Story Of Rama In Tibet

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/269712/1

Page #1
THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET J. W. DE JONG The story of Rama is well known in Tibet and it is told in many texts. The oldest known version is found in six manuscripts from Tun-huang. Tun-huang in the north-west of China was occupied by the Tibetans during a period of about sixty years from 787 to 848. It is probably during the Tibetan occupation that this version of the story of Rama was written in Tun-huang. It is also possible that the manuscripts containing this story could have been written in Central Tibet and brought to Tunhuang during the Tibetan occupation. The six manuscripts containing this story are all incomplete and they differ in details. The six manuscripts which are usually designated with the letters A, B, C, D, E and F can be divided into two groups. Manuscripts A, C, D, and F represent one Recension: Recension I, and manuscripts B and E another recension, Recension II. The main difference between the two Recensions is that Recension I is more detailed, containing several episodes which are missing in Recension II. Recension I is preserved almost in its entirety in manuscripts D and A which together contain 491 lines. Only a few lines are missing. The complete manuscript of Recision I must live willained almival 500 lines. The second recension is only partly preserved, mainly in manuscript E. The 276 lines of manuscript E correspond to about 340 lines of manuscripts D and A. Probably Recension Il contained about 400 lines. It is not my intention to repeat the detailed summary of the two recensions which I presented to the First International Sanskrit Conference in New Delhi in March 1972. However, it is necessary to briefly sketch the main lines of the story in order to explain the

Page #2
ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA relationship of the Tun-huang version with the later versions of the story of Rama and Sita. 164 The narrative begins with a description of the country of Lankapura situated in the midst of the ocean. It is ruled by the king of the demons, Yagsakori, who cannot be defeated by the gods. The gods request the rsi Visravas and Sridevi to bear a son who will be able to vanquish him. This son, Vaisravana, kills all demons but spares Malhyapanta, the son of Yagsakori. Malhyapanta piaus revenge and devotes himself to serving a divine rsi, a son of Brahma, called Svapasina or Bisurasena, to whom he offers his daughter, Mekesena. Three sons are born from this union: Dasagriva, Udpakana (Ampakarna) and Cirisana (Birinasa). They obtain power over the gods from Mahadeva, and go to Lankapura to kill both gods and men there. In this way they avenge the death of Yagsakori for Malhyapanta. In recension II this episode is told very briefly, but in Recension I it is much more detailed. According to the latter, the three sons of Mekesena first ask Brahma for three miraculous powers. When Brahma refuses, they go to Mahadeva and try to propitiate him.. Dasagriva even cuts off one of his ten heads as an offering. Mahadeva's wife, Upade (Upame), offers them her own miraculous power, which they reject. Upade thereupon prophesies that they will be destroyed by a woman. Then Mahadeva's minister, Prahasti, offers his miraculous power, which they likewise reject, and Prahasti prophesies that they will be destroyed by a monkey. Finally, they obtain from Mahadeva the three following powers: (1) power over the gods; (2) the death of any being who is struck by the first arrow shot; and (3) immortality, as long as Dasagriva's horse-head is not cut off. After the victory of the three sons of Mekesena, the gods deliberate as to what to do against Dasagriva and the demons. They ask Visnu for help. Visnu incarnates himself as Ramana, the son of Dasaratha, and his own son appears on earth as Lagsena. A daughter is born to Dasagriva, but it is predicted that she shall cause the ruin of her father and the demons so she is placed in a copper box and committed to the waters. She is found by Indian peasants and named Found in the furrow (Rol-rned-ma). Dasaratha is wounded in a battle between the gods and the demons, THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET 165 and Ramana renounces the throne and Lagsana is appointed as king. Rol-rned-ma grows up and the peasants offer her to Ramana who accepts her as his wife and gives her the name of Queen Sita. Ramana now becomes king. When one of Yogsakori's ministers, Marutse, prevents five hundred brahmans from obtaining a siddhi, Ramana throws a ring at Marutse and injures one of his eyes. The brahmans obtain their siddhi and give Ramana a blessing: all those who die by his arrows will be reborn as gods. Meanwhile, Dasagriva's sister, Purpala, has fallen in love with Ramana who rejects her, and Purpala advises her brother Dasagriva to abduct Sita. Marutse now transforms himself into a deer, which Ramana pursues. Lagsana, who thinks that Ramana is in distress, leaves Sita to go to his assistance, and Dasagriva carries off Sita together with a plot of ground. Ramana and Lagsana search everywhere for Sita. They meet with the monkey-king Sugriva who fights his elder brother Balin for possession of their kingdom. Ramana makes a pact with Sugriva, promising to make him king if he helps him to find Sita. Ramana is unable to distinguish between Sugriva and Balin. The next day a mirror is attached to Sugriva's tail and Balin is killed by Ramana; Ramana and Sugriva return to their homes. Ramana waits three years for Sugriva to return and fulfil his pledge, and eventually sends him a message by means of an arrow. Sugriva comes with an army of monkeys, and the monkeys Pifu, Sindu and Hanumanta are sent off to search for Sita. They meet with Pada', the elder son of Agajaya, king of the eagles. Pada' tells them that Sita was abducted by Dasagriva. Hanumanta jumps into the sea and goes to Lankapura. He finds Sita in a castle with nine walls without gates and gives her a letter and a ring from Ramana. Hanumanta uproots the trees in the park and kills many demons. Hanumanta is captured and asks as a favour to be killed in the same way as his father was killed, so the demons wrap his tail in cloth, dip it in butter and set it on fire. Hanumanta thereupon burns the castle of the demons, and returns to Sita who gives him a letter for Ramana. Hanumanta returns and gives the letter to Ramana. R-12

Page #3
166 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA The monkeys and men now set out for Lanka. The monkeys. Maku and Damsi (Dan'du) construct a bridge, and they all reach Lanka. Dasagriva's younger brother, Ampakarna (Udpakarna) advises his brother to flee. Dasagriva does not listen to him and Ampakama joins Ramana. The demon Kumbhakarna is plunged into eternal sleep. Dasagriva and the other demons finally succeed in waking him up, and he swallows the men and the monkeys, but Ramana and Hanumanta escape. Hanumanta is sent to fetch a herb from Mount Kailasa. He returns with the entire mountain which he then replaces again. All the men and monkeys are revived. Ramana fights with Dasagriva whose younger brother, Birinasa, deserts him and flees. Lagsana is killed, but Ramana cuts off Dasagriva's horse-head. Dasagriva dies, falling on the demons and killing most of them. Ramana liberates Sita and revives Lagsana, and Sugriva and Ramana return to their respective countries. Hanumanta is appointed minister of Sugriva after whose death he becomes king. The tale does not end there. The last part of the story tells how Ramana goes to suppress a revolt by King Benbala, leaving Sita and her son Lava in the care of five hundred rsis on Mount Malayana. When Lava is lost, the rsis create another son out of Kusa grass. On his return, Ramana overhears a conversation between the Licchavi Vimala (? Dri-ma dag-pa) and his wife who accuses Sita of adultery. Ramana thereupon rejects Sita who departs with her two sons. Hanumanta visits Ramana and explains that Dasagriva was in fact unable even to approach Sita. Ramana is convinced and sends for Sita and his two sons. Hanumanta returns to his own kingdom, and Ramana, Sita and their two sons. live happily in the palace Old Earth' (sa-rfin). " The story of Rama and Sita was certainly also known in Central Tibet. The Sanskrit-Tibetan terminological dictionary, the Mahavyutpatti, which was compiled at the beginning of the ninth century, contains an entry: sitaharanam, tib. rol-red phrogs-pa (no. 7629). This is probably the title of a work known to the compilers of the Mahavyutpatti, but we do not know if the story THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET 167 told in it was identical to the story outlined above. Another reference to a similar work is found in the biography of Atisa (9821054), who arrived in Tibet about 1040. Sarat Chandra Das, in his dictionary, refers to the title of this work: The story of the ravishment of Sita and of the killing of the yaksa A-sa-pa'. Recently this biography of Atisa has been published by Helmut Eimer. It mentions this work as an example of the many stories which are found in Tibet but are unknown in India. However, the biography of Atisa in which this work is mentioned, was composed at a much later date. According to Eimer it must have evolved in its present form between 1257 and 1469. It is therefore not certain that the story of the ravishment of Sita and of the killing of the yaksa A-sa-pa was in fact already known in Tibet in the middle of the eleventh century. As far as I know no story with this title is known. One must assume that either it is not preserved, or that it does exist, but under a different title. In the first half of the thirteenth century the famous Sa-skya Pandita (1182-1251) composed a collection of four hundred and fifty-seven quatrains called in Tibetan: Legs-par blad-pa rin-poche'l gter and in Sanskrit: Subhasitaratnanidhi.-This work was first studied by Csoma de Koros (1784-1842), whose translation and edition of 234 stanzas was published after his death. Of special interest is the old Mongolian translation of Sonom gar-a which was edited and translated by Ligeti. Both the Tibetan text and the Mongolian translation of Sonom gar-a were edited and translated by James E. Bosson in: A Treasury of Aphoristic Jewels' (Bloomington, 1969). Sa-skya pandita was well versed in Sanskrit literature, and in the past it hes even been assumed that his work was actually first composed in Sanskrit. However, according to James E. Bosson, this is not the case: Although many of the stanzas can be traced directly to Sanskrit originals, and, although there is an obvious Indian flavor in most of the verses, there is no basis for doubting that Sa-skya Pandita actually made the collection himself and independently composed most of the verses, albeit on a popular Indian pattern" (op. cit., p. 1). Stanza 321 refers to the killing of Ravana. Bosson's translation of the Tibetan text is as follows: The Great should abandon their desire for play and enjoyment and food., As a reprimand for having desired voluptuousness, it is renowed that

Page #4
. 168 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA Ravana was killed in Lanka (chen-po rnams-kyi rised-mo dafbde. dan zas la chags-pa span dod-la fen-pa'i le-lan-gyis bod-'grog lan-kar bsad ces grags/). The Mongolian translation is slightly different: Great persons should abandon their desire for play, food and enjoyment. By reason of having lusted for enjoyment, there is the saying that Tisegiri was killed in Lanka'. Bosson remarks in a note that the Mongolian translation of the name of Ravana seems to be thoroughly confused. According to him, this seems to be the name lise, which is the Tibetan name for Mount Kailasa, and the Sanskrit word giri (sic!). The Mongolian translation has Tes-e giriy. Undoubtedly, this represents Datagriva. It happens quite often that the Tibetan translators translate Sanskrit proper names, but that the Mongolian translators make use of a transliteration. Bosson quotes from another manuscript a variant Desegri which is even closer to Sanskrit Dasagriva. The story of Rama is told in a commentary to the Subhasitaratnanidhi by Dmar-ston Chos-rgyal of Dbus. A blockprint of this commentary was described by E. Gene Smith, who writes: This commentary was written by a disciple of the author and is the best known in Tibet of the numerous commentaries'. Dmar-ston's commentary is based upon an older commentary by Rin-chen dpal which was incomplete and full of errors. Dmar-ston Chosrgyal received oral explanations from Sa-skya pandita and wrote his work in accordance with these. Recently, Damdinsuren has published in Russian a work on the Ramayana in Mongolia (Ramajala v Mongolii, Moskva,' 1979) in which he gives the text and translation of Dmar-ston Chos-rgyal's commentary on stanza 321 in which he tells the story of Rama. According to Damdinsuren, Rin-chen dpal is the name of a scholar who lived from 1230 to 1310 and who received an invitation from the Mongolian emperor Qubilai in 1292 (op. cit., p. 136, n. 4). However, it is difficult to suppose that Dmar-ston Chos-rgyal was able to make use of the work of a scholar who was born only 22 years before the death of Sa-skya pandita in 1252. The name Rin-chen dpal is quite common and it must be left to further research to determine his identity. It is quite clear from the colophon that the author of this commentary is Dmar-ston Chos-rgyal and not Rin-chen dpal as is asserted by Bosson (op. cit., p. 14) and Heissig. THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET Dmar-ston Chos-rgyal's commentary on the Subhasitarat. nanidhi was published in 1968 by Tanzin Chhagdor, but the text is not free from errors. Damdinsuren's edition of the story of Rama in this commentary is based upon a nineteenth century Mongolian blockprint (op. cit., pp. 173-177). I have not been able to use other editions. 169 The story begins with Ravana's fruitless efforts to propitiate Mahadeva. Uma offers him her own miraculous power instead, but this is rejected by Ravana, and Uma predicts that his kingdom will be destroyed by a woman. Mahadeva sends his own son whose offer of his miraculous power is likewise rejected.. Mahadeva's son predicts that his kingdom will be destroyed by a monkey. Finally, Mahadeva comes himself. Ravana asks Mahadeva for many things: a fortification, Trikuta, surrounded by the ocean; the physicians of heaven: the Asvins; an army of demons; more possessions than Kubera has; an indestructible iron wall; and finally the siddhi of immortality. However, Mahadeva places Sarasvati on his tongue and she distorts his wishes so that instead of the siddhi of immortality Ravana obtains the siddhi of immortality as long as his horse-head is not cut off. A daughter is born to Ravana, and brahmans say that she possesses marks of ill omen. She is therefore placed in a copper box and committed to the waters.. She is found by peasants who give her the name Found in the furrow'. They offer her to Ramana and she is given the name Sita. Ramana wants to hand over the throne to his younger brother Lakuma who refuses. The youngest of the three brothers, Bhimasena ( Jigs-sde), is therefore appointed king, and Ramana, Lakuma and Sita depart for the forest of penance. Dasagriva is very happy with his wife; he asks whether there is on earth a more beautiful woman. He is told that in Jambudvipa there is a very beautiful woman. Dasagriva goes to the forest of penance and makes a beautiful deer appear before the eyes of Ramana, Lakuma and Sita. Sita asks Ramana to capture the deer. Ramana at first refuses but finally cedes to Sita's wishes, and goes in chase. Dasagriva meanwhile imitates Ramana's voice and Sita thinks that Ramana is in distress, and she asks Lakuma to go to his assistance. Lakuma does not want to leave Sita but she

Page #5
270 THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET 171 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA reproaches him with wishing for the death of the king so that he will be able to take possession of her. Lakuma surrounds Sita with a fence and tells her not to go beyond it. Dasagriva now appears in the guise of a brahman and asks for alms. Sita refuses to move from her enclosure and Dasagriva carries Sita off together with the whole plot of ground. Ramana and Lakuma return and see that Sita has been abducted, and Ramana understands that the deer was the manifestation of a demon. consists of wrapping his tail in cloth, pouring oil on it and setting it alight. This latter is done and Hanumandha burns the crystal palace of the king and all the other castles, which are made of lacquer. Finally, he wishes to dip his tail in the ocean. The Nagas prevent this and extinguish the fire by means of vapour. Hanumandha returns to Ramana and tells him why Sita is unable to come. The king asks Hanumandha to bring an army together near the ocean. While they are constructing a bridge Ramana asks the great rsi Valmiki (Grog-mkhar) what kind of creatures there are in the grcal vocali. V te'ls him that there is a creature which swallows fish and is called Timin. There is another which swallows Timin and another who swallows the one who swallows Timin. Ramana and Lakuma search everywhere for Sita. They meet with a monkey-king Sugriva, who is fighting his brother for the kingdom of the monkeys. Ramana promises to help him, but is unable to distinguish between the two monkeys, so Sugriva attaches a mirror to his forehead and the king kills Balin. Before dying, Balin complains of the fact that Ramana has taken the side of Sugriva. Balin's wife takes the corpse of her husband to the snowy mountain. King Ramana and the army of the monkeys cross the bridge and are met by Ravana with his army, and Ramana cuts off his horse-head. King Ramana returns to his own country. Some of the demons rouse Dasagriva's younger brother, Kumbhakarna, who is plunged in meditation, by pouring molten bronze in his ear. He wakes up and asks what has happened. The demons tell him that his elder brother has been killed. Kumbhakama inhales through his nose and, with the exception of Ramana and Hanumandha, all are transformed into skeletons. Sugriva rejoices and promises to do whatever Ramana desires. Together they go to the valley of the monkeys, where they find Sugriva's minister, a tall monkey with three eyes. This minister, Hanumandha, makes one enormous jump and arrives in the palace of god VAyu. While waiting outside for food, Hanumandha tries to use the plough there but is unable to move it. His uncle, the god Vayu, explains that the Nagas under the earth fear his force and are holding firmly onto the plough. With another jump Hanumandha arrives in Lanka and sees that Sita is imprisoned in a fruit garden. He is told that she is kept imprisoned because she does not want to marry the king of the demons. He goes to Sita and tells her that he is sent by Ramana. Sita does not trust him until he shows her Ramana's ring, when she gives him a message for Ramana saying that she is unable to escape. Hanumandha asks for food from Sita and receives only a little. Ramana sends Hanumandha to the snowy mountain of Kailasa (Ti-se) to fetch a medicinal herb. Hanumandha does not find it, - and is sent a second time. This time he brings the entire mountain back with him. With the help of the herb all the soldiers are reviyed. Ramana now orders him to return the mountain ; Hanumandha throws it from afar back to its original place. This is the reason why, it said, the top of the mountain is slanting. Ramana arrives and takes Sita back. The story concludes with the remark that all this happened to Ravana on account of the two curses. In many respects this story is remarkably similar to the old Tun-huang version. There are some very interesting variations, however. In the Tun-hung version the two curses are uttered by Uma and Mahideva's minister, Prahasti. In this story Prahasti Hanumandha uproots the trees in the park and replants them with their tops in the ground and their roots in the air. The demons surround him, but each time he escapes by means of a jump. He is finally captured, and asks as a favour to be killed either in the way of the mother or that of the father. The first way consists of putting him in a store-room and giving him so much delicious food that he chokes to death. The way of the father

Page #6
172 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA 173 is replaced by a son of Mahadeva. In both versions Dasagriva asks for immortality and in both versions Sarasvati changes his wish. However, in the Tun-huang version Dasagriva expresses three wishes, all of which were changed by Sarasvati. In Dmar-ston's version, Bhimasena is a brother of Ramana and Lakuma. In neither version is Bharata mentioned. In Dmar. ston's version Marutse is not transformed into a deer. The deer is an optical illusion created by Dasagriva. Another difference between the two accounts is that in the Tun-huang version a mirror Is ittlached to the tail of Sugriva. In Dmar-ston's version the mirror is attached to his forehead. Still another difference between the two versions is that the Tunhuang one does not mention the way of the mother as a possibility for killing Hanumandha. In Dmar-ston's version Valmiki is mentioned, but only as a rsi who tells Rama about the sea-monster Timi, Timingila and Timitimingila. These three monsters are mentioned in the Divyavadana, and must have been known to the Tibetans from the Vinaya of the Mulasarvastivadins. THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET that the Mongolian versions contain details which are not found in Dmar-ston's text and that it is possible that the authors of these versions had at their disposal other sources relating to the Rama story. As regards other Tibetan versions of the commentary on the Subhasitaratnanidhi Damdinsuren mentions a version the author of which is unknown. According to him the story of Rima in this version is substantially the same as that found in Dmar-ston's version. Another one, written by a certain Tshulkhrims dral, contains only a brief extract from D arston's veriun of the Rama story. There are many other Tibutun commentaries on the Subh asitaratnanidhi, and I hope that Tibetan scholars will bring together as many different versions of the Rama story as possible. By publishing them in a chronological order it will become possible to see to what extent they depend on Dmar-ston's version and to what extent they provide new details. Dmar-ston's version omits much, but also adds details which are not found in the Tun-huang version : for instance, Hanumandha's visit to the god Vayu, the story of the Nagas and the plough, and the extinguishing of the fire on Hanumandha's tail by the Nagas. It is obvious that the story as told by Dmar-ston cannot have been derived directly from the Tun-huang version. This version or a version similar to it must still have been known in Tibet in the thirteenth century. Several details are different and there are some additions. Of course, many things have been omitted. The first part and the entire latter part dealing with the rejection of Sita by Ramana are completely absent. It is of course quite probable that these parts of the story were perfectly well known in Tibet in the thirteenth century but that it was considered superfluous to tell the entire story in explanation of stanza 321 of the Subhasitaratnanidhi... One of the most popular Indian works in Tibet is Dandin's Kavyadarsa, which was translated at the instigation of the famous Phags-pa (1235-1280) in the thirteenth century. The translation was revised by Blo-gros grtan-pa of Dpan who lived from 1276 to 1342. Tibetan scholars have written very many commentaries on the Kavyadarsa. I am most grateful to Mr. Gene Smith for pointing out to me that the story of Rima is told in the commentaries on the twenty-second alaikara, the udattalamkara, of the second pariccheda. Mr. Gene Smith hrs been so kinds to provide me with the text of several commentaries on this alaikara. These commentaries were written between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries. I would like to select two of them for further consideration. The first was written by Dge-dun- 'phel or Sanghasri from Snar-than, probably in the year 1429. His version of the story of Rama is often referred to by later authors. His detailed commentary on the Kavyadarsa (Snan-rag me-lon-gi rgya-che Igrel-pa) was published in 1976 in Thimphu in Bhutan. The story of Rama is found on pages 107-128. There are many later commentaries on the Subhasitaratnanidhi, both in Tibetan and in Mongolian. In his book, Damdinsuren studies six Mongolian translations or adaptations of Dmar-ston's. commentary. He edits and translates one written in 1778-1779 by Cagar gebsi Blo-bzan tshul-khrims. Damdinsuren remarks The story begins with the participation of Dasaratha in the butile between the gods and the demons. During the battle the axle of his chariot is broken. The younger queen perceives it and holds the axle firm with her hand. The gods are victorious and Dasaratha returns to his palace. He sees that there are many

Page #7
174 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA bloody wounds on the queen's hand and asks her the reason for it. She tells him what she has done for him during the battle. The king says to her that if this is true he will give her a great present. His retinue confirm her words and the king asks her what she desires. She tells him that at this moment there is nothing she wants, but if later she has a desire, he must not forget his promise. They live for a long time in great happiness. The king makes preparations to install Ramana as king. The younger queen comes to see him and asks him if he has forgotten his former promise. She now has a wish: that the throne will be given to her own son. "The king remembers his promise and tells Ramana that, although he ought to be made king because he is the son of the elder queen and much stronger, this cannot be. He tells him to take Sita with him and to remain twelve years in the forest, because he has promised to give the throne to Bharata, the son of the younger queen. The prince is very high-minded. He obeys the words of his father and departs with Sita for the forest. THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET 175 She points out her son to him but when they are fighting the following day, Ramana is unable to distinguish between the two monkeys. The female monkey says to Ramana : 'You are very clever. You must know a way.' The king tells her to attach a shell ornament to the face of her son. The next day they fight again and Ramana kills the other monkey. The author adds that since that time it has become a custom to attach shell ornaments to monkeys. The mother of the dead monkey, looking very terrible, goes towards Ramana who is on the point of shooting her with an arrow. She asks him if he is King Ramana. When he answers: 'Yes'. She tells him that all those at whom he shoots an arrow will be hit. All those who are hit die, and all who die are rebom in noble families. Her son has also been reborn in a noble family and therefore she will do him no harm. She departs with the corpse of her son. The monkeys go back to the forest and enjoy food and drink, and time passes. One day King Ramana goes to the forest and sces that they are living on a hill top and enjoying food and drink. He is not content and plans to shoot an arrow. A female monkey arrives in haste and asks the king to forgive the monkeys for their forgetfulness. She promises that they will do all he tells them, and Ramana asks the monkeys to assemble an army and to go to Lanka. When they arrive at the shore of the ocean, they see heaps of foam which look like snowy mountains. The monkeys have always lived in sandy deserts and are dejected by the idea that they have to climb these mountains. The king shoots an arrow which passes through the foam without any resistance. The monkeys are comforted and go straight forward without any hindrance. They see the great ocean and the expanse of heaven. In the middle of the heavens they see a dark spot which looks like a city. The king of the monkeys asks Ramana to shoot an arrow towards it, and a monkey who is very small and resembles a snake, coils around the arrow before it is released. The king of the demons, Ravana of Lanka, also called Dasagriva, had in the past fathered a beautiful daughter but he was told that she was a human girl and would destroy the city of the demons if she remained in the land of the demons. She was put in a copper box and thrown into the ocean. Peasants find her in a furrow and see that she is very beautiful. They decide to offer her as wife to King Ramana. Ramana marries her and she received the name Sita. Her other name is Rol-rned-ma "Found in the furrow". Some time later, the king of the demons discovers the beautiful Sita in Jambudvipa. He abducts her and carries her off to the land of the demons. Ramana, who had left Sita in order to scarch for food, retums and cannot find her. He realises that she has been abducted by a demon. He follows his trail and arrives in a valley where there is a stream of warm and foul-smelling water. He discovers that this river has been produced by the drops of sweat of two monkey kings who are fighting for the kingdom. A female monkey asks him who he is. He tells her that he is Ramana and asks why these two monkeys are fighting. She tells him that the former king has died of old age and that they do not agree about the succession. She asks him why he has come here, and Ramana tells her that he is searching for Sita. She proposes a pact of mutual assistance and asks him to kill the enemy of her son. After five or six days they arrive at the other side of the ocean by means of many bridges which they lay one after the other. The army of demons awaits them. At this point in the story there is a long description of the fortifications of the city of the demons, and of the palace of Dasagriya which is made of crystal, rubies and other precious stones. The gates of the palace are guarded by terrible

Page #8
1 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA many-armed doorkeepers. Tigers and other wild animals utter terrifying roars. Many birds, such as jIvajivakas are making: many different sounds. King Ramana kills everybody with his arrows and enters the palace, where he sees a golden throne which is richly adorned. Dasagriva himself has strong and coarse arms and legs, an enormous belly and wrinkles and veins which are as bulky as fore-arms. The claws of his feet and hands are made out of the iron of thunderbolts. On his ten necks are ten furious heads. His mouth is wide open and shows terrible tusks. He laughs with a loud laugh. He utters confused words and angry threats. Fire and smoke bellow forth from his mouth, nose and eyes. The hair of his head and beard is yellow-reddish and bristling, and his limbs are adorned with bloody serpents and monsters. Many demon kings made of pearls are visible. The monkey king and his followers are afraid, thinking: It is difficult to kill one demon. king. How is it possible to kill many demon kings? Ramana tells them not to be afraid and comforts them, saying: They are probably reflections of the demon on the walls made of precious. stones'. He sends the monkey king and two strong monkeys to have a closer look but they flee in fright. Ramana tells them that it is not possible that there are so many demon kings; certainly they must be reflections. He sends them again and again to have a good look. They discover that the demon on the throne is warm and that the others are reflections without any warmth. The king kills the demon king with an arrow. He is said to have been reborn immediately as a god. King Ramana with Sita and the monkey king return to their own countries. Two strong monkeys carry burning rags in their hands and burn the walls made of lac, and the city of the demons, Trikata, is destroyed.. The authors add that the Gur-mgon (a divinity of the Sa-skya school) is an incarnation of Ramana. 176 King Ramana arrives at the ocean and stirs it up with his mighty bow so that the water whirls in circles. The demons are all killed. Ramana returns home and the dead demons are reborn in heaven. The Lord of the gods, Indra, is an old friend of the demons. A rain of spears, etc., descends on the army of the monkeys who are cut to pieces and killed. In the space between the clouds Indra is seen to draw his bow and to go towards Ramana who draws his bow and aims at Indra. Indra is afraid and trembles. He THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET says to Ramana: Do not shoot. I shall revive all your monkeys.' Indra causes heavenly nectar to rain and all monkeys are revived. The author concludes by saying that by means of this story one understands easily the loftiness of Ramana's spirit and the greatness of the wealth of the demon king, i.e., the two meanings of the word udatta (rgya-che-ba). This refers to Kavyadarsa. II. 297: alayasya vibhater va yan muhattvam anuttura udattan nama tam prahur alamkaran manisinal and II. 300: 177 purpatralayamahatmyam atrabhyudayagauravam suvyanjitam ativyaktam udattadvayam apy adah Sanghasri's version also refers to Kavyadarsa II. 299 with regard to the reflections of the demon king on the walls: ratnabhittisu samkantaih pratibimbalatair vrtal jnato lanketvarah krechrad anjaneyena tattvatah However, he has not made use of verse II. 298: guroh fasanam atyetum nasasaka sa raghavah yo ravanasiraschedakaryabhare 'py aviklavali In several respects Sanghasri's version is rather aberrant. For instance, the story of the broken axle of Dasaratha's chariot is not mentioned in other commentaries on the Kavyadarsa which I have seen. Other details also are missing in later commentaries. The authors of these commentaries do not fail to point out that Sanghasri's version of the Rama story contains many errors. A scholar who lived in the eighteenth century, Bstan-'dzin chos-kyi ni-ma, Khams-sprul IV (1730-1779), is extremely critical of Sanghasri and lists several errors made by him.10 A more orthodox version of the story of Rama is found in a -commentary written in 1586 by Rin-spuns-pa nag-dban 'jig-rten dban-phyug grags-pa. The author first quotes Kavyadarsa II. 297 and 298. The story begins with Ravana's efforts to propitiate Mahadeva. He cuts off all his ten heads as a sacrifice to him. Only his ten necks remain and that is why he is called Dasugriva. As in Dmar-ston's version, Uma and Mahadeva's son offer their own miraculous powers and curse Dasagriva when he rejects their

Page #9
THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET . 179 178 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA offers. In this story the son of Mahadeva is said to have the face of a monkey. Perhaps this detail has been added in order to explain his curse, according to which Dasagriva's kingdom will be destroyed by a monkey, Finally, Dasagriva's heads are retumed by Mahadeva who also grants him the siddhi of immortality provin ded his horse-head is not cut ofl. Dasagriva boasts of his power, and that he can only be overcome by somebody of incomparable strength. In the past, Dasaratha had been wounded by the weapons of the asuras in the battle between the gods and the asuras. After his retum to Ayodhya he was cured by his younger wife Kekeya. He grants her a wish. Later, when he wants to enthrone Ramana, Kekeya asks him to make her son Bharata king and to send Ramana to the forest for twelve years. The king tells Ramana to depart for the forest with Sita. Ramana is not able to disobey the order of his father. The author adds that this shows the loftiness of his spirit (dlayas ya mahattvam). He refers also to the story of Manicuda. The verse he quotes is in the third pallava, verse 95, of the Bodhisattvavadanakalpalata sa virakunjaraharih fakto 'py arividarane! janaksayabhayodvignah karunyar samacintayar// The author now quotes Kavyadarsa II. 299 and explains the greatness of wealth (vibhuter mahat/vam). disobey the order of the king, Ravana uses magic to take her away, together with a plot of land, to the country of the demons, The King is unable to capture the deer and realises that it is an optical illusion. He returns and discovers that Sita has been carried away by Ravana. He goes in search for her and comes upon a river of warm water produced by the drops of sweat of the two monkeys Bable and Sugriva, who are fighting for the kingdom. Ramana promises his help to Sugrivu, but on the first day of the fight he is distracted by the spectacle, and the second day he is unable to distinguish between the two monkeys. On the third day a mirror is attached to Sugriva's forehead and the king kills Bable with an arrow, Sugriva promises to do for Rama whatever he wishes and Rima tells him that Sita has been taken away by a demon. Sugriva tells Rama that his minister Hanumantha is very clever. They go to Hanumantha, who is said to be the son of Mahadeva with the monkey face. He is very tall and has three eyes. When Hanumantha is asked if he knows a means of bringing Sita back, he reflects a moment and then makes one big jump to the palace of his uncle, the god Vayu. From there he arrives with one jumb in Langa. He sees Sita who is imprisoned in an orchard. He goes to Sita and tells her that he is sent by Ramana. She does not trust him, but Hanumantha shows her Ramana's ring. She gives him a message for the king, telling him that she is unable to escape and that if he has the necessary strength, he must come and fetch her. Hanumantha retums with one jump to Ramana, who assembles an army of monkeys. He arrives at the seashore and asks Valmiki what kinds of creatures live in the ocean. Valmiki tells him about the three kinds of scamonsters, Timi, etc. The monkeys make a bridge over the ocean and arrive us the palace of the demon king, Thic walls of his paliw are made out of jewels and are brilliant like mirrors. Hanumantha is surrounded by hundreds of reflections of Dasagriva and is unable to distinguish between the real Dasagriva and the reflections, Finally, by means of his miraculous powers he is able to know which is the real Dasagriva and points him out to Ramana who cuts off his horse-head and thus kills him. He also kills millions of demons. The author adds that it is said that in order to redeem himself of the sin of killing, Ramana vill appear in the Kali age on earth in the form of the Buddha, an incarnation of Visnu. A beautiful girl was once bom in the land of the demons but bad signs indicated that, if she remained there, she would destroy the city of Lanka. She was put in a copper box, confided to the waters, found by peasants, and offered to Ramana as his wife. Rol-red-ma, or Sla enjoys herself with the king. Once when Lincy are in tic forest, the king of the demons discovers that she is. the most beautiful woman in Jambudvipa. His sister, S-byed-ma, transforms herself into a deer in order to lure the king away. The king surrounds Sita with a wall of light and tells her not to pass beyond it: 'If you do, you will die. The king pursues the deer to the seashore. The author adds that the time has now arrived for the fulfilment of the curses uttered by the goddess and the one with the monkey face. Ravana does not know that Sita is the girl thrown in the waters. He appears before Sita in the guise of a brahman and tries to abduct her. As Sita is unwilling to

Page #10
180 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA Hanumantha goes to the orchard, uproots the trees and puts them upside down in the ground. The demons surround him and try to kill him. Although he can easily escape, he lets himself be captured in order to show his great magical skill. As in Dmarston's version he explains the two ways of killing, the way of the mother and the way of the father. Hanumantha tells them that it is a bad omen if the monkeys see him die. They must hide in their houses. With his fiery tail he burns the palace of the demon king and the city Trikuta together with the iron wall. King Ramana then takes Sita and goes home. Some monkeys have escaped, and they pour molten bronze in the ear of Kumbhakarna, the younger brother of Dasagriva, who is plunged in meditation. Kumbhakarna is thus awakened, inhales deeply through his nose, and Sita and all the monkeys are transformed into skeletons, but not the king or Hanumantha. The king sends Hanumantha to the snowy mountains to fetch a medicinal herb. He brings the wrong one and is sent off again. He now brings the whole mountain with him and tells Ramana to search for the herb himself. Ramana cures everybody with the herb and tells Hanumantha to put the mountain back in its place. Hanumantha throws it in its place. Since that time the top of the mountain has been askew. A piece of the mountain was cut off, and according to Valmiki this is the mountain of Kailasa (Tise). King Ramana returns with Sita by means of Puspaka, the aerial palace of Ravana, and is honoured by Bharata, goes back to Ayodhya and lives there happily. The author adds that the splendour of the palace of the demon king is an example of the greatness of wealth. He refers to the story of Mandhatr and quotes verse 79 of the fourth pallava of the Bodhisattvavadanakalpalata: bimbitais tridatair yatra manibhustambhabhittisul suraloko bibharty eko 'py anekasuralokatam|| He also quotes Kavyadarsa II. 300. At the end, the author enumerates among his sources the Sanskrit commentaries on two hymns, the Visesastava and the Devatisayastotra, the commentary on the Subhasitaratnanidhi, etc. and makes a disparaging remark about Sanghasri's version of the story. Prajnavarman's commentaries on the two stotras mentioned were translated into Tibetan and THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET can be found in the first volume of the Tanjur. His commentaries contain several extracts from the story of Rama, for instance, the promise given to Kekeya and her request to have her son enthroned are told by Prajnavarman in almost exactly the same words. However, it has to be pointed out that according to the colophon, the text of the Visesastavatika was not translated in its entirety by Rin-chen bzan-po (958-1055) and his work was completed by Sa-skya pandita. It is obvious that Dmar-ston's version of the Rama story has been used extensively by Rin-spuns-pa. 181 The versions of the Rama story by Sanghasri and Rin-spuns-pa are only two of the many which can be found in the numerous commentaries on the Kavyadarsa written by Tibetan and Mongolian scholars. The later versions which I have been able to see are, in general, rather similar to Rin-chen-spuns-pa's version but there are many differences in details which ought to be further examined. As in the case of the commentaries on the Subhasitaratnanidhi, I hope that Tibetan scholars will collect as much material as possible and publish it in chronological order. This brief examination of four versions of the Rama story in Tibet may have given some idea of the wealth of material which awaits further research. The story of Rama has been popular in Tibet since about 800 A.D. upto the present day. Thanks to the efforts of Tibetan scholars very many Tibetan works have been reprinted in India and Bhutan in recent years. It has now become possible to study in much more detail the Indian stories which were known to Tibetan scholars in the past. 'An Old Tibetan Version of the Ramayana', T'oung Pao, 58 (1972). pp. 190-202. [Also published without the author's permission and without his corrections in Hindutva, vol. III, nos. 5-6 (August-September, 1972), and in Cultural Forum, vol, XV, no. 2 (January, 1973). The Tibetan text of all six manuscripts was published in Indo-Iranian Journal, 19 (1977), pp. 37-88: The Tun-huang Manuscripts of the Tibetan Ramayana story'. A Tibetan-English Dictionary (Calcutta, 1902), pp. 1194 and 1346. Helmut Eimer, Rnam thar rgyas pa (Wiesbaden, 1979), vol. 1, p. 236; val. II, p. 206. Op. cit., vol. I, p. 8. JASBeng, XXIV (1855), pp. 141-165; XXV (1856), pp. 257-291. Reprinted in Tibetan Studies (Calcutta, 1911), pp. 93-172. CY. J. Kolma. The aphorisms (legs-bshad) of Sa-skya Pandita', Proceedings of the Csoma de Koros Memorial Symposium (Budapest, 1978), p. 189, n. 2. 13 1

Page #11
182 ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA w University of Washington Tibetan Catalogue (Soattle, 1969), Part I, pp. 122123. * James E. Bosson, op. cit., p. 14; W. Hoissig, Mongolische Handschriften, Blockdrucke, Landkarten (Wiesbaden, 1961), p. 32 The Tibotan translation of the Kavyadaria was published by A. C. Banerjee: Kavyadarta. University of Calcutta, 1939. On the Tibetan translation and the Tibetan and Mongolian commentaries seo Sh. Bira, Problems of history, culture and historiography of the MPR (Ulaanbaatar, 1977), pp. 338-351, 372-378 ; Ts. Damdinsuren, Studia Mongolica, IV, 1 (Ulaanbaatar, 1962), pp. 1-24. 10 Cf. Ryyan-gyi bstan-bcos me-lon pan-chen bla-ma't gsun-bain bkral-ba dbyaris-can riag-gi rol-misho legs-bsad nor-bu'l 'byuri-khurs (Tashijong, Palampur, H.P., 1969), p. 453. Sun-nag me-lon-gi rgya-cher 'grel-pa mi-jigs-pa ser-ge'l rgyud-kyi na-ro dbyaris, pp. 121b-126a. Sa-skya bka'l-'buni, vol. 8 (Tokyo, 1968), pp. 277.2.5279.3.3; Ngawang Sopa's edition (New Delhi, 1975), pp. 363-377. 11 Cf, P. Cordier, Catalogue du fonds tibetain de la Bibliothque Nationale, 2c partie (Paris, 1909), p. 3; L. Zwilling, The story of Vyasa and Kasisundari', Journal International Association of Buddhist Studies, I, 1 (1978), p. 65.