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The Rāmāyaṇa Version of Acarya Harişeņa
151
Valmiki's Ramayana
Harisena's version 4. After Rāvana's death Sītā undergoes a Here apparently there is reference to
fire-ordeal at Larkā and in Uttarākaņda a fire-ordeai once only (and that too she prays to Earth to grant her a hiding obviously not at Lankā but at Ayodhyā). place which request is fulfilled by the Here she successfully comes out of the Earth.
ordeal and becomes a nun. Here it may be noted that Sitä becoming a nun is definitely a Jain trait, whose, source may be traced to Padma-Purāņa; Kharadūsaņa is the husband of Surpanakha (Candranakhă) according to the Padma-Purana. So the author has confused this account with that of Vālmīki according to whom Khara and Dusana are two different individuals and brothers of Sūrpanakhă. According to Padma-Purāņa Dasaratha has four queens: Aparājitā, Sumitra, Suprabha and Kekaya. Hariseņa follows him, only he spells the name as Supraja. Leaving aside these variations Harisena's version constitutes a very brief epitome of Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa. It may be stated here that the first Kathanaka does not carry the story beyond the slaying of Ravana and Rāma's becoming a sovereign ruler. This is how Ramopākhyāna also ends. This is perfectly understandable as the author aims at driving home the truth that woman is the cause of many a devastating war.
(111) PURPOSE OF THE KATHÁNAKAS The author directiy tells us at the end of Kathānaka No. 84 that the great war between Rāma and Rāvana involving the death of many beings, was fought for the sake of one woman. Many other fierce wars have been fought on this earth for the sake of woman. It is indeed (in many cases) that woman is the cause of war. It is to impress upon the mind of the reader this general truth that the author epitomises Rāmāyaṇa.
In Kathánaka No. 89, the author gives the episode of Sita's fire-ordeal that she undergoes in order to establish her purity and innocence. After successfully passing through the ordeal she becomes a nun and many other women follow her. Some people become Srävakas and others praise the chastity and act of renunciation of Sitā. The purpose here seems to be of the nature of religious propaganda.
(iv) LITERARY APPRECIATION Vālmīki's Rāmāyana is an epic of great length (traditional number of verses being 24000); besides the main story of Rāma it relates the legends of many other heroes. Harişeņa epitomises the main story omitting altogether secondary threads of the story. The original epic contains numerous passages of superb poetry which Harisena boldly omits as they interfere with the progress of the story. Harişena does not care to preserve the beauty and spirit of the original while he reduces the Rāmāyaṇa to a minimum. He devotes, strangely enough, in this very brief epitome (total verses 57) full four verses to Rāma's lamentation.
