Ramayana- A Comparative Study of Ramakathas

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The story of Rama has been a part of our lives for ever and will probably continue to be so…. But most of us are unaware that the story has as many variations as there are versions. In the author’s own words Valmiki’s Ramayana has taken several ‘incarnations’ due to the efforts of many great writers who wanted to bring the story to their own people in their own language. In his book, Professor AA Manavalan, an eminent scholar in the field of comparative literature, has painstakingly made an intensive and analytical study of the Rama story in 48 languages including the folk tradition. Professor Manavalan’s main focus is on how the receiving language’s rendering could make a greater impact than the original in the popular imagination of the people. Ramayana - A Comparative Study of Ramakathas, an English rendition of Ramakaathaiyum Ramayanangalum, presented by CT Indra and Prema Jagannathan, captures the thematic purpose of Prof AA Manavalan’s Tamil original and creates a forum ‘to discuss whether Ramayana is an ethical text or an ideological text’.

Professor A A Manavalan (1935-2018) taught in the Tamil Language Department of University of Madras, Chennai, and retired as Professor and Head. He was proficient in Telugu and Hindi also. His doctoral research was on the epic poetry of Kamban and Milton. He was a Visiting Professor for Comparative Literature in the Universities of Indiana, Columbia and New York, USA, under the Indo-American Cultural Exchange programme (1988-89). He has published research works on Tolkappiyam, Tamil Bhakti Literature, twentieth-century literary theories, comparative literary studies in epics, Sangam Tamil Literature, and world Tamil literary history. The book translated here, Ramakaathaiyum Ramayanangalum (vol. 1), published in Tamil in 2005 by the Institute of South Indian Studies, Chennai, was awarded the Saraswati Samman by the KK Birla Foundation, Delhi, in 2011.

Professor A A Manavalan was my respected senior colleague in the University of Madras, teaching in the Tamil Linguistics Department. Several years after he retired he suddenly dropped in at my home one day towards the end of 2012 with his award-winning work on Rama's story Ramakaathaiyum Ramayanangalum (Volume 1, covering the portions up to the Aranya Kaandam, published in 2005 by the Institute of South Indian Studies, Chennai). He insisted that I translate it for him into English. Taking one quick look at the contents and bearing in mind my domestic situation at that time, I was unsure if I would be able to undertake the project. I essayed a few pages and found what a daunting task it was going to be. My poor knowledge, inadequate language abilities and lack of technical skills dissuaded me from continuing. But Professor Manavalan was sure it could be done. It is said faith can move mountains and it is his faith in my abilities that has sustained me till the end. I had just finished the first draft of the introductory chapter of historical and theoretical discussions as well as Bala Kaandam, when he was taken ill and my hope of having periodical sittings with him to get clarifications and approval was gone.

Hearing at my back...Time's winged chariot hurrying near I sought the collaboration of Prema Jagannathan. With her versatile knowledge of Tamil literature and language, although a practising English teacher, Prema stepped in and shouldered the burden with resolve and an amazing repertoire of technical skills. She could uncannily and effortlessly gloss unfamiliar terminology and concepts. Thus, together, we pulled the story of Rama to Ayodhya Kaandam. I must also mention how she single-handedly rough-drafted the longish Aranya Kaandam. Of course, I took a long time editing it with Uma Rajagopal's help because of the complex nature of the Tamil narrative syntax. I record here my deep sense of appreciation of Prema's professional commitment and support at all times. I also wish to record my grateful admiration for Malini Ravindran, my neighbour for long years who now became our saviour. With infectious enthusiasm she plunged into the task given and elucidated many recondite grammatical and cultural aspects of Tamil for me.

The story of Rama began, perhaps, in the collective unconscious of the ancient Indian tribes who inhabited India in the distant past. The story might have remained as an oral tradition for a long time and later found expression in a written form in the Buddha Jataka Tales (fifth century BCE). It was an essential part of the spiritual mythography of Buddhism. It was a simple and straightforward fable, wherein Rama represented one of the evolutionary stages of Gautama, the Buddha, before he attained Nirvana. There was only one twist in the story, the self-exile of Rama to the Himalayas to avoid the wrath of his step-mother. The Buddhist versions scrupulously avoided war and violence, befitting the sattvic traditions of that religion.

Valmiki, hailed as Atikavi (the first poet or Aadikavi in Sanskrit), collected the various myths and legends of his time, obtained from different parts of the Indian subcontinent and integrated them with the Rama story. He thus created a narrative and thematic continuity, set on a vast canvas that spread from Nepal to Sri Lanka down below. Because of this inclusive setting, all the regions identified themselves with the epic, each one in its own distinctive way, so that when it was rendered in the language of the specific region, the impact and diversity helped to give the story a pan-Indian character. Thus Ramayana became an intrinsic aspect of the Indian cultural psyche.

India is a synthetic fabric of many-coloured threads, each thread having its own distinctive hue and identity but remaining inseparable from the fabric. So the same Rama story is retold in almost all the languages of the country with variations but without deviating from the main thematic content. Each version justifies the genius of the language in which it is told and also the culture of the region. Professor A A Manavalan, an eminent scholar in the field of comparative literature, has painstakingly made an intensive and analytical study of the Rama story in forty-eight languages not excluding the folk tradition. He wrote this brilliant book in Tamil and it won the prestigious Saraswati Samman. Professor Manavalan does not make any judgmental remarks with regard to the various versions, but his main focus is how the receiving language's rendering could make a greater impact than the original in the popular imagination of the people. Professors C T Indra and Prema Jagannathan have elegantly translated this book into English for a wider reach. This translation captures the thematic purpose of the Tamil original and creates a forum to discuss whether Ramayana is an ethical text or an ideological text.

**Contents and Sample Pages**