Indian Antiquary Vol 42

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 19

JANUARY, 1913.) THE RAMACHARITAMANASA AND THE RAMAYANA
15
Here Tulasi Dasa substitutes Lakshmaņa for Râma in the last part of the passage, but the meaning is the same.
(72) The Ocean aplogizes for its delay in obeying Rama, by laying all the fault upon the inertia of the five elements C, VI, 22, 23 (B, V, 94, 5):
R. C. M., V, 59, 2: prithivi vâyor akicam apo jyotic ch, Raghara | svabhavel gngana samira anala jala dharani saumya tishthanti câçvatain margam âçritaḥ || 23 Il. inha kai natha sahaja jada karani |
Yuddhakanda.
(in the R. C. .: Lankák*nda.) (73) In the R. C. M. (VI, 9, 8-9) Prahasta admonishes Råvaņa not to listen to his counsellors, who, to please him, give him pernicions advice, and quotes a saying, which is found in & quite analogous passage of the R., 'where Vibhisbaņa gives Ravana the same admonition C, 61, VI, 21 (B, V, 88, 16):
R. C.M., VI, 9, 8-9 : salabbah purushỉ râjan Batatam priyavadinah | apriy- priya-bini je sunahim jo kahahi | asya cha patbyasya vaktâ çrotâ cha durlabhah 11 21 11. aise nara nikâya jaga ahabim !
bachana parama-hita sunata kathore | sunahim je kabahin to nara
prabha thore 1. (74) At the moment of narrating how the monkeys's host crossed over on the bridge, Tulasi Dasa says that Rama mounted a height and thence gazed upon the vast sheet of water, whereapon all the living beings of the sea came to the surface to behold the Lord (R. C. M., VI, 4). Shortly afterwards Talasi Dasa relates that Rama pitched his tent on the opposite shore of the Ocean and told the monkeys they could go and feed on fruits and roots (R. C.M., VI, 5). Both particulars fail in the R. and look as if they had been entirely invented by Tulasi Dasa. If we examine attentively tbe parallel passage in the R., however, we shall find there two particulars, which might well be presumed to have given Tulast Dasa the idea of his invention :
C, VI, 22, 71a (B, V, 95, 43) :
dadricuh sarvabhutani sägare setabandhanam C, VI, 22, 83 (B wanting): vinarînin hi sa tirņa vähini Nalasetuna
tire niviviço rajñå bahumûlaphalodake || 83 |
I see no difficulty in considering that Talasi Dasa derived the first of the two above innovations from Valmiki's statement that all the marine beings beheld the building of the bridge, and the second from the epithet of bahumilaphalodaka given by Valmiki to the opposite shore of the Ocean.
(75) Talasi Daga (VI, 11-18) relates that Réma ascends the Suvela, where looking towards the east he sees the moon, and asks those who are around him their opinion concerning its spots. Then, turning to the south, he has the illusion of seeing a mass of clouds with flashes of lightning and thunder ; but Vibhîshaņa explains to him that there is nothing of the kind : what he takes for clouds is the royal umbrella of Råvaņa, who is sitting on the top of the palace; what ho takes for flashes of lightning are the flashes of Mandodari's earrings; and what he takes for thunder is the sound of the drams. Râma fits an arrow to his bow and strikes down Råvana's umbrella and crowns along with Mandodart's earrings. Any reader, however well acquainted with the R., will hold that there is nothing like this in it. In a pas Bage of the Yuddhakanda, however, I have succeeded in discovering the source of this