________________
DECEMBER, 1912.] THE RAMACHARITAMANASA AND THE RAMAYANA
(3) Rama is always in company with Lakshmana. With him he goes hunting: C, I, 18, 31-32 (B, I, 19, 24): R. C. M., I, 205, 1:
yada hi hayam ârûdho mṛigayâm yâti Raghavah || 81 || bandhu sakbâ sanga lehim bolai | athai 'nam prishṭhato 'bhyeti.... bana mrigaya nita khelabim jai |;
in company with him he takes his meals:
C, I, 18, 31 (B, I, 19, 23):
mrishtam annam upânitam açnâti na hi tam vinâ | Rama is always obedient to his parents:
C, I, 18, 28 (B wanting):
1.
R. C. M., I, 205, 46: mâtu pitâ ajña anusarahim |
.... pitul çuçrûshane rataḥ
This last coincidence, which at first sight might look quite casual, becomes important if we consider that it occupies the same and identical place in each of the two poems. Upon the whole there is no doubt that Tulasi Dasa directly knew and largely utilized Valmiki's sarga C, I, 18.
(4) In the R. C. M. Visvamitra tries to persuade Dagaratha to give bim Râma and Lakshmana, and protests that this will be beneficial to him and to his sons too. Both these arguments can be traced back to the R:
R. C. M., I, 205, 4: anuja sakha samga bhojana karahim |
C, I, 19, 15-16 (B, I, 22, 16):
R. C. M., I, 207, 12:
yadi te dharmalabham tu yaçar cha paramam bhuvi || 15 || dharma sujasa prabhu tuma kaum. sthiram ichch basi râjendra Râmam me dâtum arhasi |
C, I, 19, 10:
greyaç châ'smai pradâsyâmi...
(B, I, 22, 11:
vidye châ'smai prayachchhâmi...)
285
C, I, 30, 18:
sampurnamn yojana çatam ksiptah sugarasamplave || 18 ||
(In B we miss the number).
inha kaham ati kalyana ||
(5) Tâdakâ's attack is depicted with the same stereotyped expression in both the poems: C, I, 26, s (B, I, 29, 7): çrutva châ 'bbyadravat kruddha...
R. C. M., I, 209, 58: suni Tâdakâ krodha kari dhai |
The persuasiveness of this particular parallel is intensified by the fact that suni and krodha kari are not so well justified in the R. C. M. as gruted and kruddhd are in the R. In the Sanskrit poem Tâ lakâ hears the terrible twang (jyaghosa) of Rama's bow and, feeling herself provoked by it, gets into a fury; but in the Hindi poem suni has no direct object, and the only obvious object of which it admits, viz., the voice of Vięvamitra who was pointing out Tâdakâ to Râma, does not seem a sufficient reason for the rakshasi's fierce wrath.
(6) Maricha, smitten by Rama with an arrow, is driven a hundred yojanas to the other side of the Ocean (in the R., into the Ocean):
C, I, 74, 19 (B, I, 76, 20):
skandhe châ 'sajjya paraçum dhanur vidyudgaṇopamam | pragrihya çaram ugram cha...
R. C. M., I, 210, 46:
sata jojana gå sågara-pârâ || .
(7) In the R. C. M. (I, 210, 54) Rama slays Subâhu with a pavaka-sara, which corresponds
to the astram agneyam mentioned in the parallel passage of the R. (C, I, 30, 22; B, I, 33, 194).
(8) The chief lines in the description of Rama Jamadagnya are identical in both the poems: C, I, 74, 17" (B, I, 76, 186) jatamandaladhârinam |
R. C. M., I, 268, 5: sisa jatâ...
R. C. M., I, 268, 8:
dhanu sara kara kuthara kala kâmdhe ||
