[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 1 Source: prekshaa]]
कूजन्तं राम रामेति मधुरं मधुराक्षरम् ।
आरुह्य कविता-शाखां वन्दे वाल्मीकि-कोकिलम् ॥
[Continuously singing the sweet syllables rāma, perched upon the branch - poetry, is the cuckoo - Vālmīki, we bow down to him]
Prologue
It is well known that the author of Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam is maharṣiVālmīki. It is known as the ādikāvya i.e. the first poem. The word ādi has two meanings - the first and the cause. Since it is the first poem it might have earned the epithet ādikāvya. Or because it became the ideal for all the poetry which spawned subsequently it might have earned that name. All the criteria which the aestheticians prescribe for good poetry is found in this great work. All the rasas like śṛṅgāra and others, all the bhāvas have manifested in it. The aṣṭādaśavarṇanās (eighteen varieties of descriptions) find their place in it. Just to satisfy the criteria, the description of the forests, oceans etc, haven’t been forcefully brought in.
The life of Vālmīki isn’t known precisely. Some details are present in the Adhyātma-rāmāyaṇam. Śrī-rāma visits the āśrama ofmaharṣiVālmīki during his vanavāsa,**maharṣiVālmīki himself says these words.
अहं पुरा किरातेषु किरातैस्-सह वर्धितः ।
जन्म-मात्र-द्विजत्वं मे शूद्राचार-रतस्-सदा ॥
-Adhyātma-rāmāyaṇa 1.6.65
[I was amidst the hunters and thus was brought up as one. I am a brāhmaṇa just by birth, I became a śūdra in all my conduct.]
From the phrase, “janma-mātra-dvijatvaṃ me” we can understand he was a brāhmaṇa by birth. He also had another name, Prācetasa. It means he is the son of Pracetas. Pracetas might have been a brāhmaṇa. Pracetas is also an epithet of the dikpālaka, Varuṇa. But there is no evidence to say that he is the son of Varuṇa. He has never been addressed as Vāruṇi. Thus, Vālmīki is a brāhmaṇa. Here is the narration ofmaharṣiVālmīki himself in the Adhyātma-rāmāyaṇam continued.
“O Rāma, I had many children with a śūdra woman. Then I fell into the company of thieves and used to hold bow and arrows and hunted animals in the forest becoming their Yama, i.e. deity of death. Once in the dense forest I saw seven men who were as resplendent as the Sun himself. In a bid to steal their belongings I stopped them. They said, ‘O wile brāhmaṇa, why are you stopping us?’ I replied, ‘Omaharṣi, I’ve a wife and children to take care of. I’m roaming around in the forest to provide for them. My aim is to steal something from you.’ They stood unperturbed. They said, ‘who would bear the burden of your pāpa which you have been committing? Will your family suffer the consequences? Go home and ask them about this individually and then come back. We’ll be waiting for you. Our word is immutable, now go.’ I did likewise and asked each of my family members separately. My wife and my children responded thus, ‘We would not bear your burden of pāpa, that is your own responsibility. It is your duty to protect and take care of us. We have never forced you to procure anything by unjust means.’ I truly repented for my wrong deeds. Vairagya (renunciation) sprouted in my mind. I returned and told themaharṣis who were waiting for me thus, ‘O great Ṛṣis, please rescue me from the naraka which I’ve gotten into, due to my own bad deeds.’ I prostrated before them. Themaharṣis who were the embodiment of compassion addressed me thus, ‘Get up, from now let good things happen to you. Your encounter with good people has borne fruits. We will perform mantropadeśa of some mantra, repeated remembrance of it will cleanse you from all the pāpa you have incurred.’ they discussed among themselves. “He is a pāpin and a brāhmaṇa who has fallen. Now he repents due to the samskāras of his previous lives. A person who has sought refuge should never be deserted. He should be shown the right path.” Then they instructed me, ‘The mantra ‘marā’ is to be repeatedly remembered. It should be pursued single mindedly. We shall visit again. Till we come you should be doing it. Don’t even move slightly from this place.’ Then they went away.
I followed their instruction, sat down, and unwaveringly pursued the goal which they assigned to me chanting the mantra ‘marāmarāmarā’ I forgot the very existence of the whole world. I don’t know how much time went by. An anthill (valmīka) grew around me as I sat still. I didn’t know of its existence. One day the maharṣis returned. They saw that the anthill had completely covered me and instructed, ‘Come out!’ Only then I again became aware of the external world. I came out and prostrated before them. They said, ‘Omaharṣi, you have been purified. You have come out of an anthill. It is as though you have been reborn. Since you came out of valmīka, henceforth you’ll be known as Vālmīki’ After declaring this they went away.”
This story is appropriate to justify the power of the utterance of the name of Śrī-rāma. But why did themaharṣis instruct the name of Śrī-rāma by reversing it as ‘marā’? Let us for the sake of argument agree that while uttering ‘marāmarāmarā..’ we actually utter the name of Śrī-rāma. Even without knowing the meaning, the utterance of his very name is fruitful may have been the opinion here. Some people opine: since he was a forest dweller, he would be acquainted with ‘marā’ (tree). So themaharṣis instructed him using something which is familiar to him.
This begs the question, was he a kannaḍiga! Something doesn’t add up. The maharśis might have thought that someone indulging in such activities shouldn’t be given the name of Śrī-rāma directly. That might have been the reason. This story might have just cropped up to justify the name Vālmīki.
This is the first part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 2 Source: prekshaa]]
Vālmīki also finds mention in the Śrīman-mahābhāratam too. In the sabhā-parva (7.19, *7.14 in critical text) Vālmīki’s presence in the court of Indra is mentioned by devarṣi Nārada. When bhagavān Śrī-kṛṣṇa goes to the court of Dhṛtarāṣṭra as the messenger, Vālmīki along with other maharṣis wish him success in theudyoga-parva(82.27, *81.27 in critical text). Later in droṇa-parva we see when Bhūriśravas has renounced the war and is in the state of dhyāna, Sātyaki beheads him. The kaurava army then ridicules him for committing the grave crime of attacking an unarmed warrior. Then Sātyaki answers thus -
अपि चायं पुरा गीतः श्लोको वाल्मीकिना भुवि ।
न हन्तव्यास्-स्त्रिय इति यद्ब्रवीषि प्लवङ्गम ।
पीडाकरममित्राणां यत्स्यात्कर्तव्यमेव तत् ॥
-droṇa-parva 142.67-68,*droṇa-parva 118.48 in critical text, the relevant pada न हन्तव्यास्-स्त्रिय इति is missing.
The phrase “न हन्तव्यास्-स्त्रिय इति…” comes from Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam yuddha-kāṇḍa81.28/29 in southern recensions, (*critical text 68.27). When Indrajit is about to kill the ‘Māyā Sītā’, Hanumān cautions him saying, “Women are not to be killed..” for which he replies, “O Vānara! You might say that women are not to be killed. but we should always do whatever is required to make our enemies suffer!”
In the anuśāsana-parva18.8-10 (*critical text 18.7-8), Vālmīki meets Yuddhiṣṭhira and narrates his story, “I argued with some of the munis once. They were angered and cursed me saying, ‘You’ll incur the brahmahatyādoṣa’ . Immediately the doṣa engulfed me. I took the refuge of Parameśvara, and propiated him through japa and finally was relieved from it due to his benevolence.”
The modern critics say “While the events of the Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam happened earlier than the events of Śrīman-mahābhāratam, it was written later.” But we see that “अपि चायं पुरा गीतः श्लोको वाल्मीकिना भुवि…” is present in Śrīman-mahābhāratam, this suffices to prove that these arguments have no basis.
Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam is a mahākāvya not a purāṇa. Poetry is always endowed with the capability of producing ānanda which is beyond this world. The beauty inherent in it is what makes it different from any other form of literature. As the great aesthetician Vāmana says, ‘kāvyam grāhyamalaṅkārāt saundaryamalaṅkāraḥ’ due to this very reason. The reasons for poetic beauty are manifold. The pada (words), the rīti (style), the śayyā (construction), the alaṅkāras (various figures of speech), guṇa (attributes), the bhāvas (feelings) and the rasas (emotions/sentiments) and so on. The metrical construct lends itself to melody enhancing the beauty of the work endowing it with a unique charm. But rasa is the primary source of life to all poetry. Aestheticians declare that indeed rasa is the very life of kāvya.
Rasa is of nine types - śṛṅgāra (love/passion), vīra (heroism), karuṇa (pathos), adbhuta (marvel), hāsya (humour), raudra (wrath), bībhatsa (disgust), bhayānaka (frightening), śānta (tranquility). We come to know that Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam is filled with these rasas and was sung by Lava and Kuśa by the verse
रसैः शृङ्गारकरुणाहास्यरौद्रभयानकैः ।
वीरादिभिश्च संयुक्तं काव्यमेतदगायताम् ॥
-Bālakāṇḍa 4.9
[The kāvya comprising of śṛṅgāra, karuṇa, hāsya, raudra, bhayānaka, vīra, and other rasas were sung by…(Lava and Kuśa)]
By ‘वीरादिभिश्च’ we should understand that adbhuta, raudra, śānta, too are present. For every rasa there is a fundamental state, these are called the sthāyibhāvas. The word ‘sthāyi’ means something which stays for a long time. When these fundamental states are suggested due to various reasons they become rasas. Rasa is never to be directly expressed by words. It is always implied or suggested. Such implication or suggestion of sthāyibhāvas manifest as rasas. The sthāyibhāvas are as follows - rati for śṛṅgāra, utsāha for vīra, śoka for karuṇa, vismaya for adbhuta, hāsa for hāsya, krodha for raudra, jugupsā for bībhatsa, bhaya for bhayānaka, śama for śānta. Then there are vibhāva, anubhāva, sañcāribhāva, and sāttvikabhāva, exposition on these terms are out of the scope of the current discussion.
There are ample examples of these rasas in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam. None of them seem artificially dragged into the plot just to showcase them. They naturally occur depending on the plot. Other than these Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam is the treasure trove of other emotions like shame, envy etc. The mutual love and affection which exists between Śrī-rāmā and devī Sītā constitutes rati. It finds expression starting from the ayodhyā-kāṇḍa and continues till the very end. Once devī Sītā is kidnapped the separation which they both suffer constitutes vipralaṃbha-śṛṅgāra. In contrast the ‘love’ which Rāvaṇa professes towards devī Sītā does not become rasa. It’s a fallacious appearance or semblance of rasa i.e. rasābhāsa. Since it manifests in the form of lust towards a married woman it is indeed rasābhāsa. Likewise any sthāyibhāva which shows up in inappropriate places becomes rasābhāsa.
The utsāha (enthusiasm) which Śrī-rāmā shows during the killing of the rākṣasas Khara and Dūṣaṇa, or the same emotion which Śrī-rāmā and Lakṣmaṇa during the events of the yuddha-kāṇḍa when they fight their enemies manifests as vīra. If they show anger then it manifests as raudra. Examples of karuṇa include the laments of Tārā after Vālin is killed and the lament of Mandodarī after Rāvaṇa is slain. The examples of adbhuta can be seen in the bridging of the ocean and the crossing of the ocean by Hanumān. The fear expressed by the rākṣasīs after the island of Laṅkā is burnt leads to bhayānaka. Bībhatsa is present in the conduct of Kuṃbhakarṇa. These are just a few examples. One can find many such instances reading the work.
The hāsyarasa
The sthāyibhāva of hāsyarasa i.e. hāsa is a mood. It leads to the expansion of our mind. The emotion is expressed mainly through laughter. This is the anubhāva of hāsa. The inherent mood of hāsa present in the person indulging in hāsya shows up as laughter. This same mood and expression manifests in the sahṛdaya due to the refinement or saṃskāras. Since the audience becomes one with the comic character and enjoys the comedy they also experience the same emotion. Laughter is divided into categories based on the attributes and nature of the audience and entity which is the target of hāsya. It sometimes manifests as just a smile which is called smita or mandahāsa. Sometimes it manifests as a loud laugh which is called aṭṭahāsa. Laughter is classified into smita, hasita, vihasita, prahasita, atihasita - and so on. Mostly in the characters belonging to the class of dhīrodātta (magnanimous and valourous characters) only smita is normally found.
This is the second part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 3 Source: prekshaa]]
There is a uniqueness in hāsya as opposed to the other rasas. It is enjoyed by one and all. This rasa has the power of entertaining everyone from small kids to old people. Irrespective of their vocation, whether one is a beggar, a servant, an officer, a merchant, a householder or a mendicant, everyone can enjoy it. This is not the case of the other rasas. The śṛṅgāra cannot be understood by small kids while the elderly might be disinterested. It is forbidden for the sannyāsīs. The same is the case of vīra, it cannot be enjoyed by many. Many people don’t want to read anything which deals with karuṇa. The same is the case of other rasas too. But I’ve never found any man or woman who doesn’t enjoy hāsya. I’ve never seen any haters of hāsya. Even in the direst of times if someone speaks something humorous, at least of the time being it gives happiness. The aestheticians emphasize by saying, ‘शृङ्गारप्रभवो हास्यः’ i.e. śṛṅgāra is the reason/origin of hāsya. Their opinion is a bit equivocal. Difficult to substantiate. We can say hāsya originates from being lively or joyful. Without being in such a condition it would be difficult for someone to be naturally humorous. The import might be that śṛṅgāra would be joyfulness of mind.
We can see some examples of humor,
भिक्षो मांसनिषेवणं प्रकुरुषे किं तेन मद्यं विना
मद्यं चापि तव प्रियं प्रियमहो वाराङ्गनाभिस्सह ।
वेश्या द्रव्यरुचिः कुतस्तव धनं द्यूतेन चौर्येण वा
चौर्यद्यूतपरिग्रहोऽपि भवतो भ्रष्टस्य का वा गतिः ॥
Seeing a sannyāsī near a meat market a gṛhastha (householder) is surprised and asks him thus!
G - O bhikṣu! Do you consume meat?
S - Without liquor how tasty would it be!
G - O so you like to have a drink too!
S - Not unless in the company of prostitutes!
G - O you like them too, but they demand money, where do you get money?
S - Either by gambling or stealing
G - So you do these things too?
S - What other choice do a fallen one have?
The answers given by this imposter of a sannyāsī queue up in a line to generate humor.
कमले कमला शेते हरः शेते हिमालये ।
क्षीराब्धौ च हरिः शेते मन्ये मत्कुणशङ्कया ॥
Lakṣmī sleeps in a lotus (in a pond), Hara sleeps in the Himalayas, and Hari sleeps in the milky ocean. Probably frightened of bedbugs!
मशका मत्कुणा रात्रौ मक्षिका भिक्षुका दिवि ।
पिपीलिकाश्च भार्याश्च पीडयन्ति दिवानिशम् ॥
Mosquitoes and bedbugs torment in the night, flies and beggars torment during the day, ants and wives torment both day and night!
Such funny verses are in plenty in Sanskrit literature. These are standalone verses. Appropriate for quoting as per the situation. To develop humor in poetry the poets bring in hāsya. In the plays (dṛśyakāvya i.e. to be seen) there is a vidūṣaka whose primary purpose is to generate hāsya. In the other poems (śravyakāvya i.e. to be heard/read) the poet brings in the hāsya like lightning! This depends on the nature of the poet. In the real world, everyone cannot generate humor well. But everyone can enjoy it. It is the same in the case of the poets too. Poets like Kālidāsa, Bhāsa can bring in hāsya. But others like Bhāravi, Bhavabhūti, Murāri have not even bothered about its existence, both in their plays and poems. The vidūṣaka have no role in their plays. This applies across languages.
An example from Kālidāsa’s magnum opus Kumārasambhavam - Pārvatī is performing the most rigorous of the tapas to please Śiva and marry him. Even though satisfied, Śiva wants to test her and so comes in the form of a brahmacārī and taunts her. He says that Śiva isn’t a befitting groom for her. Here is something which he says as one of his reasons.
वपुर्विरूपाक्षमलक्ष्यजन्मता
दिगम्बरत्वेन निवेदितं वसु ।
वरेषु यद्बालमृगाक्षि मृग्यते
तदस्ति किं व्यस्तमपि त्रिलोचने ॥
‘If we consider his looks, he is Virūpākṣa (with an eye on his forehead)!. His digambaratva (covered by the quarters, i.e. being naked) announces his wealth! O doe-eyed one! Does he possess even one quality befitting of a groom which people ask for?’
There is a pithy maxim describing the desirable qualities of a groom.
कन्या वरयते रूपं माता वित्तं पिता श्रुतम् ।
बान्धवाः कुलमिच्छन्ति मिष्टान्नमितरे जनाः ॥
‘The bride seeks handsomeness, the mother-in-law thinks about his financial status, the father-in-law thinks about education, the relatives seek a noble lineage, the others are worried about a sumptuous meal.’
In Abhijñāna-śākuntalam, Duṣyanta is in love, but Śakuntalā isn’t a princess but a girl who has been brought up in the āśrama. When he informs his friend Vidūṣaka that he is in love, he reacts like this.
यथा कस्यापि पिण्डखर्जूरैरुद्वेजितस्य तिन्तिण्यामभिलाषो भवेत् ॥
Someone who has been eating the sweet dates for a long time would be bored of the excess sweetness and would long for the tamarind! Your situation is similar!
Coming back to the present context, maharṣi Vālmīki in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam has provided ample scope for all the nine rasas and have woven them beautifully. The aṣṭādaśavarṇanās (eighteen varieties of descriptions) mandated to be present in mahākāvyas are also present in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam. This is an ideal worthy of emulation to all poets. Hence it has been hailed as ‘paraṃ kavīnāmādhāram’ i.e. the foundation of great poets/poesy.
The fun and leisure Śrī-rāmā and devī Sītā experiences now and then in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam constitutes śṛṅgāra. Once devī Sītā is kidnapped, there is an extensive description of vipralaṃbha-śṛṅgāra (śṛṅgāra in separation). On one side it is Śrī-rāmā longs for his beloved while on the other side devī Sītā pines for the reunion, the descriptions of their trials have reached the peak of vipralaṃbha. There is no other instance in the whole Sanskrit poetry which deals with vipralaṃbha of such noble characters in such extensive fashion. We see the appearance of vīra during the killing of the rākṣasas Khara and Dūṣaṇa. Yuddha-kāṇḍa has more raudra than vīra. In the laments of Tārā and Mandodarī,karuṇa has been given its due. The examples of adbhuta can be seen in the bridging of the ocean and the crossing of the ocean by Hanumān and in the exploits of Kuṃbhakarṇa. Bībhatsa finds its place in the description of people like Kabandha. Śānta is present the description of the tapas performed by Viśvāmitra and the descriptions of Agastya.
This is the third part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 4 Source: prekshaa]]
The humour in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam has always appeared in the most appropriate places. Humour always demands an awareness of the world around us. Only someone who can understand the world and the whims and fancies of the people can handle humour well. In that respect, maharṣi Vālmīki is someone who knows the world well. The observation made by maharṣi Kaṇva in the play abhijñāna-śākuntalam, ‘वनौकसोऽपि सन्तो लौकिकज्ञा वयम्’ i.e. ‘Even though we dwell in the forest, we are well-versed in the worldly ways!’ applies well to maharṣi Vālmīki. It is therefore not surprising that in every description, every conversation between the characters, we find flowers emanating earthly fragrance. These aren’t the proverbial imaginary flowers of the sky. Being an expert in the secret ways of great poetry, understanding the psyche of sahṛdayas, maharṣi Vālmīki has provided a optimum amount of hāsya by interspersing it here and there. He hasn’t limited it to the sweet dates but has enhanced the taste by adding a tinge of sourness of the tamarind too here and there! He has added humour like how elaichi is added in the rasāyana.
रामायणे विविधभावरसायनेऽस्मिन्
काव्यज्ञलोकहृदयस्पृशि भव्यकाव्ये ।
वाल्मीकिरादिकविराट् कवितत्त्वदर्शी
हास्यं न्यवेशयदनर्घमिवैलचूर्णम् ॥
[In Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam which is verily a rasāyana of a myriad emotions, an epitome of poetry which touches the connoisseur’s heart, maharṣi Vālmīki the king among the poets, a visionary of the philosophy of poetry, has placed humour like how one adds elaichi in the rasāyana.]
This is the import of a talk I’d given at the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). GIPA had published some aspects of this text before. In the current edition some of the stotras dedicated to Śrī-rāma have been added. These have been collected from a work called Śrī-rāma-karṇāmṛta. The work which is attractive due to the construction and also the emotions is fit to be committed to memory and also be recited as part of daily pārāyaṇam. These verses can attract the minds of connoisseurs by mere recitation. There is also the Śrī-rāmacandra-suprabhāta, composed by me. Since these would be very small to be individually published, I’ve added them in this book.
My esteemed friend, M S Srinivasa Rao who is the head of the publication house ‘Udaya Prakashana’ has happily come forward to publish this. I would like to express my gratitude towards him.
N Ranganatha Sarma
Bangalore.
October 22nd, 1996 (Vijaya-daśamī)
~~~
[Translator’s note: We have skipped the publisher’s note here since it is not relevant for a translation series present on an online platform., but it will be included in the final publication.]
~~~
Any aesthetician worth his salt agrees that hāsya is one among the nine rasas. It is a state of mind. It manifests in some people in a special way. In others it lies dormant and manifests only in special situations.
Some people opine that hāsya is an impediment to the seriousness and profundity of a human. This is unfounded as we see that great personalities like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Mahatma Gandhi etc were people with great sense of humour. If it was a lowly emotion then aestheticians would never opine that it is an ornamentation for good poetry.
Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam is a mahākāvya. It is a divine story of a great man and an equally great woman. Is there a scope for maharṣi Vālmīki to introduce hāsya? Why not? As long as it does not hinder the profundity of this great poem. Vālmīki himself has said:
रसैः शृङ्गारकरुणाहास्यरौद्रभयानकैः ।
वीरादिभिश्च संयुक्तं काव्यमेतदगायताम् ॥
Bālakāṇḍa 4.9
[The kāvya comprising of śṛṅgāra, karuṇa, hāsya, raudra, bhayānaka, vīra, and other rasas were sung by…(Lava and Kuśa)]
It is worth noting the main difference between other rasas and hāsya. The rasas like karunā, raudra might be enjoyable in the context of poetry but not so in the case of the real world. Śṛṅgāra may be enjoyable to certain individuals but for a neutral person it might even be disgusting in some cases. Hāsya, on the other hand, has no such limitations. It can be enjoyed right from children to the elderly, from scholarly to the laity, even by people who have renounced the worldly affairs and have become sannyāsins.
While karunā seems to be the main rasa in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam, there is ample scope for other rasas too. For such a great work which evokes the noblest and profundest of the feelings, hāsya should indeed be in small but appropriate quantities. Maharṣi Vālmīki has therefore used it sparingly and with propriety. A connoisseur should be able to spot such instances throughout the epic. The aim of this essay is to remind some of those instances.
The trophies given by the ṛṣis
The expertise of Lava and Kuśa in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam was unparalleled. Once in an august gathering of the ṛṣis they sung the great epic in their usual best. Even the ṛṣis who were benumbed by their constant study of vedas were moved by their singing. They wanted to give something in return. But what would such ṛṣis who have renounced everything possess? One ṛṣi gave a pot. Another ṛṣi gave the bark-garment in his possession. Yet another gave the maunji threads! Someone gave ropes which were used to tie logs. Someone else gave a kaupīna!
बृसीमन्यस्तदा प्रादात् कौपीनमपरो मुनिः
Bālakāṇḍa 4.23
[…one gave a cushion made of grass used to sit while the other gave a kaupīna!]
While there is hāsya here, one should note that it doesn’t undermine the profundity of the situation. What else would be the worthiest possession of a ṛṣi other than a kaupīna! That was what he gave with affection. We should observe the loftiness of their appreciation in this instance.
The episode of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga
As per the orders of Romapāda, courtesans were sent to bring Ṛṣyaśṛṅga. Those courtesans reached the forest where Ṛṣyaśṛṅga stayed and were waiting for an opportunity to meet him. On the other hand Ṛṣyaśṛṅga was always under the care of his father in the āśrama and was contented with that. Right from his birth, he had never seen or even heard of women. He hadn’t even noticed the horses and poultry living just outside the vicinity of his āśrama. He was always engaged in tapas, living on a diet of fruits and roots. The courtesans waited till his father maharṣi Vibhāṇḍaka ventured out of the āśrama and came in decked with strange clothes. Ṛṣyaśṛṅga had never seen the beautiful feminine form. The innocent Ṛṣyaśṛṅga thought that they were some other ṛṣis from a different āśrama! He welcomed them thus.
“O noble ones! Please accept these. Here is the arghya! Here is the pādya! Here are some roots! Here are some fruits!” They accepted all of it and were convinced and happy that Ṛṣyaśṛṅga has been trapped and is at their mercy. “O ṛṣikumāra! Accept these fruits which we have brought! Have a bite!”, they offered him sweets like laḍḍu which they had brought. Ṛṣyaśṛṅga wasn’t even aware of such delicacies. They were delectable! He assumed they were some variety of fruits!
मोदकान् प्रददुस्तस्मै भक्ष्यान्श्च विविधान् शुभान् ।
तानि चास्वाद्य तेजस्वी फलानीति स्म मन्यते ॥
Bālakāṇḍa 10.21
[They gave him sweets and other delicacies. He savoured them all thinking that they were fruits.]
This is the fourth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 5 Source: prekshaa]]
The avarice of the brāhmaṇas
It seems as though when Brahma created the brāhmaṇas he also gave them the gift of poverty! We have heard a number of stories which starts like, ‘There lived a poor brāhmaṇa in a town…’ the word ‘baḍava’ in Kannada which means poor might have come from the word ‘vāḍava’ which is a synonym of brāhmaṇa in Sanskrit. The vāḍavas are typically the purohitas. Their nature is longing for materialistic things. Desire is inbuilt in every living being. But these vāḍavas tend to make it very evident! Others just conceal it well and get their desires satisfied nevertheless. This avarice of the vāḍavas are showcased in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam as well.
It is well known that Daśaratha performed Aśvamedha. As part of it, anna-santarpaṇa had been carried out in a grand scale. The rice heaps were comparable to the mountains. When such food is served, who would resist? Not just the women and children but even old and diseased people ate to their heart’s content. Still they weren’t satisfied!
वृद्धाश्च व्याधिताश्चैव स्त्रियो बालस्तथैव च।
अनिशं भुञ्जमानानां न तृप्तिरुपजायते ॥
अन्नकूटाश्च बहवो दृश्यन्ते पर्वतोपमाः ॥
Bālakāṇḍa 14.13,15
[Old and diseased, women and children ate day and night and still were unsatiated.
…heaps of rice looked like mountains.]
The king gave the brāhmaṇas lot of clothes and crores and crores of gold coins as dāna. Even then one poor brāhmaṇa waited for the right opportunity and asked the king to give his golden bracelet! The king happily gave it away.
The story of Trijaṭa
Another situation which is similar to the one discussed above. Śrī-rāma is about to leave Ayodhyā to go to the forest. He is giving away all his assets. The news spread all over the city. There was a poor brāhmaṇa called Trijaṭa. The news first reached his wife! She said to him, “How many days shall we live on alms? How many days can we take care of our children in this manner? Throw those pickaxes away and listen to me! It seems Śrī-rāma is giving away everything in charity. He is a noble man. Go to him, he might give you something.” How can one violate the words of one’s wife? Trijaṭa wore torn clothes and walked straight to the royal palace! None stopped him. He approached Śrī-rāma and asked him, “O noble prince! I’m a poor brāhmaṇa; I’ve a lot of children. I’m living on alms. Show some compassion!”
Śrī-rāmā is fond of humour. Even though he was in such a dire situation, seeing Trijaṭa he wanted to play a prank. He said, “Viprottama! Behold! Thousands of cows can be seen. Throw your staff in that direction. However far it lands, all the cows within it will be yours!” What an awe inspiring sight it was! Trijaṭa tied up his torn clothes, gathered all the strength his thin frame could lend, rotated the staff and threw it with all his might! The staff crossed the Sarayū river and covered thousands of cows within its range.
स शाटीं त्वरितः कट्यां सम्भ्रान्तः परिवेष्ट्य ताम् ।
आविध्य दण्डं चिक्षेप सर्वप्राणेन वेगितः ॥
स तीर्त्वा सरयूपारं दण्दस्तस्य कराच्च्युतः ।
गोव्रजे बहुसाहस्रे पपातोक्षाणसन्निधौ ॥
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 33.37,38
[He fastened his clothes around his waist properly, rotated the staff, and threw it with all his might.
It crossed the Sarayū river, covered thousands of cows and landed near a bull.]
Śrī-rāmā on his part kept his word and sent all those cows to his house. Then he said to the brāhmaṇa, “Venerable brāhmaṇa, please don’t be angry. It was all in jest.”
मन्युर्न खलु कर्तव्यः परिहासो ह्ययं मम ॥
[Please don’t be angry, it was just a prank.]
Thus asking for forgiveness.
Gluttonous brahmacārins
As a Kulapati (head of the Gurukula), maharṣi Vālmīki would be well acquainted with the ways of the brahmacārins, i.e. the students. Learning Vedas by rote, gluttony, laziness - he knows all these too well. He has Śrī-rāma speak about it on his behalf. In the city of Ayodhyā there lived many such brahmacārins learning the kaṭhakālāpaśākhās. They are named as daṇdamāṇavas, i.e. young brahmacārins carrying a staff, engrossed in committing Vedas to memory and gluttonous. “अलसाः स्वादुकामाश्च” lazy and always desiring gourmet food. Śrī-rāma instructs his brother Lakṣmaṇa to send, eighty carts filled with grains, a thousand filled with paddy, two hundred filled with dal and other requirements, and a thousand cows to cater the needs of milk products such as curds etc.
ये चेमे कठकालपाः
बहवो दण्डमाणवाः ।
नित्यस्वाध्यायशीलत्वान्-
नान्यत् कुर्वन्ति किंचन ॥
अलसाः स्वादुकामाश्च…
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 32.18,19
[Those from the kaṭhakālāpaśākhā, numerous daṇdamāṇavas, those due to their continuous study do not do anything else.
Lazy and desirous of delicacies…]
Daśaratha’s sense of humour
Daśaratha declared in his court that Śrī-rāma would be crowned as the heir apparent on the next day. All the subjects were happy and welcomed this decision. They declared that they are delighted to have someone as noble as Śrī-rāma as the crown prince. Though Daśaratha was aware of the reason for their joy, still he acted as though he was ignorant and asked them thus, “My subjects. As soon as I declared that Śrī-rāmā would be crowned you were all delighted and agreed. What is this? Haven’t I been a good king following dharma?”
कथं नु मयि धर्मेण पृथिवीमनुशसति ।
भवन्तो द्रष्टुमिच्छन्ति युवराजं ममात्मजम् ॥
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 2.24
[When I’m still ruling this earth adhering to dharma, how come you are all so eager to see my son as the crown prince?]
The old fellow just wanted to derive happiness in hearing his son’s noble qualities praised by his subjects.
Śrī-rāma’s sense of humour
There is no doubt that Śrī-rāma, while being the very embodiment of dharma and adherent of satya, still had a great sense of humour. Adhering to dharma is never at loggerheads to being a humorous person. Śrī-rāma’s character is one that would appreciate natural beauty and be mesmerized by profundity. When he sees Citrakūṭa for the first time, when he enters the forest, when he sees the rivers, or the Pampā lake, when the rainy season arrives, if we observe how his emotions go, we can understand why maharṣi Vālmīki has portrayed him as a connoisseur par excellence. When he was separated from devī Sītā we understand how intensely he experienced śṛṅgāra. If Śrī-rāma wasn’t a connoisseur, Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam would indeed be boring.
This is the fifth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 6 Source: prekshaa]]
He is described as ‘smitapūrvābhibhāṣī’, someone who always has a smile before he talks. There are many instances which proves that he had a great sense of humour. We see that he had said, ‘ परिहासो ह्ययं मम (it was just a prank)’, to Trijaṭa.
During their stay in the forest Śrī-rāma, Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa were all very happy. The beauty of nature and their casual conversations made them happy and they never thought of their stay as an ordeal. Till Sītā was kidnapped there is no inkling of any complaints about their stay or difficulties. Śrī-rāma took utmost care to make Sītā, who was tenderness personified, as comfortable as possible. He says to Sītā.
दर्शनं चित्रकूटस्य मन्दाकिन्याश्च शोभने ।
अधिकं पुरवासाच्च मन्ये च तव दर्शनात् ॥
लक्ष्मणश्चापि धर्मात्मा मन्निदेशे व्यवस्थितः ।
त्वं चानुकूला वैदेहि प्रीतिं जनयतो मम ॥
नायोध्यायै न राज्याय स्प्रुहयेऽद्य त्वया सह ॥
-Ayodhyākāṇḍa 95.12,16,17
[My dear! I feel happier seeing the river Mandākinī and Citrakūṭa than being in Ayodhyā. The noble Lakṣmaṇa, has always been favourable and has followed my words to the dot. Vaidehi! If I’m with you and Lakṣmaṇa, then I neither need Ayodhyā nor the throne.]
Later after she was kidnapped, Śrī-rāma, heartbroken, says this to Lakṣmaṇa.
अस्मिन् मया सार्धमुदारशीला शिलातले पूर्वमुपोपविष्ट ।
कान्तस्मिता लक्ष्मण जातहासा त्वामाह सीता बहुवाक्यजातम् ॥
Araṇyakāṇḍa 63.12
[Lakṣmaṇa, this is the rock upon which my beloved, the one of the flawless character, would sit beside me with a wonderful smile. Didn’t she spend many a day chatting with you in jest here?]
The sense of humour of the trio.
Śrī-rāma, Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa have arrived at the banks of Gaṅgā. Guha is waiting to take them across the river with his boat. Śrī-rāma wants to have some fun at the expense of Sītā. He addresses Lakṣmaṇa thus, “Lakṣmaṇa! Get into the boat first, then help this courageous woman get into the boat by holding her hand!” Śrī-rāma seems to suggest that “Sītā is indeed brave, except when it comes to getting into a boat!” “Let her get into the boat if she is indeed daring”, is his opinion. Lakṣmaṇa understood his intent and said, “Yes she is indeed brave” and helped her get into the boat first and then he followed (Ayodhyākāṇḍa 52.75,76).
The episode of Śūrpaṇakhā
Śrī-rāma’s sense of humour is evident in the episode of Śūrpaṇakhā. Seems like maharṣi Vālmīki has deliberately brought in hāsya in this episode. The old woman she was, its comical to see Śūrpaṇakhā being overcome by lust. And she had the gall to express it in public in the presence of Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa, rather than in privacy is something to be ashamed about. Śrī-rāma, the mind reader he was, was able to see through her facade and machinations in the first glance itself. He declared, “राक्षसी प्रतिभासि मे (You seem like a Rākṣasī to me).”
How inappropriate her lust was, has been portrayed wonderfully by maharṣi Vālmīki.
सुमुखम् दुर्मुखी रामं वृत्तमध्यं महोदरी ।
विशालाक्षं विरूपक्षी सुकेशं ताम्रमूर्धजा ॥
प्रीतिरूपं विरूपा सा सुस्वरं भैरवस्वरा ।
तरुणं दारुणा वृद्धा दक्षिणं वामभाषिणी ॥
न्यायवृत्तम् सुदुर्वृत्ता प्रियमप्रियदर्शना ॥
Araṇyakāṇḍa 17.10-12
[Śrī-rāma’s handsome face vs Śūrpaṇakhā’s ugly one, his thin waist vs her pot belly, charming lotus like eyes vs crooked eyes, thick black hair vs copper hair, pleasant form vs terrifying form, melodious voice vs frightening voice, youth vs terminal old age, straight talk vs crooked speech, noble vs base, endearing vs endangering]
What a match indeed! If they’d marry it would be a model pair worthy of emulation!
See how Śūrpaṇakhā conducts herself in lust while speaking to him: he directly goes and asks him, “Who are you? Why do you pretend to be a tapasvin with matted locks? Yet you take a wife and carry bows and arrows. Why have you come here? Tell me the truth!”. Śrī-rāma told everything as it is. She replied, “I’ve come to take you as my husband. Be my husband for eternity!” Looks like till then she didn’t have a husband with whom she lasted long! But seeing Sītā with him she had doubts about what would Śrī-rāma do. She proposed a ready solution. She said, “Don’t worry, I’ll eat her.” What if Lakṣmaṇa poses a problem to her carefree behaviour? She would eat him too. Seeing that Sītā is beautiful and Śrī-rāma might not abandon her, she said, “What is the use of this woman? She looks ugly. She isn’t befitting to your charms! I’m the one. She is disgusting, ignoble! Her waist has just depleted. What ugliness!”
‘Go to Lakṣmaṇa…’
Seeing her shamelessness he wanted to play a prank. He said, “Ārye, I’m already married. As you say she might be ugly, but still she is my beloved! For a woman like you it would be difficult to live with cowives! Behold, there is my younger brother. An impeccable character. Handsome. Resplendent. He is unmarried. His name is Lakṣmaṇa. Valourous man, still not acquainted with the conjugal pleasures. He is in search of a wife! You are indeed a great match! Marry him. You won’t have to bother about co-wives.” he said, “It would be like the union of the sun rays with the golden Meru!”
Already drowned in lust, Śūrpaṇakhā didn’t understand this prank. She immediately approached Lakṣmaṇa, “O Lakṣmaṇa! See my lustrous skin! I’m your match!” He also found it funny. He couldn’t help but laugh. He had heard what Śrī-rāma told her. He too played along and said, “Indeed your complexion resembles the lotus! But I’m a servant to my elder brother. Being a wife of a servant would you like to be one? Would it be appropriate to be the servant of a servant? It’s better to be my brother’s wife instead. O lotus eyed one. What a great complexion! Be the younger wife of my brother. As you have already observed his wife is thin, pale, ugly, of emaciated waist and old. My brother would abandon her and marry you. Who in the right mind would refuse a beauty like you!”
This is the sixth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 7 Source: prekshaa]]
The punishment for a lustful woman
The pot bellied woman took Lakṣmaṇa’s words as the ultimate truth. Unaware of the humour she again goes back to Śrī-rāma. She is not oblivious to the beauty of devī Sītā. Later she is the one who would wax eloquently about her beauty in Rāvaṇa’s court. Here, intoxicated by lust, she deliberately insults her beauty. It’s funny to note that she calls devī Sītā, old and ugly. Her conduct evokes disgust while also creating humour. Maharṣi Vālmīki has brought in subtle and situational humour here to entertain the connoisseurs. As per the orders of Śrī-rāma, Lakṣmaṇa cuts off her ears and nose. What a punishment meted to a lustful woman! As soon as he did that, she screamed in a screeching voice and ran into the forest. She also screamed in different ways (‘ननाद विविधान् नादान्’)! Holding her arms up, screaming loudly, she entered the dense forest!
Her interactions with Khara also evokes humour. The handsomeness of both Śrī-rāma and Lakṣmaṇa is deeply ingrained in her psyche. Even when complaining about them she can’t help but describe how handsome they are vividly.
तरुणौ रूपसम्पन्नौ सुकुमारौ महाबलौ॥
पुण्डरीकविशालाक्षौ …॥
[…young, handsome, powerful, with eyes as wide as lotus…]
“With them there is also a young and beautiful woman.” she says. The ‘old and ugly’ suddenly transforms into ‘young and beautiful’! “She is the main cause of my travails now. They treated me as though I’m a prostitute without kin and disfigured me.” We see how the truth is tampered when it comes to such complaining people. Devī Sītā, who neither spoke nor acted, became the root cause! While Śūrpaṇakhā complains about being treated like a prostitute
इमामवस्थां यथाऽसती तथा ॥
Araṇyakāṇḍa 19.18
She doesn’t think for once how she behaved.
Thinking that Śrī-rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are some commoners Khara sends his army comprising of fourteen thousand rākṣasas. Śūrpaṇakhā’s desire was to drink the foaming blood of Śrī-rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and devī Sītā! But the fourteen thousand rākṣasas were decimated. Again she went to Khara screaming. By then the ears and nose had stopped bleeding and she looked like a worn out sallakī(Olibanum tree).
Instigation
Śūrpaṇakhā was adept in getting what she wanted. She knew that if Khara isn’t provoked enough he won’t go with his full strength and her desires would remain unfulfilled. She insulted him saying he is a coward. Then she slapped her pot belly with her hands and cried!
कराभ्यामुदरं हत्वा रुरोद भृशदुःखिता ॥ Araṇyakāṇḍa 21.22
His army was indeed destroyed. Śūrpaṇakhā saw everything hiding, far from the battlefield. Drinking Śrī-rāma’s blood remained unfulfilled, yet again she was disappointed as Khara too died. Again she ran away screaming, this time to Laṅkā. She gatecrashed into Rāvaṇa’s court and exhibited her disfigured face. “O Rāvaṇa! You are immersed in enjoyment! You are behaving as per your whims and fancies. Janasthāna has slipped from your hands. Haven’t you been informed?” She described everything with generous extrapolation. She knew Rāvaṇa’s weakness; he was indeed lustful. Thus she described devī Sītā’s beauty in detail and provoked him. “Whomsoever Sītā would be the wife of, whomsoever she would embrace in love, his life is the most joyful!” “I desired to make her your wife but the wretched Lakṣmaṇa disfigured me!” She fed his desire with false information.
Śūrpaṇakhā knows that her behaviour towards Śrī-rāma is indeed shameful. She doesn’t inform about that to either Khara or Rāvaṇa! She created an alternate narrative to describe Lakṣmaṇa’s actions! In spite of that her actions were revealed eventually!
Great rākṣasa warriors like Kumbhakarṇa, Indrajit and many more lost their lives. There was no limit on the rākṣasa warriors who were killed in the battle. Most of the rākṣasa women who survived were all widows. They all ridiculed her for her behavior! “How could this pot bellied Śūrpaṇakhā approach Śrī-rāma who equalled Manmatha in looks! Was it appropriate for this old hag to behave like this! Why did she, with no good qualities whatsoever, lust for Śrī-rāma, who is the noblest and beaming with resplendence! Such ugly-faced woman had the gall to approach that handsome one! By our misfortune this woman did the unthinkable! Her skin is wrinkled! Her hair is grey! She conducted herself in such an ignoble fashion!” (Yuddhakāṇḍa 19.6-9)
The ugliness of the rākṣasas find elaborate descriptions with humour in aim, the rākṣasa women find special mention! Hanumān sees the rākṣasa women guarding devī Sītā in the Aśokavana. How were these rākṣasīs?
“Some had only one eye. Others a single ear. Some had wide ears. Some had no ears at all. Some had sharp ears. Some had a nose which faced upwards. One had a gargantuan head! One had a long neck! One was bald! One had hairs all over! One had a long forehead and ears. Some had a pot belly, hanging lips, hanging face, hanging legs! One was short, someone else was tall, yet another was hunch backed! One was ugly and stout! One was terrifying, yet another was crooked faced! One had blazing red eyes, while someone else had a disfigured face!”
“They were all dark, quick tempered and quarrelsome! Some had faces resembling pigs, deers, tigers, buffaloes, goats and foxes’ faces! Some had legs which resembled elephants, horses and camels’ legs! Some had their heads which were buried in their bodies! Some had only one hand, others had just one leg! Some had their ears resembling donkeys, horses, bulls, elephants, and lions’ ears! Women devoid of noses, noses which were long, short, crooked, curved, resembling elephants’ trunk, and residing on their forehead too were there! Some had hoofs like bulls! Some had their hair hanging till their feet. Some were big breasted! Some had huge eyes, long tongues, some had faces like cows, pigs! Some were redheaded! They were drinking liquor, eating meat and blood was spilled all over their bodies! (Sundarakāṇḍa 17.5-16)
Amidst such women devī Sītā looked like a divine flawless beauty! Her beauty was even more enhanced in contrast to such specimens who surrounded her!
This is the seventh part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 8 Source: prekshaa]]
Ayomukhī
Ayomukhī is another Śūrpaṇakhā when it comes to her conduct. While her story is a minor one, it makes one aware of how many such shameless rākṣasa women were residing in the Daṇḍaka. Śrī-rāma who is bearing the unbearable situation of devī Sītā’s kidnapping is in search of her. Lakṣmaṇa is also disturbed seeing his ever equanimous brother in extreme sorrow. Both have crossed the Krauñcāraṇya and are heading towards the south. There they saw a crooked faced rākṣasī. Thick skinned, ugly; pot bellied; ate any animal which she could lay her hands upon in a disgusting manner. Her hair was unbraided. She was Ayomukhī! This time it was Lakṣmaṇa who would be the victim. He was in the front of Śrī-rāma and he was the one whom her eyes saw first. She ran to him and embraced him! “Come let’s make love!” she said. “My beloved! You are lucky to have me!” she said. “Lord! You can spend the rest of your life with me in these mountains, on the banks of the rivers!” Lakṣmaṇa was enraged beyond limits. He swiftly drew his sword and chopped off her ears and nose at once! “What an unabashed species these rākṣasīs are!” he might have thought. Ayomukhī suffered the same fate that Śūrpaṇakhā had. Lakṣmaṇa went a step further and chopped her breasts off. She ran away screaming! (Araṇyakāṇḍa 69.18)
Mantharā
Mantharā portrayal nurtures humour. She had come along with Kaikeyī from her ancestral house when Kaikeyī married Daśaratha and lived with her since then. Since she had looked after Kaikeyī since her childhood she had intimacy with her. She was old and a hunchback. She was widely known as ‘the hunchback woman’ in the royal palace. Maharṣi Vālmīki introduces her in his idiomatic best
ज्ञातिदासी यतोजाता कैकेय्यास्तु सहोषिता ॥
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 7.1
[…born attendant, who was born in some unknown place, always staying with Kaikeyī]
He uses ‘yatojātā’ which means ‘born somewhere’. None knew her lineage and house! An attendant, always staying with Kaikeyī!
As soon as she learnt the news of Śrī-rāma being declared as the heir-apparent, her envy knew no bounds. She wasted no time and went to Kaikeyī. She was as agitated as someone whose house is on fire! She chided Kaikeyī who was asleep, “उत्तिष्ठ मूढे किं शेषे भयं त्वामभिवर्तते (Get up you fool! Fear has surrounded you!)” She used all her guile to spoil Kaikeyī’s mind which was noble until then. She reminded her of the two boons promised by Daśaratha and also tutored her what to ask. Kaikeyī was happy to be ‘awakened’ by Mantharā’s foresight. She was delighted to hear the plans. See how she praises her in delight!
कुब्जे त्वां नाभिजानामि श्रेष्ठां श्रेष्ठभिधायिनीम् ।
पृथिव्यामसि कुब्जानामुत्तमा बुद्धिनिर्णये ॥
त्वमेव तु ममार्थेषु नित्ययुक्ता हितैषिणी ।
नाहं समवबुद्ध्येयं कुब्जे राज्ञश्चिकीर्षितम् ॥
सन्ति दुःसंस्थिताः कुब्जा वक्राः परमदारुणाः ।
त्वं पद्ममिव वातेन सन्नता प्रियदर्शना ॥
उरस्तेऽभिनिविष्टं वै यावत् स्कन्धात्समुन्नतम् ।
अधस्ताच्चोदरं शातं सुनाभमिव लज्जितम् ॥
परिपूर्णं तु जघनं सुपीनौ च पयोधरौ ।
विमलेन्दुसमं वक्त्रमहो राजसि मन्थरे ॥
जघनं तव निर्घुष्टं रशनादामशोभितम् ।
जङघे भृशमुपन्यस्ते पादौ चाप्यायतावुभौ ॥
त्वमायताभ्यां सक्थिभ्यां मन्थरे क्षौमवासिनी ।
अग्रतो मम गच्छन्ती राजहंसेव भाससे॥
आसन्याः शम्बरे मायाः सहस्रमसुराधिपे ।
सर्वास्त्वयि निविष्टास्ता भूयश्चान्याः सहस्रशः ॥
तवेदं स्थगु यद्दीर्घं रथघोणमिवायतम् ।
मतयः क्षत्रविद्याश्च मायाश्चात्र वसन्ति ते ॥
अत्रते प्रतिमोक्ष्यामि मालां कुब्जे हिरण्मयीम् ।
अभिषिक्ते च भरते राघवे च वनं गते ॥
जात्येन च सुवर्णेन सुविष्टप्तेन मन्थरे ।
लब्धार्था च प्रतीता च लेपयिष्यामि ते स्थगु ॥
मुखे च तिलकं चित्रं जातरूपमयं शुभम् ।
कारयिष्यामि ते कुब्जे शुभान्यभरणानि च ॥
परिधाय शुभे वस्त्रे देवतेव चरिष्यसि ।
चंद्रमाह्वयमानेन मुखेनाप्रतिमानना ॥
गमिष्यसि गतिं मुख्यांगर्वयन्ती द्विषज्जने ।
तवापि कुब्जायाः सर्वाभरणभूषिताः ॥
पादौ परिचरिष्यन्ति यथैव त्वं सदा मम ॥
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 9.38-51
[“O Mantharā! I never knew you were so brilliant and can speak like this! You are the most brilliant among all the hunchbacks in this world! There are so many in this palace itself. But they are all useless. You are the only one who is capable! You look like a lotus creeper bent by the wind! Your chest is forward due to just pride! The waist which is adorned with a beautiful navel is emaciated as it is ashamed of your lofty chest! Your face is as refreshing as the moon! You look so beautiful Mantharā! Your hips look aptly adorned with the golden strings of the girdle! The knees and feet seem mesmerizing! Broad thighs aptly matched with the white silk! You look like a royal swan! You seem to possess all the magical powers which the asura Śambara had. Nay you possess far greater powers than him. This acumen, this tact, this polity - where was this all along? All these might have been dormant in the hunch on your back. I’ll get a golden chain made for your hunch once my son Bharata is crowned! Will cover your hump with gold! I’ll also get golden embroidered tilaka for your face, and many more ornaments! I’ll give you costly sarees too. You can roam around like an apsaras! Your face which resembles the moon has no match! All these other hunchbacks can become your attendants!”]
She appears only once after this. Śrī-rāma is banished. Bharata is back and has completed all the rituals related to the death of Daśaratha. Bharata is discussing the preparations to bring back Śrī-rāma from the forest with Śatrughna. Mantharā adorned with all the golden ornaments appear!
“She appeared adorned with all the ornaments from the eastern entrance. She had anointed herself with sandalwood paste and was wearing a silk saree befitting royalty. She had decorated herself with a variety of ornaments in a weird way. Her makeup was abnormal. An exquisite girdle adorned her waist!” (Ayodhyākāṇḍa 78.5-6)
All the ornamentation would add to the charm of someone who is already beautiful. If the person is ugly, any makeup or ornamentation would be caricaturish. The old ugly hunchback woman Mantharā was, imagine how she would look wearing silk and ornaments, with all the makeup. Maharṣi Vālmīki has found the most appropriate simile to describe it. ‘रज्जुबद्धेव वानरी’ (A female monkey tied by a rope!). Won’t the monkeys in shows and circuses be decorated and tied with ropes to control them?
This is the eighth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 9 Source: prekshaa]]
Good luck to Bharata
Bharata has started his journey towards Citrakūṭa along with his army. His aim is to bring Śrī-rāma back. On the way they see the maharṣi Bharadvāja. Bharadvāja is moved by the brotherly love Bharata has for Śrī-rāma and he arranges a grand feast. With the prowess of his tapas he creates opulence unimaginable even in svarga and treats the whole army. The soldiers have a merry time, eating, drinking and enjoying everything. Their enjoyment and their behaviour has been portrayed by maharṣi Vālmīki in this manner: the soldiers enjoyed the feast in myriad ways. They drenched themselves in fragrance. They had a good time with the apsaras. They became reluctant to continue their journey to Citrakūṭa.
नैवायोध्यां गमिष्यामो गमिष्यमो न दण्डकान् ।
कुशलं भरतस्यास्तु रामायास्तु तथा सुखम् ॥
Ayodhyākāṇḍa 91.59
[We shall neither go to Ayodhyā nor to Daṇḍaka, we wish nothing but good luck to Bharata, same to Śrī-rāma too!]
“This is indeed svarga!” they exclaimed! They wore a variety of garlands! They danced in groups! They laughed! They sang! They ran here, there, everywhere! They had all the fun possible on that night. The night passed. There remained neither the apsaras nor the feast! They all just followed Bharata!
The world of vānaras
In Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam, both the world of vānaras and the rākṣasas become the props for humour. The antics of the vānaras, and the ugliness of the rākṣasas provide favourable conditions for humour to sprout. The vānaras in Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam are of two types, the divine vānaras and the earthly vānaras. The deities took the form of vānaras, didn’t they? They have human tendencies, they talk, think, and act like humans. But sometimes they give away their simian nature. Then there are the earthly ones in the forest. maharṣi Vālmīki calls them the prākṛta vānaras (Yuddhakāṇḍa 74.80)
The antics of vānaras like Hanumān and others have been ridiculed as monkey business. When Sugrīva first notices Śrī-rāma and Lakṣmaṇa he is frightened. He thinks they might be some mercenaries sent by his brother Vālin to punish him. Hanumān consoles him saying,
अहो शाखामृगत्वं ते व्यक्तमेव प्लवङ्गम ॥
Kiṣkindhakāṇḍa 2.17
[Behold! You are showing your true nature now (of a monkey)]
Liquor induced intoxication
Even after the retreat of the rains, Sugrīva didn’t do as he promised regarding the search for devī Sītā and Śrī-rāma was agitated. An enraged Lakṣmaṇa, on his orders, entered Kiṣkindha and drew the bow-string resulting in a reverberating twang. Sugrīva sent his wife Tārā to pacify him. He thought it was apt to send the woman to do the firefighting instead of doing it himself. Sugrīva was intoxicated. So was Tārā! (Kiṣkindhakāṇḍa 33.38)
“Her eyeballs were rolling all over the place, intoxicated. The girdle and the necklace had loosened. She stumbled and tottered when she came to Lakṣmaṇa.”
One need to observe her speech in her intoxicated state: “O Lakṣmaṇa, I know what is the reason for Śrī-rāma’s wrath. I also know that his important work is getting delayed. I also know what our duties are currently. I also know whom Sugrīva is interested in currently…” (Kiṣkindhakāṇḍa 33.53-54) then she said, “Lakṣmaṇa! You don’t know the ways of love.” If Lakṣmaṇa was so interested in the intricacies of love, would he have come to the forest alone! Would he have punished Śūrpaṇakhā and Ayomukhī! Lakṣmaṇa was indeed pacified by the web of words woven by Tārā. As per her request he agrees to meet Sugrīva. He enters the palace and what does he see? Sugrīva is sitting there embracing Rumā!
Lakṣmaṇa never imagined he would see such a sight. Even Sugrīva didn’t think that Lakṣmaṇa would ever come to the palace. Both saw each other and stood petrified and wide-eyed.
ददर्श सौमित्रिमदीनसत्त्वं विशालनेत्रः सुविशालनेत्रम् ॥
Kiṣkindhakāṇḍa 33.66
Hanumān the ‘vānara’
Monkey business always evokes humour. Maharṣi Vālmīki has shown Hanumān’s behaviour in that light. When he was searching for devī Sītā in the royal palace of Rāvaṇa, he notices Mandodarī. He thought about it and came to the conclusion that she might be devī Sītā. तर्कयामास सीतेति रूपयौवनसम्पदा. How can one describe his joy!
आस्फोटयामास चुचुम्ब पुच्छं ननन्द चक्रीड जगौ जगम ।
स्तम्भानरोहान्निपपात भूमौ निदर्शयन् स्वां प्रकृतिं कपीनाम् ॥
Sundarakāṇḍa 10.54
[in joy he smashed his tail to the ground! He kissed it! In joy he played, sang and ran around! He climbed the pillars and descended back! He showed his true nature i.e. what it means to be a monkey!]
The poet has indeed observed carefully how overjoyed monkeys behave. चुचुम्ब पुच्छम् makes it amply clear.
Later Hanumān does the impossible and comes back after incinerating Laṅkā. The army of vānaras were waiting impatiently on the banks of the ocean. From afar he moves his tail vigorously and lets out a roar. All the vānaras hear the roar and are delighted. “Oh! Hanumān is returning!” They hold branches having flowers, wave them and welcome him! He finally arrives. He lands on the mountain. All the vānaras enthusiastically run towards him and swarm him. They bring fruits as gifts to him. When he summarises his achievement, saying, “I saw devī Sītā.” their joy knows no bounds.
“Some jumped in joy! Some screeched! Some roared! Some made laughing noises! Some roared in response! Some smashed their long tails on earth!”
Some monkeys descended from the mountains and repeatedly touched him in joy!
क्ष्वेलन्त्यन्ये नदन्त्यन्ये गर्जन्त्यन्ये महाबलाः।
चक्रुः किलकिलामन्ये प्रतिगर्जन्ति चापरे॥
केचिदुच्छ्रितलाङ्गूलाः प्रहृष्टाः कपिकुञ्जराः।
अञ्चितायतदीर्घाणि लाङ्गूलानि प्रविव्यधुः॥
अपरे च हनूमन्तं वानरा वारणोपमम्।
आप्लुत्य गिरिशृङ्गेभ्यः संस्पृशन्ति स्म हर्षिताः॥
Sundarakāṇḍa 57.41-43
This is the ninth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 10 Source: prekshaa]]
In Madhuvana
All the vānaras were eager to narrate the events to Sugrīva. They found the Madhuvana on the way. They were all enticed to drink the Madhu. After accomplishing such an important task, they decided it was their fundamental right to have a drink. Aṅgada and Hanūmān gave their consent. Everyone barged into Madhuvana. This episode is indeed to bring some humour. The vānaras are exhausted in their search for devī Sītā. The poet too is exhausted in describing serious and poignant situations. So for the benefit of both, shouldn’t there be some humour here?
The vānaras gate crashed into Madhuvana. They drank to their heart’s content. Intoxication prevailed.
गायन्ति केचित् प्रणमन्ति केचित्
नृत्यन्ति केचित् प्रहसन्ति केचित् ।
पतन्ति केचित् विचरन्ति केचित्
प्लवन्ति केचित् प्रलपन्ति केचित् ॥
गायन्तमन्यः प्रहसन्नुपैति
हसन्तमन्यः प्ररुदन्नुपैति ।
रुदन्तमन्यः प्रणदन्नुपैति
नदन्तमन्यः प्रणुदन्नुपैति ॥
Sundarakāṇḍa 61.14, 17
[Among the vānaras, some would sing, some would prostrate, some would dance, some would laugh, some would fall, some would roam around aimlessly, some would jump, some would talk nonsense.
While one is singing, the other would fall on him laughing, if one is laughing the other would cry. When one is crying the other would shout in joy, if one is shouting in joy the other would push him around.]
Is there a limit to Monkey business?
As the well known śloka goes, already a monkey, it has been made to drink, further a scorpion bites, and a bhūta has also entered its body! Is there an end to the antics!
कपिरपि च कापिशायनमदमत्तो वृश्चिकेन संदष्टः ।
अपि च पिशाचग्रस्तः किं ब्रूमो वैकृतम् तस्य ॥
That’s what transpired among the vānaras. Some wrestled, some slept, some cried, some laughed, behaved erratically and didn’t accept their antics. Meanwhile the gatekeeper of Madhuvana, Dadhimukha came in and tried his best to ward them off. They beat him up. Ridiculed him! Even showed him their rectum! ‘देवमार्गं च दर्शिताः’, maharṣi Vālmīki has called it devamārga! What an inside joke!
Then the vānaras ran to Sugrīva. They competed in enthusiastically declaring that they had seen devī Sītā. Sugrīva, Lakṣmaṇa and Śrīrāma were waiting. All of them are longing to narrate the whereabouts of devī Sītā. Everyone was shouting, “I’ve seen devī Sītā! She is in Laṅkā!” The only person who actually saw her, i.e. Hanūmān stood somewhere in oblivion!
एतदाख्यान्ति ते सर्वे हरयो रामसन्निधौ ॥
Śrīrāma asked them to narrate everything in detail. How would the vānaras know? They finally turned to Hanūmān and said, ‘O Hanūmān! Please give all the details!’ (Sundarakāṇḍa 65.4-6)
Another example. Even when they all ventured towards Laṅkā the vānaras continued their antics!
“The vānaras army set out to conquer Laṅkā and followed Śrīrāma. The vānaras hopped, jumped, roared, ran, screamed going towards the south. They drank Madhu and ate fruits along the way. They uprooted beautiful flower bearing trees and took them along! Some would all of a sudden lift others and place them on their shoulders! Others would throw someone in the air! By the time they were about to land, someone else would leap and catch them midair! Someone would make others trip and fall! Some would climb trees, drink honey and roar with pride! Seeing them, others would climb those trees in a flash! Immediately the ones who were already there would leap down! (Yuddhakāṇḍa 8.26-29, 62, 93)
The antics of the rākṣasas
The antics of the rākṣasas aren’t the same as that of the vānaras. In their conduct one can only find lack of refinement and crookedness. Even those add humour. Whatever is natural to them becomes the fodder for humour to us. It is natural to find lambodarā (hanging belly) payodharā (with breasts) among the rākṣasīs but what about the rākṣasas? Yes it is possible! Hanūmān sees such rākṣasas!
एकाक्षानेककर्णान्श्च लम्बोदरपयोधरौ ।
करालान् भुग्नवक्त्रान्श्च विकटान् वामनान्स्तथा ॥
Sundarakāṇḍa 4.17
[(He saw rākṣasas with…) one eye, one ear, hanging bellies, breasts, smashed faces, weird bodies and dwarfs.]
Prahasta possessed a huge body and a befitting belly. Śrīrāma was amused when he saw him. ‘उवाच सस्मितं राम’ (Yuddhakāṇḍa 58.1). Atikāya as his name suggests was bigger than Prahasta. Kumbhakarṇa towered over everyone. His sleep, food habits, ugly form and weirdness are all fodder for humour. Maharṣi Vālmīki has portrayed him with a lot of humour and in great detail. When Prahasta was killed and Rāvaṇa himself tasted defeat, he realized the gravity of the war. He remembered Kumbhakarṇa.
Kumbhakarṇa
When the very existence of Laṅkā was uncertain, Kumbhakarṇa somehow was able to sleep happily! ‘सुखं स्वपिति निश्चिन्तः’ It was certain that he would not wake up on his own. Only nine days had passed since he fell asleep! He would typically sleep for six to nine months!
नव षट् सप्त चाष्टौ च मासान् स्वपिति राक्षसः
Yuddhakāṇḍa 60.17
[…he would sleep for nine, six, seven or eight months]
As per the orders of Rāvaṇa, the rākṣasa warriors tried to wake him up. As soon as he gets up the only thing he shouts is , ‘Hunger! Hunger!’ This was a known fact, so the rākṣasa warriors took lots of food with them. They entered his palace and saw him from afar. The sleeping giant looked as though a mountain had slept on its side! All the effort they put in to wake him up is strange. (Yuddhakāṇḍa 60.34-55)
“They piled up mountains of meat as tall as Mount Meru itself. To quench his thirst they brought in umpteen pots of blood and wine. They anointed him with sandalwood paste and decorated him with garlands! They lit incense around! They shouted, ‘Hail the mighty Kumbhakarṇa!’. They roared like thunder! They blew conches! Kumbhakarṇa didn’t wake up. The rākṣasa warriors punched him! They pulled his hands and legs! They sounded the drums! They played the mṛdaṅgas! They clapped, screamed, roared! In that pandemonium the birds flew helter-skelter and dropped like dead flies. Kumbhakarṇa didn’t wake up! The perplexed rākṣasa warriors took up various weapons like maces, pounding staffs etc. Those uncouth fellows brought in boulders to beat him up. Pounded him with the staff, beat him with maces! Uprooted trees and thrashed him! Punched him with their own hands! But alas! Kumbhakarṇa didn’t wake up.
This is the tenth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 11 Source: prekshaa]]
Even the strongest of the rākṣasas couldn’t stand before him as his breath itself felt like a tornado. They tied their waists and exerted themselves for the cause. Ten thousand rākṣasa warriors shouted in unison along with various percussion instruments like drums being played! Kumbhakarṇa didn’t wake up! They brought in animals like elephants, horses, camels and donkeys, beat them up to make them trumpet, neigh, grunt and bray. With these sounds they also used a lot of other instruments to whip up a frenzy. The whole of Laṅkā resonated with these sounds. But still that mahārākṣasa didn’t wake up! The rākṣasa warriors ran out of plans. Some started plucking his hair. Some more bit his ears! They brought hundreds of pots of water and emptied them in his ears! Still it had no effect! The strongest among them brought hammers and started beating him! Still he continued to sleep! They brought in a thousand elephants and made them walk over him! Finally he felt as though someone had touched him and he got up!”
Finally he woke up!
He got up and yawned! He had no idea about what all was done to wake him up! Only realisation he had was that he was hungry! He yawned once again, it was as though a hurricane passed by! He exclaimed , “ (I’m) hungry! Hungry!” gobbled up the mountains of meat which was present, “ (I’m) thirsty!” he said and drank umpteen pots of blood and just emptied all the wine which was lying nearby.
Meanwhile all the rākṣasa warriors who were entrusted with the task of waking him up were hiding! Once he finished eating and belched they came out one by one. Kumbhakarṇa seeing them realised that these are the ones who woke him up!
He also realised why Rāvaṇa wanted him awake. “Well, I’ll kill Śrīrāma, Lakṣmaṇa, the whole army of vānaras and then I’ll go see my brother!” The rākṣasa warriors pleaded him that seeing Rāvaṇa first is more apt. “Go ask Rāvaṇa what I should do. Should I go to the battlefield directly? Or should I meet him first?” Rāvaṇa wanted him to meet him first. So Kumbhakarṇa got up from his bed, bathed and got ready. Going to war without something stimulating? He drank two thousand pots of wine before going.
When he set out on the royal highway to go to the palace, each footstep would make the ground below tremble! He was visible from outside the city walls to the vānaras! His height was 600 feet! His waist measured 3,600 feet! His weapon weighed 111 tons!
Seeing such a gargantuan form the vānaras trembled in fear! They ran helter-skelter! Some lied down pretending to be dead! Even Śrīrāma was surprised seeing Kumbhakarṇa. He called Vibhīṣaṇa and asked him, “Vibhīṣaṇa, who is the rākṣasa who is visible from here? I’d never seen such a giant in my life!” Vibhīṣaṇa narrated Kumbhakarṇa’s background and said, “Śrīrāma, the vānaras should never know that he is a rākṣasa!”
उच्यतां वानराः सर्वे यन्त्रमेतत् समुच्छ्रितम्
Yuddhakāṇḍa 61.33
[Tell them that it’s a contraption, a scarecrow which has been setup]
When Kumbhakarṇa is ready to go to the battlefield, Rāvaṇa himself ties golden armlets, decorates his fingers with rings, and adorns him with necklaces! Kumbhakarṇa in the frenzy of war himself tears them and throws them around! He laughs ridiculing the rākṣasa warriors and says, “The reason for this war is Śrīrāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Let me kill them first! These forest dwelling vānaras have not harmed us in any way! These are fit to be roaming around our pleasure gardens leaping from one tree to the other!”
नापराध्यन्ति मे कामं वानरा वनचारिणः ।
जातिरस्मद्विधानां ते पुरोद्यानविभूषणम् ॥
Yuddhakāṇḍa 65.44
While the rākṣasa warriors open the doors of the fort and ventured out, Kumbhakarṇa just crosses the fort walls as though it’s a small mound!
स लङ्घयित्वा प्राकारं पद्भ्यां पर्वतसन्निभः ॥
Yuddhakāṇḍa 65.53
Due to his gargantuan form, his mouth looked as though it’s in the sky, when he entered the battlefield with a roar it was as though the clouds rumbled! The vānaras ran for their dear life!
His fighting style was totally different! Instead of killing the vānaras he just ate them in huge numbers! He just gulped them in hundreds as his wrath increased! Some of the vānaras would come out of his nose and ears! His fighting style has been humourously by maharṣi Vālmīki.
Even Rāvaṇa laughs! But more than humour it evokes terror! When he laughs it’s sinister! When devī Sītā wasn’t swayed by any of his offers, he was enraged. Then one of his wife called Dhānyamālinī came to him, embraced him and said, “Why bother about Sītā? Come with me! When there is no love left it only leads to fatigue but no happiness! Instead it’s a joy to go with someone who is in love with you!”, she pulled him away. Rāvaṇa let out a boisterous laugh , “Ha! Ha!” and went back to his palace. (Sundarakāṇḍa 22.41,43)
A pile of black gram
While constructing similes, qualifying with adjectives, even in insignificant situations, maharṣi Vālmīki tries to bring in humour. During his search for devī Sītā, Hanumān enters the royal palace and sees Rāvaṇa sleeping on a bed worthy of his stature. The dark complexioned giant looked as though black gram was piled up! (माषराशिप्रतीकाशम्) The lamps made of gold and studded with precious gems looked as though they were staring at the beautiful women sleeping there without even blinking their eyes. Some of the lamps which were dull looked like gamblers who had just lost everything in a game of dice! Kumbhakarṇa was sleeping wearing bracelets and crown! (काञ्चनाङ्गदनद्धाङ्गं किरीटिनमरिन्दमम्) Seeing Kumbhakarṇa’s appetite for animals the creator, Brahmā, was worried that all the animals would go extinct in no time! (अचिरेणैव कालेन शून्यो लोको भविष्यति). On the banks of the lake Pampā, in the evening, the vānaras would adorn themselves using creepers as though they were garlands (विटपी माल्यधारिणः). In the Pampā, the water birds present, looked like mounds of ghee (घृतपिण्डोपमान् स्थूलान्) When Rāvaṇa and Sugrīva fought, they looked like two cats fighting for food! (मार्जाराविव भक्षार्थे)
This is the eleventh part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here
[[Maharṣi Vālmīki’s sense of humour - part 12 Source: prekshaa]]
The war ended. Laṅkā was captured. Hanumān conveyed the news of Śrīrāma’s victory to devī Sītā. Was there any limits to her joy? “Soumya! Nothing in this world is worth the news which you have conveyed to me.” What would Hanumān desire? He saw all the rākṣasīs who were entrusted to guard devī Sītā, some mischievous idea sprung up. “Devī! Please permit me to do this! These rākṣasīs tortured you so much. I want to avenge that! I want to bite their noses and ears, pluck their hair, torture them without respite!”
हन्तुमिच्छाम्यहं सर्वा याभिस्त्वं तर्जिता पुरा ।
क्लिश्यन्तीं पतिदेवां त्वामशोकवनिकां गताम् ॥
घोररूपसमाचाराः क्रूराः क्रूरतरेक्षणाः ।
राक्षस्यो दारुणकथा वरमेतत् प्रयच्छ मे ॥
मुष्टिभिः पाणिभिः सर्वाश्चरणैश्चैव शोभने ।
इच्छामि विविधैर्घातैर्हन्तुमेताः सुदारुणाः ॥
घातैर्जानुप्रहारैश्च दशनानां च पातनैः ।
भक्षणैः कर्णनासानां केशानां लुञ्चनैस्तथा ॥
नखैः शुष्कमुखैश्चैव दारुनाइर्लङ्घनैर्हतैः ।
निपात्य हन्तुमिच्छामि तव विप्रियकारिणीः ॥
Yuddhakāṇḍa 116.31-35
Even Hanumān who was the very definition of terror to Laṅkā seem to have such thoughts of petty revenge, to torment some rākṣasīs!
Hanumān’s wedding
Śrīrāma is on the way back to Ayodhyā. He reaches Bharadvāja’s āśrama. The fortune of conveying this good news to Bharata became Hanumān’s responsibility. Disguising himself as a human, came to Nandigrāma, and spoke to Bharata, “Bharata! Śrīrāma is safe with Lakṣmaṇa and devī Sītā. He’ll reach Nandigrāma shortly.” Bharata was drowned in ānanda. ‘पपात सहसा हृष्टो हर्षान्मोहं जगाम स’ In that state of bliss he declared, “What a noble soul you are, you brought such a great news! For that I’ll give you a lakh cows, I’ll give you a hundred villages. I’ll give you sixteen women in marriage!”
देवो वा मानुषो वा त्वमनुक्रोशादिहागतः ।
प्रियाख्यानस्य ते सौम्य ददामि ब्रुवतः प्रियम् ॥
गवां शतसहस्रं च ग्रामाणां च शतं परम् ।
सुकुण्डलाः शुभाचारा भार्याः कन्याश्च षोडशाः ॥
Yuddhakāṇḍa 128.42-43
विभाव्य चारुताहेतुं वाल्मीकिर्मुनिपुङ्गवः ।
श्रीमद्रमायणे काव्ये हास्यमेवमपोषयत् ॥
[Having perceived the cause of beauty, maharṣi Vālmīki, has supported hāsya in his kāvya Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam]रामायणे विविधभावरसायनेऽस्मिन्
काव्यज्ञलोकहृदयस्पृशिभव्यकाव्ये ।
वाल्मीकिरादिकविराट् कवितत्त्वदर्शी
हास्यं न्यवेशयदनर्घमिवैलचूर्णम् ॥
[In Śrīmad-rāmāyaṇam which is verily a rasāyana of a myriad emotions, an epitome of poetry which touches the connoisseur’s heart, maharṣi Vālmīki the king among the poets, a visionary of the philosophy of poetry, has placed humour like how one adds elaichi in the rasāyana.]
About the author
Vidwan N Ranganatha Sarma was born in Nadahalli, a village in Soraba in Shivamogga district on April 7th, 1916. After his schooling he learnt Sanskrit grammar and aesthetics from the Shri Chamarajendra Sanskrit College in Bengaluru and received the vidvat degree. He taught Sanskrit at the middle school and high school level for some time and then joined the same Chamarajendra Sanskrit college as a faculty teaching grammar. He retired as a professor of Sanskrit grammar.
Sri Sarma secured the vidvat degree in Kannada from Madras university and also completed the ‘paṇḍita’ exam from Mysore university. He translated the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Viṣṇu-purāṇa and the 10-11-12 skandas of Bhāgavata from Sanskrit to Kannada. He has authored around 45 books in Sanskrit and Kannada. He also served as the president of the committee in charge of translating Halegannada works in the Kannada sahitya parishat. He also authored hundreds of articles which were published in various newspapers and magazines.
The complete translation of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa to Kannada in eight volumes has been published by Shri Rama mandira in N R colony Bengaluru. He has also translated treatises like Śruti-sāra-samuddharaṇam of Śrī Toṭakācarya, Vyāsa-tātparya-nirṇaya of Iyaṇṇa-dīkṣita and Mādhavīya-śaṅkara-vijaya to Kannada.
Recognizing his extraordinary service to the world of literature, he has been honoured with the President’s Certificate of Honour and the Karnataka State Award.
Concluded
This is the twelfth and final part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book “Valmiki Munigala Hasya Pravrtti” by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. The original in Kannada can be read here