GURUKUL LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE CHENNAI

Course Title: Biblical Narratives and Religious Communication

Topic: DOMINANT NARRATIVES IN THE INDIAN FAITH TRADITIONS

Submitted to: Rev. Dr. M. Peter Singh

Presented by: C Joshua Immanuel M.Th. I Yr.

Date of submission: 24th September 2021

INTRODUCTION:

Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience.

Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person or unspecified literary voice, developed
by the creator of the story, to deliver information to the audience, particularly about the plot
(the series of events). Narration is a required element of all written stories (novels, short
stories, poems etc.), with the function of conveying the story in its entirety. However,
narration is merely optional in most other storytelling formats, such as films, plays, television
shows, and video games, in which the story can be conveyed through other means, like
dialogue between characters or visual action.1

The narrative mode encompasses the set of choices through which the creator of the story
develops their narrator and narration:

Narrative point of view, perspective, or voice: the choice of grammatical person used by
the narrator to establish whether or not the narrator and the audience are participants in the
story; also, this includes the scope of the information or knowledge that the narrator presents

Narrative tense: the choice of either the past or present grammatical tense to establish either
the prior completion or current immediacy of the plot

Narrative technique: any of the various other methods chosen to help narrate a story, such as
establishing the story's setting (location in time and space), developing characters, exploring
themes (main ideas or topics), structuring the plot, intentionally expressing certain details but
not others, following or subverting genre norms, and using various other storytelling devices
and linguistic styles.

Thus, narration includes both who tells the story and how the story is told. The narrator may
be anonymous and unspecified, or a character appearing and participating within their own
story (whether fictitious or factual), or the author themself as a character. The narrator may

1
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/narrative
merely relate the story to the audience without being involved in the plot and may have
varied awareness of characters' thoughts and distant events. Some stories have multiple
narrators to illustrate the storylines of various characters at various times, creating a story
with a complex perspective.

STORYTELLING TRADITIONS:

Storytelling has different forms and mediums across the globe. But every story has a common
purpose no matter the country, community or medium.

They are used to teach lessons, morals and to entertain people. Before TV, the internet and
smartphones people were coming together to hear stories about their history, folklore and
current events.

OVERVIEW OF DOMINANT NARRATIVE:

A dominant narrative is an explanation or story that is told in service of the dominant

social group’s interests and ideologies. It usually achieves dominance through repetition, the
apparent authority of the speaker (often accorded to speakers who represent the dominant
social groups), and the silencing of alternative accounts. Because dominant narratives are so
normalized through their repetition and authority, they have the illusion of being objective
and apolitical, when in fact they are neither. 2

NARRATIVES IN RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE:

Narratives of various kinds can be found in religious discourse, constituted by a religious

content or at least by a religious context. A religious content can appear in one or more of the
following forms:

1) A character presented directly or indirectly as religious or non-religious in regard to

his/her identity, character traits, opinions, experiences, emotions, behavior, personal
appearance, social context, knowledge, duties, wishes or intentions (e.g. a monk, an atheist, a
believer)

2) A “supernatural” being (related to a religious belief system) as part of the narrative world

3) Direct or indirect references to religious texts, beliefs, rituals, places or buildings within
character or narrator discourse.

A religious context in communication is conveyed through sender, message and receiver:

Religious context of the sender: s/he is a believer or has a religious background

Message: the narrative is used to convey a religious message

2
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1078929.pdf
EXPLICATION:

Either a religious content or a religious context must be established to define religious

discourse whereas the latter criterion is more general. “Narration in religious discourse” does
not necessarily refer to a narrative with a religious content such as supernatural beings, as
might be thought. Empirically speaking, those narratives are a small part of the corpus. Much
narration in religious discourse has no religious content but is constituted only by its religious
context (religious sender, application or receiver).

Nevertheless, common sorts of religious narration can be grouped together. One sort of
religious narration concentrates on a specific event (e.g. conversion narrative, miracle story,
which is often interpreted as an act of God; another frequent kind of religious narration
focuses on application, as when a character serves as a role model for good or bad behavior,
belief in God, etc. (e.g. parables, many biblical narratives, saints’ lives). To consider the
context is crucial to add some of these narratives to religious narration. An outstanding
example for this is the biblical book of Esther, which does not mention God a single time but
effectively celebrates God’s providence when being read by an informed audience.

HISTORY OF NARRATION IN RELIGION:

Religion has historically influenced Indian society on a political, cultural and economic
level. There is a sense of pride associated with the country’s rich religious history as the
traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism all emerged out of India. Moreover,
while a majority of people in India identify as Hindu (79.8%), the medley of religions that
exist within the country continually impact contemporary society.

In India, religion is more publicly visible than it is in most English-speaking Western

countries. This becomes evident when considering the numerous spaces that are thought to be
sacred and holy. Examples include ‘ashrams’ (monasteries or congregation sites) consisting
of large communities of scholars or monastics, temples (mandir), shrines and specific
landscapes such as the Ganges river. There is a rich religious history visible in architecture,
and it is not uncommon to find various places of worship, such as a Hindu temple, Muslim
mosque and Christian church, all next to each other.

The 2011 Indian census indicated that 79.8% of Indians identified as Hindu, 14.2%
identified as Muslim and 2.3% identified as Christian. A further 1.7% of the population
identified as Sikh, 0.7% identified as Buddhist and 0.37% identified as Jain. Due to the
massive population size of India, religious minorities still represent a significant number of
people. For example, although only 0.37% of India may identify with Jainism, that still
equates to over 4 million people. While not all religions in India can be discussed in detail,
the following provides an overview of the major religions in the country as well as sizable
religions that originated in India.3

3
https://www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de/node/125.html
 India being a land of diverse cultures has every state and district follow its own style of
storytelling. While some narrate, others employ props like puppets, mask and even musical
instruments. There are some that are told through the medium of dance and music.

Katha is an Indian style of religious storytelling, performances of which are a ritual event
in Hinduism. It often involves professional storytellers who recite Hindu religious texts such
as Puranas, The Ramayana or Bhagavata Purana, followed by commentary. Kathas
sometimes take place in households, involving smaller stories related to the genre. Kathas
instill moral values by revealing the consequences of human action (karma).

South India has a long tradition of storytelling and religious discourse. Religious scholars
were knowledgeable in the scriptures used for discourse in temples and monasteries. Wall
paintings in temples and shrines across India also serve the purpose of interpreting and
storytelling with a religious theme. The propagation of Hinduism and the creation of
awareness in worshippers of the characters of the deities were aided by Katha with imagery
in temples.

There are three major Katha traditions: Purana-Pravachana, Kathakalakshepa and folk
narratives.

PURANA-PRAVACHANA

Purana-Pravachana is a lecture about scriptures in which the pauranika is a spiritual

interpreter of the scriptures. These stories generally have a religious theme, usually the life of
a saint or a story from an Indian epic.

Storytellers elaborate on the significance of the scripture read, providing several angles to
look at a verse or word. Upanyasa or Pravachanas focus on Sanskrit and Tamil texts. Music is
used in small quantities to recite the scriptures. Reading the scriptures and presenting its
meaning is the method used by pravachan storytellers.

KATHAKALAKSHEPAM

Stories with anecdotes, known as Kathakalakshepam, are told in Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi.
In these tales, a storyteller proficient in classical music, interweaves the main story with
music, dance and digressions.

Kathakalakshepam literally means “narrating the stories of ancient text in a

comprehensive manner to the common people.” The enthusiastic performer narrates, enacts
and comments on episodes and themes from the mythological sense of India.

This type of storytelling demands the theological and literary competence of the storyteller.
They must know the epics and the ancient texts. Being resourceful is a very important trait in
a storyteller as they need to project the subject through the medium of music, spoken word
and acting.

FOLK NARRATIVE
 Folktales are often about kings and queens, brave hunters or clever animals. They include
moral warnings to avoid lies or theft, not to be greedy and so on. There are many different
stories, and each village has its own versions. Traditionally, mothers and grandmothers
narrated or sang these stories to their children and grandchildren at home.

In Andhra Pradesh (southeast India), folk narratives are known as burra katha. A burra is
a drum shaped like a human skull. In this tradition, travelers narrate stories while beating the
drum. In Tamil Nadu (southern India), folk narratives are known as Villu Paatu, the stories
are told accompanied by a stringed instrument resembling a bow. The stories are heroic
ballads and the medium is used to propagate social welfare programs such as AIDS
awareness, family planning and election information.

Each region of India has developed its own style and tradition of storytelling in local
languages. Epics and Puranas—ancient stories of wisdom told in Sanskrit—are the story
material common to most regions. The storyteller is versatile in their performance and able to
interestingly narrate humorous anecdotes. The storyteller is seen as a teacher who is familiar
with ancient texts in Sanskrit and other dialects. He interprets the religious and mythological
texts of the past to the present generation.

Ramayana and Mahabharata

The Vedic literature was vast and varied. It contained the highest spiritual thought. It was
understood only by the learned. But it was impossible for common people to know of the
deeper philosophies of the Vedas, Upanishads and Aranyakas, etc.

The Indian poet Valmiki wrote the entire history of the Ramayana. It contains 24 thousand
slokas and it is divided into ten parts. According to Valmiki himself, he wanted to carry the
essence of the lessons of the Vedas to the common people by singing the virtuous deeds of
Ramachandra.

Mahabharata:

Great and glorious is the land of Bharata. To describe the deeds of the dynasty of Bharata
that Vyasa wrote The Mahabharata. It is described that No where on earth is to be seen such a
lengthy poetic-work as the Mahabharata. It contains one lakh ten thousand slokas.

Mahabharata was viewed in those days as a (religious) text of History. According to some
authorities, the essence of different philosophies of the Vedas and Upanishads were presented
in shape of interesting themes, episodes and stories for the understanding of the common
people. As a store-house of knowledge Vyasa’s Mahabharata has influenced the Indian
thought through centuries of time. Man and woman, the old and the young, the learned and
the illiterate, all sections of people of the Indian sub-continent knew the theme of
Mahabharata since time immemorial.4

4
https://scroll.in/article/905466/how-did-the-ramayana-and-mahabharata-come-to-be-and-what-has-
dharma-got-to-do-with-it#:~:text=Around%201%2C500%20years%20ago%2C%20when,larger%20story%2C
%20the%20Vishnu%20Purana.
Bhagabat Gita:

A small portion of the Mahabharata is famous as the Bhagabat- Gita. Containing the essence
of Upanishads. the Gita is considered as the core of the highest knowledge for mankind.
When the two opposites stood face to face in the battle field of Kurukshetra to fight, the
supreme commander of the Pandava forces, Arjuna, saw in front of him Bhishma- the
grandfather, Drona-the teacher, Duryodhan-the brother and many other near and dear ones
against whom he was going to fight.

KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING AND SKILL OF NARRATIVES:

The knowledge, understanding and skills listed should be developed, showing integration
of the core areas.

PERSONAL

Narratives shape and inform the individuals

Narratives expresses meaning for individuals

Influential figures, events from the past and present who have influenced others life

RELATIONAL

Narratives inform relationships with others

The importance of narratives helps people in connecting with ancestors, community and
country/place, and in maintain family relationships

SPIRITUAL

The grand religious stories that have shaped our world, e.g. Abraham and Moses, Buddha,
Jesus, Muhammad

Conclusion:
It is considered that Mahabharata is one of the world’s most famous and oldest texts. It has
been written and talked about time and again. Something as alluring and controversial as the
epic poem needs to be treated with sensitivity and care.

The Dominant Narratives explore the dimension of caste within the epic and how it played
out or rather didn’t play out in the hierarchical sense. Caste is an archaic institution which has
embedded itself in the social structures of Indian society. Right from ancient times to modern
day political revolts. The upheld notions of the Brahmanas regarding the fourfold Varna
Scheme and the clear distinctions of caste as prescribed in the Vedas and Shastras seem to
perhaps be at loggerheads with certain anecdotes and events within the Mahabharata.

So the question is that, were the Brahamanical notions of caste truly upheld in the text or was
the text somewhat defiant in the modern sense? Dharma of Mahabharata, is nothing more
than a Brahminical construction, where the lower caste characters are fitted to ‘brahmin-
wash’/ “hindu-wash” them. To obliterate the blatant caste discrimination and ferocity
with which it is practiced, ‘Dharma’ is the ethical ‘veneer’, a modality to justify the
essential naturalization of caste divisions. The foremost necessity, right now, is to deny
and challenge that gaze and read it the way it is- a Brahminical text that justifies
numerous forms of caste and sexual exploitation.

 Gita does promote caste system. And their are verses which also justify it. Couple of
chapters, Krishna tells Arjuna to follow his castely duties to fight in the war. And the
justification given by Krishna for fighting in the war is that, we are all going to die, whether
by natural cause or by killing, there is no difference. Also Gita clearly mentions different
castes and their duties:

Brahman is the mouth

Rajanya is the arms

Vaisya is the thigh

Shudra is the feet

Now a days, some priests sugarcoat the discriminatory ideology so that it can be acceptable.
But the verses state that its the law that no one should ever deviate from their caste or else
would have to go through rigorous punishment. You remain in the same caste throughout
your life.

So say, you are born through the womb of a sweeper. So your duty is to be sweeper for the
rest of your life. If you even think about becoming a doctor, you are violating the law of the
dharma, hence you would be punished. Several verse shows that your duty in life can never
be changed since your creation.

Furthermore, Dominant Narratives dictates duties based on different castes and that their is
no way you can come out of your caste as you are born into one. Also strictly states that
different caste should perform only their own castely duties and of no other caste. Some of
these verses were also written as a comfort for the lower castes that they too will achieve
Moksha by just performing their own duties. In our current society, these verses have caused
much divide among people and caused inhumane treatments of the lower castes.