Original Article

SRI RAMAKATHAMRTA SARA AN ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION

As a testament to the benediction of Brahmā to Vālmīki that the story of Śrī Rāma would flourish as long as the mountains and rivers exist^[1], innumerable literary works on the life of Śrī Rāma by the poets of yore as well as those of contemporary poets continue to sanctify this world. The huge stock of Rāmāyaṇa based poems is further enriched by the Śrī-Rāmakathāmṛta-sāra, a recently composed devotional poem in the form of an abridgement of the Rāmāyaṇa. The author of this work, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Premī Svāmigaḷ (1934-2023) was one of the greatest exponents of bhakti-sampradāya of the 20th and the early 21st century, who has to his credit, over a dozen Sanskrit works belonging to different genres such as kāvyas, stotras, philosophical texts etc. Each of these are noted for their poetic richness and the profound devotional fervour.

Śrī-Rāmakathāmṛta-sāra is not only an abridgement of the Rāmāyaṇa, but also an exposition of the philosophy of bhakti and the tenets of bhakti-mārga through the glorious life of Śrī Rāma. It reflects a profound impact of theistic commentators on the Rāmāyaṇa such as Govindarāja as well as that of various Vaiṣṇava-ācārya-s. It consists of 105 verses set in different metres such as śārdūlavikriḍita, mandākrāntā, śikhariṇī and upajāti.

The poet commences, stating that the very purpose of Viṣṇu’s descent as Śrī Rāma, a mortal was to instil devotion towards him in men through his transcendental pastimes[2]. Rāmāyaṇa is also mentioned as a portrayal of various bhakti-s such as pitṛ-bhākti, pati-bhakti, etc. Lakṣmaṇa, Śrī Rāma, Sītā, the subjects of Kosala, Sumantra, Sugrīva, Jaṭāyu and Rāvaṇa are stated as examples of bhātṛ-bhakti, pitṛ-bhakti, pati-bhakti, rāja-bhakti, svāmi-bhakti, mitra-bhakti, prema-bhakti and śatru-bhakti respectively[3].   

Following the line of Vaiṣṇava preceptors, the poet regards the Rāmāyaṇa as a scripture of the bhakti-mārga and enlists characters from the Rāmāyaṇa as examples of the nine forms of bhakti. He says, “Śrī Rāma himself set an example of sravaṇa, his sons of kīrtana, while Sītā exhibited smaraṇa. Bharata was an example of pādasevana, Sabarī was that of arcana, Hanūmān was that of dāsya, Sumantra of vandana, Vibhiṣaṇa of ātmanivedana and Sugrīva of sakhya[4].

Texts on the philosophy of bhakti define bhakti as “ultimate love towards God”[5] which necessitates the establishment of the divinity of Śrī Rāma to make him the object of such devotion. The poet therefore enlists a few instances from the Rāmāyaṇa which betray the divinity of Śrī Rāma such as ‘the redemption of Ahalyā’, ‘the breaking of Śiva’s bow’, ‘disempowering Parasurāma’, ‘the delusion of the citizens of Ayodhyā’, ‘granting liberation to Jaṭāyu’, ‘curbing the pride of Varuṇa’ and ‘Śrī Rāma allowing himself to be bound by the brahmāstra’[6].  The poet establishes Śrī Rāma as Bhagavān i.e who possesses the six bhaga-s or opulences viz. Dispassion, freedom, fame, prosperity, overlordship and dharma by citing instances from the Rāmāyaṇa that illustrate the opulences. He says, “Your dispassion was exhibited when you left for the forest. With Sītā as your inseparable self, you possess prosperity. You bestowed liberation upon Jaṭāyu, the vulture. Your battle with Rāvaṇa bears testimony to your fame. Your inclination towards dharma is well known. Your overlordship is known from your being worshipped by the hosts of Devas. Your are therefore none other than Bhagavān”[7].

The poet further refers to Śrī Rāma as the bestower of the four Puruṣārthas, viz. dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. He says, “Śrī Rāma imparted dharma through many of his conversations. He bestowed mokṣa upon several pious beings during the course of his exile. He bestowed kāma upon Sugrīva by fulfilling his desire and artha upon Vībhīṣaṇa by making him the king of Laṅkā[8].

 Of the endless auspicious qualities of Bhagavān enlisted by the Vaiṣṇava saints, the most important ones are the eight viz. saundarya (elegance), sauśilya (courtesy), saulabhya (accessibility), gāmbhīrya (profundity), audārya (magnanimity), vātsalya (parental affection), ārjava (straightforwardness) and kāruṇya (compassion). The poet recalls these qualities of Śrī Rāma with respect to various characters. The poet refers to Janaka, Daśaratha, Guha, the presiding deity of the ocean, Vibhīṣaṇa, Hanumān and Śūrpaṇakhā as testament to the qualities of elegance, courtesy, accessibility, profundity, magnanimity, motherly love and straightforwardness. At last, he calls himself as the recipient of the Lord’s compassion^[9].

While referring to the auspicious qualities of Śrī Rāma, the poet also takes into account a few instances from the epic over which ethical questions are raised by cynics. The poet disproves the aspersions by establishing such acts of Śrī Rāma as transcendental līlā-s of Śrī Rāma either to indirectly confer his grace or with a view to instruct mankind. This is effectively achieved through the use of alaṁkāras such as utprekṣā and nidarśanā. For instance, in the case of vāli-vadha, the poet gives various reasons in defence of the killing of Vālin by Śrī Rāma. He refers to vali-vadha as a self-inflicted censure by the Lord to establish in the universe that a single blemish amidst several excellences does not diminish a person’s reverence^[10]. He further states that, Śrī Rāma perhaps chose the pretext of hunting to eliminate Vālin, since waging a war with him would have resulted in the destruction of the monkeys who were divine incarnations born only to render service unto Śrī Rāma^[11].  Referring to the idea of the Gods rewarding fruits of man’s karmā invisibly, the poet says that Śrī Rāma must have forgotten his mortal role and must have punished Vālin by remaining out of his sight as that was his true nature as the God.^[12].

The poet states that Śrī Rāma's allowing himself to be bound by the nāgāstra and the brahmāstra were purely intended to reveal the greatness of devotees viz. Garuḍa and Hanumān^[13]. According to the poet, Sītā’s fire ordeal too was permitted by Śrī Rāma only to establish the greatness of Sītā for Śrī Rāma must have been fully aware that the fire cannot consume Sītā whose compassion turned the fire of Hanumān’s tail cold^[14].

As far as the episode of Sītā-tyāga  is concerned, the poet asserts the incident was a mere līlā as Sītā, who is Śrī  is inseparable from Śrī Rāma[15]. He further states that the whole episode of Sītā-tyāga was enacted only to establish that the story of Śrī Rāma confers sovereignty (sāmrājya)  even upon the destitute through the example of his own son who were raised as kuśīlava-s[16].

The poet considers the fire in Laṅkā was a direct consequence of bhāgavatāpacāra in the form of offending Hanumān, the greatest devotee of Śrī Rāma[17]. As far as the greatness of bhakti is concerned, the poet refers to the ability of Hanumān to cross the ocean as a result of his devotion towards the one who enables men to cross over the ocean of saṁsāra[18].

The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa clearly speaks of Dasaratha ascending the svarga after his demise. This leads to a very pertinent question as to “if the name of Rāma is the tāraka mantra that bestows liberation, why was not Dasaratha who gave up his life in grief upon being separated from Śrī Rāma?” To this our poet says, “If a sinful Ajāmila could attain mokṣa for uttering the name of Nārāyaṇa unwittingly, does your father not deserve? It is by his own choice that he resides in svarga, only to witness your coronation”[19].

It is also noteworthy that the episode of vibhiṣaṇa-śaraṇāgati which is considered as a perfect example of the doctrine of prapatti is described in an extraordinary manner by highlighting the six aṅgas of śaraṇāgati viz. ānukūlyasya saṅkalpa (to conduct oneself in a manner that pleases the Lord), prātikūlyasya varjanam (avoidance of things that are contrary to the pleasure of the Lord), rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāsa (conviction that theLord will protect), goptṛtva varaṇa (seek the Lord’s protection), ātma-nikṣepa (surrendering oneself) and kārpaṇya (the feeling of helplessness). The poet says, “Considering the service unto the feet of Śrī Rāma anukūla and abandoning his kinsmen who were opposed to it, with faith in the Lord who protects the three worlds, the humble Vibhiṣaṇa took refuge in the Lord and attained great felicity.”^[20]

Apart from Vibhiṣaṇa, the poet considers the brothers of Śrī Rāma as ideal prapanna-s representing the different approaches to prapatti. The two main approaches to prapatti are characterized by effort on the part of prapanna in pleasing the Lord by following the scriptural injunction and complete surrender to the protective grace of the Lord with no effort on the part of the individual. These are illustrated through the analogies of the baby monkey that holds the mother tightly (markaṭa-kiśora-nyāya) and that of the kitten that is carefully held by the mother cat (mārjāra-kiśora-nyāya). According to the poet Lakṣmaṇa represented the first approach and Bharata, the latter. Śatrughna is said to have represented the third approach i.e ācārya-niṣṭhā prapatti or seeking refuge in a Guru through his devotion towards Bharata[21].

Apart from the emotional and theistic aspect of bhakti, the poet also discusses the aesthetic aspect of bhakti i.e the bhakti-rasa. Among the twelve types of bhakti, authorities on bhakti-rasa such as Rūpa gosvamī have recognized five principal types of devotion or mukhya-bhakti rasa-s based on different forms of love. They are - vātsalya (parental love), mādhurya (conjugal love), sakhya (friendship), dāsya (servitude) and śānta (neutral love). According to the poet, the mothers of Sri Rāma, Dasaratha, Vasiṣṭha and Jaṭāyu are examples of vātsalya, Sītā of mādhurya, Sugarīva and Guha of sakhya, Hanumān of dāsya and the sages of sānta[22].

 The subservience of the Lord to his devotees which is a well known idea in the bhakti-sampradāya-s is alluded to by referring to Śrī Rāma’s remembrance of the virtues of Bharata along with Lakṣmaṇa at Pañcavaṭī. In this context the poet refers to Śrī Rāma as “bhakta-bhakta” i.e “the devotee of a devotee”[23].

The work gives an insight of the poetic genius of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Premī Svīmigaḷ who was more popular for his oration and exposition of sacred scriptures. True to its name, the work encapsulates the essence of the nectarine story of Śrī Rāma and conveys the doctrine of bhakti through the immortal epic. It also is a testament to the fact that Sanskrit literature continues to thrive with the same spirit of classicism as it used to a millennia ago.