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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[August, 1902.
two young brothers to sing his Ramayan before all in the fair. Their tanes, tender gestures, and sweet recital attracted and softened every heart. Thus rousing public sympathy for Sita, Valmiki proposed to the leading sages and persons to make Råma accept Sita publicly. All agreed, Valmiki ushered her in the Royal Court before the assembled people. The sudden appearance of poor Bit filled the hearts of all with a mixed sentiment of joy, grief, compassion, and surprise. For the people believed that Sità had either committed suicide or had been dead or devonred by wild beasts. Thousand blended notes rose from the people with "accept her, accept her! She is pure, she is pure!!" and so forth. Everything fared well, when a sad thing changed the tide of the popular joyous sentiment. In a corner of the meeting stood a few men, who had been expressing their approval with reluctance. Rama notioed it and refused to Accept sita. This final rejection came to her heart as a terrible shock and she dropped down dead!
IV. - Its style, etc. The style of Valmiki is more ornate than classical. Of course, here and there the austere naturalism of his diction cannot but strike us ; but, on the whole, his style is highly decorated. The Ramayan may be rightly called the "Intellectual Taj" of ancient times.
The cruel act of the fowler strikes the key-note of the whole story. All throughout the epic the idea of Light and Darkness, Hope and Despair, is prevalent. The opening chapters of the Ramdyar give us the happiness of the realm of Ayodhya; but the failure of king Dasaratha's male issue immediately brings to us the idea of Darkness. We are, however, relieved when the princes are born. For sometime everything fares well, and Dabaratha is exceedingly happy. Next we find Visvamitra asking the king for Rama and Lakshmang to kill his foe--the demon Târaka. Here Darkness reappears. We are, however, relieved when the young princes killed the demon, Next we come to the marriage proposal at Jånaka's Court (Light), but the king's vow -- the breaking of Siva's adamantine bow-appals Sitâ and as alike (Darkness). However, Rama succeeds. As the same phenomena will occur at every step, we need not proceed further.
Valmiki's work is a curious blending of Poetry, History, Philosophy, Sociology, and Ethics. Its theme is not an imagined wonder, but a faithful illustration of embodied virtue in all its phases.
V. - Its moral effect. The Ramdyan is a world-epic in a peculiar sense. Its aim is to better the world-to solve the question How to Live P" It speaks of human interests, human duties, to satisfactorily discharge which we are to go to it and patiently see how its principal figures lived, moved, and bad their being. It teaches us moral obligations with delight, - not by precept but by examples - vivid representations.
VI. - The followers or Valmiki. Roughly-speaking, Valmiki is the Spenser of India. Both set forth Virtues--one practically, the other allegorically. Valmiki's Râma is Spenser's Magnanimity, the prince of Aristotle's twelve virtues. Valmiki's Sitâ is Spenser's Chastity, and so on. Both use archaic forms occasionally. Both are allegorists and good descriptive poets. In language, style, cadence, both are ornate and melodions. Like Spenser, Valmiki has his followers. Vabishta, Vyasa, the monkey-god Hanuman, Tulsidas, Krittivas, Kalidasa, Bhavabhūti, have taken up the same subject and dealt it in imitation of Valmiki. The following is a brief summary of the different, Ramayanas:
(1) Valmiki's Ramayana : (The original Sanskrit epic.) (2) The Yoga-Vabishţa Rámdyana : (In Sanskrit. It explains the Ramdyan through
the Yoga philosophy.)
