN AM A
STUDY
HIRAN YAKASHIPU
167
16 8
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
CHAPTER X I
V A LI AND SUGRIVA
In the ch aracter of H iranyakashipu K am ban has show n to u s
unequalled prow ess and valour com bined w ith extrem e p rid e
refusing to acknow ledge th e suprem acy of A lm ighty Pow er till
destroyed by It in Its terrib le aspects. In this ch ap ter w e shall
see his presentation of valour and pow ers of th e sam e degree b u t
com bined w ith m any generous and noble qualities, an d y et w hich
was extinguished by Shri Ram a for a single delinquency. We
shall devote the g reater p a rt of the ch ap ter to K am bans Vali.
A fter R avana h ad carried off Sita, Ram a and L akshm ana, as
the read er knows, w ent southw ards an d searched for h e r
everyw here in th e im penetrable forests of D andaka. A t len g th
a great ta p a sv in i1 nam ed S haphari told them th a t a V anara called
Sugriva who w as residing on th e R ishyam uka h ill w ould be of
great help to them in th eir search, and th ey accordingly sought
him on the hill. A lthough Vali w as th e king of th e V anaras,
and the m ore pow erful of the tw o brothers, and Sugriva w as in
hiding for fear of Vali, th e saintly w om an considered th a t V ali
who had u n ju stly driven Sugriva out of his kingdom and deprived
him of his wife, and w as even afte r his life, w as undeserving of
R am as friendship ; and th a t w as w hy she sent him to S ugriva
in preference to Vali.
A fter m uch trav el Ram a and L akshm ana came to th e hill.
S ugriva cam e to see them afte r ascertaining th ro u g h H an u m an
th a t they w ere not m en sent by V ali to k ill him . A fter
prelim inaries w ere over, R am a told S ugriva th a t he sought h is
help in his g reat difficulty.2 On the other side S ugriva rep lied
th a t he w as being pursued and h u n ted by Vali, his b rother, an d
th a t it w as R am a th a t m ust protect him from th e la tte r. R am a
pitied his helpless condition, and im pressed w ith his generous
n a tu re sw ore etern al friendship w ith him.
A fter this, V alm iki m akes Ram a and L akshm ana go to
S u g riv as hom e of th e ir own accord, and Sugriva to casually
1 feminine of tapasvione who performs spiritual austerities.
2 Valmiki would make Lakshmana tell Sugriva that Rama had come
*to take refuge under himSharanam gatah.
170
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
VALI
& SUGRIVA
171
w eight. His eyes glistened w ith th e fire of his h atred , sham ing
th e au ro ra of th e north. W hen he sm acked his arm s w ith his
palm , as w restlers do, th e th u n d erb o lts of heaven dropped dow n,
a n d th e v ery h ill on w hich he stood sp lit to pieces. Even th e God
of D eath w as terrified a t his aspect, for he looked a t th a t m om ent
like th e Tim e S p irit brooding over an d d irecting th e d estru ctio n
of all creation on the final day, or like th e boiling mass of poison
th a t rose from th e ocean w hen he helped in churning it for th e
gods.
He w as ju st sta rtin g to go to answ er th e challenge of his
b ro th e r w hen T ara his w ife cam e in his w ay an d tried to dissuade
h im from going.
* Stop m e not, he said, checking h er : * stop me not,
O w ife, fair even as th e m ountain peacock of th e noblest
breed ! I w ill answ er his challenge and re tu rn to thee a fte r
d rin k in g his life, even as I chu rn ed th e ocean and got a m rit
in olden days ! 51
B u t she persisted saying,
* S ugriva know s th y stren g th by proof, m y lord,
A nd n eer can stan d against th y iron fists.
He is not born again to hope afresh,
N or has he g reater stren g th acquired to -d ay
By blessing of th e Gods ; if now he dares
To challenge thee, it is because he has
A n ally strong enough to give him hopes
Of easy victory. 2
V ali only laughed at h e r fears and said,
Even if all th e th re e w orlds, T ara, stood
Com bined against m e th ey are bound to fail !
C anst thou forget th e day w hen A suras
A nd Devas sought to ch u rn th e Sea of M ilk ?
T he M andhra m ountain w as th e ch u rn in g rod,
A nd V asuki th e m ighty cobra w as
T he strin g ! T hey pulled, b u t had not stren g th e n o u g h .
To tu rn th e aw fu l m ount. I saw th e ir p lig h t
A nd m oved w ith p ity helped, an d lo ! th e sea
D id yield his glories to m y m ighty arm .
l IV v 14.
2 IV v 15
172
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
2 IV v 21.
VALI
& SUGRIVA
173
He
said,
.............................. 4S ugriva has
A Y am a brought to end his b ro th er : though
T h eir fight is w o rth y praise, m y h e a rt is pained
To see th is fratricid al fight, and so
I cannot judge in calmness, b ro th er !
1 V v 22-27.
174
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
He ceased.
B ut still his h ea rt retu rn ed upon its them e,
A nd th u s u n b u rdened he his m ind : 4T hey say
It is unw ise to p u t our faith in those
T h at are u n n atu ra l : w hen he can h ard en
His h e a rt against a brother, and fall on him
As on a foe, w hat can his loyalty
Be w o rth to strangers, b ro th er ? 1
F or this once even K am bans R am a talks lik e a cynic.
>began by asking,
He
VALI
& SUGRIVA
175
176
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
VALI
177
& SUGRIVA
12
2 Siva.
3 IV v 64, 65.
178
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
2 IV v 71, 72.
V A L I
Se
SU GRIV A
179
IfcO
K M B A
R A M A Y A N A M ---- A
ST U D Y
A n d h o w h a v e I offended* th e e ? I f th o u
S h o u ld r u n th u s a fte r in fa m y , on w h o m
S h o u ld G lo ry sh e d h e r ra y s ?
*I n a ll th is w id e
W o rld o c e a n -g irt, sh o u ld t h A ge of Iro n d a w n
A lo n e u p o n a n ap e ? A re e q u ity
A n d r ig h t re se rv e d alo n e fo r feeb le ones ?
I d id fo rg e t ; w h e n M ig h t c o m m itte th sin
D o th n o t th e w o rld b esto w on it a c ro w n ?
4A n d w h o can b e a t th y g lo ry ? F o r th o u g a v e st
A k in g d o m to th y b ro th e r a t A y o d h !
A n d h e re in ju n g le s w ild , to b a la n c e th a t
T h o u h a s t m y k in g d o m on m y b r o th e r h e re
A s g ift b esto w ed !
* T h o u h a s t n o w th y s e lf sh o w n , O R am , th a t p o w e r
C a n w o rk its w ill, u n ju s t o r ju s t, se cu re :
B u t say, if th o u a r t r ig h t in k illin g m e,
B eca u se th o u c o u ld st th y a rro w a im u n seen ,
C a n st th o u a t a ll th e R a k sh a s k in g accuse
O f c a rry in g o ff th y sp o u se b y fo rc e o r g u ile ?
4 W hen tw o in d u e l sta n d e n g a g e d , th e ju s t
R e g a rd th e m b o th w ith e q u a l e y e : b u t i f
A m a n is m o v ed to w a rd s one, a n d h id b eh in d
A bush, does sh o o t th e o th e r d o w n w ith s h a rp
A n d p o in te d a rro w s aim in g a t th e h e a rt,
Is it an a c t of D h a rm ? o r so m e th in g else ?
4 I t is n o t v a lo u r th o u h a s t sho w n , o r love
O f e q u ity ; th e re is no fe u d b e tw ix t
T h y h o u se a n d m in e ; m y b o d y d id n o t p ress
T h y e a rth w ith its in to le ra b le w e ig h t ; a n d su re
T h o u w o u ld st n o t call th y sin fu l d ee d a d eed
O f m e rc y : w h a t th e n w as in th y m in d , O R am ?
If th o u d id st h a n k e r a f te r a n a lly
T o fig h t th e w a r a g a in s t th e R a k sh a s k in g ,
W h a t w isd o m le d th e e tu r n th y b a c k u p o n
T h e tu s k e r ro a m in g fe a rle ss oe r th e w ild s
A n d k n e e l th e e d o w n b efo re a p u n y h a r e ?
I t is th e m oon alo n e th a t h a d a sp o t
T ill n o w u p o n h e r face : th e su n re m a in e d
A sta in le ss globe of lig h t. B u t th o u h a s t t a e n
VALI
&
SUGRIVA
181
182
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 IV v 104, 105.
VALI
&
SUGRIVA
183
184
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
L ak sh m an a
VALI
&
SUGHIVA
185
A n d all, a n d T im e, a n d fru it th a t T im e ev o lv es :
T he w o rld s th e flow er, a n d th o u th e scen t th e re o f.
C an h ea v en escape m e n o w th a t I h av e seen
T h y self w ith fleshly eyes ? T h ee I h av e seen
W ho a r t b u t D h arm a in h u m a n shape : w h a t m o re
Is th e re fo r m e to see ? A n d a ll th e sins
T h a t I h a v e done fro m a n c ien t d ay s u p to
T his m o m en t a ll a re b u rn t aw a y to d a y !
Is th e re a b e tte r good th a t b ro th e r can
To b ro th e r do ? S u g riv h as b ro u g h t th e e h e re
To k ill m e w ith th y d a rt, w h ich s tra ig h t does ta k e
Me to th e re a lm s of h eav en , le av in g h im
T he tasteless, em p ty crow n of an e a rth ly realm .
P e rm it m e now , O R am , to m a k e to th e e
A d y ing p ra y e r : if he, m y b ro th e r, errs,
His m in d confused by d rin k , aim n o t a t him ,
I p ra y w ith jo in e d h an d s, th e d e a th th a ts n a m e d
T h y d a r t th a t th o u h a s t aim ed a t me. A nd see
T h a t th y ow n b ro th e rs p o in t n o t th e fnger of scorn
A g ain st S u g riv fo r h a v in g b ro u g h t ab o u t
M y d e a th : for th o u h a d st th y se lf sw o rn to rig h t
H is w rongs ; an d how could he be ch arg ed fo r d eed s
T h a t flow th e re fro m as effects fro m th e ir cause ?
4F o r o th e r things, O v icto r, th o u g h unb lessed ,
T h a t fo rtu n e m ig h t y e t h a v e been m in e to p lace
B efore th e e R av an tie d u n to m y tail,
A nd show th e e a ll m y little m onkey trick s.
A las, een th is h as b een d en ied to m e.
B u t w h a t av a ils it no w to th in k of all
T h a t m ig h t h a v e b een ? L e ts th in k alo n e of th a t
W hich m ig h t y e t be : if th o u d esire th e k in g
O f L a n k a to be b ro u g h t to th e e oe r h e re
In ch ain s tie d h a n d a n d foot, or a n y th in g
Im p o ssib le fo r o th e rs to a tte m p t,
B ehold th is H an u m an , h e w ill fulfil
T h y e v e ry h est. L ook on th is hero , L ord,
A s a bow re a d y b e n t in th y ow n h an d .
L ook on m y b ro th e r as th in e ; n o w h e re c a n st find
A llies lik e u n to th ese. P u rsu e , th e re fo re ,
O R am , th y se arch fo r S ita fa ir, th y q u ee n . 1
a IV v 119-130.
186
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
VALI
&
SUGRIVA
187
exist has come dow n to e a rth in flesh and blood for our
eyes to see, an d stands before us, Its feet touching th e ground.
W orship th o u th erefo re Him, m y child, as th e m edicine to
th e Illu sio n -b red disease of b irth ! T hink not ever th a t He
has w rought m y death, b u t w ork for th y salvation by serving
Him, and if he has w ars to wage, aid him w ith all th y m ight
and fight his b attles for him . 1
He finished, and* em bracing him once again, he addressed
H am a and said,
4Behold this only child of
He loveth D harm , b u t is a
To th e stubble called the
I leave him to th y ten d er
mine, O L ord !
consum ing fire
black -sk in n ed R akshas race.
care, O Ram ! 2
188
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
VALI
&
S UGHIVA
189
190
KAMBA
H A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
VALI
&
SUGRIVA
191
192
KAMBA
H A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
182.
VALI
&
SUGRIVA
193
194
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
CHA PTER X II
HANUMAN
Today H anum an holds a unique place am ong H indu gods a n d
heroes. Tem ples dedicated to his godhead are scattered all ov er
In d ia. M iracles are perform ed in his nam e. Scholars m ed itate
on his pow ers for years, and as a resu lt of th a t m editation a tta in
in te lle ctu a l pow ers unim aginable by people belonging to th e
y o u n g er civilization of th e West. 1 R am adas, th e G uru of S hivaji,
im agined him self to be an in carn atio n of H anum an an d d o tte d
th e w hole of M a h arash tra w ith tem ples b u ilt to his divinity. T h e
orthodox H indu still believes th a t H anum an is even today liv in g
in his ow n identical body, an d th a t w hen th is K alpa 2 ends an d
a n o th e r K alpa begins, he w ill be appointed by th e S uprem e as
th e regen t of th e B rahm aloka and creator of th e universe. W e
sh a ll in this ch ap ter stu d y th e c h a ra c te r and exploits of th is
g re a t hero of the R am ayana as our poet has developed them .
The m ost o u tstanding featu re of H anum ans ch aracter is his
devotion to Rama. A t the very first sight of R am a and L ak sh m an a
at the tim e th a t he comes to find out w ho th ey m ight be as
th e y w ere w andering on the slopes of th e R ishyam uka hill, his
h e a rt m elts w ith love for them . He feels as one w ho u n expectedly
falls in w ith friends from w hom he had p arte d long before.
How even tigers and p ard s, he th o u g h t w ith in him self,
look on them w ith tenderness, even as th ey w ould on th e ir
ow n cubs ! Peacocks and o th er birds fly in groups and shade
th e delicate bodies of these stran g ers from th e hot rays of
th e sun w ith th e ir g reat w ings : clouds cool them w ith th e ir
little rain drops, m arching over th em as th ey w alk on. T he
b u rn in g stones on th e ir w ay become soft and cool as h o n ey
dripping flowers to th e ir feet at every step. Even trees an d
p lan ts w orship them , bending dow n th e ir heads w hen th ey
come near. A re th e y D h arm as self ? A re these beings gods
indeed w ho w ipe off th e sorrow s of living k in d and give th em
1 The late Tiruppati Kavi, the great Shatavadhani * and poet of
Andhradesha, is said to have attained his phenomenal memory and
poetic gifts by meditating on this great servant of Rama.
(* Shatavadhani-one who could concentrate his mind on a
hundred topics at the same time.)
j
a &-
196
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 IV 20.
3 Shiva.
3 IV 3, 37.
t A ' N M A 1ST
197
W ith every m inute, how ever, his love and adm iration fo r
R am a go on differentiating them selves from his love an d
adm iratio n for L akshm ana, and he adds to th e form er an o th er
em otion, nam ely th a t of B h a k ti. 1 His attractio n to Ram a finally
becomes as inevitable as th e attractio n of iron to th e m agnet.
His w hole h e a rt fills itself quickly w ith th e im age of R am a to th e
exclusion of alm ost any other. He can n ever from now on speak
of Ram a in th e language of m oderation. F or he has come to
believe Rama to be g reater th a n the T rin ity he believes him to
be the U ltim ate B rahm an Itself. So in the course of th e sam e
account to S ugriva of his m eeting w ith th e Men, he says,
Ram a is V ishnu him self w orshipped by th e Devas : fo r
w h at m an could have killed M aricha who cam e disguised as
a m agic deer ? 2
H anum ans belief in the divinity of R am a w as fu rth e r
confirm ed by the incident of S am pati w hich we shall relate here.
A fter the death of Vali and th e ending of th e rain y season, S ugriva
assem bled his V anara forces and sent th em all over th e e a rth to
search for Sita. H anum an m arched south u n d er the com m and
of A ngada, the son of Vali.
A fter a g reat m any ad v en tu res his
p a rty reached th e prom ontory of M ahendra ab u ttin g itself in to
the channel betw een India and L anka. S ita had not been
discovered so far, and now th e ocean b arred th e ir fu rth e r advance.
T he tim e of one m onth fixed by S ugriva for th em to re tu rn w ith
th e ir task accom plished was fast d raw ing to a close, and th e y
w ere filled w ith despair and sorrow at not having discovered her.
W hile they stood on th e hill discussing w h eth er they should ta k e
th e ir lives th ere on account of th e ir failu re or should re tu rn to
K ishkindha and rep o rt th e ir ill-success to th e ir king, H anum an
said, we m ust ra th e r pursue our search and fall like Ja ta y u s w ho
gave up his life in defence of S ita ! Sam pati, w ho w as a b ro th e r
of Jatay u s, w as living on th a t h ill w ith his w ings b u rn t out. in
th e hope th a t somebody m ight come th e re and rep eat th e n am e
of Ram a, w hen alone, th e Sun-G od had told him , his w ings w ould
grow again for flight. W hen he h eard H anum an speak of Ja ta y u s
as dead, he w alked to w here th e V anaras w ere holding th e ir
council and full of g rief asked them how Ja ta y u s h ad died. W hen
H anum an told him th a t he h ad died by th e sw ord of H avana, th e
g reat v u ltu re kin g w ept p ath etically an d asked h im w hy th e y
Jhad fought w ith each other. B u t w hen H anum an replied th a t h e
i Devotion.
2 IV ii 49.
198
KAMBA
R M Y N A M A
STUDY
H A N U M AN
199
2 Shiva.
3 Adishesh.
5 V xiii 74, 75, 79, 80.
200
KAMBA
R A M A Y N A M A
STUDY
H A N U M AN
201
'
202
KAM BA
B A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H A N U M AN
20a
full of fancy, and lacks the grand simplicity and naturalness of Valmikis*
description of the same. But still it is rich with fine similes and is doner
In le grand style.
.2 0 4
KAMBA
R A M AY AN A M A
STUDY
H A N U M A N
205
2 Shiva.
4 V 86.
'206
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H A N U M AN
207
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
209
H A N U M AN
w ith it
R akshasas,
I w ill
destroy ! 1
5 V ii 202.
iO
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
211
H A N U M A N
It
2X2
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
h e h ad no t seen Sita.
STUDY
soliloquised th u s :
4 Alas, th a t jew elled one is n o t in this
E xtensive fort. Has he, perchance, k illed h er
Because she w ould not yield h er charm s to him ?
O r has he e a t h er in his w icked rage ?
O r h ap ly does he hold h er captive close
In an o th er w orld ? I know not w h at to th in k
O r w here to search for her ? W hat shall I say
To Ram w hen I re tu rn from h ere ? I fear
My sorrow s w ill not end unless w ith life.
4 K ak u tsth a 1 w ould be th in k in g I w ould bring
A m essage from his S ita : w hile m y lord
S ugriv w ould evn expect th a t Id re tu rn
A ccom panied by S ita freed : and this
Is w h at Ive done : Can I a t all re tu rn
To Ram, success achieved i th ta sk th a t I
H ave undertook ? O r shall I have to end
My life w ith those th a t I have left upon
The continent to w ait for m y re tu rn ? . . . .
4Oer all these seven h u n d red yojanas 2
Of land, th e re s not a living thing th a t I
H ave missed, and yet I have not seen th e spouse
Of R am a : having crossed th e ocean stream ,
A m I to sink ben eath this sea of grief ?
S hall I yon R avan ply w ith blows, and force
H im to discover Sita ? Or shall I
B urn dow n this city w ith its w icked king ?
I m ay the Devas ask : b u t how can th ey
Reply, w hen they w ith te rro r die a t sight
Of R akshas arm s ? Who else w ill m e d irect ? . . .
'
l Rama.
* V ii 225-227, 229-233.
2 36 miles 3 furlongs.
H A N U M AN
213
V iii 63.
214
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
2 V iii 73.
3 V iu 75, 76.
H A N U M AN
215
216
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 V v 21.
HAN U M AN
217
2 V v 27, 28.
218
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
m
description of R am as physical appearance, th e poet describes
S ita s condition an d H an u m an s fu rth e r speech in these w ords :
E vn as a piece of w ax w hen p u t in fire,
The h e a rt of S ita m elted aw ay as he
D escribed to h e r R am as m anly form. He fell
A gain at h er feet, and said, O m other, deign
To list to w ords th a t R am a bid me say
To m ake thee- tru s t in m e : Recall to h er
Said he, th a t w hen I pray ed h e r to rem ain
A t hom e and serve m y m others, as fo rest p ath s
W ere thorny, w ild, and steep, h er eyes grew red,
A nd w ith a cloth of b ark p u t on, she cam e
A nd stood beside me. Tell h e r on th e day
T h at we for the ju n g le started , h ard ly had
We passed the city -g ates w hen she did ask,
W here is the forest, d ear ? A gain rem ind
H er, said th y Ram, th a t w hen S u m an tra 1 left
Us on th e forest bounds, she clean forgot
H er grief and sent a m essage to h er birds
A nd p arro ts left a t hom e ! He ceased, and th en
T hinking th a t he had said enough, he show ed
To h er th e ring on w hich h er R am as nam e
W as carved. 2
We shall refer the read e r to ch ap ter XV for a description of
th e effect th a t th e sight an d touch of th e rin g w ro u g h t upon Sita.
T he ring finally dispelled all h er doubts and suspicions and a new
hope now en tered h er h eart. She blessed H anum an for th u s
saving h er life w ith the m essage of Ram a. She th en learn ed from
h im all th a t had tak en place a fte r she w as p arte d from Ram a.
W hen H anum an, how ever, said th a t he crossed th e ocean from th e
m ainland to L anka, she found it h ard to believe it. She, therefore,
asked him how he could cross th e sea w ith o u t a boat. He said :
J u s t as those, m other, who m ed itate on th e holy feet
of thy L ord cross th e endless ocean of Illusion, even so I
crossed th e black ocean stream w ith m y feet. 3
B ut as this did not satisfy her, he show ed to h er his V ishvarupa
th e gigantic, w orld-filling form in w hich he flew across th e sea.
S ays th e poet :
1 the charioteer.
2 V v 59-62.
3 V v 97.
.2 2 0
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H A N U M A N
221
*222
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
H A N U M AN
22
branches of trees w hile the Rakshas assaulted him w ith his arrow s.
The fight continued for long and In d raj it's bow itself w as broken
by H anum an. A t last seeing no other w ay to end H anum an,
Indra jit sent the Brahm astra against him, and it bound his lim bs
and m ade him prisoner. A lthough the B rahm astra is th e m ost
shattering w eapon know n to the heroic arm oury, H anum an h ad
been granted the blessing of invulnerability against it by B rah m a
him self in form er tim es, and so he was m erely overpow ered by
the w eapon and not killed.1
He was dragged by the Rakshasas and Rakshasis in h is
tem porarily helpless state and placed before R avana by In d ra jit.
R avana w as sitting in state surrounded by his m inisters an d
courtiers and m usicians and dancers, and w hen H anum an w as
brought before him his very sight angered H anum an as th e sig h t
of the cobra w ould rouse the w ra th of the eagle. His first im pulse
w as to break asunder th e noose th a t was still holding him in its
bonds and spring upon R avana. He thus revolved th e m a tte r in
h is m ind :
W hen on his bed I saw him sleep, I th o u g h t
It w as n o t ju st to kill him unaw ares :
Now th a t m y luck had m ade him sit upon
His throne, I shall not fu rth e r think, b u t shall
Now fall on him , and felling dow n his heads
Shall free our Sita, and tak e h er back to Ram.
If in the presence of Gods and D anavas,
Who guard in te rro r S itas bow ery prison,
I do not clip his crow ned heads, w hatT l be
The w o rth of all m y courage and m y m ight ? . . .
T w ill be a sham e if after seeing him
The chance of a full life-tim e I do re tu rn
W ith only w ords exchanged w ith the R akshas king.
I need not even conquer him : Ill have
Renow n if ev n I die in fight engaged
W ith him . 2
B ut presen tly he grew m ore collected and looked at th e
situ atio n in a different light. Now he argued w ith in him self in
this wise :
1 Brahmas blessing also limited the bondage te an hour and a half.
2 V xiii 56, 57, 59.
?24
KAMB
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
HA N U M A N
225
15
But
226
KAMBA
HAMAYANAM A
STUDY
HANUMAN
227
2 VI xv 262, 263:
228
K A M B A
HAM AYA N A M A
STUDY
* VI x x iii 20.
229
H A N U M AN
2 VI xxxi 46.
r,
230
KAMBA
BAMYANAM A
STUDY
> VI xxxix 2a
232
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
>
R A V A N A
233
234
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
H A V A N A
235
clarified butter.
KAMBA
1286
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
R A V A N A
23?
-?38
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
RAVANA
239
1- -
40
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A STUDY
8 HI v 149.
RAVANA
241
242
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
RAVANA
24S
244
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
,
!
i in v iii 35.
245
RAVANA
246
KAMBA
H A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
HAVANA
247
He
248
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI x x x v i 239.
RAVANA
24
<250
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI x x v ii 4.
RAVANA
251
how m any epics can we find sentim ents and language 1 like th e
follow ing ?
.................... T hink not th a t I did count
On those m y m en who are alread y fallen :
T hink n o t I counted on th e crew th a ts yet
Alive. T hink not I hoped th a t thou w ouldst beat
My foes upon th e field : in m y sole rig h t arm
I placed my. tru st and I provoked this w ar !
Evn if I lose, if R am as nam e w ill stand,
My nam e, w ill not it also stand as long
As Veds are sung on e a rth ? A nd w ho canst d eath
Escape th a t comes to all ? We live to -d ay ,
T o-m orrow finds us not : b u t glory, doth
It ever die ? .....................................................
.............................................................. Die I m ay
B ut can I stoop to sham e and littleness ? 2
A nd in th e m outh of how m any of the creations of poetic
genius w ill such w ords ap p ear as n a tu ra l as these do in th e m outh
of R avana ? In fact, K am ban has carved his R avana in such
proportions th a t no w ords th a t m ay be p u t into his m outh can
b e too brave or too ex alted for his m oral statu re.
Now, w hile R avana is proud and exacting w hen w h at he
th in k s to be his honour is concerned, he is not w ith o u t deep
affection for his b ro th er and sons. In fact his love for th em falls
sh o rt only ju st a little of his love of glory and honour. We have
seen how he m elts into tears w hen K u m b h ak arn a starts for the
field. W hen m essengers come and tell him th a t K u m b h ak arn a
h as fallen in th e field, he falls dow n unconscious like an uprooted
sal tree. Says th e poet :
F rom childhoods days they had not lived a p a rt :
Though tw o th e ir bodies, th e ir life w as only one.
W hen such a b ro th er died, and for his sake,
T he h e a rt of R avan broke in two, he swooned ;
A nd th u s lam ented he his fate aloud :
1 We always refer to the words of Kamban and not to our transla-1tion, the inadequacy of which, we realise more keenly than the hardest
of critics.
2 VI xxvii 8, 10, 11.
252
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
RAVANA
253
.254
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI xxviii 26-32.
HAVANA
255
256
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
257
R A V A N A
17
* VI x iii 13.
258
KAMBA
R A M AY AN A M A
STUDY
HAVANA
25
i VI xiv 1, 92.
It w as
)
260
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N M ---- A
STUDY
JR A V A N A
261
2 VI x iv 139.
262
KAMBA
R A M A Y N A M A. S T U D Y
2 VI xiv 161.
RAVANA
263
2 VI xi v 167, 169.
264
KAMBA
BAMAYANAM A
STUDY
HAVANA
265
266
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
2 roar.
VI xiv 232.
HAVANA
267
2 S ee page 64.
,2{x8
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
also fell, In d ra jit chid E avana for not sending him earlier, a n d
took the responsibility of th e com m and and led his g reat attack s
on th e V anara arm y. On his fall, R avana sent w ord to all th e
R akshasa colonies all over the universe and assem bled a big
arm yrhis w hole reserve force and dashed it against th e enem y
and him self took the field. Ram a opposed the reserve forces
single-handed, detailing L akshm ana and his arm y to face R avana.
The read er w ill rem em ber how R avana sent his lance ag ain st
V ibhishana, and how L akshm ana bared his b reast to it. W hen
L akshm ana fell pierced by the lance, R avana re tu rn e d
triu m p h an tly to the city believing L akshm ana to be dead. He
also expected th a t his im m ense reserve w ould bring him an easy
victory.
B ut the reserve was destroyed by the w onderful bow >craft of Rama, w hile L akshm ana and th e fallen arm y w ere
resuscitated by the drugs brought for a second tim e by
H anum an. K am ban describes the b attles w ith th e reserve forces
in 235 stanzas w ith his usual pow er and verve, b u t space forbids
us to even sum m arise th a t description to our reader. A t length
there was nothing left for R avana b u t his guard, and he
determ ined to lead them in person.
B ut if nothing rem ained in L anka except th e guard, th e
guard w ere an im m ense and most pow erful force, and it w as
R avana in his fu ry th a t now led them .
He p u t on the golden arm our th a t B rahm a had created a t
a great sacrifice, and w hich had been a trophy won by him self
from Indra. He wore the anklets round his left ankle, a t w hose
sound the w orlds trem bled as at the sound of th u n d er. He girded
on his tru sty sw ord and th rew over his back th e inex h au stib le
quiver of arrow s to which the w aters and sands, and fish of th e
sea and even science 1 w ere too sm all for com parison. He p u t.
on his pearl and diam ond garlands, and w alking out of h is
palace under the shade of his pearl-u m b rella, he ascended his
w ar-chariot. The thousand horses yoked to th e chariot w ere of
the highest breedbeing descended, some from U chchaishvanas,
*the divine-horse th a t came along w ith am brosia at th e chu rn in g
of the ocean of .milk, some from the horses draw ing th e chariot
of the sun, and some born to the Storm -G od in the womb of th e
<Ocean Fire. D raw n by such horses,
The car could run upon the land or sail
The sea ; it could ascend the sky and fly*
* Knowledge.
269
HAVANA
4 VI xxxv 2.
:270
KAMBA
BAMAYANAM A
STUDY
RAVANA
271
conflict.
T hey looked as G aruda, th e K ing of eagles, a n d
A dishesha of th e th ousand hoods engaged in m o rtal cam bat ; a n d
like tw o of th e m am m oths bearing th e universe read y to dash
against each o th er ; and even as V ishnu and S hiva fighting as
to who is m ore pow erful.
R avana blew his conch th a t w as ev er used, by th e th u n d e r
of its resonance, to create trep id atio n and te rro r in th e h ea rts of
gods. B ut then, w ith o u t R am as know ing it, his five divine
w eapons had tak en th e ir place by his side in th e car, and his
P anchajanya 1 n o w sounded of its own accord, feeling jealous of
R av an as conch.
M atali also sounded th e conch of Indra, m aking th e heaven,
and sea, and th e m ountains trem ble. The sound of P anchajanya
and In d ra s conch delighted th e h ea rts of th e D evis of h eav en
and they tu rn ed on R am a th e arrow s nam ed th e ir glances, ev en
before R avanas d arts began to show er on him.
The tw an g of R avans bow w as like th e ro ar
Of all th e oceans seven h ea rd at once :
W hile tw ang of K odanda2 w as like th e chant
Of Ved E tern al on the F in al Day.3
Even H anum an and the other leaders w ere te rro r-stric k e n
a t the sight of R avana and his host. They w ere filled w ith
despair not know ing w h at to do or w here to tu rn . R av an as
w a r-sh o u t and th e sounding of his bow w ere u n b earab ly terrific.
The roar of the sea and the th u n d e r of the clouds th a t are h ea rd
even now are only th e rev erb eratio n s of th a t w a r-sh o u t an d
tw ang ! He shouted, I shall eith er lift up Ram a w ith h is
divine chariot an d dash him to the earth, or destroy his chariot
w ith my arrow s, pow erful as the th u n d erb o lt, and cap tu re him
prisoner w ith his bow ! So shouting he aim ed his arrow s in
v eritab le showers. They came like th u n d e rb o lts and like fire,
like death and like rain, and they w ere longer th a n th e cobra
th a t was tied round th e M andara m ountain to ch u rn th e ocean.
R am a p arried th em w ith a sim ilar show er of arro w s aim ed w ith
e q u a l force. T he com bined show er
Did cover th e e a rth and sky, an d hills and seas ;
The eyes of even gods could see in all
1 Vishnus divine conch is called Panchajanya.
2 Ramas bow.
3 VI xxxvi 35.
272
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
273
HAVANA
18
3 VI xxxvi 97.
$74
KAM BA
R A M AY A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI x x x v i 115.
275
HAVANA
W ho can th is H am a be ? H e is n o t Shiv,
Nor V ishnu, n o r th e F o u r-faced O ne divine.
As for au sterities, he looks n o t strong
Enough to m o rtify .his flesh. Is he,
P erchance, th e U niversal Cause, of w hom
The V edas speak ? 1
(
B ut his v alo u r checks him from considering fu rth e r as to
w ho he m ig h t be. L ike R ustom of th e Shah N am ah h e disdains,
in spite of suspicious appearances, to in q u ire into th e tru e
^character of his enem y.
He, therefore, form ed his resolution saying,
,
B ut be he who he m ay,
I w ill not sw erve from w a rs straig h t p ath : I w ont
W ithdraw from m y w a rrio rs d u ty plain. I w ill
Y et conquer him. Een should I fall by is darts,
My nam e for v alour undism ayed w ill last
For ever ! let th e re be victory or d eath :
I tu rn n o t back ! 2
So he fought w ith u n ab ated fury. His N airriti-astra cam e
like m illions of cobras sp ittin g venom all over, b u t th e G arudastra
of Ram a tu rn e d itself into eagles w hich b it th e cobras to pieces
and m ade th e venom harm less. A fter m any m ore astras h ad
been aim ed and parried, R avana began to show signs of
exhaustion, b u t Ram a, w ho h ad n o t p u t fo rth h a lf his stre n g th
up to now , w as as fresh as ever, an d now began to ta k e th e
offensive. He aim ed a t one of th e necks of R avana a crescent shaped arrow . It flew w ith a terrific force an d cut and carried
off a head of his an d su n k it into th e sea. B ut behold,
Ee n as th e v irtu o u s soul th a t a fte r d eath
D oth ta k e its b irth again in a b e tte r fram e,
E vn so, upon th e tru n k an o th er head
Arose, its fu ry unforgot : is th e re
A m ong endeavours yielding golden fru it
A h ig h er one th a n tapas ? 3
The new h ead defied R am a in tones of th u n d er, w h ile th a t
w hich w as th ro w n into th e sea w as also ro arin g no less loudly.
1 VI xxxvi 135.
2 v i xxxvi 136.
3 y i xxxvi 152.
276
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
a VI xxxvi 178.
RAVAN A
27t
speed.
-i VI xxxvi 182.
278
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
1 VI x x x vi 198, 199.
2 VI xxxvi 201.
CH A PTER X IV
BHARATA
We have, so far, studied all th e m ain ch aracters excepting
Sita th a t are d irectly connected w ith th e d estru ctio n of H avana,
w hich is the one auction of our epic. We h av e also seen an d
discussed K am b an s delineation of th e heroes of tw o of his
grandest episodes, nam ely V ali an d H iranyakashipu. Exigencies
of space p rev en t us from stu d y in g th e o th er ch aracters of th e
story, in terestin g as th ey are, except in th e m an n er th a t w e h av e
done hitherto, nam ely by bringing in th e ir tra its an d doings as
m uch as possible in the studies of our m ain characters. W e sh a ll
close our exam ination of the ch aracters of th e R am ayana by
discussing B h a ra ta and S ita in this ch ap ter and th e nex t.
B h arata is, as w ell as is not, in tim ately connected w ith th e
story of th e epic. He is connected in tim ately w ith o u r sto ry
in th a t his love for R am a gives rise to some of th e m ost touching
episodes in th e epic, and also, chiefly, in th a t it is fo r his sak e
th a t K aikeyi forces D ash arath a to send Ram a to th e forest. He
is not intim ately connected w ith th e story in th a t h e is n o t
associated w ith R am a in th e d estru ctio n of R av an a and h is forces.
B ut the read er th a t know s not B h arata m isses m ore th a n h a lf
the beau ty of th e R am ayana, an d know s n o t one of th e m ost ju st
and te n d e r-h e a rte d and m ost touching ch aracters know n to sto ry
or history.
B harata, like L akshm ana, does n o t ap p ear m uch in th e
Balakanda. T here w e only h ea r th a t he loves R am a w ith a
ten d er love, and th a t he m arries one of th e d au g h ters of J a n a k a s
brother. It is in th e Second Book of th e R am ayana th a t w e see
the w hole evolution of his character, w hile th e flnal touch is
reserved for th e end of th e sto ry in th e Book of B attles.
It is th e cruel conduct of his m other, K aikeyi, th a t brings
B h a ra ta to prom inence in th e story, and it is th e rem em b ran ce
of th a t sam e cru elty th a t ev er a fte r presses h eav ily upon his
te n d e r an d noble h eart. Hence, th e read e r m u st know som ething
m ore th a n w h at w e h av e given in th e second ch a p ter ab o u t
K aikeyi an d h e r h eartless b eh av io u r to w ard s D ash arath a an d
R am a.
K aikeyi w as not alw ays cruel. In fact, she loved R am a
280
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 I I 47.
BHARATA
2a i
282
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
BHARATA
283
:284
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
T h a ts m a rk e d as h e ir in M enus ro y al house.
W hat did th y to n g u e suggest, d eg rad ed w re tc h ?
T hou a r t no frie n d to m e n o r to m y son,
Nor, if w e look to D harm a, to th y self !
To evil d ra w n by ill deeds done by th e e
I th past, th o u speakest thoughtless one, w h atee r
T hy ill-reg u lated , lo w -b o rn m ind suggests !
I f all th a tre born m u st die, and w h at is left
On e a rth by m en as gain or lost for ev r
Is only glory unsullied, th en w h a te er
Is lost w h er life, or justice, or een rig h t
A nd holy vows and w orks can w e give up
T raditions th a t descend from ancient S ire
To son ? If others should suspect w h at passed
B etw een us tw o b u t be thou gone fro m fore
My face ! Bless thou th y stars, O sin fu l w retch,
T h at I re fra in from cu tting thy tongue.
A vaunt, thou fool, and open not th y lips. 1
In spite of these h arsh w ords, M an th ara did n o t ow n d efeat.
On th e contrary, she determ in ed to carry by storm w h a t w o u ld
not yield to th e m ore feeble operation of sapping an d m ining.
So, like th e poison th a t w ould not ab ate in v iru lan ce even a fte r
incantations are pronounced, b u t continues to a tta c k th e system,*
she did n o t cease h er attem p t. She fell a t K aik ey is feet, an d
for this information to the Poet-laureate of Madras, Shri V. Ramai in gam
Pillai,popularly known as the Namakkal Kavingar (poet of Namaklcal)
whose article on this simile appears in the October 1949 issue of the
Kalai-Magal, Madras. He says:
It was in 1915 that I saw an article by an eminent American
Ornithologist in the Scientific American. He had bred peacocks in
captivity, and had marked with rings the chicks of one brood in the
order of their hatching out of the eggs. Later, he continued to note
their life day to day, and one of bis observations was that the peahen
always goes about with all its family along with it, and that, when
ever an occasion arose for the peacocks to spread their tails and
dance about, the order of precedence of fanning out the wings was
invariably in the order of their emergence from the eggs/
The ancient Tamil poets, who had lived close to Nature, had noted
this interesting phenomenon ages ago, and had effectively used it in
poetry.
We would be failing in our duty if we did not add that the Namakkal
Kavingar, in his youth, used to pose these verses to Tamil scholars and
crow over their discomfiture, but once he met his match in a very old
man in a remote township who pricked our poet-laureates bubble w ith
a bland statement of this life-habit of the peacock. (P )l
1 II ii 64-67.
BHARATA
285
286
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
BHARATA
287
288
KAMBA
R A M AYANAM A
STUDY
2 II iii 34.
3 II iii 44.
HARAT
1 II ili 103-106
19
!
2 S e e page 9.
S II ix ^ .
9B0
KAMBA
R A M AY AN A M A
STUDY
B H A R A T Ai -
2 II ix 5.
,3 II jx 60-62.
282
KAM BA
R A M A V A N A &E A
STUDY
BK ARAXA
293
94
K A M BA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
2 I I ix 96.
B H A R A T A*
II ix 118.
3 ii
ix m
KAMBA
m
(f a
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
A la s, m y B h arata, th ou m a y s ! n o t lig h t
T h e fu n er a l fire n o r jo in in th e r ite s : .
F o r D ash arath h a s rep u d ia ted th ee
A lso in th e a n g u ish o f h is h ea rt, b efo re
H is d ea th .9 1
*
These w ords w en t like a cru el poisoned d a r t into th e a lre a d y
to rtu re d h e a rt of B h arata, and h e fell dow n like a cobra stru ck by
th e th u n d erb o lt and th u s lam ented his fate :
4Of all th e princes of m y race who can
C om pare w ith m e ? I am unfit to perfo rm
My fa th e r's fu n eral rites ; is it to seat
M yself upon th e v acan t th ro n e alone
T h at I am born ? . . . . Alas, I am become
<
i n& m
* II ix 136, 138.
BHARAT^
297
2 II x 19, 20.
298
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M
S T U D Y
BHARATA
299
:$0Q
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M
S T U D Y
2 II xi 35, 36
3 II xi 40.
6 H A ft 1 A
3V
* n xi 43.
-502
K A M 6A
B A M A Y A N A M A
S.TUDY
303
BHARATA
* II x 53.
3 II X 9&
304
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N M A
STUDY
SHARATA
3oa
20
2 II xii 129.
4 II xii 132.
306
K AMBA
RA M AYAN AM A
STUDY
^ V3 x x x v ii 215.
BHARATA-
307
B ut m ay it be
He th in k s I m ight desire th e crow n, an d stays
A w ay in th e w ilderness so th a t I m ig h t
njoy th e th ro n e in peace ? B ut ho\v th e tim e
Is p ast th a t I should th in k and h esitate :
I can m y to rtu re b ear no m ore, Ill die
A nd end m y anguish w ith m y life ! 1
He, therefore, h ad a big ro arin g fire lig h ted on th e fields and
w alked to w ard s i t But, in th e m eantim e, th e w hole city got to
know of the m a tte r, and everybody rush ed to th e field of fire,
preceded by K ausalya, th e m other of Ram a, w ho h u rrie d to w ard s
him w eeping and sobbing. W hen he saw her, B h arata w as ta k e n
aback and he saluted h er falling a t h er feet. She took h im up
an d em braced him and chid him and nobly lauded him in th e
follow ing w ords :
Tis destiny, m y son, th a t dio v e thy b ro th er
A nd fath e r to th e ir several fates ; b u t w h at
Is it th a t th o u r t about, O child ? It is
A thoughtless deed ; fo r if thou end th y life,
O ur chiefs and people an d th y m o th ers all
W ill feed th e fire and end them selves. W ill D harm
Itself rem ain alive ? The very w orld
W ill from its orb it sw erve and come to an end !
T hou know est not th y greatness, B h arata !
We have not seen a hig h er righteousness
W ith these our eyes th an th y ow n holy life.
Can eer th y glory fade e en w hen th e w orlds
Dissolve ? Ten m illion m illion R am as evn
Can n ev er approach th e love im m aculate
T h at b u rn s w ith in th y soul ! If thou shouldst die
T h at a r t b u t D h arm as o th er self, can e a rth
A nd heaven and all th a t b reath es rem ain alive ?
If th is day ta rrie s Ram , tom orrow h e
Is sure to come. T h in k not h ed b reak th e w ord
H e him self gave to thee. T om orrow if
I, VI (X^cxvii 216.
308
KAM BA
R A M A V A N A M A
STUDY
2 VI x x x v ii 236-238.
3 VI x x x v ii 1240i
BHARATA
$09
2 VI xxxvii 247
31
KAM BA
R A M A VA N A M A
STUDY
SIT A
*312
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
SITA
31%
3 H
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
SITA
315
33:6
K A M BA
RAMADAN AM A
STUDY
S I T A ' .
<8827
2 II v 40.
a I * 3&L
518
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
$19
SITA
320
KAMBA
RAMAVANAM A
STUDY'
<(
321
SITA
322
KAMBA
RAMAYAKAM A
STUDY
2 m
v iii 68.
S2S
SITA
4 V iv 23.
324
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
The reader w ill recollect that Aiyar had pointed out that
Havana had paid other visits before, trying to wear down Sitas
will, but he had been spurned time and again.1 His assurance
has, therefore, wilted, and he,
f
'i
>
' *
by repetition,
1 S ee page 17.
2 Shiva hum bled him when he tried to carry away the Kailash Hill
w ith Shiva and P arvathi enthroned thereon.
3 Nan* the original term in Tamil stands for the spontaneous
shrinking of the soul from wrong-doinga sensitiveness to shame.
4 V iv 2$.
'
32S
SITA
* . * 4 O y o u of b a le fu l eyes in sp irin g fe a r
In h ea v en an d e a rth , I p ra y fo rsa k e fo rth w ith
Y our evil w ays. T h e lo tu s-d w e llin g L o rd ,
O r V ishnu, B rah m , d id y o u m ista k e m y R a m
, F o r one of th e se ? Y ou u tte r sim p leto n !
V
326
KAM BA
RAM AY AN A M A
STUDY
SITA
327
th e libertin es th e sharks, th e abductors a re th e sto rm i, th e silv ertongued fam ily frie n d th e sunkeii coral reef, and th e village
zam in d ar is Havana him self.
M uch as Sita, in h e r fu ry roused, captures our im agination,
h e r despondency a n d h e r rejoicing do no less plu ck a t o u r h e a rt
strings, and w e w eep w ith her, w e sigh w ith her, and o ur body
an d soul sw ell w ith jo y a t h e r joy.
The poignancy of S itas g rief in h e r solitude and th e
n o n e-th e-less p ath etic rejoicing on seeing R am as rin g have been
p ain ted by th e m aster-craftsm en of th e epic w ith an in ten sity
th a t has deeply m oved not only scholars, b u t, in th e
re -te llin g th ro u g h countless generations, has lost n o th in g an d y et
sw ays m u ltitu d es th ro u g h sto ry -tellin g , th e stage an d cinem a, an d
even th e crude village festival th e a tre w ith rough yokels for actors
an d a pro p erty tre e for a background.
Of Sita in tears, th e poet says,
The noble B irth, th e C hastity,
The P atien ce of ex trem est kind,
Benevolence and Fem inine Grace,
If all these h ad a form and lived
A m idst surging sea of w ater,
It is S eetha shedding tears ;
A God w ith hum an h e a rt is she. 1
In tw en ty h e a rt-rin g in g stanzas, K am ban p o rtray s h er state
an d h er desp air-lad en thoughts even w hile H anum an w as en terin g
th e A shokavana w here she w as k ep t captive. 2
S urrounded by th e thronging R akshasis
Of h efty loins, like m ountain m edcine h erb
Sheer foreigner to m oisture, even so,
S hrivelled w as she of bloom ; an d even like
H er slender w aist, h er body all w as w orn.
F orsaken h ad h er eyes all sleep or droop
Of lids in w eariness, or ev en w ink :
O f body lu streless lik e a lam p in th sun,
So lik e a doe m idst fan g -ed tigers w ild,
She seemed.
i A Garland of Tamil Poetry published by the Karanthai Tamil
Sangam, Tanjavur.
a See page 213 e t seq. for the description of Sita as Hanuman saw her.
328
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 V i i i 3r5, 7, i l l * . .
SITA
or
329
3 V iii 19.
2 V iii 12-17.
330
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
SITA
331
332
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
2 V vi 13.
s Sita.
3 Rama.
6 y vi 14
SITA
22
2 V vi 17.
3 V vi 18.
5 V vi 26. 27.
834
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
h er w ith such in ten sity and etched detail th at, even y ears a fte r w e
h ad laid aside th e book, it is she who comes first to m in d w h en
th in k in g on th e R am ayana> and it is th e verses from h e r lips
w hich w ell up to our lips from th e springs of our h eart. Sw inging
from th e depths of despair to rap tu ro u s heights of joy, only to
sound the bottom of d esp o n d en c/ again, she keeps us p risoner w ith
h er in the lonely isle. H anum an, afte r acknow ledging th a t she
w as right, asked h er for a m essage to Rama. H er rep ly is fu ll
of m isgivings and, in spite of her, a certain b ittern ess rings in h e r
sw eet words.
4B ut one m ore moon shall I en d u re een here
This is m y m essage true, O righteous one !
More, I shall not m y hfe sustain. A nd this,
I sw ear by him m y K ing ! Take this to h e a rt !
4Tho I m ight not be fitting m ate to him
Of g arland rolling chest, th o his h e a rt be void
Of ru th , tell him it is his d u ty plain
To save his v alo u rs fame.
4In b u t one moon au sterity m ine expires ;
If he does n o t come here w ith in th a t tim e,
L et him on banks of G angas tid al flood
W ith lotus hands of his m y obsequies
P erform !
44 Rem ind him of th e solemn vow he m ade
T hat day he took m y h an d in w edlock rite :
4Not een m thought w ill I in this m y life
A second w om an touch ; he sw ore to m e :
D rum these w ords in his ear.
4Do m ake it clear to him th a t I b ut crave
W ith salutation low this single boon :
Een if I stay and end m y life dow n here,
L et it be gran ted me to be reborn
A nd gain th e blessing ra re w hich ends all sin
To touch his form divine. 4
4The w hile he ru les enthroned, or rides in state
The h altered elephant w ith bells of choice,
O r his resp len d en t aspects m anifold
On avenues to see I am not blest.
335
SITA
Of w h at avail is it to speak of th em ?
L et m e on m y past K arm a dw ell.
To the w orld sore languishing for him so long,
A t his m o th ers grief, and a t distress w hich B h a ra t
Endures, h ell speed. To me in agony
Down here, how w ould he come ? *1
H anum an, the skilful am bassador and devotee of Ram a,
consoles h er in a long spirited speech. W hat w ould good m en
an d the learned say, he exclaim s if we retu rn ed w ith o u t rescuing
you from the captivity of th r u n rep en tan t foes..................... You
w ill see here rise a huge m ountain, reaching to th e skyra re even
for Vali to cross of the thalis2 discarded by th e Rakshasis. A nd
he concluded w ith a dire oath,
4W ithin th a t day you have now said to me
If he does not deliver you from durance vile,
0 dam e of fra g ra n t locks, let infam y
U nutterable and sin envelope him.
Thence R avana is he oer th ere and he
H ere now is tru ly Ram . 3
Joy again suffused S itas face, and she now gave out certain
secrets to tell Ram a as irrefu tab le evidence of H anum an having
tru ly seen her. In doing so, w ith characteristic fem inine skill,
she conveys to him a h in t not to b lu rt out to R am a ev ery th in g
she had said before.
Now speed thee hence ; m ay you avoid all h arm :
1 have no m ore to add ; all th a t I need,
Ive said. To m y liege repeat, as wise you are,
W hat is b u t propitious. 4
W hisper to him how
Once on th e m ountain side w here elephants
Do range, a raven came and claw ed m e sore
W ith cruel toes, and lo, in fiery rage
1 V vi 29, 30, 32, 34-37
2 T he sym bol in gold of th e m a rrie d state, an d w h ich is sn ap p ed off
w ith a w re n ch an d d iscard ed on b ein g w idow ed.
3 V vi 74.
v vi 76.
336
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
V I
SITA
337
2 VI xxxvii 176.
3 Daughter of Vibhishana and the only friend to Sita in her captivity.
KAM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
F e a r not, fe a r n o t/ assured
A nd tu rn in g on th e M aruthi,
W h at h arm have these ee r
E en as h e bid th em speak ?
STUDY
th e M other R uth,
she asked
done, b u t spoke to me*
* VI x x x v ii 34, 36.
2 VI x x x v ii'50.
339
SITA
. i
840
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
4 Shiva.
2 Hanuman.
5 Vishnu.
341
S I T A
4 Havanas.
AiyarSee page 216.
342
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
The Lord of Fire rose from the flames bearing her unhurt
in his hands and led h e r up to R am as side.
and the w orld b reath ed .1
R am a accepted her,
SITA
343
A P P E N D I C E S
INDEX
ETC.
APPENDIX I
G A R U D A S F L IG H T 1
(Please see fo o t-n o te 2 on page 93)
The w hile this happened dow n below th e Devas stood
A ghast, alarm ed, and th ro w n into confusion sore,
A fraid to th in k how far t w ould go and how w ould end ;
Een th en the Lord of Eagles, G aruda, a t hand,
W ith quaking h e a rt in te n t on sure deliverance,
Slow ly he em erged from th a t encircling darkness.
Espying Ram of dauntless h e a rt dism ayed by th e snake
His grace w ith d raw n from stubborn K ing of L an k a isle,
A nd m ore, th e w orld en tire besides th e G aru d a
N eer aw ed before, his h e a rt now lost an d grieved ;
A nd he sped on tem pestuous w ings w hich shook th e M er
A nd lit th e w orld around. The m am m oths g u ard in g close
The compass points did cow er w ith u n w in k in g eyes
Now closed in sh rinking fear.
i Students of Latin will recall to mind the famous line from Virgils
JEnoui (Bk. VIII, 596) which runs as follows:
Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.
Most of Virgils A2neid is in hexameter versea hexameter being a
foot of one long vowel and two shorts, or a stressed syllable followed by
two unstressed onescorresponding to dactyl in English poetry. Here is
the above line divided according to the metre.
Quad-ru-pe/dan-te pu/trem son-i/tu qua-tit/un-gu-la/cam-pum
The last foot is of two long syllables. The line gives the sound effect
of the horses hooves as they gallop along. The literal translation of this
line is :
The hoof beats the mouldering plain with a trampling noise.
Take another example, written entirely in anapaests :
The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold
The horses of the Assyrians can be heard galloping in these lines,
^nd that is why Byron used anapaests.
Kambans stanzas translated here have to be read in the original to
enjoy the sandham (metrical foot) which he has used to make the lines
reproduce in their cadence the flight of a majestic bird. Each line ends
with an upward lift, producing the extraordinary impression of the
soaring of a bird in flight. We have used in this translation the iambic
hexameter, i.e., an unstressed and stressed syllable to a foot and six feet
to the line. Being the flight of a bird and not the gallop of a horse, the
iambic foot has been considered quite suitable to indicate the tempo.
We make no apology for this poor effort, for we-do not pretend to
have any skill in the art of composing verses.
346
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
A P P E N D I X if
VALMIKIS VALI
(S e e C hapter X I page 187)
348
KAMBA
RAM AYANAM A
STUDY
340
APPENDICES
*
C anto V
THE LEAGUE
sso
KM BA
R A M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
C a n t o VIII
RAMAS PROMISE
351
APPENDICES
C anto X
SUGRIVAS STORY
*
Canto X II
99*
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M
S T U D Y
S o t h e g r e a t s u n , e r e n ig h t h a s c e a s e d ,
S p r in g s u p i m p a tie n t to t h e e a s t.
T h e n fie rc e a n d w ild t h e c o n flic t r a g e d
A s h a n d to h a n d th e fo e s e n g a g e d ,
A s th o u g h in b a t t l e m id th e s ta r s
F o u g h t M e r c u r y a n d fie ry M a rs.
T o h ig h e s t p itc h o f f r e n z y w r o u g h t
W ith fists lik e t h u n d e r b o lt s th e y fo u g h t,
W h ile n e a r th e m R a m a to o k h is s ta n d ,
A n d v ie w e d th e b a ttle , b o w in h a n d .
A lik e th e y s to o d in f o r m a n d m ig h t,
L ik e h e a v e n ly A s v in s p a ir e d in fig h t,
N o r m ig h t th e so n o f R a g h u k n o w
W h e r e f o u g h t th e f r ie n d a n d w h e r e th e fo e ;
S o , w h ile h is b o w w a s r e a d y b e n t,
N o lif e - d e s tr o y i n g s h a f t h e s e n t.
C r u s h e d d o w n b y B a lis m ig h t ie r s tr o k e
S u g r i v a s fo rc e n o w s a n k a n d b r o k e ,
W h o , h o p in g n a u g h t f ro m R a m a s a id ,
T o R is h y a m u k a fled d is m a y e d .
W e a r y , a n d f a in t, a n d w o u n d e d so re ,
H is b o d y b r u is e d a n d d y e d w ith g o re ,
F r o m B a lis b lo w s , in r a g e a n d d r e a d ,
A f a r to s h e lte r in g w o o d s h e fled.
N o r B a li f a r t h e r d a r e d p u r s u e ,
T h e c u r b in g c u r s e to o w e ll h e k n e w .
* F le d f ro m t h y d e a th ! th e v ic to r c rie d ,
A n d h o m e th e m ig h ty w a r r i o r h ie d .
H a n u m a n , L a k s h m a n , R a g h u s so n
B e h e ld th e c o n q u e r e d V a n a r r u n ,
A n d f o llo w e d to th e s h e lte r in g s h a d e
W h e r e y e t S u g r iv a s to o d d is m a y e d .
N e a r a n d m o r e n e a r th e c h ie f ta in s c a m e ,
T h e n , f o r in to le r a b le s h a m e ,
N o t d a r i n g y e t to li f t h is e y e s,
S u g r iv a s p o k e w ith b u r n in g s ig h s :
T h y m a tc h le s s s tr e n g t h I f irs t b e h e ld ,
A n d d a r e d m y fo e , b y th e e im p e lle d .
W h y h a s t th o u t r i e d m e w ith d e c e it
A n d u r g e d m e to a s u r e d e f e a t ?
T h o u s h o u ld s t h a v e s a id , I w ill n o t s la y
T h y f o e m a n in t h e c o m in g f r a y /
F o r h a d I th e n th y p u rp o se k n o w n
A P P E N D I C E S
I h a d n o t w a g e d th e fig h t a lo n e .
T h e V a n a r so v e re ig n , lo fty -s o u le d ,
I n p la in tiv e v o ice h is so rro w s to ld ,
T h e n R a m a s p a k e : S u g n v a , list,
A ll a n g e r fro m th y h e a r t d ism isse d ,
A n d I w ill te ll th e ca u se th a t s ta y e d
M in e a rro w , a n d w ith h e ld th e a id
I n d re ss, a d o rn m e n t, p o rt, a n d h e ig h t,
I n s p le n d o u r, b a ttle -s h o u t, a n d m ig h t,
N o s h a d e of d iffe re n c e co u ld I see
B e tw e e n th y foe, O k in g , a n d th e e
S o lik e w a s each , I sto o d a t gaze,
M y sen ses lo st in w ild e rin g m aze,
N o r lo o sen ed fro m m y s tra in in g bow
A d e a d ly a rro w a t th e foe,
L e s t in m y d o u b t th e s h a ft sh o u ld se n d
T o su d d e n d e a th o u r s u re s t frie n d .
O, if th is h a n d m h e e d le ss g u ilt
A n d ra s h re so lv e th y blood h a d sp ilt,
T h ro u g h e v e ry la n d , O V a n a r K in g ,
M y w ild a n d fo o lish a c t w o u ld rin g .
S o re w e ig h t o f sin on h im m u s t lie
B y w h o m a frie n d is m a d e to d ie ,
A n d L a k s h m a n , I, a n d S ita , b e s t
O f d am es, o n th y p ro te c tio n re st.
O n, w a r rio r ! fo r th e fig h t p r e p a r e ;
N o r f e a r a g a in th y fo e to d a re .
W ith in o n e h o u r th in e e y e s h a ll v ie w
M y a rro w s tr ik e th y fo e m a n th r o u g h ;
S h a ll see th e s tric k e n B a li lie
L o w on th e e a r th , a n d g asp a n d d ie.
B u t com e, a b a d g e a b o u t th e e b in d ,
O m o n a rc h of th e V a n a r k in g ,
T h a t m th e b a ttle sh o c k m in e ey es
T h e frie n d a n d foe m a y reco g n ize.
C om e, L a k s h m a n , le t th a t c re e p e r d e c k
W ith b r ig h te s t b lo o m S u g n v a s n eck ,
A n d be a h a p p y to k e n , tw in e d
A ro u n d th e c h ie f of lo fty m in d .
U p o n th e m o u n ta in slo p e th e r e g re w
A s p re a d in g c re e p e r f a ir to v ie w ,
A n d L a k s h m a n p lu c k e d th e b lo o m a n d ro u n d
S u g r iv a s n e c k a g a r la n d w o u n d .
384:
KAMBA
RA M A Y A N A M A
STUDY
C anto X III
THE RETURN TO KISHKINDHA
Canto XIV
THE CHALLENGE
C anto XV
TARA
APPENDICES
355
366
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M - A
STUDY
APPENDICES
A n d be tb o u his an d H am as friend.
E ach soft ap p ro ach of love begin,
A n d to th y soul th y b ro th e r w in ;
F o r w h e th e r h e re or th e re h e be,
T h y b ro th e r still, d e a r lord, is he.
T hough fa r a n d w ide th ese eyes I stra in
A frie n d like h im I seek in vain.
L e t g en tle w ords his h e a rt incline,
A n d gifts an d h o nours m ak e him thine,
T ill, foes no m ore, in love allied,
Y ou sta n d as b ro th ers side by side.
T h o u in h ig h ra n k w ast w ont to hold
S ugriva, form ed in m assive m ould ;
T h en come, th y b ro th e rs love regain,
F o r o th e r aids a re w eak an d vain.
I f fh o u w ould please m y soul, an d still
P re se rv e m e fro m all fe a r an d ill,
I p ra y th ee by th y love be w ise
A nd do th e th in g w hich I advise.
A ssuage th y b ru te w ra th , an d sh u n
T h e m ig h tier arm s of R a g h u s son ;
F o r In d ra s p eer in m ig h t is he,
A foe too strong, m y lord, for th ee.
C a n t o XVI
THE FA LL OF BALI
35T
:3 5 8
KAMBA
RAMAYANAM A
STUDY
APPENDICES
35&
-360
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M - A
STUDY
361
APPENDICES
362
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M ---- A
S T U ^ Y
I n f e n c e d to w n , in o p e n la n d ,
N e e r h a s t th o u s u f fe re d a t th is h a n d .
N o r c a n s t o f p r o u d c o n te m p t c o m p la in :
T h e n w h e r e f o r e is th e g u iltle s s s la in ?
M y h a r m le s s lif e in w o o d s I le a d ,
O n f o r e s t f r u i t s a n d ro o ts I fe e d .
M y fo e m a n in th e field I s o u g h t,
A n d n e e r w ith th e e , O R a m a , f o u g h t.
U p o n th y lim b s , O K in g , I se e
T h e r a i m e n t o f a d e v o te e ;
A n d h o w c a n o n e lik e th e e , w h o s p r in g s
F r o m a p r o u d lin e o f a n c ie n t k in g s ,
B e n e a th f a i r v i r t u e s m a s k , d is g r a c e
H is lin e a g e b y a d e e d so b a s e ?
F r o m R a g h u is th y lo n g d e s c e n t,
F o r d u te o u s d e e d s p r e - e m i n e n t :
W h y , s in n e r c la d in s a in tly d r e s s ,
R o a m e s t th o u th r o u g h th e w ild e r n e s s ?
T r u t h , v a lo u r , ju s t ic e f r e e fro m s p o t,
T h e h a n d t h a t g iv e s a n d g r u d g e s n o t,
T h e m ig h t t h a t s tr ik e s t h e s in n e r d o w n ,
T h e s e b r in g a p r in c e h is b e s t r e n o w n .
H e r e in t h e w o o d s, O K in g , w e liv e
O n r o o ts a n d f r u i t w h ic h b r a n c h e s g iv e .
T h u s n a t u r e f r a m e d o u r h a r m le s s r a c e :
T h o u a r t a m a n s u p r e m e in p la c e .
S ilv e r a n d g o ld a n d la n d p r o v o k e
T h e fie rc e a tta c k , t h e r o b b e r s s tr o k e .
C a n s t th o u d e s ir e th is w ild r e t r e a t ,
T h e b e r r ie s a n d th e f r u i t w e e a t ?
T is n o t f o r m ig h ty k in g s to t r e a d
T h e flo w e ry p a th , b y p le a s u r e le d .
T h e ir s b e th e a r m t h a t c r u s h e s sin ,
T h e ir s t h e s o f t g r a c e to w o o a n d w in :
T h e s te a d f a s t w ill t h a t g u id e s th e s ta te ,
W ise f a v o u r to t h e g o o d a n d g r e a t ;
A n d f o r a ll tim e a r e k in g s r e n o w n e d
W h o b le n d th e s e a r t s a n d n e e r c o n fo u n d .
B u t t h o u a r t w e a k a n d s w if t to ir e ,
U n s ta b le , s la v e o f e a c h d e s ire .
T h o u t r a m p l e s t d u t y in t h e d u s t,
A n d in t h y b o w is a l l t h y t r u s t .
A P P E N D I C E
T h o u c a r e s t n a u g h t fo r n o b le g a in .
A n d tr e a te s t v ir tu e w ith d isd a in ,
W h ile e v e ry se n se its c a p tiv e d r a w s
T o fo llo w p le a s u r e s c h a n g in g la w s.
I w ro n g e d th e e n o t in w o rd o r d e e d ,
B u t In th y d e a d ly d a r t I b leed .
W h a t w ilt th o u , m id th e v irtu o u s , sa y
T o p u rg e th y la s tin g s ta in a w a y ?
A ll th e se , O K in g , m u s t sin k to h ell,
T h e re g ic id e , th e in fid el,
H e w h o in b lo o d a n d s la u g h te r jo y s,
A B ra h m a n o r a cow d e stro y s,
U n tim e ly w e d s in la w s d e s p ite
S c o rn in g a n e ld e r b r o th e r s rig h t,
W ho d a re s h is T e a c h e rs b e d ascen d ,
T h e m iser, sp y , a n d tre a c h e ro u s f rie n d .
T h e se im p io u s w re tc h e s , o n e a n d all,
M u st to th e h e ll of s in n e rs fa ll.
M y sk in th e h o ly m a y n o t w e a r,
U seless to th e e m y b o n es a n d h a i r ;
N o r m a y m y s la u g h te r e d b o d y be
T h e food of d e v o te e s lik e th e e .
T h e se fiv e -to e d th in g s a m a n m a y s la y
A n d feed u p o n th e fa lle n p re y ;
T h e m a ile d rh in o c e ro s m a y d ie,
A n d , w ith th e h a re , h is food s u p p ly
Ig u a n a s h e m a y k ill a n d e a t,
W ith p o rc u p in e n d to rto is e m e a t.
B u t a ll th e w ise a c c o u n t it sin
T o to u c h m y b o n es a n d h a ir a n d sk in .
M y flesh th e y m a y n o t e a t ; a n d I
A u se le ss p re y , O K am a, die.
I n v a in m y T a r a re a s o n e d w e ll,
O n d u ll d e a f e a rs h e r c o u n se l fell.
I sc o rn e d h e r w o rd s th o u g h so o th a n d s w e e t.
A n d h ith e r r u s h e d m y f a te to m e e t.
A h fo r th e la n d th o u r u le s t 1 S h e
F in d s n o p ro te c tio n , lo rd , fro m th e e ,
N e g le c te d lik e so m e n o b le d a m e
B y a v ile h u s b a n d d e a d to sh a m e .
M e a n - h e a r te d c o w a rd , fa ls e a n d v ile,
W h o se c ru e l so u l d e lig h ts in- guile*
iS
KAMBA
R A M A Y A tt, A M A
STUD'S
APPENDICES
RAMAS REPLY
*
366
K A M BA
KAMAYANAM A
STUDY.'
A P P E N D I C E S
-All d u ty th o u h a s t sc o rn e d , a n d h e n c e
Com es p u n is h m e n t fo r direP offence.
F o r th o se w h o b lin d ly do am iss
T h e re is, I w een , n o w a y b u t th is :
T o c h e c k th e r a s h w h o d a r e to s tr a y
F ro m cu sto m s w h ic h th e good obey.
I m a y n o t, s p ru n g of K s h a triy a lin e ,
F o rg iv e th is h e in o u s sin o f th in e :
T h e la w s fo r th o se w h o sin lik e th e e
T h e p e n a lty of d e a th d ec re e.
N ow B h a ra t ru le s w ith so v e re ig n sw ay ,
A n d w e h is ro y a l w o rd obey.
T h e re w as n o h o p e of p a rd o n , n o n e,
F o r th e v ile d e e d th a t th o u h a s t d one.
T h a t w ise st m o n a rc h doom s to d ie
T h e w re tc h w h o se crim e s th e la w d e fy ;
A n d w e, c h a stisin g th o se w h o e rr,
H is rig h te o u s doom a d m in iste r.
M y soul ac c o u n ts S u g riv a d e a r
E 'e n as m y b r o th e r L a k sh m a n h e re .
H e b rin g s m e b lessin g , a n d I sw o re
H is w ife a n d k in g d o m to re s to re :
A b o n d in so le m n h o n o u r b o u n d
W h en V a n a r c h ie fta in s sto o d a ro u n d .
A n d can a k in g lik e m e fo rsa k e
H is frie n d , a n d p lig h te d p ro m ise b re a k ?
R eflect, O V a n a r, on th e cau se,
T h e sa n c tio n of e te r n a l la w s.
A n d , ju s tly s m itte n d o w n , confess
T h o u d ie st fo r th y w ick ed n ess.
B y h o n o u r w a s I b o u n d to le n d
A ssista n c e to a f a ith f u l frie n d ;
A n d th o u h a s t m e t a rig h te o u s fa te
T h y fo rm e r sin s to e x p ia te .
A n d th u s w ilt th o u som e m e r it w in
A n d m a k e a to n e m e n t fo r th y sin.
F o r h e a r m e, V a n a r K in g , re h e a rs e
W h a t M an u sp a k e in a n c ie n t v e rse
T h is h o ly law , w h ic h a ll a c c e p t
W ho h o n o u r d u ty , h a v e I k e p t :
4 P u r e g ro w th e s in n e rs k in g s c h a stise,
A n d lik e th e v irtu o u s, g a in th e sk ie s ;
7m
K A M BA
R A M A V A KAM
A. S T U D Y i
B y p a in o r f u l l a to n e m e n t fre e d ,
T h e y r e a p th e f r u i t o f r ig h te o u s d e e d ,
W h ile k in g s w h o p u n is h n o t in c u r
T h e p e n a ltie s o f th o s e w h o e r r /
M a n d h a ta , o n c e a n o b le k in g ,
L ig h t o f th e lin e f r o m w h ic h I s p rin g ,
P u n is h e d w ith d e a t h a d e v o te e
W h e n h e h a d s to o p e d to s i n lik e th e e
A n d m a n y a k in g in a n c ie n t tim e
H a s p u n is h e d f r a n tic s in n e r s ' c rim e ,
A n d , w h e n t h e i r im p io u s b lo o d w a s s p ilt,
H a s w a s h e d a w a y th e s t a i n o f g u ilt.
C e a se , B a li, c e a se : n o m o re c o m p la in :
R e p ro a c h e s a n d la m e n ts a r e v a in ,
F o r th o u a r t j u s t l y p u n is h e d : w e
O b e y o u r k in g a n d a r e n o t fre e .
O n c e m o re , O B a li, le n d th in e e a r.
A n o th e r w e ig h tie s t p le a to h e a r ,
F o r th is , w h e n h e a r d a n d p o n d e r e d w e ll,
W ill a ll c o m p la in t a n d r a g e d is p e l.
M y so u l w ill n e 'e r th is d e e d r e p e n t,
N o r w a s m y s h a f t in a n g e r s e n t.
W e ta k e n th e s ilv a n tr ib e s b e s e t
W ith s n a r e a n d t r a p a n d g in a n d n e t,
A n d m a n y a h e e d le s s d e e r w e s m ite
F r o m th ic k e s t s h a d e , c o n c e a le d fro m s ig h t.
W ild f o r th e s la u g h te r o f th e g a m e ,
A t s ta te l y s ta g s o u r s h a f ts w e a im .
W e s tr ik e th e m b o u n d in g s c a r e d a w a y ,
W e s tr ik e th e m a s th e y s ta n d a t b a y ,
W h e n c a re le s s in t h e s h a d e th e y lie ,
O r s c a n th e p la in w ith w a tc h f u l e y e .
T h e y t u r n a w a y t h e i r h e a d s : w e a im ,
A n d n o n e th e e a g e r h u n t e r b la m e .
E a c h r o y a l s a in t, w e ll tr a in e d in la w
O f d u ty lo v e s h is b o w to d r a w
A n d s tr ik e th e q u a r r y , e e n a s th o u
H a s t f a lle n b y m in e a r r o w n o w ,
F ig h tin g w ith h im o r u n a w a r e
A V a n a r th o u I l i t t l e c a re .
B u t, y e t, O b e s t o f V a n a rs, k n o w
T h a t k in g s w h o r u le th e e a r t h b e s to w
A P P E N D I C E S
F r u i t o f p u r e lif e a n d v ir tu o u s d e e d ,
A n d lo f ty d u t y s h a r d - w o n m e e d .
H a r m n o t th y lo r d t h e k in g : a b s ta in
F r o m a c t a n d w o r d t h a t c a u s e h im p a in .
F o r k in g s a r e c h ild r e n o f t h e s k ie s
W h o w a lk th is e a r t h in m e n s d isg u ise .
B u t th o u , in d u t y s c la im s u n ta u g h t,
T h y b r e a s t w ith b lin d in g p a s s io n f r a u g h t,
A s s a ile s t m e w h o s till h a v e c lu n g
T o d u ty , w ith th y b i t t e r to n g u e .
H e c e a s e d : a n d B a li s o re d is tr e s s e d
T h e s o v e re ig n c la im s o f la w c o n fe s se d ,
A n d f re e d , o e r w h e lm e d w ith w o e a n d s h a m e ,
T h e lo r d o f R a g h u s r a c e f r o m b la m e .
T h e n , r e v e r e n t p a lm to p a lm a p p lie d ,
T o R a m a th u s th e V a n a r c r ie d :
T ru e , b e s t o f m e n , is e v e r y w o rd
T h a t f ro m th y lip s th e s e e a r s h a v e h e a r d .
I t ill b e s e e m s a w r e tc h lik e m e
T o b a n d y e m p ty w o rd s w ith th e e .
F o rg iv e th e a n g r y t a u n t s t h a t b r o k e
F r o m m y w ild b o so m a s I sp o k e ,
A n d la y n o t to m y c h a rg e , O K in g ,
M y m a d r e p r o a c h e s id le s tin g .
T h o u , in th e t r u t h b y t r i a l tr a in e d ,
B e s t k n o w le d g e o f th e r ig h t h a s t g a in e d ;
A n d la y e st, j u s t a n d p u r e w ith in ,
T h e m e e te s t p e n a l t y o n sin ,
T h r o u g h e v e r y b o n d o f la w I b u r s t,
T h e b o ld e s t s in n e r a n d th e w o rs t.
O le t th y r i g h t - i n s t r u c t i n g s p e e c h
C o n so le m y h e a r t a n d w is e ly te a c h .
L ik e so m e s a d e le p h a n t w h o s ta n d s
F a s t s in k in g in th e tr e a c h e r o u s s a n d s ,
T h u s B a li r a is e d d e s p a ir in g e y e s ;
T h e n s p a k e a g a in w ith so b s a n d s ig h s :
N o t f o r m y s e lf, O k in g , I g rie v e ,
F o r T a r a o r th e f r ie n d s I le a v e ,
A s f o r s w e e t A n g a d , m y d e a r so n ,
M y n o b le , o n ly l i t t l e o n e .
F o r, n u r s e d in l u x u r y a n d b lis s
H is f a t h e r h e w ill m o u r n J a n d m i s s / '
39*
K AM BA
RA M A Y A K A M A
STUDY
A P P E N D I C E S
8W:
372*
KAMBA
R A M A Y A N A M ^ -A
STUDY
BALI DEAD
The hot tears welling from his eyesThe child I love so well, more sweet
APPENDICES
373L
:S74>'
K A M B A
R A M A Y A N A M - ^ A
ST U D Y
IND EX
A n In d e x is fu rn ish ed below o f those stanzas in the
K amba R amayanam translated by A iy a r , in order
o f K a n d d m and P adalam according to th e annotated
edition o f S ri V. M. G opalakrixhnam achariar, w hich
it is hoped m a y be fo u n d useful. A sim ilar in d e x for
th e chapter on S ita follow s. The reference given here
is to th e page on w h ich the first stanza in th e set
begins. T he fo o t-n o te reference m ig h t be fo u n d in
m a n y cases on a su b seq u en t page.
P ublishers.
P adalam
I
u f f 6D
S ta n za
P age
Padalam
Page Padalam
Stavza
77. 78
83, 84
<j>rr&&U ID
82
..
62
..6
xi (jflD(tf<a>;o
i i i es6u?i
26-29, 32; 33
33, 34, 44
103-106
107, 108, 110
72
35
. 286 ,
ix
Stanza
Page
..
.. 287
.. 288
289
..
9
293
294
295
296
62 V v*r $!(1,
116
.. 71 x ^ipiGfr
x ii ir iifi
12-20
. . 296
117, 121, 122,
33
.. 55
125
. . 72
126
.
. 73 x i
x x i i i h im to
14-17, 19,22 .. 297
134
.. 48 I
38
.. 64
27
..2 9 8
137, 139, 140 .. 7 3 1
29.
30,
33
.. 299
149, 157, 159 . . 74
II ^Gturr^iunr
3 5 ,3 6 ,4 0
..300
2 2 4 ,2 2 6 -2 2 8 .. 11
42, 43. 65, 68,
anraBTL-ii
69, 70, . .... 301
V Stt^S m i l Q
26-28
..
69,
292'
U)jb$(J
401
72 l
73-76
52
il
..51
..51
.. 48 v i i i
..
49
..
. .
..
..
289
290
291
292
lljbjSOTl
45. 47
48-52
54-62
64-67
69-76
!{)*
. .
..
..
..
..
280
281
282
283
285
<y > m p Q i u
ix uarafufOH-
88, 70
7
55. 56
58, 60-62
70, 71
XU $(1,911*
,
101-103
114-117
129, 131, 132
..
..
76
52
302
r
.. 303
.. 304
.. 305
w r m j p p m i q f s jfi r tS ) * r lL l_ u t l dr W a r .
376
KAMBA
Padalam
Stanza
Page
RAMAYANAM A
Padalam -
Stanza
Page
STUDY
Padalam
Stanza
Page
I I I .giralo)
377
INDEX
Y a d a la m
S ta n za
x ii
? l
xv
Page
(5
56, 57, 59 ..
61, 62, 64, 65
70, 74, 75, V9,
80
..
113, 116
..
Padalant
S tanza
Page
v )<&&&* GftroS
223
224
199
125
12
..
x v ii
x iii
9, 13
16-18, 43
.. 257
.. 253
VI
\u\
.. 225 x i v
..-226
.. 61
anwi_i
ii %raj*wr*ir
,
12-14
53
#,
58, 59
..
60, 61
66, 67, 70,
,,
72-75
90, 91, 95, 96,
99, 101, 102,
106, 108, 109
113, 116, 117 ..
iii SlporfllUr QJdRjfc
24-33
..
35, 37
..
40, 42, 44-46 ..
47-56
..
59, 62, 64, 69,
70, 72, 74-78
80, 86, 93
..
118-130
..
132, 133, 136,
139, 142, 143
144, 145, 146 ..
i v afii!L_agrar
ia)L.i&t)
3, 4, 6-9
20
108, 109
125-127, 129
146
249
137
102
103
126
xv
127
123
155
156
157
158
159
161
162
164
165
.. 129
130
.. 7
.. 130
.5 2
Curi
91, 92, 95, 96,
101
.
133, 139
..
155,
161,
163-166 ..
167, 169
..
174, 175,
181-183, 185
203, 204
..
221, 232
..
249
..
S ta n za
x v i trujf jo r *
77-83, 86
133
jail*. Q jiirj
8, 9
10
82, 83
Padalam
259
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
Page
251
9fl&TlUtir JD.S
80
78, 79
180, 188-191 .. 81
82
197-199
83
269-272
94
94
95
96
98
227
228
229
104
105
106
107
108
50
378
KAMBA
P a d a la m
S ta n z a
Page
xrvi
70-78
80-85
91
98, 99
146
155-160
164-170
177, 178
.. H i
.. I l l
.. 112
.. 113
.. 114
..115
.. 116
,. 117
XXV11
2-6
7-12
118
119
13, 15
16
30, 31, 33
46, 51
56
64
65
71
120
121
122
RAMAYANAM A
Padalam
S ta n za
Page
P adalam
S ta n za
Page
xxxvi (fnai$r*ir
xxviii iifyiraiasrftr
Gffir
7, io, i l
.. 253
16, 17, 19, 22,
26-32
.. 254
35-39
.. 255
47
.. 23
49, 53
.. 24
xxxi GqiGgDijJ)
28-32
46
48, 49
STUDY
.. 135
.. 229
.. 136
35, 50
..
80, 90, 92, 97
105, 106, 115 ..
135, 136, 152
175, 178
..
182
..
198, 199
..
201
..
216
..
239
..
271
273
274275*
276
173
277
273
65
243
X XXV if tif i
xxxiv (SairQimw
GjfcGpgl
20, 23
26
123
124
54 XXXV
2
55
17
134
filler
. . 268
269
129-131
214, 215
216, 229-234
236-238, 240
247, 251
269 X XX X
20
270
.,
..
..
..
..
65
306
307
308
309
.. 230*
*8
1*8
9Z.I
L88 *
188 ' *
Z.9"*9
IA
tuvivpvd
M8
088
638
Z.88
638
Z.38
83 93
03 61
638
" Il 6
avd
*3 S3
AI 91
SI
*1-31
Z. fi-8
vzuv%s
tuvivpOfj
ss
ggi
o*
JnnUS?
tfru a se a *
li
HSgjMgf Al
S33 033
vzuv;s
618
Ti1? 4 re)g? u x
0*8 *IL~L U 0L
*38 **
6fi-Z.fi
688
Z.9-Z9
IS-6* 9*
888 * 62 98 *8
fi* 3*-8S S3
# n jl IIAXXX
838 '*
83
618
$fcfi?ro
j m w m i i g j taxxx
<71I1S89U9?
3*8
S88
*88
888
388
f l J f FH
*
*9-39
09-8S Sfi
<711100911 1 1 ^ 9 1 * A
^iroS)gf a x
zee
z i Q i-89
"
38
iee
L9
69
68
88
18 6Z.-9Z, *L
oee
i s 9s
*'
Z,S-*8
8ie
*
ex f
** 38 08 63
t i f i {gnlohiinf itiA
13 93 6I-U
OVH1M2D*
"
91-31
^T1^jaQ9il,8 , m
tJCBHUlB {A
aVfj
SI8
16
iccsn^iT ix x
818
Z.T8
*18
118
*18
XI8
- 98
JC519?R(J51i9?g XX
*
7
**
**
**
88
% Z.8
98 S8
38 93
83
$711 fosg^gi x
ctt' msksjj
evd
vzuvis
osiin i
uwivpvd
v x is o x x a a N i
ERRATA
Line
25
1
31
25
F or
R achine
lost
said to the
delete the
w ords
stru ck dow n
by R am as
d a rt
27
85
91
92
116
152
212
216
343
28
42
F oot-note 2
30
18
F oot-note 1,
line 5
F oot-note 2
22
20
R akshasas
Seeking
see page 111
his
bear
am bassadors
36 m iles
3 furlongs
now
Or
R ead
Racine
lose
said to be th e
A d d struck
dow n by R am as
d a rt ajter
deer
R akshasa
Seeing
see page 80
this
bare
am bassadors
one yojana =
36 m iles 3
furlongs
not
On