Sītā Forlorn, a Specimen of the Kāshmīrī Rāmâyana

Author(s): George Grierson and Divâkara Prakāśa Bhaṭṭa

Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1929),
pp. 285-301
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/607696 .
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 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE
KASHMIRI RAMA YANA
Edited and Translated by SIR GEORGEGRIERSON,O.M., K.C.I.E.

D IV.IKARAthe PRAKkAAofBHATTA
the
is said to
of the
have been alive
during eight years reign Hindfi king Sukhajivana
Siriiha, of Kashmir, who came to the throne in A.D. 1786, and to have
lived in the Gbjawdr(Skt. GulikSvatikd)quarter of the city of Srinagar.
He was the author of a Kashmiri version of the Ramayana, entitled
the Rdmdvatara-carita. This is a long epic poem of about 1800 verses
in various metres, and is divided into two parts. The first part corre-
sponds to the first six cantos of Vilmiki's poem, and ends with the
return of Rama in triumph to Ayadhya after the conquest of Lanka.
The second part corresponds to the latter half of Valmiki's seventh
canto, describing Sitd's banishment and the subsequent
(Uttara-kn.da)
occurrences down to the death of Rama. It is entitled the Lava-
kuia-yuddha. The earlier part of Valmiki's seventh canto, called by
Professor Jacobi "the Rdvaneis ", is inserted by the Kashmiri poet
in the earlier half of the poem, in the section where Hanumat visits
Lanka in search of Sitd. There he meets Narada, who tells him the
history of the place and describes birth and exploits.
Rava.ia's
Although the whole Kashmiri poem thus roughly corresponds to
Valmiki's epic, the two works differ widely in detail. In the first place,
in agreement with the Adbhuta Ramdyana 1 and the Jaina tradition,
Sitd is represented as the daughter of Rdvania2 and Mand6dari,
although Rdvana was unaware of the fact. According to our poet,
when Sitd was born in Ravana's absence, her horoscope showed that
she would kill her father (i.e. Rdvana), and that, if she were allowed to
marry, she would become a dweller in the forest, and would come
from there to destroy on this, tied a stone
LankY.3 MandSdari, hearing
round the baby's neck and threw her into a river. The baby was
washed ashore, and was found by Janaka, as in the ordinary tradition.
Mand6dari never ventured to tell Rdvana of this. When he brought
1 See Bulletin S.O.S., iv, 13 ft.
2
According to our present poet, Rima seems to have become aware of this ; for,
when Hanumat returns from his visit to Lafika, Rdma anxiously inquires alout the
attitude of her brothers-Indrajit, etc.-towards him for taking Sit& with him into
banishment.
3 The Adbhuta adds that Rivana was fated to die if ever he should
look on his own daughter with lustful eyes, and she should refuse to yield to him.
Ramdyan.a
286 SIR GEORGE GRIERSON-

Sita to Lafika, she recognized her, but was afraid to do more than
warn him in general terms.
In the Valmiki Rm&ayana,Rdma was induced to banish Sitd after
his return to Ayadhyd, owing to scandalous reports that she had lived
with Ravana in Lafika. Here the reason is different. The story given
is that Sita had a sister-in-law 1 who hated her with jealous treachery.
She persuades Sita to draw for her a portrait of Ravana. This she
promptly takes to Rdma, saying that she had seen Sita gazing at it
and weeping over it. Without further inquiry, Rama believes her
and is filled with anger. He orders Laksmana to take Sita away,
and to abandon her in the forest. Here again, there is a grave variation
from the Valmiki story. In it, at Sita's request, Laksmana takes her
on a visit to Valmiki's hermitage and abandons her there, safe in the
saint's keeping. There she has twins-Lava and Kuria-who are
brought up by Valmiki and taught the Ramayana. When they have
learnt it, he takes them to Rama's court, and there they recite the
poem.
In the KRshmiri poem, Laksmana abandons Sita in the heart of a
forest. She wanders forlorn till she stumbles on Valmiki's hermitage.
There she has one son-Lava-to whom Valmiki becomes attached,
and whom he loves to care for in Sita's temporary absence. One day
she goes out, taking the baby with her. Valmiki, who is not aware of
this, jumps to the conclusion that it has been carried off by some wild
beast. So he takes a wisp of Kusa grass and prays over it. The wisp
becomes alive as an exact replica of Lava. In this way Sita gets two
sons, the second, from his origin, being named " Ku'a ". When they
grow up Vdlmiki gives each a set of magic arrows that never miss
their marks.
In the meantime, at Vasistha's advice, Rama arranges for an
AsvamEdha sacrifice, and the sacrificial horse is left to wander,
protected by Bharata and gatrughna at the head of a large army.
The horse comes near Valmiki's hermitage, and Kusa mounts it
and rides it in spite of the protests of the army. The army tries to
stop him by force, but in vain. Then Bharata, struck by his
resemblance to Rama, advances in friendly fashion, but Kusa wounds
1 This story is not confined to Kashmir. It is also found in the RamdyaZta of
Candravati, written in Eastern Bengal. According to it, the sister-in-law was a
daughter of Kaikbyi, and was named Kukud. See Dineshchandra Sen's The Bengali
Ramayanas, pp. 196 ff. The Malay Ramdyana, which in other respects closely follows
the K~shmiri account, has also the same story. See Zieseniss, Die Rama-Sage bei den
Malaien, ihre Herkunftund Gestaltung(Hamburg, 1928), pp. 61, 105.
 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 287

him with one of his arrows. Bharata, in self-defence, wounds Kuga.

Lava comes up and joins Kusa, who has revived. After mutual
abuse, Lava kills Bharata, and Ku'a gatrughna. They then attack
the army and slay many. The few survivors escape to Aybdhya
and report to Rama, who sends out Laksmana at the head of another
army. It also is defeated by the boys, Laksmana being slain. Then
Rama, with his monkey and bear allies, sets out with a huge force.
They meet the boys. Rama, moved instinctively by parental affection,
makes friendly advances, but they refuse to trust him, defeat the army,
and kill him.
The boys collect the crowns of the slain commanders, and return
triumphantly to Sita. She recognizes Rama's crown, and hastens
lamenting to the scene of the combat. There she is joined by Valmiki,
in answer to whose prayers amrta falls from heaven. All the slain,
in consequence, come to life, and return home rejoicing, taking with
them Lava and Kusa.
Rama returns to seek for Sita in the hermitage, but she, in a
revulsion of feeling, refuses to see him or to listen to his prayers that
she should return home with him. Valmiki intercedes with her, but
to no effect. At his advice, Rama returns to Ayadhya to complete
the Advamadha sacrifice. All the great saints assemble at it, but
complain that the rite cannot be completed without the presence of
Sit~. Rama sends gatrughna to Valmiki, who with great difficulty
persuades her to attend it. On her arrival, before all the assembled
holy men, she proclaims her chastity, and calls upon Mother Earth to
bear witness to it. The ground opens, Mother Earth emerges, receives
Sita on to her chariot, and disappears with her into the chasm, which
then closes up. The rest of the poem, dealing with the remainder of
Rama's life and his ascent into heaven, closely agrees with the account
given in the Valmiki Ramayana, and need not be repeated.
The following specimen of the poem is taken from the passage
describing Sita's forlorn condition after being abandoned in the forest
by Laksmana. Quite unsuspecting, she has gone forth with him,
and now the time has come for him to leave her. It is ninety verses
in length, and corresponds to the brief 48th 1 chapter of Valmiki's
Uttara Kirnda. In translating the text, I have not been literal. I have
attempted to reproduce the slightly archaic style of the original, and
where words are necessary to explain the sense to a Western reader,
have not hesitated to introduce them.
1 Bombay edition.
288 SIR GEORGE GRIERSON-

The metre of the extract is the well-known Hazaj, - -

,- - - -, but many licenses are permitted. The influence
-,
of stress-accent, or even merely the necessity of metre, often affects
the quantity of a vowel. Thus, in verse 1169, sSta sdta must
be scanned as if it were - - - , and, in 1175, pyimiitsi must be
scanned - - v (i.e. - -, see below), while, in 1176, it must be
scanned - - - (i.e. - -). In connection with this, it should be
mentioned that a conjunct consonant of which the first member is
a nasal does not necessarily make the preceding vowel long by position.
Thus, in verse 1175, nindar must be scanned as an iambus, --
Two short syllables may always be taken as the equivalent of one
long syllable. Thus, in 1169, hyotunas(- - -) is to be scanned as
if it were - -. Similarly, dini (1174) is equivalent to -, the words
kam dini liijl being for -- -, and in pariye (1175) is
for -
A closed syllable with a long vowel may generally be given
additional short instant after the final consonant, if the next word
begins with a consonant. Thus, a word ending in dn may, in such a
case, be scanned - or - - at option, provided it is followed by a
consonant. A good example is in verse 1174, manin g6s gish kamn,
which must be scanned - - - -. Here, though there is a
long vowel in the closed syllable gas, and though the word is followed
by a consonant-the g of gash-no short instant is added ; but in the
word gish (a similar closed syllable), the metre requires it to be scanned
-- -, as if the word were g9she. On the other hand, in 1168, we
have diwan 6su. Here, as 6su begins with a vowel, the syllable dn is
necessarily long without any additional short instant, and the whole
must be scanned as - - (the final u-matr5 at the end of the line
not being sounded). Again, in the same line, we have dapdn wiri.
Here, although wird begins with a consonant, 5n scans merely as one
long syllable, and the whole scans - - - . In 1203 we have
karith yek-sdn dyutudon, which must be scanned - - -
- for -) -, in which sdn has to be read as if it were sana. Again,
(• - - - -
in 1197, kanan kyIh cikh spipaniis scanned -
The treatment of mdtrd-vowels is quite arbitrary. They are sounded
or not as the metre requires. We have already seen 6s" treated as
one long syllable, and this is always the case at the end of a line;
but in cases like Ldkhiman (1168) or hyotunas (1169) we may scan
Lakhiand hyotu either as each consisting of two short syllables, or
each as consisting merely of one long one. In the former case we treat
 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 289

the matrd-vowel as forming a syllable, and in the latter case we ignore

it. In 1173, we must scan tsiijls p6rizin as in which
the ii-mitrd counts as forming a syllable, while the i-mdtri is not so
counted. [It will be observed that, as explained above, the final an
is scanned - .]
A conjunct consonant is sometimes to be read as though the
members were separated and a vowel inserted by svarabhakti. Thus,
in verse 1242, dsmdnay must be scanned - - - -, as if the word
were isamdnay. Similarly, in 1187, arth must be scanned as an
iambus ( -).

VOL. V. PART II. 19

290 SIR GEORGE GRIERSON-

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 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 291

1168-9. They tell us that in heavy sorrow did Laksmana lead

Sit~ to the forest, for in his heart there had been formed a chasm full
of fire. Again and again looked he back, at each moment hoping that
perchance to Rama pity might have come.
1170-1. They say that Sitd asked him: " What be this that in
the end hath me befallen ? Why is it that with the blood of my feet
the way is sprinkled ? Full well I know that this hath been devised
for me by the sister of my lord." 1
1172. Quoth Laksmana : " Sit here to rest awhile. Whither shall
I go from hence ? For burnt is my heart, and as it were flames are
pouring o'er my head."
1173. As though smitten by poison, fell she down. Her tender
form consumed by flaming heat, swooning she lay.
1174. Dim went the pupils of her eyes, the very stones did she
begin to lick. Said she: " First give thou me to drink, if me thou
must abandon."
1175. So he went forth and searched, and from a great way brought
he water. Unconscious, like an angel or a fairy in her sleep, he found
her.
1176. Prone on her face she lay, withered like a flowering shrub
that by an axe is severed from its stem.
1177. When he saw her, the fair daughter of the gods, lying corpse-
like there, seized he the opportunity for hasting far away.
1178. Upon a near-by tree he hung the jar, so that from it water
trickled on her face.
1179. Sorrowing set he out for home, going slow-foot, as they lead
a man to death.
1180. Lamenting, again and again falling on his face in his despair,
as though bidding to her feet farewell, went he.
1181. " O, Fair as Uma, forgive the sin that I commit. Wounded
to the heart am I, for sudden death to thee hath come.
1182. " Grant thou me pardon, whether deep sleep hath fallen
on thee, or whether thou hast ceased to breathe. Unworthy of thee
am I, who love thee as a son his mother.
1183. " Never again shall I have strength to look towards thee,
and slowly, slowly, to thy feet say I farewell.

1 According to the poet, Rdma's decree of banishment was the result of a false
calumny told him by SitU's enemy, his step-sister.
292 SIR GEORGE GRIERSON-

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 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 293

1184. " To hasten home, with bandaged eyes I leave thee. (But
thou wilt forgive me), for mothers ever espouse the cause of children
who with them refuge seek.
1185. " How was it right for me to yield to Rdma's hest ? How
was it right for him to send me on this task 9
1186. "Why did he not rather slay me with his sword, when
basely to me he gave command to go foith with thee ?
1187. ': Or else, perchance, was this thy fate ? Is that the cause,
or must some other ground be sought ? "
1188. He wept till, as it were (through his dimmed eyes) the lovely
sun became a moon,' and, with one last reverence paid, to the city he
returned.
1189. As the water dripped on Sita she revived. Wet through were
her garments with heat and sweat.
1190. She saw that far from her had Laksmana gone. All spent
was she, trembling as a branch quivers in the wind.
1191. Cried she : " What hath happed to me ? What serpent hath
entwined my neck ? Ere long the crows will fall on me, and jackals
me devour."
1192. Dimmed became her eyes from weeping, as she pondered
whether Laksmana had abandoned her.
1193. In the far saw she him woebegone and halting, as though
homeward bound: for but a moment stayed he, and then he
disappeared from view.
1194-5. Fair Sita bethought herself that perchance her eyes were
dimmed with tears, and that hence Laksmana she could not see: so,
listening for sounds, from her seat she rose to walk.
1196. For a moment waited she, and so made sure that he had home
departed. What else had happened, save that he had secretly
abandoned her, and left her far away ?
1197. In her agony again she wailed-the cypress branches, nay,
the very stones (around her) rent. May such be the fate of all our
enemies !
1198. The melody of her weeping overwhelmed the (sweet voices
of the) birds. Distraught from the forest did they flee and to the
Panjdb 2 haste.
1
I am not certain of this translation. MSS. differ.
2 The writer, of course, is picturing the whole as happening in Kashmir, which
lies immediately to the north of the Panjib.
294 SIR GEORGEGRIERSON-

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1199. When the roses looked upon her (sorrowing) face, soot as
it were fell on them: yellow did they turn, and low on the ground
they hid themselves.
1200. Utterly alone was Sita. Lonely indeed was she. Her only
companions were thorns and broken sticks.
1201. From her eyes tears, and from her hands and feet blood
she dropped: prone did she fall, a veil, as 'twere of moonlight,
coming to her eyes.
1202. Cried she : " Where is he gone, who me in fire hath burnt ?
Where is he gone, who on Fate's shoal hath cast me ?
1203. " Where is he gone, vwhobrought pure gold from fire ? 1
Where is he gone, who two in one united ? 2
1204. "Where is he gone, who now hath made me homeless ?
Where is he gone, who into fire cast me ? "
1205. Delicate of frame was Sita, and eke heavy with child:
moreover, a woman, desolate and lacking her lord, was she.
1206. In the fourth place, of Mand6dari was she the daughter,
born in stealth (and by her abandoned). Long may Janaka, Sitd's
foster-father, live !
1207. She wept. Dumb became her tongue with grief. To a forest
came she, and into it she fled, her swan-neck all awry.
1208. Once in the forest, spake she these words-hearken thou
to them with both thine ears. Witbout measure did she lament-
and in thine ears let thou her words abide.
1209. " No memory have I that e'er his will I disobeyed, yet
with burning heat is each limb of me consumed by fire.
1210. " No memory have I that e'er with him I quarrelled, yet
(as a punishment for that) with thorns livid have become my rosy
feet.
1211. " No memory have I that e'er at the poor I scoffed, yet even
they have said to me,' Be thou no longer trusted.'
1212. " No memory have I that e'er with him I bandied words,
and yet on me-a jasmine of paradise-hath fallen soot.
1213. " No memory have I that e'er did any wish for me this fate,
yet have they said of me ' Be thou utterly forlorn.'
1214. " No memory have I that e'er of him a secret I betrayed, and
yet this arrow hath he buried in my heart.

1 An allusion to Site's ordeal by fire in Laink.

2 I.e. who took her back after the ordeal.
296 SIR GEORGEGRIERSON-

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 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 297

1215. " No memory have I that e'er before him I showed pride of
self, yet such a sin must I have done, for on me hath humiliation
fallen."
1216. So wailing, on went Sita, blood dropping from her wounds
the while, and as the way she traversed, thus to Rama did she make
lament:
1217. " Ah, why dost thou not hear me ? Doth no pity come to
thee ? What have I done that thou in misery hast prisoned me ?
1218. "While thou in comfort thus art seated on thy throne,
seemly is it that I on thorns should be distraught ?
1219. " What fault have I committed ? Now at thy feet I fall;
ah, shelter me. No home have I1 alone and lorn.
1220. " Once was I called ' the princess, daughter of King Janaka ',
and now, behold, there is none to show me friendship.
1221. " Dost thou not see how desolate I have become, and how,
from my weeping, crushed to pieces hath become my body ?
1222. " Behold how from my eyes 'tis tears of blood I shed;
behold how, if I lose my way, no one is there to lead me right.
1223. " Didst thou not once say to me, 'Thy form is tender as a
rose ', and dost thou now not see what hath befallen me ?
1224. "Didst thou not once say to me, 'Of the garden art thou
the daffodil,' and dost thou not see how beneath thorns I fare ?
1225. " Didst thou not once say to me, ' Thou art the moon ashine
in all its glory,' and dost thou not now see how all alone I walk ?
1226. "Didst thou not once say to me, ' Very tender is thy form,'
and dost thou not now see how, when they look upon me, the very
thorns shrink from me in fear ?
1227. " Didst thou not once say to me, ' Well will Kaudalya keep
thee safe,' and dost thou not now see that even she hath not my
body clasped ?
1228. " Didst thou not once say to me, ' Thou art a light unto the
eyes of all? ' and, behold, now in no one have I hope.
1229. " Once was I thine alone, and thou alone wast mine; and
now, for my sins, am I unwanted ; now my true price I know.
1230. " On whom may I lay the blame for this my woe ? What I
must suffer was in my fate decreed, and no one is there who can it
from me remove.
298 SIR GEORGEGRIERSON-

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 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 299

1231. " Still one hope there is within my thoughts, that haply
he may even now show mercy. Ah, bear thou me in thy mind ; forget
me not.
1232. " If e'er I forget my love, then, in my heart, sure am I
of this alone-that if I do aught forgetting it, then no other shift
have I.
1233. " Until they drag these very garments from my body, so
long shall I do naught but let the cry of ' Rma, Rama' pass my lips.
1234. " Ne'er shall I it forget, until to ashes is my whole form
reduced. Farness from thee is Hell, and in it I, an angel of Heaven,
am here consumed.
1235. " When destruction cometh to me, then only will I my body
bathe: come thou to me, and my bosom will I unveil, and show to
thee the wounds (that thou hast pierced).
1236. " Then only will my destruction come, when with fire I
consume my flesh; and then, and only then, shall I be delivered to
the care of God.
1237. " Exalted in the heavens art thou, and is it meet that me thou
shouldst oppress ? Hast thou not bethought thyself that on my
shoulders mounted is this load ?
1238. " True is it that his life should forfeit be, whose guilt is
proved ; but never is it seemly thus (causelessly) to torment a woman.
1239. "Mine is no guilt, and, lo, thou showest me no mercy:
ah, come thou to me, even if thou must to pieces rend me.
1240. " Have not I said to thee, 'In truth, (if the task need it)
take thou all my blood,' and mercy hast thou then ever shown ?
Nay, such was not thy way.
1241. " Hast thou never bethought thyself that disgraced would
be thy name ; that men will ask, 'Whose queen is this that to such
distress hath come ?'
1242. " If any man say such words to me, (I can but answer make
that) on the earth is (but now) my abiding place. To them will I say
that down from heaven am I fallen prone.
1243. " If then he ask me, ' Tell, of a truth, by what name art thou
called ' ''Tis the fate of all,' will I reply, 'from hence to go; for
who has ever come to abide for aye ? '
1244. " If then he say to me, 'Here is it meet for thee to find a
place to rest ', Then will I answer make to them, ' 'Tis the fate of all to
go thither whence they came.'
300 SIR GEORGE GRIERSON-

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 SITA FORLORN, A SPECIMEN OF THE KASHMIRI RAMAYANA 301

1245. " If then he ask me, ' Why dost thou shed so many tears ? '
To them will I answer give, 'True, I am shedding tears-nay pearls
I scatter.'
1246. " If God will not hear my plaint, let no other hear. Over
my secrets; let there be a veil twixt me and Him.
1247. " To my father declared Viivamitra, 'He is incarnate God.
To him, in marriage, do thou the damsel give, for well to thee will he
perform the duties of a son.'
1248. " Little did my father guess that me-Sita-Rama would
abandon, or that Sita would for seven births put him to shame.
1249. " Nay, surely thought he, ' This youth hath the pure nature
of a suckling babe. A king is he, with whom the unhappy and the poor
take refuge.' "
1250. So on she wandered, her feet sinking into the gravel sharp,
and as she walked, came burning wounds upon her tender limbs.
1251. Along went she, blood dropping from her saffron hands, and
at her words the very stones on which she trod were pierced.
1252. Stumbling and falling as she went, each gaping wound a
(crimson) rose, as with her hands she grasped the thorny shrubs.
1253. At length, in the forest, came she across a dwelling fair-
a mere shade of birch-bark to ward off the sun.
1254. Led thither by her hands, her feet, her eyes, descried she
a holy man, on whom she looked as God ;
1255. For he was no other than Vilmiki, her Father's Guide in
Grace. O'er the whole world had he roamed, and of the compass had
each quarter visited.
1256. Despairing, just as she was, to him she came; and he, as
her he saw, made place for her, as though she were the apple of
his eye.
1257. Dawn came to her, and darkness fled away; again did
daylight shine. From beneath the (fabled) mountain came forth the
radiant sun.