Sambodhi 2010 Vol 33

Author(s): J B Shah, K M patel
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 14

Satya Vrat Varma
SAMBODHI
It is a measure of the efficacy of the Thai folklore that it turned the Indian demigod celebrated, down the ages, for celibacy and idealism, into a gallant who is out to woo any beautiful girl that comes his way. The way his love-making with Benjakayi and Suvarnamatsyā is described can only send shudder down to the spine of the devout Indian.
Notwithstanding his reckless heroism and gallantry, Hanumān is a fond father. His chance meeting with his sons, Asurphad and Macchānu, stirred his vātsalya deeply and filled him with joy. He acted almost like an innocent child in consenting to repeat his feats of devouring the sun, moon and stars to convince Asurphad of his identity35.
Hanumān has doubtless been conceived in the Thai milieu as a multi-faceted man. He is a phenomenally powerful warrior, a lover, a fond father and as astute tactician, committed to achieve his objective at any cost. RĀVAŅA
Rāvana the demon king of Lankā, has also undergone substantial trasformation in the Thai epic, though, like other characters, he retains intact some of his basic traits as well. His proverbial arrogance, fuelled by his victories and the fame that they brought, emboldened him to pour scorn on even well-meaning and sane advice. Vibhīşana's unceremonious expulsion, carried out in a fit of rage, turned out to be the last nail in his coffin. It was again sheer arrogance that led him to underrate Rāma's might36, which was the greatest faux pas on his part.
While it was what Rāvana symbolizes, he, as depicted in the RKM., is a mere shadow of his real self. It is baffling to find a man of his hauteur and might, struggling to avoid direct confrontation with Rāma, 'a mere forester' in his own jargon. That prompts him to try a series of measures to throw him off guard or wear him down off the ground. The theatrical missions of Beñjakayi, Suvarnamatsyā, Maiyarāba etc. stem from his anxiety to catch Rāma unawares and eliminate him surreptitiously without his direct intervention. It is a different matter if all of them end in a fiasco, but they bear testimony to his latent diffidence. Even the queer contrivance of keeping his soul encaged away from Lankā, does not work. Nowhere in the epic is he seen to be eager to try conclusions with Rāma. His might notwithstanding, he meets his end as a result of an ingenious strategy chalked out by Vibhisana and executed by Hanuman with a