Smt. Kamala Subramaniam was born on October4, 1916 in Banglore. Her father was the eminent Kannada poet and dramatist, Shri T. P. Kailasam. She Studies under the distinguished scholar Prof. B. M. Srikantiah. She read avidly both classics and modern thrillers and her knowledge of English literature, especially of Shakespeare, was profound. She also loved philosophy and knew her Bible as well as she knew the Gita.
In 1937, Smt. Kamala married Dr. V. S. Subramaniam, a renowned E.N.T. Surgeon of Madras. In spite of her family concerns, she pursued her literary interests and wrote a series of imaginary conversations on the model of Landor’s for Triveni under the pen-name “Ketaki”.
Herlove of literature, nursed over the years, expressed itself in her developing a fascination for the Epics and Puranas of India.
In the late 60s Smt. Kamala underwent and operation for cancer, which gave her a ten-year lease of life. Lesser mortals would have been un-nerved by this but for Smt. Kamala it came as a challenge and this period turned out to be the most productive literary period of her life.
Her first labour of love was the retelling of the Mahabharata. In this masterly condensation, of India’s great epic, Smt. Kamala captures with dramatic intensity the movement of the story. As the episodes unfold in Smt. Kamala’s vivid narrative, one seems to hear Draupadi’s wail of distress, Duryodhan’s arrogant laughter, and even the twang of Arjuna’s bow, the Gandiva.
The epics and puranas epitomise our culture. The heroes and heroines set high standars of nobility, heroism, and chivalry. They have moulded the life and outlook of generations of Indians.
Smt. Kamala Subramaniam has left a priceless legacy for the young and the old.
The gifted author passed away on February 21, 1938.
Smt. Kamala was so self-effacing that she would not even permit her photograph to be printed on the jackets of her books. As a friend of hers wrote: as she wrote, she felt, as she felt, she lived in her invisible world and as she real for her and so it will grow for us when we read books.
Smt. Kamala Subramaniam has attempted not only a summary of the great and wonderful epic, Mahabharata, but has also brought out the magic of its human interest and spiritual profundity. Besides brining the central story into relief, she has give due place to all important conversations and episodes.
To quote, what I wrote about Mahabharata in 1951.
“The Mahabharata is not a mere spic; it is a romance, telling the tale of heroic men and women and of some who were divine; it is a whole literature in itself, containing a code of life, a philosophy of social and ethical relations, and speculative thought on human problems that is hard to rival; but, above all, it has for its core the Gita, which is, as the world is beginning to find out, the noblest of scriptures and the grandest of sagas the climax of which is reached in the wondrous Apocalypse in the Eleventh Canto. Through such books alone, the harmonies underlying true culture, I am convinced, will one day reconcile the disorders of modern life.
To an English reader, this volume will bring home the validity of the comment made by generations of Indian authors that “what is not there is nowhere to be found”.
Smt. Subramaniam’s style is lucid and expressive. At places, it reads not as a summery, but the original.
Smt. Subramaniam has rendered great service to the English-knowing public which has neither the time nor ability to read the original.
I congratulate her on the conscientious labour that she has put in preparing this volume.
For the last so may years the Mahabharata has held me in thrall. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two renowned epics of India. The Mahabharata is the longer of the two. There are more characters in it and the story too is more complicated than the Ramayana.
In those days, that is twenty-five o thirty years ago, children were more familiar with these two stories then they are now. It was then the fashion to stage these stories and also there used to be Harikathas where the stories were narrated to an audience. But now the days are changed. I have noticed that, on the whole, many children and youngsters today are almost strangers to the stories. This is indeed a sad state of affairs.
I have always wanted to share the Mahabharata with everyone, specially youngsters. There are a number of difficulties attending this. The most conspicuous of them is, of course, the length of the book. It is made up eighteen volumes, “Parvas” as they are called; and each is made up of roughly three to four hundred pages of poetry. Unless one is devotes to the epic it is not possible to read it through easily. The language is the next hurdle. Nowadays there are very few youngster who are familiar enough with Sanskrit to read through the book in the original.
The only alternative is to read translations. I have seen several translations of the Mahabharata, and not one is satisafactory. They are all literal translations. A literal translation is like the wrong side of a tapestry: the threads are all there but the pattern is missing. It is so with this great epic. It is not possible to do full justice to it in a literal translation. The English used by the translator is not suited to the elaborate similes which are common to Sanskrit. Let me quote a couple of instances. In Sanskrit Arjuna is called “Bharatarshabha”. This is very Pleasing to the ear in Sanskrit. But, when translated into English it has to be” “O Bull of the Bharata Race!”. One can see how awkward it sounds. Again, a woman is addressed as “Mahagajagaamini” In Sanskrit. In English it has to be “O woman with the gait of an elephant in rut!” This sounds so ridiculous. Literal translations fail because of the vat difference between the Eastern and the Western ways of description. Indian ideas of beauty are far different from those of the West. Again, I have seen several condensation of the Mahabharata: books which give us just the story of the epic. Here again, there is a handicap. The story is there of course. But the characters in the story are not handled properly. They cannot be, since there is not enough space for it.
For a long time I have wanted to write a book which will rectify these faults. I have wanted to present the book in such a manner that the story will capture the imagination of the reader. I want my book to be a narration of the stupendous drama which was enacted years ago. To me the Mahabharata is like a Greek Tragedy. I am fascinated by the many characters who appear in it. I have tried to bring out the characters of the many heroes who appear in it, as sympathetically as I could. Having studied Shakespeare, one cannot help studying the angle the epic present immense possibilities.
Considering all these things, I have rendered the epic into English. It is not quite a translation” into in the usual sense of the word. One might call it a ‘free translation’. I have tried to narrate the story as dramatically as possible. I have narrated it in simple straightforward English. In this task, if one has to retain the spirit of the epic and the atmosphere, one has to fall back upon the quaint, old-fashioned English. This seems to suit the epic perfectly. At times, crisp clear English does not work. I find the blending of the old and the new to be the perfect medium for the narration. So I have deliberately adopted the style, which to my thinking, is absolutely perfect.
My aim, as I said before, is to bring out the dramatic significance of the many scenes. Wherever the situation was worth some trouble, I have taken the trouble and added a few touches, a few thoughts of my own, to enhance the dramatic value of the situation. But I have been faithful to the original throughout: except, perhaps, in two places or three. Even there, I have not-departed from the facts. Only I have tried to intensify the dramatic value of the situation by my embellishments. One of them, if I remember right, is the names of the villages which Yudhisthira asks for. The names Indraprastha, Vrikaprastha, jayanta and Varanavata do not occur in the context. But they are mentioned in the play Venisamhasa and I have used them. The other, is perhaps the scene in which parikshit is given life. But the scene itself is so sublime that no exaggeration can be considered sufficient for the grandeur of the scene.
If, after reading the book, a few at least will read the epic in the original, my desire will be fulfilled. May I say that my book is just a guide into vast ocean called the Mahabharata?
The Mahabharata is not a mere epic; it is romance, telling the tale of heroic men and women and of some who were divine; it is whole literature in itself, containing a code of life, a philosophy of social and ethical relations, and speculative though on human problems that is hard to rival; but, above all, it has for its core with Gita, which is, as the world is beginning to find out, the noblest of scriptures and the grandest of sages the climax of which is reached in the wondrous Apocalypse in the Eleventh Canto. Through such book alone, the harmonies underlying true culture, I am convinced, will one day reconcile the disorders of modern life.
To an English reader, this volume will bring home the validity of the comment made by generations of Indian authors that “want is not there is nowhere to be found.”
Once, when Markandeya was in his Ashrama on the banks of the river Pushpabhadra he saw that a strong gale was blowing and this was followed by a fierce storm Before many moments had passed he saw that the earth was covered with water He realized that The Great Deluge had come.
Markandeya was floating on the turbulent sea which carried him away from his Ashrama. He knew not that this was Vishnumaya which he had been wanting to see.
All on a Sudden he saw a Nyagrodha trees which was standing firm in the midst of the waves a branch of the tree could be seen pointing toward the direction Ishanya There on a leaf he saw a lovely child which was dispelling the darkness around with its glow. Green like a newly broken piece of an emerald mountain with the red flowers of the pomegranate adorning its ears the child had raised his foot to his lips. It was sucking its toe with a beatific smile on its face.
Markandeya was swept near and was and sucked into the body of the child along with its breath inside. When he opened his eyes. Markandeya saw the Universe The small child small enough to lie on an Ashwantha leaf held inside it the entire Universe Yashoda was also granted this vision when Krishna opened his month. This was the vision of Markandeya.
Born on October 4, 1916, at Bangalore and educated in that city, the Author Smt. Kamala Subramanian had the Pri-village of studying under the distinguished Professor B.M Srikantiah Professor and Head of the English Department Central College Bangalore and top litterateur in modern Kannada. She Developed early in life an avid taste for English literature and particularly love for Shakespeare’s plays,
In 1937, she married Dr. V.S Subramaniam the renowned E.N.T surgeon of Madras.
In spite of being pre-occupied with the affairs of her family she wrote a series of Imaginary conversation on the model of Landor’s for the Triveni under the pen name of Ketaki.
Her love of literature nursed over the Year’s expressed itself in her developing a fascination for the Epics and Puranas of India.
Smt Kamala Subramanian’s condensation of the Mahabharata a Bhawan’s publication has won wide acclaim.
She now makes available to the English Knowing public a faithful condensation of the Bhagavata of the original.
This is the second in the author’s tried the third one being the condensations of Valmiki’s Ramayana also published by the Bhavan.
If the setting of Bhagavad Gita is a battle field where opposing are arrayed against each other the setting of the Bhagavata Purana is no less arresting and awe inspiring.
A great and virtuous king Parikshit by a quirk of fate is doomed to die of snakebite in seven days As the Bhagavatam opens we see him listening with faith and devotion to the recitation of the Purana seeking the ultimate that any human being can aspire for namely freedom or liberation after attuning which one know no fear and is all peace.
Indeed the serpent King Takshaka dramatically arrives at the appointed hour and deals death to the king’s body which is reduced to ashes by the venom But by that time death had lost all its sting for the king.
Did not Parikshit tell Suka at the conclusion of the Bhagavata Purana recital Lord I Leaf neither Takshaka nor death now that I have neither Takshaka nor death now that I have entered the fearless and blissful and blissful state of Brahman.
This then is the glory of Bhagavatam acclaimed as the essence of all Vedic wisdom namely its power to make one remain poised even at the point of death.
And if India’s spiritual tradition is kept alive today it is largely because of the Bhogavatam and its systematic exposition throughout the country with the result that its teaching have permeated the subconscious of the masses.
The Bhagavatam has been aptly described as the spiritual butter churned out of the ocean of the Veda milk for the benefit of those who are pure in heart free from malice and envy and are keen to hear it.
All mankind is Bhagavatam But the massage will come loud and clear only when one really yearns for it when Shraddha enters the soul as it did in the case of Nachiketas.
Bhagavatam being the culmination of Jnana and Bhakti is dear alike to the Advaitin Vishishtadvatin and the Dvaitin Its appeal is to the head as well as to the heart The very fact that it is a Purana proclaims aloud the truth that it is not an esoteric text meant for a Select few but a sacred scripture meant to bring within the peace that passeth understanding.
Dry philosophy seldom seldom appeals to the human mind But in the Bhagavatam even the most abstruse philosophic truths are put across by means of stories and legends This is the secret of its popularity among all classes of people.
This is a summarized version of the Mahapurana Srimad Bhagavatam written by Smt. Kamala Subramanian. Earlier Smt. Subramaniamhad brought out a condensed version of the great epic Mahabharata also which become very popular and was highly valued by the society at large.
While summarising the Mahapurana, Smt. Subramaniam has omitted only the ornamentations and decorations, in all Sanskrit literature she has uncompromisingly kept intact the solid core of the Mahapurana. Not only she has taken no liberty with the essentials of this sacred Book but in fact has brought them out more prominently in a language which is as simple as it appealing. The readers of this sacred book will thus derive great spiritual benefit not confined to the Hindu society alone but also to mankind outside the Hindu fold.
While studying the Kathas- the stories of the of the great personalities and of the avatars and the parables the reader as he reads the passages should amply digest them to know the true purport of the suggestions the lessons and the indication behind them. These are not just embellishments they have a deep meaning under the surface Attentive study of these shall spiritually inspire the reader more than the Kathas themselves.
It is not my desire not it is desire not it is desirable to make any comments on the content and object of this Mahapurana. Such an effort on my part shall deprive the reader from drinking the joyful nectar which the original text contains in an adequate measure. Let the reader read the summarized version and if attracted also the unabridged Grantham digest and reflect and draw inspiration also there from to mould his life and achieve the spiritual bliss and tranquility which is the ultimate goal of all the pilgrims of life the- Jeevan Yatra.
The story goes that even after composing the after composing the Mahabharata Vyasa was not completely happy. On relating his dissatisfaction to the sage Narada, Vyasa was told that his restlessness was due to the fact that while in Mahabharata he fully propagated Karma Yoga, he neglected Bhakti Yoga and that he should write something more in the glory of Narayana which alone shall give him the full mental tranquility. It was at this suggestion of the sage Narada that Vyasa compiled Srimad Bhagavatam.
The general impression that Bhagavatam is purely a Purana of Bhakti yoga therefore is not unnatural But on proper appreciation of the Mahapurana we shall discover that while Bhakti does dominate Jnana and Karma have not been neglected in Bhagavatam . To put it correctly the Mahapurana is the Sangam Confluence the Triveni of the three streams of Bhakkti Yoga Karma and nana Yoga.
Some year back, I made an attempt to narrate the story of the Mahabharata. I must say that I succeeded to an extent in my attempt and the book was published under the aegis of Kulapati Shri K.M. Munshi.
My thoughts were then turned toward Sri Bhagavatam. To many people the Bhagavatam signifies only Krishnavatara. In several Pravachanas I have heard only the tenth canto has been dealt with in great detail and the talk ends invariably with the wedding of Krishna with Rukmani and that is the end of it.
There are quite a few however, who are familiar with the ten avatars of the Lord: Matsya being the First and Kalki, the last. But then, there are many more avatars- descents-of Lord Narayana down to the earth during the three Yugas. I was eager to tackle this great Purana and try to make Young minds familiar with it.
Right from the beginning one fact was clear. Sri Bhagavatam is entirely different from Mahabharata. There is a continuity in the Mahabharata, in the story, which makes the narration comparatively easy. On the other hand, the Bhagavatam is made up of a number of isolated stories, incidents and innumerable episodes. There is no continuity here to hold the attention of the reader.
I was at a loss as to how I should begin. There are several places where one can say: "This is the beginning." The Bhagavatam is repeated from mouth to mouth and it is related to different people by different preceptors. It is a confusing, tantalizing, labyrinth where one easily gets lost. And again since, Bhakti is the central them, there are numerous passages where the praises of the Lord are sung. This is mostly by Brahma who with Devas recites the Purushasukta. I was afraid that constant repetition would be unwelcome and so I have condensed some of the prayers and omitted some others altogether This was unavoidable.
The Bhagavata Purana is made up of ten sections. The first called Sarga. It comprises the creation of the universe, of the universe the Mahat and aham tettvas, and the tanmatras. The manifestation of the Virat Purusha; the Virat Purusha the creation of living and living beings by Brahma, Hiranyagarbha, is called visarga the establishment of each created being in its proper place by the Lord is called Utkarsha. His Grace who is infinite towards his Bhaktas and which goes by the name poshana. The narration of the different periods of time started by different Manus is Manvantara. The Vasanas following the karmas performed in the previous Janma are called oothi. The stories about the Lord and his Avataras are collectively named ishakatha . The merging of the jivatma with the Paramatma after the yoganidra is called Nirodha and the casting a way of objects of enjoyment and even the desire for them which is naturally followed by Atman becoming one with the Brahma is called Mukti. Aabhasa which is creation and Nirodha which is the merging back at the end of time are all caused by the ONE which is Eternal: which has no beginning and no end and which cannot be described by words that is called Aashraya. He is the refuge of everything in the Universe. The aim of every aspirnt is to reach this Aashraya and become one with Him This is the purpose of all tapas, of all Yogas and THAT is the one truth to be realized.
I have enumerated the many sections of the Bhagavara Purana in such detail to make the reader understand how complex it is and I hope. I will be forgiven when I say that I found it almost impossible to handle all of it.
I decided to take up one of these sections Ishkatha, touching on the others here and there. The story of Creation has been related in different places and in different forms. The foremost of them is when Brahma relates it to Narada. Lord Narayana Himself had explained it to Brahma and that is the first version of visarga. Another is when Maitreya learns it from Parasara. Originally Adishesha or Ananta is said to have taught this to Sanatkumara Sankhayana learnt it from Sanatkumara and taught this to Brihaspati Brihaspati passed it on to Parasara from whom Maitreya learnt it and in his turn taught this to Vidura.
Considering the complexity of the Purana and Again considering the fact that the reader is expected to be already familiar with the many words and terminologier used in the visarga it seemed to me that it may not be easy to follow it at first reading I have therefore related the same in Chapters 279 to 293. It is all quite complicated and I cannot claim that I have been able to do full justice to the grandeur and sublimity of the subject.
I have tried to begin at the very beginning and find my way through the confusing, distracting and, at the same time, fascinating wilderness called Bhagavatam.
Barring the Purushasuta which occurs again and again throughout the Purana like the refrain of a song or like the hypnotic drone of the tempura in a musical concert, I must draw the reader’s attention to some beautiful stotras. The first of them is the adoration of Krishna by Kunti where she says may misfortunate visit us continuously.
There is the worship of Narayana by the child Dhruva and later, the words spoken by the other child Prahlada in praise of the lord in the form of Narasimha.
One of the most beautiful passages in the Purana is the long conversation between Krishna and Uddhave at almost the end of the book. Part of it I had to place in the end since it seemed likely to tire the reader at the first reading. This conversation is almost a re-casting of the Bhagavad Gita However, I have taken special care not be condense the Avadhula Gita which is sublime. As for the tenth canto which deals entirely with Krishna’s childhood I have not omitted anything. It is not possible to be anything but emotional when one goes through this particular canto. As for the esoteric significance of several controversial incidents in the tenth canto I have not ventured into that field. My work has been just the narration of the incidents.
Kapila Vasudeva’s teachings to his mother Devahuati are in the main book. But the Sankhya on which Kapila has elaborated has been placed in the end since it is quite tough. I have tried to elucidate it but I do not know how far I have been successful in the attempt.
The glossary has been complied with great care It has become quite voluminous but it is essential that the meanings of the words should be given or else, for those not quite familiar with the phraseology of the Purana it will not be every easy to follow the narrative.
In spite of thee many shortcomings the book may, I hope, be accepted by the discerning readers who will be tolerant enough to overlook the lapses.
It goes without that is not a literal translation but an attempt to relate the story of the Lord of Narayana and the many forms he donned to establish Dharma on the earth. Twenty six is the number of which Kalki is yet to happen Krishnavatara is the Poornavatara and to lead the thoughts of the reader to words these many appearances of the Lord has been my seire and if the Youngsters who read this book become interested enough in the Purana to try and read it in the original, my purpose will be served.
I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Shri Ghanshyamdas Birla for the interest he has taken in the book for the foreword he has been kind enough to write for it.
The Book and the Author
Born on October 4, 1916, at Bangalore and educated in that city, the author had the privilege of studying under the distinguished Professor B. M. Srikantiah, Professor and Head of the English Department, Central College, Bangalore, and top litterateur in modern Kannada. She developed early in life an avid taste for English literature and particularly love for Shakespeare’s plays.
In 1937, she married Dr. V. S. Subramaniam, the renowned E.N.T. Surgeon of Madras.
Preoccupation with family affairs did not come in the way of her literary pursuit. She wrote a series of “Imaginary Conversations” on the modern of Lando’s for the Triveni under the pen-name “Ketaki.”
Smt. Kamala Subramaniam’s condensations of the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam, both Bhavan’s publications, have won wide acclaim and with her Ramayana she successfully concludes her magnificent triad on the Epics and Puranas of India this latest offering marks a distinct landmark in her great voyage of self-discovery on which she set off long years ago.
The Epics and Puranas epitomize our culture. They are suffused with spiritual fervour, their heroes and heroines are exemplars of nobility, sublimity, valour, heroism, steadfastness and chivalry. And anyone reading them will find himself a little better, a little nobler. They have moulded our outlook, our way of life from times immemorial.
It is this priceless treasure of the spirit Smt. Kamala Subramaniam has tried to recapture for the benefit of the younger generation who, alas are deprived of this spiritual inspiration and nourishment.
A master story-teller, Smt. Kamala Subramaniam has retold the story of the “Perfect” man – the ideal man of the conception of the ageless Valmiki – lucidly, simply, elegantly.
If her Mahabharata established her as a born narrator and in her Srimad Bhagavatam she has soared to ecstatic devotional heights, in her Ramayana she has excelled herself in retelling the story of Sri Ramachandra – a story so soul-stirring, so ennobling, so elevating. Each one of the characters stands out for the quality predominant in him/her, but the focal point is the intensely humane hero, the shining symbol of dharma, Rama.
Foreword
After presenting to the English-reading public two great book of the Hindu tradition earlier, namely, The Mahabharatam and The Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimati Kamala Subramaniam is now offering to the readers a third great book of the Hindu tradition, namely, The Ramayanam of Valmiki. Like the two previous books, this one also is an abridged edition of the large epic, retaining, however, all the essential parts of the book and its inspirational flow of epic narrative.
Eulogizing the two great epics of India, Swami Vivekananda says (Complete Works, Vol. IV, P. 96).
“In fact, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two incyclopaedias of the ancient Aryan life and wisdom, portraying an ideal civilization, which humanity has yet to aspire after.”
The Ramayana has been the perennial source of spiritual, cultural, and artistic inspiration for these thousands of years, not only to the people of India but also to the peoples of South-East Asian countries. It has enriched the national literatures of these countries, and has also provided themes for every form of their art – dance, drama, music, painting and sculpture. Its heroic characters have helped to mould the Hindu character; and its three great personalities, namely, Rama, Sita, and Hanuman, have inspired millions of her people, high or low in the socio-economic scale, with the deepest, tenderest, and holiest love, reverence, and devotion.
All Hindu spiritual teachers, ancient and modern, have responded ecstatically to this great book and its heroes. Says Swami Vivekananda in the course of his lecture on The Sages of India (Complete Works, Vol. III, pp. 255-56).
“Rama, the ancient idol of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, the ideal father, and above all, the ideal king, this Rama had been presented before us by the great sage Valmiki. No language can be purer, none chaster, none more beautiful, and at the same time simpler, than the language in which the great poet has depicted the life of Rama.”
“And what to speak of Sita? You may exhaust the literature of the world that is past, and I may assure you that you will have to exhaust the literature of the world of the future, before finding another Sita. Sita is unique; that character was depicted once and for all. There may have been several Ramas perhaps, but never more than one Sita! She is the very type of the true Indian woman, for all the Indian ideals of a perfected woman have grown out of that one life of Sita. And here she stands, these thousands of years, commanding the worship of every man, woman, and child, throughout the length and breadth of Aryavarta (India). There she will always be, this glorious Sita, purer than purity itself, all patience, and all suffering.”
Rt. Hon. The late V.S. Srinivasa Sastry, India’s distinguished scholar and statsman, in his famous Lectures on the Ramayana delivered in Madras in 1944 and published by the Madras Samskrit Academy, invited the Indian youth to benefit from this great and immortal epic of their country (p. 2):
“Perhaps, The Ramayana is not quite as familiar to the younger generations that are coming up, as it was to us of an older day. Is it not true, alas, that great numbers of our youth at school and college of our civilization and culture?... Is it an exaggeration to say that a student of the Ramayana, not out of touch with its sanctity and its unequalled importance to the study of our civilization, can talk to an audience largely composed of the younger generation with some hope of profiting them? I believe there is, and in the coming years there is going to be, a greater need than ever of our going back with reverent hearts to this most beautiful and moving of all stories in literature.”
I cannot conclude this Foreword better than by quoting the two popular verses which salute, in highly elevating poetic imageries, the greatness of the intensely human sage-poet Valmiki and the heroic and self-effacing devotee Hanuman:
“I salute Valmiki, the cuckoo, who, perching on the tree of poesy, melodiously sings the sweet syllables – Rama, Rama!”
“I salute the master of kavis, i.e. poets (Valmiki) and the master of kapis, i.e. monkeys (Hanuman), who are endowed with pure Reason and who move freely and joyously in the sacred grove of the myriad virtues and graces of Rama and Sita.”
The author and publishers have done a great service to humanity by bringing out this immortal epic in a pleasantly readable edition.
Preface
It has been universally accepted that the three epics, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and Ramayana, comprise our cultural heritage. It has been my dream to render all three of them into English in a manner which will appeal to the young people and my dream seems to have come true. I have finally managed to complete the narration of the Ramayana in the same vein as I have the other two.
What is fascinating about these three treasure-houses is the fact that each is completely different from the other. One cannot but think of the river Ganga in this context. Ganga, hurtling through space, rushing down in a torrent towards the earth from the heavens, makes one think of the great epic Mahabharata which is full of action, full of passions, full of force, full of emotion. There is nothing placid about the flow of the narration.
Now think of Ganga as she enters the sea, when she becomes one with her lord. There is a feeling that the long tortuous journey is ended: that the strife is over: that at last, at long last, all passion spent, she has found Peace. This, to me, seems to compare with Srimad Bhagavatam.
Let us watch Ganga between these two extremities. Flowing calmly, placidly, in an unruffled manner, like the Mandakranta metre, chastening everyone who comes in contact with her: this Ganga makes me want to compare her to the Ramayana. There is, in the Ramayama, everything that is beautiful and the very atmosphere is purifying.
“Drama” is the first word which comes to the mind while reading the great epic, Mahabharata. “Bhakti,” on the other hand, is the thread running through the entire narration of the Bhagavata. “Pain” is the predominant emotion in the Ramayana. Pain is the monochord which can be heard throughout: and yet, this very pain is ennobling, purifying and satisfying. Ramayana is a threnody filled to the brim, with noble thoughts, noble sentiments, noble characters, not one of whom is spared the experience of pain.
The Bhagavata has a mystic veil which shrouds it throughout. The Ramayana, however, has less number of “characters”, but each is so clearly and sharply portrayed that we can almost see them. It is full of word-pictures which reveal the sufferings of the different characters.
The morning of the proposed coronation of Rama when the young prince is summoned to the apartment s of Kaikeyi where he sees his father, the very picture of woe, while Kaikeyi is ‘different’, to quote Rama. This was one of the most painful days in the life of Rama and how calm and composed he is when he is told about the banishment! The death of Dasaratha, and the moment when Bharata comes to know of it : all these three scenes are so clearly described, one cannot forget them easily.
Can one forget the other scene when Rama comes back to the ashrama at Panchavati and finds it empty? And we see Sita in Lanka, in the Ashokavana, like a figure carved out of suffering.
Consider the later scenes when Ravana’s pride is humbled day after day and the ultimate heartbreak when he hears of the death of Indrajit. Ravana rises to tragic heights during the end when he faces the consequence of his ‘tragic fault’ and we see the truth of the Greek proverb: “Character is Destiny.”
Ramayana has been called the Adi Kavya. If one were to try and look at it as one would at a Sanskrit drama and search for the predominant ‘Rasa’, it is evident that the Ramayana is, in essence, full of ‘Viraha’, ‘Vipralambha Shringara’ in a very wide sense. It is not just the separation of a husband and wife but several partings of different kinds. The predominant motif of the epic is: “Separation”.
The killing of the krauncha bird and the corse of Valmiki strike the keynote of the entire epic. Consider the number of partings. In the very beginning Rishyashringa is parted from his father who was doting on him. Later, rama is taken away from his father by Vishvamitra though the duration of the separation is short. Then comes the time when Bharata and Shatrughna are parted from their father as they go to Kekaya. Nothing is the same when they come back to Ayodhya. Bharata’s father is dead and his mother so changed that he refuses to consider her his mother any longer. And Rama was far away. There is the exile of Rama to the Dandaka forest, the great separation from his father and mother which kills the king and breaks the heart of his mother.
We come to the poignant scenes in the Aranya Kanda when Rama suffers the pangs of separation from Sita. The Kishkindha Kanda is filled to the brim with sublime poetry when Rama pines for Sita one the banks of the Pampa and later, at Prasravana when the rainy season visits the hill.
We see Sugriva parted from his wife. Then follows the death of Vali and the lament of Tara. Again, later, we are confronted with the painful scene when Mandodari grieves for Ravana.
Rama’s coronation takes place and, with Sita, he spends a short happy time: and again, separation. Sita s sent away and Rama spends the rest of his life in loneliness.
The Ramayana is a sad story. At the same time, like a Greek tragedy, it is the very summit of poetic art.
“Unarm, Eros, the long day’s task is done,” says Mark Antony. Even so, I am in a mood to say: a task which I undertook thirty years ago has now been completed and I feel a strange contentment stealing over me. I have but one regret. I only wish Pujya Munshiji had been with us. He would have been happy. But for his words of encouragement I would never have been able to do what I have done.
I am extremely grateful to Swami Ranganathananda for having been gracious enough to write the Foreword to the book. I feel very happy that he has blessed this book, and highly honoured.
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