(Below is my humble attempt to capture the introduction to Ramayanam by Shri Vempati Kutumbarao. All errors in understanding and translation are mine. The full video in Samskrit is below)
Who doesn't know Ramayanam? Not just in India, but in all corners of the world you will find people who know Ramayanam. Maharshi Valmiki himself has written in it's first chapter, Balakanda, "As long as Ganga and Godavari flow, and Vindhyas and Himalayas stand so long shall Ramayanam be in people's mind". As is appropriate for the Yuga it will be discussed, absorbed and guide people. Valmiki, the author himself, declared this as a desire and as a prophecy. Each of us also desire that the work we do lasts forever but alas that's not the case. But Valmiki was no ordinary man, he is a Maharshi who was always in penance.
Many historians have tried to date the book using many different methods. And all of them agree that it was written at least 3000 years ago. Ramayanam is not Apaurusheyam, it is Paurusheyam written by Valmiki. There is no doubt about that. Paurusheyam means written by a human. There are three important things of note when you consider Ramayanam in the realm of Samskritam literature. Firstly it is Itihaasa. There is the Vedic literature - 18 Puranas, 4 Vedas, 6 Vedangas and 4 Upavedas. Following those there are only two works which have been called as historical works. They are Ramayanam and Mahabharatam. All the previously mentioned collection of literature describe completely all our Dharmas, Adharmas, lifestyle, values, spiritual quest and reasoning. Secondly it is written by a Sage, just as Mahabharatam was also written by a sage Vyasa Bhagawan. Thirdly Ramayanam is the AdiKavya ie the first poem. Valmiki is not only a Rishi but also the first poet. Vyasa on the other hand is not called a poet nor Mahabharata a poem. Ramayanam has the unique distinction of being a poem and being a historical account! What is Itihaasa? "Iti + ha + aasa" means "So certainly it was". A book tells history when it narrates whatever happened and however it happened. Many people ask if Ramayanam is true, whether it happened really etc. What do we say to them? When it states on the tin that it is Itihaasa, what else is there to say? Rama was there, Ayodhya is there, he was its King, his wife was Sita and he slayed Ravana to rescue her.
If I start speaking about Ramayanam's beauty, depth and expanse we can continue doing so for months together. So much material is indeed there. Let's speak of the characters brought to life by Valmiki. They have become immortal. Not just major characters even minor ones. I am not speaking of Lord Rama or Mother Sita. Take Guha whose mention you miss if you blink. Can you forget him? Can you ignore Sabari? Viradha? Soorpanakha? Vaali? Can we forget Sumantra who is not mentioned again after Ayodhya Kaanda until the coronation at the end. Speaking of the speciality of Ramayanam we will forget about ourselves. Mahabharatam has numerous episodes, discourses etc. It is all encompassing and the only word that comes to mind to describe it is "encyclopedia"! Ramayanam is not like that. Valmiki stays close to the main plot line and doesn't deviate far from it. Only within the plot and where needed does he take brief detours. But in terms of poetry it has extraordinary beauty. The language used is the most simple, elegant and colloquial. Amongst all Indian literature it is the most easily accessible. The language flows, like the meandering Ganga, and does not pose any difficulty for interpretation or understanding. Even without knowing Samskritam just reading, to attain Punya, for 10 to 15 weeks is enough to understand it. A poetic work does not have to be abstruse for it to be beautiful. Ramayanam is a perfect example and hence it is immortal.
Samskritam has Alankaras, figures of speech, just like any other language. Take a guess, how many? 3, 5, 10, 25, 50? It has more than one hundred! How do you even start speaking about the beauty of Samskritam! With all this there are some rules or guidelines about what constitutes a poetic composition. The principles of the ideal structure of a poem all come to us from Valmiki's Ramayanam. Even today Samskrit poetry oscillates within those guardrails. Next is plot construction. How does one take a small story and expand on it to create an epic? Just on this topic there are atleast 60 to 100 books that have meticulously and scientifically researched the plot construction of Ramayanam. It is to be noted that all the tools that are required for a poem like figures of speech, metaphors, plot construction, metre etc were first explored and used by Valmiki as part of his mission to tell the story of Rama. Of all the verses composed by Valmiki the first one can be said to be Apaurusheya ie it was in his mind without his express volition. This is Shloka and of all Samkritam literature more than 95% are composed as Shlokas. The name of the metre, ie Shloka, has become synonymous with verse.
No comments:
Post a Comment