VALMIKI–VISWANATHA

DR D. VENKATA AVADHANI

Retired Professor of Telugu, Osmania University, Hyderabad

The magnum opus of ‘Kavisamraat’ Viswanatha Satyanarayana is his Srimad Ramayana Kalpavriksha which has earned for him the coveted Jnan Pith Award of one lakh of rupees. The affix “Kalpavriksha” at the end of the name of the work is quite meaningful. Kalpavriksha is the Divine Tree in the Nandana Garden which grants to the supplicants, all the things they desire. In the same way this Kalpavriksha grants to the discerning readers, all the poetic beauties and excellence they desire. Like all other writers of Ramayanas, Viswanatha also followed the story of the Ramayana of Valmiki. But here and there he introduced some changes and innovations which have added extraordinary beauty to the original story. He often used to say that his Ramayana is a sort of commentary on the original Ramayana.

Sri Viswanatha is an expert in the art of narrating the story. In the Balakanda, sage Viswamitra, while taking Rama and Lakshmana with him for protecting his sacrifice from the demons narrated some beautiful stories to them to remove their fatigue. The art exhibited by Viswanatha in narrating those stories is indeed praiseworthy and here and there he makes Rama and others to comment upon the beauties of his narration. These comments indirectly bring home to the readers the exquisite dexterity displayed by the poet in narrating those stories. After successfully completing the sacrifice with the help of the young princes, Viswamitra started to Mithila along with the two brothers and some other sages. On the way they stopped on the banks of the river Sona. Rama sat before Viswamitra and requested him to tell them about the place where they stayed and said, “There may be great penance, rare greatness and extraordinary kindness in the other sages. But none of them possesses like you, the skill of narrating the stories bringing with various sentiments.” This remark clearly tells the readers how Viswamitra narrated the stories. Afterwards Viswamitra told them the story of the birth of Gaadhi, his father. Here the narration is indeed superb. Rama then requested him to tell them the descent of the Ganges to the earth. Viswamitra, instead of telling that story, narrated the story of Kumaraswami and told the hearers, “Do not tell immediately what is asked but begin to narrate the background in detail. The hearers will be attentively hearing it with the hope that the story desired by them will follow soon. Is this not a clever way of narrating a story?” Here the poet tells the readers the skilful way of narrating a story in an interesting manner. The story of the descent of the Ganges in Viswanatha’s Ramayana is very interesting. After hearing the story Lakshmana praised the enthusiasm and the perseverance of the grandsons of Saagara. The sages that woke up then remarked “White streaks of light are seen in the East like the white filaments of the Guava (Jami) flower. How great the Sagaras! How wonderful is the story narrated! What wonderful Lords are they!” and then went again to sleep. The story of the Sagaras narrated by Viswanatha was extremely interesting as the sages remarked. When God Indra cut off the belly of Diti, she was much incensed, but afterwards became calm and excused him. After hearing this story Rama looked at Viswamitra and remarked “Oh! sage, which is greater among the two, viz., the gift of the missiles you obtained from the sage Bhrisaswa on the way of narrating the stories to us?” Rama was more overwhelmed with joy when he heard the stories being narrated by Viswamitra than when the use of the Divine missiles was taught to him.

Satananda narrated to Rama how Viswamitra could become a great Brahmarshi. Then Rama told his brother, “The art of narrating the story seems to be the same whoever of these sages narrate. These are bestowed with great insight and exhibit the minutest details of the story. Brother, have you observed another thing? Does not the way of telling the story of Menaka differ from that of all other stories?” Then Lakshmana observed, “Yes, indeed it is so.” Here the poet informs the readers that the sages narrate the stories in a wonderful way and that there is vast difference in the manner of narrating the stories by Viswamitra and by Satananda. Though Viswanatha told the stories that are already there in the original Ramayana, he displayed the beauty of the art of his narration by the casual remarks and comments made by the characters like Rama.

Viswanatha introduced many original descriptions in his Ramayana in various contexts and they testify to his extraordinary poetic genius, ripe imagination and sound scholarship. They are too numerous to be pointed out here.

In Srimad Ramayana Kalpavriksha there are some situations where Viswanatha deviated from Valmiki and some which are originally innovated by him. The number of such deviations and innovations is quite small but all of them display his poetic genius, originality and sense of propriety. Only three or four of them are mentioned here.

In Valmiki’s Ramayana Gautama cursed Ahalya that she should live in the same hermitage for one thousand years, doing penance, living upon air, lying in the dust without being seen by anybody. He also indicated the end of the curse saying that she would obtain her original form when she would be sanctified by offering reception to Rama, when he would come there. After saying this he left the hermitage and went away to the top of the mountain Himavan for doing penance. The fact that Ahalya was transformed into a stone on account of the curse given by her husband is very popular in the country. But Valmiki did not mention about this transformation. It is stated in that way in other Ramayanas. Sri Viswanatha also wrote in his Ramayana that Ahalya was lying in the hermitage in the form of a stone till Rama went there along with Viswamitra. No sooner did Viswamitra and the royal princes reach the hermitage, they heard a sweet sound extending welcome to them. The description of the arrival of Rama at the hermitage made by Ahalya is unparalleled and speaks much of the internal devotion of Sri Viswanatha. Even when Rama was at a distance, Ahalya who was lying in the form of a stone began gradually to get the five sense organs. Viswanatha describes that gradual change in an inimitable way. “As soon as the breeze from the body of the Lord blew over it, the stone got the sense of touch, as soon as the sound of the feet of the Lord was heard at a distance the stone obtained ears, as soon as the fragrance of the body of the Lord was smelt, the stone got the nose, the organ of smell, as soon as the body of the Lord beautiful as the gate made of black diamonds was seen, the stone obtained the eyes and no sooner had the Lord come and accepted the reception, the group of the Upanishads emerged from the heart of the stone and it appeared in the form of a beautiful lady.” Then Rama fell prostrate on her feet and the sages that were there chanted Vedic hymns indicating auspiciousness.

In Valmiki’s Ramayana, when Dasaradha was returning to Ayodhya along with sages, his sons, daughters-in-law and his retinue after the marriage of Sita and Rama, Parasurama appeared on the scene. Vasishtha and others welcomed him and offered him Arghya and Padya. Afterwards there was exchange of hot words between Parasurama and Rama, which ended with the defeat of the former. This is generally called “Parasurama Garvabhangam.” As Rama’s arrow cut off all the worlds earned by Parasurama by dint of his penance, Parasurama went away to Mahendra mountain to perform penance. In Viswanatha’s Ramayana this scene of the defeat of Parasurama is described before the marriage. When Rama broke the bow of Siva as stipulated by Janaka, messengers were sent to Ayodhya for inviting Dasaradha. Dasaradha came with his queens and other attendants. When he was talking to Vasishtha and Viswamitra about the marriage to be performed, some omens both good and bad appeared Dasaradha was frightened. Vasishtha and Viswamitra consoled him saying that though there would be some bad in the beginning, it would end and result in extreme good. In the meanwhile Parasurama came there frightening everybody with his words. Dasaradha fainted. The Vaishnava bow of Parasurama was successfully handled by Rama and Parasurama went away accepting his defeat and announcing the divinity of Rama. Lakshmana went and informed Dasaradha that the angry Bhargava departed with his arrogance. Dasaradha’s joy knew no bounds and he came and embraced his victorious son. All the relatives showered praises on Rama. Rama humbly said “Did I conquer the great sage, who is an expert in the use of all the Divine missiles? He only pretended defeat as he had something in his mind” and bowed to the direction in which Parasurama departed. Afterwards was performed with great pomp the marriage of Rama and Sita. The sound produced at the time of the breaking of the bow of Siva was heard in the three worlds. As soon as Parasurama heard it, he was incensed as the bow of his preceptor was broken and came to Mithila, challenging Rama, who broke it; That is why perhaps Viswanatha described the Parasurama scene before the marriage of Rama and Sita. Parasurama’s arrival immediately after the marriage would have certainly impaired the great delight of the relatives that came there to witness the marriage. Rama did not only break the bow of Siva but also could handle the Vaishnava bow. This redoubled the valour of Rama and also the delightful mirth of the marriage party. More over, this is a situation where two incarnations of Vishnu appeared simultaneously. As soon as Rama took the bow from the hand of Parasurama an indescribable effulgence also entered Rama along with it. It made Rama’s incarnation complete and made him deserve the hand of Sita, the incarnation of Lakshmi. Viewed in this way, the change made by Viswanatha appears to be quite appropriate.

Among the innovations introduced by Viswanatha in his Ramayana, the Hamsa Dowtya (the swan’s message) in the beginning of the Yuddhakanda stands foremost. Rama crossed the ocean and encamped on the seashore in the city of Lanka. Ravana at that time was sitting on the upper storey of his palace enjoying the morning breeze. Sugreeva saw him, and not being able to contain his anger jumped on Ravana, fought with him for sometime and returned to Rama. Rama warned him not to be hasty, though he was pleased with his devotion towards him. Afterwards Rama sat on a stone after worshipping Sandhya and witnessed a swan which attracted him very much. He called the swan near and telling it that it was more than one month since Hanuman brought him the good news of Sita’s welfare, that he was much worried about what happened to her afterwards and requested it to go and inform her that he crossed the ocean along with the army of monkeys to fight with Ravana and take her back. He also informed it that it appears to him that he had once seen it along with his beloved and asked it whether it stopped at Ayodhya at any time while going from the Himalaya mountains. He also entreated it to excuse him as he was putting on its shoulders the burdensome responsibility of carrying the message to his wife.

The swan heard the message of Rama and flew away in the sky creating rings of beauty while flapping its wings. At that moment, Ravana was walking at the top of the palace for soothing the pain of the wounds created by the tooth-bites of Sugreeva. The swan appeared to him as if it was a path of nectar created by the fruition of the penance of Rama. At once he became very angry. He called a lady moving nearby and asked her whence that swan was flying. She replied that it was coming from the direction of the encampment of the enemy’s army. Ravana descended from the top of the palace and went to his worship room. There he could not see the idol of Lord Siva whom he was worshipping daily. He could not stay there. He went to the court and saw Vidyunmali who was an expert in Maya. He told him, “I am going to see Sita. Rama and Lakshmana are both killed. Bring their heads, bows and arrows to the Asoka Garden.” So saying he went to the garden, saw Sita and told her, “Your husband has crossed the ocean with the monkeys and come to besiege my fort. It seems very strange to me. I pity him as I am sure that my son, the valorous Indrajit, will certainly kill him and his brother along with the whole army.” Then he looked at Vidyunmali and ordered him to show the heads and bows of Rama and Lakshmana to Sita. He placed before Sita, the heads, the bows, and the arrows of Rama and Lakshmana which he created with the help of Maya. When Sita saw them, she fell into a swoon and recovering after sometime discovered that it was all delusion manipulated by the demons. At that moment she felt that some of her close relatives came there and looked upwards. The swan sat on the branch of the tree exactly where Hanuman previously sat. Sita was overjoyed at the sight of the swan and felt that it might have come from her husband with some good tidings. The swan greeted Sita and conveyed to her the following words that Rama asked her to convey, “I have crossed the ocean along with the army of the monkeys. They are not mere monkeys, but the messengers of the God of Death sent to take off the lives of demons. Hanuman gave the crest jewel given by you and informed me your piteous plight. I have come and hope that our sorrowful days have come to an end. You have to, somehow, get on in the same condition for only a few days till I kill Ravana in the battle.” Just at that moment the manipulated heads, bows and arrows of Rama and his brother disappeared from the place where they were put by Vidyunmali while Sita and Ravana were looking at them. Ravana laughed and told Sita, “I thought that you would abandon your life after seeing the head of Rama. But you are still alive. It is an indication that even now you have the desire of enjoying worldly happiness. It is a foregone conclusion that Rama will be killed by me in the battle. Then you can happily live with me.” Sita was ashamed at hearing those words and looked at the swan once again. For a moment she was in a trance and felt that she was the goddess of the goddesses and the everlasting reality. There appeared a sweet smile on her lips. When Ravana saw her in that state it seemed as if his heart stopped. He became very furious. It appeared to him that the whole cause for all that happened was the swan and uttered the following words: “There is nobody in the three worlds since the beginning of the creation who has offered his heads to Lord Siva like me and that God has deceived me and selected a beggar like himself. Is Rama a greater devotee than myself? It seems strange to me that Lord Siva stooped to become a love-messenger between this couple. Rama who has till now seemed to me an external enemy has now become an internal enemy.” So saying he went away and spent a sleepless night. Early in the morning he took his bath, worshipped Lord Siva as usual, and was brooding over the things that had happened on the previous day. Just at that time his daughter-in-law, the wife of Aksha who had been killed by Hanuman, came there along with her five-year-old son and told Ravana, “This boy went yesterday to the place of your worship and brought the silver swan. When I told him that you would be angry he has now brought it to give it to you.” As Ravana saw that silver swan, he felt extraordinary relief in his heart and kissed his grandson and gave the swan to him as a plaything.

This silver swan is God Siva himself. Ravana’s grandson took it away from the place of worship. Ravana could not find it in its place on the previous day. The same swan acted as the messenger. The Maya manipulated by Vidyunmali could not continue before it. The false heads, bows and arrows brought by Vidyunmali disappeared. As soon as Sita saw the swan and heard the message of Rama she could attain her real divine form. That is why she smiled. Her smile incensed Ravana. Ravana was indeed a great devotee of Siva and it is a fact that he was pleased with his devotion; but the Adharma committed by him could not be tolerated by him. He became a messenger and carried the news of Rama’s arrival to Sita. This episode of swan’s message is a wonderful creation of Viswanatha that is not found in Valmiki’s Ramayana. In this context are seen here and there the beauties of Kalidasa’s Meghasandesa.

After Ravana was killed in the battle, Sita and Rama stopped at the hermitage of Atri while flying to Ayodhya on the plane Pushpaka. Rama and Lakshmana went inside the hermitage and were talking to the sage. Sita bowed to Anasuya and took her to a bower of creepers and told her, “Mother! the boon you granted me previously had turned to be a tragic story. The very divine appearance that you granted me created suspicion to my husband.” Anasuya was astonished to hear those words. Sita then informed her all the facts that happened from the time Ravana carried her off and lastly told her the heart-rending words that Rama spoke to her at the time of entering the fire. Anasuya became furious and went where Rama was talking to her husband with her shrivelled body shaking with anger. Rama was frightened when he saw her in that angry mood. In the meanwhile Anasuya controlled her anger and went back without saying anything. Then Atri told Rama, “See how old age makes people behave peculiarly. Can women know the feeling of self-respect as Kshatriyas like you? When the heart is perturbed with the burden of insult, can anybody think of what is proper and what is not?” Several people criticise Rama for having spoken harsh words to Sita at the time of asking her to enter fire. Rama knew quite well the chastity of Sita but, on account of the self-respect natural to a Kshatriya, could not but utter such words to her. A wounded heart makes anybody lose patience and prompts him to say harsh words. This is the explanation given by Viswanatha for the harsh words spoken by Rama, through Atri.

After sometime, Sita and Rama went and got up the plane. When it is about to start Rama saw Anasuya walking towards it. Anasuya came to the plane, got up the steps with difficulty, placed two fruits in the hands of Sita and was trying to get down. Sita handed over those fruits to Rama and giving support to Anasuya got down the plane along with her. Then Sita took leave of her and got up the plane, which started immediately. The two fruits given by Anasuya indicate the birth of Kusa and Lava in future. This is another beautiful innovation made by Viswanatha in his Ramayana.

Viswanatha no doubt followed the story of Ramayana as narrated by Valmiki, throughout his work but made additions here and there in the form of beautiful descriptions in some situations, commented upon the original in certain contexts creating doubts to the readers, took some facts from other Ramayanas and folklore here and there and made original innovations in some contexts. He made his work a Kalpavriksham of poetic art and planted it permanently in the Nandana Gardens of the hearts of the readers. It is a bliss to be able to read it and a great misfortune to neglect it on some pretext or other.

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