Ramayana Today
Ramayan — the primary epic of India. An epic every person of Indian origin is familiar with. A book which has been translated in almost every language. A story which in it’s completeness has made every listener cry, respect, ponder, question, discuss and at times hate the characters. A story so powerful that it cast a virtual lockdown all across India when it was televised for the first time. Huge amount of people would gather around a single television to celebrate India’s most loved and questioned God. Well, it also broke some of the highest accomplished records like that of Game of Thrones, just sayin’ when aired during the 2020 lockdown.
D. K. Bose, media director of Hindustan Thompson Associates, said when asked about the viewership — “The unique thing about the Ramayana was its consistency. Other programs like Buniyaad and even Hum Log did achieve viewership of around 80 percent and more, on occasion. In the case of Ramayana, that figure had been maintained almost from the beginning. Starting at around 50 percent the 80 percent figure was reached within a few months and never went down. The viewership was more than 50 percent even in the predominantly non-Hindi speaking southern Indian States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The show’s popularity spanned across religions and people of the Islam faith watched in high numbers as well. It was common among people threatening to burn down the local electricity board headquarters during a power outage.”
Again, it was the same Rama who united the nation under a common sentiment of togetherness, gratitude, respect and pure morality.
Arvind Rajagopal in his book Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India wrote that with the series, the government “violated a decades-old taboo on religious partisanship, and Hindu nationalists made the most of the opportunity. It confirmed to the idea of Hindu awakening and the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party capitalizing on this.”
Well, that’s not the first time someone has done that. Ramayana has been ruling the veins of Indians since it’s creation.
Akbar the Great himself attempted to take political advantage of the epic by comparing his rule to “Ram-rajya” in the Persian translation sanctioned by him. For example, in his bilingual grammar from the late six- teenth century, Krishnadasa praises Akbar as Vishnu embodied:
“Since Brahma was described by the Veda as changeless and beyond this world,
therefore Akbar, great ruler of the earth, was born in order to protect cows and Brahmans.
His virtuous name is celebrated throughout the ocean of shastras and among scriptures, histories , and the like.
It is established forever in the three worlds, and therefore with his name this work is composed.
It is no surprise that cows were protected by Lord Krishna, son of Gopala,and the best of the twice born guarded by the Ramas, gods of the Brahmans.
But it is truly amazing that the lord Vishnu descended in a family of foreigners that loves to harm cows and Brahmans. Akbar protects cows and Brahmans”
(Audrey Truchuke, Culture of Encounters)
But at the same time, we all must understand that politics and society run together like a pair of legs. Also, politics is not a field with pure logic and understanding. People rip apart their opponents using the sentiment of the crowd and garbing it as logic using it as the premise of their winning argument. And what is the primary constituent of a society? Something which binds you, encourages you, soothes you, unites you, give you your identity and position in the society, supports you when you are down, gives you hope, is in fact virtually the loving mother of a society…..That’s religion, my friend. Religion is an important part of life for many people. Even people who are not all that religious by nature consider it to be important. The reason is largely down to the belief that society needs religion. As a society we benefit from our collective religious beliefs. In fact, there are many people who would argue that we could not function without religion. There is considerable debate as to whether or not religion is required to make us good people but what is beyond dispute is that the rules for what is acceptable for society are largely based on religion. Without religion we would almost certainly live in a different type of society. A.W. Geen also pointed out that religion has the supremely integration and verifying force in human society. It is true that common belief, common sentiment, common worship, participation in common rituals etc. are the significant cementing factors which strengthen unity and solidarity. (https://www.academia.edu/3838157/Importance_of_religion_in_todays_world?auto=download)
We often tend to ask that if someone has not read the scriptures, does he follow the religion? At the same time, has every citizen of a country read it’s constitution at least once in his life? No. Not even once. But every citizen knows what the basic crimes are, and what are his rights. Similarly, stories constitute the basic crux of a religion. A Hindu has to not compulsorily read the primary books(Vedas), but with assurance I can say that a person who knows the basic outline of Ramayana knows the Hindu mentality and society. He knows what are the family and society values & practices of a typical Hindu household. The story in it’s entirety is so binding that it enraptures the bind and works at time like a mirror. Various people tend to see a reflection of their thoughts in the story. The dilemmas are real and pondering and their outcomes are equally intriguing. The actions and reactions almost bring tears to the reader’s eye. The values are so surreal that every Indian wants to inculcate them into each other. Hence, almost every household compares it’s day to day circumstances to the segments of the long epic… Like — “A couple like Ram-sita”, “A betrayer like Vibhishana”, “A brother like Lakhan”, ”A son like Shravana”, “A seer like Ravana” the list goes on and on.
It is absolutely normal that when an epic so old and important finds itself in the modern scientific world, where every decision is based not on faith, morals and values but on logic, data and statistics, it will be treated to different. It will be grilled in its every aspect by the readers to arrive at the appropriate conclusions. Hence, people tend to question the choices made by the protagonists when compared to. “Why couldn’t Sita fight for herself?”, “ Why was Bharat so selfless?”, “Was Vibhishana right?”, “Was Meghnaada correct to support his father?” and far most importantly which puts the entire country at jeopardy, “Why did Ram ever leave Sita?”
Well, we are not going to answer that question here. But undoubtedly, Indians and societies are absolutely unparalleled. They all kind of have found the solution to their moral dilemmas. Over the centuries, various linguistic societies, in their versions of the great epic, keeping the crux same, have transformed the portions they dislike and garnished the epic with details that suit their minds and cultures. Well, I most certainly cannot say that the Sansakrit Ramayan is the one true Ramayan for there have been manipulations in it as well over the centuries. For example, A 6th-century manuscript of Ramayana, which focuses on the separation of Rama and Sita and portrays them more as humans, has been found tucked inside a Purana at a Sanskrit library in Kolkata. It is markedly different from the more accepted 4 BC Valmiki Ramayana. “Interestingly in this version, there are just five kandas (sections) instead of the accepted seven. There is no Balakanda — the part that deals with Rama’s childhood — or Uttarkanda. This Ramayana ends with the return of Rama and Sita from exile and his ascension to the Ayodhya throne,” said Anasuya Bhowmick, lead scholar of the Asiatic Society, who is working with the manuscript. This Ramayana does not begin with the curse that drove Dasarath to send his son to exile.(The Times of India).
The version written by the legendary Tamil poet Kambar differs in specific incidents in the storyline and spiritual aspects. In Valmiki’s version, Ravana grabs Sita by her hair and hoists her over his shoulders whereas here, Ravana lifts her off the ground with the piece of the earth she is standing on, with not even a fingernail touching her.
Ranganatha(Telgu) Ramayana is famous for introducing the fabled and emotional squirrel incident; when the vanaras were helping Rama build a bridge to Lanka, a humble squirrel decided to do its bit and help out. As a gesture of his gratitude, Rama blesses the creature by drawing three lines on its back with his fingers.
In Bengal, the land of Durga and woman empowerment, Sita is said to have defeated Ravana’s demon brother Sahasraravana who was way more ferocious than him after the war in the form of Kali. This was to show that Sita alone had the might to fight Ravana, but she wanted to give Rama a chance and honour of following the Kshatriya-dharma. This story line is also seen in the Adbhuta Ramayana.
In South Asian versions found in Thailand and Cambodia, appearance of a mermaid is noted who helps Hanuman in crossing the sea and constructing the Ram-setu and ends up ultimately marrying him(recall Hanuman is famous for his brahmacharya in India).
In the Dasaratha Jataka, Buddhist version of the epic, Rama and Sita are depicted as brother and sister in this version. The duo is not banished but sent away to the Himalayas by king Dasaratha in order to protect them from their jealous stepmother. The stepmother is the only antagonist, for there is no Ravana in this story. When things have cooled down, Rama and Sita return to Benaras and not Ayodhya — and get married. As much as your morals are jarred by this incestuous turn of things, bear in mind that some communities make this provision to maintain purity of caste when there are no eligible matches.(scroll.in)
In Aananda Ramayana, another version of the Sanskrit Ramayana, Sita is said to have returned from the Earth after the citizens of Ayodhya cried their hearts out apologizing to her. Then, she ruled beside Rama for the next few decades. The Ramayana also says that not everyone in Kaliyuga will be blessed enough to read it.
In the ahimsavaadi Jain religion, the Jain Ramayana Paumachariya rejects the idea of a monkey army and suggests that they were actually a tribe of warrior people with the monkey as their totem or symbol. Here, Lakshman is depicted as the slayer of Ravana. That’s for the reason that Rama, being a perfect Jain, is strictly nonviolent and cannot be a killer and was ready to forgive Ravana.
Hence today, which Ramayan is the correct Ramayan is an absolutely illogical question. It depends what we like in the epic, and how we see our society in it. Ultimately, it’s purpose was to establish peace and harmony in the society through unity, morals and the power of truth. The tale often tends to derail itself, especially under situations when politically centred minds put their brains together to use the epic. But at the end, we should know when to put a full stop to such nuisance, and take the decision for the betterment of the society and more importantly, ourselves. Ramayana is a beautiful saga depicting of truth and morals over evils, the destruction of a man due to his ego, the creation of an army and crossing of the ocean for true love, a King’s duty towards his citizens, a father’s love for his child, a brother’s sacrifice for his brother, the importance of a promise, and if one is blessed enough like Tulsidas, the absolute truth of existence-consciousness and bliss. It is absolutely our choice how to we want to see the epic, interpret it and understand it. For finally, our mind is the medium through which we perceive the world.
