128. A
critical view of Rama Katha
From A Practical Konkani-English encyclopedic dictionary
Written by Pandarinath Bhuvanendra Janardhan
Retd. Prof. and Head of the Dept. of Analytical Chemistry,
Madras University.
Printed in 1999
1. Rama, the Avatar of Visnu:- Rama was one of the two prominent
avatars of Visnu, the other being Krsna. Literally an avatar means a descent or
one who has descended. Visnu has
descended from Vaikunta to the earth. No
one has seen the vaikunta, neither the astronauts nor the most powerful of
telescopes; yet the people are expected to believe it is somewhere up above in
the skies. Why does Visnu take the trouble of leaving his astral abode and
descend to the mundane earth? When does he feel the necessity for it? This
question, He answers himself in the gita. Chapt. IV S1-7.
Yada Yada hi dharmasya etc., etc., =
Whenever Dharma deplets and adharma enlarges, O! Arjuna That is the time when I
beget myself on this earth. The phrase
used by Lord Krsna, namely “beget myself” is quite alright, but the puranas use
the word “descent” which is confusing. A descent or a fall can be either in
space, ie., from a higher level to a lower; or it may be a deterioration
quality-wise. Such questions never arose
in a society where members took delight in hearing about miracles. In modern
times these are nothing to bear testimony to the description in mythology.
In all probability, an incarnation
was not born, but made. A boy is
carefully chosen having certain physiognomic traits such as eyes resembling
lotus petals (kamala dalaksa), long hands reaching the knees (ajanubahu) and
conch and wheel Rekhas (representative lines) on feet; and such a boy is given
training under a Guru to behave like an extra-ordinary human being. For this, they boy’s ego is considerably
fostered until atlast he believes himself to be larger than life. The choice of such a boy could have been more
difficult than the discovery of the new Lama (Tibet), the re-birth or
incarnation of the dead and gone Lama.
In the case of Rama, no suitable boy
could readily be had, and so he was to be tailor made by conducting Putra
Kamesti in which the priests were suitably chosen on the basis of their
knowledge of Atharva ceremonies. Rama was legally the son of Dasaratha, but
biologically Rsya Srnga might have been his sire. That he was ear-marked to be
an Avatar was known only to a very few, eg. Vasista, Gotama, Viswamitra, and
Indra. It was not known even to
important personages like Dasaratha.
That is why when Dasaratha showed reluctance to send Rama and Lakshmana
with Viswamitra, the later burst out in anger, “I know who Rama is; but you do
not”. A shocked Dasaratha then got a conformation from Vasistha.
Thus chosen boy was then given enough
training for his mission, ie., He becomes a man of mission. He has to behave
different from the ordinary for which the trainer plays on the ego of the
boy. He is made to perform some miracle,
viz. Sri Rama on his way to Mithila was made to touch Ahalya, and the petrified
statue suddenly came to life as a beautiful dame. Breaking the bow of Siva (Pinaka) was another
extraordinary thing. Defeat of ParasuRama,
who had been the terror or Death to any Ksatriya, was indeed the most
spectacular performance, unexpected of the boy Rama. That was followed by the victory over
Kakasura (the son of Indra). All these
went to make Rama a prestigious personality.
If a boy born as a human can thus be elevated to the status of a God, by
virtue of his ideal thoughts, words and deeds, the name for the process must be
Udhar (up-liftment) and not Avatar (descent) (or degradation).
The mission of an avatar was to protect,
maintain and spread the establishment of Aryans in Bharat Vars, that is to say,
the Avatar mush uphold the Aryadharma and expel Adharma. If one analyses the Puranas astutely, it
would be clear that the Aryadharma cannot be maintained and upheld unless the “anaryadharma”
is exterminated. By Anarya, it is meant non Aryans, namely the tribal
adivasis. The object of the
cultivator Aryans and that of the tribes who depend for their livelihood on
forests, were at logger heads. Under the
exalted names of yagas, the Aryans used to conduct bonfire of forests. Who would keep quiet on seeing their habitats
being set on fire by foreigners? If they attempted to putt of the fire with
water, it would be told that they committed adharma, they poured blood
(exaggeration if not lie) into the holy yagna Kunda etc., et., An avatara
purusa could not do good to the Aryans without doing harm to the non Aryan tribals. This goes against the dictum. “God loves every creation as his Child”. But Aryan puranas say Suresu Sandarsita
Paksapata” = Lord Visnu is partial towards gods or Aryans Now, what were the
exact circumstances which upset the Dharma – adharma equipoise and made the Aryans
create a Ramavatar? A few are mentioned below:
1.
Tribals were mainly concentrated in the Vindhyan ranges. Two prominent tribals were the Vananaras and
the Raksasas. Vananaras (forest men)
came to be depicted by Valmiki as Vanaras (Monkey’s with long tails). Aryans who used to travel to Dakkin Khanda
(Deccan) indulged in women hunt among the tribals, which was happily welcomed
by the Vanaras, but strongly resented by the Raksasas. Therefore the Aryans said a lot of derogatory
remarks about Raksasas, while they extolled the Vanaras as people specifically
created by Visnu so that the Aryans could sow their seeds which would help them
in the fight against Ravana “Surah sarve Jayaren bhumao vanara rupinah Sahayam
Karthum me Ravana nigrahe. (Sri Ramodantam).
2.
Raksasas were a disorganized race and in the beginning the Aryans had
their own way with Raksasas too. Then
appeared a very energetic shrewd and self respecting Raksasa, Ravana who was
like a rising Sun. He organized the race under his banner and conequere
Danavas, Nagas and defeated Indra. He
reclaimed the places which the Aryans had usurped from the Raksasas. He also got back as patrimony the lanka
island from Kubera. Lanka was situated
at the confluence of several water ways of trade importance. The presence of Ravana was an adharma as much
as it hindered the enlargement of Aryan establishments.
3.
Tataki was a powerful Raksasi related to Ravana.
Agastya had set up his asrama in the Tataka Vana. Archery had just then come into vogue and
Agastya was an expert in it. Vanaras and
Raksasas who fought with rocks and tree branches could not match the Aryans
whose arrows had long range, and provided with Iron heads. Agastya and his disciples were in the habit
of giving many vezations to the Raksasas who approached the Asrama. One night-Tataka conducted a surprise raid on
the asrama, and captured Agastya.
Agastya was taken with a rope round his nect before Pulatsya Brahma, who
was the elder brother of Agastya. This insult was too much that Agastya swore
on that day that he would exterminate the Paulastya race of Raksasas.
4.
Ravana
soon became an emperor having vassels like Danavas and Nagas. On his route to and fro Lanka, were the
asramas of several Rsis, one of whom was the RajaRsi Kusadhwaja Janaka, the
elder brother of Siradhwaja janaka of Mithila.
Kusadhwaja had adopted vedavati, the daughter of Indra in Ahalya, whom
her legal father Gotama was ashamed to keep with him. Vedavati at 16 was a
stunning beauty and several Raksasa youths of the region approached Kusadhwaja
seeking her hand in marriage. The
selfish old man was afraid of the void and solitude if she went away after
marriage, and so replied to the suitors that the girl was under a vow to marry
Visnu only. The girl know that it was a
ruse never to give her in marriage. She
used to see often Ravana going by the asrama.
Rvana had become resplendent and glorious by his might, and he he was
known as Ravaneesa. She had often
thought whether he could not be an alternate Visnu. One day their eyes met, and within a few days
they became intimate. Vedavati liked
Ravana, his might and fame, and she gave herself to him by the gandharva mode
of marriage. The result was the birth of
a girl which made Goramasram and Kusadhwajasrama agog with anger and curses;
Gautama swore to obliterate Ravanakula through the instrument of his own daughter. In a few month the child was carried and
placed by Sadananda Gautami in a field of Mithila. The child was discovered by Siradwaja
janka. This is the secret about the
parentage of Sita who has been reported to be given birth to by Bhuma Devi
(Mother earth). Ravana’s union with the nubile Vedavati was the greatest
Adharma commited by a low class being, a Raksasa, for which alone Ravana had
become a Vadhya, one who deserves death.
5.
Ravana was the heredity ruler of Tibet, which was called in those days as
Tivistapa. He had conquered
almost all neighboring principalities. There
are now remained only Indra’s Amaravati.
He pounded on Amaravati without proper preparation and without knowing
that Indra had already made anticipatory preparation to counter the act. Ravana had to return and spend several sad
days. Meghanada on seeing the father’s
sorrow, took a lightning expedition and laid waste the city of Amaravati. Indra was bound hands and feet and was laid
at the feet of Ravana. He was tied to
the gate of the town, and every citizen of Lanka talked derogatively of the
king of Gods. Meghanada released him
only by the request of Pulastya Brahma, and that after the Brahma bestowed on
him the title of Indrajit (the victor over Indra). Indra was highly bitter in
mind and vowed to wreak vengeance, at whatever cost.
So it was the combined anger of
Indra, Agastya, Viswamitra, Kusadhwaja, Gautama, Vaisravana and a few others
that led to a plot to do away with Ravana, for which purpose they resolved to
make a new Avatar, Rama. Seldom do
people know that an unrelenting prompter behind the creation of every Avatar
was the Devrsi, Narada, the walking newspaper of anciety times. He was
responsible for the yagna that produced the yagna varaha that killed
Hiranyaksa. He was the force and guide
behind Upendra who cheated Mahabali. What
he did in the case of Rama was to entrust a broad outline of the plot of
Ramayana to his disciple Valmiki, who by his poetic talents created a detailed
dramatic plot, a blue print that was ready even before the birth of
Rama. The subsequent Ramayana was a
mere enactment of the blue print.
(to be continued – An Avatarship – at
what price?)
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