Part 1 – Ramayanas from South India

Ramayana is an epic written by Sage Valmiki. But as is the case for any work of literature, it undergoes changes and adaptations. In oral tradition, the characters undergo a transformation based on the orators understanding and his/her own personality and preference. The same is the case in writing too. In such a scenario, it is quite understandable to find different versions of Ramayana based on the writer’s cultural upbringing and milieu. Just as every generation has its own take and preference, so does every writer who is re-writing the epic for his/her audience.

This adaptation only leads to a newer audience which associates itself better to the epic and thus starts relating to the same. The original English movie “Sound of Music” has seen so many Indian adaptations – be it Gulzar’s “Parichay” or the different versions in Bengali cinema and many others, besides the stage adaptations. Each took it on itself to make changes in characters to suit the understanding of its audience and the cultural setting. Same can be said about Shakespearean plays and many short stories by O’Henry or Dostoyevsky or Maupassant. Closer home, we have seen different versions of Saratchandra Chatterjee’s “Devdas”, of which I have seen at least four Hindi versions and two Bengali versions myself!

Ramayana is no different, except that its age has given it more versions than any other epics.



Tamil poet Kamban



Valmiki’s Ramayana is considered to be the oringal and all other versions are thus meta-Ramayanas. However, in South India, Kamban’s Ramayana has given rise to other versions like that of Telegu and Malayalam versions. Needless to say that Kamban’s version has been close to the Valmiki’s version with a minor difference. In Valmiki’s version Ram was not a god, but a human form of god who took birth on earth and ‘died’ a mortal. He was an avatar of Lord Vishnu who took the human form to eliminate the evils of earth and depart once the objective was achieved. However, Kamban’s influence was of the Tamil Bhakti movement and in his version, Ram was a god on a mission to eliminate evil from earth. Kamban also uses a lot of folk-motif in this rendition of the epic, again not found in Valmiki’s Ramayana.

In a folk-version of the Kannada Ramayana, the entire Ramayana is Sita-centric. The epic opens with Ravana (Ravalu, in this version) and his wife Mandodhari pining for a child. Here after a lot of penance, Ravalu and his wife are given a mango to share equally, but Ravalu ends up eating the whole mango with just the seed left for his wife. With a twist in the tale, it is Ravalu who ends up conceiving Sita and Sita comes out of his nose through a sneeze (in Kannada, the word Sita means ‘he sneezed’). Later he leaves Sita in King Janak’s field where she is found in a furrow (once again, in Sanskrit, Sita means ‘furrow’). The epic moves on, but at every step, the epic returns to Sita, her birth, her marriage, her abduction, saving her from Lanka and then again her misery, the birth of her children, etc. This return to Sita every now and then is a far cry from many versions which is very Ram-centric and this again could be due to the orators focus on the state of women in the culture he belonged to.

According to A K Ramanujan, the birth of Sita from a male could also be a case of “male-envy of the womb and childbirth, which is a frequent theme, in Indian literature, and an Indian oedipal theme of fathers pursuing daughters”, which is not alien to Indian mythology. According to a Kannada version, Ravana had molested a woman in his youth and she had vowed vengeance and is thus reborn as his daughter leading to his death. This we see that this version has taken a lot of liberty on many a count from the original Valmiki’s Ramayana.

The richness of any literature lies in its ability to get adapted. The rigidity of any epic will only alienate it with its potential audience and that will be its greatest failure. If Ramayana is still read and told in India, then it is because of its ability to touch every generation through its adaptability. This is not the case with other cultures like the Egyptians and the Greeks, who don’t read their mythology as we do in India. You will find Indians with names like Ramkrishna, Lakshmi, Vaidehi, Bharat, etc. But have you found any Greek with names like Zeus, Adonis and Aphrodite or even Hercules and Atlas? Would you find a Thor or Odin or Loki in the Scandinavia today?

It is the adaptability which enables such assimilation.

Next we will discuss the Jain version of Ramayan.

The controversy surrounding AK Ramanujan’s Essay

Who was A. K. Ramanujan –

It is very tough to categorize A K Ramanujan (AKR). He was a poet, an author, translator, folklorist, playwright and a scholar. He was educated in Mysore University and was a Fullbright Scholar at Indiana University. He was also a lecturer at M. S. University of Baroda for about eight years before moving on to US, where he taught at many US Universities, like Harvard, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.  He was honoured by the ‘Padmashri’ by the Government of India besides the number of accolades that he would have received during his life time. He breathed his last in 1993.

He was also credited for compiling folk-tales from across the country and categorizing them according to topics and analyzing them according to the cultural milieu. It’s a seminal work which is today considered a reference point in the study of folk-literature.

The Essay –

“Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five examples and Three Thoughts on Translations”, written in 1991, is a seminal work on the different versions of Ramayana in our country and abroad. The many diverse versions give it a local flavor and its assimilation in the said culture. But just as India is different every 15kms you travel, so is the interpretation and treatment of the epic. If it is impossible for one to read all the texts in one’s lifetime, then this essay allows you to peep into different versions which give you a view of the diversity in each, maintaining the unity with the original.

Ramayana is written in many of the Indian languages, viz. Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, etc. besides many foreign languages like, Malaysian, Sinhalese, Balinese and Thai amongst then being the prominent ones. In Sanskrit itself, there are about twenty-five versions available.

Rishi Valmiki

The main works compared by AKR in this essay are that of the Ramayana written in Sanskrit by Valmiki, the original author of the epic, Kampan’s Ramayana in Tamil, Bengali Ramayana by Krittivasa, Ramayana in Jain texts and the Thai version of Ramayana. The essay brings out the major difference in each of the works and at times also goes on to explain the reasons of difference and how cultural and geographic outlook shapes the changes in the personalities of the central characters.

The Controversy –

The said essay was included in the B.A., History syllabus of Delhi University in the year 2006. ABVP, the youth wing of the BJP sought banning of the said essay as it hurt the religious sentiment of the majority and termed it ‘blasphemous’ and ‘anti-Hindu’, besides many other things not worth mentioning. In 2008, the Delhi High Court directed a four member committee to give its opinion on the inclusion of the essay in the syllabus and the committee gave a 3-1 verdict in favour of inclusion of the essay on the merit of its academic value. The DU Council however, ignored the recommendation of the Committee and in October 2011, decided to bend its knees to the demand of the ABVP and banned the essay.

The Issue –

The issue is deeper than what it seems, not surprising though. It is less to do with anti-Hindu and blasphemy, and more to do with politics – which is the tragedy. The academia has succumbed to the hegemony of politics. This might not have happened for the first time, but that is hardly a solace and neither should it be.

One of the reasons of raising the issue is that the panel which decided on the inclusion of the essay had Ms. Upinder Singh, the daughter of PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The move by ABVP was more to embarrass the ruling party than anything else. To avoid another embarrassment for the PM (amongst many) the DU council came to his ‘rescue’ by simply ‘dropping’ the essay as against ‘banning’ it.

In all this politics it is the students who actually stand to lose. Besides being an issue of academic freedom, it is also a case of an effort to control education by a bunch of goons. When illiterates and goons who have nothing to do with academics decide what to teach and study in temples of education then the society is going nowhere except down the tube. Delhi University is not an exception – sometime back we had seen the dropping of a book in Mumbai University sought by the student wing of the Shiv Sena. The Academia protested but nothing worthwhile happened.

In erstwhile Communist Russia and many other societies and cultures, we have seen the banning and systemic-stymying of literature. This stifling of debate will lead to the growth of regressive mindset of a supposedly progressive society. Any culture or progressive societies have to be open to debate and what has been discussed in AKR’s essay is the mindset of different cultures and their views of the epic, which have been written hundreds of years back. Can the Tamil version of Ramayana be banned or can Krittivasa’s Bengali version be banned? The tribal version of Ramayana is a far cry from Valmiki’s Ramayana, but nobody has sought for a ban on that, then why the essay which critically analyses the said versions.

The essay by AKR is about 25 pages of sheer literary genius. In the forthcoming articles I will take up some of the well-known Ramayanas and discuss the difference and the reasons for the same. While doing this, I will be leaning heavily on the essay to bring the work of literary genius to all my readers, which some wayward elements are trying to sabotage.  

Keep reading

Raktabija - the demon

According to the eighth chapter of Devi Mahatmya from Markandeya Puran, there was a demon by the name of Raktabija (blood-seed, literally). He had been given a boon by Lord Brahma that every time a drop of his blood fell on the ground, his strength would increase many times, by his blood creating more of his own. Having received the boon, he had made the life of people on earth miserable.

Goddess Durga was entrusted with the responsibility to eliminate the demon. A fierce battle took place and every time the demon was wounded and his blood dropped on the ground, thousands of demons of his type would be created, thus making the task of killing him near impossible. The battle only got fiercer. Goddess Durga was angry and from her anger and deep concentration was born Goddess Kali. Kali in her fierce form eliminated the huge army and swallowed all of them, which left Raktabija all alone. She then struck the demon and before his blood spilt on the ground, she stretched her huge tongue and devoured all the blood ensuring that not a drop fell on the ground. This way, Raktabija was drained of all the blood and life and soon he was nothing but a corpse.

A Painting depicting the killing of Raktabija by Goddess Kali

The myth has its own symbolism, which I will leave for the time being. Let us look at a modern incident and see if we have a solution the way Goddess Durga had.

Once upon a time, there was a country whose citizens were happy (well, somewhat). A demon named ‘religious tolerance’ started growing from small to big and the nation gave it the boon of secularism and long-drawn judicial system. Soon the demon started multiplying to the effect that one day; it became so big that the nation could not handle the numerous outfits which fired at its own citizens from all over the country. One fine evening, the demon and his army attacked one of the key cities and killed and maimed many innocent citizens. The forces of the nation put up a brave fight and managed to kill majority of them and captured one of the demons.

The system tried the demon for his crimes and declared him guilty after an unnecessarily prolonged trial, which was the result of a ‘thriving modern democracy’. Unlike Raktabija, this demon is still alive and taken care of by the same forces that had once set out to eliminate him. The nation is paying crores from the taxes of the hard- (and hardly)-earned money of its inflation-ridden citizens, the same citizens that the demon tried to kill.

Today, there is no Goddess Durga who can wage a battle and there is no Goddess Kali who can eliminate such demons. May be that is why Raktabija is now alive in the guise of Ajmal Kasab.

Today is 26/11 and three years back this demon had wreaked havoc on Mumbai city.

Mother Kali – where art thou?

Mythology and History - Concluding Part

Allauddin Khilji’s invasion in Gujarat

In the previous two articles, we read about history being a part of the mythological aspects and the myths very clearly had aspects of communal divide, if not, it definitely had differences being highlighted between two countries. We will now look at another example which actually eases the communal divide, but is part of the ongoing theme of mythology and history.

During one of my visits to a temple town, Becharaji, about 100 kms from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, we come across yet another example of History in mythology. Becharaji is a town which is home for the Mother goddess, Bahucharaji. (You can read more about this in “The Third Sex – Part 1”  http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.com/2011/08/third-sex-part-1.html ).

According to one of the myths associated with this goddess, Alauddin Khilji who was on a destructive spree and was demolishing all temples he came across, on his way to Gujarat, reached Siddhpur. The brahmins of Siddhpur were very annoyed and started fasting to please Lord Nilkanth Mahadev. The Sultan asked them to prove the existence of their God, failing which, they would have to adopt Islam as their religion. Goddess Bahucharaji appeared in the dream of a Brahmin named Budar.  “You need not be afraid, bring the king to Chuwala and I will show them a miracle which the Sultan would have never seen”. The Brahmins got together and got the Sultan to Chuwala, but night had fallen by then, so they decided to camp for the night.

The Sultan’s soldiers were tired and hungry. They came across a number of roosters and Khilji ordered them to kill them and eat them for dinner. The rooster was a holy bird (incidentally the rooster is the vahana of the Goddess Bahucharaji), but Khilji would not listen. All the roosters were killed and eaten, except one which hid behind a rock.

Next day morning, the rooster did not crow in the morning. When Bahuchaji asked the rooster as to why it did not crow, the rooster said that all his friends were killed, so who will crow back in his support. Bahucharaji told him to do his work and see. So the rooster crowed. As soon as he did, all the dead roosters came out of the soldiers stomachs and joined the chorus, killing all the soldiers who had eaten roosters the previous night.



A Painting in the temple premises depicting the incident



Needless to say that Khilji did not demolish the Bahucharaji temple, which is still in its original place.

As a mark of respect it is said that till date, in all the 44 villages in and around Becharaji, the Muslims do not kill/eat the Rooster. This is considered something unique and also the only place in India where Muslims do not kill/eat the rooster.

Some of the soldiers who had not eaten the roosters and were thus saved, decided to stay back and not continue with the army. These soldiers who stayed back became firm believers of Bahucharaji and were thereafter referred to as ‘Kamariya’ and are said to be serving the goddess even today. This community of Kamariya’s are not found anywhere in the country, proving that they did not leave Becharaji. (I did come across a person who told us that he was a kamariya and begged for alms – to atone for the deeds of their forefathers.)

To carry on with the above myth, there is another associated myth of the ‘Kamariya’ community. There was a saint by the name of Kumali, who had both Hindus and Muslims as his followers. When he was on his death bed, there arose a conflict on the ritual of the death ceremonies between his followers. To resolve this dispute, the Saint asked the Hindus to prepare a funeral pyre and asked the Muslims to dig a grave. He then said “When I am dead, whichever side my ‘kafan’, (the cloth covering the body) flies off to, will decide on the method of my last rituals”. On his death, the ‘kafan’ flew towards the grave dug, and so he was buried as per the Muslim norms. Though the ‘kamariayas’ are not Hindus, they follow all the Hindu customs and even have a life-style akin to one, but when they die they are buried as per the Muslim norms.

It must be observed that the myth has historic roots. We can trace the invasion of Allauddin Khilji in the books of history and reference to his destructive spree. Though it is not possible to verify such references, one can understand the origin and relevance of such myths.

We also asked a few people around who vouched for the fact that eating chicken was not a common thing there even amongst the Muslims. We did visit the market place in the city and passed through some areas which looked like Muslim habitation, but did not see any shops selling chicken.

What must be seen here is that in the communally charged atmosphere of Gujarat, this does seem to be an anomaly of sorts, but visible to a common man. These should be seen as efforts made by the ancestors of the village, to ensure that the two communities stayed together in peace. Thus despite such bloody references of invasion and looting in the past, there is a close blend of the two communities, and the reference of the ‘kamariya’ community is one such example out in the open for all to see. Also, the fact that people in and around the area do not eat chicken is another classic example of mark of respect shown by the Muslims for the faith and reverence of the Hindus.

Another example of the religious tolerance and goodwill is the fact that the Muslim eunuchs visit the temple during important get-togethers and functions of the eunuch community. This goes on to show the tradition of co-existence in peace by different communities existed from a long time. However, it is a pity to see that the efforts of the ancestors being wasted in modern times.

If any of you have such examples of Mythology and History shaking hands, please send in your myths to the blog. A debate is the essence of such articles.

Mythology and History - Part 2

Mata Tanot Rai Temple

Last time we discussed about the temple of Ghantiali Mata. We now move further.

Idol at the temple

Another 10 Kms from the temple of Ghantiali Mata, is a major tourist attraction, the temple of Mata Tanot Rai. Tanot is a small town which is about 120 Kms from Jaisalmer and is very close to the Indo-Pak Border.

The myths associated with the goddess are many, but we will start at the very beginning. The original and one of the first ones is associated with the self-immolation of Sati on the insult of her husband Shiva. It is said that Shiva had suggested that Sati not visit her father for a Yagna he had hosted and not invited both Sati and Shiva. But Sati did go and on feeling insulted, had thrown herself in the fire of the Yagna. When Shiva came to know about it, he was very upset with the ganas (Charans) he had sent along with Sati for not being able to protect his wife. In his anger he cursed them that they would not go back to heavens with him, and thus deprived them of immortality and the status. The Charans pleaded but Shiva would not hear of it. The Charans then fell on the feet of the dead Sati and started lamenting. A voice came from the dead body of Sati which said that the curse of Lord Shiva had to be borne; however, since it was she who was responsible for their condition, she said that whenever she would be born as a human, she would take birth in the Charan community only. It is said that due to the blessings of Sati, there were numerous births of Sati in the Charan community and there are many minor myths and miracles credited to the goddess. Thereafter the Charans were also referred to as ‘devi-putra’, sons of the goddess.

Later, Shiva took the dead body of Sati and went berserk in his pain and sorrow. Lord Vishnu had no option but to send his sudarshan-chakra, the discus, to sever the body into different pieces. As is well known that a religious site came up in all the places where a part of the body fell. In this region fell Sati’s head, and the place is known as Hinglaj. After Partition, this place now falls in the Balochistan province of Pakistan and the Charan community has converted to Muslim in due course of time. The present temple premises of Tanot Rai Mata is considered to be an extension of the main Shakti-peeth at Hinglaj.

The region is full of small myths associated with different births of Tanot Mata and numerous miracles are associated with the goddess, which is quite a norm associated with any divinity. However, the goddess Tanot Mata has modern day miracles associated with her too.

Unexloded shells kept in display inside the temple

It is said that during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, the Pakistani troops were very close to the temple premises. The Pakistani forces had fired more than 3000 bombs and nearly 450 of them were targeted at the temple. But it was nothing short of a miracle that none of them exploded! Some of the shells have been kept in the temple premises as done in museums (see picture). The temple is close to Longewala, the Indo-Pak border and after the war, the temple was handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) which till date manages the temple. The BSF has erected a memorial in the temple premises.

The temple has become better known to people outside Rajasthan after it was shown in the Hindi movie “Border”.

Though the locals have their faith and belief in the goddess, the name and fame of the temple and the goddess is thanks to its historical association. No matter what science tells us and teaches us, our emotions are kindled when we hear about the Pak firing and the unexploded shells. It’s more of a tourist attraction than a place of religious sanctity. Also, the myths associated with Hinglaj are a mere association as this is not a Shakti-peeth, but the texts and books available there have mentioned the temple’s ‘association’ with the famous Shakti-peeth which now falls in Pakistan.

The last two temples (i.e. Ghantiali Mata and Tanot Mata) are religious places but have historical association. This is found across the country and many places where some aspect of the divinity shakes hand with history – creating an air of reality which is both believable and assignable to a current date. Is this done out of a purpose or just gets associated due to an accidental occurrence, is tough to prove. But the fact that the association lends credence to the sanctity cannot be undermined.

Even in Greek Mythology, scholars trace the Trojan War to history, but at the same time it has numerous references of gods and goddesses participating in the war.

Finally is it history adding to the truthfulness of mythology or is it mythology lending a religious credence to historical events, is a matter of debate.

Next we will go through one more example of mythology during historical times, but with a difference. The myths do not incite communal tensions, rather promotes communal harmony. Keep reading.