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The Rāmāyana of Bhadresvara
185
whatever they heard. First, they hesitate but later on come out with the truth. Laksmana is blind with fury to hear the scandal. Rämao tells him how he himselí has heard the talk and that the spies were so interrogated with a view to convincing persons like him and that people should not accuse him of having abandoned Sita without knowing her fault. 10
This is what Bhadresvara has added to the later history of Räma. It is evident from this edition that Bhadreśvara is the first writer, as far as our present knowledge goes, to introduce the picture-motif Rama's moving about in disguise and personally hearing Sită-apavāda and his going to the jungle, after receiving the message of Sità in search of her.
Hemachandra too introduces in his narrative the picture-motif and Rama's visit to the forest in search of Sita. Obviously he is then indebted to Bhadresvara- unless of course we imagine that both of them borrowed from some common source which has not been available to us. Literary Estimate :
The Kahāvali is a voluminous work. Unless the whole work is critically studied we cannot correctly estimate Bhadreśvara's art and ability as a story eller. If, however, we regard his Rāmāyaṇa as a fair sample we cannot help remarking that he is only a mediocre writer. Here he gives us, as already pointed out, an abridged version of the Paumacariya with the only exception of what he has added to the later history of Räma. In his addition he shows a flash of originality and the narrative undoubtedly gains in interest on account of this clever addition. He omits all the long descriptions of nature, dreary sermons and dull account of several past births of some characters that figure in the story. Vimala, the author of the Paumacarlya, takes every opportunity of propagating Jain Dharma, whereas Bhadreśvara shows greater concern--and rightly so--for the narrative. Bhadresvara has made some change in the order of events in narrating the story. This change, however, is hardly an improvement. Not only does he
9.
The original passages are:एवं स्टुं नाउं लच्छिहरं भणइ रामदेवो वि। भाउग मए वि निमुयं सव्वमिमं मा तुमं रूस । एए हेरियपुरिसा तुम्हें पचयनिमित्तमाणेउं । इय पुन्हिया महायस अववायस्स भीएणं । मा पुणरवि एस जणो भणिही सीया अदिद्वसुयदोसा । रामेण ड्डिया कह पहुणा होऊण सहस त्ति ।
10.
The account that follows, viz.: the abandonment of Sita, her lament, her message to Rama through the Senapati, the arrival of Vajrajangha, the shelter given to her by him-is entirely in agreement with Pc.
