topics: |  india | sanskrit | ramayana |

over the millennia, the old indian epics have been transformed through a
million re-tellings, initially in sanskrit and then the various prAkrits
and vernaculars.  during the maritime period, these stories also spread to
south-east asian cultures.  

this work, based on a univ. bombay lecture series by dr. raghavan,
describes three of the sanskrit versions, each glorifying a slightly
different strand of deity and thereby a cultural group:

* adbhUta rAmAyaNa focuses on the goddess, and glorifies sitA who is an
  incarnation of the devI.  the composition is set to music, and the text
  includes a description of rAgas and rAginis, which evolved in the
  rajaput-mohammedan period, and it was in vogue by the time of Tulsidas
  (d. 1623) who uses it in the first % canto of the rAmacaritamAnasa.
  raghavan suggests that it may have been composed in the 14th-15th c. in N
  India.)

* the adhyAtma rAmAyaNa on the other hand emphasizes devotion to rAmA and
  unifies him with kriSNa as in the bhAgavata, thus aligning itself with
  vaiSNava thought.  it embodies the spirit of bhakti.  it is popular
  among the followers of rAmAnanda (guru of kabir), and according to some
  traditions was even composed by him.  this is consistent with the most
  likely date - about 14th c.  

* Ananda rAmAyaNa emphasizes the householder model of worship, deviating
  from the vAlmiki version in showing rAma as a caring husband, looking
  aftter sItA and the children.  it was composed in the south, perhaps the
  tAmil country, which is well represented in the list of pilgrimages
  undertaken by rAma and sItA.  the word chhatrapati is used, possibly
  indicating mArAThA contact.  possibly composed around late 17th-18th c.,
  in when the tanjore region came under the maraThas.

one of my own interests is to trace the appearance of the legend of the
lakshmaNa rekhA, which does not appear in vAlmiki, but seems to be present
in most of the vernacular traditions (tulsi, krittibAs).  unfortunately,
raghavan does not comment on this.

from intro by mahAmahopAdhyAya k. t. pandurangi

adbhUta rAmAyaNa

the main purpose of the adbhuta rAmAyaNa is to present the shAkta religion
and philosophy. sitA is made the central figure here and identified as the
forms of sakti, mahesvarI, durgA etc.  her glory is described on the model
of the vibhUti yoga of gItA and is made to act like mahAkAlI.  on killing
rAvaNa she is described as dancing on his body in the ferocious form of
shakti.

certain important changes are also made in the structure of the rAmAyaNa
story.  sItA is said to be the daughter of rAvaNa. two rAvaNas are also
envisaged; of them, the one known to us through valmiki has only ten faces;
but his elder brother mentioned here has a thousand faces. it was this rAvaNa
who was destroyed by sita assuming the form of kAlI. another interesting
feature of this version is the description of rAgA and ragNIs.

the background episode for the birth of sitA as rAvaNa's daughter, rAma
losing his wife, and mantharA playing her wicked role, are also portrayed to
justify these events.  in this way the well known theme of rAmAyaNa is
supplemented with certain background episodes. although these do not seem to
be relevant for the purpose of giving a shAkta orientation to rAmAyaNa,
sita's marvellous acts performed while killing the senior rAvaNa justify the
title of this work as 'adbhuta' rAmAyaNa. it is noteworthy that there is a
bengali rAmAyaNa that closely follows the course of this version.

adhyAtma rAmAyaNa

the second rAmAyaNa digest included in this volume is adhyAtma rAmAyaNa. as
the very title suggests, it has a philosophical orientation. much of its
philosophy is drawn from the bhAgavata. the philosophical stotras and
discourses that occur in the bhAgavata are summarised here. rAma is no doubt
described as an incarnation of viShnu. but he is described as the role model
of krishna in bhAgavata.  bhakti is given utmost importance. the intention
seems to be to popularise rAma-worship as widely as krishna worship was
popularised by bhAgavata.

the adhyAtma rAmAyaNa is known to have considerably influenced kabirdas and
tulasidas.  [tulsidas' rAmacharitamAnasa reflects the same themes to the
adhyAtma rAmAyaNa].

it presents the philosophy of rAmAnanda also. the advaitic thought is
presented in the varied philosophical discourses. its aim seems to correlate
the teachings of the bhagavata and rAmAyaNa and relate these two incarnations
to the same supreme god viSNu.

Ananda rAmAyaNa

in the Ananda rAmAyaNa rAvaNa's misdeeds start much earlier than abducting
sItA; he carries kausAlya to lanka on learning that her marriage with
dasaratha is proposed and the son born to them would kill him. however he
does not succeed in retaining her at lanka.

the Ananda rAmAyaNa introduces a number of background episodes to explain
the conduct of kaikeyi, mantharA and a few other events that are apparently
unjustified.  it has been a technique in our purANas to utilise the conduct
in a previous birth or an earlier yuga or an event outside the human
affairs to explain a human error or an unjustified act of human beings.
the jain and buddhist traditions too follow this technique. the curses and
the boons are made use of for this purpose. this reduces the wrath against
the concerned person. Ananda rAmAyaNa makes use of this technique to
explain the ticklish events of the rAmAyaNa. while valmIki's rAmAyaNa is
filled with serious events, the ananda introduces a number of pleasant
events, particularly in the vilAsa and vivAha kANDas. this justifies its
name.  philosophical and moral advice have also been incorporated...

raghavan on the Ananda rAmAyaNa

[this version was not as popular as the adbhUta or the adhyAtma, for which
there are many more manuscript versions available.  only 4 to 5 mss are known
for the Ananda rAmAyaNa. ]

the name Ananda rAmAyaNa [is explained] at more than one place in the
text. it is the rAmAyaNa which narrates especially the life of rAma after his
coronation and as king, enjoying his rule and making all those around
rejoice. the [entire book VI], vilAsa-kANDa, is devoted to rama and sitA
enjoying themselves.  rAma has excursions, expeditions, pilgrimages,
marriages of his children etc. all this [contrasts with the main] rAmAyaNa,
the greater part of which is involved in suffering.  duHkha.

literary quality of Ananda rAmAyaNa

the poetic quality of the Ananda rAmAyaNa is varied.  [it has some]
grammatical lapses ; sometimes it becomes pedestrian ; but occasionally its
literary quality waxes, as for example in its description of rAmarAjya in
VII.ii.:3(15) in which, following bANa, the author uses parisaMkhyA (figure
with sleSha) and exhibits much skill. 120

date of Ananda rAmAyaNa

some indications in the text:

* in I.7, spots in the daNDaka forests associated with mArica, rAvaNa and the
  abduction of sitA are identified in terms of the modern names of these
  spots in the deccan.

* in II.7, there is a detailed description of the pilgrimages of rAma and
  sitA all over india; here, it would be obvious to the reader that the
  author knows deccan and south india very well.  the author knows the
  shrines and sacred places of the tamil country in great detail, even some
  small places here not being omitted.

* in VI.3, in the svayaMvara of princesses campikA and sumati which rAma
  attends for the sake of kusha and lava, the deity of kan~ci in dravida
  country and its shrines and tirthas are mentioned.

* in the same context, the karNataka empire of vijayanagar is mentioned
  (verse 22).

* in the last book, 4.52, the word chatrapati for king is used - this is
  a word which came into vogue especially during maratha times.

from all this, i am led to think that the Ananda was produced during the
times when maratha rule had been established in the south, particularly in
tanjore, and there were cultural contacts and activity in the collected
fields of bhakti and music which developed as a result of this
mahArashtra-tanjore contacts, i.e. from the end of the 17th and beginning
of the 18th centuries.

mAraTha-tamil discourse and rAmesvaram charter

the kirtan_ or _harikathA_, or _kathAkAlakShepa - the musical devotional
discourse - is a product of this period which gained much vogue from this
maharashtra-tamil contacts. and it is particularly significant that the
Ananda speaks of the performance of kirtan in the city (vii.i.4.23ff).

in VII ii.6.(18), the Ananda gives the story of the brahmans of rAmesvaram
receiving a charter from rAma himself.  this has some similarity to the
story of rAma granting a charter (tAmrasAsana) to the brahmans of
dharmAraNya, told in the dharmAraNya-mAhAtmya_ of the _brahmakhaNDa of
the skandapurANa.

this story of charter for the brahmaNas at rAmesvaram gains some
significance also [because], as we know, the priests at rAmeshvaram temple
have been, for some generations now, drawn from mahArAshtra brahman
families.

the author of the Ananda is a comparative student of the rAma-story; [he
refers to several other rAmAyaNa-versions]. as noted above, he mentions
variations of the same episodes in other sources and offers the explanation
of 'kalpabheda' apart from valmiki's work, he knows the adhyAtma rAmAyaNa. 

contents

foreword- dr. k.t. pandurangi
preface - smt. nandini ramani
	[nandini ramani is raghavan's daughter and heads the
	 dr. v. raghavan centre for performing arts]

introduction 							       1

I adbhuta rAmAyaNa 						       3
	editions (3)
	contents of its 27 cantos {4-15)
	critical analysis of the Text ( 15-19)
	its shAkta orientation (19-22)

II adhyAtma rAmAyaNa 						       23
	editions and manuscnpts (23)
	translations in regional languages (23)
	as a purANa (23-4}
	contents of its 7 kandas (25-37)
	bhAgavata and adhyAtma (37-42)
	bhagavadgita, agastya saMhita and adhyAtma (42-45)
	vAlmiki rAmAyaNa and adhyAtma (45-50)
	advaitic background (50)
	subhAsitas, kAvya (50-1)
	philosophical stotras and discourses (52-7)
	philosophical content (57)
	advaitic philosophy (60)
	saguNa brahmA upAsanA (61)
	nAmasaMkirtana (64)
	conception of rAma (65)
	real nature of Atman (66)
	definition of mAyA (67)
	nature of jivAtman ( 68)
	advaitic analogies ( 68)
	adhyAsa (68)
	aikya (69)
	adbhuta and adhyAtma (70-1)

III Ananda rAmAyaNa

	contents of the text in 9 kandas (72)
	sArakANDa (72-91)
	yatra ( 91-3)
	yajn~a (93-4)
	vilAsa (94-6)
	janma (97-102)
	vivAha (102-3)
	rajya part i (103-7)
	rajya part ii ( 107-12)
	manohara ( 112-16)
	pUrANa ( 117 -19)

observations on these texts (120-24)

author bio

dr. raghavan has been a scholar of multidimens10nal activities. his
contributions to alankAra shAstra, manuscriptology, original writings in
sanskrit, editions of journals of research in the fields of sanskrit, music,
dance and drama, besides staging sanskrit dramas, and establishing a research
institute, reveal his multifaceted scholarship which recetved great acclaim
both in india and abroad.  many young scholars received personal guidance
from him and many others were inspired by his writings.  i am one of such
associates. i came into contact with him in 1941 when i was still a student
at the annamalai university and continued to have his affection and guidance
all along. infact he installed me as the professor of sanskrit at bangalore
university in 1968.

[from preface by k. t. pandurangi]