Secondary Tales of the Two Great Epics

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

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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics a stone till the touch of Rāma's feet revived her, is not supported by the critical edition and shows the workings of popular imagination always revelling in a little exaggeration. The actual curse runs thus : "You will stay in this hermitage for many thousands of years, unseen by all the creatures, without food, living on air, and doing penance in the bed of ashes."118 It is more in nature of a sort of social seclusion rather than some miracle.
The central motif of the tale is the punishment of an unchaste woman. One is immediately reminded of another, equally famsus tale attributed to Rāma Jāmadgaya. As Sukthankar narrates it:119 'Jamadagni married Renukā, daughter of King Prasenajit. She gave birth to five sons : Rumanvat, Sușeņa, Vasu, Viśvāvasu, and last but not the least Rāma. The family lived happily for some time. Then one day when Reņukā of rigid vows happened to see Citraratha, the handsome king of Marttikāvataka, sporting in water with his numerous wives, her fortitude forsook her and she felt the pangs of desire. When she returned to the hermitage, Jamadagni noticed her pollution and guessed her secret. In a fit of rage he called in turn upon each of his sons to kill their unchaste mother. Four of them refused to do the atrocious deed and were cursed by the angry and disappointed father for their disobedience. Then came the last of all that "slayer of hostile heroes”, Rāma Jāmadagnya. A military type, accustomed to receive and obey orders, Rāma, when sternly commanded by his father to slay his mother, took his axe and without hesitation chopped off his mother's head ! Jamadagni, mightily pleased with the instant obedience of his son, granted Rāma several boons, among them the boon that the mother whom Rāma had decapitated might be restored to life.'120 The central motif in the tale is the same as that in the Ahalyā-tale but the details are completely different. Apart from the sin of feminicide, the very fact of a mother being capitally punished by her son is grossly inconsistent, and would appeal only to the crudely vulgar taste. The Bhārgava brahmins must have closed their eyes to the obvious impropriety in their enthusiasm to show the quality of dutifulness in gaudy colours. The tale is very well in keeping with the haughty nature of the Bhārgavas.
The impropriety of this tale must not have escaped the notice of our traditional thinkers who have narrated a third tale - that of Cirakārin 121 - with the same central motif. There was a sage Gautama of Angirasa family. Once his wife incurred some transgression. The sage, in a fit of rage, asked his son Cirakārin to slay her and went out. Cirakārin, true to his name, used to take great time in pondering over matters and taking decisions in their regard. So he started thinking about the pros 118 BK. 47. 28-29. Cf, iha varşa-sahasrani bahuni tvam nivatsyasi ||
vayu-bhakşā nirābārä tapyanti bhasmasāyini
adrśyā sarvabhūtānām aśrame'smin nivatsyasi // 119 Critical Studies in the Mahabharata, V. S. Sukthankar, (V. S. Sukthankar Memorial Edi
tion, Vol. I, Ed. P. K. Gode), 1944, Poona. p. 296 120 VanP. 116, 1-17. 121 Śãn P. 258.