April 11 - Epilogue -1.
Dear ones who have been encouraging me in the reading of the Srimad Valmiki Ramayana, I am happy to share with you that I came to know about a great book called Sri Rama Parikshanam (श्रीरामपरीक्षणम्) in Kannada. It was written by the incomparable scholar-philosopher-writer Sri D.V. Gundappa, popularly known as DVG, a kind of beacon light to lovers of Sanatana Dharma who know Kannada. In his long and prolific years, DVG wrote this book, Sri Rama Parikshanam, in 1945. It has seen several reprints and reviews by other scholars.
This book is structured in poetic style and gives a series of questions that can be raised to Sri Rama about some of his actions, asking if they were right. Sri Rama answers them! I am sure you are beginning to appreciate the idea.
I shall quote only a couple portions and translate them. By now, every reader of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana would have his own understanding and faith, and this in no way conflicts with that. It is just that I am a devotee of DVG in a way, and I am an ardent devotee of Ramayana. So I thought of sharing this.
Just as I said at the beginning of Uttara Kanda, DVG is also certain that it is an integral and valuable part of Ramayana. He discusses how its content and style are no doubt Puranic but they are very much a part of the essential reading of the Ramayana.
I take up only two questions.
Shambooka
Shambooka is a shudra who is performing severe penance to go to heaven in his own mortal coil. Sage Narada advises Sri Rama that if any transgression of the ascetic "Adhikara" system (eligibility) has been transgressed, Sri Rama should remedy it. Sri Rama searches and finds Shambooka in this typical situation. Sri Rama slays him, much to the appreciation of gods and rishis including Sage Agastya.
DVG writes, quoting Ramayana itself:
चातुर्वर्ण्यं च लोकेस्मिन् स्वे स्वे धर्मे नियोक्ष्यति ॥1.1.96॥ sloka reference
So Valmiki Ramayana clearly follows the ancient Sanatana Dharma idea that each one is given the opportunity to fulfill his existence in accordance with his Samskara and Dharma defined by his varna (class of society- Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra). Since Shambooka was as yet unfit for asceticism, as clearly stated by the rishis, and his penance was asking for the impossible, it was untenable and had to be ended. DVG writes,
"If Shambooka had undertaken the works appropriate to his present birth and pursued it as his Dharma, he would surely have merited higher stages of pursuits in successive births and reached the eligibility for undertaking his penance for heaven. Just as a beginner in Sanskrit cannot attempt to study Asthadhyayi (the world's greatest and earliest book on grammar that defines the superstructure of Samskritam and requires advanced students to devote 12 years for its study). If he persists, he will need to be punished.
"The core idea of Varnashsrama is eligibility. Man will climb the Dharma ladder step by step by righteous conduct of duties in his present birth and state. No ordinary human can scale a mountain peak in a single leap."
PS: My 2 cents. The varnasharma dharma is a two-sided coin. One side is about social organization and division of roles and responsibilities based on samskara. The second side is a graduated path to liberation of the individual soul. The two are not contradictory. They are based on Sanatana Dharma, which we believe is given by Bhagavan = Ishwara = Parabrahman himself and is inviolable.
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I shall continue tomorrow with Epilogue 2 - about Devi Sita!
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॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
