Did Kamban distort the Valmiki Ramayana?

by Guest Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:18 pm

Different versions of the same story originate over period of time based on the socio, political, economical, spritual situations prevailing at that point of time.

At no place in Valmiki Ramayana, Valmiki mentioned that Ram is a God. He is just a character in his story. In fact, even before Ramayana, it was named "Sitayas Charitam Mahat" wherein the story was meant to be Sita's However, in order to make people see an ideal person who sticks to dharma so that they can emulate him despite all adversities, it was called "Ramayana".. "The Path of Rama". Rama as per Valmiki is a human as can be understood from the very first poem where Valmiki asks Narada if there is any human who is complete in all aspects.

By the time of Tulsidas, Rama became more of a God and less as a human. He became a part of Hindu pantheon and people instead of learning from his deeds and actions, started worshipping him as any other god. Tulsidas saw Ram as God and not as a human. So, the story was written in that manner.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-Tulsidas-Ramayana-and-Valmiki-Ramayana

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The process of elevating Rama to Godhood may have started from Kamban. The Kambaramayanam predates the RamCharitManas by several centuries.

by goodcitizn Mon Jun 20, 2016 6:05 am

I was told that Ravana lifted Sita i.e. touched her while kidnapping her in Valmiki's version whereas in both versions of Tulsidas and Kamban, as if to sanctify her persona, she is untouched. Is that correct?

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jun 20, 2016 6:42 am

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/three-hundred-ramayanas

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:50 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/three-hundred-ramayanas

this is the best essay i have seen written on the various ramayanas and there are many of them. kamban's epic differs significantly in various places from the sanskrit original and it should not be considered a mere translation, but a retelling of the epic in the same sense that shakespeare retold many stories from scandinavian legends, early roman literature etc. and like shakespeare, his long poem is not just a retelling of the epic, but a great work of literature that stands on its own merit and further has influenced south-east asian ramayanas including the thai ramakien.

kamban took the plot line from valmiki, but was also strongly influenced by the tamil bhakti poets, the azhwars, who preceded him, particularly nammAzhwAr.

a.k.ramanujan wrote:In Valmiki, Rama’s character is not that of a god but of a god-man who has to live within the limits of a human form with all its vicissitudes. Some argue that the references to Rama’s divinity and his incarnation for the purpose of destroying Ravana, and the first and last books of the epic, in which Rama is clearly described as a god with such a mission, are later additions. Be that as it may, in Kampan he is clearly a god. Hence a passage like the above is dense with religious feeling and theological images. Kampan, writing in the twelfth century, composed his poem under the influence of Tamil bhakti. He had for his master Nammalvar (ninth century?), the most eminent of the Sri Vaisnava saints. So, for Kampan, Rama is a god who is on a mission to root out evil, sustain the good and bring release to all living beings. The encounter with Ahalya is only the first in a series, ending with Rama’s encounter with Ravana the demon himself.

it is therefore not at all surprising that he makes no secret and indeed imbues the character of rAmA with divinity right through his poem.

edited to add: some years ago, the chaddis threatened violence and had this essay removed from the BA literature syllabus of delhi university.

by Guest Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:27 am

i wish to know whether the killing of Sambuka is described in the Kambaramayanam.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:31 am

Rashmun wrote:i wish to know whether the killing of Sambuka is described in the Kambaramayanam.

kamban's irAmAvathAram ends in the yuddha kANdam. so no shambUkhA for you.

by goodcitizn Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:02 am

Kamba Ramayanam should be read for the sheer beauty and richness of Tamil literature, not so much for the epic itself. In my boyhood days in Madurai there used to be discourses on Kamba Ramayanam at the temple on Frday nights I used to attend with my grandmother. That's where I was inspired to study Tamil literature for the joy of it.

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