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A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM
(i) Abusing of Vibhişana as coward by Indrajit (PCV, 55.9; VRTP, 110).
(ii) PCV (Ch. 23) Narada once went to Lanka to worship the Jinas. He heard a prophecy there. Sagaravidhi told Ravana that he would be killed by Dasaratha's son Vibhīşana then plotted to kill Dasaratha. Narada went to Dasaratha and alerted him of the impending danger to his life. S.VR-It contains somewhat similar story in the interpolated chapters 2-4 after Ch. 37 of the Uttarakāṇḍa of the Southern version of VR. In the N-W. version they are placed in footnotes after Ch 39 of Uttarakanda. In the Gaudiya version they are absent. It shows that these chapters did not form the part of the original Uttarakanda of the VR but they are interpolated later. The story is as follows:
"On enquiry from Ravana, Sanatkumāra told him that one who is killed by Prabhu (Hari-Nārāyaṇa) attains the abode of Hari (emancipation). Sanatkumāra further prophesied that Hari would soon take birth in the form of the son of Dasaratha and would go in exile. Thereupon Rāvana decided to kidnap Sītā so that he would attain emancipation on being killed at the hands of Rama." When Narada came to know about this episode he went to Muni Agastya and made him acquainted with it. Muni Agastya narrated it to Rāma.
The striking similarities are Sagaravidhi in the PCV and Sanatkumara in the VR, prophecy in both the works, learning of it by Nārada and then passing it on to Dasaratha in the PCV and to Muni Agastya in the VR.
It is held that as regards the topics which are found in the Southern recension as well as in the N-W. version of VR, there is influence of the Southern recension on the N-W. version (VRTP, p.31) As regards the above mentioned point (a) we cannot be sure
whether the Southern version has influenced the PCV or the PCV has influenced both the versions of VR, but on the point (b) the influence of the PCV is very obvious as it will be clear from the following discussion.
Dr. R.G. Bhandarkar1 says that Rama's indentification with Vişņu had become popular in the early centuries of Christian era, but his worship i.e. Rama-bhakti originated very late, probably in the 11th century A.D. (See Bulcke, p. 150). The oldest works which refer to Rama-bhakti belong to Tamil Alvaras from the 8th century A.D.
1. See Collected works of R. G. Bhandarkar, Vol. IV. p,66.
