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This critical essay is written by the well-known bilingual poet, linguist and scholar A. K. Ramanujan. This essay also carries a subtitle “Five examples and three thoughts on translation”. It is an established fact that the two great epics “Ramayana” and “Mahabharata” have far reaching influence over all of the Indian subcontinent and South – East Asia. During the last two centuries, its appeal has become global. The date of Rama’s birth, the date of Rama’s battle against Ravana and the date of writing of Ramayana by sage Valmiki and the Uttara Ramayana as an added appendage at a later date, all have become topics of unresolved debate.
A. K. Ramanujan gives one version of Ramayana in the beginning of the essay, which deals with the deaths of Lakshmana and Rama. Lord Rama was sitting on his throne and his ring fell through a crevice in the ground and reached the nether world. His trusted Lieutenant Hanuman was sent to fetch the ring as he could reduce his body to the size of an atom. In the absence of Hanuman, Brahma and noted sage Vasistha came to parley with king Rama. Lakshmana was asked to stand guard at the door and not allow anyone to disturb the confidential talks. Rama ordered his brother Lakshmana to chop off the head of any intruder, who wanted to enter the court. Lo! Who should come? The short tempered sage Vishwamitra who wanted to barge in. Lakshmana was in a dilemma and told Vishwamitra about Rama’s inviolable orders. The sage Vishwamitra threatened to burn down the whole kingdom, if he was not allowed in. Lakshmana decided to risk his life rather than risk the lives of millions of citizens of Ayodhya. He announced in Rama’s court that sage Vishwamitra had come to see King Rama. Lakshmana was asked to usher in Vishwamitra into the court. The discussion with Brahma and Vasistha had come to a close. They had come there to inform Lord Rama that his end was near and the phase of incarnation was over. The ever abiding and loyal brother Lakshmana offered his head to be chopped off by Rama as he had violated the diktat of the king. Lakshmana was an avatar of Sesa, the serpent on whom Lord Vishnu sleeps. Lakshmana’s end was also near. Lakshmana went to Sarayu river and jumped into the swirling waters and disappeared. As Rama’s end had come, Rama also disappeared in the river. In the Nether world, Hanuman the miniature monkey had become an object of curiosity. Moreover, he was incessantly chanting the name of Rama. The king of spirits wanted to know his identity. Hanuman identified himself and told him about the purpose of his visit. Hanuman was offered a Golden plate full of rings. The king of spirits asked him to choose Rama’s ring and take it. All of them looked alike and he could not decide which one to take back. The king of spirits told him that in the past there were as many Rama’s as there were rings on the plate. He told Hanuman that when Rama’s avatar came to an end, the ring would fall from the finger and end up in the nether world. The King of spirits told Hanuman that when he returns to Ayodhya, he will not find Rama there. This apocryphal story is told to impress that there are as many Ramas and Ramayanas as one could imagine. According to A. K. Ramanujan, Rama’s story is narrated in Assamese, Balinese, Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, Gujarati, Javanese, Kannada, Kashmiri, Khotanese, Laotian, Malaysian, Marathi, Oriya, Prakrit, Sanskrit, Santali, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, European languages and at least 25 versions of Ramayana exist in Sanskrit. It is presented in dance-dramas, mask plays, puppet plays and shadow plays etc. A. K. Ramanujan says in this critical essay, he wants to explore “what gets translated, transplanted and transposed” finally as Ramayana.
First A. K. Ramanujan makes a comparative analysis of Valmiki and Kampan’s treatment of Ahalya episode. This famous episode is treated differently by the two. The story of Ahalya occurs in Valmiki’s Balakanda. King Rama in his travails comes upon the abandoned ashram of Gautama. The story of Ahalya is narrated by sage Vishwamitra to Rama. Indra, the king of kings called thousand eyes is attracted by the beauty of Ahalya. He enters the ashram of Gautama in the guise of Gautama. The great sage Gautama has gone to the river. A. K. Ramanujan translates the crucial verse in this manner.
“She knew it was Indra of the thousand eyes in the guise of the sage. Yet she, wrongheaded woman, made up her mind, excited, curious about the king of the Gods”. Ahalya according to this translation commits adultery willingly with God Indra. In the meanwhile sage Gautama returned from the river and caught Indra in the guise of Gautama. The sage Gautama realized the prank played by Indra and with great anger cursed him to lose his testicles. Later he looked at Ahalya and cursed her to remain there eating the air and to remain without food for many thousands of years. She will be liberated from her curse when Rama the unassailable son of Dashratha comes into this desolate Ashram.
The emasculated Indra went to the assembly of Gods led by Agni. He told the Gods that he wanted to disrupt the tapas of Gautama as per their wishes. In the guise of Gautama, he ravished the beautiful Ahalya. Subsequently he was cursed by Gautama to lose his testicles. He wanted Agni and other Gods to help him get back his manhood. Agni told the Gods to castrate a ram and graft its testicles on the Indra, so that he could get back his manhood. Indra got back his manhood and since then the divine ancestors have been offering castrated rams to Agni and eating them. Rama walked into the ashram to confront the beautiful liberated Ahalya.
In the Kampan’s version of the story, Ahalya knowingly commits adultery with Indra. In the meanwhile Sage Gautama returns to Ashram and becomes an angry Siva with his third eye blazing. He looks at Ahalya whose sinful act was evident and her shame will not end in this endless world. Indra wanted to sulk away like a cat. Sage Gautama curses him to be covered with 1000 vaginas. He got transformed and became a laughing stock of the world. He cursed Ahalya to become a black rock. She begs him to forgive her sin and to set some limit to his curse. He told her when Rama enters the Ashram on his sojourn, the dust of his feet will liberate her. The Gods led by Brahma come in a delegation to sage Gautama to plead on behalf of Indra. The sage Gautama who had cooled down changed the marks on the body of Indra to 1000 eyes. According to A. K. Ramanujan, in Valmiki’s Ramayana, Indra seduces a willing Ahalya and is in Kampan’s Ramayana she knows she is doing a wrong thing, but cannot let go off the forbidden joy.
In Kampan’s poetry sage Gautama is portrayed as all spirit and has no desire for flesh. Indra tries to steal away from the scene in the shape of a cat, clearly a folklore motif. Ahalya is turned into a stone and Indra wears one thousand Vaginas after the curse. In Kampan’s version after Rama’s feet touched the stone, Ahalya was liberated. In Valmiki’s version, Rama is portrayed as a God-man. In the first and last book of Ramayana he is defined as God. Perhaps these books are later additions. In Kampan’s Ramayana he is the great God, who has come to redeem mankind.
A. K. Ramanujan discusses Meta-Ramayanas like “Adhyatma Ramayana”, a 16th century work. In this version Rama does not want to take Sita with him to the forest. She offers the usual arguments that she is his wife, she must share his sufferings and be a partner in his exile. Still Rama is unwilling to take her with him. In her final outburst she says “Countless Ramayanas have been composed before this. Do you know of one where SIta doesn’t go with Rama to the forest?” This argument convinces Rama to take Sita with him into exile.
The Tamil Ramayana of Kampan appears to have influenced Telugu and Malayalam versions as well. Finally the Ramayana story reaches South-East Asian countries. The Thai version “Ramakien” owes much to the Tamil epic. In the Thai version, Rsyasrnga is called by the Tamil name Kalaikkotu. Even Thulasi Das’s “Ramcaritmanas” and the Malaysian version ”Hikayat Seri” seem to have borrowed many things from Kampan’s “Ramayana”. The Rama story travelled from Punjab and Kashmir into China, Tibet and East Turkestan. The Ramayana story travelled by sea from Gujarat and South India into Java, Sumatra and Malaya. The Ramayana has travelled from Bengal into Burma, Thailand and Laos. Vietnam and Cambodia received Ramayana partly from Java and partly from India via the eastern sea route.
The Jain versions:
The Jain version of “Ramayana” epic carries in it Jain values and philosophy. They do not accept Ravana as a villain. They do not accept Kumbakarna’s sleep through 6 months of the year. King Srenika goes to sage Gautama and requests him to give the true version of Ramayana. In the Jain “Ramayana” of Vimalasuri called “Paumacariya” (Prakruth for the Sanskrit word Padmacarita) gives the corrected version and discusses Purana and Pratipurana. The Jain Ramayana does not begin with King Rama, but with King Ravana. According to the Jain tradition Ravana is one of the 63 leaders called Salakapurusas. He is a noble king, a learned scholar and one who has earned magical powers and weapons through Tapas and he worships the Jain thirtankaras. He has taken a vow not to touch or molest another woman. He comes to know from astrologers that he will meet his end through a woman called Sita. But he cannot resist his passion and temptation for the beautiful Sita.
In another Jain version, Lakshmana and Ravana are like Vasudeva and Prati-Vasudeva. In every birth, Ravana is killed by Lakshmana. In Ramayana they have taken their 8th birth and it is Lakshmana who confronts Ravana on the battlefield. Ravana hurls his chakra at Lakshmana, but the chakra gently surrenders itself to Lakshmana as he is a Vasudeva. Finally Lakshmana kills Ravana with his own special weapon. According to the Jain version of “Ramayana”, Rama is an evolved soul and he has conquered his passions. So he does not kill Ravana personally. When Ravana was a child his mother adorned him with a necklace of nine gems. Ravana’s head got reflected in the nine gems and he came to be known as Dasamukha. In the Jain version, the monkeys are not monkeys, but they are Vidyadharas (celestial creatures).
The oral tradition:
A. K. Ramanujan gives the example of Kannada folksingers known as “Tamburi Dasayyas”, who sing their own version of Ramayana. Here the poet is an untouchable. The King Ravana is called Ravula in this folk version. Ravana and Mandodari are a childless couple. So Ravana goes to the forest and does severe tapas to obtain a boon. A Jogi comes to him and in fact he is Siva himself who gives him a mango fruit as a boon. He asks Ravana how he will share it with his wife Mandodari. Ravana tells the Jogi he will give the fleshy portion to his wife and he will lick the seed. The Jogi warns him that if he cannot keep up his promise, he is bound to pay a price for his folly. Ravana returns to Lanka and there he changes his mind. He eats the fleshy fruit and gives the seed to Mandodari to lick it. The consequence of which Ravana becomes pregnant. In the folk song his progress of pregnancy is made fun of. He delivers a female child through his nose and the child comes to be known as Sita. According to A. K. Ramanujan, Sita means ‘he sneezed’. The popular meaning of Sita is catching a cold. The astrologers tell him that the child Sita will hasten his end. So the baby is put in a box and left in Janaka’s field to be discovered. Rama lifts the bow and marries the young bride Sita. But Ravana who cannot lift the bow becomes a laughing stock in the Janaka’s court. The rest of the story is similar to Valmiki’s rendition. In another Jain epic, “Vasudevahimdi” once again Sita is portrayed as Ravana’s daughter.
South East Asian versions:
King Rama I of Thailand composed “Ramayana” in 50,000 verses. King Rama II composed new “Ramayana” episodes for dance drama and Rama VI added another set of episodes taken from Valmiki. In Thai “Ramakirti” we come across three types of characters human, the demonic and the simian. “Ramakien” has three parts. The first and the second part faithfully follows Valmiki’s version of Ramayana. The third part describes an insurrection in Lanka after the death of Ravana. Rama deputes his two youngest brothers to quell the rebellion. This appears to be a Thai invention. In Jain “Ramayana” Shurpanakha’s daughter comes to Ayodhya and becomes a maid servant of Sita. She induces Sita to draw a picture of Ravana in the bedroom. According to one version it is indelible and according to another version Ravana’s picture often comes to life. When Rama sees this picture, he becomes extremely angry and orders Lakshmana to take Sita into the forest and kill her. But Lakshmana out of compassion, spares the life of Sita and brings back the heart of a deer as evidence of execution. Later Rama comes to know Sita is alive in the forest. Rama sends a message to her that he is dead and this makes Sita to come to palace immediately. She is enraged to see him alive and does not appreciate the trick. She prays to Mother Earth to take her. Finally Lord Siva unites Rama and Sita once again. In Thailand, they look upon Rama as an incarnation of Vishnu and he is a subordinate to Siva. In Thai “Ramayana” Hanuman is neither devote nor religious. He is a ladies man who does not mind peeping into the bedrooms of ladies in Lanka. He is very popular with the Thai audience for his dalliances.
The different patterns:
The different versions of Ramayana resemble the myths existing in other parts of the world. The rise of Sita from the furrow and her return to the earth resembles Proserpine mythology of Greeks. Sita can be compared to a seed and Rama the dark one to the rain clouds. There are many references in Ramayana to fertility and rain. The Ramayana begins with Krauncha vada, Dasharatha kills a young ascetic accidently mistaking him for an elephant, Rama’s killing of the golden deer and Maricha shouting in the voice of Rama for help from Lakshmana are all based on acts of violence. During the absence of Lakshmana, Sita is abducted by Ravana. The killing of birds and animals continue throughout Ramayana. Ravana kills Jatayu and later Rama kills Vali to help Sugriva. In the Tamil story of “Satakantaravana”, Sita is made into a greater hero than Rama. After Rama kills ten headed Ravana, another Ravana with 100 heads appears on the battlefield. Rama is helpless and Sita comes to the rescue of Rama and kills Ravana with 100 heads.
Some aspects of translation:
In Western countries, a translation is expected to be faithful to the original text. A. K. Ramanujan gives an example of Chapman’s translation of Homer’s “Iliad”. The translator reproduces the text in “hexameter and retains the same number of lines as in the original Greek. Only the language is English and the idiom Elizabethan”. The Kampan’s “Ramayana” is longer than Valmiki’s “Ramayana” and 20 different kinds of Tamil meters are used, whereas Valmiki sticks to Sloka meter. The text two, which is a translation, often, subverts the predecessor by producing a counter text. Such a translation can be termed ‘symbolic’. Even a faithful translation contains all these elements. The Goldman’s translation of the Ramayana (1984), is an iconic work in the trans-literation mode. He has retained Sanskrit names, number and sequence of verses and the order of the episode, but the translation is in English idiom and equipped with introductions and footnotes. We read the scholarly modern English translation largely to gain a sense of the original Valmiki. When someone is indulging in a long winded talk we say “What is this Ramayana now? Enough.” A small room is often compared to Kiskindhakanda in Tamilnadu. A village idiot is often made fun of in this fashion “After hearing the Ramayana all night, he asks how Rama is related to Sita”.
The impact on listeners:
This story is narrated to describe the heightened impact of “Ramayana” on listeners. An uneducated villager marries a cultured woman from the City. A Harikatha dasa comes to the village. She forces her husband to attend the Harikatha recitation in the village. On the first 3 nights, he sleeps through the narration. When the wife comes to know about it, she is angry. She accompanies him on the fourth night and makes him sit in the first row. The Harikatha dasa is narrating the Hanuman’s flight to Lanka with Rama’s ring. He accidently drops the ring into the sea. He does not know how to retrieve it. The uneducated villager suddenly dives into the sea and from the bottom brings the ring and gives it back to Hanuman. Everyone is astounded by this great devotional feat. He came to be respected as a village elder and wise man from then onwards.
I hereby like to quote two Sanskrit verses which epitomize the poetic license used by its practitioners.
Number 1:
“Sarveshu Kavya Prapancheshu
Sarvesmin Kavya Prapanche
Kavireva Prajapathi he
Yethasmy rochathe viswam
Tatiyva parivarthathe”
Translation:
(Everything exists in the poetic world
In this world the poet is the all-powerful creator
He makes the world extremely alluring
Accordingly he transforms the poetic universe)
Number 2:
“Niyathikrutha niyama rahitham
Hradaika mayeem ananya paratantram
Navarasa ruchiram nirmati madadhatee
Bharati Kaver Jayati”
Translation:
(He is not bound by rules and regulations
He is free and independent to give pleasure and bliss through his poetry
He pleases the reader by creating literary masterpieces with Navarasa
The word of the poet is final)
The above two verses explain how a poet takes liberties to impress upon the readers. A translator wants to prove his genius. So he often deviates from the original to make it more alluring to the readers. Often the deviant is hailed more by the readers than the original. While rendering a newer version of the same old epic, there is also the question of propriety and good sense which should prevail. It is finally the reader who accepts or rejects interpolations and extrapolations in the new work. A. K. Ramanujan gives the example of Aristotle’s Jack-knife. The philosopher asked an old carpenter, how long he had his knife. The carpenter said ‘oh, I have had it for 30 years. I have changed the blade a few times and the handle a few times, but it is the same knife.’ Can this rationale be applied to every new fantastic translation or trans-creation made by a new generation poet? Let not the stream of reason get lost in the exotic fairy land of imagination through these fantastic creations of poets.
Prof. S. Naganath