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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
is a characteristic of the dialogues of RM, whereas a free and significant occurance of such allusions is characteristic of the dialogues of MBh.
When, however, a secondary tale is fully set, it does harm the unity of the epictale, for it removes for the time being our attention from the flow of the principal narrative. In the original RM, there are no secondary narratives in ihe sense that they remove our attention from the principal narrative. The so-called śrävana-episode,5 coming as it does after Rāina's departure for the forest-life, shocks us into realisation that this must mean a painful death for the aged king, thus preparing us for the coming events. The crow-episode is, again, the best and the most personal token of recognition of Sitā, the very expression of love in which is enough to goad Räma to rescue her from the captivity of the demon antagonist. What is more, there is no duplication in their narration. They are set here for the first time, and the fact that the principal characters in both the episodes are not different from their narrators gives them a reminiscent character and a surprise value. There is no insistence on a chronological narration of events.
. On the other hand, there are, in the Mih, a number of tales which have characters entirely different from the epic-personae, which are complete in themselves and which are brought into the epic-narrative with clearly parabulous intentions. Such are the tales, for example, of the demon brothers Sunda and Upasunda, of PrabladaSudhanvan-Virucana, of the old hypocrite bird and many others. They have no aesthetically inherent conn:ction with the principal narrative. The moral drawn from such a tale serves as a tag to attach the tale to the epic. This moralising attitude is a distinct characteristic of the secondary tales of the MBh. Two large parvansSanti and Anušāsana-- are nearly entirely filled up with didactic tales. The purpose of the two collections is openly didactic. There is no question of any aesthetic or even tag connection. As opposed to this, the didactic purpose as a primary function in the inclusion of any secondary tale is almost entirely absent in RM. You may draw a moral from the Ahalyā-tale or the Viśvāmitra-story-group but to teach that moral is not the primary function of that tale in the epic. This difference in the attitude behind inclusion of the secondary tales stands well in agreement with the general concepts of the epics - of RM as a kāvya, of MBh as a śāstra.
We may conclude this chapter by making certain suggestions for further studies. The story-cycle of Vasiştha-Viśvāmitra-conflict must be studied vis-a-vis their position in relation to the Vedic gods Varuna and Indra. It can also be studied in relation with the Subrahmanya litany. Indradhvaja festival in Dharmaśāstras, in popular practice and literature, needs to be studied in relation with the origin of
5 AyK. 57-58. 6 SK. 36. 12-32.
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