Sundara Ramayana (translation and study)

by T. N. Jaya | 2004 | 76,950 words

This is a study and English translation of the Sundara Ramayana—a Sanskrit Kavya consisting of seven books having 1209 verses composed by the 20th century author Sri Sundaresa Sastri. It represents a condensed version of the original Valmiki Ramayana....

Part 4 - A brief survey of the works on the Ramayana

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The Ramayana of Valmiki is unrivalled as the supreme epic of India and is deemed as a great epic of the world. It ranks as the first classical poem of Sanskrit and is well known as the Adi Kavya. This literary masterpiece enjoys the unique appelation of Adi Kavya,not only on account of its antiquity, but also beacuse of its extraordinary poetic merits. This great epic has been repeatedly storming the heads of so many poets, who after having improvised the Ramayana by interpreting, adapting and suiting it to their imagination, updated the Ramayana according to the times, reflecting the society of different periods. Their genius of poetic rendering with different modes of expression, ornamentation and style etc., have given birth to many independent works with their thoughts and ingrained the theme of the 6

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Ramayana that has withstood the sands of time, even to this day the upcoming authors of the future. The following are some of the works based on the statements made above. Adbhuta Ramayana: This is otherwise called Adbhutottara Ramayana and is attributed to Valmiki, the story of Sita, and traces her previous birth. The main purpose of Adbhuta Ramayana is to present the Sakta religion and philosophy. Sita is made the central character here and identified as divine forms like Sakti, Maheswari and Durga. Her glory is described on the model of Vibhuti Yoga of Gita and is made to act like Mahakali. On killing Ravana, she is described as dancing on his body in the ferocious form of Sakti. Certain important changes are the also made in the structure of Ramayana story. This text narrates the story of the origin of Sita. Sita is said to be the daughter of Ravana. Two Ravanas are also envisaged here. Of them, the one known to us through Valmiki, has only ten faces. But his elder brother mentioned here has a thousand faces. It was this Ravana who was destroyed by Sita, who assumed the form of Kali. When Rama was unable to vanquish the Ravana who had a hundred heads, it was Sita who finally killed Ravana. Sita's marvellous acts performed while killing the elder Ravana 7

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justify the title of this work as 'Adbhuta Ramayana'. Adhyatma Ramayana: It is an extract from the Brahmanda purana narrated by Vayu. It holds the tenet that Rama is a manifestation of the supreme spirit and Sita is identified with Lakshmi, 'a type of nature'. Paramesvara describes this Ramayana to Parvati. It is loaded with many subtle thoughts and ideas. As the very title suggests, it has a philosophical orientation. Much of its philosophy is drawn from the Bhagavata. Bhakti is given utmost importance here. Rama is described as the role model of Krishna in Bhagavata. The intention seems to be to popularise the worship of Rama as widely as that of Krisna. The Adhyatma Ramayana is known to have influenced Kabirdas and Tulasi Das considerably. Therefore, although the story of the Ramayana is narrated here, it is made up of devotional hymns and prayers addressed to Rama. The text is in seven kandas of the seven names as in Valmiki Ramayana, but the narrative is very brief. Ananda Ramayana: In this version, misdeeds start much earlier than abducting Sita. Ravana carries Kausalya to Lanka on learning that her marriage with Dasaratha is proposed and the son born to them would kill him. Ananda_Ramayana explains the ticklish events of the Ramayana. While Valmiki's Ramayana is filled with serious events, the 8

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Ananda Ramayana introduces a number of pleasant events, justifying its name. Philosophical and moral advice have also been incorporated in this work. Vasistha Ramayana: Also called Jnana Vasista, this is said to have been composed by Valmiki himself, as an appendage to the Ramayana and originally taught by Vasista to Rama. It consists of six chapters, explaining the best means of attaining true happiness. Just as Arjuna was confused at the time of battle, Rama was in a sad state of mind on returning from the yatra. To eradicate Rama's grief, Visvamitra and Vasista imparted philosophical wisdom to him. This is called Yogavasista or Jnana Vasista. This Ramayana was instructed to Sage Bharadwaja by Valmiki. Mula Ramayana describes the importance of Hanuman. This is read much by the followers of Sri Madwa. Satakoti Ramayana is an ancient work of Valmiki with hundred crores of verses, divided into nine lakh Kandas and nine hundred lakh Sargas. Agnivesya Ramayana: The important factors of Ramayana are classified into years, months, days as in the Almanac. Sangraha Ramayana is composed by Narayana Pandit. It does not differ much from the Valmiki Ramayana. Sridhara Ramayana: The author of this Ramayana is 'Sridhara Swamigal' who also wrote a commentary on 9

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Srimad Bhagavatam. It is filled with rare stories that have been narrated for generations and that which are not found in the Valmiki Ramayana. Mantra Ramayana: This is a work by 'Laksmanarya'. Ramacharita in the form of 156 Rgveda mantras as recited by Sage Narada to Valmiki forms the substance of this work. The popular Bala Ramayana of Rajasekhara etc., also is worth noticeable. Manju Ramayana: (Pub. By Sri Nadathur Ammal Trust, Vadavur, Tamil Nadu 1984). Villur Srinivasa Raghava composed this work. The Manju Ramayana in 243 verses epitomises the entire Ramayana in selective metres. This work is of the 20 th century. The Manju Ramayana, as its name indicates is a sweet or charming work. Ramayanakathasara is a brief narrative of the Ramayana in seven Kandas, each Kanda in a different metre, by Subbaya Sastri. Tatvasangraharamayana of Ramabrahmananda in seven adhyayas, mentions the story of Ramayana, but adds many incidents not found in Valmikia's work. Valmikibhavadipam is an interpretation in verse, of the spiritual significance of the story of Rama. It has been written by Anantacarya. Vasistottararamayana is not fully extant. The 12 th chapter named Sita Vijayam containing a legendary account of the vanquishment of the hundred-headed Ravana by Sita. 10

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Satyopakhyana narrates the history of Rama, illustrated with a variety of stories not found in the Ramayana. It is said to have been originally imparted to Markandeya by Valmiki, and then by him to Vyasa, by Vyasa to Suta and finally narrated by Suta to Rsis in the forest of Naimisa. Asecanaka Ramayana: The author of this Ramayana is late Brahmasri Subrahmanya Suri (20 th century). Also known as Ramayanarya, it is a short and sweet poem in Aryametre. The peculiar feature of this work is that the first three padas of each sloka narrate the story and the fourth pada embodies the moral suggested by the incidents contained therein. The poem opens with the Narada's interview with Valmiki and not a single event has been omitted in the story. Sundara Ramayana (ii): - It is a strange coincidence that there is another work under the title "Sundara Ramayana" written by esa the Sundara Sastriar, availble in print. The author belongs to 20 th century. The author is a Ramabhakta, a talented poet, steeped in Valmiki's language and ideas. His poem is conceived in the spirit of an artistic act of worship. The verses are composed in Upajati metre. This work also is noted for its simplicity. There are about fourteen sargas. Ramacaritra or Ramayana is a long work in prose and verse, 11

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based on the Ramayana of Hemacarya. It differs considerably from the work of Valmiki. Popular Ramayanas in other languages Tulasidas Ramayana: This is otherwise known as 'Ramacharita Manas'. This is a popular work in Hindi, comprising seven cantos. Jaina Ramayana: This was written in the Magathi language by a Jain poet 'Hemachandracharya'. It differs totally from the Valmiki Ramayana. Bhaskara Ramayana: This is a work in Telugu by the poet Bhaskara. It contains complicated imageries, and is of high vocabulary. A Molla Ramayana woman named 'Molla' composed this work in Telugu language. Bhauddha Ramayana: It is a part of various Buddhist works such as the Granta of ethical values-'Dhammapadam', by Lord Gautama Buddha. a Kamba Ramayana: Just as Valmiki Ramayana is considered supreme in Sanskrit, so is Kamba Ramayana in Tamil. It is sung by the divine poet Kamba Nattalwar. He has composed this work after the thorough study of various puranas and works on Rama. His version differs from Valmiki's in several aspects. 12

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Ramayana theme in Sanskrit Kavyas theme Here are some of the popular works dealing with Ramayana is Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa , 3 a Mahakavya that describes in 19 huo cantos, the history of great monarchs of Ikshwaku dynasty, from Dilipa to Agnivarna. In five cantos from 10-15, the story of Rama's life is recounted. Bhatti's Kavya in 22 sargas deals with the Ramayana story. e Kshmendra's Ramayana Manjari is an epitome of the Th Ramayana. Ramayanatatparya nirnaya, Ramayanatatparya Sangraha, Bharatastava, Ramayana Sara Sangraha and Ramayana Sarastava are the Maha Kavyas written by Appaya Diksita. Gadya Kavya Prativadi Bhayankara Annangaracaryaas Ramayana Dandaka is a prose work describing the story of Rama. Poems written on the Ramayana by various authors Rama caritra by Raghunatha, Kalyana Ramayana by Sesakavi, Bhadradri Ramayana by Viraraghava, Udara Raghava by 13

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Candisuryakavi, Rama Kathasudhodaya by Srisaila Srinivasa, Ramamrta by Venkataranga, Raghuviravarya carita by Tirumala Kona yarya, Dasananavadha by Yogindranatha and Raghuvira carita by Sukumara are all poems based on the Ramayana. Surias Surya candradi vamsavatarana by Maharaja Udayar III of Mysore (1857) is a Lagu Kavya that relates 100 episodes each, from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. His work Ramayana Katha Puspamanjari is also based on the Ramayana. Subramanya Suriz Ramavatara is also a citra kavya adopting to the Ramayana theme to music. Purusottama Kaviraratnaas Balaramayana, a comprehenisve work of Gita, Natya and Nataka is based on the Ramayana. Bhojaas the Ramayana campu is a very popular work. It is based on exquisite story of Ramayana and the composition with blended melody of prose and verse in it, has the charm of royalty in it. Ramayana campu is another work written by a poet Sundaravalli. Kusa Lava Campu by Venkaya Sudhi, Ramacandra Campu by Ramacandra, Sita Campu by Gundu Ramaswami Sastrin, Ramacampu by Bandla mudi, Uttara Campu by Brahma pandita, Campu Raghava by Aswi Anantacarya, Ramabhiseka by Devarajadesika, Sita Vijaya by Ghartavatara, Maruti Vijaya by Raghunatha, Anjaneya Vijaya by Nrsimha, Kakustha Vijaya by 14

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Vallisahaya are some of the campus based on the theme of Ramayana. Ramayana themes in Dramas (Nataka) The Adikavyodaya is a drama written by Y. Mahalinga Sastri in ten acts belonging to the prakarana which deals with the origin of the Ramayana. Bhavabhuti's Uttara Rama Caritrta describes in seven acts, the story of Uttara Kanda of Ramayana, that is, the abandonment of Sita, her residing at the hermitage of Valmiki, the birth of Kusa and Lava and finally the union of Sita and Rama. His other work Mahavira Carita describes in seven acts, the life of Rama as a warrior. The plot follows and the Ramayana, with slight variations & shows Rama's heroism in relief. Bhasa's Pratima Nataka begins with the banishment of Rama to the woods and the miserable condition of Dasaratha leading to his death. Bharata infers the death of his father from the statue of his father erected in the house. The play begets its name from this incident. Another work of his Abhiseka Natakam, deals with Kiskindha, Sundara and Yuddha Kandas. It begins with the fight with Vali and continues until the fall of Ravana and Sita's entry into fire. Venkatesaas Ramacandrodaya relates the story of Rama in the Yamaka style. 15

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Murari's Anargharaghava in seven acts is an elaborate play on the story of Ramayana. For his merit and eloquence he has been called Bala Valmiki. Jayadeva's Prasanna Raghava is a drama in seven acts, embracing the story of Ramayana. The author has introduced several alterations to the original story, to give to his work an extraordinary dramatic effect. Ramabhaya Diksitaas Janaki Parinaya is a popular drama. Ramayana Nataka by Somesvaradeva, Sita Raghava by Ramapani vada, Mudita Raghava by Sala Krisna, Amogha Raghava and Abhinava Raghava by Ksira swamin, Sitananda by Tatacarya, Janakaja nandana by Nrsimha, Kusa Lava Vijaya by Venkata Krisna, Anjaneya Vijaya by Bhasyakara, Ramarajyabhiseka by Viraraghava, Prandhabhirama by Venkatanatha, Krtya Ravana, Ramabhinanda, Valivadha, Chalita Rama, Janaki Raghava, Daja ba Nirdosa Nasratha, Marica vancitaka, Mayapuspaka and Abhirama Raghava by Anapotanayaka are other works that dwell on the theme of the Ramayana. Many prominent writers like Weber, Jacobi etc., have written commentaries on Ramayana. The Ramayana has spread far beyond the frontier of India and has fired the imaginations of scholars, especially, 16

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those belonging to the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Valmikihrdayam is a commentary by Ahobile. Dharmakutam is a splendid critique on the Ramayana. Ramayananvayi is a commentary by Rangacarya of Kidambi family. Ramayana-bhusanam is a commentary by Prabalamukundasuri. The story of Rama in Tibet by J.W. DE. Jong. The Ramayana in the Philipines by Jawn. R. Fransisco, Ramakatha in the World Litt. By Satya Bhusanverma, The Ramayana Literature in Arabic, Persian and Urdu by Ramlal Nabhvi, Ramayana in Nepalese Arts by Gokul Sinha, Ramayana Tradition in South East Asia by K.S. Srinivasan, The Literary version of the Rama Story in Malay by S. Singaravelu, Ramayana in Sri Lanka by C.E. Gode Kumbure, The Ramayana in South East Asian Sanskrit Epigraphy and Iconography by Jean Fillozat, are the works that bring out the extent to which the Ramayana has pervaded all over the world. 17

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