Puranic encyclopaedia
by Vettam Mani | 1975 | 609,556 words | ISBN-10: 0842608222
This page describes the Story of Ramayana included the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani that was translated into English in 1975. The Puranas have for centuries profoundly influenced Indian life and Culture and are defined by their characteristic features (panca-lakshana, literally, ‘the five characteristics of a Purana�).
Story of 峾ⲹṇa
General.
峾ⲹṇa is considered to be the first poetic composition in the world or at least in India, and hence it is called the Ādi 屹ⲹ (First Epic). It is an epic as it contains descriptions and references to ancient themes. ī쾱 is its author, and hence ī쾱 is known as the 'Ādi kavi" also. ī쾱 and Śrī 峾 were contemporaries. During his life in exile in the forest 峾 visited Vālmīkī’s ś. It was in this ś that ī lived after being abandoned by 峾. The connection in many ways of the life of ī쾱 with the '峾 story' was an incentive for him to write the 峾ⲹṇa.
Composing of 峾ⲹṇa.
Once while returning from the river ղ ī쾱 witnessed a hunter shooting down one of a ñ (a kind of bird) couple. The intense emotion created by the incident burst out as follows in verse form.
" Ծṣād پṣṭ� ٱ� śśī� � / yat krauñcamithunādekamavadhī� kāmamohitam. //"
Immediately appeared on the scene and advised ī쾱 to write the story of 峾 in the same pattern as that verse. taught him about the past and the future of the history of 峾. As ī, ś, and Lava were living in his ś ī쾱 was well in the know about the present. In the above background ī쾱 completed writing the 峾ⲹṇa Story in 24,000 verses. The epic is divided into seven ṇḍ (sections) of five hundred chapters. The seven sections are the Bālaṇḍ, the ǻṇḍ, the ṇy ṇḍ, the ṣkԻ Kāṇḍa, the Sundara Kāṇḍa, the Yuddha Kāṇḍa and the Uttaraṇḍ.
ī쾱 taught the poem to Lava and ś and when they went with ī쾱 to ǻ during the aśvamedhayajña of Śrī 峾, they sang the poem in the open assembly there.
Different views about the author.
Tradition ascribes the authorship of the 峾ⲹṇa to ī쾱. But, western scholars hold the view that a part of Bālaṇḍ and the whole of Uttaraṇḍ are interpolations of a future date. The following are the reasons for this view.
(i) Two different texts are found for cantos one and three of Bālaṇḍ. In one of them many of the stories mentioned in the other are missing. It may, therefore, be surmised that the two texts were composed during different periods.
(ii) In the early texts of 峾ⲹṇa stories like Gaṅgāvataraṇam are not to be found. So they must be interpolations of a later period.
(iii) Only in Kāṇḍas one and seven is Śrī 峾 treated as an incarnation. In the other Kāṇḍas he is considered in the capacity of a hero only.
(iv) Uttaraṇḍ is not to be found among the early translations of 峾ⲹṇa into other languages.
(v) In the Bālaṇḍ it is stated that ī쾱 composed the 峾ⲹṇa, taught it to ś and Lava, and that they recited the whole poem before Śrī 峾 at ǻ. Many of the things mentioned in this Kāṇḍa are repeated in Uttaraṇḍ, which, therefore, must have been written by someone else.
The period of 峾ⲹṇa.
According to Indian belief Śrī 峾 lived at the end of հܲ, which came to its close in 8,67,100 B.C. As per 峾ⲹṇa Śrī 峾 ruled the country for 11,000 years. He was forty years old when he ascended the throne. ī쾱 began writing the 峾ⲹṇa after Lavakuśas were born. In the light of the above facts. certain scholars opine that the 峾ⲹṇa was written near about 878000 B.C. But, western critics and some eastern critics do not accept this view. Professor Jacobi holds the view that the original of Ѳٲ is anterior to 峾ⲹṇa. Most scholars do not agree with this view. A great majority of critics are of opinion that 峾ⲹṇa is anterior to Ѳٲ. They argue as follows:�
(i) The traditional belief in India is that 峾ⲹṇa was written much earlier than Ѳٲ.
(ii) 峾ⲹṇa makes no reference to any of the characters of Ѳٲ.
(iii) The Śrī 峾 story is referred to in many a ٲ첹 story of the Buddhists.
(iv) ī쾱 has made no mention about the city of Pāṭalīputra established near about 380 B.C. It is an irrefutable fact that Śrī 峾 had passed by the city.
(v) During the reign of emperor śǰ첹 the ʰṛt language was spoken in the areas where the incidents mentioned in 峾ⲹṇa took place. But, 峾ⲹṇa was written much anterior to the emergence of ʰṛt language.
According to Professor Keith 峾ⲹṇa was written in 300 B.C.
Different readings of 峾ⲹṇa.
In various parts of India three original texts or readings are found of the original 峾ⲹṇa. In each of the three texts nearly (1/3) of the portions differ from one another. The Bombay text is popular in northern and southern India. The second is the Bengal text. The third, the Kashmir text, is popular in the north-western parts of India. The inference to be made from the existence of these three different texts is that the original epic was composed in a ʰṛt language, which was most popular at the time and that it was later translated into Sanskrit by different persons at different times. This theory will explain the existence of the different texts. For many years it continued to be handed down from mouth to month till it assumed written form in Sanskrit.
Other 峾ⲹṇas.
The 峾ⲹṇa story in other forms and garbs, is also prevalent in India. One of them is Vāsiṣṭharāmāyaṇa or Jñānavāsiṣṭha. The authorship of it also is ascribed to ī쾱. Most of the 峾ⲹṇas like Vāsiṣṭhottararāmāyaṇa, īvijaya, Adbhutarāmāyaṇa, Adbhutottararāmāyaṇa etc. found in different parts of India are believed to have been written by ī쾱. Adbhutarāmāyaṇa is composd of twentyseven cantos. According to this 峾ⲹṇa, it was ī, who killed 屹ṇa of ten heads. There is another 峾ⲹṇa in Sanskrit called ٳ-峾ⲹṇa. It is a poem separated from ṇḍapurāṇa. It is written in the form of a conversation between Umā (ī) and Ś. ĀԲԻ岹-峾ⲹṇa and ū-峾ⲹṇa extol the greatness of Ჹū.