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Thursday, December 14, 2006

001 What type of hero did Valmiki want to create? And what type of Hero did he create? What the Temple-discourse-makers have apparently added?


The story of evolution of Sage Valmiki from a forest-wayside-robber to a Sage, and then to an Epic-Writer evokes great admiration. Of course, Priests and Temple-Discoursers did not apparently want Sage Valmiki to remain a forest-dwelling tribal. In Uttara Ramayana, an attempt was made to establish Sage Valmiki as a Brahmin Body, who had lost his way in a forest, and was picked up by some Tribal Parents, which led to his leading to a forest-wayside-robber's life. After becoming a Sage, when Valmiki was going to river to bathe, he found a hunter killing a male krauncha bid, leaving the female krauncha bird love-lost. From that great compassion of Valmiki's heart, the first verse of Valmiki Ramayana is believed to have emerged from his lips. WHAT TYPE OF HERO DID VALMIKI WANT TO CREATE AND RAMAYANA AIM TO PRESENT?

CONTEXT: Opening of the Epic. Poet-sage Valmiiki questions sage Narada inquisitively about the greatest ideal person in the world. Narada replies.

PART 1, CHAPTER 1, VERSEs 2, 3 and 4, SANSKRIT:
kahnu asmin sampratam lookee gun`avaan kaha ca viiryavaan
dharmagnaaha ca krutagnaha ca satya vaakyoo dhrud`ha vrataha.

Caaritreen`a ca koo yuktaha sarva bhuuteeshu koo hitaha
vidvaan kaha kaha samarthaha ca kaha ca eeka priya darshanaha.

aatmavaan koo jita kroodhoo dyutimaan kaha anasuuyakaha
kasya bibhyati devaaha ca jaata roshasya samyugee


GIST
ENGLISH: Who in this ‘contemporary world’ is
1. top in characters and principles
2. most potent
3. conscientious and wise
4. top in gratitude
5. truthful
6. perseverant
7. exemplarily behaving
8. a doer of good to all living beings
9. scholar
10. efficient and capable
11. handsome and pleasing to look at
12. courageous
13. conquerer of anger
13. brilliant
14. free of envy
15. feared even by gods of heaven, when he is provoked to war

In reply, Narada gave the name of Rama.

BLOGGER'S VIEW
Did Valmiki get a protagonist with the above characteristics? The hundred blog posts here will show a different picture.

Have you ever seen scripture preachers, temple speakers, TV commentators, covering the hundred verses pointed out in these blog posts?

12 comments:

Ashok said...

i appreciate criticism and i understand your search for truth but i myself am not able to answer this particular question.
but anyway Sri Rama is better than so many other humans. so we can consider him as an ideal man unless we grow to a level higher than him.
so if he is superior to us, there is nothing wrong in accepting him. in that way why Jesus was crucified by Romans? is Jesus wrong. at that time Romans thought he was against them. today Romans pray him as the Sun of God. so in any way, instead of validating whether those great people are write or wrong, we can try to follow their good principles to be happy. i dont oppose your search for truth but this is just my opinion.

ybr (alias ybrao a donkey) said...

Thank you friend for visiting and seeing this blog. From your surname I believe that you are from AP and a Telugu speaker. I am also a Telugu speaker.
I hope you have seen Lavakusa film of NTR, Anjali, Kanta Rao (Lakshmana). Lakshmana drops Sita in the forest. She thinks that she was going to forest as per her desire. Suddenly Lakshmana stops it a place, makes three circumambulations around her, falls down at her feet and reveals her that Rama ordered her exile to forest. Anjali Devi--Sita wonders: Had Rama told me in Ayodhya itself that it is his will, I would gladly gone to forest. She sang a beautiful verse by Kankanti Papa Raju (Uttara Rama Charitam). Ghantasala's music was memorable both for Lakshmana's song and Sita's lyrical verse.
If we take people like Rama as heros to emulate, we have to abandon our wives in forest without reason. Even in our dreams, we cannot behave like Rama or NT Rama Rao or Chiranjeevi or somebody else.
I was more astonished when I read Mahabharata. In Virata Parva, Brihannala was selling clothes in dance hall and giving the money to Sairandhri and his brother. We cannot imagine a Mahabharata hero stooping down to such low levels.

summary: We have to be our own individual selves guided by reason, history, our education, culture. Best guide is our ability to distinguish between what is reasonable and what is inhuman.

Jesus was in no way superior to Romans. He was spreading his own beliefs contrary to what the ruling Romans wanted. From the crucifixion of Jesus, Christianity should have learnt a lesson of not killing innocent people. But it continued to burn people on stake accusing them of heresy. If you have time kindly read St. Joans by Bernard Shaw.

Note: I am not a Christian. In fact, I am trying to convince US and European Citizens not to donate their Churches and Missions for the purpose of converting people in India. It is hightime that India banned conversions.

I am trying to study Bible in depth. I shall write its criticial review, when I get reasonable knowledge.

If you have time and can bear with me, kindly visit my Bhagavadgitayb.blogspot.com blog. It contains original Gita in Roman Script and translation in English. You can use it for easy reference.

V Govindan said...

They say "You see what You look for". Keep up your wornderful(!) work. May God Bless You
V Govindan

Unknown said...

nice posting..

S Balasankar said...

Multisubj yb,

Reading and re-reading your
critical analysis of the early
kandas of Ramayana
raises some questions.

Why did Valmiki, who wrote
Ramayana to present Rama
as an ideal person to be
emulated by all, narrate
such events which are likely
to lower his esteem in the
minds of critical readers?

How could Valmiki write
such details as 'Kausalya
sleeping with a dead horse'
as though he was present
and saw them all, when
Ramayana was concieved
and written by him after
learing from Narada that the
Ideal person he is seeking
was Rama?

Why did Valmiki narrate
the event when Rama asked
Lakshmana to fetch some
deer meet, knowing that this
will make his hero, Rama,
a promise breaker?

And so on .....

Or is it all an imagination
of a writer for the gullible
to swallow?

S Balasankar said...

Mr. multisubj yb,

Thank you for your Comments
on my posting "In Quest of God",
inviting me to read at least some
sections of Valmiki Ramayana
you have posted at www.
ramayanayb.blogspot.com.
It is very interesting to read your
critical analysis of some hidden
facets of Ramayana. I look forward
to your postings on other kandas.

Your second object of this posting
" to prevent innocent people
(who have not read complete
original Ramayana), from being
misled by Godmen who exploit
the gullible devotees for collecting
donations" I am afraid will never be
realised. For the gullible will remain
gullible. If one becomes enlightened
two gullibles are born. Their number
never diminishes and Godmen will
continue to thrive. How else do we
account for their exploitation over
time. Gullibles are exploited in all
fileds of life.

What are your comments on my
postings? I shall be glad to
have you, a vastly learned person,
to comment on my postings.

By the way, What is your real
name? you can e-mail me if you
are afraid of Godmen to whom your
answers are sacrilegious. My email
ID is sbalasankar@hotmail.com
I would like to know your views
on life in general. May be we
can chat.

ybr (alias ybrao a donkey) said...

Thank you Shri Balasankar.
There is a proverb which All India Radio visit often repeats at 11.00 p.m. before close:
"Do not flatter yourself: People will not believe you. Do not belittle yourself. People will believe you."
When a person is asked to speak about himself heshe will either flatter himself of belittle himself.
You can guess from this comment that I live around Vijayavada, A.P. and speak Telugu.

Jagat said...

Well your analysis of Ramayana may sound analytical and seems to be exploring some real truths in it... but anyone who understands the Hindu world view can easily spot the flaws in your analysis.

This is a sing of ignorance one displays when they are uprooted from Hindu worldview.

ybr (alias ybrao a donkey) said...

To Shri Jagat: I welcome you to identify the flaws. If I have made any erroneous deductions, I shall correct myself. I promise to follow a scientific approach, where there will be no finality. When new evidence is available or when an error is identified, corrections can be made.

nareshov said...

Interesting. Neither do I know sanskrt nor do i disagree with your findings. All I hope for is that your blog doesn't disappear. Please make as many backups as possible.

ybr (alias ybrao a donkey) said...

To Mr. Balasankar: Thank you very much for your visit and comments.

So far there is not adequate proof that Ramayana is historical material. It is only in legends and myths. Indians believe because in childhood itself the seeds of unquestioning faith are sown in children's minds. It is like this: A child is taken to the temple by parents, lifted up, shown the idol of Rama and asked to fold its hands and say some words of prayer. If the child asks "why should I do pran`aam", the child will be threatened "You will lose your eyes (you will become blind)". By 18, a person becomes a staunch believer of Gods of hisher religion and starts loathing Gods of other religion. The Dye is cast.

Viewing Ramayana from the angle of historians is not reading from "faith". We have to search for facts or at least examine how far the narration can be true.

(I shall continue further on reading you again with your fresh comment)

Anonymous said...

Mr. Multisubj,
I was born in Vijayavada and can speak Telugu. This is just for info.
My email ID is sbalankar@hotmail.com

Thank you for taking time to reply to my comments. I have nothing new to say.

You have chosen to do what you are doing. Do you think your blogs will
make any dent on Hindu Mind? Only a few Selfrealised will know the truth.