Secondary Tales of the Two Great Epics

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

Page 72

The Tales in Rāmāyaṇa
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These tales can loosely be called Ganga-story-cycle. The story of the churning of ocean is also accommodated in connection with the city of Viśālā which is said to be founded by Viśāla, the son of Ikşvāku who is also Rāma's ancestor. The tale of Abalyä is brought into direct relation with Rāma as he is shown to end the curse. Thus all the major tales included in this part have been consciously shown to be related to the hero, even if the relation be of Bädarāyaṇa type.
In comparison, the tales in the first part are brief, few and not particularly connected with any character of the story. The tale of the burning of Kāma, for cxample, narrated in connection with the place called Kāmāśrama (the hermitage of Käma) simply shows religious importance of the place. It is purely a tirtha-kathā. Similarly the tale of the Malada-kārüşa country where Indra is said to have washed his sin of Vrtravadha is, in a way, to show the importance of a particular place. (Whether the tale is purely fictitious or otherwise is a different matter.) The narration of Tatakā's parentage, marriage and motherhood and her becoming a demoness on account of the curse of sage Agastya are given at the point where Tätakä herself is about to occur in the narrative. The back-histories of Jarāsandha147 and Sisupala 148 in the MBh also are similarly given at the points where the characters are occuring in the stream of the principal narrative. All the three characters are slain shortly afterwards by the protagonists. The narration of their birth-stories and back-histories just at a point before their death create to some extent an impression of hearing a self-complete lifehistory of a character. Naturally, their deaths at the hands of the protagonists are intended to cmphasise the latter's martial qualities. The tale narrated in connection with Siddhāśrama is that of the Vāmana-incarnation, and in that background, the career of the present incarnation of Visnu is shown to begin. Thus, excepting one or two minor stories which are purely like Tirtha-yātrā-tales showing the religious imporatance of the locales of visits, all the other tales of this group are shown to have some connection, even if distant, with either the hero or his preceptor. Some show his great lineage, some show his prowess, some his religious greatness. The tales showing the hero's martial or ideal qualities are, of course, intended to show the great hero of the epic in the making.
There are two groups of pilgrimage tales in the MBh which may be included here. One occurs in the VanP. Nārada, first, generally enumerates some three hundred holy places in Adhyāyas 80 to 83; then Dhaumya in Adhyâyas 85 to 88 orce again enumerates the places classifying them according to the four directions; inspired by these enumerations (which are naturally accompanied by the very brief allusions to the tales connected with these places), the Pandavas decide to make a tour of some of these holy places in the company of sage Lomasa. This device accommodates some of our very famous tales like those of sage Agastya, of Gangā's descent, of Rşyaśộnga, of Rāma Jāmadagnya, of Cyavana and Sukanya, sibi, of sage Așļāvakra, of Yavakrita and others.
147 SabP. 16-18. 48 SabP. 40.