What Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsa tells you that Valmiki’s Ramayana doesn't

A lot can be learned from a comparative study of texts.

 29-10-2015

Rohini Bakshi @RohiniBakshi

Dussehra marks the end of the epic war between Rāma and Rāvaṇa and Dīpāvalī, the joyous return of Rāma and Sītā to Ayodhyā. In the festive lull between them, my grandmother regaled us with tales of the magical PuśpakaVimāna. Her stories came from Rāmcaritmānas. Tulsidas's driving force was his immense "bhakti" to Rāma, and since the journey didn't present an opportunity to praise him in any meaningful way, the poet did not spend too much time on it. Gran chose to embellish the journey with information from the rest of the text. That was her version. Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa devotes a good six sargas to the journey (Yuddha-kāṇḍa 122- 127). And recently I had cause to read an account of the same journey in Kālidāsa’sRaguvaṃśa. An Inter-textual study yields an understanding of many things, not least of which is the intent of the composer. I hasten to add this is not a hermeneutic study, just a preliminary exploration.

Here I compare Vālmīki’s version to that in the incomparably elegant Raghuvaṃśa of Kālidāsa. While Vālmīki’s version recapitulates for a wider audience key events leading to Rāma’s victory, Kālidāsa, writing for a refined court assemblage, focuses less on the gore and the mundane and more on the sublimity of Rāma’s love for Sītā, and on conveying the intense beauty of nature. Another cause for differences between the two versions stems from the fact that by Kālidāsa’s time, Rāma was unequivocally worshipped as anavatāra, whereas Vālmīki for the most part, portrays him as a man. Rāma’s divinity is referred to for the first time towards the end of the epic, when Mandodir? is lamenting on the battle field (6.111.14-17), Rāma chooses not to acknowledge this. Later, when Sītā is undergoing the fire ordeal, the gods inform him he is Nārāyaṇa, to which he says, I think of myself as a man (ātmānaṃ mānuṣaṃ manye 6.117.11).

Brahma then tells him in detail about his divinity.This has an implication for the two presentations, as we will see.

Kṣatra, martial prowess and victory are fore fronted by Vālmīki’s Rāma. He sets off by showing Sītā the Lankan battle fieldwhich is māṃsaśoṇitakardamam [whose mud is (covered with the) blood and flesh] of monkeys and rākṣasas. Identifying them by name, he points out where each rākṣasa fell and who he was killed by. The ocean crossing is dismissed in two verses - describing it as the abode of Varuṇa, and abounding in oysters and conch shells. (6.123.15,17).

Kiṣkindhā’s beautiful groves get a mentionprimarily as the location of Vali's killing. Others have a voice too during the journey. Sugrīva speaks up,and his wife and retinue are picked up, an event of no interest to Kālidāsa. Śabari is recalledby Vālmīki’s Rāma, Jaṭāyu is remembered, the killing of Khara is retold, the hermitage of Sutīkṣṇa is described. Chitrakūṭa, Yamunā, Gaṅgā, Śṛṇgaberapura, the Sarayū and finally Ayodhyā is described.

Kālidāsa opens with Rāma as Viṣṇu, stepping into his own space (ākāśa) as he steps into the Vimāna. Several verses then weave the different avatāras of Viṣṇu into the narrative. Next follows apersonal and highly romantic interaction between Rāma and Sītā. Kālidasā’s abilities to express śṛṅgāra rasa and to finesse nature dominate. The ocean, a mass of foam, split by the setu, is the mirror image of a clear autumnal sky (śaratprassanam) sprinkled with bright stars divided by the Milky Way (13.2). The legend of Sagara is told, which Vālmīki considered unnecessary, but strikes just the right note with the Gupta king and his courtiers for whom royal lineage would be important, and for whom K?lid?sa was writing. Rāma points out whales and sea creatures frolicking in the water, cleaving the surface of the ocean and jets of water bursting forth from the spouts on top of their heads. Again, enthralling the court seems to be the purpose.

Rāma tells Sītā that the corals in the sea (vidruma) are vying with (the colour of) her lips (13.13), and the breeze from the shore is adorning her face again and again with ketaka pollen, as if knowing Rāma is unable to bear this waste of time, thirsting for her ruby lips. (13.16). Vālmīki knows that Rāma’s brother, Vibhīṣaṇa, Hanumān, Sugrīva and all the monkeys are in the Puśpaka Vimāna, and this is hardly an appropriate occasion for a romantic exchange, but Kālidāsa is not deterred by this minor detail! A heavenly breeze laden with the fragrance of Airavata and cooled by the waves of the Gaṅgā sips the sweat raised on Sītā’s face by the midday (heat). And when she puts her hand out of the window of the Vimāna, Rāma says it seems like the cloud is offering her a circlet of lightening (vidyutvalaya) as a bracelet (13.20-21).

As they progress over land, Rāma confesses how bereft he was after her abduction. An aspect completely ignored by Vālmīki on this journey, his intent being reconnecting with everyone who had helped Rāma during exile, administrative issues like sending Haunumān ahead to inform Bharata, and such mundane but important matters like providing food for the monkeys. Kālidāsa’s Rāma meanwhile points out the Mālyavata mountain to Sītā where had shed as many tears as a cloud had shed rain. The caves of the mountain,he tells her, reverberated with the rumble of the clouds, reminding him of how she would rush into his arms, terrified by thunder (13.28). On the shores of the Pampā he points out a slender Aśoka tree, whose blossoms had reminded him of her breasts, and he had wanted to embrace them, but Lakṣmaṇa restrained him. The Sanskrit is so very beautiful and intoxicating, it would be worth learning, if only to read Kālidasa in the original.

The treatment of the reception at Ayodhyā varies quite a bit too. Vālmīki spends time on the actions and reactions of each actor, but the emotional aspect is muted. Bharata bows low to greet Rāma, who then embraces him and seats him on his lap. All of one verse is given to this reunion. Kālidāsa on the other hand stresses Rāma’s appreciation for Bharata and their brotherly love. Rāma tells Sītā that Bharata did not enjoy the wealth of the nation even though it was forced upon him by their father. That he has lived like an ascetic, as if practicing the vow of walking on a razor's edge (ugramasidhāramvratamabhyasatiiva. 13.67). That he safeguarded the kingdom in order to return it to Rāma. A rigorous compliance to primogeniture which would please Kālidāsa’s patron, no doubt. Bowing to Vasiṣṭha first as protocol required, Rāma with tears rolling down, embraces Bharata and kisses him on the forehead. Bharata and Lakṣmaṇa too hug tightly, despite the pain it causes the latter due to the wounds on his chest caused by combat with Indrajit (13.70,73).

A lot can be learned from a comparative study of texts. The poet's priorities, his intent, his milieu and his audiences. Kālidāsa’s rendition is ornamental rather than didactic, without compromising on bhakti. His stress on human emotion makes his presentation extremely moving. The two texts compared come from within Hindu orthodoxy. Yet separated by centuries, are remarkably different. Novelist Deepika Ahlawat points out "Subtle differences in the treatment of romantic love in Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa and Rāmcaritmānas might be a reflection of changing social mores. The epics shine through the prism of the ages, each time giving a different effect."*

Imagine then the impact of factors like culture, religion, geography, and language. There is Jaina version, a Sikh version, a Bhil version, and Buddhist one, each varying elements of the story to suit their audience.For instance in the Jaina version, Lakṣmaṇa kills Rāvaṇa, because the ideal hero cannot possibly kill.

Through the ages, the Rāmāyaṇa has been written in every important Indian language, reflecting the age, culture and preferences of that linguistic community. In the Bengali Krittibasa version, before battle with Rāvaṇa, Rāma propitiates the goddess Durgā with 99 lotuses and when he can't find the 100th, he resolves to offer one of his eyes to her. Sound familiar? Other language variants include the very important Kamban Rāmāyaṇa in Tamil, Kandali in Assamese, Ramakien in Thai each with their own sensitivities.There is a Cambodian Rāmāyaṇa, a Filipino one, Malaysian Burmese, Tibetan and even a Chinese version. The Muslim Mappila community in northern Malabar have their own Rāmāyaṇa. To explore this idea further AK Ramanujan's one time controversial but highly informative essay is worth reading, whether or not you agree with him.

Further reading:

Kalidasa’s Raghuvaṃśa, trans. KM Joglekar.

Goldman, R, trans, Ramayana.

Ramanujan, AK, 300 Ramayanas.

Critical edition of Rāmāyaṇa (Sanskrit) at Sanskrit documents.org.

*You can follow Deepika Ahlawat, author of Maya's Revenge on Twitter @ahlade.

Source: dailyodailyo

Dear BJP, I’m a Hindu and I reject Hindutva

Don’t teach me about my own religion. Who I should worship. How I should dress or what I should eat.

POLITICS |  Long-form | 12-09-2015

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi @suchitrak

I am like most other urban Indians. Apolitical. Or non political. A novice. An outsider. But a well wisher. Because I love my India.

And like most other urban Indians, other than election time, when we dutifully go and cast our votes silently, politics has no impact on our lives. Yes we gasp over scams and purported stories, but just as quickly dust the sand off our feet and move on. Politics never enters our homes - certainly not our bedrooms and kitchens. Yes we cursed much when Shiv Sena changed our beloved Bombay’s name to Mumbai when they came to power in 1995, but quickly saw the rationale behind the move. Desi euphoria and jingoism bloomed. With the luxury of life digested with a silver spoon, it was easy to see the virtue behind a Shivaji statue.

Even when vehicles were set ablaze in Marathi Manoos prejudice and Biharis asked to return to their home state, we ignored them with the hope that sense would soon prevail. It didn’t. Sadly. Hindutva ideology had started to seep in. To even the most neutral amongst us, it was unacceptable.

Never mind the disappointment. Manmohan Singh is a brilliant economist and will herald a new India we were told. After all as India’s finance minister in the 90’s, he had introduced to us the concept of India shining. But his failure as prime minister that he was ushered into in 2004 was soon apparent - what was the power Sonia Gandhi wielded over him? OMG and why? What on earth for? Why did he look like a deer trapped under the headlights?

Sycophancy was the giant ogre in this Congress government - everybody was getting swallowed and the whole country was dying. An Italian accent became the most despised sound in the Indian psyche - even senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh had fallen into the Gandhi scion brainwash. Rahul Gandhi? Really? But Pappu can’t dance saala. Oh and not to forget that Vadra boy. What did Priyanka see in him ya? Looks like a total goonda and how did his whole family die so mysteriously ya? OMG? What? Forbes has listed Sonia Gandhi as the third richest woman in the world? Baapre! And she still wears those cheap cotton sarees?  What an actress ya. Better than Shabana Azmi!

Uff India and its Bollywood fixation. Anyway to cut a long story short, when it was time to re-elect a new government in 2014, I, like most other urban Indians reeling under the corruption of dynastic politics and a failed Congress government, was filled with hope. Hope for a new India. Hope for change. Hope that things will finally get  better.

Arvind Kejriwal and his Gandhi delusion (remember how he went on a fast every time and for anything and tried to project that he is a Mahatma Gandhi reincarnate while trying to hide the fact that he is CIA (Ford Foundation) funded? Of course, his common man phonyism gave away his own opportunistic game way too soon and he fell by the wayside. Phew! He was India’s first anti-corruption hope dashed. Who could we turn to?

Narendra Modi-led BJP seemed like the only hope in April-May 2014. Were we wrong to expect?

India was desperate. We needed a leader. Badly. We needed progress. We needed a semblance of honesty. We desperately needed hope again. It came in the form of Narendra Modi. Brilliantly packaged. Karmachari. Brahmachari. Sanskaari.

So well was the Gujarat model marketed that Modi became the one man capable of delivering us – India – into the future. A future built on the foundation of tradition. Indian tradition. As anti-Italian as one could get.

The fact that the only other prior perception the public had of BJP as a party was its Karnataka ministers – CC Patil and Laxman Savadi watching porn in Assembly in 2012, or the ban on women wearing jeans in the state and being beaten for consuming alcohol,  but all that was soon obliterated by Modi’s own five-star charisma and his PR machinery. If anybody deserves an Oscar for PR, it is indeed Sri Narendra Modi’s team.

So, swayed by a desperate hope as we were, longing pleading and begging for a better India as we were, I, like every other urban Indian, even went out on a limb urging my friends and family to vote for Narendra Modi. Stated on social media that Narendra Modi’s greatest ally was Rahul Gandhi. And I wasn’t wrong.

The BJP government won because we Indians had become so soooo Gandhi family intolerant - any alternative seemed like manna from heaven in comparison.

Had the Congress propped some other leader of calibre other than the gora chitta Rahul Gandhi or his Maa, the votes would have been divided. But Rahul sealed it. BJP owes him a lot for their victory.

But what have they done with their victory? It’s been disappointing to say the least. Not just disappointing. Annoying. Frightening. Unacceptable. Totally. Totally, totally unacceptable. Despicable really.

I remember whilst urging my friends to vote for Narendra Modi, a Muslim friend had joked that if BJP comes to power he will have to get on a boat to Karachi. So real loomed the spectre of the Godhra riots in everyone’s head, and so real the feeling of Muslim persecution. Was he wrong?

At that point I had reprimanded my Muslim friend that his fear rose from the fact that his allegiance was with the Islamic state in the first place; so he shouldn’t use the minority card to gain undeserved rights and privileges. If Karachi is emotionally a boatride away, surely it’s where he belonged? "You don’t understand SK,” he sighed. In retrospect I think he might have been right.

Reservation and minority status for the Muslims in my view was nothing but vote bank politics. The Congress party policy of divide and rule. But hey... I admit, I don’t really understand everything. Like I said I’m a novice. But hey.. I’m also an artist enough to understand that even a novice is entitled to her worldview and I’m common enough to understand that I express what a large number of people feel but are unable to elucidate. So, here goes.

It’s been barely over a year of the BJP government and just how disappointed are we? God OMG - more than disappointed, I believe. We are shocked and hoping it’s still all a mistake. Did we ever imagine we are voting for a despotic fascist regime? What exactly is going on? WTF!

*Beef Ban* – Dear BJP! Can u please explain what wrong did the chicken or the goat do that they deserve to be killed and not the cow? Yes, yes, Congress imposed it before you, but how come they didn’t bombard it on us as much as you? Why am I suddenly feeling embarrassed about being a Hindu?

*Meat Ban* – Yes, you want revenge and oneupmanship on your Congress counterparts and distract us from the fact that you are failing completely in governance. Farmer suicides, rape, children dying by falling into potholes, Gajendra Chauhan ... need I say more!

Meat ban looks like a cheap shot at making us forget about the governance failure on all counts.

Did you say sedition charges were to be slapped against those who dare to speak up!!! I mean really? I dare you, seriously.

And what was that drivel about eliminating western culture and reclaiming Indian culture?

What exactly do you mean by that dear education minister (HRD), Smriti Irani, you who is not even sure of what education degree you have acquired yourself or in what language? For someone, who doesn’t herself know if she is a BA by correspondence or a BCom by imagination, is not likely to know the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva, is she now?

Hinduism is a philosophy. The doctrine of which allows me the choice of acceptance or rejection. Ram or Ganpati or even atheism. Upanishads or Gita or tantra or mantra. Hindutva, on the other hand, is militant imposition of wrongly interpreted tenets of Hinduism. Hindutva is a political tool - nothing to do with the religion itself.

I’m not showing off or being patronising, I promise you. My grandfather and my ancestors were temple priests - my father still recites the Vedas verbatim. My sister recites them without having ever studied them - it is so in my bloodline. That’s how Hindu my lineage is.

So do not teach me about my own religion, dear BJP. Don’t tell me how I should think. Who I should worship. How I should dress or what I should eat.

I am a Hindu - by definition purer and a higher form than you can ever b e- and I reject your Hindutva. Just as Islam must reject the Taliban or Isis.

To be a Hindu is to be tolerant. It’s why we have survived as a race in spite of invasion, conversion and unimaginable attempted destruction. If you do not understand that tolerance or exercise that compassion so intrinsic to our religion, you do not deserve to call yourself Hindu. Or a leader of a democratic nation.

So dear BJP. I reject your Hindutva.  I reject your fascism. I reject your despotism.

Dare me if you will. For I speak for all of India.

Mind it! :-)

Source: dailyo

Revealing the secret behind Gayatri mantra

Most probably, the first god that humans recognised and worshipped was the sun.

LIFE |  Commonsense Karma  |  07-08-2015

Hari Ravikumar  @hari_ravikumar

Which is the oldest religion in the world? Nobody knows. Ask the foremost historian or the greatest saint but they will not have an answer. We know so little about the earliest humans who inhabited our planet. But we can take an educated guess about the first god. Keep aside for a moment the view that god created the universe and just consider how humans visualise god. Most probably, the first god that humans recognised and worshipped was the sun.

Also read: How I became a sun worshipper

There are many reasons for this. The sun is the most magnificent object in nature. The sun gives us light and energy. Without the sun, there would be no life on earth. Our existence depends on the sun. Also, the sun was considered the master of time. The sun creates days and nights, thus making us grow old. So the ancient people treated the sun as a god. Most of the ancient cultures that we still know about have a reference to the sun god. (George Carlin uses the same idea in one of his brilliant sketches on religion.)



George Carlin --- Religion is Bulshit


From the limited information available about our past, we know that Hinduism is the oldest religion (or "way of life", as some people prefer to call it) and in this tradition, the Rigveda Samhita is the oldest work. The Rigveda Samhita is divided into ten sections (known as maṇḍalas) and each section has several poems (called sūktas). Each poem is further made up of verses (known as ṛks). Perhaps the most famous verse from the Rigveda is the savitā gāyatrī mantra.

The Gayatri mantra is a 6,000-year-old verse recited by millions of Hindus every day all over the world. This mantra – Rigveda Samhita 3.62.10 – was composed by sage Vishwamitra. He composed most of the poems in the third section of the Rigveda.

This verse is called the Gayatri mantra possibly because it is composed in the poetic meter called Gayatri. A verse written in this poetic meter should have three lines and each line must have eight syllables. It is interesting to note that the etymology of the word Gayatri is gāyantaṃ trāyate iti gāyatrī, "Gayatri is that which protects the person who recites it."

Therefore, although there are thousands of verses composed in the Gayatri metre, when we say Gayatri mantra, it specifically denotes this verse:

tat saviturvareṇyam |

bhargo devasya dhīmahi |

dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt ||

In Sanskrit, every word has several meanings. So it’s important for us to understand the context in which a certain word is used. Let us take a look at what each word in this mantra means:

tat = that

savituḥ = the sun; literalley "one who permits", "one who stimulates", "one who vivifies"

vareṇyam = best, excellent, worthy of the highest respect

bhargaḥ = light, lustre, radiance

devasya = of god, of the lord, of the deity

dhīmahi = (we) meditate, contemplate

dhiyaḥ = intellect, wisdom, mind, consciousness

yaḥ = the one who, he who

naḥ = to us, for us

pracodayāt = (one who) inspires, motivates, stimulates, empowers

(An astute observer will find that the first line has only seven syllables instead of eight: tat-sa-vi-tu-rva-re-ṇyam; therefore while recitation, we add the syllable om in the beginning or we say tat-sa-vi-tu-rva-re-ṇi-yam).

Let us try to arrange this in the form of a sentence. One who (yaḥ) stimulates (pracodayāt) our (naḥ) mind (dhiyaḥ) – we meditate (dhīmahi) on that (tat) excellent (vareṇyaṃ) radiance (bhargaḥ) of the lord (devasya), the sun (savituḥ).

A simple English translation would give us:

We meditate on

the wonderful radiance of the sun god,

who stimulates our mind.

The same Gayatri mantra also appears in the Yajurveda but with an additional line in the beginning:

oṃ bhūrbhuvassuvaḥ |

om = the single-syllable word that represents brahman, the Supreme Being

bhūḥ = earth

bhuvaḥ = atmosphere

suvaḥ = sky, heaven

With this line, we bring our awareness to the three spheres of existence, thus connecting with something bigger than our tiny selves.

In the Hindu tradition, we believe that there is only one Supreme Being (brahman) but there are several gods. These gods may be realized in any form.

The forces of nature – wind, lightning, thunder, fire – are deified. The animate and inanimate beings – animals, plants, rivers, mountains – are deified. The celestial objects – sun, moon, planets, stars – are deified. We may also see god in a sculpture, a painting, or even in a song.

Among all these various possibilities, the sun is the most magnificent. Of course, an astrophysicist might tell us that the sun in our solar system is a veritable pygmy in front of some of the other stars in the universe. Even so, the sun remains the most brilliant object we can see with our naked eyes. Not only do we see it but we also feel its presence. It removes darkness and brings light. It removes the cold and brings warmth. The radiance of the Supreme represents Knowledge (which removes the darkness of ignorance) and Vitality (which removes the coldness of lethargy).

So the Gayatri mantra is a prayer to the Supreme, in the form of the sun, which stimulates our mind and empowers us. Just like the sun wakes us up every morning, we pray that the Supreme light wakes up our intellect. It is indeed a prayer for internal strength.

In the 1990s cartoon series Captain Planet, there is a beautiful symbolism for this – whenever Captain Planet is on the verge of defeat, he draws energy from the sun. He gets revitalized. He’s ready to face his enemies – those trying to pollute the earth. The Gayatri mantra does something similar, but within.

(In preparing this article, I have drawn heavily from the lectures of HH Sri Rangapriya Swami; my discussions with Shatavadhani Dr R Ganesh; Dr Koti Sreekrishna’s article on the Gayatri mantra; and Vol 17 of the 36-volume Rigveda Samhita translation in Kannada brought out by the Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar during 1948-62.)

Source: dailyo