Secondary Tales of the Two Great Epics

Author(s): Rajendra I Nanavati
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 52

The Tales in Rämä yaņa
from a point of time in distant past as an event of future – is too strained to be artistic, and is created to serve the purpose of showing Rşyaśțnga as pre-destined and inevitable; otherwise, the purpose for which Rşyaśộnga is brought into the tale could be, or rather had been, accomplished even without him. The device reminds one of Robert Browning's famous poem “By, the Fireside" where the young poet tries to visualize how the present moment will probably be viewed at some moment of future in their old age, and by contrast effectively brings out its weak points. In this tale, therefore, the content of the tale is not very different from that in its other versions, but the peculiarity of its form indicates that the underlying purpose of introducing the tale is much deeper than the expressed one of obtaining sons for Daśaratha.
Many versions of this tale are found in our literature, as well as in that of European countries. In native literature, there are two versions in the Buddhist Jatakas. In Alambusā Jätaka (No. 523) the sage is seduced by a nymph Alambusa at the instance of Indra who is afraid of the sage's austere penance. In Naļiņikā Jātaka (No. 526) the sage is seduced by the princess Naļiņikā. The MBh contains a version of the tale at VP.110-113 where the sage is seduced by a courtesan. The MBh version, which is believed by many scholars to be the oldest version of the tale" explains the name of the sage thus: “Since the sage had a horn of a deer in his head, he was famous by the name of Rsyaśţriga”.45 The singular “a horn" must be noted. The name of the sage and its explanation in the oldest version of the tale are intriguing indeed. “The more correct spelling of the name is Rśya-śroga”. 46 The name means “the horn of a deer". The characterstic of possessing a single horn on the head is significant. It is also found in the European versions of the tale where, however, the sage becomes an animal called 'Unicorn. The word is explained thus : “1. a mythical creature resembling a horse and having a single horn in the centre of its forehead : often symbolic of chastity or purity, capable of being tamed by a virgin, and usually successful in evading capture. 2. a heraldic representation of this animal, in the form
(a)
44 Cf. “Dr, Sukthankar (Notes, MBh. III. 110)... has shown the chronological order of the deve
lopment of the Episode as follows: (a) Original version of the MBh. (b) Version of the Padma Purāna, probably with partial use of the former, (c) The version of the MBh (Vulgate) now current, containing the original nucleus which was
worked over and assimilated with the Purana version. The Rämāyana version is later than those of the Padma Purana" BK. pp. 438-39. Dr. G. H. Bhatt, the editor of BK also mentions that. according to Lüders, the Gathās of Jätaka, deriving from from still more ancient popular Akhyāna poetry, must be older than the MBh, version; but, the fact that the MBh. version actually mensions the deer-horn in cannection with the sage which the Jätakas do not mention, seems to indicate that the
MBh contains a more popular, and therefore, very likely, more ancient version. 45 Cf. VP. 110. 17.
tasya'rșyasrngam sirasi rājann asih mahät manaḥ /
tena'rşyaśråga ity'evam tadă sa prathito'bhavat // 46 Vedic Index, Macdonell & Keith, under 'Rşya-śộnga'.