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Kamba Ramayanam - A Study

KAMBA RAMAYANAM— A STUDY

WITH TRANSLATIONS IN VERSE

OR POETIC PROSE

OF

OVER FOUR THOUSAND OF THE ORIGINAL POEMS

By V. V. S. AIYAR

WITH A FOREWORD

BY

Hon'ble Sri K. SANTANAM,

MINISTER OF STATE, TRANSPORT & RAILWAYS, INDIA

A DELHI TAMIL SANGAM PUBLICATION

pL&y> QubTifltSp Qumrrppsv QsuskaQui ; jifiptjbirm n@oesnx>Q\ussf\so QajeifljBULLQL-nir

— uijfiiurir

KAMBA RAMAYANAM-A STUDY

By V. V. S. Aiyar

Other Works

English

THE TIBUKKURAL — Complete Translation

(Out of print)

A HISTORY OF INDIA

(Unpublished)

Tamil

MANGAYARKARASIYIN KATHAL— Short Stories

LIFE OF CHANDRA GUPTA MOURYA

LIFE OF BOOKER WASHINGTON

NAPOLEON

(A book on Military Strategy — Confiscated by the late British Government in India)

THAN-NAMBIKKAI

Translation of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-reliance. 2nd Edition by Sarvodaya Pirasuralayam, Virapandi, Tiruppur (1950).

GURU GOVIND SINGH— A Biographical sketch. 2nd Edition (1950) by Navayuga Pirasuralayam, Karaikudi.

KURUNTOGAI

Translation in English verse of the anclept Tamil Classic. (Unpublished Manuscript lost in 1942 disturbances.)

Published in 1950 First Edition

Rsjtf (Postage Re 1 extra)

In India <& Ceylon.

$0.50 or sh 24 (Postage inclusive)

Abroad

All Rights Reserved by the Publishers

PUBLISHED AT MADRAS BY

THE DELHI TAMIL SANGAM,

M. C. 1/3038, PARLIAMENT STREET, NEW DELHI.

PRINTED AT THE JUPITER PRESS LTD., 16. SEM8UDOSS STREET, MADRAS**!

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

There is a Tamil proverb in which one mendicant asks another, " Say brother, are you a mendicant by ancestry or are you a mendicant by famine ? " We are publishing this book due to a famine of publishers of whom there are too many more worthy than us to publish it. If the gods had been kind, this work would probably have been published a quarter of a century ago by reputed English publishers under the sponsorship of the great Irish poet, George Russell, more widely known as ' A.E.'

We had intended to tell in this note the story of how we came to do this work, and of the many difficulties and obstacles we had to surmount, chief among which is our colossal ignorance of the job and of everything else besides. But we are now so nearly bursting with pride in the successful achievement of our labours that, if we let ourselves go, the four-hundred odd pages of this book will not be sufficient for the epic of our travails.

So we content ourselves with expressing our deep sense of gratitude to all those who have helped us spontaneously and ungrudgingly in publishing this book. They are so many, and however small or big their help has been, the love behind the aid of each of them yields place to none else. We mention by name only a few.

To Aiyar's son, Dr. V. V. S. Krishnamurthy who honoured us with his faith and entrusted the manuscripts to us and stood by us with every possible help, we cannot find adequate words to express our gratitude.

We are indebted to the Editors of the Dinamani, the Dinamani Kadir, the Hindu, the Indian Express. the Hindustan Times, the Atma Jyoti of Ceylon and other publications for the publicity they so generously gave to our projected publication. We thank them most sincerely for this invaluable help. We owe the success of our effort to the tireless band of friends and associations in Delhi and

viii publishers' note

other places who took upon themselves the onerous task of canvassing subscribers. We can never cease to be grateful to them. We should next thank all our subscribers who so trustingly paid the price several months in advance and made it possible to publish this book. We thank them for their faith in us.

We take great pleasure in being able to print a Foreword from Hon'ble Sri K. Santanam, Minister of State. Transport and Railways, India. He is a close friend of Aiyar and his family and he has followed with keen interest the progress of the publication of this book. We sincerely thank him for taking the trouble to write this Foreword in the midst of his pressing duties.

We are indebted to the Director of the HIND, an excellent quarterly published in France and devoted purely to the culture and literature of Bharata Kanda, for per- mission to quote certain extracts from an article by Monsieur S. KICHENASSAMY (Sakti sei) on Le Ramayana de Kamban, in the second issue of the first volume (1949). The HIND is published from 41, Rue de la Bienfaisance, Paris 8e, price 1,000 francs a year — 250 francs per issue. We take this occasion to tender our thanks also to the few authors and publishers from whose works we have taken small extracts to adorn our foot-notes. Being very brief extracts we have not sought specific permission, which omission, we sincerely hope, these large-hearted friends will overlook in the cause of knowledge. Suitable acknowledgements have been made at the proper places.

We have, throughout the book, linked the translations in English verse with the original poems and have given references to Book, Canto, and stanza. These references follow the edition of the Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil (with elaborate commentaries) in seven volumes by Sri V. M. Gopalakrishnamachariar of 17, T.P. Koil Street, Triplicane, Madras. The Roman figures refer to the Kandams or Books, the small Roman figures to the Padalams or Cantos, and the Arabic numbers to the stanzas.

publishers' note ix

Quotations by Aiyar from the Valmiki Ramayana have been printed in italics. Except in one or two places, Aiyar has taken these quotations from Griffith.

The foot-notes, except in the case of reference numbers to the original poems in Kamba Ramayanam are by the author in nearly all cases. We have, however, felt called upon to add a few. As these are, in intention and form, completely in accord with Aiyar's plan, who, if he had lived to publish this work, would have added these notes, we have not distinguished them by any special sign. There are none by us, we hasten to assure the readers, which expresses any opinion or criticism. Ours are innocuous ones like meaning of a phrase or word, chiefly for the benefit of the foreign reader. In a few cases, however, where the notes should be so marked on account of their import, we have shown the letter ' P ' within brackets.

Aiyar had intended to crown his work with the character-study of Sita and had fittingly reserved it to the last. Cruel fate, however, stretched its talons and tragically snatched him away from this world before he could sing Sita's virtues. Though very reluctant to make any additions to Aiyar's work, we felt a certain infelicity in letting the work appear without Sita and hence a character-sketch has been added to this book. It is written by a member of the Delhi Tamil Sangam.

Prof. A. Srinivasa Raghavan who had very kindly agreed to write this chapter, and, in fact, to edit the rest of the book as well, has been prevented from doing so by pressure of work, want of leisure and ill health. We know how much our subscribers will be disappointed. We tender our sincere regrets to them.

It has been our endeavour — we had almost said, an obsession with us — to make this work free of that common eye-sore of publications in this country — the list of Errata. Still, some errors have escaped our vigilant eyes ; we offer no excuses but beg to be forgiven. We absolve our printers from all responsibility for any of these.

X publishers' note

Though the book itself is a testimony to the excellent work of our printers, The Jupiter Press Ltd., of Madras, it cannot speak of two of their outstanding claims on our gratitude. Their prompt execution of the work at every stage and their close co-operation only has made it possible to bring out this book so quickly. As whatever we may say will appear a hyperbole — we feel so enthusiastic about this trait of our printers — we pass on to their next virtue — the almost unique excellence of their proofs, first or second. Sometimes, we had uncharitably wished that they were not so perfect, as such perfection made our guilt in making later corrections stand forth very glaringly.

We acknowledge with pleasure and gratitude the invaluable help of the small band of friends who typed the manuscripts, sometimes again and again, ungrudgingly, and of those who checked them and the press proofs so carefully. Any excellence in the get-up of this work is due to their tireless help. x -'■■*%

The cover design is by Sri R. Mahadevan who has adopted the Sangam as the special beneficiary of his selfless service.

We cannot refrain from mentioning with gratitude Mr. S. Ramaswamy who has looked after our work at Madras. Without him, we do not know into what snares and pitfalls we would have fallen.

Our acknowledgements to those to whom we are indebted in the Introductory Essay on Tamil and the chapter on Sita are made in the respective chapters.

We thank God who has deigned to use us as His instrument for this service to Kamban and Tamil, and we tender this work with humility at His lotus feet as our humble offering.

30th June, 1950. THE DELHI TAMIL SANGAM.

CONTENTS

Page

KAPPU .. . . .. .. .. xiv

Foreword by Hon'ble Sri K. SANTANAM . . xv

Tamil — The Language and Its Literature . . xvii (A Brief Survey)

Kamban — A Short Note . . . . . . lxv

V. V. S. Aiyar— A Biographical Sketch . . lxvi

Gandhiji on Aiyar . . . . . . . . lxxii

Kamba Ramayanam — A Study — Chapter

I Introductory Remarks . . . . 1

II The Story of the Ramayana . . 5

III In Medias Res . . . . . . 26

IV The Architectonics of the Ramayana 34

V The Supernatural Element in the

Ramayana . . . . . . 40

VI Rama . . . . . . . . 46

VII Lakshmana . . . . . . 71

VIII Indrajit — His Exploits and Death . . 101

IX VlBHISHANA AND KUMBHAKARNA . . 125

X The Episode of Hiranyakashipu . . 152

XI Vali and Sugriva . . . . . . 169

XII Hanuman . . . . . . 195

XIII Ravana .. .. .. .. 231

XTV Bharata .. .. .. .. 279

Sita (Contributed by a member of the

Delhi Tamil Sangam) . , , , 311

xii

CONTENTS

Appendices

I Garuda's Flight II Valmiki's Vali Index

Index to Sita Errata .

Plates :

V. V. S. Aiyar

Page

345 347 375 379 380

. . facing page lxvi

Fac-simile of a page from Aiyar's Manuscripts

lxxi

THE DELHI TAMIL SANGAM

(Founded— January 1946)

Founder-President Founder-Secretary

Sri S. Subramanyam. Sri A. V. Kuppuswamy.

The Sangam was begun in a small room in a local boarding house in January 1946 with less than a dozen members.

It was fostered with great care by the selfless work of the Founder-President and the first Secretary of the Sangam and it was chiefly due to them that the Sangam occupies its present position of the cultural centre of the Tamilar in Delhi.

The Sangam is housed in a building kindly provided by the Chief Commissioner of Delhi to whom the Sangam is ever grateful.

The objects of the Sangam are :

To provide a venue for the Tamilar to enjoy the cultural benefits of the Tamil Literature in its three fields — Poetry and Prose, Music, and Drama, and to enable them to establish cultural contacts with the people of the local province.

The Sangam fosters the following activities in furtherance of its objects : —

(a) Conducting of Study Classes in Tamil literature.

(b) Arranging lectures by eminent scholars on Tamil and cognate subjects.

(c) Weekly Summer talks by members of the Sangam.

(d) Celebration of the two important Tamil festivals — The Pongal and the Tamil New Year — and of Days of the Great Savants of Tamil.

(c) The publication of a manuscript Tamil Magazine for the self-expression of the members.

(/) Maintaining an excellent library of Tamil literature.

(0) Conducting a class in Hindi for the members.

(h) Maintaining a Free Reading Room (in memory of the orator and patriot S. Satyamurthi) for the Public of Delhi and providing same with English, Hindi and Tamil Newspapers and Periodicals.

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FOREWORD

This profound study of Kamba Ramayanam seeks to present to the world the greatness of the immortal epic of Hindu Culture as portrayed by the greatest of Tamil poets. It is no exaggeration to say that Valmiki's Ramayana almost superseded the Vedas and the Smritis as the fountain source of Hindu religion and morals. It was inevitable that it should become the ambition of the poetic geniuses who arose from time to time in the various parts of India to seek to render the Ramayana into their own languages. Of these attempts, the Ramayana of Kamban in Tamil and that of Tulsidas in Hindi (Brij Bhasha) stand foremost. They are often considered superior to the original by their enthusiastic admirers. I do not subscribe to this view. Taken as a whole, I think Valmiki's Ramayana is incom- parable in its simplicity, dignity and power to move the mind. It is nevertheless true that for sheer beauty of language and delicate portrayal of character and emotion, Kamban ordinarily equals and often excels Valmiki. The author, V. V. S. Aiyar, who undertook this difficult task of presenting the study in English of Kamba Ramayanam was a remarkable personality. Perhaps, the simplest way to assess him is to say that he stood in the field of politics and erudition in the same relation to Lokamanya Tilak as Subramanya Bharati stood to Rabin- dranath Tagore in the field of poetry. With the dawn of the Gandhian era, V. V. S. Aiyar had changed over from his older ideas of violent revolution to those of non-violent satyagraha. Unfortunately he died before he could play an effective part in the new struggle for national liberation.

Aiyar's love of the Tamil language and his eagerness to enrich it and interpret it to the non-Tamil world were

XVI FOREWORD

second only to his passion for Indian independence. He died before his fame could be securely established. The Delhi Tamil Sangam has done a great service to all lovers of literature by undertaking the publication of this study. It is to be hoped that their attempt will be crowned with success and the volume will have the popularity it deserves.

3*E5W } K.SANTANAM.

TAMIL

A Brief Survey of the Language and its Literature.

(Compiled by a Member of the Delhi Tamil Sangam.) Introductory.

This book, KAMBA RAMAYANAM— A STUDY, was written by V. V. S. Aiyar with the avowed object of introducing this great literary treasure — the Epic of the Ramayana by Kamban — to those who do not know the Tamil language. This fruit of Tamil Poesy is only one among the varied fruits and flowers in the Garden of Tamil. We feel, therefore, that we should take the reader with us into this ancient and flourishing garden for a stroll — however brief it may be — so that he may have an idea of the realm from which this particular fruit came.

It is impossible to do any reasonable measure of justice to this vast subject of Tamil and its Literature in this short essay. We can but make brief mention of many important matters which would leave an impression of dogmatic assertions in the absence of the volume of evidence behind them. This essay would, however, have served our purpose if it did but give the readers a glimpse of the antiquity and greatness of the Tamilar, their language and its literature, and their place in the culture of this Bharata Khanda — called India, and the world. For a detailed study, we would refer the readers to the various books on the subject some of which have been mentioned in the Bibliography at the end of this survey.

ii. The Tamilar — Their Origin.

A language is but the medium of expression of a people. It is the people who shape the language and give it the impress of their own character and life. Who are the Tamilar ? Or, broadly speaking, who are the Dravidians — by which name the various peoples in the south are designated ?

The origin of the Dravidians cannot be studied or settled without the help of geological, anthropological, ethnological and

philological evidences.

Pre-historic On the evidence of very close affinities

Tamilar. * betwten the plants and animals in Africa and

India at a very remote period, Mr. R. D. Oldhame

concludes 1 that there was once a continuous stretch of dry land

l Manual of the Geology of India. II

Xviii t A M f L

connecting South Africa and India. This large continent of former times which extended from the Sunda Islands along the southern coast of Asia to the east coast of Africa, Selata has called Lemuria. " Peninsular India or Deccan ", says Sir T. W. Holderness, * " is geologically distinct from the Indo-Gangetic plain of the Himalayas. It is the remains of a former continent which stretched continuously to Africa in the space now occupied by the Indian Ocean. In the Deccan, we are in the first days of the world. We see land substantially as it existed before the begin- nings of life. When the world was still in the making and before the elevation of, the Himalayas, the space now occupied by the plain was a sea.", ,

Without going to the extent, as some savants of research do, of claiming Lemuria or Deccan, its remnant, to be the probable cradle of the human race, we may assume that it was the cradle of the Dravidians. It was however the cradle only, not the birth- place.

Acute difference of opinion, however, exists among scholars

in regard to the early origin and history of the Dravidians. Some

very learned men are of opinion that the

Original Home Dravidians were invaders and that they came

of the Tamilar. J

through the north-western route leading to the plains of Hindustan, and later migrated to the south. In proof of this theory, they point to the existence of a Dravidian tribe in Baluchistan speaking the Brahui language which is closely allied to Tamil. On the other hand, equally learned scholars maintain that the Brahuis were the remnants of an overflow of Dravidians from India to Baluchistan 2 . Although the invasion through the historic period have been into India, yet the fact remains that India was not connected with the mainland of Asia during the pre-historic times and that the Peninsular India during even remoter periods was connected with Africa on the west and the Malayan Archipelago on the east.

Ethnological evidences seem to point to the Iberian or Mediterranean Race as the ancestors of the Dravidians, who, it is suggested, migrated along the sea-coast and across the sea to the

i Peoples and Problems of India.

2 In a small work of this kind, it will be misleading to make any reference to the recent excavations in Mohenjadaro by Dr. Wheeler, and the train of hypotheses and counter-hypotheses which the finds have set in motion. The ultimate conclusions will throw valuable light on the civilization of the Tamilar. The excavations are not yet completed and await to be started again. , . . „,,

*HE LANGUAGE ANb LITERATURE X13t

Southern Peninsula. Readers are referred to the excellent treatise by A. C. Hodden on The Races of Men and their Distribution for the reasons underlying this theory.

These are the people whose language in the south was Tamil from which were born later, Telugu, Malayalam, Canarese, Tulu and Oran (Oriya).

iii. The Tamilar — Their Country.

While the extent of the land and its location where these people lived in pre-historic times may be a matter of conjecture,

we are on surer ground regarding the boundaries Tamil-Nad in f the abode of Tamilar — Tamil-akam — in Times! 6 * 1 historic times. " The extent of this Tamil-akam

was not however always the same. Tolkappiyar, the great Tamil grammarian, probably of the fourth century B.C., Ilango-adigal, the royal ascetic and reputed author of Silap- padikaram, and Sikandiyar, a pupil of Agastyar and the author of a treatise on music, have made references in their works to the boundaries of the Tamil country, from which we can infer that the Tamil-akam extended east and west from sea to sea and north to south from the Tirupati Hills to Cape Comorin, and to have also included the modern States of Travancore and Cochin and the Madras district of Malabar.

This land was divided into three principal kingdoms. They were the Pandya, Cola, and Cera Kingdoms. Their boundaries

varied widely at different times. We deduce The Three their extent from certain poems of Auvvai's

time. She is said to have been a contemporary of Kamban.

The extent of the Pandya Kingdom is defined thus in a poem ascribed to Auvvai :

" South of the river Vellar 1 , Comorin on the south, the sea sought by the gulf on the east, and open plain 2 on the west comprising fifty-six Kavathams. 3 "

The Cola Kingdom, according to Puhalendhi, a later day poet, is described in this wise.

1 "The Vellar passes through (what was) the State of Pudukottah and falls into the sea, south of Point Calemere.

2 " Peruveli the open plain or Peruvali probably refers to the Achan Koil Ghat leading to Travancore."— M. S. P. Pillal.

3 Kavatham—& distance of about ten miles. * \

Xk TAMIL

" The sea to the east, the overflowing Vellar to the south. Kottaikarai to the west, and Elam to the north covering twenty-four Kavathams."

[Kottaikarai was the boundary of the three kingdoms. The Cola Kings were great warriors and extended their country to Venkata or the hot hill and to the Pennar river.]

It was in extent just a half of the Pandya Kingdom.

The Cera kingdom's boundaries too have been sung by Auvvai who says :

" The northernmost point is Palni, right to the east is Shencottah (Tenkasi is another reading), to the west is Calicut, the sea-shore on the south — extending over eighty Kavathams."

[Chencode is taken by some to refer to Tiruchencode in the Salem District.!

In point of extent it was as much as the other two put together.

The emblems on the flags of the Kings of these three Kingdoms ' were the Fish for the Pandyas, the Tiger for the Colas, and the Bow for the Ceras. All the three were unswerving patrons of Tamil Literature and its poets.

These were the lands and these the Kings whose peoples' ancient heritage is Tamil, a language as ancient as and coeval with, if not older than, any ancient language alive or dead in the world

iv. The Tamilar — Their Language and Its Origin.

Tamil is the name of the language spoken by the peoples of

the lands we have specified above. The word ends with the

consonant yr, which is unique to the Tamil

Tamil language and would therefore denote an indi-

Its meaning;. & - . . . ., , „,,. , .. ...

genous origin to the word. This letter, in its

consonant form fe has been assigned a pronunciation of Zh when

transliterated in other languages, and Zha when it becomes a

vowel-consonant. Much wordy warfare has raged round the

question of the origin of the name of the language, whether it is

indigenous or one given by foreigners. More phonological pedantry

i Their emblems adorn the seal of the Delhi Tamil Sangam. with the Madhurai Temple to signify the headquarters of the ancient Tamil Sangamx and the Kutub Minar standing for Delhi where, among many other places, the torch of Tamil is carried on to this day. v

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE XXi

has been exercised J and much ingenuity has been shown in fixing the meaning of the term.

Most authorities are now agreed that the name ' Tamil ' means ' sweetness ' : only those who have heard the Tevaram and Tiruvaymoli (The Saiva and Vaishnava devotional hymns) chanted in the traditional manner could alone know how appropriate this meaning is.

" According to M. Hovalacque " writes Mr. M. Srinivasa

Aiyangar 2 " Tamil is one of the principal languages spoken

on the face of the globe at the present day.

Morphological Morphologically, the existing languages are

Classification. ,..,,. . , , .. ,

divided into four groups, viz., isolating, agglu- tinative, polysynthetic and inflectional."

" The morphological classification is based entirely on the form or manner in which the roots or the final elements of a language are put together to form words and sentences. In the isolating languages, like Chinese, the roots are used as words, each root preserving its full independence, unrestricted by any idea of person, gender, number, time or mood ; and, in fact, languages of this kind do not require any grammar. In the agglutinative languages when two roots join together to form a word one of them loses its independence subjecting itself to phonetic corruption. This is called the terminational stage. When words blend together in a sentence by syncope and ellipsis, it is called polysynthesio.

This is a feature peculiar to American languages. Thus the

Algonquin. . . . Languages in which relations between words are expressed not only by suffixes and prefixes, but also by a modification of the form of roots, are called inflectional languages. For example . . . Sanskrit "

" The theory that languages must pass through the monosyllabic and the agglutinative phases successively before reaching the inflectional stage — a theory current when Dr. Caldwell wrote his Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages — has now been given up. An isolating dialect does not become

1 We feel compelled to quote Mr. Eric Partridge, who offers some sound advice on this matter in his book English — A Course for Human Beings. He says : " Personal taste is still potent on the one hand ; on the other, phonological pedantry should not be allowed to browbeat good sense. Whenever you encounter that kind of pedantry, that sort of linguistic lunacy, shrug your shoulders ; and let good-sense, aided by sane scholarship, guide you "

2 T.S. p. 147. *

Important Note :

The reader is invited to refer to the Bibliography at the end of this esSay. Abbreviations used in the footnotes while referring to the books •wilj.be found, therein.. Such references will be found on almost, each page and should be taken to mean that the paras on the page are either quotations or are based on the book or books.

!xxii TAMIL

agglutinative, or an agglutinative one inflectional. The radical feature of a language explained in this fourfold classification, besides being innate to that tongue, is expressive of the racial character of the people that speak it ; it cannot change from one class to another though it can be modified or altered by external circumstances.

" To the agglutinative group belongs Tamil, while Sanskrit is the most ancient cultivated member of the inflectional family. Morphologically the one has no connection with the other." Limitation of space forbids us from dwelling on any aspect of this essay at any length ; we shall therefore, conclude this portion with a few quotations from the same author and proceed to the Tamil alphabet, and Tamil Literature which latter is the proper subject of our survey.

" The degree of relationship between Tamil and Sanskrit, which are the only two important languages known to the Tamils, has been variously estimated. During the early Relationship centuries of the Christian era, the Tamils, who

Sanskrit nd were not much acquainted with Sanskrit,

Tamil. seem to have always held that Tamil was an

independent language and that it had nothing to do with Sanskrit. They did not attribute its origin to Siva, Subramanya or Agastya, as the imaginative and sectarian scholars of a later date have done. But when they came under the influence of Sanskrit culture, that is, subsequent to the seventh or eighth century a.d., and when Sanskrit puranas and other Sanskrit religious literature were introduced, the views of Tamil scholars began to change. Most of them were acquainted with both Tamil and Sanskrit ; yet they had greater love and reverence for the latter, as their Vedas and Puranas and Agatnas were written in that language ; and this partiality or rather a sentiment verging on odium, theologicum induced them to trace Tamil from Sanskrit just as the early European divines tried to trace the Western languages from the Hebrew.

" All that we can say at present is that Tamil occupies the same position in the Dravidian family that Sanskrit does in the Aryan — that is, Tamil is the oldest and the most cultivated of the Dravidian or South Indian family of languages." 1

Mr. T. R. Sesha Iyengar has some interesting observations to make on this question. " Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Canarese *.e., the Dravidian languages," he writes, " are all fundamentally

i Tamil Studies by M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, pp. 151-152 and 167,

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE XXlii

different from Sanskrit, the language of the Aryans. These languages, while they have a common origin and a close affinity to each other, are different from Sanskrit and its derivatives.

" No person, who is well- versed in comparative philology and who has compared the primitive and essential words and the grammatical structure of the Dravidian languages with those of Sanskrit, can imagine for a moment that the former have been derived from the latter by any process of development or corruption. Sanskrit may contribute to the polish of the South Indian languages, but is not necessary for their existence. The non-Sanskrit portion of the Dravidian languages exceeds the Sanskrit portion. The base of Tamil, the most highly cultivated as regards its original structure of all the Dravidian languages, has an independent origin. In its more primitive words, such as the names of natural objects, the verbs expressive of physical action or passion, and the numerals, it is unconnected with Sanskrit. The Tamil language retains an alphabet . . . which has several letters of peculiar powers. Tamil is not dependent on Sanskrit for the full expression of thought. The ancient or classical dialect of this language, the Sen Tamil, is almost entirely free from Sanskrit words and idioms. The finest works in Tamil, such as the Kural, are original in design and execution, and also independent of Sanskrit. According to Dr. Burnell, the science of grammar (vyakarna) was cultivated in the south from a very early period, not as derived from Sanskrit, but as communicated from a divine source, in other words, as being of indigenous origin. Prof. Julien Vinson says, " Tamil and Sanskrit in spite of some analogies of words have no connection whatever. Their grammatical systems so widely differ that they certainly proceed from quite different origins. They are only to one another what a cocoa tree would be to a carrot plant." It is thus clear that the Dravidian languages belong to a stock distinct from Sanskrit. Many Sanskrit words connected with the arts of peace were borrowed from the Dravidian. The Dravidian dialects affected profoundly the sounds, the structure, the idiom, and the vocabulary of Sanskrit. The Dravidian element makes its influence felt in the sounds employed not only in the Sanskritic vernaculars but to a certain extent in Sanskrit itself. The cerebral stops, so characteristic of Dravidian, are found even in the earliest Sanskrit. The existence of a Tamilian substratum in all the modern dialects of India and of the profound influence, which the classical Tamil has exercised on the formation and

XXIV TAMIL

development of both the vedic and the classical Sanskrit, is gradually coming to be recognised by students of Indian philology. " Dravidian genius was conspicuous not merely in the sphere of language, but also in that of literature. Of all the races of India, the only people who had a poetical literature independent of Sanskrit are the Tamils, a typical Dravidian people." 1

v. The Tamil Alphabet.

We shall now briefly deal with the Tamil Alphabet before we pass on to its Literature.

The Tamil alphabet now in use is not what it was a thousand years ago. Its form appears to have undergone changes from

century to century until about the fourteenth, ^ he Tamil when it reached the present stereotyped

Vatteluttu. condition. There were, however, two different

kinds of writing in use in the Tamil country — the one indigenous to the Tamil race and the other introduced by the Brahmans. The latter is known as the Grantha-Tamil alphabet, from which some of the modern Tamil characters have sprung, while the former is called by palaeographists as the Vatteluttu or the Cera-Pandya alphabet. But the introduction of all these did not take place at one and the same period.

The introduction of the Vatteluttu alphabet must have taken place long before the fourth or fifth century B.C., and this

approximates the earliest date assigned by Its origin. European scholars to the introduction of writing

in India, which was the seventh or eighth century before the Christian era. As to who first brought the alphabet

i The Ancient Dravidians by T. R. Sesha Iyengar, pp. 36-44. — While some may not agree with everything Mr. Sesha Iyengar has written, it has to be conceded that there is a large measure of truth in his statements which are based on careful and extensive study. A language, however, cannot afford to remain static, particularly when there is a high-pressure effort to carve out for the nation a place among the peoples of the modern industrialised and scientific world. It has to grow and borrow and adapt foreign words without false pride or narrow bigotry. But there is much loose talk on importing wholesale foreign terms, and against this it may be pointed out that the law is not only of " the old yielding place to new " but also one of recovery and remodelling of the old to suit the new' conditions. In this connection, the science of semantics, which has not been used as much as it could .have been, could be pressed into service.. Ultimately, the common people are the fathers of- the language, and? they use semantics day in, day out, though entirely ignorant pf the term.— (p>:

T.S., pp. 114, 115 and 119,

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE XXV

from the western Semitics — whether the Southern Dravidians or the Northern Aryans — it is not quite easy to settle.

Dr. Burnell seems to think that Vatteluttu had an independent source and had nothing to do with the Brahmi alphabet of Northern India. ' This alphabet,' he says, ' was formed and settled ' before the Indo-Aryan grammarians of the Tamil language came to Southern India.

Although the Tamilians owed their grammar to Agastya and to Tolkappiyar, it should not be inferred that they were indebted to them for the art of writing also.

Among the Dravidian races of South India, the Tamils alone made use of the Vatteluttu alphabet from time immemorial, whilst their Telugu and Kanarese neighbours have, so far as epigraphical researches reveal, been using some alphabet or other which had its origin from the Brahmi of Upper India.

The vast difference that exists between Tamil and the Aryan languages in their vocabulary, between the Tamils and the Indo- Aryans, the contempt which the one had for the other, and the great antiquity and the divine origin which the Tamils claim for their ' sweet ' language, and its grammar — all these seem to favour the indigenous origin of the Tamil Vatteluttu alphabet.

The Vatteluttu or the Tamil archaic alphabet is so called on account of its round or circular form like the modern Telugu alphabet, while its modern development has assumed the angular or, as some would say, square shape. This angularity was due to the facility in writing on palm leaves with an iron stylus, or in cutting on stones or copper plates with a chisel.

Let us now take the number, order, and pronunciation of the Tamil letters. There are thirty-one letters ; twelve vowels

and eighteen consonants ; and one semi-vowel, The Present-day represented by the symbol a . The sound of

it is midway between the Arabic ghayn and the Sanskrit p® %. It is found in no other Indian or European languages, and it seems to suggest some connection of the Tamil race with the Semitic or Western Asiatic nations.

The other letters peculiar to Tamil are y )i etr, p, «r. The letter, p is equally a private property of Tamil and a terrible bugbear for Europeans to pronounce. It has been variously,

T.S., pp. 120, 122, 124, 125, 131, 132 and 134,

XXVI TAMIL

transliterated in some of the European languages, by lj, zj, zh, rl, 1, zy, etc.

The letter p has the sound of a rough r and that of tr. The sounds of * (Hindi si) and «r are almost identical and it may be supposed that the second is redundant. But their origin shows a slight variation and justifies the necessity for the existence of both, because m is a dental while «r isa palatal letter.

The Tamil consonants comprise only the unaspirate hard consonants, nasals, and semi-vowels. There are no separate symbols for aspirate hard consonants, but the sounds are pronounced by the combination of the cerebral stop of a consonant and its vowel consonant, and are written accordingly. Tamil words do not begin with such sounds. There are, moreover, no hard-consonant sibilants or unaspirate or aspirate soft-consonants. The sounds are, however, pronounced in speech and reading. The story of how cannot be told here.

vi. History of the Tamil Language.

Coming now to the history of the Tamil language, it may conveniently be divided into three periods, namely, (1) the early Tamil, comprising the period between the sixth century before and after Christ ; (2) the Mediaeval Tamil, occupying the interval between the sixth century and the twelfth century ; and (3) the Modern Tamil, extending from the twelfth down to the present day. We shall briefly indicate the characteristics of each period.

Early Tamil was the language used by the writers of the academic and the classic periods. And the peculiarities of this Tamil may be observed in the literature of those Early Tamil times, the important of which being the Ahana-

nuru, the Purananuru, the Pattuppattu, the Padirruppattu, the Silappadikaram and the Manimekaloi. The standard grammars of the epoch were the TolJcappiyam, Pannirupadalam, Usimuri, etc.

Words of foreign origin were never introduced, notwithstand- ing the commercial intercourse of the Tamils with the Greeks, the Romans, and the Arabs, whom they indiscriminately called the Yavanas. Sanskrit words were very sparingly used and even these were mutilated in their form. For instance, it is calculated that in the Pattuppattu there are only about 2% of Sanskrit words.

T.S., pp. 172, 173 and 174.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE XXV11

The literature of this period is all poetry — simple blank verse, in chaste classic style, devoid of rhetorical flourishes, figures of speech, hyperbolic descriptions, and intricacies of later prosody which mar the excellence of modern Tamil poems ; asiriyappa, kalippa, venba, and vanjippa are the metres mostly used. The descriptions of events and scenery are all faithful and true to nature.

The subject-matter of most of these works is the panegyric of reigning kings, descriptive of their military prowess, their liberality, and their administration. Some of them depict poverty, chiefly of bards, in a very pathetic manner. Some are on morality, while only a few relate to religion.

The Mediaeval Tamil period embraces the Brahmanic and the sectarian periods of Tamil literature. The early part of it was one

of struggle for predominance between Brahma- Mediaeval Tamil, nism on the one hand and Buddhism and Jainism

on the other, in which the former came out triumphant, Buddhism being deprived of following in this land and Jainism crippled. The literature of this epoch consists of hymns to Siva and Vishnu and of the accounts of the life and adventures of Siva and Subrahmanya, Rama and Krishna, and Jina. The standard works on Tamil grammar during this period were Tolkappiyam, Virasoliyam, Nambi's Ahapporul, Neminadam, etc.

Sanskrit words, chiefly relating to religion, were largely introduced, and some of the Tamil words and forms current in the preceding epoch gave way to new ones.

For poetry or metrical composition, which was still the only form of literary production, asiriyam and venba metres were not so much in favour as the viruttam, tandakam and others of Sanskrit prosody. These were introduced with their alankaras or embellishments. Rhyme and antadi forms were introduced to render the recital of sacred songs easier. As for their style, the pure simplicity and the natural beauty of the academic period were gone. Affectation and artificiality even in excess were considered a literary excellence. As it was a period of struggle for religious supremacy every one of the four sects attempted to excel the rest by extolling and exaggerating its own doctrines, and by fabricating miracles to support them. Truth was thrown

T.S., pp. 176-179.

XXVU1 TAMIL

in the background and its place was taken up by mythological accounts of preter-natural events, such as one might find in the puranas and itihasas. Thus Chintamani, the Ramayana, the Kandapurana, the Tiruvilayadalpurana, the Periyapurana and the Mahabharata came to be replete with stories of this kind. However, a true spirit of devotion and piety, though blind or fanatical it might appear to us, pervaded the writings of this very troublous period.

To the Tamils the modern period which begins from the thirteenth century is important in every respect. The ancient

kingdoms of the Colas and the Pandyas were Modern Tamil. subverted. A powerful Telugu empire was

coming into existence on the banks of the Tungabhadra, which before the close of the fifteenth century absorbed all the Tamil kingdoms. Then came the Mahratta and the Musalman hordes from the north, and lastly the Europeans from beyond the sea.

Till about the end of the seventeenth century the Tamil countries were ruled by Hindu governors. Brahmanical influence was in the ascendant. The learning of Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu was encouraged. Several original works in all these languages were written, besides innumerable commentaries in Tamil as well as in Sanskrit on ancient works, especially on the Nalayira Prabhandam, — all tending to harden and aggravate the sectarian .... animosities, until a reaction set in during the succeeding period of Musalman despotism. Then for about half-a-century there was a lull, which was followed by the production of anti-Brahmanical, Christian and Islamic literatures. And it was only during the first half of the last century that the vernacular literature began to revive.

With the change in government, religion and social customs many Tamil words had gone out of use giving way to new ones.

Most of the revenue and judicial terms, names relating to office furniture and stationery, and generally most words relating to the administrative machinery are Arabic, Persian or English. The religious terms, of course, are all Sanskrit.

There is nothing new in the grammar of this period, perhaps with the exception of a leaning towards a greater use of Sanskrit and foreign words by the educated classes ; and the unconscious

T.S., pp. 181, 192.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE XX1K

creeping in of several English words in the home-speech of the English educated Tamilians.

Poetry was the only medium of literary expression of thought in Tamil till about the beginning of the last century, excepting of course, the extensive commentaries and copious notes on ancient poems. However, the natural ease and beauty of the writings of the academic and the hymnal periods were gone. The kalambakam, malai, antadi, pillai-tamil, parani, ula, kovai and thoodu were the different kinds of poesy adopted for shorter literary compositions, and the kavya (kappiyam) form for longer and more descriptive works like the puranas. For these quasi- religious compositions all kinds of metres enumerated in the grammar books on prosody were freely made use of.

vii. Tamil Literature — Its Classification.

Among the Dravidian tribes of South India, the Tamils were the first to cultivate a literature.

Indian grammarians have divided Tamil literature into three

classes, namely — Iyal (belles-lettres), Isai (Music) and Natakani

(Drama). As this essay is concerned mainly

N^t'k 8 **' w * th the literature °f tne fW al Tamil, it will not

be inopportune to first briefly say something about the Isai and the Natakam or Kuttu, before we proceed to our subject.

Tradition says that Agastya was the only grammarian who wrote complete treatises on the grammar of all the three classes of Tamil, but none of them are now extant. During the early centuries of the Christian era attention seems to have been paid by the Tamils to all the three. They had their own dances and music — vocal and instrumental. They developed the art of dancing to a high degree of perfection and many treatises were written on this fine art ; even their gods had their characteristic favourite dances.

Music too, was in a state of perfection, and their pans of tunes were sui generis to the Tamil race. The only ancient Tamil work of the nature of the drama that has come down to us is the Silappadikaram (third century). It gives a vivid description of the stage, the actor, the singer, the drummer, the flute-player, the yal-player and others of the troupe ; and contains beautiful

T.S., pp. 183 and 185.

XXX TAMIL

specimens of Vari, Kuravi, Ammanai, Usal, Kandukam, Vallai, and other classes of musical songs.

A brief description of the yal 1 , a stringed musical instrument, similar to the guitar, peculiar only to the ancient Tamils may not be uninteresting. It was of four kinds, viz., Per-yal, Makara- yal, Sakotayal and Senkottiyal. Per-yal had 21 strings ; a Makarayal, 17 ; Sakota-yal, 16 ; and Sengottu-yal, 7. Perhaps these were the instruments in use during the days of Ilango-adigal. And the per-yal — big ' yal ' — which is supposed to have been in use in the days of Agastya had become extinct even before the third century a.d. It is said to have had one thousand strings.

The works on music, dancing, and the drama written by ancient Tamils, were neglected and left to shift for themselves ; and by the time of Adiyarkunallar (about 1200 a.d.) most of them were lost. With them the Dravidian music and dances became practically extinct. No one can now say what those pans and dances were like. Their places were gradually taken up by the Indo-Aryan ragams and natyams.

During festivals and processions of gods, dancing was encouraged and plays were acted to draw large crowds of devotees. Hundreds of dancing girls or gandharvis were attached to every important temple. This was the origin of the institution of singing by Oduvans and Araivans, and the public representation of natakas, pallus and kuravanjis in Hindu temples. Of these the first alone now survives. The same institution was carried to the West Coast, and it now survives in the Chakkiyar kuttu. It was only during the eighteenth century that drama and music began to revive ; and Arunachala Kavi (a.d. 1712-1779) the famous author of Rama Natakam may justly be called the father of modern dramatic literature, and under the Mahratta Rajas of Tan j ore, a fresh impetus was given to music.

We shall now come to the classification of Iyal. The following table 2 gives a tolerably accurate outline of the important stages in the progress of Tamil literature. As has Classification already been explained religion pervades almost

of Iyal-Tamii. tne whole of every literature in India, and

the table therefore exhibits the several periods of the religious history also.

i The ' 1' in yal should be pronounced like ' zh *. 2 of Mr. Srinivasa Aiyangar, T.S. p. 211. T.S., pp. 187-189, 190 and 191.

f he language and literature

XXXI

Period

Religion

Literature

Language

B.C. 600-200

Animistic

I Academic

(Tolkappiyam,

Kural, etc.)

I Early Grammar :

\ Agastyam,

B.C. 200— A.D. 150

Buddhist

II Classic (or Epic)

j Tolkappiyam

A.D. 150-500

Jaina.

(Silappad- ikaram, Mani- mekalai, etc.)

J

A.D. 500-950

Brahmanic

Ill Hymnal (Tevaram, Tiruvasagam,

,

Tiruvaymoli,

1 II Mediaeval

etc.)

Grammar : \ Tolkappiyam

A.D. 950-1200

Sectarian

XV Translations

Kalladam,

(Kamban's

Virasoliyam.

Ramayana,

Kachiyappa's

Kandapura-

nam, etc.)

A.D. 1200-1450

Reformatory-

V Exegetical (Commentar- ies by Nacchi- narkiniyar,

Adiyarku-

Ill Modern

nallar

)■ Grammar :

Virasoliyam

Parimelalagar

etc.)

and Nannul

A.D. 1450-1850

Modern

VI Miscellaneous

viii. The Sangams.

The real history of Tamil literature begins with the Tamil Sangam (Academies) which lasted from B.C. 500 to a.d. 500. This millennium might perhaps appear to be a very long period ; but during the first half of it none of the extant Tamil works, probably with the exception of Tolkappiyam and one or two others, were written.

The ancient classics of the Tamil people frequently refer to sangams or societies of learned men. " The word ' Sangam ', *

l V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar states (pp. 21) that the early poem ■Where there is a reference to this institution is the Maduraikanchai * (line 762).

* (One of the poems in Pattupottu, a work of the Third Sangam era.)

T.S., pp. 211 and 212.

XXXii TAMIL

used by Buddhists and Jains for a religious order or coterie, came to supersede," writes the late Mr. Purnalingam Pillai, "on the score of its euphony, the expression, ' Kuttam which is Tamil, and the presence of poets of the Buddhists or Jain persuasion in the third academy in modern Madura (Madhurai, since 1948) accounts for it. Madura bears the name of Kudal, for the reason that the poetic academy met there."

The Sangam was a body, not perhaps with a charter, etc. in the beginning, of the most learned men of the time, whose chief function, like that of the French Academy, was the promotion of literature. The name ' academy ', therefore, seems to be appropriate to this institution and is therefore used in the following pages.

According to Tamil writers there were three sangams in the Pandya country at different periods.

Of the three academies the second was more or less continuous with the first, and both probably existed sometime between the fifth century b.c. and second century a.d., while Three Sangams. the third, and the most "important of them all seems to have lasted till a.d. 500, or, to put .it more precisely, could not have lasted beyond a.d. 500. For, " most of the inscriptions now available date from roughly a.d. 600 by which time it is probable that the sangam as an active institution had ceased to exist. Hence they had no occasion to mention it and did not mention it." 1

The earliest literary activity of the Tamilians could have shown itself only after the introduction of writing in South India, which must have taken place long before the fourth century B.C. We shall not therefore be wrong if we look for the foundation of the first Tamil Academy or Sangam somewhere between the sixth and fourth centuries before the Christian era.

Tamil literature of course did not begin only with the founding

of Academies as indicated in the table. This was preceded by

what may be called the pre-academic periods

Ltt e ** < t ademiC But to attem P t an account of it will be groping

in the dark, as all literary evidence we now possess relates either to the academic or to the post-academic period. Some Tamil scholars still believe that Agastya invented the Tamil alphabet. This is certainly erroneous. The use of pure Tamil words like Eluthu and Suvadi by Agastya proves unmistak? ably the existence of the Tamil alphabet and the use of books

1 D., p. 7. T.S., pp. 211 and 212.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE fcXxi{i

among the Tamils long before his days. And even the compilation of the first grammar for this language by this Aryan sage, afte,r the Sanskrit model, is an argument in favour of the pre-existenoe of literature among the Tamils of antiquity. That literature always precedes grammar is a stern philological fact recognized by Agastya and later grammarians.

It is therefore almost certain that some sort of literature and also good poets must have existed before the academic era ; but nothing can at present be asserted about it in the absence of any literary or other records.

Regarding the First Academy, we have no reliable particulars on which we could base any conclusions regarding its date of

inception or its members. The First N or have any of the writings attributed to

this academy come down to us in their entirety, excepting probably a few doubtful quotations from Agastyam and one or two others. Apparently all these had been lost long before the tenth or eleventh century.

The only authors of this period about whom any account, however scanty it might be, can be extracted from Tamil literature are Agastya and Murinjiyur Mudinagarayar. The rest of the members seem to be half mythical persons. The life of Agastya is clothed in myth ; but this much is certain that he was a Brahman of North India and that he led the first colony of Brahmans which settled in the Tamil districts.

He is said to have had twelve students. Chief of them, Tolkappiyar, was alsq a member of the second academy like his renowned master.

The identification of Ten (South) Madura, the seat of the first Academy has been a controversial point. Regarding the destruction of this place there are certain allusions both in the Madura Stalapurana and in the Silappadikaram. The learned commentator of the latter work writes as follows : ' Between the rivers Kumari and Pahruli there existed an extensive continent occupying an area of 700 Kavadams (a Kavadarri being equal to ten miles). This land consisting of forty-nine nads (inclusive of Kollam and Kumari), innumerable forests, mountains and rivers. had been submerged in the Indian Ocean as far as the peaks of Kumari, -by a terrific convulsion which resulted in the upheaval of the 'Himalayan range.' Geological, - ethnological and linguistic researches also seem to confirm the above theory.

T.S., pp. 237,-2*0 and 241. Ill

SCXXIV ..." T A M 1 1

To arrive at the date of the Second Academy is equally difficult. The Second m^ v r Ramachandra Dikshitar argues

a tif am. ^ 21-D) : "If the author of the Tirukkural

could be proved to have lived in the second century B.C., then there is warrant for the assumption that the Tolkappiyam is a much earlier work, at least one or two centuries earlier than the second century B.e. According to the Payiram to the Tolkappiyam the latter was presented to the Academy and won its approval. If this account has any significance, it compels us to conclude that prior to the days .of Tolkappiyanar the Sangam existed as an institution and tbftj&rammarian did what the scholars of his time did. It must .fee also borne in mind that the grammar of Tolkappiyanar or his illustrious predecessor Agattiyanar presupposes a body of literary works. Roughly then, a date like the fifth century B.C. may be assigned in regard to the origin of the Sangam." (First.) He adds a foot-note "Professor V. Rangachariar's researches have led him to this conclusion."

It is said that the seat of the second Sangam was Kavatapuram. The transfer of the headquarters from Ten Madura to Kavatapuram

and from the latter city to the modern city of Change of Madura (seat of the third Sangam) is probably

a historical fact. The former two sites are said to have been overwhelmed and submerged by two different incursions of the sea.

The only work of the Second Sangam which has come down to us is the Tolkappiyam. Nothing further is known about Tolkappiyar, than that he was a student of Agastya and that he lived in a village near Madura during the reign of the Pandya king Makirti. AH the works of this academy have also been irretrievably lost, except the above work and a few poems which luckUy found their way into the anthologies compiled at the third academy.

We shall now pass on to the third Sangam which was by far the most important, and about which we are particularly concerned. Almost all the best Tamil classics The Third we now possess are the productions of this last

a»s5*sa. Sangam. Nothing definite can be said about the

foundation of the third Sangam except that it had its seat at the modern Madura.

TS-, pp. 244 and 245. '■■■::..

THE LANGUAGE AND LtTERATtfftE ' XfcfcV

A comparison of these ancient institutions of the Tamil people with the modern Royal Academy of the French will be interesting, since both of them were alike in their constitution, work and influence. The French Academy was established in a.d. 1635, that is nearly two thousand years after the first Tamil Academy, and its members were fixed at forty. Its object was to cleanse the language of the impurities, which had crept into it through the common people who spoke it and to render it pure, eloquent and capable of treating the arts and sciences .... It has done much by its example for style and has raised the general standard of writing, though it has tended to hamper and crush originality.

Language has life and growth, and when left to itself sprouts out into divers dialects like the branches of a living tree. " The bit and bridle of literature " says Max Muller, " will arrest a natural flow of language in the countless rivulets of its dialects, and give a permanency to certain formations of speech which, without these external influences, could have enjoyed but an ephemeral existence ". This linguistic principle was clearly understood and fully recognised by the founders of the Tamil academies. To secure, therefore, permanency to the Tamil language, the boundaries of the country where it was current were roughly described and the particular locality in which pure Tamil (Sen-Tamil) was spoken was sharply defined ; then the form and pronunciation of letters were settled ; rules were laid down to distinguish pure Tamil words from those of foreign origin, and to determine the structure and combination of words in sentences. These and many other restrictions on the free growth of the language were dealt with in the first Tamil grammar. Treatises were written on prosody, rhetoric and Porul (details of conduct in matters of love and warfare). Poetical dictionaries or nikhanduz were compiled in order to check the indiscriminate and unlicensed introduction of alien words in the Tamil vocabulary. The canons of literary criticism were severe and were applied impartially.

In this way the Tamil language, which passed through the crucible of the three academies, was refined and given to the Tamil-land as a perfect instrument for the expression of the best ' thoughts and sentiments of its people. The influence of these academies is markedly seen in the Tamil writings which received their approval, their style and language and choice of words differing much from that of the Tamil works of the post-academic period.

T.S.. od. 257, 259, 260 and 261.

KXXV1 TAMIL

For the advancement of literature and academies the Tamil , kings did much. Liberal presents in the shape of money, (elephants, palanquins, chariots with horses, lands, and flowers of •gold were bestowed upon deserving poets. Titles of distinction were also conferred on them. Instances of the Tamil kings honouring poets, and of their indirectly encouraging them are only too many.

ix. The Extant Sangam Works.

According to the tradition which finds a mention in the famous

commentary on the Iraiyanar Ahapporal the following are given

as the accredited works of the first Sangam :

First Sangam Paripadal, Mudunarai, Mudukurugu, and

Kalariyavirai.

Since narai and kuruhu are suffixed to the titles of works, it is reasonable to conclude that they were musical treatises, and ancient Tamil land developed the arts of music and dancing besides literary activities.

It is generally believed that works of the first Sangam are lost, perhaps, beyond recovery. The extant Poripadol may be the composition of the third Sangam rather than that of the first.

The works attributed to the second Sangam are Kali, Kuruhu, Vendah, Viyalamalai Ahaval, Agattiyam, Tolkappiyam, Mapuranam, Isainunukkam, and Budapuranam, Second Sangam ^he last five being grammatical compositions.

With regard to the compositions of the second Academy, we have to take it that all of them except Tolifcappiyam have been lost. Tolkappiyam was the grammar during the period of the, second and third Academies.

Tolkappiyam, the life-work of its author, is in three parts and counts 1,612 sutras. It is the oldest extant Tamil grammar, the name signifying ' ancient book ' or ' the preserver of ancient institutions '. It was preceded by centuries of literary culture, for it lays down rules for different kinds of poetical compositions, deduced from examples furnished by the best authors whose works had been in existence.

It treats clearly and systematically of only one of the three time-honored divisions of Tamil, viz., Iyal or Natural Tamil. The three parts of it are Eluthu (Orthography), Sol (Etymology), and Porul (Matter), each with nine sections.

T.S., p. 260, D. pp. 24 and 25. P. p. -23:

THE LANGUA G.E A N D LITERATURE XXXVU

White the Eluttadikaram and the SoUadikaram are interesting from both linguistic and philological points of view, the PoruU adikaram is most valuable as it gives us a glimpse of the political, social and religious life of the people during the period when Tolkappiyar lived.

It is the only work from which we can have a gleaning of the ancient Tamilar's manners and customs.

(a) Eluthu : The first part deals with Letters, i.e., Orthography.

(b) Sol : The second part on Words is masterly in treatment. In this the author has attempted at finding the root meanings of words. It is a peculiarity — a peculiarity which will show the critical culture of the Tamilar — that the gender classification is based on the signification of words.

(c) Porul : The third part, Poruladikaram is valuable as it gives us a glimpse of the political, social and religious life of the people during the period when Tolkappiyar lived.

We have already pointed out that the Tamil language is classified under three broad sections, viz., Iyal (Natural), Isai (Music) and Natakam (Drama). There are a few other classifications, reference to which will be frequently made in this essay ; and it is well that we mention the classifications here, (o) The subject-matter of the work is classified as — (i) Aham. (ii) Puram. (b) The land which the works treat of is classified into : (i) Kurinchi (mountain regions), (ii) Palai (desert), (iii) Mullai (jungle),

(iv) Neithal (beach or coastal region), and (v) Marutham (fields ; i.e., land brought under cultivation, or more generally speaking, the plains) . These classifications are well explained in the following quotation from Tamil Literature by the late Mr. Purnalingam Pillai :

" Porul (substance, subject, matter) is divided into Aham (inner) and Puram (outer). Of these Aham, the Subjective, treats of love, its various emotions, and incidents ; and Puram, the Objective, relates to all other things — life in general, and especially war and the affairs of the S*at*>

D. p. 26. P. p. 25.

XXXVW TAMIL

(i) Aham. Love is true or natural, when mutual affection draws the parties together, and untrue or unnatural when it is one-sided (kaikilai) or ill-assorted and morganatic or forced (perum thinai). True love is considered under five aspects, viz., union (punarthal), separation (pirithal), patience in separation (irutthal), bewailing (irangal), and sulking or going into a pet (udal), and these are made to fit in with the five-fold physiogra- phical divisions (thinat). Further, it is made to turn on the six divisions of the year (August to July) viz., cloudy (kar), cold (kuthir), early dew (mun-pani), late dew (pin-pani), spring (ila-venil), and summer (muthuvenil) , and on the six divisions of the day ; viz., the first hours of night (malai), midnight (yamam), the small hours of night (vaikarai), morning (kalai), noon (nanpakal), and evening (erpadu). Besides these, the natural peculiarities of each of the five thinais are made to bear on the aspect of love peculiar to it. Such peculiarities are comprised under fourteen heads, viz., deities (ar-anangu), nobles (uyarnthore) , the vulgar (ilinthore), birds (pull), beasts (vilangu), town (oor), water (neer), flowers (poo), trees (maram), food (vunavu), drum (parai), lyre (yal), tune (pan) and occupation (tholil). Love, again, is wedded (karpu), or furtive (kalavu) ; and furtive love leads to wedlock or the grave, for the rejected lovers cannot bear life without love. Marriage was solemnised by the parents on the self-choice of the lovers, and marital rites came into vogue when aliens proved untrue in their courtship. This is a bare outline of Aham, and commentators find in it an allegory of the different stages through which the soul of man passes from its appearance in the body to its final absorption in the Supreme.

(it) Puram, whose subject is war and state, consists of seven divisions, the first five of which correspond to the five-fold division of true love, and the last two correspond to kaikilai and perum- thinai. The seven divisions of puram, with their corresponding divisions of Aham, are as follows : —

1. Vetcht, cattle-raid, corresponds to Kurinchi.

2.

3.

4.

5.

«.

7.

P. pp. 25-27.

Vanchi, invasion,

do.

Mullai.

Ulinai, siege,

do.

Marutham.

Thumbai, war

do.

Neithal.

Vohci, victory,

do.

Palai.

Kanchi, sober counsel

do.

Perum-thinai,

Padau, encomium,

do.

Kaikilai.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE XXXltf

Cattle-raiding is the beginning of warfare. It leads to systematic invasions of the raiders' territories. Then comes the siege, upon which the war proper begins. The war ends in victory to one party or the other, and the victor and the vanquished are counselled respectively to be sober, without being intoxicated with success, and to be calm and resigned, without being over-powered by grief. The loyal subjects of the victor pay him their joyful tribute of laudatory odes or encomia.

A brief note on the language of flowers will close this bird's- eye view of Tholkappiam. [Vetchi, Vanchi, etc., are also names of flowers ; garlands made from the respective flower are worn by the King when he sets out on the type of warfare indicated by the name.] Vetchi, the country geranium or ' flame of the forest,' bears a profusion of bright, deep-red flowers, which are associated in idea with bloody action. Vanchi, a creeping plant, bears yellow flowers and is green all the year round. It is a symbol of inexhaustible energy. Ulinai is a species of cotton plant whose shoots are golden, and a wreath of which is worn in derision as emblematic of the weak and worthless fort besieged. Thumbai. called in Sanskrit drona, is the essential war-flower, and a wreath of it is worn when a king contemplates an offensive war. Valuii (mimosa flectuosa) bears white flowers, and a wreath of its leaves and flowers is worn by a king who returns home after a glorious victory.

The importance of Tolkappiyam is further enhanced by several commentators among whom figure (1) Ilampuranar, (2) Per- Asiriyar, (3) Senavarayar, (4) Nacchinarkiniyar, (5) Daivac- cilaiyar, (6) Kalladar.

While no works of the First Sangam have come down to us,

and the Second Sangam is represented by

Third Sangam Tolkappiyam alone, we are more lucky with the

Third Sangam.

In addition to the tradition transmitted in the commentary on

the Iraiyanar Ahapporul, we have other traditions all of which

mark the following as the accredited works of this Sangam : the

Ettutogai, the Pattuppattu and the Padinen-kilk-kanakku, all

which have come down to us today. Kuttu, Vari, Sirrisai, Perisai,

etc., are others which are now only names to us, the works

themselves having been lost long since.

Space forbids us to offer anything but the briefest notice on the major works of the third Sangam.

£>., p. 20.

*:

%A,Ml;t:

The EttHtogai comprises •:• Natrium, Kuruntogai; AingWxttiuru, Padirruppattu, Paripadal, Kalittogai, Neduntogai, Purananuru and Pattupattu.

The Narrinal contains 401 stanzas, each ranging from nine to twelve < lines,; ,Ili it we find the hands of 175 poets. The verses deal with the five thinais, 28 on mullai, 32 on marudam, 107 on poloi, 103 on neithal and 120 on kurinjt. Its general theme is love and its compilation was at the instance of a Pandyan king, Pannadutanda Pandiyan Maran Valudi.

The Kuruntogai literally means a collection of short poems. In this work is brought together a number of verses attributed to as many as 205 poets. This collection contains 402 stanzas in the ahaval metre', each stanza ranging from four to eight lines. As in the Narrinai the theme of the work is love and the stanzas can be brought under the category of the five thinais. It would appear that the compilation of the extant work was effected under the patronage of the chieftain of Purl (identified with North Malabar) by name Purikko. There was an ancient gloss on the work by the well-known commentator Per-Asiriyar which has since become lost.

Nacchinarkiniyar has written a gloss on twenty verses only, because, in all probability, the other gloss existed in his time.

The Aingurunuru means literally the short five hundred. It contains 500 ahaval verses and the whole book can be conveniently divided into five parts, each part consisting of 100 stanzas. Each verse .contains three to six lines. Every part again deals with five thinais.

Orambagiyar, ■ Ammuvanar, Kapilar, Odalandaiyar, and Peyanar, are said to be the respective authors of hundred verses each on marudam, neithal, kurinji, palai, and mullai thinais respectively. In the case of this work, however, the name of the compiler is known as Kudalur Kilar.

The Padirruppattu (the Ten Tens) is an anthology of enormous importance. Here we are introduced to a number of kings of the Cera dynasty, with a splendid record of their deeds and achievements thus enabling us to get at a true picture of the political conditions of Tamil land about two thousand years ago. Of the ten books into which the whole work is divided, the first and the last are not available to us.

The Paripadal (literally stanzas of strophic metre) is according to tradition a composition of the first Academy as well as the third Academy. If both are 'different works, the first Sangam work is lost. The Paripadal of the third Academy is said to consist of seventy stanzas attributed as usual to multifarious poets. It is unfortunate that as many as forty-six verses of this important work are lost. There is an ancient commentary of Parimelalagar which has been printed with the available texts by Mahamahopadhyaya U. V. Swaminatha Aiyar.

The Kalittogai, otherwise known as - Kurunkalittogai or simply Kali is yet another important work . of this category; It contains pne hundred and .fifty stanzas in the Jtali metre dealing, with, the five thinais. its theme is love- but ifalso contains a number of -ttioral

D., pp. 26-31. . ,

THELANGUAG BAND LITERATURE xli

, maxims. Incidentally it furnishes us with some peculiar marriage customs current in those ancient days. Kadungon, Kapilar, Marudan Ilanaganar, Cola Nalluttiran and Nallanduvanar are the poets who composed the various songs in the work. We have no prima facie evidence as to the name of the compiler and the patron at whose instance the work was compiled. But it is generally believed that one of the five poets, Nallanduvanar, was the compiler. The celebrated commentator Nacchinarkiniyar has written a gloss on it.

The Neduntogai, otherwise known as Ahappattu and popularly known as Ahananuru' or simple Aham is an anthology of sufficient importance and value to a student of ancient Tamil culture. It contains 401 stanzas in the ahaval metre and is divided into three sections — Kallirriyanai-nirai of 121 stanzas, Manimidaipavalam of 180 stanzas and Nittilakkovai of 100 stanzas. Its general theme is love. The length of the stanzas varies from thirteen to thirty-seven lines. ' As many as 145 names of poets are given in this collection whose compiler was Uruttirasarman, the son of Uppurikudi Killar of Madura. It was accomplished under the distinguished auspices of the Pandyan king Ukkirapperuvaludi.

The Purananuru otherwise known as Purappattu or simply Puram is a valuable anthology of 400 stanzas in ahaval form. It is the counterpart of the preceding work, the Ahananuru, and deals witn aspects of ancient Tamil culture and forms a good record of the Tamil civilization in ancient times. It deals with war and matters of state. There is a view that the work is a later compilation inasmuch as the name of Poygaiyar, a poet of Post-Sangam days is mentioned among the poets referred to in the Puram. It also contains the poems of Murinjiyur Mudinagarayar, Vanmikiyar, and others who, according to the legends, belong to the first Academy. Thus the anthology contains odes ranging from the epoch of the First Sangam to that of Post-Sangam. Whatever may be the date of its compilation, the events it treats of are ancient and hence invaluable to an antiquarian.

The Pattuppattu is a collection of ten idylls. An idyll is a short poem descriptive of some picturesque scene or incident, chiefly in pastoral life. It is not known by whom and when, these poems written at different times were brought together. The poems are by various authors.

Five of them belong to a peculiar class called Arruppadai. An arruppadai is a poem in which a bard or ministrel is recommended to go to a patron to solicit help from him. It is addressed to another seeker for favours by one who has already benefited munificently at the hands of the patron. Only one of them differs from the others, viz., Tirumuruharruppadai, which directs devotees not to a patron but to a God.

The following is an attempt to name them in a probable time order, and to give a brief account of them. 1

i.This arrangement and description are given by J. V. Chelllah.in his Pattupatiu (General Publishers Ltd., Colombo), an excellent rendering in English verse.

Xlii TAMIL

1. Porunararruppadai (lit. A Poem of Recommendation to a Bard) was composed by Mudattamakanniar. The poet recommends Karikala Colan to a bard as a patron of literature. It contains 248 lines.

2. Pattinapalai (lit. [a song of a-] City and Separation) was written by Uritthirankannanar. It is based on a contemplated separation of a husband from his wife. It is a poem of 301 lines.

It testifies to the growing prosperity of Kaviripattinam under the benevolent rule of Karikala Colan. The real value of the poem consists in giving us an idea of the trade relations of Tamil land with foreign countries, its busy mart, and some administrative details of importance.

3. Afullaipottu (lit. A jungle Song) was written by Napoothanar. It is generally supposed to have been written in praise of Neduncheliyan. It deals with a wife separated from her husband who is away in the battle-field. It contains 103 lines, and is the shortest of the Idylls.

4. Perumpanarruppadai (lit. A Poem of Recommendation to a Bard playing the larger yal) was written by the author of Pattinapalai. Kanchi and its king are celebrated in this Poem. It contains 500 lines.

5. Sirupanarruppadai (lit. A Poem of Recommendation to a Bard playing the smaller yal) was written by Natthathanar, and celebrates a chieftain. It contains 269 lines.

6. Nedunalvadai (lit. Good Long Cold Wind) was written, it is alleged, by the great poet, Nakkirar. Its subject-matter greatly resembles that of Mullaipattu. It has a fine description of the cold season, and contains 188 lines.

7. Kurinchipattu (lit. A Mountain Song) was written, it is supposed, by another great poet, Kapilar. It speaks of love at first sight, in the hilly region. It contains fine descriptions of mountain scenery, and has 261 lines.

It brings out the social conditions of the Tamil land in prominent relief. There is a legend grown round the origin of the composition of this poem, viz. to introduce a northern king Pirahattan to the beauties of Tamil literature.

8. Maduraikanchi (lit. A Song of Madura) was written by Mankudi Maruthanar. It was composed in praise of the Pandyan king, Neduncheliyan. It contains detailed descriptions of his kingdom, his administration, and Madura, his capital. It is the longest of the Idylls containing 782 lines.

9. Motaipodufcadam (lit. The Secretion oozing from a Hill, and fig. The Echo of a Mountain) was composed by Perumkausikanar, and celebrates Nannan, a chieftain, and his court. It has beautiful descriptions of mountain scenery. It contains 583 lines.

10. Tirumurugarruppadai (lit. A Poem of Recommendation to the Shrine of Sacred Muruga) is supposed to have been written by Nakkirar. It contains description of the war-god, Muruga and his different shrines on the hills of South India. It depicts also the life of ancient Tamils. As a religious poem it is greatly valued by Saivites. It contains 317 lines.

If Tamil poetry is to be restored to its pristine spontaneity and charm, these ancient poems should be our models. .

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE xliti

These poems are valuable from another point of view. Tamil

genius never paid much attention to the time element, and so

historical and other documents from which we

Historical could gain an idea of ancient Tamil life are very

Value of , ., _ .

Pattuppattu. much wanting. There are six sources of

information for the reconstruction of the life of

the people of those times : Tamil literary works, commentaries,

accounts of foreigners, Ceylon records, inscriptions, and references

in Sanskrit literature. Of these the most important are the Tamil

poems of the period. Literature embalms the culture, the ideas

and the ideals of the people of the age in which it is produced,

and it is in its literary works that the springs of thought and actions

of a period stand revealed. So, apart from the literary interest of

these poems, they are a mine for reconstructing the life of the

Tamils centuries ago.

The Eighteen Minor Works : The next collection of the

Sangam works comes under the general heading — the Padinen-kil-

kanakku, the eighteen poems dealing primarily with morals

(Tamil aram, Sans, dharma).

They are :

1.

Naladiyar 7.

Ain-thinai-aimbathu

13.

Thiri-kadukam

2.

Nanmani-Kadikai 8.

Ain-thinai-elupathu

14.

Acarak-kovai

3.

Kar-narppathu. 0.

Thinai-moll-aimbathu

15.

Palamoli

4.

Kalavali-narppathu 10.

Thinai-malai-nuth-

aimbathu

16.

Siru-pancha-mulam

5.

Iniathu-narppathu 11.

Kainnilai, Innilai

17.

Muthu-moli-kanchi

6.

Inna-narppathu 12.

Tirukkural

18.

Elathi

The term kil-kanakku implies that there was a classification like mel-kanakku. The works that contain less than fifty stanzas, composed in different metres, generally come under the kil-kanakku. But if the venba metre is pressed into service, the poem can be of any length and can still find a place in kil-kanakkn. The mel-kanakku ranges from 50 to 500 stanzas and is in the ahaval, kalippa, and paripadal metres. The Ettuttogai and the Pattuppattu come under the category of mel-kanakku.

Two works like the Naladiyar and the Tirukkural which come under the category of kil-kanakku deal with the three purusftarthas or objects of life, dharma or righteous living, (aram), artha or wealth or secular life (porul) and kama or love (inbam). The remaining sixteen deal both with aham and puram, the object aimed at being practice of dharma or morals.

The Tirukkural (popularly known as the Muppal) is the famous work of the celebrated Tiruvalluvar who lived in the early

xliv

TAMIL

centuries before the Christian era." The poem is in the form of couplets and deals with the three aims of human life — aram, porul, and inbam. It consists of 133 chapters, each containing ten kural- venbas. Each couplet is a gem by itself and conveys lofty thoughts couched in terse language. Though the scholarly commentary of the illustrious Parimelalagar — a happy consummation of Tamil and Sanskrit culture — is largely in use, there were nine equally well-known commentaries of which Manakkudavar's gloss is one,. Till recently, this was the only one available of the nine. Two others (parts) are said to have been traced since.

A brief analysis of this universal code of morals is given below.

No. of Chapters.

Subject.

Book I 34 Chapters

20

Book II 70 Chapters

Book III

25 Chapters

The Ideal Householder — Domestic Virtue •

based on Affection.

14 The Ideal Ascetic

25 The Ideal Sovereign

10 The Ideal Statesman

22 The Ideal State

13 The Ideal Citizen

25 The Ideal Lover

-Ascetic or Higher Virtue based on Grace.

-Royalty.

-Ministers of State. -The Essentials of a

State. -Morality, Affirmative-.

and Negative.

-Furtive love ending in wedded love.

These are the seven ideals presented by this Prince of Moralists. Rendered into almost every important European language — English, French, German, and Latin — the Kural presents an ideal monarchy portrayed by this Citizen of the World within the limits of practicality and at the same time outdoing the Republic of Plato and the Oceana of Harrington. Almost free from the influx of Sanskrit words, the Kural shows the richness and power of the Tamil tongue.

We dare not say more, as an entire set of volumes can be/ written on this one book alone of the Tamilar. We may mention, in passing, that V. V, S. Aiyar has translated the work into.

r>. p. 38.

P. pp. 75 and 76.

THE LANGUAGE A N f) LITERATURE xlv

English with a keen insight into the meaning of the phrases used in the original.

The Naladiyar comes nearer the Kural than the others in this collection in point of subject-matter including the division of the subjects. It also deals with the three pursuits of human life. It contains forty chapters, each consisting of ten stanzas. This "anthology, the composition of which can be attributed to different hands, owes its compilation to one Padumanar.

Space forbids us from giving any detailed description of the contents of the rest of the Eighteen Works which mostly deal with ethics.

It is interesting to note the swing in the themes of the works of the Third Sangam. The earlier books deal, like the ancient literature of other countries, with love and war, kings and chieftains, and Nature and her beauties. Slowly there is a change, and the Tamil writers become obsessed with ethical matters to the exclusion of everything else. While their writings are high and dignified, full of wisdom and guidance to the common man and savants as well, they, however, do not delight one as the earlier works do, and lack variety of themes. Life has turned inwards, and we can see in this the growing influence of certain trends which turned away India, at any rate the South, from a life of external activity and achievement to one of contemplative contentment.

We see side by side an insidious change in the attitude to women. From being brave mothers, ardent lovers, proud wives, and life-mates sharing equally in the family and state life, we find that women come to be spoken of as snares and temptations, as something to be feared and shunned. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in this debasement of women lay hidden •the seeds of the debasement of the body politic of the people.

The reader would have noticed that many of the works of the Third Sangam are collections. This is significant of the fate that has pursued the Tamil works from ancient times. Time, the sea, war, famine, white ants and nature herself to which man has added his quota of apathy and neglect have combined to destroy the works which were written on Cadjan leaves. What remained has been gathered within these togais — collections — by the selfless compilers, whose very names are not known in many cases. But for them, these too would have been lost for ever to us. Even as they are, they would still have been lost to us, but for another

D. pp, 38 and 39.

tflvi 'TAMIL

great soul in this line of immortal compilers. The Tamilars have been laid under a great debt of gratitude by that great scholar and tireless compiler and learned editor of our days, Dr. U. V. Swaminatha Aiyar of whom we shall have to say more later on.

x. The Epic or Post-Sangam Literature

The chief of them are five, often referred to as Ain-perum- Kappiyam — the Five Major Epics. They are the Silappadikaram, the Manimekalai, the Jivaka Chintamani, the Aln-perum- Valayapati and the Kundalakesi. A pleasing

fancy has been coined from their names in which the works are conceived to be five principal ornaments on the form of Tamil-anangu — the Tamil Muse — the works symbolising the tinkling anklet, the gem-studded waist-girdle, the gem on the chaplet, the bangles, and ear-pendants respectively.

The last two works are entirely lost to us. We can give only a brief sketch of the other three works.

Silappadikaram : Ilango-adigal is the celebrated author of the Silappadikaram. He was the second son of king Ceralatan reign- ing in the city of Vanji, the capital of the then Ceranadu and the younger brother of the famous king Ceran Senguttuvan. On this account, he was called Ilango or the younger prince and he was known as Ilango-adigal after his renunciation of royalty and assumption of holy orders.

The story of this Epic, according to its payiram (prefatory verses) preaches Dharma wreaking vengeance on those who failed in their kingly duties ; sings the praises of the highly virtuous wife ; and underlines the recoil of one's actions.

The story is simple and is as follows :

In Kavirippumpattinam, the capital of the Colas, there lived a wealthy merchant named Masattuvan. He had a son Kovalan to whom was married a virtuous and devoted lady Kannaki by name, the daughter of Manaikan. Being a wealthy young man, Kovalan moved in high social circles and took an active interest in the amusements of the day. Once his eyes fell on a beautiful young dancing girl Madavi by name, on whom he directed his love. He Wasted all his wealth and money on this dancing girl and did not care for his devoted wife. When at last he had lost all his riches, he thought that Madavi's love towards him had cooled and he became disgusted. Returning home, he realised his past mistakes and resolved to follow the career of a merchant. The same night he left for Madura with his wife Kannaki. He had nothing to fall back upon except her jewels. She placed one of her costly Silambus — anklet— ungrudgingly and willingly at his disposal. He took it to the jeweller's market there to effect a sale. As misfortune would have it, he was arrested as a thief of the royal jewels. The king without inquiring into the facts of the case impatiently ordered his execution. It was done.

D. pp. 70, 77 and 78.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE xivii

Poor Kannaki, when she came to know of this, became bewildered as it were. She went before the king and proved her husband's innocence beyond the shadow of a doubt. The Pandyan King Nedunjeliyan realised his guilt and could not bear it. He fell down from his seat broken-hearted and died immediately. Still Kannaki could not control herself and in a fit of great anger cursed that the whole city be consumed by flames. And so it happened. Kannaki then proceeded westward to the Malainadu (Hill country) and continued to do penance at the foot of a Vengai tree in the Neduvelkunram, a hill near Kodungolur (Cranganore) according to Adiyarkkunallar.

A source of information — Barring the legendary portions of the twin epics, the Silappadikaram and the Manimekalai are the unfailing sources of information for writing the history of the ancient Tamil-land. The first is a contribution by a royal author and may be relied upon for details as regards the life in courts, and the accounts of the kings mentioned therein. It is indeed a valuable mine of information for re-writing the history of the early Pandya, Cola, and Cera Kings. It shows the relation of the states with one another, not excluding North Indian states like Avanti and Magadha. It gives us a true picture of the social and religious life of the people of those days. The various fine arts, such as music and dancing, flourished on an extensive scale as literature itself did. It gives us also types of good and bad womanhood and the ruin of the innocent by the seduction of the latter. It shows how justice was rendered besides other details of administrative interest. These and several other things found mentioned are indeed valuable as throwing sufficient light on the history of the Tamils in the early centuries of the Christian era. This is a work which combines in it the three divisions of Tamil — Iyal, Isai, and Natakam — and Prose as well.

The Manimekalai is a sequel to Silappadikaram, and takes up the story from the death of Kannaki. The scheme as well as the plan of the story are simple.

While the story of the Silappadikaram is of such varied interest and is presented vividly like a dramatic representation, the story of the Manimekalai is narrowed down to the aimless adventures of a Buddhist Bhikshuni (nun), sectarian in outlook.

Madavi, on hearing of the death of Kovalan, renounced the world, and turned a Buddhist nun. She had a daughter named Manimekalai by Kovalan. She too became a nun. Once Udayakumaran, the son of the reigning king, saw her and fell in love with her and pursued her, but in vain. . . . She was then taken by a goddess to Manipallavadvipa where were enshrined the feet of the Buddha. Here she was told that the prince was her husband in a previous birth. Through the grace of the deity she got possession of a begging bowl which would be ever full and never empty.

Z>. pp. 79 and 81.

fclviii TAMIL

She then returned to Kavirippumpattinam and- became fully engrossed in doing selfless social service, assuming the disguise of one Kayasandikai. But Udayakumaran came to know of this her new disguise. One day the ■real Kayasandikai herself was seen in the garden and the prince rah after her. This was noticed by her husband, who in a fit of jealous fury murdered the prince. The king had Manimekalai arrested and imprisoned but at the request of the queen, she was soon released. She then wandered throughout the land visiting several holy places. At last she settled at Kanchi performing penance and listening to discourses on the righteous laws promulgated by great teachers of various religions. The last years of her life were spent in that city in a Buddhist nunnery.

Its author is Sittalai Sattanar known also as Kulavanikan Sattanar and Sattanar in literature.

Sattanar seems to have been an accomplished writer. Simplicity of diction, easy flow of words, and a clear and perspicuous style, fecundity of thought, fineness of imagery, and richness of imagination are the chief characteristics of his writings. Besides the classical work Manimekalai, his contributions are to be found in the well-known collections of Ettuttogai.

A source of information. Since the discovery and publication of the Manimekalai by Mahamahopadhyaya, U. V. Swaminatha Aiyar, scholars have been at work on the subject. For, apart from its great literary value to students of Tamil literature, it is an invaluable source of information to the historical students as it contains a wealth of details regarding the political, social, and religious conditions and institutions prevalent about the beginning of the Christian era, when, it is generally accepted, this work was composed. That a mass of useful material lies buried in its pages is accepted even by acute critics.

Jivaka-Chintamani : The author of this work is Thirut- thakka-Thevar. He was born at Mailapur, and was a Jain. His fame rests on Jivaka-Chintamani, which, though based on a Sanskrit original, contains an expression of Jain doctrines and beliefs. Its other title, Mudi-porul-thodar-jiilai-seyyul, suggests that it treats of the fourfold object of life and aim of a literary work, viz. virtue, wealth, pleasure, and bliss. It is the story of Jivaka from his birth to the attainment of bliss and has a commentary by Nacchinarkiniar. It is in 13 books or Ilambakams arid contains 3145 stanzas. It is noted for its chaste diction and sublime poetry, rich in religious sentiment, full of reflections and remarks on the grounds of human action, and replete with information about the condition of the arts and customs of social life at the period of its composition. It will, therefore, interest the "•scholar, the poet, and the antiquary ; and there is a traditioh

D. pp. TO and 81. P. pp. 126 and 127. 1

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE ' xlix

current that Kamban's Ramayanam owes much of its excellence and many of its beauties to this memorable Epic.

The above five works are called the Five Major Epics. There were also other works of which the most important are five, called

the Five Minor Epics or Ain-Siru-Kappiam. Otoe Five They are Nilakesi, Sulamani, Yasothara-Kavyam,

Nagahumara-Kavyam, and Uthayanan-Kathai. They are all probably the works of Jain authors. They are in merit and historic interest nowhere near the Five Great Epics or rather the three which are known to us today.

xi. The Period of Religious Revival

The next period in Tamil Literature, i.e., from the 6th to the 10th century is what may be called the period of Religious Revival when great Bhakta poets poured forth their soul-stirring song offerings. Brahminism had heavily lost ground to the Buddhist and Jain religions and this resulted in its turn in a vigorous Revivalist Movement often characterised by polemics, miracles, conversions and persecution, and bid for royal favour.

The outstanding literature of this period are the Tiruvasagam,

the Tevaram, and Tiruvaymoli. The Saiva saints and the

Vaishnava saints belong to this period. Karaikal

' Its Literature. Ammaiyar seems to be the earliest of Saiva

hymnists. The first three Alwars are the earliest

of Vaishnava hymnists. Both these people developed a godly

literature in their own way. Tamil language possesses more than

sixteen thousand stanzas in praise of God. All these belong to

the said five centuries.

The Saiva saints called the Nalvar — the Four — are Manikka- vasagar, Tirujnana Sambandar, Appar (Tirunavukkarasu) , and Sundarar.

Manikkavasagar : The life of this saint who bears a

favourable comparison with St. Augustine, St. Paul, and St. Francis

of Assisi and other learned saints of the West,

Manickka- j s t0 ^ e t race< j from poetical legends which .have

v&sag&r.

grown around that notable figure. It is even

difficult to definitely assign to him a particular period, but still

it is reasonable to fix it as the third 1 century a.d. His chief works

are the Tiruvasagam and the Tirukkovai.

i A dispute, which will probably never be settled, goes on about his date. Many argue that he belonged to the ninth century and followed Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar. What matters most, however, is his teaching and not his date.

P. pp. 126 and 129. D. p.. 99. _ 4

IV

1 . TAMfL

Tiruvasagam : Of these the Tiruvasagam relates an auto- biographical tale of the different stages of his spiritual life and experience which ultimately enabled him to attain enjoyment, ineffable and eternal. It is a torrential outflow of ardent religious feelings and emotions in rapturous songs and melodies. This work may be regarded as a convenient handbook on mystical theology. It is the spontaneous outpouring of his ecstatic feelings, under the stress of strenuous spiritual impulses. Among the accredited devotional works in the Tamil tongue it takes the foremost rank.

Dr. G. U. Pope has rendered an invaluable service to Tamil in translating this work into English. It is difficult to find a parallel for this work in the other languages of the world but it would not be altogether inappropriate to state that the Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. KJe^pis parallels most closely this treasure of the Tamilar. One is struck again and again by the similarity of thought and even expression — why, even whole sentences — between the two books.

Tirukkovai : The other equally remarkable work of his is the Tirukkovai. Superficial readers devoid of true spiritual acumen are apt to treat this supreme mystic work as an ordinary text-book of love-poetry. True, what is known in Sanskrit as the Srngararasa seems at first sight to dominate the whole poem. But it must be remembered that it is only a thin veil covering grand and beautiful religious truths and conceptions.

It would not be out of place here to give the sum and substance of the story contained in this poem as a layman finds it. A lover accidentally meets a maid in some solitary mountain glade, is enamoured of her, approaches her and both become fast attached to each other by the silken bonds of love. Then they marry in public and settle down to the life of householders. Shortly after, one business or other necessitates the husband's absence in foreign countries for a shorter or longer period according to the nature of the business. Both feel the separation keenly, and look forward rather eagerly to the day when both of them should meet for an indissoluble union as it were. But the grief of the forlorn wife in her solitary home ever thinking of her absent lord, daily becomes more and more unbearable, and she breaks forth in piteous wail, expressive of the various phases of her grief. It is this grief of the lonely wife yearning to join her husband in warm, indissoluble embrace that allegorizes the earnest efforts of the individual soul seeking re-union with the Universal Soul.

Men of deep intuitive insight perceive and perceive rightly, the highly spiritual meaning underlying this story. The Lord was the eternal object of his love, and Manikkavasagar himself, a lover

p. pp. 101 and 102. x

tfHE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE ** ll

from the earliest days of his life. But by some accident, he has been long separated from the object of his love. He feels this separation intensely, realizes this well, and yearns for an indissoluble, inviolable, and irreproachable union or oneness with God. 1

The Tiruvasagam and the Tirukkovai are practically free from any religious bias or bigotry.

The other three saints were vigorous protagonists of the Saiva faith and were the spear-heads of the revivalist movement

of the Saiva religion. They were deeply moved The other by the decline of their religion and the growing

Saints. supremacy of Buddhism and Jainism and they

dedicated their lives to fighting the apathy and ignorance of their people. They travelled from place to place throughout the length and breadth of the Tamil country, and everywhere they adopted a simple procedure of exhortation to the people to rise and be saved. They took a local temple and the local deity and wove their songs of mysticism and praise to the Lord round this nucleus. The songs were usually ten with a eleventh added in many cases as a ' signature ' song. The tenth is marked, in many cases, by direct attacks of other rival religions and sects. But today with the polemics a thing of the past, the thousands of songs in the Tevaram and the hundreds in the Tiruvasagam delight and uplift one and all in the Tamil-land.

It is stated that what we have of the Tevaram is but a fragment of what existed long ago. These too would have been lost to us but for the labours of Nambi Andar Nambi, of Thiru-Narayur. This Tamil Vyasa who collected the Saiva hymns and grouped them into eleven tiru-murais lived in Cola-nadu. The last ten pathikams (section) of the last collection were his own. His Tiru-Thondar-Tiru-Antadi formed the basis of Peria-Puranam by Sekkilar, a remarkable and composite hagiology or lives of sixty-three saints in seventy-two cantos, totalling 4,286 stanzas.

What the four Saiva saints did to the Saiva religion the Twelve Alwars did for the Vaishnava faith.

i A similar significance underlying the Third Book of the Kural appears to have been lost sight of the course of ages. The inappro- priateness of the present day lay-sense attached to the chapters on ' Bliss ' will be seen from the fact that the fourth and final aspect of life is Vidu— At-one-ment, or Moksha— and the crudity of imagining that worldly love has been treated as the stage Just before it, cannot be over-emphasised.

D. p. 103.

Hi

TAMIL

The Alwars.

The Twelve Alwars have been classified in different ways by different classifiers. The orthodox Vaishnavas hold that the Alwars were the incarnations of the sacred weapons and vehicles of Vishnu. The lives of the Vaishnava saints are found in Guruparamparai or the genealogy of the Gurus and in Alwar Vaipavam or the chronicles of Alwars relating the events and occurrences connected with these saints. Very little is known of the biographies of Poikayar, Peyar and Poothatthar. The names of the Alwars, the number of hymns sung by each, and their birth place are given below :

Nadu

_.

__* Name.

No. of Stanzas.

Birth-place.

Pallava-

nadu

S

1.

2. 3. 4.

Poikayar Puthatthar Peyar Tirumalisaiyar

100 100 100 216

Conjeevaram. Mahabalipuram Mailapur Tirumatisai

Cola-nadu

5. 6. 7.

Tiruppan Alwar

Thondaradippodi Tirumangaiyar

10

55

1,351

Urayur

Tirumandankudi

Tirukkurayalur

Cera-nadu

c

\

8.

Kulasekhara

105

Kollam (Quilon)

Pandiya- nadu

\

9. 10. 11. 12.

Periyalvar Andal

Nammalwar Madhura Kavi

473

173

1,296

11

Srivilliputtur

do. Alwar Tirunagari Tirukolur

From this list it will be seen that the largest number of hymns contributed to the Prabandham have been by Tirumangai Alwar and Nammalwar and, next to them, by Periyalwar and Tirumalisai Alwar.

Of the 4,000 making up the Vaishnava Scriptures, the first thousand (really 947) is known as Tiru-moli, which comprises the hymns of Perialwar, Andal, Kulasekhara, Tirumalisai, Thondaradippodi, Tiruppan, and Madurakavi ; the second thousand (really 1,351) known as Peria-tirumoli was the work of Tiru- mangai ; the third thousand (correctly 817) called lyal-pa was the contribution of the first three Alwars, Tirumalisai, Nammalwar, and Tirumangai ; and the fourth thousand (strictly 1,1 02), called Tiruvaymoli, was entirely the work of Nammalwar.

The first Alwars witnessed no jarring alien faiths in their time ; Tirumalisai, Tirumangai and Thondar-adi-podi had enough of them and opposed Saivaism, Jainism and Buddhism alike.

P. pp. 182 and 183.

THE LANGUAGE ANb LITERATURE liii

Tirumalisai, Namrnalwar, ahd Tirumarigai were fhe greatest of the Alwars of Vaishnava saints ; and Nammalwar lived at a time when the land was almost free from alien religious influences and when the Vaishnavas and Saivas were at peace.

Their contributions of hymns and prayers in praise of Vishnu make up the Nalayirap-prdbandham also called the Divya- Prabandam a sacred work esteemed by the Vaishnavas as the second Veda. It stands on the same footing of sanctity as the Tevaram of the Saiva saints. Every one of the Alwars had personal, intuitive experience of the Divine Presence.

When these hymns are sung or chanted, it may be said without fear of contradiction that nothing sweeter to the ear can be found in the entire range of Tamil literature and very few, if any, can equal their quality of lifting the soul into realms of spiritual ecstasy.

The hymns sung by the Alwars were collected and arranged in order and published together by St. Nathamuni into one volume and titled the Nalayira-Prabandam or the ' Book of Four Thousand Hymns '. Nathamuni was a contemporary of Nambi-andar-nambi, — the compiler of the Tiru-murais — and he was inspired by the latter to do a like service to the Vaishnava hymns.

xii. Period of Literary Revival.

The next period in the history of Tamil literature was one of literary fervour. The great trio of this period were Kamban, Otta-kuttan and Puhalendi. We do not give any detailed account of Kamban and his works as there is a separate note on him in this book on a later page and this work of V. V. S. Aiyar is itself an elaborate testimony to Kamban's greatness.

Otta-kuttan was a contemporary of Kamban and his Uttara- kandam winds up the Ramayanam of Kamban. He wrote the Eetti-elupathu and the Thakka-yaga-parani and the three Ulos on Rajaraja, Vikrama, and Kulottunga Colas. He was a rival to our great poet. If Kamban was strong in his stately viruttams and resembled Milton in his diction and rhythm, Otta-kuttan was a severe critic of poetry and an expert in making antadi, kovai and ula (various types of metrical compositions).

Puhalendi was a contemporary of Otta-kuttan, "and there existed between them bitter rivalry throughout their lives. PUhalendi was famous for his wenba and his best work is the Nalctvenba — the 'story of Nala and Damayanti.

llV . TAMIL

Before we close this period we must make mention of one species of poetic composition of which the most famous author is Jayamkondan.

He lived in the time of Kulotthunga Cola I, i.e., between a.d. 1070 to a.d. 1118 and described that emperor's conquest of Kalinga-nadu in Kalingatthup-parani. ' Parani ' is a type of poetic composition which has for its hero a warrior who has killed in the field of battle a thousand male elephants and describes his exploits with the help of the demoniac machinery.

xiii. Tamil Prose and the Commentators. *

(The Period of Criticism, a.d. 1200-1450)

Our duty ends here. We have taken the reader, though hurriedly, through the realms of Tamil Literature. Kamban is a product of this great heritage, and has proudly maintained and handed over to his posterity this great empire, vastly enriched by his incomparable contribution to its wealth and fame.

But, any essay of this sort which fails to mention Tamil Prose and the great commentators would have omitted one of the most important sections of Tamil literature and a group of scholars who have done the greatest service to posterity by illuminating the dark caverns of ancient literature where lie the priceless treasures of Tamil. They have not merely illuminated the grottos but have excavated it, cleaned the treasures, and have arranged them in an imperishable museum along with a wealth of information which for learning and research can scarcely be rivalled.

The reader would have heard often and from many sources that there was no Tamil Prose at all in the olden days. Such criticism comes from a lack of research and of appreciation of what constitutes prose.

Now the question arises ' what is prose ? ' Th3 ordinary definition of Prose is ' the common language of men unconfined to poetical measures'. In this sense, of course, almost all our old prose writings are no prose ; for example, let us examine the prose passages in the ancient epic Silappadikaram ; the rules of scansion can very well be applied and they can be brought under the general heading of the Tamil metre called Asiriappa.

1 This section is chiefly composed of a series of extracts from History of the Tamil Prose Literature, an excellent thesis by V. S. Chengalvaraya Filial, m.a.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE lv

- The- definition which Coleridge gives of Prose may serve our purpose here. Coleridge has said, " I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of Prose and Poetry, that prose is ' words in their best order ', poetry ' the best words in their best order'. As the medium in which the Poet works is language, execution in his case is the arrangement of the best words in the best order, the best order being in all but a few anomalous cases, a rhythmical one. The technical laws of verse, however, deal only with ' the best order '. There remain as a part of execution ' the best words '. This section of the definition covers all the intellectual propriety, the moral passion, the verbal felicity, the myriad charms and graces of which ' the best order ' is but the vehicle." Now applying this definition to our ancient prose, we may safely assert that it comes under the compass of Prose ; for, there we find ' words in their best order ' but not ' best words in their best order '. Hence, prose passages where we discern only poetic flow are all to be included in the province of prose.

It is noticeable that even the prose writings in the commenta- ries have always a tinge of poetic flow in them ; and, in fact, the Tamil writers ancient as well as modern have had a great taste for this peculiar style and most of the commentators including the commentator on Irayanar Agapporul, Nacchinarkkiniyar, Parimelalagar, and Adiyarkkunallar very often indulged in making use of this peculiar style. This style, which is peculiar to Tamil, does not in any way mar the excellence of good prose ; on the other hand, our pleasure is enhanced when we read passages which have the balanced poetic flow.

The Tamil word for Prose is Urai-Nadai which means ' the speech on foot ' ; and it will be interesting to observe that the Latin expression Oratio pedestiris for Prose means also ' speech on foot ', i.e. ' the language that walks and does not profess to fly ' ; and as this was the style that could possibly be used in writing commentaries, they were also given the name of ' Vrai ' : and Tamil Prose has had its origin mainly, if not solely, in commentaries. We have no grounds for asserting that there were separate prose works before the beginning of the 17th century: That commentary was not the only province of prose in our ancient literature, we may boldly assert ; for, prose was used in a parti- i cular species of composition, the characteristic feature of which is called ' Tonmai ' — narration of ancient story — and it almost, corresponds to the Epic Poetry. The Tonmai composition, like the

lvi TAMIL

epic, " is one of the earliest poetical forms in which the primitive imagination has found expression. The 238th sutram of Seyyul Iyal in Tolkappiyam, defines its characteristics.

Sllappadikaram has some fine examples of prose though it is comparatively very small. The truth of the statement that " the

best of prose is often poet's prose because the Prose In the poets' mind is stored with good choice of figures

Period. anc * h as a ^ so a disciplined habit in the use of

them" may be noticed in Ilangovadigal's prose. The felicity of expression is markedly outstanding ; and the passages have a thorough poetic flow, with alliterations and rhyme.

The Uraiperu Katturai (speech in prose) is the only prose portion of the work. The passages which are called Uroippottu, and Uroippottu nadai, have the least claims to be included in the province of prose.

During this period, the Jain ascendancy was pronounced ; and its influence on the Tamil Literature was equally great. . Most of the Jain Epics were written at this Post-Sangam time.

to A.D. 500. The works of this period are the Jain prose

works of the ' mongrel sort of diction ', known as Manipravalam style, which is pleasing neither to the purely Tamil nor the purely Sanskrit ear ; of these prose works, Sri Puranam and Gadya Chintamani deserve mention.

As there is not even a single prose-writer who belonged

Medieval Period to this period, we shall have to notice only

JSS*^ 1 ^ *° commentators and their commentaries.

1200 A.D.

Their period has been called the Reformatory Period. We

may as well call it the period of commentators. It is a

remarkable fact in the history of the Tamil

The

Commentators Literature that commentaries have been,

and their prose from a very long time, occupying a pro-

A S 1450 t0 minent place. Following the Tamil Grammar

Tolkappiyam, we include commentaries also in

the province of prose.

Commentaries in Tamil have been divided from of old into Kandigai and Virutti, compendious and elaborate. The former explains the text and the latter, in addition to explanation,

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE lvii

criticises, arid supplements it, and weighs the value of other commentaries with it.

Ilampuranar was admittedly the first in point of time to

annotate Tholkappiyam and is spoken of as ' the annotator '.

Perasiriyar was the author of a commentary on Tiru-Chitt- Ambalak-kovai, or, shortly, Tirukkovaiyar, by Manikkavasagar. From Nacchinarkiniar's commentaries we are led to infer that he wrote a commentary on Tholkappiyam .and Kurunthokai. He is quoted by Nacchinarkiniyar in his commentary on Tholkappiyam (Aham 36).

His style is grammatical, graphic and simple. This is the best specimen of elegant and simple prose.

Sena-Varaiyar wrote a commentary on Words (Sol) in Tholkappiyam, which was called Sena-Variyam after the author.

His prose style is not so simple as that of Nacchinarkiniyar.

Nacchinarkiniyar was the greatest and most popular of commentators. His commentaries are always Viruttis or elaborate ones. In his commentaries good prose writing is found. He was the first to comment on the whole of Tolkappij/am, and the commentary bears his name — JVacchinarktniam. Besides Tolkap- piyam, Pattupattu, Kalitthokai, Jivaka Chinthamani, and twenty stanzas of Kurunthokai were annotated and commented on by Nacchinarkiniar, who always brought to bear on the great works he had chosen to annotate his clear and impartial mind, his vast erudition and his minute and critical observation. To quote the Rev. Dr. Bower : " His (Nacchinarkiniar's) comments are very much on the plan of European annotations. He paraphrases the text, and points out grammatical peculiarities ; he quotes Tolkappiya sutrams throughout, explains obsolete terms, and gives the various readings which existed in his day "

His style is simple and fine ; the occasional poetic flow, the balance of style, and the unembarrassed flow of diction are the outstanding features of his writings and it may well be said that good prose writing commences with Nacchinarkiniyar.

Adiyarkunallar is known to us as the commentator of Silappadikaram. He lived about the latter half of the 12th century, after Jayamkondan, from whose Parani he has often quoted in this commentary. He was a great authority on the

P., p. aw.

lviii TAMIL

ancient Tamil classics. The work which he undertook to annotate was a very difficult one ; for, Silappadikaram is not a mere Iyal Tamil composition ; one who undertakes to annotate it should have a clear knowledge of the three branches of Tamil literature, lyal, Jsai and Natakam.

His prose sentences are often long, and they, now and then, have the poetic flow. His style is always clear.

Pari-mel-Alakar was a famous commentator of ' Tirukkural' and as he was a great Sanskrit scholar as well, his commentary is very valuable for its wealth of illustration and parallel quota- tions. His style is lucid and very suggestive.

His prose, unlike that of Nacchinarkiniyar, is very terse and in some places too brief to be easily intelligible. There is one thing very remarkable about his style in this commentary. Like the style of the great Poet whose work he had taken to annotate, his style also is so much compressed in form that one word in a sentence cannot be removed or substituted without at the same time damaging the compactness of the style. Not a single word he uses unnecessarily. The quotations he gives are very apt ; in his whole commentary on the Kural he gives quotations from about twenty select works. His style gets often poetical in its flow, as it cannot but become so, when its master seeks after compression of expression.

xiv. Modern Period (after A.D. 1450)

It is not our design nor will the space at our disposal permit

us to deal with the Tamil literature of the Modern Period, i.e;

from the 13th century onwards. If we did, we

L f U th nar,eS sha11 have t0 speak of tnem wno are called Tne

Modern Period. Lesser Trio — Kalamegam, famous for invectives in poetry ; the Twins, a lame man on the shoulders of his blind companion who laughed at the world in their inspired poems, two lines of which one of them will sing and the other will cap it with another two ; and Padikkasu Pulavar.

Mention shall have to be made also of the spiritual successors of the lineage of the Four Saiva Saints, viz., Arunagiriyar, Pattinattar, Kumaraguruparar, Thayumanavar, and Ramalinga Swamigal. .

There were many outstanding Muslim scholars and poets in this time whose works have enriched the Tamil literature.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE lix

Gopalakrishna Bharati has a separate niche in the hearts of the Tamilar.

The last and greatest literary product of the modern times will require a volume for himself, and in fact volumes have been written about him — our patriot and poet Subbramanya Bharati, who was responsible fpr the present day cultural and emotional resurgence in the south.

No one can speak of the Modern Period and not speak of the selfless group of European scholars who had done so much for

Tamil, viz., research and classification of the f U h°i Pean ancient literature and grammar. Dr. Beschi,

Rev. Caldwell, Dr. G. U. Pope, Rev. Lazarus, Rev. Drew, Rev. Ellis and others have laid the Tamilar under a debt of eternal gratitude. To this noble band belongs the Rev. H. A. Popley who lives amongst us today and is well-known for his musical compositions on the Christian faith on the lines of Kirtans. But we dare not venture into this tempting field.

The Thembavani is an Epic of the Life of Christ which we owe to this school of foreign scholars.

Tamil fell into evil days in the modern period. The patrons of Tamil literature, the line of Kings of Pandya, Cola and Cera

Kingdoms had vanished. The land has fallen Tamil" °' under alien rule. The debasement of the people

and their culture was complete. They came even to be ashamed of their language and went so far as to call the ancient literature as unintelligible nonsense, and dismissed the chaste style of these treasures with a sneer. They went further and destroyed either wantonly or through superstitious beliefs or through ignorance the records on cadjan leaves.

In such straits, the Tamil Mutts or matams saved the priceless treasures for us. It is difficult to find an exact parallel to

these institutions in other countries. They may The Matams. be classed as monasteries with a head to

each who is in charge by authority of spiritual succession.

The monasteries were the repositories of learning. Founded five or six centuries ago, for the diffusion of Tamil learning and the Saiva faith, they made a vigorous attempt to preserve old cadjan volumes against the ravages of time and the wild and ruthless persecutions of the Muhammadan invaders.

lXf TAMIL

The most important of these fnatams are the ThiruVavadu- thurai, Dharmapuram and in later days Thirupanandal. All of them have rendered and continue to render noble service to Tamil and Saiva religion. They maintain oriental colleges, support scholars and authors, and publish all the important literary and religious literature. It may be said that but for them many of our ancient works could never have come down to us. Latterly, these matams have taken to a new approach to the propagation of Tamil literature and Saiva doctrines. They now publish most of the ancient writings with English and Hindi translations. The amount of ignorance prevailing in India outside the Tamil-land about the heritage and culture of the Tamilar has to be seen to be properly assessed. The Saiva matams have earned the gratitude of all Tamilar and other well-wishers of Tamil and its literature.

It is from these repositories, and from private homes that Dr. U. V. Swaminatha Aiyar was able to trace out the ancient classics and numerous other notable works of Tamil literature. The people of India are wont to call great souls as the avatar of God Himself. It is as if the Tamil-anangu — The Tamil Muse — herself incarnated as this Tamil scholar, research student, tireless collector, compiler, and editor and publisher. Born of a poor family, educated almost by charity, meagrely paid for most of his life, with nothing but the generosity of friends (large in the wish to help but poor in ability to do so), this untiring savant brought out eighty-works, large and small, in his eighty-four years of life.

xv. Our Days

We have shown enough elsewhere to disprove the casual criticism that there was no prose in the olden days of Tamil. The

attitude of mind behind this criticism and the Prose n ** d * y ignorance it reveals is responsible for the state

of Modern Tamil Prose, regarding which we cannot do better than quote l from a short article called " Tamil Prose Today" by Mr. N. Raghunatha Iyer, Assistant Editor'. The Hindu, Madras, which appears in the Bharati Jayanti Souvenir (December, 1949) of the Bharati Tamil Sangam, Calcutta.

* By kind permission of the author and the BharaH Tamil Sangam, Calcutta.

the language; and literature lxi

He writes: — "I have lately had to read large quantities of recent Tamil prose in certain allied genres

" .... In quality this new literature leaves much to be desired. Imperfect assimilation of Western ideas and insufficient command over the medium of expression 1 combine to produce on the reader's mind the effect of a rather unsatisfactory translation, not the impact of an authentic piece of literature

"... There is a certain thinness of substance noticeable parti- cularly in the academic type of criticism. A little learning is sought to be spread over a vast area ....

" When one turns to what may be called the literature of know- ledge, two things are seen to stand out prominently, an immense zest and an almost equally immense inexperience

" The chief handicap is the absence of an agreed vocabulary of technical terms and the lack of a real mastery of the chosen subject on the part of all but a few of those who appear in the role of popularisers

i There is a class of writers today which does not consider a knowledge of either the ancient Tamil literature or the rules of grammar as essential to their calling. It jeers at grammar and thinks that it has delivered the coup-de-prace to it by saying that the name Nan-nool {The Good Rules) has been given to the Tamil grammar as an euphemism and that it should have been called the Vile Rules. This class of writers may well benefit by the extracts we quote below from English — A Course for Human Beings by Eric Partridge. He says :

" Grammar results from mankind's attempt to speak and

write coherently and, by speaking or writing clearly, to make language easier to understand ; in a few words, it enables us to communicate with others, others with us. Grammar forms a notable aid to speaking, writing, listening ; in short, to communication. More : without grammar, we should have difficulty in understanding anything except the simplest messages or warnings.

" Only a fool is content to remain ignorant of the tools or instruments he is using ; only a fool thinks it unnecessary to understand the words he is using. This being so, you will And it useful — you will, indeed, find it necessary — to bear constantly in mind the relationship between speaker and hearer, hence the only slightly less important relationship between writer and reader.

" We can never hope to understand what language is and how it progresses (or doesn't) unless we remember that language is primarily the inter-activity of speech and hearing, and that writing is, in a sense, speech at second hand. Grammar is that wonderful and invaluable set of means and devices whereby we can render our words significant and make our ideas pass easily, from within ourselves, to other persons. Language is the vehicle, the carrier, of our thoughts and feelings and of our stories, whether true or imagined ; grammar is the machinery by which that vehicle is set and kept in motion ; the motive power (the Steam, the electricity, the turbine) is the mind ; and the speech-sounds, or the printed page, are the air and space through which the vehicle moves.".

—Publishers.

ixil TAMIL

" . . .A standard literary language is yet to be evolved. Those writers who were brought up in the Pandit tradition but wish to stand well with the new public too often merely achieve drabness in trying to shed their pedantry

"There is a rude vigour in the writings of polemists; but too many of them take a childish delight in such verbal tricks as allitera- tion, assonance and puns. While there is definitely a place in litera- ture for the genuine regional dialect, too often does the slovenliness that comes of pure ignorance do duty for realism. Journalese and portmanteau language have a strange fascination for the half-educated. And the extent to which the average Tamil writer who has a rudi- mentary knowledge of English has had his syntax corrupted is amazing."

Exceptions, there are to this sorry state, as to anything else in this world, but one speaks here of the general state of prose today as a whole and not of those rare authors who are responsible for the very little excellent prose of these days.

To name but a few, Mr. P. Sundaram Pillai, Mr. Vedanayagam Pillai, Mr. A. Madhaviah, Mr. V. Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar, Rao Bahadur P. Sambanda Mudaliar, Mr. R. P. Sethu Pillai, Mr. K. V. Jagannathan, Dr. Seshadrinathan, Mr. Swaminatha Sarma, Dr. Varatharajan, Mr. Gnanasambandam, Mr. C. N. Annathurai, Mr. Ganapati Aiyar, Mr. C. Rajagopalachari and a few others are the outstanding prose writers of the present day.

Dr. U. V. Swaminatha Aiyar, the great editor and scholar has left a wealth of excellent prose writings, and his unfinished Autobiography is one of the best of its type.

The mention of Dr. Swaminatha Aiyar will recall to mind his great teacher the late Minakshisundaram Pillai, and Aiyar's friend Thiagaraja Chettiar whose names occur again and again in Aiyar's Autobiography.

Namakkal Ramalingam Pillai, the poet-laureate of Madras is another autobiographer of merit.

At the present day, prose predominates over poetry of which very little is written. Such poetic works are breaking new ground and it is too early to judge their worth and excellence.

xvi. Conclusion

Our object in compiling this brief survey is to make known to the wider world of India and abroad, in as adequate a manner as the small compass of this work will allow, the glories of Tamil people and their literature.

*He language And literature ixiii

We have used the word ' compiled ' advisedly. Nothing, or very little of the contents of this essay can claim any originality.

We have merely strung together on page after Acknowledge- page extracts from various writers, chiefly from

' Tamil Studies ' by M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, m.a., ' Tamil Literature ' by M. S. Purnalingam Pillai, b.a., l.t., and ' Studies in Tamil Literature and History ' by V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar, m.a. We tender our grateful thanks and sincere apologies to these writers, their successors and publishers for the liberty we have taken in so profusely using their works — nay, in compiling this essay almost entirely with verbatim extracts from these works.

We are also indebted to many friends who have guided us with suggestions and material, chief among whom is Mr. G. Thiagarajan of Tanjore who lent us his unpublished notes and essays, and several books out of his library for compiling this survey.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbreviations used in foot-notes.

Books Consulted Books in English —

1. Tamil Studies (First Series) T.S.

By M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, m.a.

2. Studies in Tamil Literature and History D

By V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar, m.a.

3. The Ancient Dravidians S

By T. S. Sesha Iyengar, m.a.,

M.R.A.S., F.R.H.S.

4. Tamil Literature P

By M. S. Purnalingam Pillai, b.a., l.t.

5. History of the Tamil Prose Literature C

By V. S. Chengalvaraya Pillai.

6. Pattupattu (Translated into English Verse) Ch.

By J. V. Chelliah, m.a.

lXJV TAMIL

Books in Tamil —

1. History of the Tamil Language

By V. G. Suryanarayana Sastriar, b.a.

2. Tamil Varalaru

By K. S. Srinivasa Pillai.

Books Recommended for Study

1. Manual of the Geology of India

By R. D. Oldhame.

2. Human History

By G. E. Smith.

3. Caste and Tribes of Southern India

By E. Thurston.

4. People and Problems of India

By Sir T. W. Holderness.

5. Ancient Indian History and Civilization

By R. C. Majumdar.

6. A History of India

By C. S. Srinivasa Chari & M. S. Ramaswami.

7. The Origin and Philosophy of Language

By Ludwig Noire.

Reprints of this essay are available at Re. 1/- eateh copy, postage extra. A few copies only have been printed.

KAMBAN

Kamban, the author of the Ramayana in Tamil, which is the subject of critical study in this work by V. V. S. Aiyar lived in the IX Century a.d. l He was born in Tiruvazhundur in the Cola country. His father was Athavan, a priest by caste. Kamban appears to have been a poet in the court of the Cola and Cera Kings, but his steadfast patron was Sadayappan of Tiruvennai- nallur whose name is referred to in ten places in Kamba Ramayanam.

Kamban was a devotee of Nammalvar, one of the famous Vaishnavite saints and poets. Kamba Ramayanam was composed by him about the eight hundred and eighties and according to the procedure of those days was recited by him for approval to an audience of the literary elite — a sort of Academy of Letters 2 — assembled in Srirangam in the month of Panguni (March-April) of the year 807 3 of the Salivahana Sakabda (885 a.d.) on the full- moon day when the star Uttaram was in the ascendant. 4 Kamban was acclaimed by the assembly as the Kavichakravarti — the Emperor of the Realms of Poesy — a title which every succeeding generation has been but confirming ever since.

Many are the stories which have come down to us in poems and by word of mouth about Kamban's difficulties before he had his work approved, about his spirit of independence and poetic hauteur and about the jealousies and intrigues of his contemporary poets ; but fact and fiction have so intermingled in these anecdotes that it is impossible to separate them today. They, however, bear evidence to the high veneration in which Kamban was and is held to this day in Tamil-land.

We should not omit to mention that in his work of over ten thousand and five hundred stanzas of four lines each, there are many interpolations too difficult to identify, though a hundred of them are now known to have been inserted by one Velliambala Thambiran. These interpolations, however, have not detracted the generations of Tamilians from their undying love for this great work.

His other works are said to be

Sadagopar-antadi, Silaiyezhupathu,

Aerezhupathu, Saraswathi-antadi.

i Some say the XII Century.

2 Mushairas ard Kavi-sammelans of these days.

3 The original poems allow an interpretation to mean 1107 instead of 807.

4 The Anniversary Day of the wedding of Shri Rama and Sita.

V

V. V. & AIYAR

VARAGANERI VENKATESA SUBRAMANYA AIYAR, was born his father's first son, on 2nd April 1881, in a village near Karur in the Trichinopoly District of the Madras Province. His father Venkatesa Aiyar had settled at Varaganeri, a suburb of Trichinopoly, and in his retired days was resisting mass conversion of the Harijans to Christianity and was arranging for their reconversion to the Hindu fold.

V. V. S. Aiyar, whom we shall hereafter mention as Aiyar for short, matriculated at the early age of twelve ranking fifth in the Presidency^; and was married the same year ; and graduated when r. but sixteen. His college-mates relate his annoying patience during discussions and controversies and his smiling away all opposition in the College Free Thinkers' Society, his drinking deep from Spencer and Spinoza, Milton and Moliere, and of his being the favourite of all his professors.

When twenty, he was to be seen practising as a lawyer at the Trichinopoly Bar ; and five years later, he sailed to Rangoon to seek his fortune in Burma. But within a year he was bound for England to become a barrister.

London : Master of Latin, he came out first in Roman Law and " was an all round brilliant student ". Nearly three years had rolled by and he was soon to return to India as an ambitious barrister to make fabulous fortunes, but Destiny was shaping him for quite a different life.

Wrote his associate : —

" In 1907, the maid-servant at the famous India House in London handed a visiting card to us and presently a gentleman neatly dressed and inclined to be fashionable warmly shook hands with us, and told us that he came over to London to qualify himself as a full-fledged barrister. ... He assured us of his intention to study English music and if

possible also English dance as well We entered our

mild protest against thus dissipating the energy of one's youth in light-hearted pastimes. . . . The gentleman, unconvinced, i, though impressed, took our leave, promising to continue to call on us every now and then. HE WAS SJT. V. V. S. AIYAR.

"In 1910, we stood as a prisoner in London Brixon Jail. The warder announced, visits and ajuciously we accompany

V. V. S. AIYAR

A 1L*FE SKETCH Ixvit

•••■ the file of prisoners to the yard j , we stand behind -the bats; wondering who could have come to call on us and thus invite the unpleasant attention of the London Police. Presently a dignified figure enters the box in front of us. It was V. V. S. AIYAR. His beard was closely waving on his breast. He was unkempt. He was no longer the neatly dressed fashion- able gentleman. His whole figure was transformed with some great act of dedication of life "

Aiyar and Gandhiji : Diwali, the universal festival of rejoicing in the whole length and breadth of India, has a special significance to the South Indian. Aiyar and his companions in India House at London were anxious to celebrate the Diwali in Indian style as far as it was practicable in England, and Aiyar went seeking leading Indian after Indian in London to grace the occasion. But he met with no success. Aiyar heard that one Mr. Gandhi, a man of new ways, had come to London to represent the case of Indians in South Africa. After searching for him in the luxurious hotels and similar rendezvous of fashionable Indians of those days he found him in a humble home and invited him to preside over the celebrations. Gandhiji made searching enquiries about the mode of celebrations and when he was assured that it would be in purely Indian style he readily agreed. This was the first occasion on which Aiyar met Gandhiji. With his, revolutionary zeal, Aiyar did not want to miss the opportunity of pressing his views on the rising leader. He spoke to him with vehemence about the revolutionary creed as the only possibility of winning independence for India. Gandhiji in turn preached him his newly-found satyagraha. Aiyar returned feeling naively confident that two or three more pep talks by him to Gandhiji would convince him and bring him to his way of thinking.

Aiyar was away when Gandhiji came to India House. The other .companions of Aiyar, who were busy cooking, saw a thin, simply-dressed poor Indian and immediately pressed him into service and allotted him all the more menial jobs in the kitchen. Aiyar returned to the house to find the principal guest of the evening employed in the kitchen. He made profuse apologies to Gandhiji but he put him at his ease with his winning] smile and heartily joined in the celebrations.

The Die is Cast : The moment came when he was to be called to the Bar. But he firmly refused to take the oath of.

lxviii V. V. S. AIYAR

allegiance to the King, whom he would not recognise as the King of his country as well. Such was his irrevocable decision to completely dedicate his life for the cause of Indian freedom.

London to Amsterdam : This was sufficient proof of the volcano he was, and an urgent warrant was issued to arrest this fiery anarchist. During the night, the C.I.D. Police had occupied situations in the Hotel in which Aiyar resided, to take him away in the morning. Aiyar, scenting this, as a Jean Valjean, left the hotel at midnight, taking with him the barest necessities, and among them the volumes of Kamba Ramayana were to be found : such was his love for Kamban from whom he would not part even in such perilous times.

A broad intellectual forehead, a bold aquiline nose, a strong athletic form and a majestic beard adding colour to the arresting personality — yet the spy of the Scotland Yard was certain that this was the " South Indian Brahmin revolutionary " he was to arrest, his appearance like a Punjabi Sikh notwithstanding ; and to fix the identity he handed over a telegram to V. V. S. Aiyar. With an uncanny presence of mind, Aiyar immediately returned the telegram unopened to the C.I.D. man stating that he was delivering it to the wrong addressee. The official was quick to point out the inscription ' V.V.S.' on Aiyar's handbag, and quicker was Aiyar to reply " Yes ! My name is Veer Vikram Singh ". The sleuth had to go away quietly.

Paris to Pondicherry : Crossing the Channel was not the end of the trouble. The British Secret Police in France were censoring all his letters, and the moment he entered any British territory he was to be taken into custody. Aiyar was constantly writing to his father of his desire to settle in Brazil where land was rich and plentiful, instead of going to India where he might be arrested and jailed. Could not his father, Aiyar asked, arrange for a hundred hardworking South Indian families to go with him to Brazil and colonise that country.

On a certain morning of November 1910, news reach the Government and the family of his presence at Pondicherry ! And neither could believe it. The ruse was this : a bundle of letters in Aiyar's handwriting to his father and relatives was handed over by Aiyar to one of his friends in Paris to be posted every week, and this fixed the attention of the British authorities in Trance to Paris and to the ship routes to Rio de Janeiro.

In a few days a certain Muslim gentleman was swiftly passing through Italy and Greece, Turkey and Egypt. He was very devout,

ALIFE SKETCH lXiX

constantly writing from the KURAN, and performing Namaz live times a day on the ship's deck. The ship touches Bombay, Colombo, and Tuticorin before he alights at Pondicherry harbour. Within a few hours, telegrams signed " V. V. S. Aiyar " are handed at the post office by this very same " muslim gentleman " inform- ing the British Government of his presence in French India.

Aiyar was then just 29 years of age.

Pondicherry : Aiyar's life at Pondicherry for ten years from 1910 to 1920 is so fully packed with thrilling exploits, imperturbable courage in the face of worst dangers, and brilliant achievements in literature, that it is difficult to detail them all in this short sketchy note. And in all his revolutionary activities and literary work, we may mention, his wife was a source of constant help. Smuggling of revolvers, proscribed literature, arms and ammunitions to British India was a mere routine.

A versatile linguist knowing Latin, Greek, German, Persian, Urdu, Sanskrit, Hindustani, Telugu and Canarese, etc., Aiyar soon mastered French to study Napoleon's War Memoirs in the original ; and wrote a synthetic treatise on military strategy, adapting Napoleon's method of warfare for a war against the British rulers. Lokamanya Tilak sent his nephew to Aiyar to copy down the manuscript and Aiyar had to send him back in the guise of a gypsy to save the manuscript and the messenger from the secret police.

Desiring to prepare a background of revolutionary mentality among his countrymen, Aiyar wrote Tamil biographies of Napoleon, Garibaldi, Mazzini, Rana Pratap Singh, Chandra Gupta, etc., and wrote some excellent short stories as well.

Finding it impossible to dislodge Aiyar from Pondicherry by fair or foul means, the British Government took advantage of the Great War of 1914-18 and made the French Government believe that Aiyar was secretly communicating with the EMDEN which was then scouring the Bay of Bengal. Although these false allegations could not be proved, still as an ally of the British, the French Government agreed to deport Aiyar to Algiers in Africa. In order to gain time, Aiyar started a round of negotia- tions and wanted to leave something behind him to keep his memory green among his countrymen. Translation of the Tamil Classic — KURAL — into English was decided on as his best legacy for the country. It was on 1st November, 1914 he put his pen to paper. Day after day he pounded away at the translation, every

bqc. V. V, 6. AIYAR

evening thinking that he might be deported the next morning, On 1st March, 1915, the manuscripts were ready for the press. Though completed in such perilous circumstances -and haste, Aiyar's translation is considered the best even today.

Second Meeting with Gandhiji : Gandhiji came in 1917 to Pondicherry and Aiyar met him for the second time. To this date, Aiyar had not forsworn his belief in revolutionary methods, but when Gandhiji met him it was a case of ' veni, vidi, vici.' Gandhiji came, saw him, and conquered him. Aiyar became a convert to the principles of Ahimsa and he who never went about without a revolver in his possession, now exchanged it for the Tofcti. To his dying day he remained true to his new religion and there were often moments when his closest friends wished that he was not such a staunch devotee of Ahimsa.

Back to the Indian Scene : The general amnesty of 1920 saw Aiyar an editor of a Tamil daily newspaper at Madras. But he was soon to spend nine months in Bellary Central Jail during 1921-22 on a charge of sedition. It was in those nine months of prison life that Aiyar wrote his Magnum Opus — A STUDY OF KAMBA RAMAYANA — which we now offer to the lovers of literature today. 1

Aiyar needed some books for consultation and we translate here the letter he wrote to a friend in Benares.

He said :

"Dear brother, you would have come to know of my stay here through the newspapers. I have still six more months to stay here. I expect they would pass just as the last

three months have passed — in literary work You could

do me a service. I am writing a Study of Kamban. I require in this connection Griffith's English translations of Valmiki* and Tulsidas 3 Ramayanams and I also require As J

i Between the leaves of Aiyar's rough manuscripts was found a faded cutting from a newspaper quoting records in daily or weekly cutout of writing by famous authors. Dr. Johnson's Rasselas of a little more 20,000 words produced in a week, Mark Twain's 4,000 words a day, Stevenson, Du Maupassant, Balzac, Hutchinson of "If Winter Comes" fame, Oppen- heim and Wells have inspired Aiyar. His manuscripts show dates and numbers of words written each day. In nine months of prison life, with its. unbending routine, Aiyar lags not far behind these masters with hi* work of a little over 140,000 words, more than a third of which sure Ssa ln-verse. " '

* The author of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit.

s The author of the Hindi rendering of the Ramayana.

' ' A Life sketch fecxi

cannot think of any one else who could get them for me, and as at present I have very little money, and as these books will be available in Benares only, I have to trouble you. As soon as I come out of prison I shall pay you the price." More follows with a list of the books and where they will be available. He continues : " I have finished nearly a hundred pages of the work. I am now at present writing the character study of Lakshmana. 1 I expect the book to run to about five hundred pages. Wherever I have quoted any poems from Kamban I am trying to translate them' in verse as far as possible. I hope that this work will reveal the glories of Kamban to the scholars in North India and to those Tamilians who have forgotten their Tamil. My address is V. V. S. Aiyar, No. 65, Central Jail, Bellary."

The Last Phase : Released from jail, Aiyar again plunged into the vortex of his work. After a short swift tour of India, Aiyar started an Ashram at Shermadevi, Tinnevelly District in 1922-23, called the TAMIL GURUKULAM, where the pupils and the teachers ploughed the fields and reaped the harvest, laid bricks and built huts, weaved cloth, printed books and magazines, did carpentry and gardening, learnt self-defence, archery, sword fights, etc. Aiyar's ambition was to create a race of Tamilians similar to the Sikhs of the Punjab, and he wrote a biography of Guru Gobind Singh to instil the ideals in the minds of his countrymen.

The Heroic End : It was 10 a.m., 3rd June, 1925. The sun was shining with all its splendour. The Kalyan-Thirtha Falls was roaring at a distance with a majestic voice amidst a scene of great beauty and charm. Aiyar joined the party of pupils he had sent two days ago from the Ashram for a visual education trip. All went up the hill and Aiyar was helping the safe passage of the students across the proximal side of the falls. Aiyar's daughter, Subhadra, insisted on her crossing the river, just as the others, but as Fate would have it, she tripped into the deep fast current with the cry, " Father ! Father ! " — and within the fraction of a second Aiyar had jumped into the stream not a bit thinking about the consequences and he almost held his daughter by her locks, but only to find it slipping away, and in a few

l A fac-simile of a part of the first page of the manuscripts of this chapter is reproduced opposite. Note the seal of the Bellary Central Jail, and the calculations of words to a page, and the probable number t>f printed pages of the size of a page of his Kurort.

Jbcxii GANDHIJI ON AlYAR

moments both were submerged in the hungry waters of the Tamrabaraparani.

Thus ended in but 44 years one of the most momentous of lives. .

" How we long to write of the goodness and gentleness of disposition, how when betrayed you stood unshaken, how you served them who owned thee not : how you suffered when unknown and made not the slightest mention of it when you

got known Thy greatness must stand undimmed though

unwitnessed by man like the lofty Himalayan peaks. Thy services and sacrifices must be buried in oblivion as do the foundations of a mighty castle "

GANDHIJI ON AIYAR.

From Young India — 18th June, 1925 (Editorial page)

V. V. S. Iyer :

The readers of Young India will share my regret over the death by drowning of Sjt. V. V. S. Iyer. I had the pleasure of meeting him in London years ago. He was then a fierce anarchist. But he gradually mellowed down. The fire of patriotism burnt none the less brightly in him. He was a staunch non-cooperator and latterly he had intended to devote himself entirely to conducting the Shermadevi Gurukul. I always regarded him as a fine, sincere and persevering servant of the nation. May his soul rest in peace !

—M. K. G.

(Reproduced by Courtesy of the Navajivan Trust.)

A STUDY OF THE RAMAYANA OF KAMBAN

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

It is not easy to convince the literary world at this late hour of day that there is, unsuspected by the greater part of it, a Tamil poet who is worthy to take rank with the greatest names in literature. It is, however, my purpose in this book to make an attempt to prove that in the Ramayana of Kamban the world possesses an epic which can challenge comparison not merely with the Iliad and the JEneid, the Paradise Lost and the Mahabharata, but with its original itself, namely, the Ramayana of Valmiki. This is not the language of mere patriotic enthusiasm. It is an opinion that has grown slowly with years and after deep and careful study. And I hope to make the impartial reader rise from the study of this monograph with a conviction of the truth of my contention and with a desire to know more of the poet than what he will see exhibited within the pages of this volume.

I spoke of Valmiki's work as the original of KambanV Ramayana. But Kamban has not translated Valmiki. He has merely taken the story immortalised by the Aryan sage and, though he has followed it closely enough in all its details, has written an entirely original poem. Bentley said of Pope's Iliad, " It is a pretty poem, but you must not call it Homer." Of Kamban's Ramayana we should say reversing the language, " It is not Valmiki's Ramayana, but it is a grander poem ".

It is a curious fact that during the whole course of our long literary history, until very recent times, no Samskrit classic has been literally translated into any of our vernaculars 1 . The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata, and the Skanda Purana have been among the literary treasures that poets from every part of India have attempted to render into their mother-tongues. But in no single vernacular is there a literal translation of any of these divine poems which dates from more than three or four decades ago. On the contrary, all the old

i The Bhagavad Gita appears to be the only exception so far as we know. It has been literally translated into Tamil verse by the great Acharya Manavala Maha Muni in the 12th century of the Sakabcto, i.e. the 13th century a.d.

2 KAMBA R AM AY AN A M — A STUDY

poetical renderings of these classics in the vernaculars are no more than free adaptations from their originals.

This tendency to rewrite the stories of the Samskrit classics instead of translating them seems to be a common instinct with the peoples of India, for, so far as we can see, it cannot have been the result of imitation by one people of the literary methods of another. The earliest adaptation of a Samskrit classic into a vernacular tongue is most probably that of the Mahabharata into Tamil by Perun Devanar who is said to have lived in the first century of the Sakabda 1 . Since then, the Skanda Purana, the Ramayana and the stories of Nala and Harishchandra, among others, have been rendered into Tamil by scores of poets, but not one of these renderings is a mere translation. We find the same phenomenon in Telugu. The monumental Bharatam of Nannayya and Tikkanna has nothing in common with Vyasa's Mahabharata except the story. There is nothing to show that the authors of the Telugu Bharatam took to this method of adapting the Samskrit epic instead of translating it from the example of Tamil poets. The same is the case with Bhaskara's Ramayana, Tulsi Das's Rama Charita Manas and other vernacular classics of India. All these poets have dealt very freely with their originals. Their tropes and fancies, their imagery, their descriptions and dissertations are not those of the original poems but their own. They develop certain incidents, cut down certain others, and introduce interludes, fables, allegories or new incidents according to their pleasure. In short what they write are new poems altogether and not translations. And this tendency is to be seen among writers of Provinces situated so wide apart as Bengal and the Tamil country and Gujarat, and of ages extending from the first century up to our own times.

If we look into the matter carefully, this method of popularising the stories revered by the people will appear much better than the western method of literally translating them into poetry. For, the attitude of mind in which the poet has to place himself in the attempt to translate from one language into another acts as a drag upon all his higher faculties, so that even poets of a very high order are failures when they descend to translation on a large scale. Coleridge hit the nail on the head when he said " the translation of poetry into poetry is difficult, because the translator must give a brilliancy to his language without that warmth of original conception from which such brilliancy would follow of its own accord ". The mind of the

1 i.e. the 2nd Century of Christ.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 3

spoet is checked in its flight when it is weighted with the thoughts and images of the original which he has to render closely into another language. His mind loses its natural flow and has to substitute for it a simulacrum by all sorts of subterfuges. And the result is a travesty of the original which is not merely below the original, but even below the average quality of the works of the translator himself, as one can see by comparing, for instance, Pope's Iliad and Odyssey with his other works.

Hence it is that Indian poets even of the second rank have with unerring good sense abstained from translating the Samskrit classics, but instead have rewritten them in their own way for their countrymen. Thus while Europe has — to take one representative each from the Greek and the Latin literatures — but one Iliad and one JEneid, and a host of translations of these •epics, India has not one Ramayana and one Mahabharata, but at least a score of Ramayanas and Mahabharatas. No doubt these are of unequal merit, but each one of them is at least as great as the unhampered flight of its author's genius could make it.

We should think that this difference between Europe and India in the method adopted for the rendering of the classics Into the vernaculars is due to the fact that, while the nations of Europe have cut themselves away from their ancient religions as those of Greece and Rome, the peoples of India are, on the other hand, even to this day followers of the religion of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and the Skanda Purana and the Bhagavata. To the modern European, Jupiter and Minerva and Mars and Vulcan are nothing more than names, though with poetical associations. Chateaubriand goes so far as to call them devils who took form to corrupt mankind. But to the Hindu of today, Rama and Krishna, Uma and Saraswati are heroes and divinities worshipped with the same fervour with which they were worshipped by his ancestors before him. While it is only the scholar in Europe that can feel for Andromache and Hector, and Hercules and Cassandra, every Hindu, be he or she the most innocent of letters will shed tears with Sita and Draupadi, and swell with pride at the exploits of Bhima and Hanuman. Therefore, in taking up these stories as the subject matter of their epics our poets had no need to look to the literary classes alone for readers, but could appeal to all their countrymen who spoke their language ; and that ought to be the reason why they rewrote in their mother-tongues, instead of translating, these epics so much loved of their people. Perhaps the poets

4 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

of Europe too would have followed a similar course if there had. been epics that treated of the stories of Abraham or Jesus, great, and ancient enough to make the greatest poets think it a matter not derogatory to their dignity to rewrite them in their own language. The absence of such ancient poems of transcendental merit may in part explain the fact that in modern Europe the natural instinct of epic poets to embody in poetry the fundamental beliefs of their race and civilisation has produced not one or more central stories for the whole of Europe, but such different poems as the Divine Comedy, Jerusalem Delivered, the Paradise Lost and Les Martyrs 1 .

However this may be, here is the fact that Kamban has merely sung again in Tamil the great story of the Ramayana and yet has been adjudged by his contemporaries, no mean judges of poetry, as the Emperor of the Realms of Poesy — a title which every succeeding generation in the Tamil country has been but confirming ever since.

Other poets have taken their stories from earlier authors or contemporary tradition, and have won immortal fame by singing them. Indeed it may almost be said that no great poet has ever cared to invent a story. For, even Valmiki got his story from Narada and Brahma, Vyasa sang of the events that took place before his own eyes, and Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey out of the traditions current in his time. Corneille and Rachine looked to Greece and Rome and Spain for the themes of their tragedies. It is well-known that Shakespeare borrowed his stories from any source that was near at hand and not infrequently rewrote for his own stage dramas which were popular in his day. But the sources from which these masters drew their stories were almost always of very indifferent merit, and none but the curious student of literary criticism would now care to look into them. Kamban's case, however, is entirely different. He has not merely taken his theme from the greatest of Samskrit epics but has followed it in almost every detail step by step. He has himself challenged comparison, though in all humility, with the first of Samskrit poets, and yet not one of the critics who have compared his work with that of Valmiki has ever denied him place among the greatest poets of the world. It is now for the larger critical audience of India and of the rest of the world to appraise Kamban's work and adjudge to him his proper place among the sons of Saraswati 2 .

i Though this work is in prose, Chateaubriand has conceived thd- theme and conducted the story in epic style, a the goddess of learning.

CHAPTER II THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA i

Though Kamban has followed Valmiki very closely in the -conduct of his epic, and though no Indian is ignorant of the story, I propose to give here in a short compass the main incidents of that immortal story, always following Kamban, so that even those who have not hitherto made themselves acquainted with the same may be enabled to follow this study with ease.

Ages and ages ago the island of Lanka which is to the south of India, and which was in those days hundreds of times larger ■ than it is at present, was inhabited by a race of beings called Rakshasas, who are described as huge and often misshapen giants, strong and powerful, and active and energetic to a degree much beyond the race of men. They crossed over to the mainland often and disturbed the peace of the holy men living there. Ravana, their king had, by his great austerities and devotion to Shiva and Brahma, received from them the blessings of enormous strength, long life, and victory against every possible opponent. Valiant, proud, and ambitious, he made war against heaven and earth. Wherever he went victory followed him, and the whole universe •was powerless to stand against him and trembled with the fear of the Rakshasa name. He destroyed sacrifices, killed Rishis and other holy men, subdued the gods, and made war on mankind. The gods implored Vishnu, the Protector of the universe, to free them from the yoke of Ravana and the Rakshasas, and their prayer was heard. Ravana in the pride of his strength had deemed man and the monkey as too much beneath him to pray to Shiva and Brahma for victory against them. Vishnu therefore promised to the gods that he would Himself come down on earth and be born as man and that He would destroy Ravana and his Rakshasas for ever. He also commanded the gods to be born on earth as monkeys and apes and bears and await his avatar 2 .

So Vishnu incarnated Himself as man and was born in the <family of the Raghus as Rama, son and heir to Dasharatha, Emperor of India. Rama had three brothers, Bharata, Lakshmana

i This chapter is the substance of a lecture delivered before the Highgate Hill Unitarian Church, London in 1908 by the author and partly printed in the last issue of the " Swaraj " of Shriman Bepin Chandra Pal in the subsequent year.

z Incarnation.

6 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

and Shatrughna. The four brothers grew in age and years, in< learning and all the princely arts. Even as the ocean smiled upon by the silvery orb of the moon swells in joyous strength, even so did these children grow in grace and beauty, strength and learning. Rama and Lakshmana excelled in archery and all the arts of war. Bharata and Shatrughna learned, as royal children must, the art of using the bow and the arrow, but were more mild in temperament. All three brothers vied with each other in their love' for the valiant, the sweet-souled, the serene Rama.

The fame of Rama attracted a sage called Vishvamitra who prayed Dasharatha to send Rama with him to guard his sacrificial fire from pollution by the evil Rakshasas. Dasharatha had never hitherto parted with Rama. He had, like Abraham, despaired of having an heir born to him, when, lo, the joy of all the Raghus, Shri Rama, was born in his house. Rama was the light of his eyes, dearer than very life unto him. So the prayer of the sage struck him in the heart. ' Even as a man blind from birth, who had been blessed with vision for a brief space of time, would groan helplessly if he should suddenly lose his new acquired power of sight, even so grieved the king.' Dasharatha prayed the sage to leave Rama who was too young to fight, and offered himself to go with him to guard his sacrifice, but the very suggestion of a denial of his request excited the wrath or Vishvamitra and his serene aspect grew terrible to behold. Vasishtha 1 however advised Dasharatha to accede to the request of Vishvamitra and the king allowed Rama, and also Lakshmana, to accompany the holy man.

Rama and Lakshmana destroyed the Rakshasas that attempted to pollute and desecrate the sacrifice. On its completion the Rishi took the princes to Mithila. The king of Mithila, Janaka of Vedic fame, had a daughter called Sita whom he had vowed to give in marriage to any prince who was able to bend the bow of Shiva, the God of Destruction. Vishvamitra had in his heart decided that sweet-eyed Sita should wed his ward Shri Rama, and that was the reason why he took the brothers to Mithila. Destiny itself seemed intent on consummating the union.

The spirit of Mithila seemed to say, ' I prayed both day

and night, And sweetest Lakshmi, lotus born, of fairest form and

bright,

i The family preceptor.

THE STORY 7

In answer to my prayers left her thousand petalled flower; She left her home and sought to dwell in my own greenest

bower. Come thou, my gracious lord, to see and wed that purest

one'. The pennants seemed her outstretched arms welcoming

Dasharath's son 1 .

The artful Rishi took Rama and Lakshmana through the very street where Sita's bower was situated. As luck would have it, Sita was standing on the top floor of her palace surrounded by her girl friends. To his great delight Vishvamitra saw Rama looking in that direction, noted that he encountered her eyes, and that afterwards he looked at nothing else. For who could look on that face, sweet with the sweetness of Indian spring, carrying memories of blue heavens and sunny glades, of the scent of a thousand delicate flowers, of the warbling brook and the voice of the fcoil — who could look on that face and not have his heart enthralled ? The poet becomes speechless before the ineffable perfection of her loveliness and falls down before it. He dares not describe her form. He says, ' what shall we compare that form to, by the standard of whose loveliness alone can all other beauty be measured ? The eyes of men as well as those of the gods are too weak to drink in the full effulgence of that heavenly form. As the Ocean of Milk, when it had yielded ambrosia, could afterwards give nothing that is sweeter, even so, when the Creator had made Sita, he could create no higher beauty, for He had realised perfection. What shall we say is the cause that Lakshmi left her lotus home and was born on earth ? Is it the prayer of Brahmans of infinite holiness ? Is it the prayer of the earth or the heavens, of the Devas, or Virtue's

self ? She stood there a very queen of light, a sight

to make the very stones melt with love. The very Genius of Beauty acquired new loveliness by mingling with her form'.

In due course Rama was introduced to Janaka who ordered the bow to be brought before the prince. Rama appeared to undertake an impossible task. For had not heroes of mature strength, anxious to win the hand of Sita, tried to bend that bow and failed ? Sita must have prayed in her heart earnestly that he might succeed in bending the bow. For, when Rama saw her for the first time, her eyes also had lighted on him, and she

i I x 1 (See Publisher's Note for elucidation of these reference numbers in this book.)

8 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

had decided in her heart that he alone should be her lord. Rama however took the bow without the slightest misgiving. Everybody held his breath and looked on with intense expectation. But they saw him take the bow, they only heard it snap. Such was Rama's strength and such the ease with which he broke the powerful bow of Shiva. The world was glad and the gods leaped with joy. For was not the union of Rama with Sita to be the cause of the deliverance of the worlds from the tyranny of the Rakshasas ?

Dasharatha was invited to Mithila, and the marriage was celebrated amidst festivities and rejoicing.

The scene changes. The rosy hues of the morning last but a few minutes. Soon the basest clouds ride with ugly rack on the Sun's celestial face ' and from the forlorn world his visage hide '. Great things have to be done for the world by Rama, and great things have never been achieved from on a bed of down.

Dasharatha desired that Rama should be installed as emperor during his own lifetime. He therefore called the assembly of the wise who approved of Rama and consented to his being made their sovereign. The day of installation was fixed for the morrow and Dasharatha gave orders for decorating the city and making other preparations for celebrating the great event with due pomp and ceremony. But Rama was destined not to wear the imperial diadem for fourteen years more.

Now Dasharatha had three wives : Kausalya the mother of Rama, Sumitra the mother of Lakshmana and Shatrughna, and Kaikeyi the mother of Bharata. Among them all Kaikeyi seemed most attached to Rama, but her love was selfish. She saw that Rama was good and brave and valiant, and she nursed her pride when she loved him. When therefore Manthara, one of her maids, told her that if Rama were to obtain the crown, the influence of Kausalya would grow to the detriment of her own, lust of power and jealousy of her rival smothered the affection based on vanity, and she determined that her own son Bharata should be placed upon the throne. Cunningly she made Dasharatha swear that he would grant her prayer whatever it might be, and then she demanded that Bharata should be crowned in place of Rama. The King prayed her, remonstrated with her not to press her request, but she was obdurate. Long before, when he was warring with Asuras, Dasharatha had been saved in the midst of a battle by the personal prowess of this queen, and had then promised her that he would grant her without

THESTORY 9

■question any two requests that she might be pleased to make to him at any time. ' I claim the boons that thou didst once promise me,' she said. ' Thou may'st grant them or refuse them as it pleases thee. The one is the installation of Bharata, and the other is the exile of Rama into the forests for fourteen years '. The King stood aghast. For he had promised to grant her prayers whatever they might be, and his word must be kept, whatever the cost might be. Not ten thousands Ramas should keep him from the performance of his promise. The race of the Sun ought never to be sullied by a promise broken. And so Dasharatha submitted with a mortal pang to her hard-hearted desire and sank on his bed senseless.

Kaikeyi herself now sent for Rama, and he came in his chariot not suspecting what had happened during the previous night. He saluted her with humility and affection as usual. But her heart was made of stone. ' There is one thing, Rama ', she said, ' which thy father commands thee to do '. In the words of the poet,

She said, ' The king commands that all the earth By ocean girt thy brother Bharat shall rule ; And thou shalt wear the twisted knot, and tread The forests wide with saintly steps, and bathe In sacred waters, and in fourteen years Return to fair Ayodhya and live in peace.' Can I in words describe how Rama looked When fell these cruel words from Kaikai's lips ? Who can his calmness fitly paint ? For what It was so like before, the faultless lotus Opening to the dawn, his unchanged look Outshone in tranquil grace I 1

Rama's reply to Kaikeyi was calm and filled with the heroism of renunciation.

' E'en were it not my father's royal will,'

He said, ' would Ram thy son transgress thy word ?

And Bharata's fortune, can it ever be

Less dear to me than mine ? I say no more :

I take thy blest command a sacred duty ;

Behold, this very day I start and take

My leave.' 2

, 1 II iii 107-108. 2 II iii 110.

10 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

So saying he bowed down at her feet, pressed them to his- eyes, saluted the direction where his father lay unconscious, and turned towards his mother's palace.

When Kausalya saw him stand before her alone and unattended, — him, who she was every moment fondly expecting, would come with all the signs of new-anointed royalty to see her first and receive a mother's heartful blessing — when she saw him stand there in her presence alone, her heart throbbed with a vague sense of impending evil. And when he prostrated himself at her feet she blessed him with an anxious trembling heart, and then asked him why he had not been crowned that day. The gentle Rama told her, ' It is now decided, mother, that Bharata, thy son, is to be our king.' And the artless queen who loved all the sons of her husband with an equal affection said, ' This is contrary to usage ; but renunciation doth well become thee, son. And, having bestowed the sceptre on thy brother, live with him in friendship and in peace ". Rama was touched to hear her exalted sentiments of disinterested love and was pained at the necessity of having to disillusion her. He told her that the king had commanded him to do a certain thing for the salvation of his soul, and that was that he — Rama — should live in forests in the company of sages, and return in fourteen years. Like a deer struck to the heart by the murderous arrow, she fell to the ground and broke out into heart-rending sobs. But Rama consoled her. He said that nothing should make him disobey his father or make his spoken word a lie, and that she should help him to obey his father's commands. The duty of the wife in the end conquered the affection of the mother, and she blessed him, and with a painful wrench of the heart she let him go.

The news of Rama's impending exile soon spread abroad and reached the ears of Lakshmana. Impetuous was the love which Lakshmana bore to Rama. He swore a great oath that he would place Rama upon the throne, even were the gods of all the worlds to stand between him and his purpose. But Rama met him, spoke gentle words to him, soothed his stormy spirit, and took him to Sumitra. The grand queen loved Rama as her very life. She was filled with grief at the turn that affairs had taken. But consoled by Rama she soon recognised that what must be must not be wept over but endured. Not only this. She commanded her son Lakshmana to accompany Rama in his exile. She addressed him these memorable words : 'Consider Rama as Dasharatha's self and look upon Sita as thy

THE STORY 11

own mother, myself ; the forests wild shall be to thee as pleasant as Ayodhya ; I bless thee, son, depart with a joyful heart '. Kama prayed her to look after his mother and father and took his leave.

It remained now to broach the unexpected news to Sita and take leave of her. In the presence of Sita, therefore, thrilling with the expectation of seeing him come to her crowned with the imperial diadem, Rama stood, attended by Lakshmana only. When she saw his uncrowned head and forest-dwellers' robes • she could not understand at first what it all meant. Rama explained to her the situation and asked leave of her. Then, in the words of the poet,

She grieved not that her lord his kingdom left

And throne ; but the words he spoke — ' grieve not, my

love, I take thy leave ' — did send an arrow through Her heart. ' Right holy's thy purpose to obey Thy mother's commands,' she said. ' But, lord, thy word To me to stay at home when thou dost leave An exile for the wilds unknown, that word Has pierced my heart '. Said Rama, ' Thy tender feet Are not made to tread the stony wilds that burn Like molten wax '. ' But can the stony wilds,' Said she, ' burn more than separation from My Ram?' 1

So saying, before Rama could frame any reply, she went back into her apartments, put on coarse robes, and without a word more stood by his side ready to accompany him to the forests. All the men and women that witnessed that strong love and quiet determination, wept with renewed grief.

And so they left for the forest, renewed their old friendship with the sturdy forest-chief Guha who rowed them across the Ganga, and wended their way southward.

In the meantime Dasharatha had died of a broken heart. Bharata and Shatrughna were away from Ayodhya while all these things were happening and they were recalled in haste by the council of ministers. As soon as Bharata returned and learned the cause of all this grief he cursed his mother, he-

1 II iv 224, 226-228.

12 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

cursed himself, he cursed the day that he was born. It broke his heart to think that it was for his sake that Rama had been exiled by his mother, and a great sorrow filled his soul. He determined therefore, to bring back Rama and install him on the throne of the Raghus. He performed the obsequies of his father, put on coarse garments, and went into the forests to seek Rama. The people of Ayodhya burned with a desire to see Rama and bring him back, and so followed Bharata. The forest- chief Guha at first thought that Bharata was come to capture and destroy Rama and wanted to give him battle. But when he . saw his garments and grief-stricken appearance his sturdy heart melted and a boundless love and reverence sprang in his heart for Bharata. He then directed him to the road that Rama had taken. Bharata at last met Rama, fell at his feet, and wept like a child. ' Take back the crown that is thine, brother, oh my brother ! ' he said, but Rama lifted him up, embraced him like a tender father, and told him that he could not go back upon his word, and that until the fourteen years had passed he would not cross back even into the borders of Ayodhya. Bharata's remonstrations were all in vain. At length he made Rama promise that he would be back at Ayodhya on the first day of the fifteenth year. He then vowed that he himself would not enter the capital until that day, but would have the affairs of the kingdom conducted by ministers and wise men, and that if he did not see Rama on that first day of the fifteenth year of Rama's exile he would light a fire and fall into it as accursed both of God and man. The expostulations of Rama would not move him from his resolve and Rama had to promise as he asked him to. Rama then moved southward into the Dekhan forests.

For thirteen years Rama, Lakshmana and Sita lived a life of pastoral peace in the forests. True to his mother's word, Lakshmana did everything to make the life of Rama and Sita as happy as possible. When Rama decided to stay at any place for some considerable time, Lakshmana would make a clearing in the forest, erect a thatched hermitage on a lonely eminence not far from a babbling brook, and plant flowers and creepers around the cottage. He would go into the forest, collect fruits and edible roots for their food, and generally do everything that could conduce to the comfort or add to the happiness of his brother and sister. The deep silence of the forest, the vast panorama of nature around them, the green hillock, the grassy ;heath, the giant trees upreaching to the vaults of heaven, the

THESTORY 13

wild creepers hanging luxurious from the tops of the tall trees and reaching to the ground, the cool shade, the scraps of blue sky here and there visible through the dense foliage in the interior of the forest and on that account the more lovely and the more eagerly looked for, all these contributed to their life of Arcadian beauty and sweet simplicity. In the mornings, after the daily baths and customary devotions, the brothers would go out into the jungle and return to the cottage laden with the banana and the bread-fruit and the sweet mango and edible roots, and would lay them before Sita. In the meanwhile Sita would have prepared the welcome meal. After serving them their meal she would partake of the food and then join them in the out-house. As evening drew near, they would go out of the hermitage and enjoy the sublime beauties of the tropical forest. They would listen now to the murmuring of the brook, now to the distant sound of a waterfall, now again to the far off roar of the lion, now to the mellow calls of the sweet-throated fcoil or the tender cooings of the woodland dove. Now they would play with the sportive fawn. And now again they would watch the frolicking monkeys jumping and leaping up the trees. Thus they would enjoy the thousand and one sweet things that Nature shows to those that seek her in her solitudes. Rama would tell Sita stories from the Vedas and ancient Puranas of pastoral loves and city magnificence, of religious calm or daring heroic war, and would raise alternate emotions of love and pity, wonder and admiration in her responsive heart. Sometimes her rich voice at Rama's request would fill the forest solitudes with the very soul of music, and then even the koil would hush her tones and acknowledge a master. Thus passed the life of that pair, happy in the unmeasured fulness of each other's love.

But the race of the Rakshasas had to be destroyed and the peaceful course of this perfect love was to be interrupted.

One day Shurpanakha, the sister of Ravana, in her wanderings through the forest saw Rama and at once fell in love with his godlike form. She approached him but he repelled her advances. To revenge herself and to remove the cause, as she thought, of Rama's disregard for her, she attempted to carry away Sita. But Lakshmana who was watching over Sita with a brother's care punished Shurpanakha by mutilating her person. The Rakshasa army, which advanced on Rama to avenge Shurpanakha's wrongs, was completely annihilated by him. So she set off to Lanka and there detailed her griefs to Ravana. She said, falsely,

14 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

that she was about to carry away for him a woman of perfect beauty when her husband's brother maimed her, and there she was, injured in his cause. Her description of Sita's beauty maddened Ravana with passion and raised in him an irrepressible desire .to possess such a woman. He who had burned with rage on seeing his sister's wrongs and hearing the fate of his army and had sworn to avenge them, now forgot his sister's wrongs and forgot the prowess of him who could single-handed annihilate a whole army, but remembered Sita and remembered her alone. He burned with the desire of making her his wife.

Ravana decided to carry off Sita by stealth. He therefore directed a Rakshasa named Maricha to cross over to the mainland, to take the shape of a golden coloured deer, and to go near Sita and attract her eyes. When she should want Rama to capture him for her, the Rakshasa was to give them the slip and draw Rama into the woods. The plan was that Ravana should then surprise Sita alone and carry her away.

So the golden deer came and frolicked about the hermitage. Sita saw him and was charmed with his seductive beauty and sportiveness and begged Rama to capture him for her. Lakshmana warned Rama that there was some unknown danger lurking behind all this. However, seeing Rama neglect his warnings he himself offered to go, but with a petulant, fateful obstinacy Sita asked Rama himself to go. So Rama went after the deer bow in hand. The disguised Rakshasa however drew him on farther and farther and farther into the interior of the forest. He would stand still pretending to browse the tender grass. But when Rama with cautious step would approach him and be on the point of catching him, he would dart away with lightning speed and begin to sport in a farther field. Rama had run after him for such a long time and had gone so far, and the Rakshasa was so provoking in his deceitful gambols, that he lost his temper and aimed an arrow at him. The Rakshasa was mortally wounded. But even at the moment of death he wanted to serve Ravana, and so he gave up his breath, sending up a groan in the intonations of Rama's voice, and his groan was loud enough to reach the hermitage. Rama saw some great evil in this abnormal cry and hastened back.

But in the meantime Sita heard the Rakshasa's cry and, believing that it was Rama calling for help, asked Lakshmana to look for him in the jungle. Lakshmana apprehended some terrible evil if he left Sita alone, while on the other hand he was absolutely confident that there was no foe living who could

THE STORY 15

Jiarm Rama in combat. He, therefore, told Sita that no harm could come to Rama and that he should not leave her. But Sita spoke cruel words to him ; and so with a heart heavy with gloomy forebodings he obeyed her and followed in the direction of Rama's steps.

Like a thief Ravana had been watching for this opportunity, and he came in the. garb of a religions mendicant before Sita's cottage. The door of "the Hindu home is ever open for wayfarers to walk in and claim hospitality, and so he went in. He was welcomed by Sita. In the course of the conversation he fell to praising himself (in the third person) and his rule, while still pretending to be a wandering Sadhu. To her remark that the praise of the Rakshasa did not become a holy man he replied that Ravana was the master of the world today and that it was well to be on the side of the strong. ' Fear not then,' she said ; ' for Rama has sworn to annihilate the Rakshasa with all his army '. The pretended mendicant replied, ' The hare would beat the tusked elephant or the horned deer gore the Jion to death if men should be able to destroy the Rakshasas '. He also spoke of the vast size and twenty arms of Ravana.

' Of what avail are twenty arms ? ' said Sita. ' For did not Parashu Rama kill Kartavirya, the king of the thousand arms, even he who had kept Ravana in prison for years ? ' The allusion to his former defeat and shame struck him in the heart, and burning with rage and foaming with passion, the false form burst and revealed the Rakshasa. As living beings in sight of the awful God of Death, Sita trembled with fear. But Ravana uprooted and lifted sheer the cottage in which she was and placing it in his vast flying chariot flew towards Lanka.

Jatayus a powerful Vulture and a friend of Rama fought with Ravana in mid-air in order to rescue Sita, but Ravana felled him down with the great sword of Shiva and Sita's one forlorn hope was crushed.

In the meantime Lakshmana had found Rama and both hurried home with a beating heart. Sita was not there and the tender-hearted husband was convulsed with grief. There were the marks of large feet and the trail of a heavy chariot on the ground close by.. Filled with a thousand anxieties the brothers followed the trail and fell in with the Vulture-King struggling against death. He told them that Sita was carried off by Ravana the Rakshasa king and that he himself had been mortally wounded in his attempt to rescue her. Rama wept tears ■of gratitude and bitterness at the feet of Jatayus who expired

16 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

with Rama's name upon his lips. With a heart bleeding withu grief for the loss of Sita and the death of the devoted King of Vultures, Rama performed his obsequies and swore a great oath, once again that he would uproot the whole race of Rakshasas.

Rama now pursued his way southward towards Lanka. After a few days' journey he met Sugriva, a chief of the Vanaras, 1 who was living in constant terror of his brother Vali. Rama learned from him that his brother was not only on the look-out to kill him but had even deprived him of his wife. The memory of his recent loss moved Rama to punish the wrong-doer with, his own hand. So Vali was killed and Sugriva was anointed king of the Vanaras.

In return for this help Sugriva agreed to take upon himself the task of searching all over the world for Sita and help Rama in recovering her. And the Vanaras were sent in different directions to search for her.

Among those that undertook to wander over the world for Rama's sake was Hanuman, the Indian Hercules. He was the very ideal of strength and endurance and loyal devotion and intuitive wisdom. He had been the first of the Vanaras to see Rama and Lakshmana and at the very first look he had decided that they were not ordinary men but heroes whom it should be an honour and glory to serve. His devotion to Rama was intense. It was the loyalty of immense physical strength to magnificent manhood, of perfect valour to god-like heroism.

Hanuman was among those who went south. He crossed the ocean and reached the city of Lanka. Every palace, every court, every temple, every conceivable place he entered and searched for Sita. He saw Mandodari the wife of Ravana sleeping on a luxurious couch in her apartments. Her perfect beauty suggested to him the thought that she might be Sita. But the richness of her attire and belongings and the absence of any signs of deep grief on her face soon told him that she coufd not be Sita. He passed. As he was entering the portico of another palace bad portents appeared. And he thought ' Alas t this city, with all her magnificence, is doomed to perish ! ' He penetrated further and saw the gigantic form of Ravana reposing majestically, but rolling with pain and mental anguish. On seeing him, his first impulse was to wake him and fight with him. But soon second thoughts told him that it was neither wise nor right, for that was not in the instructions given him by Rama.

i Powerful monkeys.

THE STORY 17

And * as the ocean main, though powerful enough to dash down the shore and flood the earth, yet bides its time and leaves. not its appointed limits ', even so did Hanuman check his impulse and leave Ravana to the proper vengeance of Rama.

At last after a thousand anxieties he saw Sita in a grove of Ashoka trees. There she was, surrounded by Rakshasis, like a deer in the midst 6f leopards, the colour faded from her cheek,. her eyes raining a perpetual shower of tears, her form lean and! emaciated, her hair one twisted knot — there she was like a picture smoked, like the moon eclipsed, like the lotus killed by frost. ' Might it be that my lord had not met Lakshmana ? * she was saying to herself. ' How could he know that I am here, in this sea-girt island ? Or would he have spurned me as unworthy of him, for that I had spoken harsh words to Lakshmana ? Oh who would give him the tasteful betel-leaf ? And how he would grieve when he sees a guest ! ' She would think on that lion face that was not overcast at the sudden command of exile, that face which, both when asked by his father to accept the imperial crown as well as when commanded to leave all and live a forest life, like the pictured lotus was ever the same ! She wept for the iron arm that broke Shiva's bow. She thought of Rama's grief when Bharata refused the crown and condemned himself to a forest life, and she wept.

It was in the midst of these reflections that Hanuman saw her. He saw and he felt that it was she. He blessed Rama, he blessed her stainless virtue, he blessed her father's race. While he was in this state of grateful joy at seeing Sita alive and pure, Ravana appeared on the scene. This was one of his many visits to Sita to attempt to persuade her to repudiate Rama and marry him. He recounted to her his greatness, his strength,, and his powers, his victories in the past and his present prosperity. All his wealth, his power, his very sceptre he saidV he would place at her feet and himself would remain her slave,, if she would but consent to wed him. On hearing these words, grown more hateful by constant repetition, Sita's face burned with indignation and wifely pride, and she replied to him in these words :

' To pierce mount Meru, to shatter the vault of heaven,, to annihilate the fourteen worlds, is not one arrow from Rama's quiver sufficient ? Thou wert afraid of that arrow and that arm : therefore is it that thou earnest like a thief and carriedst me away here in his absence. Dost thou affect to- despise my lord and his brother for that they are men 7 2

18 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

It was a man that killed Kartavirya, the same Kartavirya who imprisoned thee in former days. Think'st thou that they are ■only two ? He that ends the world and all in it is only one . . . Knowest thou not that Parashu Rama quailed before my blessed lord — even that Parashu Rama who killed Kartavirya, whom I worship because he kept thee once in close confinement.' She would have continued further, but Ravana could not

endure it any longer. Conflicting emotions rent his heart, but

at length he spoke these words :

' My first impulse, Sita, was to put thee to the sword for daring to use such words to me. But, O my love, if I kill thee, I kill myself. Thou mockest me with my defeats, as thou callest them. But were they reverses ? They were all sport, my victories as well as my defeats. And thinkest thou I was afraid to meet Rama in battle ? No ! for if he had died as die he must against me fighting, thou, who even now continuest to love him, wouldst have put an end to thy life. It is to .guard against this that I brought thee away in secret. Grant that I failed in war against my foes ; how comes it that I rule the earth and heaven, and without a second ? Though I should never willingly expend my wrath upon these pigmies who are wasting their life in austerities, yet for thy sake I shall even stain my valour that has extinguished the might of the Supreme Three and gods, and stoop to fight these feeble folk. But I shall not kill them — I shall merely bring them over here and make them my slaves. Though they are worthless puny men, they deserve not to die, at least for the service they have done me in having brought thee within my reach. But if thou wantest them killed, if thou canst believe in my strength only when I destroy them, if that alone will please thee, I shall even kill them.' The mention of blood inflamed his wrath once again and

lie continued, trying also to see if threats could make her yield.

He said,

' I shall even go to Ayodhya and, putting to death Bharata with all his host, I shall march on Mithila like the Fire of the Day of Dissolution, and after uprooting thy kith and kin I shall drink thy blood also ! Thou art bringing thy own end nearer by provoking me, O Sita ! ' And then looking at his flashing steel he frowned and said, ' There are but two months left, within which thou must yield. If thou dost not become mine within that time I

THE STOJtY 1&

shall, kill thee straight .' '

So saying he frowned and went his way> ' bearing her image away in his heart '.

Hanuman had been watching this interview with a beating Heart.

In the meanwhile, however, despair had seized the heart of

Sita. She had been hoping against hope that Rama would come

and rescue her. But days and months had passed and there were

no signs of Rama coming, and the Rakshasa always returned,

unabashed by previous insults, to press his suit. She could not

endure her situation any longer. So, as soon as Ravana went

away, she went near a tree with the intention of ending her

life there. But just then Hanuman revealed himself to her and

told her that he came from Rama. The sound of that beloved

name fell like angel's music upon her ears — it was the falling

rain that bathed her heart which was fading away under the

shadow of despair. Hanuman gave her Rama's ring as a sign

that he was the genuine messenger of Rama. She set her eyes

on it. How shall we describe her, says the poet, how she

changed, and what she said when she beheld that well-remembered

ring ? What will be the joy of the dead man if he starts back

into, life ? What will be the joy of the bereaved mother when

she sees her deceased child brought back to life ? What will be

the delight of the blind man when he gains the use of his eyes ?

Even such joy and such delight were Sita's when she saw that

mute messenger of Rama's love. She took it into her hand, pressed

it to her eyes, pressed it to her lips, pressed it to her bosom.

Her whole frame swelled with joy — she smiled, she wept. Rama's

ring was the philosopher's stone that turned her fading colour

to gold. She blessed Hanuman with a fervent, heartful blessing :

' O thou that brought'st me the message from Rama and

gavest me life — a father thou to me and mother, and a fount

of loving mercy besides — thou hast earned glory for this life

and for all time to come. O hero of the mountain chest ! O

thou who has lifted a heavy burden from off my heart ! If

I be one who knows not ill, if my heart be pure and conduct

right, may my blessing never fail, may eternity be to thee like

unto a day, and live thou for ever and for ever ! '

She then took from her head her head-ornament and handed

it over to Hanuman desiring him to give it to Rama as a sign

of her trust in him.

Hanuman, however, did not want to cross back to the continent without giving a taste of his prowess to the people of Lanka. Ha

20 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

destroyed groves and palaces, felled down the Rakshasas that were sent against him, and, when taken prisoner before Ravana, defied him. Ravana commanded that Hanuman's tail should be set on fire .but when it was aflame Hanuman leaped all over Lanka lashing his tail far and wide, and thus burning down the Rakshasa capital he leaped back to the mainland. He himself escaped the effects of the Are through the blessing of Sita who prayed to the God of Fire to spare him.

Rama learned from the lips of Hanuman that Sita was living a life of. martyrdom. His wrath was roused and he commanded Sugriva's army to cross over to the island. The Vanaras built a bridge by throwing big rocks and trees into the channel separating Lanka from the mainland, and over it the Vanara army marched to Lanka. And the great war began.

» The war was a war of heroes. The first day Ravana himself led his army. But before the sun set his army was gone, his Chariot was broken into pieces, his bow was split in twain, his very sword was broken in his hands. The chivalry of Rama saved him his life. And he warned him that he was doomed unless he gave up Sita. Ravana, however, did not speak a word and returned silent and sullen. Says the poet, ' he grieved not that all the foes he used to mock in ancient days would now jeer at him ; but he grieved that Sita of the lance-like look would smile at his empty boasts and mock at his wordy valour.' As a soldier and warrior he wonders at Rama's valour and strength. He tells Malayavan, his grandfather,

' When all my mighty strength was being crushed

By clouds of darts from his death-showering bow,

Think'st thou that there was care in his look ? Oh no.

His tranquil face showed careless sport, not war !

I've faced the thunderbolt of Heaven's king,

The triple lance of awful Dhurjati, 1

The flaming disk of Vishnu, first of Gods, —

But what are they to Rama's fiery dart ?

Of all the masters of the art of war,

Though Vishnu is the first, I did believe

That none could strive against great Kartavir ;

But even he isn't worth the fallen dust

Of Lakshman's feet ; what then of mighty Ram ?

I tell thee, father, it humbled Ravan's valour.

Oh father, if Janaki of patience like

1 Shiva.

THE STORY 21

The earth, should see his feats of valour on The field, she'd hold the God of Love himself And me as nothing better than tailed curs.' l

However, a few words from Mahodara, his chief minister, were sufficient to make Ravana forget the prowess of his adversary. At Mahodara's suggestion Ravana's brother, Kumbhakarna was awakened from his age-long sleep. But when he came to know the purpose for which he was called, he advised Ravana to give up Sita. Ravana paled with fury when he heard his words. * I called thee not to seek thy advice ', he said. ' I thought thou wert a warrior bold — I did not know that thou hadst forgotten all thy valour. Thou may'st go and worship men '. A Rakshasa of immense size and a hero of faultless valour, Kumbhakarna was wounded at his brother's words. 'Pardon me my hasty words,' he said, ' I shall take my club and go to battle. But think not that I shall come back bearing victory or my life. At least after my death, O my brother, release Sita and save thy life with honour. If they conquer me and live, O lord of Lanka, be sure that they would vanquish thee. So, at least after I shall have died on the field, give up that Pearl of Chastity. Pardon me any wrongs that I may have committed against thee. Thy blessed face I am not given to see again. I take thy leave.' So saying, he went forth to battle. And Ravana wept.

Now another of the brothers of Ravana, Vibhishana by name, had left Ravana when he refused to give up Sita, and was now with Rama. With Rama's permission he came to Kumbhakarna and advised him to come to the side of Rama. The reply of Kumbhakarna was most heroic. He said,

' It is right to warn a misguided king and point to him his good. But when he persists in his evil course and he is doomed to fall, is it not infinitely better for me to die before him than live to see him fall ! He is lord of all the world, the most valiant among the valiant, the bravest among the brave. Shall he enter Yama's kingdom 2 alone and without a brother by his side ? It is appointed that Rama shall end Ravana. Shall I who have vanquished even the God of death bow down before a mere man, and he my brother's foe ? Go back, my brother, and live with the victor, for though a Rakshasa, the creator has made thee virtuous and good. As for me, let me do the duty I owe to my liege and

i VI v 17, 23, 25, 27, 30. « The other world.

22 KAMBA RAM'AYANAiM — A STUDY

lost my life in his .fight, j But not alone shall I die ! Hanuman,

Sugriva, -and -Vali's ,son— rWhy, none of the monkey kind shall

return alive if they are rash enough to fight today."

The battle began. The Vanara army swayed to and fro

unable to bear the shock of Kumbhakarna's attack. Great was

the loss on the side of Rama. Wherever he. attacked/

Kumbhakarna carried death with him. But at length Rama's

arrow cut oS his head and the Rakshasa army was annihilated.

In the meantime, at Lanka, Ravana was again pressing Sita

ta accept him. This time also he experienced the same repulse.

Sita's reply is superb and it is impossible to conceive of greater.

heroism or devotion on the part of woman. Neither the majestic

form of the Rakshasa king, nor his prosperity — for the gods were

his servants — , nor his fame had any attractions for her. She

said in the course of her superb reply :

■ ' Think not I love my wasted form, think not I love my life. Think not that I fear to die and earn a glorious name. It is not fear of death that makes me live and endure thy hateful words. The hope of once again seeing my blessed lord — whose ornaments are his virtues — it is this alone that reconciles me to life. I long to see the day when, with Lakshmana guarding his holy person, his arrows shall send thee to the other world ; and that is why I do not yet end myself.' , .

It was in the course of this interview that messengers brought to Lanka the news of Kumbhakarna's fall. And great was the grief of Ravana. . .

But the war went on,; . And his passion for Sita increased with every defeat.

Ravan's son Meghanada, who was called Indrajit for having conquered Indra, next led an army against Rama. Twice he was victorious, but the third time- he was completely routed. He too, whom the poet admiringly describes as the first among those who wield the bow, grew hopeless. And with trembling heart and awe-filled look he told Ravana that it was useless to contend against Rama and Lakshmana and that the release of Sita alone would save the kingdom.

When he heard these words Ravana laughed a great laugh. And in lines pregnant with heroic thought Ravana addressed his son :

' It is not with the hope that those , who have hitherto died on the field would bring me victory, it is not with the hope that those who yet Jive would win me success, it is not

THE STORY" 2$

with the hope that thou wouldst vanquish me my foes — it is not with any of. these hopes that I provoked this foe- I relied on myself and myself alone and entered into' this war- Keep thy niddering 1 counsel to thyself, son. This mortal frame, in duration like a bubble on the waters, I would fairo lay down on the battle-field in full sight of the Devas, earning" fame that will never have an end — but I will not give up- Sita. Is it for releasing her that I possess twenty arms T Even should I fall, even then, so long as the Vedas will last my name will also stand, if Rama's name will live. Death is certain— no one escapes that — man today is, tomorrow he ceases to be — but when does Fame cease to live ? Let me send away Sita, then who will count me as Ravana ? The very gods will laugh, and casting their fear away will come and besiege this my city. Even if I be doomed to fall, it is not in me to stoop to littleness ; have I not carried my victorious arms to the ten 2 directions ? As for thee, thou may'st go to thy home and, removing the barbs from thy arm, thou may'st rest on thy couch sleeping both day and night.' And in the same breath, like a tiger enraged he thundered forth, ' Bring me my war-chariot ! '

Indrajit was cowed. He fell at his father's feet and begged to be pardoned. 'I go ' he said ; ' but I shall not return. May better counsels prevail at least after I am gone.' So saying the doomed Rakshasa went back to the battle-field.

A fierce battle did he fight. Like a lion at bay he fought with desperate valour. But an arrow from Lakshmana's .bow ended him and he fell a headless corpse.

When Ravana was informed of his death his grief knew no bounds. Tenderly does the poet sing of the father's inconsolable grief at the loss of his heroic son. I shall give the purport of but one stanza here. " If thy Gandharva, Yaksha, Siddha, and Rakshasa wives, silver-tongued they one and all, will fall at my feet and ask me ' where is our lord ? ' shall I only weep in chorus with them, my son ? " Mandodari, the mother of Indrajit was even more inconsolable. The poet depicts with sympathy the poignant grief of the mother's heart. Here is the translation of two stanzas :

' When like the waxing moon, thou grew'st in years, I had the fortune, my son, with pride to see

' niddering = a simpleton.

2 eight cardinal points, the heavens above and nether regions.

21 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Thee conquer Indra ; but now thy headless corpse To see and mourn — O son, what have I done To behold this plight ? And still I cling to life, Inconstant life ! 1

In olden blessed days, With tinkling anklets when thou wert yet a child Slow-crawling on the ground, thou brought'st a pair Of fierce lions and made them fight like rams : When shall I once again such sight behold ! ' 2

And she has forebodings that Ravana's life too is doomed. She says,

' Of all the hosts that out of Lanka marched To meet in battle Rama and his force, None has as yet with life returned. Alas ! Like stubble they have gone, at touch of fire ! Alas ! I fear that Sita's sacred charms, Destiny-like will drive my Ravan too To an untimely, gory death ! 3

But evil counsels still prevailed. The first day's awful massacre, Kumbhakarna's fall, the death of Indrajit, the failure of numbers of armies that were despatched after that, from none of these did Ravana learn his lesson. He was destined to learn it only at the cost of his life.

Determined to make one bold and final stand he collected his army and himself marched at its head. Grand was the sight of that army. The mighty form and fierce aspect of Ravana ■created a panic in the Vanara army. The Rakshasas fought with ■desperate valour. But Rama and Lakshmana and Hanuman ■encouraged their forces and re-established their line. Ravana fought like a lion of the forest. But his hour was come. And Rama bent his Kodanda 4 and out sped his fearful arrow direct to Ravana's heart.

It quenched his three crore years of mortal life, It quenched the strength of all his austerities, It quenched the word of Brahma granting him Perpetual victory ; it quenched his strength That bent the world beneath his awful rule ; It pierced his adamant chest and quenched his life. Such was the force of Rama's sacred dart. 5

1 VI xxviii 47, 2 VI xxviii 49.

» VI xxviii 53. * The name of Rama's bow.

S VI xxxvi 198

THE STORY 25

So Ravana fell. But even when he fell there was a majesty about him which the poet describes with the greatest admiration :

•His mighty wrath, fierce as the untamed lion's Was quenched in blood ; his awful strength was gone ; His powerful arms had ceased to move ; his love Consuming like volcanic fire, which filled His heart, had ceased to beat ; but the hero's face Kv'n at that awful moment wore a look Of majesty, surpassing all its splendour Ev'n of days when saints and Rishis had To flee from his oppressive rule I 1

So the prophecy was fulfilled and the world was freed once more of the spirit of evil.

Sita was released from her prison. But her trials were not ended. Rama insulted her in sight of the assembled leaders and army saying that women of honour in her condition would have committed suicide and not have lived in the enemy's city for one whole year. The whole assembly wept at these cruel words. Sita's heart was broken. She asked Lakshmana to prepare a fire so that she might end herself in the flames. But when she fell into the fire, the Fire would not burn her. On the contrary, the God of Fire was burned by the fire of her purity ! And Rama now accepted Sita.

The fourteen years of exile were now over. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana travelled homeward in an aerial car accompanied by Vibhishana and the Vanara army.

In the meantime, Bharata saw the last day of the fourteenth year dawn and yet there were no signs of Rama's coming home. He had never forgotten that Rama was sent into exile for his sake and the thought had been consuming him every day these fourteen years. So he lit a fire with the intention of burning himself to death. Rama, however, had always in his mind Bharata's vow and that was why he travelled in the aerial car. To provide against every eventuality he also sent swift-flying Hanuman to where Bharata was, to tell him of his coming.

Hanuman surprises Bharata in the act of walking round the fire and assures him of Rama's approach. Rama also arrives soon, consoles Bharata, and offers to crown him. But Bharata refuses the crown once again and Rama is crowned Emperor of Aryavarta to the delight of all the worlds.

i VI xxxvi 201.

CHAPTER III

IN MEDIAS RES. 1

The 'reader Will have noticed that the Ramayana follows in its natural order the life of the hero from his birth and childhood up to the close of the action which forms its theme. On the other hand the epics of Europe, as is well known, follow their prototype and example, the Iliad, and start the story as near the end as possible, filling in the earlier events by slight allusions as well as by episodic narrative. These epics have an undeniable advantage over the Indian Maha Kavyas in that their dramatic opening arrests the imagination even at the very commencement of the poem, while the Indian epics have to gather some momentum before they are able to carry with them the attention of the modern reader. But our great epic poets have proved that one may tell a story in chronological order and yet write a poem that generations will not willingly let die.

It is Aristotle that first formulated the rule that the story of the epic should not bs told in chronological order. He says in the 23rd chapter of his Poetics as follows :

" Concerning the poetry which is narrative and imitative in .metre, it is evident that it ought to have dramatic fabl.es in the same manner as tragedy and should be conversant with one whole . and perfect action which has, a beginning, middle, and end in order that, like one whole animal it may , produce its appropriate pleasure, and that it may not be after the fashion of histories in which it is not necessary to treat of .one action, but of one time. . . . Hence in this respect also Homer will appear to be divine when compared with other poets, because he did not attempt to sing of the whole Trojan War though it had a beginning and an end. For if he had, it would have been very large, and not sufficiently conspicuous, or if it had been of a moderate size, it would have been intricate through the variety of incidents. But now, having selected one part of the war, hp has made use of many episodes such as the catalogue pf ships and other such ones with which he has. embellished his poem."

1 Into the Midst of Things.

INMEDIASRES .' 27

Horace has followed Aristotle closely, and he too has given. his sanction to this canon. For after praising Homer's maimer of beginning the Odyssey he says in his Art of Paltry,

"To sinf of the return of Diomed, the poet doel not ascend up to the death of Meleager ; in singing of the Trojan War he does not begin with the two eggs of Leda. On the other hand, he hastens with the .reader into the very midst of the action 1 taking for granted that he is fully acquainted with the story."

The authority of these masters — to which we should add also the example of Virgil — has overshadowed all later literary criticism, and we find almost all European poets and critics make a fetish of this rule and bow down before it. Milton followed it consciously and* deliberately as we see that he uses the very words of Horace in his argument to the First Book of the Paradise Lost ■ ' which action passed over, the poem hastens into the midst of things ' etc. Boileau writes in his L'art Poetiqve in this wise : " Away with those halting rhymers whose phlegmatic spirit would make them preserve the order didactic even in their elan ! Poor annalists, who while singing the exploits of a hero follow the order of events ! They dare not leave one incident out of sight. Apollo was never liberal with his fire to such as these ! "

Dacier, Boileau's contemporary, was so much obsessed with this rule that he wrote a very elaborate commentary to the following effect on three lines of Horace : 2

" Horace reveals here one of the greatest secrets of the art of poetry. A historian always follows the order of events. But the order which poets follow in the treatment of their subject is entirely different. For in the drama, as in the epic, the great masters place the opening of the scene as near to the catastrophe as possible, and take hold of the action always near the end. Their art enables them to bring back before our eyes all that had gone before. Homer, Sophocles and Euripedes have never departed from this rule, and it is an admirable one. For in

i In medias res, non secus ac notas, auditorem rapit. 2 Qrdini* hoec virtus erit et venus, out ego jailor, Ut jam nunc dicat, jam nunc debentia did, Pleraque differat, et prozsens in tempus omittat. These lines may be translated thus : ' In the matter of the order of % poem, merit and gracefulness consist, if I am not mistaken, in saying at the commencement those things that ought to be said in the beginning, and in postponing several things to the end, abstaining from treating them In the beginning of the poem.'

28 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

postponing the catastrophe which we are awaiting every instant, and in interposing between it and us a series of probable and natural incidents, they awaken our curiosity and excite in us one after another all the passions — a thing which a methodical arrangement can never do. In order to be convinced of the truth of this, one has only to read Apollonius of Rhodes who has written a poem on the Argonauts. Longinus admits that there is not a single fault in this work ; but it is mortally weary reading. One could give several reasons as to why this should be so, but the principal reason is its chronological sequence. It is methodic throughout, and that is the worst error into which an author could have fallen ; for there are none more cold than those poets,

' Who singing of a hero the exploits grand Poor annalists, pursue the events' course.'

" Vida has treated at length this question of arrangement in the Second Book of his Poetics, where he says finely that the reader, carried by the art of the poet to the very end of an action, and filled with a vain hope, commences the reading of the poem with the greatest alacrity believing that he is very near the conclusion of the story, just as a man who sees his port imagines that he is about to enter into it ; but he is much farther from it than he imagines — he is fated to retrace his course and fly over many a sea. He then adds that a wise poet will never begin, to take an example, the Trojan War at the judgment of Paris and place every incident in its natural order as if he were writing annals or a journal and not a poem."

We have quoted these extracts at some length purposely as we want the reader to realise how deep and widespread is this superstition in the West with regard to the order of narrative in the graver poems. But, as we have said before, our epic poets have shown that the rule in question is not as absolute as western critics seem to imagine. For our poets have followed the chronological order in their great poems, and yet have succeeded in producing epics that are as fresh today as when they first issued from their lips. Valmiki sang our first national epic. He has called it variously as the Life of Rama, the Destruction of Rauana or the Grand Story of Sita, and in fact the whole life story of Rama and Sita up to "the overthrow of Ravana is described in its natural order in the epic proper. And yet the interest of the story never flags for a moment in the

INMEDIASHES 29

whole course of the poem which is very nearly three times as long as Homer's Iliad ; on the contrary the interest grows steadily until the very end is reached. The same will be found to be the case with the Mahabharata if we remove the didactic portions like the Shanti and the Anushashana Parvas, which seem to have been added by our sires to the main story in order to give it an encyclopaedic character. Our own poet Kamban has not departed from the chronological order in the treatment of his poem, and yet the whole story in his hands rises into a crescendo of interest from the commencement till the very close of the action.

As a matter of fact, it is not the ' hastening into the midst of things ', or ' the taking hold of the action near the end ' that has given Homer the first place among the poets of the west 1 . But rather it is his superb knowledge of the human heart with all its joys and sorrows, and his love of Nature in all her aspects, joined to a rich imagination and a noble earnestness of purpose, all guided by the indefinable but supreme quality of poetic tact that knows how to make all the parts adhere together into a single organic whole — it is these we say, that have made him the greatest of western poets and the Iliad the greatest of western epics. The liquid flow of his story and his majestic style are but the natural results of these grand qualities. But npt satisfied with giving Homer the first place among the poets of the West, or even, if they pleased, to satisfy their chauvinistic pride, the first place among the poets of the World, European critics have made him into a sort of tyrant of the Republic of Letters, raising every single trait and trick of his grand poems into an immutable law which every other poet disobeys at the cost of his reputation.

The rule in question, however, is so artificial that none can give any substantial reason as to why it should be so. We have seen above how Vida supported it. But we wonder if any reader has ever deluded himself on reading the opening lines of the JEneid that Mneas was at the end of his labours and was

i It is out of our province to discuss here the unitarian authorship or otherwise of the Iliad or the Odyssey. The question is far from being settled as yet. But we may take it that there was a poet in Asia Minor who called himself Homer and who had a great deal, to do with the Homeric poems. We shall in this study merely accept the tradition, and always speak of the Iliad and the Odyssey as the works of Homer. There Is the - same difficulty with regard to the authorship' of the original Samskrit Ramayana. Here also we shall only accept the tradition and generally speak of it as the production of Valmiki and Vatauki alone.

30 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

going immediately to plant the seed of the Roman Empire on Italian soil. l Nor do we believe that the opening lines of the Iliad or the Odyssey create the delusion that the end of the narrative is not far off. Such a delusion might conceivably be induced in the minds of scholars who are deciphering an unknown poem in a forgotten language ; but how can we suppose that the reader of any well-known epic will believe that his business as reader and the poet's business as narrator is going to end at the very threshold of the poem ? Great poets are able, of course, by their supreme art to throw us off our guard at the oritical moments of the story and make us hope and almost expect that a great misfortune that threatens the hero may pass over, and may not materialise. But the delusion that Vida and Dacier require to support the dicta of Aristotle and Horace is something entirely different, and we do not believe that any reader of the great western epics has ever experienced such a feeling.

The real advantage of opening the story near the end of the catastrophe consists in this that the interest of the reader is captured at once at the very commencement of the poem. But this method has a compensating disadvantage in that the poet is obliged to cry halt to the action before he has proceeded very far, a,nd to narrate the earlier portions of the story which are bound to be much less interesting than the main action. Even the greatest poets have to beat time with flat verses till they judge that the epic has drawn itself out to a length sufficient to allow the taking up of the main thread of the story. On the other hand, the chronological order followed by eastern poets, if it makes the beginning of the poem plain and unadorned, has this great advantage that the interest of the story gathers force in an ever progressive degree to the very end of the poem.

Thus Kamban's Ramayana is divided into six books. The First Bo,pk describes the birth and education of Rama and his marriage with Sita on whose beauty and spotless chastity turns the catastrophe of the epic. In this book we have many episodes, most of which may well have been suppressed. In the Second Book, we have the plot of Manthara and Kaikeyi to thwart Rama's coronation, and as a consequence to bring about Rama's exile to the forests. The Third Book, which is

i The reader will have noticed how this view conflicts with that ol Horace when he says, 'in media* res, non aecus ac notas, auditorem rvpit' — the poet hastens the reader into the very midst of the action, taking for granted that he i» fully acquainted with the storv-

INMEDIASRES 31

called the Jungle Book, brings Havana upon the scene, who carries away Sita from Rama's cottage home in the forest. This forms the seed of the action proper of the poem. The Fourth Book is episodic in appearance, but in reality it introduces to us the Vanara hosts who are to play such a large part in the war. The character of Vali is superbly drawn, and we are made to feel that we can .never have enough of this hero's majestic words. The next book, distinguished as the Book of Beauty gives us the sublime picture of Sita standing firm in her chastity in the midst of temptations and threats. This increases tenfold our moral indignation against Ravana and prepares us for the war in the last book which is called the Book of Battles, and in which is described with great power the fall of Ravana's generals and finally of Ravana himself.

It will be seen from the above that Kamban is able to make the story rise steadily in interest from beginning to end. Compare this with the Paradise Lost, written by one of the greatest poets of any age or country but who felt himself bound by the example of the Iliad and the rule of Aristotle which we have quoted above. In this poem the four books from the fifth to the eighth deal with the war of the angels in heaven and the creation of the world and man ; while the eleventh book and the greater part of the twelfth deal with the vision of the future .shown by the Archangel Michael to Adam. But these books, though they are beautiful in themselves, and are artfully soldered on to what goes before and after, still create the impression that the action is interrupted merely for the sake of the episodes. 1 If even Milton has found it a difficult matter to make his episodes organic and integral parts of his epic, it is no wonder ■that lesser poets who have submitted themselves to this canon of Aristotle have been unable to keep their episodes from bulging Out of the general cadre of their story.

Thus we see that the rule of opening the epic in medias res has at least as much disadvantage as it has advantage, while the chronological method, if it does not ensure an arresting beginning to the poem, has at least the advantage of keeping it from turning sloppy in the middle.

i It is indeed a question if the tendency on the part of later poets to introduce the earlier portions of the story episodically as if narrated by one character to another, is not due to Aristotle's dictum, based on the example of Homer, that the author of an epic should seldom speak himself, but should throw as much of this work as he can into the mouths of those who are his principal actors.

32 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

From treating the story chronologically flows another result, namely that the poet is able to make the main story occupy a longer period of time than if he followed Aristotle's rule. This may not be considered an advantage by western critics. But there seems to be a greater fullness of life and greater stateliness in an epic which deals poetically and with art with the birth and youth and manhood of his hero and his achievements.

But after all these are secondary matters. If we prefer the chronological treatment of the oriental epics for their steadily increasing interest and for their greater stateliness, we are not blind to the grand poetical qualities of the epics as understood by Homer and Milton. We can appreciate the art that takes up the action near the catastrophe and is able to weave into the story the details that give it greater volume and fullness. We elaim only that the in medias res theory should not be raised into an absolute rule, disobedience to which ipso facto throws the epic into the second rank.

I think we may conveniently consider here the length of our epic. Kamban's Ramayana contains 10,569 stanzas of four lines each. Being about thrice the length of the Iliad, it may be thought to be over-long for an epic. But Valmiki's Ramayana in the southern recension, contains 21,018 shlokas, the vast majority of which consist of two lines each. 1 The Mahabharata goes up to 100,000 shlokas. And Chand Bhat's Prithivi Raj Rasa is said to be at least as long as the Mahabharata.

There is of course no fixed rule as to how long an epic should be. Dandi, a Samskrit critic, only says that it should be asamkshipta, that is, not short. It is of course allowed by western as well as eastern critics to be so long as to be incapable of being read through at a single sitting. And if it cannot be finished at one sitting it does not matter how long it is, provided that it is rasabhava-nirantara i.e. satisfies our sense of the grand and the beautiful by appealing to the higher emotions in an artistic manner.

We have heard of a Japanese novel, of which even the 200th volume or so which has been recently 2 published has not brought the end of the story in view. This story makes, we need not say, an extreme demand upon the patience of the reader, but even here we do not know if the book finds any detractors in Japan on account of its length. However, while we are not

1 We exclude from the , calculation the Seventh Book which is of the nature of the cyclic poems of Greece.

2 About 1920.

IN MEDIAS RES 33

prepared to go as far as the author of our Japanese novel, we can allow the epic poet to choose for himself how long he will make his poem. If popularity with the mass of the people, as well as with the learned, is a test of the justness of a poet's choice as to length, we find that Indian epics, long as. they are, have been listened to from beginning to end without flagging enthusiasm as they are read and explained by Pandits during evenings continuously for many months at a stretch. And as Kamban's Ramayana holds the reader's interest sustained up to the very end, we cannot condemn it as excessively long, but on the contrary we should be thankful to the poet for providing us with such abundance of rich and delicate food for our imagination and our spirit.

CHAPTER IV

THE ARCHITECTONICS OF THE RAMAYANA

The build and the structure of the Ramayana of Kamban are superb. The poem satisfies the soul with its ampleur, the proportion of its parts, and the art with which the parts are combined into an organic whole. It is true that the story follows the order of events chronologically. But there are a hundred ways in which a story can be narrated even in the chronological order, and it is in the choice that the poet makes from among these that we see whether he is the supreme artist or an ordinary writer. And Kamban has shown his genius for the architectonics of poetry both where he follows Valmiki as well as where he departs from his order.

The question of the build of the epic is not treated in detail

in any of the treatises of rhetoric in Samskrit that have come

to light up to now. There must have existed books which

examined this question deeply, for we cannot imagine that a

people who have laid down elaborate rules for the construction

of the drama could have neglected such an obvious subject of

critical study as the detailed anatomy of the epic poem. These

are either lost to us or are waiting to be discovered in the

Bhandaras 1 of our temples and of our States. The rhetorical

works that have been printed up to now discuss generally only

questions of style, figures of speech, and the emotions as subjects

of poetical treatment. The Mahakavya Lakshanas, so called, are

not much more than lists of what subjects should be necessarily

treated or described in an epic.

In the Kavyadarsha, however, Dandin, after describing ten figures of speech finishes with three shlokas on what he calls Bhavika. He says,

" Bhavika is said to the essential quality of the Prabandha or poem ; for bhava is the idea of the poet as to how he should arrange the poem and set forth its parts. The mutual harmony of the parts both in the subject matter as well as in the canto divisions ; the leaving out of useless incidents and the placing of everything in its proper place ; the individuality and character in the treatment even of the sublime which comes of a vigorous diction and well-ordered

l archives.

ARCHITECTONICS 35

words — all this is the result of bhava, i.e., the inner poetical

sense. And the right employment of the bhava gives rise to

the quality called Bhavika."

In the above lines is contained, though in mere skeleton, the -whole theory as to how the epic, as any other kind of long poem, .should be constructed. It is interesting to compare these lines with the words of Aristotle in reference to the same matter, that the epic should be a unity like one whole animal. The animal has different organs, no doubt, but all its organs adhere together perfectly to make up that one animal. The author of the Mahabharata too, we may note in passing, compares his work to a majestic tree with branches and stem, and fruits and flowers, but which in its entirety is a single whole. The epic, therefore, should be a unity, with parts of course, but parts which go to make up and show off that unity.

Now the one action of the Ramayana, as Valmiki proposes in the beginning of the poem, is the destruction of Ravana, and «very incident of the story contributes to this end. This idea is never absent from the mind of Kamban. When Tadaka, who comes to spoil the sacrifice of Vishvamitra, falls by the arrow of Rama, she looks, according to him, ' like Ravana's standard of victory felled down to the ground as a foreboding of his future fate '. When Kaikeyi yields to the evil advice of Manthara, it is

Because the promise must be fulfilled now That Vishnu to the gods had made, because The gods did work their maya, and the saints Had earned the fruit of virtuous deeds, and cup Of Rakshas sins was full, — her heart was hardened. For if the world to-day the ambrosial strains Of Rama's praise doth drink, doth not it owe The joy to Kaikeyi's cruelty ? 1

And when Ravana lies dead on the field, Mandodari lamenting his death says, among other things,

The fairy charms of Sita, her chastity Divine, the passion of my Ravana, Shurpanakha's disgrace, and banishment Of Rama by command of the King of kings, All these and more, what are they but the fruit Of Indra's great austerities ? 2

1 II ii 77, 78. 2 VI xxxvi 241.

36 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Here we see the poet referring all these different incidents: as leading but to one only end, namely, the destruction of Ravana, for it is only after Ravana was destroyed that Indra could get back his heavenly kingdom.

Let us now examine the plot of the Ramayana in some detail. In the beginning of the First Book, the destruction of Ravana is proposed, and Vishnu Himself promises to come into the world as the son of Dasharatha and destroy the Rakshasa. The interest of the reader is from that moment fixed upon Rama, the avatar of the Supreme God, and all his doings. The First Book is taken up with the exploits of Rama's youth and his marriage with Sita who is the incarnation of Lakshmi. The killing of Tadaka, the episode of Ahalya, the love of Rama for Sita and of Sita for Rama, Rama's bending and breaking of the mighty bow of Shiva, Parashu Rama's pride and its punishment, all these form a number of varied incidents interesting in themselves and at the same time calculated to make the reader expect high things of Rama. The march of this book is rather slow owing to the various episodes that are cast in the form of stories told by Vishvamitra to Rama and by Shatananda to Janaka. The journey of Dasharatha to Mithila which Valmiki describes in but one or two shlokas is elaborately described by Kamban in four Patalas l which take up about 300 stanzas. This is a great deal too much. But these patalas occur in the First Book before the epic has gathered its proper momentum. Moreover, many of the stanzas in these cantos are of great idyllic beauty.

In the Second Book, Rama's character is magnificently developed in his attitude towards Kaikeyi, Kausalya, and Lakshmana. The story too marches rapidly. The conversations between the several persons here are pitched in a high key, and the nerves of the reader become highly strung even at the thousandth reading. Between every one of these meetings, the pitch is lowered a little for the reader to take breath before he is confronted with the next scene of high-strung emotion. The art with which the climax is prepared in the meeting with Sita can never be sufficiently admired. The struggle of Dasharatha between his love of Rama and love of Truth, his anger against Kaikeyi, his despair at the charioteer's return without Rama, the whole contrast between Rama's expected coronation and his banishment, Bharata's renunciation, Guha's attachment to Rama, his suspicion of and indignation against Bharata and his subsequent recognition of his

1 Chapters.

ABCHITECTONICS 37

sublime nature, the rivalry in the heroism of renunciation between Bharata and Rama — all these make the Second Book a superb piece of work.

In the Third Book, the first thirteen years of Rama's life in the forests are passed over very rapidly though not without the poet reminding us of the purpose of Rama's avatar. In the fourteenth year, Shurpanakha's passion for Rama unchains the series of incidents that end with the death of Ravana. The fight in which Rama annihilates the fourteen thousand Rakshasas who come to avenge Shurpanakha gives us a foretaste of the magnificent battle-pieces with which Kamban fills his Book of Battles. Ravana's passion for Sita is described in a very extravagant way. Our idea of probability requires that Ravana should have seen Sita at least once before his soul could be fired with a desire to possess her at whatever cost. Tulsi Das has felt this and so he introduces Ravana as one of the suitors to her hand at the Swayamvara at her father's court. The extravagance of Kamban's description of Ravana's passion however, faulty as it is, has a meaning, for only such a passion can explain Ravana's persistence in keeping her in spite of the worst defeats and disasters. Rama's going after the golden deer and Sita's fatal obstinacy in sending Lakshmana after Rama are narrated with great skill. Ravana now meets Sita alone in the cottage. The poet expends all his art in the colloquy between the disguised Ravana and Sita, and the bursting of the false form and the revealing of Ravana in his true shape are made to take place exactly at the right moment. The battle of the Vulture-King provides a heroic and touching episode to this book and Ravana carries off Sita without further hindrance. Kamban shows his sense of the fit in not describing at this stage, as Valmiki does, another interview between Sita and Ravana, in Lanka. It is only in the next book that he describes the first meeting of Sita and Ravana after her captivity, and he merely suggests their previous interviews by one sentence put in. the mouth of Ravana :

'The days are passing one by one away, And this is all the kindness thou hast shown

Tome! 1

Lakshmana's adventure with Ajomukhi is but a repetition of llama's with Shurpanakha and is therefore superfluous, but

• i V iv. 26.

38 KAMBA RAMAYANAM A STUDY

Kamban employs it to reveal to us the deep love that Rama hasr towards Lakshmana. Kabandha closes, as Viradha began, the adventures of Rama and Lakshmana with the Rakshasas in the Forest Book. These three incidents have the same kind of fairy-tale ring about them as the adventures of Ulysses with the Cyclops and Circe have in the Odyssey.

The Fourth Book introduces to us new characters in the- Vanaras of Kishkindha. The poet exhibits to us the intensity of Rama's desire to avenge his wrongs when he makes him determine the death of Vali the moment he hears from Hanuman that Vali had deprived Sugriva of his wife. The single combat of Vali and Sugriva, Vali's fall, his reproaches against Rama and final acceptance of the justice of his punishment, all these form one of the finest episodes in the poem. The Fourth Book ends with the sending of the Vanara host in all directions in search of Sita.

In the Fifth Book Hanuman, the favourite servant of Rama, discovers Sita. Ravana's interview with Sita, Sita's despair, Hanuman's delivery of Rama's message, his desire to leave a mark- in Lanka worthy of his might, his subsequent capture, his release,, his setting of Lanka on fire, and his return to Rama crowd this- book with a multitude of shifting scenes each flowing from its predecessor as a natural and inevitable consequence.

The Yuddha Kanda or the Book of Battles is at least as long as the Iliad. The scene opens in Lanka charred by the conflagration started by Hanuman. The Council of the Rakshasas is less interesting than the debate in the Second Book of the Paradise Lost, but the episode of Hiranya is magnificent. Vibhishana recites to Ravana the story of the great Asura who was destroyed for his pride, and advises Ravana to avoid a similar fate by sending Sita back to Rama. Ravana, of course, refuses to listen to this advice and war begins. Every battle is a masterpiece, and there is hardly a repetition in the descriptions of such a multitude of battles. The reader will see in subsequent pages that the battle-pieces of Kamban cannot at all suffer by a comparison^ with Homer's best battles. But battles are not all the contents of the Yuddha Kanda. In this book scenes of the deepest pathos alternate with scenes of grand-souled heroism ; despair and hope, and hope and despair weave their light and shade about the heroes and heroines, the terrible and the sublime play about us in all their grandeur. The story gathers fresh force and animation at every step till the death of Ravana. The poet, however, does not stop here but desires to enhance the glory of Sita and bring out into greater prominence the virtue of Bharata. And so, we

ARCHITECTONICS 39

have the ordeal of Sita which raises our feelings to a pitch which almost bursts our hearts. Bharata's sensitive heart is next presented to us in his sublime determination to expiate his imagined share in his mother's sin by falling into a fire that he has kindled. And the poem ends sweetly with the coronation of Rama and the happy announcement that all the worlds were contented and in peace.

Now the plot In almost all its details is Valmiki's. But if Kamban takes the situations from Valmiki, he has treated them absolutely in his own way. In the manner of developing the situations, in the gradation by which the climax of each situation is brought about, in the justesse which knows how to bring out all its capabilities out of each situation, we feel the touch of the master-artist. In the manner also in which the incidents have been joined together to form the whole, no ordinary skill has been displayed. Every limb of Kamban's story is of course familiar to the student of Valmiki. But on going through the whole poem of Kamban, one is constrained to exclaim, ' here is a building which is built on the same plan no doubt, and with the same materials, but which possesses a striking individuality of its own '. 1

l Further remarks on Kamban's skill in the Architectonics of poetry will be found in the succeeding chapters where the characters are examined and studied in greater detail. See especially chapter XI where the episode of Vali is examined closely with special reference to Architectonics.

CHAPTER V THE SUPERNATURAL ELEMENT IN THE RAMAYANA

Every epic has got a supernatural element in it which interlaces itself with the human element in the story, and the action of both these elements in themselves as well as in their interaction form together the warp and the woof of the whole story. Thus we have in the Iliad and the Odyssey and the ASneid, Zeus and Juno, Minerva and Mars, Neptune and Apollo who interfere directly or indirectly with the actions of the several human heroes, ^Eolus who could unlock the winds and lash the sea into a tempest ; and similar beings endowed with more than human power and strength, and with ability to move from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven with ease. In the Paradise Lost Milton introduces Satan and Beelzebub, Raphael and Abdiel, the Messiah and even God Himself as the chief actors in the story along with Adam and Eve. In his Les Martyrs Chateaubriand brings into play Satan and other fallen angels, the Spirit of Jealousy, the Spirit of Vengeance, the good angels and God as some of the protagonists of his story. In a similar manner, all other epic poets have in some way or other made use of the supernatural element in order to give more than ordinary importance to the action which they celebrate in their epics. The taking in of the aid of the supernatural in Epic Poetry has become such a universal habit that even Pope thought his Rape of the Loclc not dignified enough without the play of this machinery, and so he introduced in his revised edition elves and fairies which certainly add to the interest of the original poem.

In our Ramayana also, the supernatural element plays a very important part in the action of the story. But it is, as is natural, of a character different to that of the western epics. It is always difficult to adjust the focus of one's mental vision to the conditions of a world different from that to which it has been previously adjusted ; and it is this difficulty that is to a large extent responsible for most of the criticism that those whose taste is formed on a study of the western epics alone are used to make against eastern epics. We should draw the attention of such critics to the words of Mr. Mark Pattison which he uses in connection with the Paradise Lost, but which are capable of being applied with equal

SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS 41

truth to all epic poetry and even broadly speaking to every fine art. He says,

" The world of the Paradise Lost is an ideal, conventional world, quite as much as the world of the Arabian Nights or the world of chivalrous romance or that of the pastoral novel. Not only dramatic but all poetry is founded upon illusion. We must, though it be for the moment, suppose it true. We must be transported out of the actual world into that world in which the given scene is laid. It is chiefly the business of the poet to effect this transportation, but the reader (or hearer) must aid. If the reader's imagination is not active enough to assist the poet, he must at least not resist him. When we are once inside the poet's heaven, our critical faculty may justly require that what takes place there is quite consistent with itself, with the laws of the fantastic world. But we may not begin by objecting that it is impossible that such a world should exist. If in any age the power of imagination is enfeebled, the reader becomes more unable to make the effort and he ceases to co-operate with the poet. Much of the criticism of the Paradise Lost which we meet with resolves itself to the conditions that the poet demands, a determination to insist that his heaven peopled with deities, dominations, principalities and powers shall have the same material laws which govern our planetary system. It is not, as we often hear it said, that the critical faculty is unduly developed in the nineteenth century. It is that the imaginative faculty fails us ; and when that is the case, criticism is powerless — it has no fundamental assumption upon which its judgments can proceed."

A sympathetic understanding of the nature and conditions of the conventional world postulated by the poet is therefore indispensable to the critic if his criticism should be rational and fruitful. Such an understanding is equally necessary for the simple lover of poetry who desires only aesthetic enjoyment. So, we propose in this chapter to give an account, necessarily brief, of the nature of the supernatural beings that take part in the story and of the miraculous machines of destruction used by them as well as by the human heroes in their battles.

''** There are mainly two classes of beings which partake of the character of the supernatural in the Ramayana. They are the Rakshasas and the Vanaras. We shall take the Rakshasas first. They are beings of enormous power and size, and should be, strictly speaking, labelled as preternatural beings. Ravana has ten heads.

42 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Trishiras has three heads. Some other Rakshasas and Rakshasis have heads of horses, wolves, jackals, lions, etc. By performing great and severe tapas (austerities) these Rakshasas have acquired enormous physical strength and many magical powers. They can bend the bow with such force that their arrows can break to pieces the rocks hurled against them by their enemies. They can assume whatever shape they please at their will. They can fly through the air with or without aerial chariots. They hold other worlds than this terrestrial world in subjection under themselves. They can create automatons looking like human beings or Rakshasas. In short they possess all the powers and qualities that are attributed to the gods in the Greek mythology. As a class, the Rakshasas hate virtue and doers of virtue and love a life of vice and luxury. Destruction and humiliation of men and gods are their chief delight.

Besides the ordinary powers and strength of the Rakshasas, Ravana possesses some very extraordinary powers. He is able to lift with his hands the great Mount Kailas with Shiva Himself enthroned upon it. He fights and conquers the Ashta-dik-gajas — the eight immense mammoths — elephants which are supposed to bear aloft the universe from its eight sides and corners. The God of Death and Varuna 1 have to acknowledge defeat at his hands. The Sun and the Moon, and Fire and Wind obey his every wish. The very seasons obey him, and come and go at the slightest expression of his will. In short his austerities have earned for him from Shiva and the other gods power and strength only short of omnipotence.

Gods as such do not take an active part in the story. They have been conquered by their enemies, the Rakshasas. Their world, the Svarga, is in the hands of Ravana. Their wives and daughters are working as maids to the Rakshasa ' women ' in Lanka. They themselves are doing menial service to their Rakshasa masters. Their king Indra is a wanderer away from his kingdom and throne. Even the Supreme Three 2 have been defeated by Ravana and live under a self-denying ordinance, resolving not to interfere with his doings till the strength of his- austerities has begun to wane.

But at the command of Vishnu — one of the Supreme Three— who is the one designed in this age to destroy the evil and unrighteous Rakshasas and Asuras, the gods are born as Vanaras or giant monkeys on earth. But while they are born on earth,.

1 Rain-God. 2 Brahma, Vishnu: and, Shiva.

SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS 43

they keep also their own divine bodies in Svarga, or wherever they are for the moment. The Vanaras are therefore spoken of both as the sons of the respective gods as well as their incarnations. The Vanaras, at least their leaders, have the same preternatural strength and courage as the Rakshasas. They can also assume at will whatever shape they please. They can leap over immense distances of space. Hanuman, the greatest of the Vanaras, can fly across the sea from the mainland to Lanka and fly back. Again he flies to the hill of drugs situated far north of the Himalayas and returns with the hill in his hand in the course of a single night. He can grow as high as the heavens and pervade the world with his body. Angada and Sugriva are almost equal to him in strength but do not possess his pervasive power. The strength of the Vanaras is such that they can tear trees and rocks by the roots and hurl them against their foes. The reader will not be far wrong if he imagines the Vanaras as possessing almost all the strength and powers of the gods of the Greek epics. Only, unlike the latter, they compose the entire army of one of the combatants in the war.

Garuda and Sampati and Jatayus must be classed separately among the supernatural and preternatural beings of the Ramayana. Garuda is the great golden eagle, the Vohan or carrier of Vishnu. He is the enemy of all serpents and he appears on the battle-field to free Lakshmana and the Vanaras from the serpent noose of Indrajit. At his mere approach all the serpents of the noose either die or slink away. Jatayus and Sampati are vultures — the sons of Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun, and they are the Icarus and Daedalus of Indian story. They had tried to fly up to the very Sun and had fallen down scorched by his fierce rays. Jatayus, the younger, was protected from being burnt by Sampati who^ shaded him from the sun and had his own wings burned off. At the period of our story, Sampati lives on the Mahendra hill at the southernmost point of the mainland, till the choral repetition - of Rama's name makes his wings miraculously to grow. Jatayus is the friend of Dasharatha and so Rama has a tender filial affection for the noble Vulture-King. Jatayus, as the reader will remember, attempts to prevent Ravana from carrying off Sita, but after a terrible struggle falls mortally wounded by Ravana.

These are about all the preternatural beings that take part in the action of the epic. Although Rama and his brothers are divine incarnations, Kamban, like Valmiki, treats their actions as those of mere human heroes, only endowed with some extraordinary powers. For instance, Kamban does not gift Rama

44 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

with the pervasive power or enormous size and strength of Hanuman, though everywhere he reminds us that he is the Supreme One who is immanent in everything and who transcends even the Three Persons of the Trinity. In fact, Rama and his brothers are human in their actions and their physical condition, though they are divine in their ultimate nature.

But if Rama and Lakshmana are merely men in their actions, they possess the power to command the gods to do their bidding even as Ravana and the Rakshasa leaders have. We speak of their power to convert their arrows by means of mantras or spells into weapons possessing the power of Agni and Vayu, 1 Shiva and Vishnu and Brahma, and other deities. Arrows thus impregnated by spells are called Astras. It is these astras that deserve to be called machinery, a term which western critics are used to apply to the supernatural beings etc., that influence the action in the Tliad and other epics.

The astra should be imagined by the reader to be an arrow which the spell, pronounced by the bowman at the time of aiming it, converts into a weapon possessing preternatural power, generally the power of a god. Thus the Agneya-astra must be supposed to be an arrow which the spell of the archer impregnates with the Shakti or force of Agni, the God of Fire. Such an arrow must be imagined to fly against the enemy carrying living fire in its bosom and burning down everything before it. Similarly the Varuna-astra would be the weapon possessing the force of Varuna, the God of the Ocean, and hence would be aimed against the Agneya-astra whose fire it would extinguish. The Maheshvara- astra would be an arrow filled with the force of God Shiva or Maheshvara, the Narayana-astra would be an arrow filled with the force of God Narayana or Vishnu, and the Brahmastra would be a dart filled with the force of Brahma, and so on. The Naga-pasha or the serpent-noose must be imagined to be an arrow or a succession of arrows which the appropriate spells convert into deadly serpents which bind themselves round the bodies of the ■enemies and strangle them. Kamban speaks also of the Maya-astra which creates any illusion that the sender pleases before the eyes of the opponent. In rare cases, incantations are supposed to be pronounced upon other weapons than arrows," a^rd then these weapons, — sometimes even a blade of grass serves as a weapon to the expert in the science of astras — become the appropriate astras.

■ 1 Fire and Wind. N «

SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS 45

The reader will observe that when an astra is aimed against an archer, his obvious defence according to this convention would be to send against it an astra of superior power which would conquer or neutralise it. Thus arrows would wrestle against arrows in mid-air, each armed with the force given to it by the respective archers.

Out of all these astras, the Brahmastra is supposed to be the most powerful, though" in one or two places Kamban speaks of the Narayana-astra and Maheshvara-astra as equally or even more powerful weapons. These astras are to be supposed to rush through the air with fatal force, giving birth, both on their way as well as when they strike the enemy, to innumerable destructive machines and even beings such as cobras, demons, etc. The torpedoes and shrapnels, and flame-throwers and poison-gas shells and similar destructive weapons so abundantly used in the late war are the analogues of the astras of the Ramayana. And who knows if the first ideas of some of the terrific weapons of modern times were not put into the heads of their European inventors by the description of the several astras mentioned in the Ramayana !

Rama and Lakshmana on the one side and the great leaders of the Rakshasas on the other are described by the poet as great experts in the science of astras. Rama's arrows have another peculiarity in that they come back to his quiver after doing the destruction for which they were sent.

Although the gods do not take part in the action of the story except through the astras, they make their appearance sometimes in their own persons in the course of the action. Thus, when Bharata persists in inviting Rama to come back to Ayodhya, the Devas who are standing around unseen by the assembled people pronounce a command, which is heard as a disembodied voice, that he should himself go back and rule the kingdom for fourteen years. Again Rama and Lakshmana see Indra approach Sharabhanga in order to offer him residence in his own heaven. Matali, the charioteer of Indra, is ordered by the gods to drive Rama in the heavenly vimana or air chariot of Indra during the final battle with Ravana. And finally the gods and the deceased Dasharatha come down on earth at the time when Sita falls into the fire and advise Rama to take her back to himself.

• We believe we have now placed before the reader all that is necessary for a proper understanding of the conventional world in which the action of the Ramayana unfolds itself. Now we shall take up the study of the more important characters of our story and see how Kamban treats them in his epic.

CHAPTER VI

RAMA

In the delineation of character, Kamban stands on a level with the greatest poets of the world. The lines are drawn with a firm hand, and the characters are painted with such accuracy and fullness that from any single sentence, and sometimes even from a single phrase in a speech, one can tell the person speaking without any the least doubt.

Here too, naturally, Valmiki has set the stamp on the characters of the Ramayana. But in Kamban's hand they have become much more grand. The student of Valmiki will wonder how his Rama and Bharata, Ravana and Kumbhakarna, Vali and Hanuman, Sita and Kausalya and the rest could be improved. The- fact, however, is there that Kamban's heroes and heroines are beings of a decidedly higher stature than those of Valmiki.

The idealisation of Rama is not solely or chiefly the work of Kamban. The fact is that the Rama of Valmiki has so captivated the heart of Hindusthan that the whole nation has expended on him all the love and devotion of which its rich nature was capable. The Tamil Alwars, and especially Kulasekhara the Chera Prince, have given literary expression in their devotional verses to the popular pronouncement that Rama is the Supreme Narayana Himself in human form. In Kamban's time, therefore, the ideal man had grown into very God, the mere repetition of whose name with devotion would lead unto heaven. What Kamban has done is to give the impress of the master-artist to the character that had grown into its fullness and grandeur by the devotion-filled meditation of generations of the sons of India.

This, however, was no ordinary task. It is easy to pile epithets upon epithets and constantly repeat that Rama was a divine king. But to create the poetical impression of the divinity of Rama's character and to maintain the epic in all places at the level that will alone harmonise with such an impression is a vastly different thing. And Kamban has eminently succeeded in this extremely difficult task.

With regard to the other characters, and especially with regard to the Rakshasas, the heightening of the colour is mainly Kamban's work. With the instinct of the born artist, Kamban must have seen that the idealisation of Rama alone without

RAMA 47

raising the other personages of the story to a similar height of -character would not produce a harmonic whole. And so he has made his Ravana and Indrajit, Sugriva and Angada, Kausalya and Mandodari much grander characters than they appear in Valmiki's poem. And although Valmiki's Bharata is one of the finest creations of poetry, the little touches that Kamban has given to the figure have rendered Bharata's virtue even more resplendent than in the original Ramayana.

With these preliminary observations, we shall examine more closely the characters of Kamban's Ramayana, .giving greater attention to the more prominent characters therein.

Rama, of course, will claim our first attention. In three or four places Valmiki has deified Rama. Even these passages, however, modern critics regard as interpolations. But, howsoever this may be, everywhere else in Valmiki, Rama is only the valorous prince, perfect in virtue, but nothing more than a simple mortal man. In Kamban, however, it is rare to meet with any reference to Rama which does not indicate his divinity. He is the Supreme Lord, he is Narayana, he is the one that sleeps the sleep of wakefulness in the Ocean of Milk, he is the Great One whom even the Vedas have not seen. If he runs after the golden deer, ' he sets forward the foot that measured the three worlds '. If Rama and Sita love each other at first sight, ' is it not the meeting again of those that were together in the Ocean of Milk, and were separated only for a while ? ' It is the same from beginning to end. But this constant deification of Rama does not stand in the way of the most human emotions being attributed to him. He feels all the anguish of separation from Sita. He is stunned on hearing of the death of his father. He is affected by the simple affection of Guha and the self-reproach of Bharata. He weeps at the fall of Lakshmana in one of his encounters with Indrajit, and is beside himself with grief at the report that Indrajit had murdered Sita. And yet we do not feel that there is anything unnatural in Rama's human acts and emotions. There is the same mingled divinity and humanity about Kamban's Rama as about the Christ of the Gospels and of the Paradise Regained.

The fascination which the character of Rama has exercised upon the mind of Hindusthan is a measure of the great art with which our poet, among others, has delineated him. Rarely has literature anywhere taken upon itself the task of creating such valour and such virtue. And still more rarely has it risen to the level of such a creation.

And what a character is that of Rama ! All the qualities

48 KAMBA RAMAYAKAM — A STUDY

that belong to the hero are to be found in him to perfection. He is the very personification of valour. He is not elated even when. the imperial crown is offered to him. Valmiki's Rama announces to his mother the fact of his prospective coronation with just a touch of joy. And to Lakshmana he says with greater expansiveness,

' Rule thou this kingdom with me, O Lakshmana. This fortune is for thee too who art my other self. Life and the crown I desire for thy sake more than for myself.' But Kamban takes care not to put even these words into the mouth of Rama. He says,

' When Dasharatha had finished, the Lotus-eyed One was

not elated, neither despised he the gift. But, feeling that it

was his duty to obey his father's commands, he consented ! ' 1 ,

After this, Kamban does not allow Rama to speak a word in

the poem till he makes his grand reply to Kaikeyi. 2 By this,

Rama is made to appear more stoic than in Valmiki. The poet,

as the reader is aware, draws pointed attention to this stoicism at

this place. And he calls it again to our mind when he describes

Sita's thoughts while she is a captive in Lanka. She would think,

he says,

' On that face, which, both when asked by his father to accept the imperial crown as well as when commanded by his mother to leave all and live a forest life, like the pictorial lotus was ever the same ! ' 3

Another effect of this stoical calmness is that Rama not only does not himself accuse Kaikeyi anywhere, but deprecates others accusing her. When Lakshmana rages against her on hearing of Rama's exile for the first time, Rama calms him saying,

' They blame not streams if water sometimes fails ; blame

thou not then our king, nor her our mother : 'Tis fate that

drives us on, my brother ! Why then this rage ? ' 4

A fine sidelight is thrown on this trait in Rama's character

when the poet makes Bharata say to his mother, when she

announced to him that she had exiled Rama for his sake,

' Thou livest yet ! And still my spell-bound hand Leapeth not forth to finish thee ! Did not I fear that Ram, my sovereign, would resent The deed, shall ev'n the name of mother stay My arm from slaying thee ? ' s

1 II i 70. 2 See p. 9. 'V iii 20.

* n iv 134. 5 II ix 72.

RAMA 49

Note here how the poet raises Rama in our estimation by making Bharata say that Rama would never tolerate the slaying of Kaikeyi even for her triple crime.

But it is not only that Rama forgives Kaikeyi her evil. He retains his former love for her even in his exile. For among the many things that Sita wants Hanuman to remind Rama about, she says,

" And when I had a parrot fair I loved,

I asked my lord what name he liked to give

To her. And he with tenderness replied,

' Give her my virtuous mother Kaikey's name.' " x

If Rama, however, is a vairagi 2 , when it is a question of his own personal fortunes, he is tender as a woman when he sees others suffer. Thus when he sees Lakshmana's princely hands engaged in building a cottage for him ih the forests, he exclaims to himself thus :

' The flower-like tender feet of Janaka's child 3 Are strong enough to tread the jungle paths ; And Lakshman's hands are skilled to build for us A tasteful cottage home. Ah, those whom Fate Has helpless cast upon the world, what's there That they'll not learn to do ! ' *

The poet again touches on this side of Rama's nature when he makes Sita recall to mind while in the Ashoka grove in Lanka,

The pain of Rama when he saw his brother 5 Wear not the crown upon his head, but wear The dusty twisted knot of hair. 6

The grief of Rama at the fall of Lakshmana, in one of Indrajit's battles, is pitched in a higher key :

Now he would plough the ground with his limbs ; now he would heave heavy sighs ; now he would swoon away as in death ; soon coming to himself he would act as one who knew not what he was doing ; suddenly he would cry aloud,

1 V vi 83. 2 Stoic. 3 Sita. * II vjii 52.

5 Bharata. when he came to forest to invite Rama to take back the Crown that Kaikeyi had deprived him of. « V iii 25.

4

50 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

' Lakshmana, O Lakshmana ! ' Then he would place his hands under Lakshmana's nostrils, and call out, ' Livest thou, my child ? '

Again he would gently press Lakshmana's feet with his lotus hands ; he would pat his thighs ; he would look intently into his lotus eyes, fair like fresh-gathered flowers ; he would listen at his heart to see if it was yet beating ; he would look at the heavens ; he would lift up his body and place it against his heart ; then he would lay it down upon the ground ; suddenly he would exclaim, ' Is the foe fled away ? ' He would look at his bow and then at the deadly noose thrown by the enemy ; he would look at the night that appeared as if it would never end ; he would look at the gods that were crowding in the heavens ; he would want to tear the earth itself up by its roots.

He would cast his eyes on the heroes assembled round ; he would think of the fate that had brought about this misfortune ; once again he would look at his powerful bow and then at his arrows ; and then he would cry aloud, ' Has ever man suffered like me ? ' 1

We shall close the study of this phase of Rama's character with one more extract. Seeing that it was difficult to overcome his enemy by pure force of arms, Indrajit wanted to destroy their morale and so he created an automaton resembling Sita, breathed life into it by his magic art, cut off its head in the presence of Hanuman, and flew away upon his aerial chariot saying that he was going to invade Ayodhya. When Hanuman brought this news to Rama, Rama's grief knew no bounds, and he swooned away. At length, rising from his trance, Rama spoke these words :

' It seems my curse ends not with Sita ev'n :

Needs must it swallow up my race ; nor know

I now whom else it will destroy. O Lord !

Is there an end to this ? and then, my brothers,

Will they be spared ? In his aerial car

Faster than thought, the foe towards Ayodh

Has flown, and is returned. The home that gave

Me- life, is shattered now, while Sita here

Has fallen under the murderer's knife ! What else

Is coming, I know not, nor welcome death

I find !' 2

1 VI xviii 222-225. 2 VI xxv 78, 79.

RAMA 51

This capacity for poignant suffering is but the obverse of Rama's naturally affectionate disposition. The poet does not forget to point out that even as a child Rama had kind words and sweet looks for the veriest strangers. When Vasishtha approves -of Rama's coronation, he says,

' 'Tis little if I say he loved all men Ev'n as he loves himself : the love he bears To thee, ev'n that's the measure of his love To all things living.' 1

When the rough forest king Guha comes to see him on the banks of the Ganga, Rama is so moved by his love for himself that he begins to love him as if he were a blood-brother. And so ,when Guha desires to accompany him southward and serve him all the fourteen years of his exile, he addresses to him these feeling words :

' Thou art dear to me as life : and this my brother Is brother to thee as well, and this fair one Is kin to thee ; and all the sea-girt earth Is thine of right whilst I adventure on, Thy duties doing. Happiness comes to us Alone in the wake of misery. Grieve not Therefore that now we part : we were but four Before : to-day with thee we're brothers five Attached one t'another with loving bonds. Lakshman, thy brother, is here to suffer all

For me

Thy other brother Bharat is there to guard

Our kindred in the north ; now tell me who

But thee can guard our kindred here ? Thy men,

Are not they mine ? Then stay thou here and watch

O'er them till I return. ' 2

Such was the depth of Rama's affection for Guha that Sita in her lonely stay at the Ashoka grove would go into raptures when she remembered,

how Rama said to Guha, humble forester as he was,

' Lakshmana is thy own brother, and Sita here is brother's

wife to thee ! '

Two others Rama loved with the same kind of brotherly

1 II i 38. 2 II vi 68-71.

52 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

affection — Sugriva, whom he swore to avenge as soon as he heard that his elder brother Vali was hounding him, and Vibhishana, who was disgusted at the conduct of his own brother Ravana in refusing to send back Sita, and who had come to Rama as a refugee from Lanka. So, when he crowns Vibhishana as King of Lanka, he tells him,

' When Guha joined us on Ganga's banks,

I counted myself blessed with brothers four :

Sugriv to me a fifth did add ; and now

With thee we are become sev'n loving brothers.

Blest verily is father Dasharath :

One son he banished to the forests wild,

But sons on sons do grow on him, and bless

His royal name.' 1

Towards Bharata and Lakshmana and Hanuman, Rama's affection grows into a tenderer plant. We have referred to Rama's grief at seeing Bharata coming to the Chitrakuta hill clad in hermit's weeds. He has few occasions to exhibit his love for him in the course of his wanderings in the forest and the war with the Rakshasas. But Bharata is never absent from his heart even for a single moment. And the memory of his sublime nature was one of the most dearly prized companions of his lonely thoughts. For when he sends a message through Sumantra to Ayodhya from the threshold of the jungle country, he asks him to request Vasishtha on his behalf to console Bharata in his grief when he should hear of his exile, and asks him also to tell Bharata not to be angry with his mother for having brought about his banishment. When Lakshmana, seeing Bharata approach towards where Rama was on the Chitrakuta hill, charges him with desiring to kill Rama, Rama expostulates with him and says,

' It is thy love to me, brother, that makes thee blind to Bharata's virtues. I regard the Vedas themselves as no more than commentaries on Bharata's life. Is it the part of wisdom not to see that it is his love for me that draws him here and that he must be coming here to offer me the crown ?...." Can'st thou suspect thus our Bharata, the touchstone of" honour, the very God of supreme Virtue ? ' 2 How near Bharata was to Rama's heart is shown in a more pointed manner by the poet when he describes the single combat.

1 VI iv 146. 2 II xii 44, ,45.

RAMA 53

of Vali and Sugriva. As Sugriva and Vali were wrestling with each other, Lakshmana spoke to Rama condemning the conduct of Sugriva in having invited him to kill his own brother. But Rama said,

' If all

Were 'like in their devotion to their brothers, How can my' Bharata be placed the first I' th' list of loyal brothers ? ' l

The reader will not fail to notice the veiled blow aimed at Lakshmana himself 2 who must have been proud, and not without reason, of his unwavering loyalty to his brother Rama. This veiled cut at Lakshmana by praising Bharata. is suggested by Valmiki himself, but he introduces that sentiment at the time when Rama is consulting his council as to whether they should admit Vibhishana into their camp as an ally. And Valmiki makes Rama say there — and Rama is addressing both Sugriva and Lakshmana at the time — ,

' Not all brothers, child, are like Bharata, nor all sons like myself ! '

This snub is more cruel being administered in the presence of others — though friends — while the self-praise takes away something from the character of Rama. The situation that Kamban has chosen for the expression of the sentiment, and the .suppression of the self-praise show him once again the grand connoisseur as well as artist that he is.

But the superior praise given by Rama to Bharata does not mean that he loves Lakshmana less. In fact, how could he love anybody more than his inseparable companion who had left all and was suffering all for his sake ? We have referred to Rama's feelings when he saw Lakshmana building him his cottage and also when Lakshmana was brought down by the Naga-pasha of Indrajit. We may say that Rama regarded him as his own child. For did not Sumitra tell Lakshmana in his own presence that he should look upon Rama as a father ? And was not Lakshmana doing him every service that a son does to his father ?

i IV v 34.

2 For if Lakshmana suffered all for Rama, was he not unkind to his 'Other brother Bharata? >

54 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

And so Rama heaps on him all his tenderest epithets — but almost always in his absence. Thus when he finds that what Lakshmana had forewarned him of had come true, namely, that the golden deer was not really a deer but a Rakshasa in disguise, he exclaims to himself,

' Ah, wise, verily wise is my dear child, the life of my

life, the soul of my very soul ! '

So also when Lakshmana was way-laid by Ajomukhi and did not come back in time, Rama went out in search of him in the forest and gave vent to his love and anxiety for him in these- words :

' Still he is not come back, the dearest part

Of my life. Alas, has he sunk 'neath the load

Of my great grief ? Eyes have I none but him

To lead me on in this dark wood. How then

Can I with bleeding heart the jungle scan

And find out if he lives ? O Lakshmana !

My only staff in life ! hast thou the heart

To hide thy face from me ? Hear'st thou, my child ?

Hard verily is thy heart !

' Sit just to make me roam in search of thee

As well, my fearless lion, who left thy all

And followed me ? ' 1

We shall give one final extract from our poet to illustrate- Rama's affection for Lakshmana. When Lakshmana went to- fight his last battle with Indrajit, Rama did not accompany him but remained in the camp awaiting the result. And this is how Kamban describes his feelings during Lakshmana's absence :

He waited on with an anxious, tortured heart, To himself oft repeating, ' sure, he will Conquer the guileful Rakshasa,' and praying ' May Dharma be an armour to my brother ! '

And keeping e'er his eyes fixed on the way

His brother would come, ev'n as good Bharata In hermit's robes with many a prayer was Awaiting him, at length he saw the march Triumphal of his brother towards the camp. 2

1 HI ix 63, 67, 68, 71. 2 VI xxvii 64. >

RAMA 55

The sight drew tears from Rama's eyes. And this is how the poet comments upon it :

The tears that flowed from Rama's lotus eyes When he his brother's form descried, were they The liquid stream of love ? or were they tears Induced by painful memories of the past ? Or were they tears of joy ? Or were they but The tokens of His mercy infinite ? 1

The affection of Rama to Hanuman is the affection of a great Guru to a great disciple. He honours the learning and wisdom and physical strength of the great Vanara. But this respect is» warmed by personal affection which arose at the very first sight of him, and grew stronger by every day that passed. It is to him that Rama entrusts his signet ring and his most intimate message to Sita, at the time that he sends the Vanara host in search of her. It is to him that he entrusts the ring once again, this time in order to prevent Bharata from falling into the fire. It is him that he keeps by his side as his constant companion and friend, and it is on his joyfully offered shoulders that he rides during his great battles with the Rakshasas.

If we say that Rama was all affection for Guha, Sugriva and Vibhishana, and that he loved Hanuman, Lakshmana and Bharata, how shall we describe his love for the beautiful, the holy, the all-suffering Sita ? It was an all-absorbing love, was his love for his incomparable spouse. The great composer of South India, Thiyagayya, says that Rama's love for Sita was as unique as his loyalty to his pledged word and his skill in archery. 2 That love adds new nerve to his lion-like strength at Janaka's court, because,

The massive bow that like the Meru hill Before him lay, he lightly lifted up As if it were the wedding garland bright For his beloved ! 3

That love makes him distractedly apostrophise the moon and Manmatha 4 on the night previous to the Svayamvara of Sita. And that same intense love makes him rave like a

i VI xxvii 65.

2 Oka mata, oka banamu, oka patni ! One his word, one his arrow's aim, and one his beloved spouse.

3 I xii 33. * The God of Love.

56 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

mad man when he loses her, and fall down like a lightning-struck sal tree when he hears that she has just been murdered by Indrajit.

Kamban does not describe any entrancing love scenes between Rama and Sita. He makes them first speak to each other only when Rama desires to take leave of Sita at the time of starting for the forest. There is a world of suggestion in their words of their happy domestic life, and it is generally by suggestion that Kamban speaks of the ineffable love that they bear towards each other. Thus while walking towards the country watered by the Ganga, Rama and Sita enjoy in each other's company the delightful sights of rural nature. They see the swans sporting with each other in the distance. Sita sees her lord's feet mock the lotuses in freshness of colour and beauty of shape. The blue lotus luxuriantly growing in the brooks puts Rama in mind of the soft eyes of his beloved Sita. The lake banks where sleep the royal swans, the sand dunes in the open country, the groves full of young trees and smiling flowers, and the great Ganga herself delight their hearts and add romance to their ever deepening love. They bathe together in the holy Ganga. They enjoy together the wild beauties of the forest, and it is there that Rama's words become more and more tender towards Sita. She is Arundhati * to him and sweeter than ambrosia. She is his unpaintable beauty. She is to him the amrit that rose at the churning of the Milk Ocean. She is the sweet-singing Jcoil bird fairer than the dancing peacock. She is his light, and the life of womanhood itself. She is the fair one that could teach virtue to Arundhati's self. She is the one the very thought of whom is ambrosia to him.

Rama's passionate love for Sita appears most when, at the time of giving his final instructions to Hanuman just before the Vanaras were sent all over the earth to search for Sita, he dwells with delight upon the beauty of her form, and calls to mind the little telling incidents of their married and pre-marriage days. Thus he tells Hanuman,

" Even the lotus has its petals pale, The moon has got its spot, and where is form Of any kind without the slightest fault ? -• - 'But thou wilt see no imperfection mar

Her shapely form. Great Brahma made the flute

1 The wife of Vashistha held up to all womankind as the ideal of wifely virtues and womanly chastity,

RAMA 57

And vina, parrots, koils, and children's babble,

And then he coped all sweetness with her voice :

But nought could he create to parallel

Her speech and tone ; and can he e'er succeed

Jf he should try ev'n now for all his life ?

Though earth and heaven should search to find its like

,What can approach amrit l in taste ? And what

Can e'er compare with the sweetness of her speech ?

Thou think'st of honey and amrit : but can

They e'er delight the ear ?

Remind her that our eyes did first commingle

When I a stranger came to Mith'la town,

The while she stood beside the dovecot fair

In her virgin bower. Recall again to her

How I beheld her form, like a lightning young,

And full of grace, at Jan'ka's palace hall.

Tell her I call to mind her great resolve,

When I the bow of Shiva broke in two,

To end herself if I should other prove

Than whom she saw with holy Kaushika.

Recall to her my words, when she resolved

To follow me to wilds unseen before :

I said, ' O Sita, thou wert a fount of joy

To me till now : but now thou wilt become

The source of griefs innumerable if thou

Persist in thy desire.' And she replied

With tears in her eyes, ' when thou dost leave

Thy crown, and take thyself to forest life,

O love, is everything supportable

By thee excepting only me ? ' And last

Remind her how, when we had barely passed

The gates of Oudh, she stopped and asked, ' Where is

The forest boundless in expanse ? Are we

Arrived in it ? ' " 2

How deep, how tender, how loyal must be the love that could treasure up in its heart, and dwell with intense delight upon such incidents as these ?

So when, with the -aid of her magical powers, Shurpanakha .takes the shape of a woman of entrancing beauty and approaches

i The immortal drink of the gods, •a IV x 60, 62, 63, 67-72.

58 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

him with lustful intentions, Rama merely exclaims, ' where is the- limit to beauty of shape ? ', but his heart is absolutely untouched. As the meeting with Shurpanakha brings into prominence the unshakeable loyalty of Rama's love for Sita, we translate the- scene and give it below almost in extenso :

And the daughter of duplicity approached, full of sweet speech, her feet shapely and soft as the fresh red lotus and leaf-buds, her appearance recalling to mind the tender creeper and the swan and the young peacock.

The Goddess of the golden lotus herself would yield to- her in beauty ; her face gleamed with the light of her lance-like eyes ; and she was like lightning descending from the skies.

Her form had the grace of the Kalpaka creeper ; her words breathed tenderness and love ; she walked on like a gay peacock, but her eyes she took from the young fawn.

Her anklets and her belt-bells, her gold garlands and the bees buzzing about the flowers in her hair-, announced that a fair one was approaching, and Rama turned his eyes in that direction.

She came like softest ambrosia which the Devas were delighted to offer and with her waist a little bent under the weight of her superb bust, and He who in His mercy openefh the eyes of wisdom to His devotees 1 now saw her before his eyes.

He saw that melting form, the like of which was not to be found in Svarga or the earth or the world beneath, and thought within himself, ' Who can confine the Spirit of Beauty ? Where is the limit to beauty of shape ? '

And she that was full of desire put into her expression all the charm she could command, joined her hands together in salute, lightly brandished the lances of her fascinating eyes, and softly stepped aside like a young fawn. 2 After preliminary inquiries, in reply to which she says that she is the sister of Kubera and Ravana, Rama asks her what she- wants of him, and then the colloquy continues thus :

' It's hard for fair ones nobly born to speak

The love that burns their hearts : alas for me,

My life doth ebb away and there is none

To help me here. What can I in this plight, '

' 8«na 8 III v 31-37.

RAMA 59

Save speak to thee in boldness all I feel ?

I pray thee, save me from the cruel darts

That Manmath aims at me ! ' Thus boldly she

Her bad and lust-filled heart laid bare, the while

Her lightning glances did her tale confirm,

Whereat Kausalya's son thought in his heart,

' No shame has she, and evil is her mind.'

She did not see his thoughts, and once again

Began : ' I knew not until now that thou

Wert here : and so my time and youth were lost

In service done to hermits deemed wise.'

Quoth Ram, ' The Shastras do such unions

Condemn as thou desirest : for thou com'st

Of Brahman stock, and I am Kshatriya born.'

' If this is all thou urg'st,' said Shurp'nakha

' I die not yet ; for though my father was

Brahman, mother was a Rakshas queen.'

He heard the lustful Rakshasi : the shade

Of a budding smile suffused his lotus lips

While thus he spoke : ' The wise declare that men

Should not damsel wed of Rakshas birth.'

' What fool I was to say,' thought Shurp'nakha,

' That I was Ravana's sister ! ' Then aloud

Quoth she, ' As fruit of great austerities

I have my shameful Rakshas birth cast off,

And God has blessed me with this comely form.'

To her, thus He whom Vedas themselves find

For e'er to be beyond their utmost depth :

' If thou art sister to the sovereign,

As thou dost say, of all the worlds, and if

Thy other brother is Ruber, afraid

Am I to marry thee unless they give

Thee 'way in solemn f orm ! ' ' But know'st not thou,'

Persisted she, ' Gandharva rites are fixed

For those like us whom mutual love has joined ?

When thus our love is sanctified, my brothers

Will gladly welcome thee. Now they make war

On holy men ; and full of sin and rage

Are they ; unaided thou shouldst not approach

To where they are. When I shall make thee king

Of earth and heaven, then will they come and serve

And clasp thy lotus feet.' Ram laughed aloud,

And said, * with thee as wife, and Rakshas hosts

-<50 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

As friends, with all the endless wealth that comes To me with thee, am I not blest indeed ? ' *

Although she saw that Rama was mocking at her, she did not give up hope. And so, as Sita approached Rama just at the moment, she thought that she might be just another woman like herself who was come to Rama with intentions similar to her own, and she warned him against her saying that she, Sita, was a man-eating Rakshasi disguised. But when Sita nestled herself in Rama's breast for fear of herself, and when Rama bid her go away and went into his cottage accompanied by Sita who was still clinging to him,

She was like one struck dumb, her life was fled.

Her breath stopped short, nor knew she where she was

Or what she thought. But jealous thoughts soon rose

And agitated once again her breast.

And then she slowly said within herself,

Deep verily is his love for her ! 2

That was Rama's love for Sita, a deep abiding love, which charms, the most fascinating, could not for a moment alter.

It was his excessive love for her that made him disregard Lakshmana's warning and go after the golden deer himself, and thus sow the seed of endless misery to himself as well as to Sita. For when Lakshmana offered, as the best of a bad bargain, to hunt the deer and bring it himself,

Pouting her ambrosia-dropping ruby lips,

Like a sweet-tongued parrot young she lisped, ' Then, thou

Wouldst not thyself pursue and capture him

For me ? ', and left him with tears flowing down

Her cheeks. But Rama could not bear to see

Her in a pet, and said, ' My golden love,

Behold I myself go and I shall bring

Him in a trice.' 3

So saying he asked Lakshmana to guard Sita in his absence And hurried after the golden deer.

i III v 45-56.

z III v 70. Aiyer follows a different reading of the 3rd line of the -original poem.

3 III vii 237, 238.

RAMA 61

Again when he returned from his fruitless hunt and found not Sita, he was

like the soul that had left the body for a while and returning on its way finds it not in its place and mourns its loss. He was like one whose all was swallowed up by the earth and who had nothing else to call his own. 1 The depth of Rama's love is again described by Hanuman to Sita at the Ashoka grove when he tells her how Rama was grieving for her. One stanza must suffice for us. He says,

' I bless thee, mother, for I have found out at last the secret spring of Rama's life. Thou hast not quitted his heart and that is why he liveth yet. And where hath he a life to part with, when thou his life art here ? ' 2 It is this same intense love that makes Rama's heart thrill at the sight of the jewel that Sita sends him through Hanuman. Says the poet,

He was like a man changed. When the jewel was placed in his hands, his feelings were even as on the day when first before the holy fire he clasped her hand.

His hair stood on end ; tears flowed freely from his eyes ; there was a tremor in his arms and chest ; sweat drops suffused his whole body ; he breathed heavily ; his body swelled with joy. Oh, who can tell all that passed in his heart ? 3

There is a blot in Rama's love, but of that we shall speak when we come to Sita. Now we shall close the study of Rama's character with an examination of his valour, his magnanimity, and his loyalty to his pledged word.

Rama is the ideal hero of India. The great poet Bana gave the drama of Rama's life that he wrote, the name of Mahaviracharitra — the life of the Great Hero. Shri Krishna, when he is describing his own glories as the Supreme One in the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, gives Rama the first place among warriors. He says, " RSmah shastra bhrtcim aham" — among those skilled in the handling of weapons of war know me to be Rama. And Kamban's description of Rama's valour and exploits rises fully to the height of such a grand conception.

Indeed, in a way, the whole story of Rama's life in our epic is a story of heroic deeds and valiant fights. Even while he was very young, the fame of his strength had spread far and wide, and the Rishi Vishvamitra chose him, of all princes and heroes,

l HI viii 158. 2 V v 77. .3 V xv 82, 83.

■62 . KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

as the protector of his Yajna-bhumi. 1 And great warrior that he himself was in the days of his worldly life, Vishvamitra, supplemented the military training of Rama and Lakshmana during their sojourn with him, with his own special teaching.

Rama's skill in archery and the strength of his arm are admired by the poet at every step. Tadaka's adamantine body is pierced by one dart sped from his mighty bow. Vishvamitra cannot speak too highly or too often of his strength and skill. When Ahalya is freed from her curse by the touch of the dust fallen from his feet, Vishvamitra tells him her story and at the •end of it burst out with the following words :

' And e'en the sin of Gautam's wife has been Ordained for good : therein I see a hope For the suffering world. For in the marvellous fight With Tadaka I saw the strength of thine arm, And here I see the virtue of thy feet ! ' 2

Again at Janaka's Court, while introducing Rama, Vishvamitra ••must needs sing the praises of Rama's valour in three verses :

' Note thou, my lord, the strength of the beautifully long and muscular arms of this manly boy, who is dark even as the ocean with its incessant roaring breakers : it was but one arrow of his, but it pierced the heart of Tadaka of the flaming eyes, and after piercing her heart tore through the rocks, and the trees, and the solid earth itself.

' Endless were the heads of the Rakshasas that fell that day and were piled one over another like hills on hills. One arrow of his sent one of the Rakshasi's sons to the other world : I know not what became of her other son ; but thou seest that my yajna is completed and I am here.

' Again, O king, behold the weapons which I taught him

to use — weapons that Brahma himself will not find it easy

to handle. Think of it, even I who taught him their use;

am astonished at the way that they obey his will and arm.' 3

Kamban generally takes care that Rama does not boast about

his prowess himself. But there are occasions when Rama cannot

but speak of his strength and power himself. For instance, when

he hears from Jatayus' lips that Ravana has carried away Sita,

■he bursts out into a terrible wrath and threatens the whole world

with destruction. Kamban describes his wrath in these words :

i Sacrificial ground. 2 I ix 82. 3 I xi 26-28.

RAMA 63

He scarce had spoke when rushed the blood at once

To Rama's eyes ; a storm was in his breath ;

A frown settled on his manly brow ; the spheres

In terror shook ; the stars their orbits fled ! . . . .

The worlds lay crouching lest his sudden wrath

Should burst on them ; when with a smile that meant

Destruction dire, he thus addressed the bird : *

' Behold the world on its stable axis moves

And gods unmoved look on, while in their sight

A Rakshas carries off a helpless dame,

And thou art mangled thus in her defence !

I will destroy them all in one single ruin.

The stars shall scattering fall ! The sun shall burst !

The void of heaven shall shimmer with the light

Of burning spheres ! And water, air, and fire

And all that lives and moves shall soon dissolve

To their embryon atoms ! And my wrath shall end

The gods themselves in heaven. And thou wilt see

The circling universe and all that lies

Beyond, burst like a bubble in the stream ! ' 2

When, after the rainy season is over, Sugriva does not bring his Vanara host according to his stipulation in order to begin the search for Sita, Rama sends Lakshmana to Kishkinda, the capital of Sugriva, with the following threat :

' Tell him,' said Rama, ' that the bow which We Have bent to 'stablish Righteousness, and end All evil ones, unbroken yet doth rest In Our hands ; and let him know that Yam 3 has not Yet ceased to work, nor We to handle darts ! 4

When Ravana's spies are caught and are brought before him, he bids them tell Ravana that he would destroy him, even if Rudra and Vishnu and all that live in all the worlds come and help him, and that he would pacify the spirit of Jatayus by sacrificing to it in the blood of his adversary.

When at the close of the first day's battle Ravana's bows and chariots are destroyed, and he stands alone, unarmed, with all his army annihilated, Rama addresses him some stinging words

1 Jatayus. 2 m vaii 201, 203-206.

3 Yama is the God of Death. * IV viii 4.

M KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

wherein he speaks of his own prowess. Here are some of his words :

' Know thou the gods themselves with all their might

Win not if unjust is their cause. Thou hadst

This very day been dead, did not I stay

My arm for pity sake, because thou stand'st

Helpless, alone, upon the field. If canst,

To-morrow bring the flower of thy troops,

Or seek in flight precarious safety. Listen !

If thou send Sita back, and Svarga's throne

Restore to Indra, and Vibhishan crown

As Lanka's king, thyself his will obeying,

Then I my deadly arrows shall withhold.

But if, perverse, in thy evil thou persist,

Bring all thy strength and face me on the field.

Thy evil soul might turn to good if thou

Should even die by my darts. But think no more

Thou canst return alive from here.' *

But such passages where Rama himself speaks of his prowess are comparatively rare. The reader gets an idea of Rama's valour much more from the lips of the other characters and Rama's acts of heroism on the field than from Rama's speeches. The reader will remember Ravana's description of his first battle with Rama. The terrible Parashu Rama when he sees him bend with ease the bow with which he challenged him, bows down his head in acknowledgment of defeat and says,

' I doubt not now that thou art Vishnu's self ! Saved is the earth from all her ills, for ev'n The bow I gave thee now cannot suffice For thy lion strength ! ' 2

The invincible Vali, as the reader will find in Chapter XI, speaks of Rama's valour in no measured terms. And it is his valour more than anything else that binds the mighty Hanuman and Sugriva to his cause and to himself for ever. And

it humbled Ravan's pride :

No further proof thou need'st of Rama's valour. 3

1 VI xiv 252-255. 2 I xxii 38.

3 See page 20. We do not describe in this chapter the exploits of Rama in detail, as we reserve them for the chapters dealing with the Rakshasas, and especially his great adversary Ravana.

RAMA 95

If Rama's valour is great and unique, his magnanimity is greater and still more unique. We have, seen how he abstained from further attacking Ravana when he stood defenceless and unarmed on the field of battle. Even while he was a mere youth, his chivalrous instincts were so delicate that he would not aim his arrow against Tadaka because she was a woman, and Vishvamitra had to persuade him hard to attack her, reminding him of her violence against all things living that came within her reach. The reader will remember that he entertains no rancour against Kaikeyi for bringing about his exile. When his father descends from svarga and embraces him on the battle-field in Lanka at the time of Sita's sacrifice, the one boon that he asks of him is to call back the curse which he had pronounced while still in the land of the living against Kaikeyi and Bharata. This is how our poet presents the colloquy between father and son :

Thus Ram his father tenderly addressed :

' When thou wert here below, O father mine,

Thou didst abjure my mother Kaikeyi

And Bharata thy lawful son : grant me

To-day that she may once again be mother

To me, and he my brother as ever before. '

' I grant ', said Dasharath, ' that guiltless Bharat

Be once again thy brother : but the sinful she,'

(And the hands that held his Rama to his heart

Fell limp, the while he spake these vengeful words)

' The heartless one that robbed thee of thy crown

And made thee wear these hermits' weeds, shall not

Escape my curse ! ' The pure one thus replied :

' The sin was not my mother's, but rather mine,

That I saw not the kingly office is

The pregnant source of endless sins and crimes,

And at thy bidding undertook to rule

Ayodhya, thyself living. Once again,

Therefore, let me plead with thee, call back that curse.' 1

And when Ravana had fallen in battle, Rama does not, like Achilles, war with the dead, but directs Vibhishana to perform his obsequies with all traditional rites, saying — and how nobly — ,

Although his evil has cleaved our heart in twain, Let us forgive ! 2

1 VI xxxvii 129-131. 2 VI xxxvi 216.

5

66 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

It is this magnanimity — greatness of soul — which makes him the Supreme Sharanagata Vatsala, the lover of the suppliant refugee. He is ever waiting with open arms to receive with love all, no matter who or what they may be, and whatever the injuries they may have done to him, if, relying upon nothing else, they take refuge in him. It is this large heart that embraces all, forgives all, receives all, that has endeared his name to all the children of Hindusthan from generation to generation. And it is this same grandeur of soul that has raised him from the position of an ordinary emperor to that of the hero of the great national epic of Bharata Khanda, l and from the position of the epic hero to very godhood. We shall give here some of the best instances of the display by him of this grand quality.

When on his entrance into the forest, the Rishis pray to him to protect them against the Rakshasas, Rama offers to them unhesitatingly his abhaya, 2 and says,

If they surrender not, My darts will bring them down e'en if they flee

To other worlds !

What use is life to me,

If I end not the sinners that oppress

Brahmans of holy vows ?

Whoso his life

Does sacrifice for saving Brahmans, cows, Or feeble ones, aye whoso sacrifices His life for saving other life, behold He's worshipped by the gods ! 3

Although Indra's son had injured Sita disguising himself as a crow, and although he himself had aimed against him in his anger his death-dealing astra, he yet pardons him when he falls at his feet and prays for protection. When Sugriva approaches him, worn, weak, oppressed, and hunted by his great brother, Vali, and he hears his (Sugriva's) story from the mouth of Hanuman, he at once swears, careless of all consequences, that he would destroy Vali and place Sugriva on the vacant throne. When Vali charges him with attacking him unawares, Rama repeats to him the vow that he had taken :

1 The continent of Bharat — India.

2 Protection, — literally, immunity from fear.

3 III iii 17, 19, 21.

RAMA 67

' It is my ever-pressing vow to help

Th' oppressed, the poor, and those forlorn 1 . . . '

When Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana, comes to Rama's •camp as a refugee from the wrath of his brother, Rama consults the Vanara Council as to whether they should admit him as a friend or no. Differences of opinion naturally arise, among which the most interesting is that of Sugriva who forgets his own past record and opposes the admission of Vibhishana on the ground of his treachery to his own brother. But, after hearing all of them, Rama finally accepts the opinion of Hanuman, giving expression Jit the same time to the following grand sentiments :

' Let there be victory, let be defeat,

I cast not out the man that refuge takes

In me. Why speak of this Vibhishana ?

Let come to me as suppliant the man

Whose cruel hands my parents, brothers, friends,

Had done to death. If leaving all other hope

He comes to me, himself surrendering,

Thenceforth he is my brother, lover, friend !

Ev'n if he does prove false, my glory nev'r

Would be eclipsed : 'twill only burn more bright.' 2

He is ready even to forgive Ravana if he would come back to virtue and wholly surrender himself to him. For, does not Jndrajit himself say to his father,

' If thou wilt cease desiring Janaki,

Their 3 wrath will cool, and they will go from hence

Forgiving us our evil ways.' 4

Such is the grandeur of soul of this supreme hero !

We need not expatiate much on Rama's loyalty to his pledged word, because the whole story is hinged and motived on that loyalty. But we should not forget that Rama gives as much respect to the promise forcibly exacted by his step-mother from his father as he gives to his own pledged word. When Kausalya prays him not to leave her, he silences her by saying that he should not make his father's spoken word a lie. So he would not go back to Ayodhya even after his father's death, and even though

1 IV vii 102. 2 VI iv 108, 109.

3 Rama's and Lakshmana's. * VI xxvii 6.

68 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Bharata himself places the crown at his feet. He would not have- been the hero that he is, if he had listened to Bharata and if he had taken back the crown that he offered to return. Satyasankalpa l , and Dridhavrata 2 , these are the titles that he loves most, and these titles no hero in story or in life deserves in an equal degree with Rama.

With this we shall close the study of Rama's character. Not that we have exhaustively described or even mentioned all the fine traits in the character of this great hero. We can write about the delicate way in which he manages his friends and allies. For, he always knows, as if by instinct, what to say to each and when to say. For instance, when he accepts Hanuman's opinion regarding the admission of Vibhishana, he makes the rest of the Vanaras also accept the opinion cheerfully by saying,

' But for your excess of prudent care for me, would not every one of you have told me yourselves that we should unhesitatingly take unto ourselves the suppliant Rakshasa ? ' 3 And look at the delicacy with which, after removing from Sugriva's mind the sense of his defeat in debate by the preceding words, he asks him to go and bring him the Rakshasa chief.

We can also write much about the great respect he always. shows to his elders, how even when he is obliged to contradict or disobey them, as, for example, when Vasishtha reiterates and supports Bharata's request to him to return to Ayodhya, he makes them feel that he does not abate one jot from the reverence that he owes them. We can write about his uniform kindness and ready accessibility even to the lowest of the low. But, all this is unnecessary. We hope, we have given the reader sufficient material to form an adequate mental picture of the Rama of Kamban, and we hope that this will create in him a desire to study the poet in his own words and enjoy the entire picture with all its details filled in.

And where, is Rama's like or superior in epic story ? Can we name Nestor along with him ? Can we name Ulysses ? Can we name the pious ^neas ? Can we name Yudhishthira or Bhishma ? Can we name along with him even the Messiah of the Paradise Lost or Him of the Paradise Regained ? We think every one of these falls short by many an inch of the stature of

i He whose one dynamic motive is truth.

2 He who never gives up a worthy resolution.

3 VI iv 120.

RAMA 69

pur Rama. Rama has the valour of Achilles, but is free from the littleness that would, for instance, conjure Jove to hurl the Greeks, his own countrymen,

headlong to their fleet and main,

To heap the shores with copious death and bring The Greeks to know the curse of such a King.

Rama has the dignity of Nestor and the cleverness and the skill of Ulysses, but Nestor lacks the fire and delicate moral sensibility, and Ulysses the straightness, of the Prachanda Kodhanda Rama 1 who will go through fire rather than go back upon his pledged word. The Messiah is not worked up by Milton with the same power with which he has worked up his Satan and Beelzebub or Adam and Eve, and his figure does not leave a lasting impression upon the readers' imagination as does the figure of Satan ; and there is a shadowiness about him which takes away a great deal from him, though as literary creations they impress the reader with no less force than the character of our hero.

In fact, Valmiki searched long for an ideal hero whose achievements he could work out into a Mahakavya, and Narada suggested to him the name of Shri Rama as the proper subject for his contemplated poem. And, grandly has Valmiki exalted and idealised the character of the great hero. But if Valmiki's Rama is grand, Kamban's Rama is, as we have remarked before, grander still. Kamban would leave no littleness, no crookedness, no commonness, in his hero.

If Kamban's Rama admits Vibhishana into his friendship, he would not immediately question him about the defences of Lanka, so as to give the impression, as Valmiki's hero does, that he took him primarily for his usefulness as Lanka's traitor. When Viradha lifts Sita up in order to carry her off, Valmiki's Rama laments in these words :

' O my Lakshmana, the intentions of Kaikeyi towards us, the object with which she claimed and obtained her prayer, the desire nearest to her heart — have all been very quickly fulfilled today. For, far-sighted woman that she is, she was not satisfied merely with obtaining the crown for her son ; she took care to banish me to the forest also— me who have the good of all beings at heart. Behold, today my step-mother's heart must be verily delighted ! '

i Rama of the terrific bow called Kodhanda.

TO KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Again, when Sita has been actually carried off by Ravana^ Valmiki makes his Rama say to Lakshmana :

' When I am dead for the sake of Sita, and when thou

art gone, would not Kaikeyi's heart be full of joy ? And

would not holy Kausalya, the mother bereaved of her son,

have to wait on Kaikeyi who has her son living and who has

everything that she desires in the world ? '

But the thoughts of Kamban's Rama, as we have remarked

in another connection, never descend to this weak accusation of

Kaikeyi. They are always pitched in a higher key. Never from

his lips fall any words that condemn Kaikeyi who has done him

so much injury — not even when the worst misfortunes befall him.

Valmiki again, makes his Sita, while at Ashokavana, to

apostrophise Rama and say,

' Perhaps, thy father's hard commands fulfilled, Thou art returned to fair Ayodh ; and there Perhaps, thy vows performed, thou fearless sport'st With large-eyed virgins young.' But Kamban's Rama is too grand to be capable of being suspected thus by his beloved Sita. For the thoughts of Kamban's Sita, while she is in this mood, would only take this. line :

' Perchance his brothers and mothers, have they come Again, and called him back to lovely Oudh ? But he would ne'er return, the while the days To Kaikeyi vowed unfulfilled yet remain. Alas, has any ill befallen him ? ' :

We may go on multiplying instances without end to show to how great a height Kamban has raised the character of Rama, But we hope that even the most partial admirer of Valmiki will be satisfied with the extracts that we have given from our poet, and will accept our contention that Kamban's Rama is cast in a grander mould than Valmiki's hero. And if he is superior to- Valmiki's hero, is he not Mahavira indeed, — the grandest among the heroes of epic poetry ?

» V iii 17.

CHAPTER VII LAKSHMANA

HIS CHARACTER AND HIS FIRST BATTLES WITH INDRAJIT.

In this chapter, -we take up the study of the character and exploits of Lakshmana, the brother and inseparable companion of Rama. Lakshmana has identified himself so much with Rama that the devotees of Rama in the Tamil-land delight to call him by the name of ' younger lord '. His valour is equal to that of Rama himself, for he is able to bring down ' the first ' of those that wield the bended bow, namely, Indrajit, the son of Ravana, But the mainspring of his character is not valour or heroism, though he possesses these qualities to a wonderful degree, but love — an all-absorbing, self-forgetting love — for his brother, the chief of his race and the first of men.

We do not see much of him in the First Book. He, of course, accompanies Rama to the forest when Vishvamitra takes Rama to guard his sacrificial grounds against Tadaka and her host. He is perfected in his knowledge of archery by the old Rishi who teaches him along with Rama the method of invoking magical weapons. He marries a daughter of Janaka at Mithila. But, generally speaking, he is but the shadow of Rama all through the Balakanda of the Ramayana.

His character, however, unfolds itself rapidly in the Second Book of the poem. He accompanies Rama to the Durbar Hall when their father sends for the latter, and is present when Dasharatha announces to Rama his intention to crown him as sovereign of Ayodhya. But when the next morning Kaikeyi sends suddenly for Rama, Lakshmana does not go with him, and so is ignorant of the new developments that are taking place. The news, however, is not long in reaching him, and when he hears that his beloved brother is being deprived of his rightful crown by the machinations of his step-mother, his whole frame throbs with uncontrollable anger, and he starts for fight like a cobra provoked. Says the poet,

When Lakshman learnt that Kaikai had the pledge Revoked of Dasharatha, and forced exile On Ram, he rose indignant like the fire That doth on Dissolution's Day all things

72 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Consume. His eyes shot flame ; his front shone bright

Like noon-day sun, and scorched his very hair ;

And sweat suffused his limbs ; his breath came in

And went tempestuous ; and terrific

He looked like Adi Shesh 1 himself, in all

His fury roused ! 2

When he grasped the full significance of the news that reached his ears, he laughed aloud saying,

' Doth she desire to give to a dog the meat prepared for

a lion-cub ? Wise indeed is Kaikeyi ! ' 3

He put on his armour, girded on his sword, and took his bow and quiver. He wore on his ankle the anklet worn by the invincible hero. And as he strode along the streets of Ayodhya, the fell sound of his anklet-bells rose and fell shaming the roar of the sea ; and none dared to encounter him. And he challenged all men saying,

' I stand prepared to lighten Mother Earth, Extinguish all the sons of guilt, and heap Their lifeless corpses up to heaven, and crown My Ram as Ayodh's king. Whoe'er desires To offer battle, let them come ! Be't gods Or Nagas, Vidyadhars, men or ev'n the Three Supreme who challenge me, I let no woman Usurp the throne in this my sacred land.' 4

As he was thus striding the earth like the very Meru mountain endowed with life, frowning on all around even as the burning midday sun, Rama heard the twang of his bow-strings the while he was consoling Sumitra in her grief at the sudden news of his parting. And,

His golden anklet glittering in the sun, Breathing ambrosial words, he hurried on To where his Lakshman stood : so flies the cloud To quench the wind-fanned flaming forest fire Fume- crowned. 5

1 The thousand-hooded divine cobra on the Sea of Milk, on whose lap sleeps the Supreme Narayana. Lakshmana is the avatar of Adi Shesh.

2 II iv 116. 3 n iv 117. * II iv 121, 122. » n iv 125.

LAKSHMANA 73

Rama saw him armed from head to foot and frowning against all things living, and asked him,

' Why art thou armed for battle, my Child ? Surely thou art not going to fight the gods ! n

Lakshmana replied,

' I have vowed to crown thee king, and that in the very

face of her who has murdered truth and robbed thee of thy

rightful inheritance. And even if it is the gods that stand

in the way, they all shall burn in the fire of my wrath.

When I hold the bow in this hand, even the gods will not

dare to oppose me. If any oppose, they will be but targets

for my fiery darts. And I will give thee the crown of all

the earth ! Deign to receive it at my hands.'

Rama tried to cool him by appealing to his sense of filial

obedience and generally to his sense of righteousness. But

Lakshmana did not grow calm. Burning like Rudra 2 himself

in his anger, he burst out saying,

' I know not father, mother, or lord : thyself alone art master, mother, father, all to me. Thou hast learnt to give away what is thine : now see me give back thy own to thee ! ' 3

But when Rama asked him,

' How wilt thou win the crown for me, my child ? Wouldst thou fight Bhar't the just, over-faultless, Or wouldst thou kill th' adored of virtuous men Our father ? Or wouldst thou fight our mother ? ' *

Lakshmana could only say,

' Let enemies insult thee in their pride, Meekly I'll bear it all. Am not I born To bear the burden of these idle arms And pompous bow, impotent to avenge Our injuries ? ' s

And he became, says the poet, ' even like the ocean that keeps from overflowing its bounds in obedience to the will of that same Rama.'

i II iv 126. 2 God of Destruction. 3 n iv 137.

4 II Iv 139. 5 ii iv 140.

74 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

In the few words, ' I know not father, mother or lord : thyself alone art master, mother, father, all to me, r is contained the key to the whole character of Lakshmana. He cannot bear to see his Rama suffer in any way. So, when Kaikeyi's maids bring to Rama coarse hermit's weeds to wear, Lakshmana says- to them in bitterness,

' Behold, there stands he who is born to wear All that she sends in the hardness of her heart ; And me behold, whose fate it is to look Impotently on all these rending sights ! ' 1

When Rama has put on those coarse garments, Lakshmana does not say anything but himself also silently and as a matter of course casts off his own royal robes and puts on the forest- dweller's garb. But when Rama expostulates with him and prays to him to remain in Ayodhya, his love receives a shock, and like a wounded lover he asks Rama, ' In what have I offended thee ? ' For he cannot so much as imagine how Rama could think of parting from him even when going to the forest. And then he continues thus :

' Fishes live not if waters fail ; and all

That lives must die if Mother Earth give way.

Now tell me, brother, on what do Sita's life

And mine depend

Thy words that bid me stay,.

While thou do'st Ayodh leave behind — these words Are crueller far than those that bade me calm My wrath against thy enemies. Thy wealth, And all that is thine own thou leavest here : Wouldst thou abandon also us, my brother ? ' 2

Such was Lakshmana's love for his Rama. It was now Rama's turn to yield. He saw Lakshmana's face and his own eyes filled with tears. How could he desist from tears at such words, and how could he desist from taking him with himself in his exile ?

And how Lakshmana serves his brother in the forest ! His- one study is to look after every little comfort of Rama and"

i H iv 149. a n iv 1ST, 159.

LAKSHMANA 75

guard him against all enemies known and unknown. It is he that builds the leaf-cottages wherever they move in the forest-country. It is he that gathers their food. It is he that mounts guard about the cottage while his Rama and Sita sleep undisturbed in the bed that he has lovingly made for them.

Guha sobs aloud when he sees the devotion of Lakshmana in watching, bow in hand, over Rama and Sita the livelong night. And Rama himself when he asks him to crown Vibhishana as king of Lanka, addresses him as ' my child of the sleep- forswearing eye,' and shows how the thought of all that his brother suffers for him is never absent from his heart.

Now this intense love for Rama makes Lakshmana regard as his own mortal enemies all who have injured Rama. He never stops to inquire whether they have actually injured him. It is sufficient if he believes that they have injured, or even suspects them to have injured Rama. This passion of hatred clouds his mind in all that concerns Kaikeyi and those connected with her. So, when Sumantra after carrying in his chariot Rama, Lakshmana and Sita to the forest takes leave of them, and asks them if they have any word to send home, Lakshmana for his part sends this message. He says,

" Have I a message too for him, as if

He were my king, who promised first the crown

To Ram, and then in the sacred name of truth

Resigned the throne in favour of his queen ?

And then to Bharat proud this shalt thou say,

' Behold, Saumitri 1 liveth yet, although

His hands unworthy failed to fight for Ram.'

And this thereunto add as if for me,

' Lakshman forsweareth kinship with the son

Of Kaikeyi.' " 2

So also, when Bharata comes to the forest accompanied by the whole population of Ayodhya in order to request Rama to return and assume the crown, Lakshmana, as soon as he espies the moving host, jumps to the conclusion that he comes with a hostile design against Rama. So he rushes into the cottage, puts on his armour, makes ready his bow and quiver, and thus unburdens himself to Rama :

1 Matronymic from Sumitra, Lakshmana being Sumitra's son. a II v 43, 45.

'76 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

' Behold yon Bharata, now an out-caste to this world as he has already become an out-caste to the next ! Thou wilt see the prowess of thy brother's single right arm against him and all his hosts. Thou wilt see me destroy the troops of Bharata and make Svarga bend under the weight of quick-rushing immigrants, the while Earth is lightened of her load. Thou wilt see rivers of blood floating with thfe carcasses of his elephants and horses, and with his broken chariots flowing to the sea and making the seven oceans one . . . Thou wilt see my feathered arrows pierce the hearts of those twin-brothers 1 ; and fly through the ethereal void carrying their bleeding flesh in their beaks. By the command of the tyrant prince, who was thereto induced by his favourite queen, Bharata is now the Sovereign of the Earth : thou wilt presently see him ruling in Hell at my command ! And thou wilt soon see the guilty Kaikeyi roll oh the ground in inconsolable grief, who delighted not long ago in the tears of thy mother when thou leftest for the jungle- country ! ' 2

Such is the violence of his wrath that Rama listens quietly to all his out-pourings till they exhaust themselves, and then alone attempts to reason with him. And even then see how he begins his reply with delicate flattery :

' Do not I know, my Lakshmana, that there lives none

that can stay thy hand if thou desirest to confound even the

fourteen worlds ? But, my brother, hast thou thought that

in the long list of our glorious ancestors, there has never

been born one who ever swerved from the path of virtue ? ' 3

But, whenever it is not a question of Kaikeyi or Bharata,

Lakshmana's mind sees clear as crystal. He is in all other

matters the wisest of the wise and the wariest of the wary. His

devotion to Rama and Sita gives him a power of insight which

is denied to Rama himself. So if Sita and Rama are deceived

by the beauty of the golden deer, Lakshmana suspects treachery

even at the very first sight of him. As Sita's and Rama's

attraction for him grows greater, Lakshmana's suspicion grows

only deeper. When Rama sets out to go and capture the deer

for Sita Lakshmana warns him saying,

i Bharata and Shatrughna. Shatrughna, though the twin brother of Lakshmana, is the inseparable companion of Bharata as Lakshmana is ox .Kama.

2 II xii 30, 34, 36, 38-40.

3 II xii 42, 43.

] LAKSHMANA 77'

' If we pursue the deer, of this be sure, We'll find ourselves encompassed by the guile Of Rakshasas.' 1

But Rama will not listen to him. He replies,

'If this prove a Rakshasa disguised

He dies, and thereby I fulfil my vow ; If but a deer I capture him for Sita.' 2

Lakshmana again makes an attempt to dissuade him. He retorts,

' But . . . who is behind the veil

We know not ; this mysterious golden deer,

What he may be, we hardly care to think.

Forego therefore the hunt, my brother. For wise

Are they that have condemned the pleasures of sport.' 3

Rama laughs at his fears, but his suspicions are not allayed. He proposes that at least Rama should stay at home and that he himself would go and hunt the deer and bring him to Sita. But, as the reader knows, his wisdom and forethought are useless as Cassandra's prophesies. Sita goes into a pet, and Rama, to satisfy her, asks Lakshmana to look after Sita and starts off himself in pursuit of the magic deer and, finding the dead body of the Rakshasa in place of the deer, he exclaims to himself — but too late to be of any use — ' Ah wise, verily wise is my dear child ! '

Similarly again, when Maricha, struck down by Rama's dart, (who was the Rakshasa that had come assuming the form of the deer) groans piteously as he falls, but assuming the voice of Rama, Lakshmana is not at all deceived. He shows no anxiety for the safety of Rama. But Sita fears the very worst. She frowns at Lakshmana's coolness, and, in spite of his assurances, darts cruel words at him which force him to leave her and go on the trace of Rama's footsteps, the while his mind is tortured with the worst forebodings for Sita's safety.

When Lakshmana and Rama return together to the cottage and see not Sita, it is Lakshmana that calms Rama and suggests

1 III vii 232. 2 in vii 233. 3 m vii 234.

'78 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

that they should pursue the trace left on the ground by Ravana's car. On the way they find a flag fallen on the ground, and signs of fierce combat. When they see a number of golden crowns fallen pell-mell here and there, it is Lakshmana that suggests that Sita might have been carried off by Ravana, and that Jatayus might be engaging with him on the way. They hurry on and hear the story of Ravana's flight from the dying Vulture-King. When Jatayus dies, Rama's heart is torn with grief and he weakens for a moment. But Lakshmana brings him to himself with his heartening words.

After this we see Lakshmana again at his best in the Book of Battles. We get only little glimpses of him before the war commences. For instance, we see him maim Shurpanakha and kill Ajomuki, the Rakshasi, who like Shurpanakha sought him with lustful intent. We see him charge Sugriva with unbrotherly conduct, and receive a sharp reprimand at the hands of Rama. We see him carry Rama's angry message to Sugriva, who, in his drunken revels, forgets to come to Rama with his forces at the appointed time. We see him take the word out of Rama's mouth when Vali puts to Rama his last question, and give to Vali the plausible answer which Rama would not and could not give. 1 In all these places, however, he is only a side- actor. It is only in the Yuddha Kanda that he has the stage wholly to himself for long periods at a stretch.

Lakshmana distinguishes himself greatly in the very first fight with Ravana. The reader will remember Ravana's unstinted praise of his archery and skill in war. 2 But he falls wounded by an arrow of Ravana. Ravana attempts to take him prisoner but is unable to lift him from the ground. The hands that could lift Mount Kailasa itself, with Shiva upon it, have not the power to lift Lakshmana from the ground — such is the divine power confined in that mortal body ! But Hanuman rushes in and snatches the body of Lakshmana and carries him with ease to the camp.

On the second day when Kumbhakarna carries everything before him and bears without flinching the shock of the huge rock that Hanuman threw against him with all his force, the latter says to himself,

' Scatheless he stands the shock ! the hugest rocks Seem powerless to bend or break his adamant frame !

l See Chapter XI. 2 See Ch. XIII ; also p. 20.

LAKSHMANA 78

Saumitri's l fiery darts alone, perchance, (If mortal weapons can avail), can have The strength to pierce his giant shape. ' 2

Lakshmana, on his part, seeing the havoc that Kumbhakarna is working in the Vanara army hastens towards that part of the field and restores the fight shooting down the Rakshasas by the hundred and by the ' thousand. Seeing his skill and aim and force, Kumbhakarna exclaims,

' The God who burned the cities three alone Can rival Lakshman in the bowman's art ! ' 3

and directs his chariot against him. When Hanuman sees him come against Lakshmana, he leaps with joy saying,

' These eyes will witness now unheard of deeds Of valour,' *

and runs to Lakshmana and asks him to seat himeslf on his broad shoulders.

When Lakshmana had seated himself on the shoulders of Hanuman, Kumbhakarna challenged him, saying,

' Behold, thou art the brother of Ram, and I Am brother to mighty Ravana : and lo, The Gods assemble round to witness our deeds Of war. 'Fore them I swear that I shall cleave In twain the sacrilegious hands that dared To hold my sister by the hair and her Deformed ! ' 5

Lakshmana replied,

' Not learned in the braggart's art, we can But answer thee with th' arrows point.' s

The fight now began in right earnest. The Rakshasa shot numberless darts from his mighty bow, and Lakshmana broke

i Lakshmana's. * VI xv 230.

2 VI xv 203. 5 VI xv 234, 235.

3 VI xv 228. 6 VI xv 236.

80 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

their fury with his own arrows before they could reach him. Again Kumbhakarna sent hundreds of arrows against him. Lakshmana's swifter arrows scattered them away. Now Kumbhakarna hit Hanuman with an arrow and Lakshmana also with a couple of fierce darts. But Lakshmana, in spite of his deep wounds, bent his bow almost to a circle and shot down and destroyed Kumbhakarna's war-chariot and broke the bow in his hand. Just at that moment the reinforcements sent by Havana arrived and engaged Lakshmana leaving Kumbhakarna time to arm himself. Kumbhakarna, however, after this sought other enemies, and Lakshmana's part in this day's fight ended with the struggle with these newly arrived Rakshasas.

Kumbhakarna fell by the hand of Rama in this second day's battle. When news reached Lanka that Kumbhakarna had fallen, Atikaya, one of the three sons of Ravana, swore that he would kill Lakshmana and make Rama grieve for his brother even as Ravana was grieving for his own brother, and marched to the battle with great eclat. Vibhishana knew his strength and hinted to Rama that Lakshmana might probably be unequal to the fight. But Rama smiled at his doubts and praised Lakshmana's valour in these words :

' Ten thousand thousand Ravanas may oppose

And all the Gods, and who in other worlds

Are counted mighty ; may be Three Supreme

May try, and join their strength with theirs ; e'en then-

They can't outmatch our Lakshman's warlike skill !

Can heaven stand his deadly aim, or earth ?

Breathes there an archer who can wield the bow

As he ? What's Vishnu, Indra, Shiva, or I

Myself, before him, if he frown ? ' 1

This is the only occasion where Rama seriously praises Lakshmana in his presence.

Lakshmana did obeisance to Rama and started for the fight. The battle raged furiously. The Vanara army was pressed back by the onrush of the Rakshasas ; Lakshmana encouraged them by his voice and by the twang of his mighty bow which was

The favourite home of Yama, the God of Death.

1 VI xvii 78, 79.

LAKSHMANA 81

Elephants and cavalry, chariots and Rakshasa infantry were destroyed by the hundred thousand. Daruka and Kala, Kulisa and Kala Shanka, Malin and Marut attacked him with tridents and lances and maces. But Lakshmana's arrows broke or turned away the missiles and killed the Rakshasas in the end. In the evolutions of the battle, Lakshmana came face to face with the main wing of the army commanded by Atikaya, and did great havoc. Seeing the force of his arrows, mountains trembled and the thunder-laden clouds feared for their safety. Hanuman joined, and in the sight of Atikaya killed Devantaka with a blow of his iron fist, and challenged and killed Trishiras who came to support Atikaya. Atikaya, however, did not waste time in attacking Hanuman but went for Lakshmana straight, saying to himself,

' It is not the part of wisdom to take up another enterprise

when my first vow is unaccomplished.' x

Lakshmana seated himself now on the shoulders of Angada who followed every movement of Atikaya's chariot to the admiration of the Vanara army. After shooting down Atikaya's guards, Lakshmana addressed the Rakshasa in this wise :

' Desirest thou t' engage with me when all Thy men have met their fate or dost intend To try thy strength with me before ? The choice Is thine ! ' 2

Atikaya replied,

' Others shall watch our combat : I am seeking Alone to meet thee, though the gods may stand By thee and offer battle. Thou may'st call Thy brother to give thee aid or Shiv himself And all the gods of heaven or other worlds : And yet this day shall be thy last ! ' 3

So saying he blew his sonorous conch. But Lakshmana only smiled and said,

' Of those that thou didst name, not one will come T' engage with thee. If fall I must, I fall Alone. Tell thee this. If me thou beat. Thou wilt have conquered also them ! ' *

1 VI xii 180. 2 VI xvii 188.

3 VI xvii 189, 190. * VI xvii 191.

6

82 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

and then twanged his bow and sent an arrow laden with lightning against the chest of Atikaya. Atikaya sped first one arrow to meet it in the air and turn it off from him, and then Sent sixteen other arrows, fierce like cobras, against Lakshmana. Lakshmana cut them off with darts of equal force, pierced Atikaya's armour, and while he fainted with loss of blood chivalrously turned to another side and sowed the Rakshasa part of the battle-field with falling corpses.

When Atikaya recovered and saw the havoc played by Lakshmana's arrows, his pride was up and he sent a veritable iron-hail against him.

His arrows covered the sky and all the bounds Of heaven ; the earth, it bristled with his darts. The Vanar heroes screaming rolled, tossed by That iron-tempest .... Rocks to pieces flew Struck with the darts of mighty Atikay. 1

The sky became overcast. The sun was hidden behind a cloud of arrows. The earth trembled under the shock of missiles struggling against each other in mid-air.

The Devas, each his neighbour trembling asked,

' Is all the Vanar host to end this day ?

Has Lakshman skill and strength to master him ?

'Sit from the God of Death that Atikaya

His wondrous archery did learn ? ' 2

Atikaya wounded Angada and Lakshmana as well. But Lakshmana's blood was up ; with one shower of lightning-laden arrows he cut off the heads of the Rakshasa's horses and broke the bow, and when he leaped up another chariot, sent against him the Agni Astra. 3 But Atikaya sent the Surya-Astra, the weapon inspired by the Sun-God, to tame it down. While these two weapons were struggling against each other, Lakshmana pierced the Rakshasa's body with his sharpest arrows, but still he fought on unmindful of his wounds. Fiercely, and more fiercely, came his arrows, and Lakshmana could barely parry them. Just then Vayu, the Wind-God, whispered to Lakshmana that his adversary could not die by any other weapon except the

1 VI xvii 197, 198. 2 VI xvii 198.

3 Weapon inspired by the Fire-God.

LAKSHMANA 8$

Brahmastra, the weapon of the greatest power. Lakshmana, -therefore, sped the Brahmastra and lo, the arrow cut Atikaya's bead clean from the trunk and carried it off.

This battle with Atikaya, great as it is, is only a rehearsal for Lakshmana's greater battles with Indrajit. For Kamban, like Valmiki, reserves the great Indrajit as the fit target for Lakshmana's arrow. Already in the Sundarakanda he had made Hanuman exclaim to' himself when he saw Indrajit sleeping in his palace in Lanka,

' Is he the Rakshasas' king or Kartikey, The son of Mahadeva, God of gods ? He looks like a lion sleeping in his den : A terrific fight I see in the days to come When Lakshmana and Ram encounter him.' 1

And at the close of the combat with Atikaya, the poet finely suggests the coming battles with Indrajit in the following lines :

When wise Vibhishan saw this feat of arms And heard the shout of gods above, he leaped With joy, and said, ' If this is his matchless skill In war, the fate of Indrajit himself Is sealed. 2

Great was the consternation in Lanka when the news spread there that Atikaya was dead. When Danamala, the mother of Atikaya, heard that her son had fallen on the field, she came beating her breasts and fell sobbing at the feet of Havana who was himself aghast at the death of his son ; and she vented her grief at the loss of her son and chid Ravana in the following "words :

'Where is my child, the apple of mine eye ? Show me my son, Oh bring him back to me ! The Gods themselves did envy me as mother Of him whom even Indra could not beat In war : ah me, I see him delivered up As prey to th' arrow of a man to-day. Aksha is dead, and dead is Atikay, And fallen are the warriors great in might.

1 V ii 141. 2 VI xvii 208.

84 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Among thy sons Mandodari's son alone Is yet alive : now once again attempt Thy world conquests ! . . . Silent thou sitst ! . . where*

now Is gone thy might ? Hast lost the strength to tame Thy powerful foes ? Hear'st thou my words ? Or hearing Dost thou not understand ? Or wilt not hear ? Wilt thou not weep at least for thy warriors dead ? Oh cruel ! Black ruin has thou brought on us. Cursed, thrice cursed is thy guilty lust : And yet is this the last of the ills that are To blight our race for Sita's sake. n

The lamentations of Danamala and her companions reached the ears of Indrajit and, when he heard that it was Atikaya that had fallen on the field, he swore that if he should not fell to earth, that same day, Lakshmana who took his life, he would give himself in slavery to Indra whom he had twice defeated in battle. He then put on his armour, selected his troops, and marched to the war in a chariot drawn by a thousand lions, preceded by goblins and ghouls who heralded his approach saying,

' Behold the hero that brought Indra down as a prisoner

tied to his chariot wheels ! ' 2

Lakshmana had not left the field, thinking that, after the fall of Atikaya, either Ravana himself or at least Indrajit would head the next attack. And he was ambitious to try his mettle against one of them. So when the grand warrior — ' who had only seen the back of the gods flying for life and never their faces ' — came near, Lakshmana asked Vibhishana who he was. Vibhishana replied,

' He is the hero who has crushed in war The king of Devas : hot will be the fight This day,' 3

and advised him to take Hanuman, Sugriva, and other Vanara heroes to support him in battle.

As Lakshmana accepted his advice, Angada came back to him, and Hanuman also hastened to him. On seeing him pitted against the greatest warrior among the Rakshasas, Sugriva

l VI xvii 269-272. 2 VI xviu 21. 3 VI xviii 28.

LAKSHMANA 85

brought the pick of his troops in front and the attack commenced.

The encounter of the two armies was like two seas dashing at each other in full flood-tide. The Devas who had come down to earth to witness the greatest fight that mortal or immortal eyes could look upon, shut their ears to the deafening sounds of the trumpets and conches and the challenging shouts of the ■opposing heroes. The very field of battle cracked by the terrific force of the arrows and lances, trees and rocks hurled against each other by the contending armies, and the shattering encounter of Vanara and Rakshasa heroes. Blood flowed in torrents, ■carrying the floating corpses of dead heroes on either side. Death, parading in the form of Vanara heroes, broke the heads of the Rakshasas with trunks of uprooted trees, drank their life, or smashed their arms and feet. Even after the lances had pierced their vitals, the Vanaras sprang upon their enemies and died only after mauling them or crunching them in their iron jaws. In every part of the enemy's army you could find the Vanaras, — on the heads of elephants and of horses, on the chariots of the Rakshasa leaders, on the top-ends of their mighty bows, and sometimes on the heads of the Rakshasas themselves. The bodies of the Vanara heroes broken by the maces of the Rakshasas floated down to the sea over the rivers of blood flowing from the field. But even then the grip of their hands did not relax— they still held the rocks which they had uprooted in order to hurl against their foes ! In the shambles made by the mighty paw of Hanuman, you could not distinguish either horse or elephant, banner or wheel, lance or bow or mace or even chariot.

The Rakshasa's assault now began in right earnest, and the common Vanaras fled from the field. But the leaders stood their ground and dammed the Rakshasa flood. The Rakshasas cared not who died or who lived, and dashed forward pounding the Vanaras with their maces and clubs. And yet, though suffering terribly, the Vanara leaders broke the force of the onset. Wherever Nila rushed, the eight-handed God of Death, Yama, armed with trident and axe and noose had his hands full capturing the souls of the falling Rakshasas. What is this sight ? Is it a tempest ? Or is it the roaring deep ? Or is it all-consuming fire ? No ! It is the Vanara Kumuda who knocks down the Rakshasas : and Yama himself trembles at his work. Rishabha and Panaja, Jambhavan and Kesari, Mainda and his brother carry havoc in the enemy's ranks.

Seeking the Rakshasa attack broken by the leaders, the "Vanaras that had fled away now formed up and were led to the

*6 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

attack by the chiefs. The Rakshasa army was pushed back. Indrajit saw this, and full of anger and pride he now came to the front causing to quake the very earth and the ocean by the twartg- ing of his mighty bow. The arrows discharged from his bow clove through the air like deadly cobras, and broke to pieces the rocks and tree trunks flung by the Vanaras, and pierced the large bodies of the Vanaras themselves. Hundreds of thousands of Vanaras had fallen before a muhurta x passed. But they died not in vain. Even at the moment of dying they would pull rocks by their roots and whirl them into the enemy's ranks. Nothing was visible owing to the tempest of arrows blowing from Indrajit's bow. No sound was heard except the thunder of its twang. The Vanaras turned and fled, unable to bear this whirlwind of missiles, and the Gods trembled when they saw their champions flying from field. The Rakshasa flood now recommenced to flow over. To stop it, Sugriva and Hanuman came forward whirling trees and fragments of rocks. When he caught sight of Hanuman, Indrajit remembered his exploits in Lanka when he had been there to look for, Sita,. and challenged him in the following words :

' Fly not ignoble, stand thy ground : I've come To the front seeking thee. Thou canst not wield The bow, but endless boast of great prowess Thou makest. Thinkest thou with stones and twigs- To master me ? ' 2

Hanuman's reply was not less proud :

' Here also there be some, O feeble, who

Can wield the banded bow, and thou wilt taste

By proof their strength to-morrow if thou 'scape

From here with life to-day. Face me if canst ;

Think not thou hast an Indra here who fled

In olden times before thy feeble arms ! ' 3

and he defied him still further in these words :

' Wouldst fight with me ? Or wouldst thou measure thy strength with Lakshmana $ Or choosest thou to face the matchless chief Who has vowed to bring thy father's ten heads down ? The choice is thine to make.' 4

1 an hour and a halt 2 VI xviii 73.

S VI xviii 74. * VI xviii 75.

L A K S H-M ANA $tf

As soon as the Rakshasa heard the name of Lakshmana he remembered his oath and addressed Hanuman as follows :

' Where is that Lakshmana doomed who took the life

Of my lion brother and reserves his own

As target to my tearing darts ? I've come

To cool my wrath in his blood ! And when I shoot

The fiery arrows that the world can burn,

Can he and thou and all your vaunted force

Suffice to feed their hungry maw ? I'll send

My troops and generals all away ; alone

I'll stand, with none to back me but my bow

Invincible. And you may come with all

Your strength, and all that mortal men or gods

Can bring of force : the sun goeth not down

This day or ere your severed heads had rolled

Upon the plain ! ' x

So saying, Indrajit shot hundreds of arrows into Hanuman's mighty frame. But, though bleeding all over his body, Hanuman aimed a huge stone at him saying,

' In their thousands though they come, can elephants tame

The lordly lion boiling o'er with rage ?

If thou the patience lack to 'wait Saumitri,

And battle want, I give thee this, now guard

Thyself, if canst ! ' 2

and hurled a huge rock at him.

But the rock broke into a thousand fragments when it struck the iron body of the Rakshasa, and, as if nothing had happened, he sent his shattering arrows against Hanuman. Hanuman was overwhelmed, but, just at that time, Nila came to his side and sustained the conflict. But neither he nor Angada who came to his support could long withstand that iron-hail.

Lakshmana saw this from a distance and hastened to the spot. The Rakshasa leaders who were furious against him for having killed Atikaya concentrated against him from all sides and aimed their deadly darts at him. But the cunning hand of Lakshmana was able to break their force and bring the Rakshasas also to the ground. Seeing the rapidity and force with which the arrows flew from his mighty bow, the gods exclaimed,

l VI xviii 76, 77. 2 VI xviii 79.

88 KAMBA RAM AY AN AM — A STUDY

' Is it from Lakshmana's archery that the rain-cloud Learnt to rain in torrents ? ' *

The Rakshasa flood abated completely, but Indrajit stood his ground like a rock rising sheer from the bosom of a dried-up sea. And piloting his chariot that dashed on with the quickness of his own thought he stood before Lakshmana. Hanuman, meanwhile, had recovered from his shock and rushed to the front and desired Lakshmana to seat himself upon his shoulders so as not to give the advantage to the charioted Rakshasa. The giant fight began.

Now thundered the twanging bows. At that terrific sound the very boundaries of the world were shot away from their places. The mountains split. The concave of heaven cracked. The whole universe became embroiled in a whirlwind of dust. The fierce arrows struggled in the air mauling each other to pieces. The Gods in svarga trembled for their lives, and crouched in their hiding places for safety. The universal sphere rocked to and fro like a frail boat in a tempest. Hanuman paralleled every evolution of the enemy's lion-drawn chariot. The arrows flew so thick that even the Gods could not see whether the combatants were alive or dead or wounded. The bounds of the earth cracked to pieces at the deepening tumult. The spectators, astonished at the mastery and skill displayed by the combatants and their super-human deeds, exclaimed to each other,

' Is not the art of archery infinite

And various ? And where is the limit set

To strength of muscle ? Wondrous is their skill

And prowess ! Who has ever fought like these ?

Never was seen such fight before, and ne'er

Will be ! ' 2

There was no end to the flight of arrows. The two heroes parried each other's arrows and found time to aim newer ones against each other. Lakshmana's and Hanuman's bodies were flowing over with blood. The Rakshasa's chariots were broken one after another, and he got upon new chariots only to descend from their broken ruins the very next minute. Lakshmana's arrows killed the lions and horses that drew his chariot and tore

1 VI xviii 95. 2 VI xviii 105, 106.

LAKSHMANA 89

open his urmour. His body itself became a running sore. But «ven in the midst of his terrible suffering he admired Lakshmana's .archery and exclaimed,

' Superb is this man's skill with the bow. Let fools say

that he may be Shiva or Brahma. If he is not Rama or

Narayana himself, I do not know who he is ! Who is there

in our city who can match him in the art ? ' *

Seeing the plight of Indrajit, his guard flew to his help, and

on this side Angada came to support Lakshmana and Hanuman.

"The Vanara heroes flung rocks and stones and tree-trunks, and

the guard too was all but destroyed.

The Rakshasa was ashamed at the fate of his army and exclaimed to his associates, ' What shame is this ? Our army of forty myriad myriad troops is destroyed ! But they replied with pride, ' The Vanara forces are no less punished by the torrents of darts — we are not behind them in valour ! ' As Indrajit was still exhausted by the endless fight, such of his personal guards as were still alive took his place and continued the fight, but they too were soon overwhelmed.

The wounded Rakshasas ran panting for water, and panting died. Some slaked their thirst with water from the clouds and died drinking. Rakshasa women who had come to the field to encourage the heroes to greater heroism by their presence became satis 2 and died embracing their dying husbands on the battle-field itself. Some wounded Rakshasas warned their brothers and sons and said,

' If this should be the might of Rama's brother, The doom of Lanka is not far ; so, fly Before death overtakes yon Indrajit.' And saying, died. 3

Now, Lakshmana saw that one single final effort would finish his foe and so, exhausted as he was, he pulled himself together and bent his bow and sped against Indrajit arrows more powerful than Yama's. The darts tore sheer and felled down the new armour of the Rakshasa. But two of his faithful guards who were close by rushed against Lakshmana who was fighting singly from on the shoulders of Hanuman, and rained on him an iron- shower. Lakshmana, however, not only parried the arrows aimed

1 VI xviii 120.

2 Self-immolators on the funeral pyres of their husbands.

3 VI xviii 167.

90 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

at him, but destroyed their bows and chariots shooting down their horses. They were not non-plussed but took their clubs and struck Hanuman on whom Lakshmana was seated. But who could match the great Maruthi in hand to hand fight ? He plucked their two maces each with one hand, and would have smashed them had they not fled from the field in utter dismay.

Meantime the Vanara heroes who had retired from the battle returned, and the Rakshasas also rallied, and again a hail-storm of rocks and tree-trunks and clubs and shattering darts began to blow. Indrajit, who had by now recovered from his exhaustion, broke the force of the enemy's missiles with his mighty arrows saying, 'Is this all your boasted might ? ' The sun was about to sink into the western ocean. Vibhishana noticed the rapidly sinking sun and warned Lakshmana saying,

' Invincible is Rakshasas blood when Night Doth ride the heavens : if thou fell not the foe This minute, he wins, and all the laurels won This day do go in vain.' 1

So with one mighty effort Lakshmana shot his terrific arrows against his great foe. The chariot broke into a thousand fragments, but the Rakshasa was not hurt. In a trice that ' most worthy among the workers of evil and dearly beloved of the Spirit of Illusion ' assumed an invisible shape and rose from his shattered car, and entered the solid darkness of the lowering sky.

The gods were filled with joy when they saw no trace of Indrajit. And Lakshmana also was glad that victory had blessed his arms. He got down from Hanuman' s shoulders and handed his mighty bow to Angada, and, as a preliminary to giving himself much needed rest, he began to pull out the arrows with which Indrajit had sown his body all over. But,

Alas ! He knew not that the hour was big With fate inevitable .... For, their foe Of cobras fierce the dreadful spell pronounced And sped on them his darts with mortal aim.

Lo, every dart became a monstrous snake

And hissing clove the air with force abnorm, .... Driving the very darkness forth, and bound Their arms with many a scaly fold involved. 2

1 VI xviii 180. 2 VI xviii 188-190.

LAKSHMANA 91'

The cobra-torts flew in their myriads and bound every one of the Vanara host after wounding them all over the body. Vibhishana alone was not touched as Indrajit had pronounced the- incantation only against non-Rakshasas. Blood flowed in torrents. The heroes were writhing with pain. They were hungering to revenge themselves on the Rakshasa, but, whenever they tried to rise, the strangling hold of the serpents would drag them down and keep them transfixed to the spot where they had fallen. They would look at Lakshmana and feel for his bonds ten times more intensely than for their own torturing pains. They would ask Vibhishana, ' Is there no remedy for this ? ' They would say, ' Hanuman alone can save us in this plight,' and ask, ' Is he alive ? ' But Hanuman's mighty arms too were bound in the same living coil and he, though unmindful of his pain, was tortured with grief for the fate of Lakshmana. Angada, Nila, Sugriva himself — all were held prisoners in the same strangling hold. And Lakshmana,

though conscious of power to break through his bonds

was robbed of his will to break through, even as the human

soul, though possessed of infinite wisdom, is still entangled

in the folds of Maya. 1

Soon a deadly silence began to creep over the Vanara army. The heart of Indrajit was at last glad. ' I have today accomplished my oath,' he said ; ' Lakshmana and the monkey host are destroyed today, and after resting tomorrow I shall return and finish the other man and whatever remains of the Vanara army.' And, his heralds announcing his victory before him, he entered the gates of Lanka and proudly marched off to Ravana's palace, the while he was pursued by other missiles — the admiring glances of the Rakshasa damsels. There he announced his victory to his father, and taking his leave he went to his own palace and began to rest his tired limbs.

Rama had not come to the field this day, as he had the fullest confidence in Lakshmana's strength and valour, and as he desired to give him all the honours of the day. 2 When he was informed of the fate that had overtaken his brother, he was overwhelmed with grief. Having recovered from the first paroxysm of grief, he reprimanded Vibhishana on his coming near him for not calling him to the field when Indrajit came to engage Lakshmana. 3 But

l VI xviii 201. 2 See page 111.

3 Rama did not intend to allow Lakshmana to fight without his aid. against Indrajit. He permitted him to go alone only against Atikaya.

92 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Vibhishana with tears in his eyes told him all that had happened, and how the last weapon was an unforeseen surprise even to him and added,

' They're living yet : but for the magic spell Could ever mortal valour have sufficed To bring them down ? Grieve not, therefore, my lord, But hope : can sin o'er virtue ever prevail,' 1

Rama now asked Vibhishana to tell him the nature and power of this cobra-noose of which he had never heard before. ' It was created by Brahma,' he replied, ' and obtained from him by Shiva and gifted over by Shiva to such as do very severe tapas and pray for it. And,

No force can ever loose its strangling hold : It falls not till its victims die. If e'er The noose can be uncoiled, self-uncoiled Alone 'twill fall : not e'en the four-faced One Supreme can break its mortal spell ! ' 2

Rama cried out in despair,

' Shall I direct my darts against the Gods

Who forged the deadly arm ? Or shall I end

The worlds and take my life ? Shall I reduce

To ashes this sinful city ? If the God

Who framed this spell undoes its fatal force

I'll cool my wrath : if he refuse, be sure

Within a trice I end the universe

Even as Shiv the cities three ! If dies

My brother, then what to me is glory ? What

Is Dharm ? And what is infamy ? ' 3

But how can he, who came down specially to protect the universe, continue for long in his mood ? And so the poet says,

But in his heart

The springs of mercy soon began to flow : He called to mind how heinous it would be

1 VI xviii 233. 2 VI xviii 232.

3 VI xviii 238-240.

LAKSHMANA 93

To end the worlds for wreaking vengeance on A single foe ; and then unknowing what To do, he sank in blank despair. 1

When Rama was thus become a prey to despair, and the gods were trembling with fear as to how all this would end, the heavenly Eagle, Garuda, the terror of all serpents mortal and immortal, who also had been watching the combat along with the gods from a distance, spread his mighty wings for flight, and arriving at the place where Rama was standing, fell at his feet and worshipped him as his master, the Supreme Narayana Himself. At the very touch of the air flapped up by Garuda's wings, behold, the serpent noose lost its spell and the Vanara heroes and Lakshmana broke through their bonds as if they were no stronger than filaments of lotus stalk, and rose as if fresh from the hands of the Creator Himself. The magnificent stanzas in which Kamban describes the majestic flight and appearance of Garuda have scarcely a parallel in literature for the roll of their rhythm and the grandeur of the image that they present to the eye of imagination. Though conscious of the impossibility of giving an adequate translation of them, we feel bound to attempt a translation and give some idea to the reader of their grand swing. 2

As soon as the Vanaras were released from the cobra-noose, they raised a shout that shook Lanka to its very centre, and Ravana soon learned that the magic spell was broken and that the Vanaras were as ready for fight as ever. He then sent for his son and told him that, as it was but natural that he should desire again to fight those that had escaped so narrowly from his hands, he should command the army that day also. But, as Indrajit was too tired, he requested his father to send others to engage the enemy, and so other leaders and Makaraksha, the son of Khara, were sent against the Vanara host.

Mahaparshva and Dumaraksha, two of the five commanders now proposed to be sent, were at first found out to be none but the guards of Indrajit that had fled from the field the previous day from the clubs of Hanuman, and Ravana

1 VI xviii 241.

2 The translation of these seven stanzas are missing in the manuscript. Aiyar appears to have postponed translating them but died before he could do it. They are verses 243 to 249 of the 18th Padalam of the Sixth Book. An inadequate translation is offered with apologies to Aiyar and. the reader in Appendix I. (P)

KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

ordered that their noses should be cut off and that they should be paraded through the streets of Lanka and proclaimed as base cowards. But Mali opposed, saying that they had fought very hard and stayed on the field almost up to the very last, and, if they had run away from the battle-field, Indrajit had also all but done the same. And who was not afraid in Lanka in these days ? For, said he,

' In Lanka's streets let Lakshmana's name be called Aloud but once : alas, a panic wild At once does seize our people, and they'd hear No more but shut their doors amain ! Such terror Inspires that dreaded name ! ' 1

Ravana was, therefore, persuaded to give these commanders a fresh opportunity to retrieve their good name. They and the Other commanders with their troops fought bravely but could not stand against the Vanaras. In the end they were all destroyed and Indrajit had again to take the field.

This second fight of Indrajit was still more furious than the first. Rama commanded the Vanara army to fall back, as they were unable to fight the divine weapons that the enemy was using, and took the field himself alone with the bow. Darts after darts flew against the enemy, laden with death. The vast army of Indrajit was blown to the winds, and Hanuman, seeing that grand display of the archer's art, smacked his broad shoulders with his mighty paw and sent up a shout of admiration and joy. When Lakshmana saw Indrajit coming forward to engage • personally with Rama, he prayed his brother to allow him to fight •the Rakshasa singly by himself. Said he,

" The serpent noose, my brother, that helpless bound

My limbs, has cast a slur upon my name ;

And men will point at me and say, ' his friends

He could not save from worse than death ; nor could

He stand against a valiant foe ; and yet

He lives ! ' If Indrajitta's head, my darts

Do not remove, the lustre of my name

Is gone for ever. I burn t' engage this foe

Unaided, thyself only looking on ;

And killing him in single fight, emblaze

My name 'fore men for service leal done

->■ VI xix 13.

L A K S H M A N A 9$;

To thee, my king and lord. And witness heaven,

If Indrajit I bring not down this day,

May I the merit lose for ever that I

Have earned by service faithful done to thee." x

When Lakshmana took this solemn oath, the gods were filled with joy and said, ' the days of our grief are over ! ' And the endless worlds echoed .that joy and the Spirit of Righteousness rejoiced. And the heart of Yama also was glad.

So, during this day, Rama plays but a minor part and even that only during the earlier hours of the battle.

The brothers blew their conches, and at the terrific sound ■even the lions yoked to the chariot of Indrajit trembled. Clubs and steel discuses, lances and spears, maces and sling-stones were now hurled at the brothers and also at the Vanaras who were drawn up at a distance. The fire-winged arrows of Lakshmana brought down the chariots and horses, elephants and Rakshasa heroes by the thousand. In that fell massacre you would not know which were the leaders and which the ordinary Rakshasa soldiers. Lakshmana's arrows would drop the head of the sons in the cars of the fathers and the mangled heads of the fathers in the chariots of their sons and then resume their flight. Rama also joined his fatal arrows to Lakshmana's, and in the end, Indrajit stood almost alone with his chariot broken, but, his high spirit as high as ever. And getting on to another chariot, and directing it to where the two brothers were standing, he addressed them and said,

' Would both of you today engage with me Or desires one alone to fall a prey To this dart ? Or wish you with the remnants Of your broken force to meet your fate ? Decide, I'll grant your every wish ! ' 2

Lakshmana haughtily replied,

' I've sworn to fell thee dead upon this field To-day. Thou mayest choose the sword or bow Or lance or fists or any weapon else Thy whim dictates : I'll meet thee arm for arm And bring thee down.' 3

-1 VI xxi 39-43. 2 VI xxi 61.

3 VI xxi 62. ' •

98 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

The rejoinder of Indrajit is no less haughty :

' I mean today to make the elder brother 'Gainst nature's way survive the younger born. If first I send thee not to thy doom, and make Thy elder younger seem and mourn thy loss I call not myself son to mighty Ravan ! . . . . Mistake me not for Kumbhakarna the brother, I am the son of Ravan ! I have sworn To soothe the manes of those my brothers dead And him my mighty uncle, by oblations Offered in the red blood of both of you ! ' 1

Lakshmana would not be beaten even in this war of words :

He said, ' Vibhishana is with us here

Destiny -chosen t' offer sacrifice

To all the race of doomed Rakshasas.

But that which thou to thy father owest dead,

The water-sacrifice, I'll make him give

Tear-mingled to thy predeceased soul ! ' 2

Without further words the Rakshasa rained his fiery arrows upon Lakshmana and Angada, Hanuman and Rama. But Rama saw the Rakshasa alone and unaided, and so, did not bend his bow against him but let Lakshmana alone engage him. The sky was sown with flying darts burning and tearing each other to pieces, and everything around appeared to be on fire. Lakshmana could only parry Indrajit's swift-flying darts for a long time, but, when the Rakshasa's hand began slightly to slack owing to his terrible exhaustion, he seized his opportunity and killed the lions yoked to his chariot. Anger nerved the arms of Indrajit, and he regained his old vigour and ploughed the bodies of his enemies with his terrific arrows, and blew his sonorous conch to the trepidation of the Vanara host. Lakshmana again awaited his opportunity and, when it presented itself, he pursued his advantage and struck down Indrajit's strong armour and twanged his mighty bow. Rama was delighted to see his grand archery, and called the Vanara army standing at a distance to cheer him with their sphere-rending shouts.

1 VI xxi 63, 66. 2 VI xxi 67.

LAKSHMANA 9*35

Indrajit saw that Lakshmana was invincible by his ordinary weapons, and thought again to employ his magic. But waiting first to know what the brothers were thinking on their part, he rose into the sky, and becoming invisible approached near where they were standing. Lakshmana knew by the previous day's experience what his enemy was capable of, and so proposed to his brother that he should use the terrific Brahmastra and finish him and all Lanka. As soon as he heard these words, Indrajit flew amain to Lanka saying that, if they would attempt to use that world-shattering missile, he would forestall them and prepare it himself against them.

But here on the field, Rama replied to Lakshmana that if he vised the missile in his anger it would destroy not only Indrajit but all the worlds besides, and that, therefore, he should not use it now and endanger the universe for the sake of one enemy. The Vanara host now returned to the field, and there was immense joy among them to see that the Rakshasa had fled away. Rama also went to the rear to make fresh sacrifices to the gods, by the strength of which sacrifices alone could the different divine, weapons and missiles be used and parried with effect.

Indrajit, however, asked his father to send Mahodara with fresh troops to engage the enemy while he himself went to do the necessary sacrifices to the gods and obtain the power to send the Brahmastra against them. Mahodara, therefore, led his vast army into the field. But Hanuman now took the huge shape that he could at will and scattered and destroyed a wing of the Rakshasa force headed by Akamba. Sugriva and Angada joined in the melee and they attacked and destroyed or drove from the field other divisions of the enemy. But Mahodara with his magic powers checked the advancing Vanara troops, reformed his army, and then by feints at retreating drew the Vanara heroes and Lakshmana further south towards the walls of the city.

As all sound of battle died away in the distance, Rama, who was in the midst of his sacrifices for the divine weapons, became anxious to know what was happening, left the sacrificial grounds, and retracing his steps towards the battle-field followed the track of his army which was being drawn further and further south by the fascinating magic of Mahodara. Confusion reigned everywhere, and it was after hours of anxiety that Rama learned from Hanuman that unless he himself sent some missiles of divine power the Rakshasa magic could not be overcome. Rama bent his bow therefore and sent his darts instinct with the divine power of Shiva, and Mahodara, seeing that his magic refused to

7

9$ KAMBA 'BAMi'TAifA-lt^-A STUDY

Stand against this class of weapons, rose up in %he air and bided his time.

The field now being absolutely clear of the Rakshasa troops, Rama went back to the sacrificial ground to complete his sacrifices for the divine astras. But soon after, Indrajit returned having perfected his sacrifices and obtained the cruel missiles called Brahmastra that destroy whole masses at one fell throw. He had not the compunctions that prevented the brothers from using such a weapon, and so standing under the cover of the Illusion again produced by Mahodara he bent his bow, pronounced the mantras of the Brahmastra and released the dart. At once millions on millions of arrows flew with deadly force from inside that deadly dart, and killed the Vanara heroes by the myriad and even Lakshmana himself.

Having achieved his fell work, Indrajit went back in triumph to Lanka and proudly told his father that his enemies were now destroyed for ever, for, said he, ' would Rama, if living, forget his valour when I stretched his, dearest friends and brother upon the field ? '

When Rama came back to the field after finishing his sacrifices and renewing the power of his astras, he was stunned at the sight that met his eyes. Wherever he turned, he saw nothing but heaps of Vanara corpses. He saw his Sugriva and Hanuman, Angada and Nila, and the rest ploughed with bleeding wounds and fallen at the head of their respective divisions ; and his tears fell like showers. But when he saw his Lakshmana also a lifeless corpse, he fell down plumb, like a sola tree struck by the thunderbolt.

And who was there to console him in that awful moment of soul-shattering grief ? Who was there to separate him from the body of his brother which he was embracing with his trembling arms ? And who was there to lift him up and bring him to himself ? He was alone, all alone in that wilderness of the dead !

After hours of silent anguish in that weirdly dark night, Rama thus gave expression to the measureless grief that was agitating his mind :

' I died not when I heard of our father's death, Though he a kingdom gave, 1 for in thy love I learned to forget his loss : but, thee now dead, What's life to me ? I come, my brother, I come.

1 Read : ' I died not though he a kingdom gave ' (to me) . The original allows also a rendering as 'I minded not when he gave away the kingdom.' (P)

LAKSHMANA - 9#

But wert thou brother alone ? Thou wert to me A child and father, mother and blessings all : And thou art gone ! And thou art gone without A ' Farewell ' said. Alas ! have I become More cruel than thee ? For I see thee dead And still, pretending sorrow, I bear to live. My heart is made of stone, it breaketh not ; E'en thy loss J shall bear and cling to life ! In all these fourteen years of forest life, Through sun or shower, thou labouredst hard for me And ne'er didst rest : art thou now gone for rest ?

Thou hadst forsworn e'en sleep : wouldst not awake ? Thy one desire, child, was to see me crowned :

Now ope thy eyes, behold, I'm grown home-sick ; Take me to Oudh and crown me with thy hands !

Ah wretch I am that knows not what is love Though losing thee, my brother, I am not dead. Now who is brother to thee ? Alas our bonds

Are broke : Nor I nor life are kin to thee ! . . . My love of throne has untold misery brought

On father, mother and all. And for this love

Of Sita I have sacrificed thee

Thou wert a brother born but grewest a friend

Inseparable, thou didst thy father leave

And mother and Dharm itself and followed'st me.

But do I follow thee now thou art dead ? . . . Why did I part from thee, and let thee fight

Alone with Indrajit ? I hate myself ;

I hate this life inconstant : I come, I come !

Behold, I follow thee ! ' 1

Thus lamenting, Rama once again fell into a swoon.

Rakshasa scouts now thought that Rama also was dead and ran to Lanka and informed Ravana that the whole Vanara army and the two men lay dead upon the field. Ravana was now triumphant and ordered that Sita should be taken over the battle-field and shown the corpse of her husband.

After Sita had come and gone, Vibhishana who had gone to look after the provisions of the army returned and saw the carnage and the dreadful silence over the whole field. Relieved to find "that, though Rama could not be waked from his swoon, he had

1 VI xxi 206-209, 218, 210, 212, 214, £17.

100 KAMBA RAMA7ANAM — A STUDY

no wounds on his body, and hoping that Lakshmana and the rest. would escape from this astra even as they did from the Naga pasha, he searched the field torch in hand to see if any of the great heroes were living, so that he might consult with them as to what they should do in this great disaster. He at last saw Hanuman with his body drilled with the terrific shafts of Indrajit but with life not extinct ; and then, removing the darts from his body and cooling him with fresh water from the clouds, he brought him back to consciousness. Hanuman now rose with Rama's name upon his lips, saw with grief the shambles that their army was, and asked if Jambhavan was yet alive as he alone could suggest a remedy in that great hour. Jambhavan was searched for and fortunately found alive. On being asked, he said that on the Sanjivi hill grew the drugs that could heal all wounds and bring the dead back to life, and that Hanuman should fly thither and bring the drugs, and with their aid restore to life the fallen army.

So Hanuman flew through the air the thousands of miles lying between Lanka and the hill, lifted the hill sheer with his hands and flew back to Lanka before the day broke. As soon as the hill of drugs was brought, the very air at once wafted balsam, and the Vanara heroes and Lakshmana rose as if from sleep with all their wounds healed and fresher than ever before. 1

Lakshmana had now escaped from two disasters. Although he fought with a valour equal to that of his enemy, the latter's magic powers and unscrupulousness were able to wrest victory out of defeat. The challenges that he had thrown out to Indrajit were yet unfulfilled, and it was by miracles that he himself escaped with life. These two miracles, however, showed that the gods were on his side and that he would end by destroying the Rakshasa. But how great fights had again to be waged, through what great fire he had again and again to pass before he was able to bring the head of Indrajit to the ground !

i As the Rakshasa dead had been thrown into the sea at the command" at Ravana, the balmy air was of no use for them.

CHAPTER VIII

INDRAJIT : HIS EXPLOITS AND DEATH

While describing Lakshmana's exploits in the last chapter, we had inevitably to speak of Indrajit, the ablest fighter in the Rakshasa army. In this chapter we shall study his character as Kamban depicts him and describe his last great fights with Lakshmana whom he had chosen as his especial opponent.

We have already referred to Hanuman's estimate 1 of his valour even when he was asleep. He is the only Rakshasa who dares to Use hard words to Ravana. For, when he hears that Hanuman, during his first visit to Lanka, after discovering Sita had destroyed Rakshasa army after Rakshasa army that were sent against him, and also had killed his brother Aksha who had commanded the last army, he rushes to the presence of his father and chides him saying,

' Thou weighest not the danger beforehand but rushest unthinking into it, and then thou sufferest. Even after seeing the prowess of that monkey, thou hast sent against him in batches those who could never hold their owri against him. Is it not then thou that hast killed' them ? When the Kinkaras and Jambumali and the five commandants with their goodly force returned not with life from the fight, how can we call our enemy monkey ? Ought we not rather to rank him with Shiva and Brahma and Vishnu ? Thou hast in the days past broken the force of the Elephants that hold the universe in its place, and conquered the three worlds and lifted mount Kailasa itself with Shiva upon it. But now what will wash this humiliation received at the hands of the monkey who has killed our Aksha ? After this, even a victory ■will not be a matter for rejoicing ! ' 2

So also, when his father tells him that Atikaya was killed in ;4he battle with Lakshmana, he boldly attacks him saying,

' Is't Lakshman killed my brother ? No ! 'tis thou That sent him to the slaughter. Knowing their might Why sent'st thou not for me before ? The foe That killed my other brother thou sent'st away

1 See page 83. * V xii 9-11. • ■ ■

102 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Unthinking, for, sooth, he as an envoy came.

And now where are thy sons to guard thy throne ?

Past are thy days of glory, Sire ! ' *

But though he chides his father to his face, he is extremely- jealous of his father's glory. For instance, when he learns that Hanuman had ended Aksha he exclaims,

' Alas, 'tis not my brother that is dead — It is my father's glory faded lies Upon the ground.' 2

When, on reaching the battle-field he sees the ground soaked with the blood of Rakshasas killed by Hanuman, he is filled with shame that Rakshasa blood should be spilled in Lanka by a monkey. Says the poet,

He saw his comrades dear to him as life Or th' apple of his eye, all fallen dead Upon the ground, and endless phalanx fierce. He saw the shambles they had become, and at The sight he bit his lip ; and who could sound The grief and shame that agitated him ? A stick that probes a bleeding wound does give A lighter pang. 3

When, at the Rakshasa council, Ravana speaks of heading an army himself against Rama, Indrajit considers that he should never think of doing a thing that is so much beneath his dignity and asks him to send himself. He says, sarcastically,

' And thou to march against this puny man ! O great will be the glory thou wilt reap, And great the triumph in that noble war ! Ver'ly thou dost despise the Rakshasas That bear the arms divine, now rusty grown, That Mahadeva gave and Brahma blessed ; And I am grown the least before thine eyes Of those that wield the sword ! '*

1 VI xviii 7, 8. 2 V xii 5.

3 V xii 18. * VI ii 58, S9.

IWDttAJIT 103

And then changing the mood he continues,

' Even if all the worlds conspire 'gainst thee And range their powers upon the field, I'll brave Them all and bring thee victory. If I fail, I'll brag not myself son to thee, but deem Myself a low-born craven. . . . Thou wilt see The Vanars lick the dust, and Mother Earth Groan with the weight of rolling heads : and I Shall torture Sita with the blood-curdling sight Of Lakshman's gory head and Ram's.' x

We have given the reader, we hope, in the last chapter an adequate idea of his superb valour. Kamban calls him the ' perfection of all valorous qualities '. He leaps with joy when he finds a brave and mighty enemy to fight with. Thus, during Hanuman's first visit to Lanka,

Though he had conquered worlds before, The mighty form of Hanuman when he saw, And the field heaped up with masses of the dead, ' Here is a foe that's worthy of my steel,' He thought, and was delighted at his luck In having such a foe to fight. 2

The gods and the whole world live in perpetual terror of his valour. As an instance, when he marches to punish Hanuman after the death of Aksha,

Now thundered loud the trumpets and the bells Jingling on warriors' anklets proud. The king Of gods did tremble for his very life. Even the Three Supreme from Yoga turned Expecting fierce war. 3

The Devas' fear of him, however, was as much due to his magic arts as to his valour. For he was an expert in the employment of the black art as in the wielding of the weapons of war. So much so, that anybody who displays an extraordinary cunning is dubbed at once in India as Indrajit. We have seen him, in the last chapter, resorting to the Naga pasha and

l VI ii 60, 61. a V xii 15. 3 V xii 4.

104 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

Brahmastra after concealing himself from human sight. We shall presently see him try to throw Rama off his guard by another of his magic tricks and by false threats uttered before Rama's faithfullest servant Hanuman.

For, when he found that Rama was not touched even by his Brahmastra which brought down the whole of the Vanara army, his hopes of final victory by pure deeds of valour began to grow dim, and he spoke to his father, disclosing his plans for the third day's fight, prefacing his speech by his opinion of Rama :

' Man he is not, nor Indra, ancient foe,

Nor Rishi striving after Brahmagnan 1

I doubt not now that he's the Ancient One

Adored by all, as Vibhishana held forth,

But not for that shall we our strivings cease :

Though fallen are our heroes great there's hope

Of victory yet for us : if I but go

To the field of Nikumbhal and undisturbed

I can perform my magic rites, I win

The power to conquer even him.' 2

And then he explains how he proposes to put the man and the Vanaras on the wrong scent :

' By magic art I'll make a breathing shape Like unto Janaki, and sever its head In sight of Hanuman, and straight proclaim I fly to Oudh, and for revenge destroy The city and its king. Despair will seize The Vanar army and the Man and they Will either leave this land or send to Oudh The mighty Hanuman and suspend war Till he return. Meantime my rites complete, I fall on them with mortal weapons new, And bring thee triumph sure.' 3

Ravana agreed to this and Indra jit went his way to make the living automaton.

Meantime, the Vanara army that was restored to life by the hill of drugs determined to set fire to Lanka, and set about to

throw burning tinder and torches into the interior of the city.

i

1 Knowledge of the Ultimate Reality.

a VI xxv 13, 14. 3 vi xxv 16-18. . / > k*v;^|

INDRAJIT 106

"Hanuman who had gone north to restore the Sanjivi hill to its place returned to Lanka and joined in the work. As, however. Tie approached the western gate of the city, Indrajit appeared before him sword in hand, dragging by the hair the automaton made like Sita, and said,

' It is for Sita ye are making war : My father careth not for her, and lo I spill her blood e'en 'fore your eyes ! n

Hanuman knew not his trick and was taken aback. He knew not what to do. In his confusion he thought a soft word might save Sita and so he prayed to Indrajit to release her. He therefore .addressed him in these words :

' O worthy son of a worthy race (thou art

The fifth in direct line from Brahma great)

Kill not a woman, shame not thy ancient line !

Thou hast the shasters mastered and the Ved :

Knowest thou not 'tis a crime and also shame

To fell a woman dead ? Behold, the Earth

Doth tremble at the sight and heaven above

And yet thou pity'st not ! O spare the fair !

If thou deliver her to me, I'll pray

That all the worlds may own thee king for ever.

Alas, forgettest thou the glory great

Of thy race ? Disgrace not thou its ancient name ! ' 2

Indrajit only laughed at Hanuman and replied,

' Well hast thou said ! We'll purchase safety, sooth,

Me and my father, by delivering Sita !

And great will be the glory thereby reaped !

No, I will kill her straight and send my shafts

That'll make you flee for life, and 'stablish firm

My father's throne — But all I have not said :

For I shall first to Oudh and burn her walls ;

Guard her if e'er ye can ! Behold I speed

Thither : Nor gods can save thy master's mothers

Or brothers. Behold, my flaming arrows fly !

Already, hark, their death-groans rend the air ! ' s ';

1 VI xxv 31. 2 VI xxv 34, 35.

; *VI xxv 38-41.

J06 KAMBA RAM AY AN AM A STUDY

So saying, while still the automaton was piteously praying for life, he drew his sword and with one stroke severed the head from its body and directed his charioteer to steer his aerial car northward.

Hanuman fell where he stood, stunned, even like a mountain torn by its roots. The poet describes his grief and lament for Sita's fate in these words :

' O swan ! ' he would cry out, and sob ; and then Would cry, ' O jewel of womankind ! ' He would Then call aloud, ' O mother mine ; ' then groan, Asking in deep despair, ' Is there no god ? ' And then would curse his heart that it did not In pieces break when she was killed before His eyes.

He thought of springing on his foe, But lacking force he fell upon the ground And groaned. His eyes did flash with rage. His frame Did shiver for the anguish of his heart ; And knocking his huge head against the ground He thus lamented loud : ' I thought the night Which did the three worlds envelop had passed, And dawn was nigh ; alas, the thrice black pall Of Misery has fallen once again Upon the Earth, and she submerged groans Beneath the flood of sin. For the cruel foe Has felled down Sita, and Dharma mangled lie3 ! '

" The foe does kill that lovely princess pure;. I see her killed — a woman killed before My eyes ! — and yet I stand transfixed to the spot E'en like a bird that has its wings lopped off !

bravely have I from captivity

Rescued her ! Maithili, my Rama's spouse, That mother of unsurpassed austerities, That spotless daughter of a spotless race, A helpless one — her he has cleaved in twain, And I have let him go : and now I weep As if I have a heart that compassion feels !

1 braved the dangers of the deep, O mother, And carried Rama's message here, and thine O'er there, not for to end this curs'd race

Nor for to force thee from their hands : I canie

INDRAJIT 107 '

Alone to see thee killed before thy time!

And men would curse my name for e'er. When Ram

Did wander in his grief o'er hills and dales

Like one distraught, I had the fortune great

To rouse him back to life with the words, ' I saw

Thy love, I saw her still alive '. And now

Am I to say, 'I saw the Rakshasa kill

Thy spotless .wife ? ' Ah, wretched is my fate ! "

"I was proud I could the ocean cross, and bridge Th' abyss unbridged, and carry off the hill Of drugs and aye bring back the dead to life. And I to myself boasted, ' There is none Among the Vanars like thee '. Alas, All my exploits are now no more than scent Dissolved in ocean stream. I dared not spring Upon the murderous foe and mangle him To death ; I died not straightway rending my frame In twain ; but saw him kill her undisturbed. And still I'll live to fatten this body mine With food : is then my glory small ? " l

After this lament Hanuman came to himself sufficiently to enable him to run to Rama and inform him that he saw Indrajit kill Sita. When Rama heard the words he was stunned :

there was no shudder in his frame ; he did not breathe heavily ; his eyes did not move, nor tears came from them ; he spoke not a word ; burst not his heart ; he did not fall to the ground ; he did not sob ; there was no sweat showing over his body — the gods even were not able to sound the depth of the anguish in his heart ! 2

The Vanara heroes who heard the news fell as uprooted rocks at the feet of Rama. But Rama,

who was unmoved even as a statue, looked not at the faces of his friends ; he would not even reply to Lakshmana's questions ; he lost control over himself ; and with his heart carved and cut by the scalpel of deep attachment to Sita, he fell down on the ground even as a man dead. 3 Lakshmana could not bear to see Rama tortured with such grief. He felt that all their endeavours had come to nought with the tragic end of Sita. Especially could he not bear the shame -

1 VI xxv 45-53. 2 VI xxv 58.

3 VI xxv 60.

108 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

that they were unable to prevent such a fate from befalling the woman whom he looked upon as his own mother. 'And he also sank down in grief like a calf that has lost its mother'.

At length, Vibhishana brought Rama back to consciousness, but Rama was still too full of sorrow. Lakshmana too, soon after, came to himself ; and, though full of anguish himself and sinking' under the weight of such a terrible disaster, he felt that owing to the attachment of Rama to Sita, Rama's heart would break endangering even his life, and so he addressed to Rama these trumpet-like words :

' When Fate her darkest hour unrolls, and all

Appears lost, 'tis only weaklings lose

Their heart and hopeless sink in black despair.

But wilt thou be like them ? When tarnished is

Our race itself by this irreparable loss,

Why slacks thy arm from ending all the worlds

And Dharma's self at one fell stroke ? Here was

A woman weak, a helpless one, of life

Austere, and she thy spouse, as Lakshmi fair :

If her the Rakshas kills and thou art still

Engulfed in sorrow, thy rage unroused, I ask,

Is life so dear ? Or dost thou pity feel

For men and gods ? What hast thou now to do

With Dharm itself ? What care we now for gods

Or Rakshasas, for Gurus, Brahmans, Ved

Itself ? When violence prospers in the world

And Righteousness in ruin ends, why sit

We here with folded arms ? Why hesitate

To end the triple worlds with fire and sword ?

Behold, the worlds are still revolving on In their appointed spheres ; the gods are still Alive ; and men are bowing yet to Dharm As if it still exists ! And clouds yet yield Their plenteous rain to man ! And bent with grief We sit and weep and rise not to end them all ! Is not our valour great ?

Our duty was If we but knew, to burn this city vile, And scattering fire around, to line with flames The roads, all through, that Indrajitta passed. And send him to his doom. This unattempted, If impotent we sit with indolent arms.

INDRAJIT 109

And water with our tears the earth, will not

Our manliness look small ? At Ayodh too,

We feared this Dharma, and renounced our throne

And wandering in the forests wild, we lost

Our Sita, tricked by villainous Ravana's guile ;

And yet we kept our wraths within our bounds.

Here also to this outrage fell if we

Should submit meek, what doubt but he will bind us

In chains and bid us slave for him ? Should we

Desperate, die by our own hands, the world

Will laugh at us and say we lacked the strength

A helpless woman's murder to avenge

And died consumed with shame. Yield not, therefore,

My brother to this unmanly, weak despair,

The portion of the feeble in mind and heart.' 2

Sugriva was fired with these words, and rose to spring on Lanka. But Hanuman told the company, what he had forgotten to say before, that Indrajit had threatened to march on Ayodhya and that he had seen the Rakshasa direct his aerial car northwards. llama's anxiety for the fate of his brothers and mothers at Ayodhya was even greater than his grief for the loss of Sita. After a moment's agitation he thought of pursuing the Rakshasa on the shoulders of Hanuman. But Lakshmana heartened Rama by reminding him of Bharata's valour while Vibhishana proposed that, as he doubted that Indrajit might have played some trick of illusion, he should first go to Ashokavana disguised and see if Sita was alive. This proposal was immediately agreed to, and Vibhishana soon returned with the happy news that Sita was still alive and unharmed. He also further brought the information that Indrajit had gone to the field of Nikumbhala to perform a sacrifice, and proposed that Rama should send Lakshmana immediately to attack him there and prevent the completion of the sacrifice, as it had been foretold to Indrajit that if he completed this sacrifice at Nikumbhala he would be able to destroy his enemies, no matter who they might be, without fail. Rama agreed to it, gave Lakshmana the great bow of Vishnu surrendered to him by Parshu Rama, and after telling him with what weapons to parry the Rakshasa's divine weapons and enjoining him not to use the Brahmastra even if the enemy should use it, sent him to the fight with his blessings.

i VI xxv 65-71.

110 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

At Nikumbhala Indrajit was at his sacrifice invoking the gods for invincibility and final victory. The sacrificial ground was guarded on all sides by the Rakshasa army standing silent in circular formation called the Chakravyuha. Lakshmana and his host now came to interrupt the Yajna and the battle began.

The Rakshasas met the challenging shouts of the Vanaras with their counter-challenges, and their rocks and tree-trunks by their arrows and maces and clubs and lances. The Vanaras and the Rakshasas fell by the thousand, and the sacrifice was interrupted. The limbs and trunks of the dead Rakshasas fell on and desecrated the sacrificial fire. Their heads fell on the pots of the sacrificial water and broke them in pieces. The blood of the Rakshasas flowed in streams and extinguished the fire in the chief sacrificial pit. The sacrificial buffaloes were killed by the swords and lances still grasped by the torn and falling arms of Indrajit's loyal soldiers. Lakshmana's arrows destroyed the Rakshasa army ' like the whirlwind, like the engineering art of the Kalingas 1 , like an epidemic of disease, like acid thrown in milk.'

Wherever Indrajit turned his eyes he could see only the heaped up carcasses of elephants and heroes, the broken fragments of chariots, the heads of his valorous soldiers, and a sea of blood. 'He could not see the bodies of his heroes — he could see only streams of blood issuing from the fragments of their mighty limbs. He saw the rest of his troops flying for life everywhere and dying or dead or crouching with terror in their flight. And so he stopped his invocations, and rose like a smoke-topped pyramid of flame — about to be quenched. He thought that the extinguishing of the sacrificial fire foreboded his own end. But like a true son of battle he feared not but prepared to meet Lakshmana and the Vanara army.

Hanuman now came within his earshot, and taunted him with these words :

' O Rakshas of a hundred million lies ;

I ween I saw thee kill our Janaki

And fly to Oudh ? When didst thou thence return,

My warrior bold ? I hope success has smiled

On thee ! I hope thou hast that city fair

1 Read : ' military engineering art '. Aiyar here renders the original phrase ' KaUnga-K-Kammiar noolena ' in a sense more apposite to the other terms denoting forces of destruction than the more commonly accepted meaning of ' the yarn of the workers on (the) cloth (loom) * which is inappropriate as it refers to the frequent and easy snapping of the yarn and is therefore the thing destroyed.' (P)

•I INDRAJIT til

Uprooted, and Rama's race destroyed ! I hope

Thou hast thy bow-craft shown to saintly Bharat,

Strong as the mighty Shesh that bears aloft

The spacious earth and all that is thereon !

I hope thou hast his youngest brother met

In battle face to face and conquered him !

I would not be surprised if e'en their heads

Thou hast as trophies brought. Knowest thou perchance

That now thy circling battle-front is pierced ?

Hath twang of Lakshman's battling bow by chance

Entered thine ear ? . . . Is it the noose to-day

That thou wilt wield, or Brahma's fatal dart ?

'Sit dart of Mahadev or Vishnu's disk

Thou dost purpose to hurl ? We die with fear,

O mighty sire, of all thy armoury ! . . .

E'en if Maheshvar comes to save thy life,

Or Vishnu from His Sea, thy doom is fixed

Today. I see the tremor ominous

On the wrong side of thy frame : stay'st thou to fight

This day ? Behold the hero challenging

Who's sworn to take thy life ; the thundering twang

Of his strong bow, I crave to know, is it

An indispensable part of sacrifice ?

The Gods are come to see him wield the bow The supreme archer, brother to mighty Ram. Death comes to every man one day — so why Dost hesitate ? n

Though Indrajit now saw that he could not contend against Xiakshmana, his hauteur did not abate an inch, and he flung these words at Hanuman :

' Well hast thou learnt my words from me, and now Forestall'st me well ! And ye to taunt me thus ! Where is the fight, in all our battles fought, In which ye were not crushed ? With life restored Ye forget clean your enemy's death-winged shafts ! Again ye thirst for death and challenge me : Have you preserved the drug that saves from death ? Let Lakshman come or Ram, let those that feel They can now come to guard ye from my darts !

1 VI xxvi 70-78.

112 KAMBA RAMAYANAM — A STUDY

The gods will only see the carcasses

Of Vanaras dead heaped up upon the field,

And anguish of their human masters feeble !

Long as I have my brawny arms and bow

I let no foe return alive — or man

Or hunch-backed ape. E'en if ye refuge take

In heaven, I will pursue ye even there

And end ye all : and e'en Sanjivi Hill

Cannot restore ye back to life ! Because

My sacrifice is interrupt, dream not

Therefore that victory will now be yours,

Nor brag in imitated speech of prowess

That '11 ne'er be yours. I waste my words no more :

The darts that one by one will cleave your necks

And drop your heads upon the blood-red sward

Will blazon forth my might to all the worlds.

I am not skilled like ye in the boaster's art,

But this I'll say : thrice have ye bit the dust

'Fore me. Have ever ye stood your ground to face

Me in my rage ? And now at least have ye

To face me trained yourselves ? Or will ye fall

Upon the field and stretch yourselves in death ?

Or will ye flee from here for life ? n

So saying Indrajit blew his war-conch and twanged his bow. At the mere sound the common Vanaras threw down the stones and tree-trunks in their hands and ran for their lives. The leaders, however, stood their ground and gave him battle. Hanuman took a giant rock and hurled it with such a force that even his father, the God of Wind, trembled with fear. And the gods said, ' what is too heavy for such brawny arms ? ' The rock flew with the force of a thousand thunderbolts, and the worlds trembled at it, and the Rakshasa host fled in terror. But Indrajit