The Ramayana Part 200

Page 326.

_No change of hue, no pose of limb_ _Gave sign that aught was false in him._ _Concise, unfaltering, sweet and clear,_ _Without a word to pain the ear,_ _From chest to throat, nor high nor low,_ _His accents came in measured flow._

Somewhat similarly in _The Squire's Tale_:

"He with a manly voice said his message, After the form used in his language, Withouten vice of syllable or of letter.

And for his tale shoulde seem the better Accordant to his wordes was his chere, As teacheth art of speech them that it lere."

Page 329. Rama's Alliance With Sugriva.

"The literal interpretation of this portion of the Ramayana is indeed deeply rooted in the mind of the Hindu. He implicitly believes that Rama is Vishnu, who became incarnate for the purpose of destroying the demon Ravana: that he permitted his wife to be captured by Ravana for the sake of delivering the G.o.ds and Brahmans from the oppressions of the Rakshasa; and that he ultimately a.s.sembled an army of monkeys, who were the progeny of the G.o.ds, and led them against the strong-hold of Ravana at Lanka, and delivered the world from the tyrant Rakshasa, whilst obtaining ample revenge for his own personal wrongs.

One other point seems to demand consideration, namely, the possibility of such an alliance as that which Rama is said to have concluded with the monkeys. This possibility will of course be denied by modern critics, but still it is interesting to trace out the circ.u.mstances which seem to have led to the acceptance of such a wild belief by the dreamy and marvel loving Hindi. The south of India swarms with monkeys of curious intelligence and rare physical powers. Their wonderful instinct for organization, their attachment to particular localities, their occasional journeys in large numbers over mountains and across rivers, their obstinate a.s.sertion of supposed rights, and the ridiculous caricature which they exhibit of all that is animal and emotional in man, would naturally create a deep impression.... Indeed the habits of monkeys well deserve to be patiently studied; not as they appear in confinement, when much that is revolting in their nature is developed, but as they appear living in freedom amongst the trees of the forest, or in the streets of crowded cities, or precincts of temples. Such a study would not fail to awaken strange ideas; and although the European would not be prepared to regard monkeys as sacred animals he might be led to speculate as to their origin by the light of data, which are at present unknown to the naturalist whose observations have been derived from the menagerie alone.

Whatever, however, may have been the train of ideas which led the Hindu to regard the monkey as a being half human and half divine, there can be little doubt that in the Ramayana the monkeys of southern India have been confounded with what may be called the aboriginal people of the country.

The origin of this confusion may be easily conjectured. Perchance the aborigines of the country may have been regarded as a superior kind of monkeys; and to this day the features of the Marawars, who are supposed to be the aborigines of the southern part of the Carnatic, are not only different from those of their neighbours, but are of a character calculated to confirm the conjecture. Again, it is probable that the army of aborigines may have been accompanied by outlying bands of monkeys impelled by that magpie-like curiosity and love of plunder which are the peculiar characteristics of the monkey race; and this incident may have given rise to the story that the army was composed of Monkeys."

WHEELER'S _History of India. Vol. II. pp. 316 ff._

Page 342. The Fall Of Bali.

"As regards the narrative, it certainly seems to refer to some real event amongst the aboriginal tribes: namely, the quarrel between an elder and younger brother for the possession of a Raj; and the subsequent alliance of Rama with the younger brother. It is somewhat remarkable that Rama appears to have formed an alliance with the wrong party, for the right of Bali was evidently superior to that of Sugriva; and it is especially worthy of note that Rama compa.s.sed the death of Bali by an act contrary to all the laws of fair fighting. Again, Rama seems to have tacitly sanctioned the transfer of Tara from Bali to Sugriva, which was directly opposed to modern rule, although in conformity with the rude customs of a barbarous age; and it is remarkable that to this day the marriage of both widows and divorced women is practised by the Marawars, or aborigines of the southern Carnatic, contrary to the deeply-rooted prejudice which exists against such unions amongst the Hindus at large."

WHEELER'S _History of India, Vol. II. 324_.

Page 370. The Vanar Host.

"The splendid Marutas form the army of Indras, the red-haired monkeys and bears that of Ramas; and the mythical and solar nature of the monkeys and bears of the Ramaya?am manifests itself several times. The king of the monkeys is a sun-G.o.d. The ancient king was named Balin, and was the son of Indras. His younger brother Sugrivas, he who changes his shape at pleasure (Kamarupas), who, helped by Ramas, usurped his throne, is said to be own child of the sun. Here it is evident that the Vedic antagonism between Indras and Vish?us is reproduced in a zoological and entirely apish form.

The old Zeus must give way to the new, the moon to the sun, the evening to the morning sun, the sun of winter to that of spring; the young son betrays and overthrows the old one.... Ramas, who treacherously kills the old king of the monkeys, Balin, is the equivalent of Vish?us, who hurls his predecessor Indras from his throne; and Sugrivas, the new king of the monkeys resembles Indras when he promises to find the ravished Sita, in the same way as Vish?us in one of his incarnations finds again the lost vedas. And there are other indications in the Ramaya?am of opposition between Indras and the monkeys who a.s.sist Ramas. The great monkey Hanumant, of the reddish colour of gold, has his jaw broken, Indras having struck him with his thunderbolt and caused him to fall upon a mountain, because, while yet a child, he threw himself off a mountain into the air in order to arrest the course of the sun, whose rays had no effect upon him. (The cloud rises from the mountain and hides the sun, which is unable of itself to disperse it; the tempest comes, and brings flashes of lightning and thunder-bolts, which tear the cloud in pieces.)

The whole legend of the monkey Hanumant represents the sun entering into the cloud or darkness, and coming out of it. His father is said to be now the wind, now the elephant of the monkeys (Kapikunjaras), now Kesarin, the long-haired sun, the sun with a mane, the lion sun (whence his name of _Kesari?ah putrah_). From this point of view, Hanumant would seem to be the brother of Sugrivas, who is also the offspring of the sun....

All the epic monkeys of the _Ramaya?am_ are described in the twentieth canto of the first book by expressions which very closely resemble those applied in the Vedic hymns to the Marutas, as swift as the tempestuous wind, changing their shape at pleasure, making a noise like clouds, sounding like thunder, battling, hurling mountain-peaks, shaking great uprooted trees, stirring up the deep waters, crushing the earth with their arms, making the clouds fall. Thus Balin comes out of the cavern as the sun out of the cloud....

But the legend of the monkey Hanumant presents another curious resemblance to that of Samson. Hanumant is bound with cords by Indrajit, son of Rava?as; he could easily free himself, but does not wish to do so. Rava?as to put him to shame, orders his tail to be burned, because the tail is the part most prized by monkeys....

The tail of Hanumant, which sets fire to the city of the monsters, is probably a personification of the rays of the morning or spring sun, which sets fire to the eastern heavens, and destroys the abode of the nocturnal or winter monsters."

DE GUBERNATIS, _Zoological Mythology_, Vol. II. pp. 100 ff.

"The Jaitwas of Rajputana, a tribe politically reckoned as Rajputs, nevertheless trace their descent from the monkey-G.o.d Hanuman, and confirm it by alleging that their princes still bear its evidence in a tail-like prolongation of the spine; a tradition which has probably a real ethnological meaning, pointing out the Jaitwas as of non-Aryan race."(1040) TYLOR'S _Primitive Culture_, Vol. I. p. 341.

Page 372.

The names of peoples occurring in the following _slokas_ are omitted in the metrical translation:

"Go to the Brahmamalas,(1041) the Videhas,(1042) the Malavas,(1043) the Kasikosalas,(1044) the Magadnas,(1045) the Pu??ras,(1046) and the Angas,(1047) and the land of the weavers of silk, and the land of the mines of silver, and the hills that stretch into the sea, and the towns and the hamlets that are about the top of Mandar, and the Kar?apravara?as,(1048) and the Osh?hakar?akas,(1049) and the Ghoralohamukhas,(1050) and the swift Ekapadakas,(1051) and the strong imperishable Eaters of Men, and the Kiratas(1052) with stiff hair-tufts, men like gold and fair to look upon: And the Eaters of Raw Fish, and the Kiratas who dwell in islands, and the fierce Tiger-men(1053) who live amid the waters."

Page 374.

"Go to the Vidarbhas(1054) and the Rish?ikas(1055) and the Mahishikas,(1056) and the Matsyas(1057) and Kalingas(1058) and the Kausikas(1059) ... and the Andhras(1060) and the Pu??ras(1061) and the Cholas(1062) and the Pa??yas(1063) and the Keralas,(1064) Mlechchhas(1065) and the Pulindas(1066) and the Surasenas,(1067) and the Prasthalas and the Bharatas and Madrakas(1068) and the Kambojas(1069) and the Yavanas(1070) and the towns of the Sakas(1071) and the Varadas."(1072)

Page 378. Northern Kurus.

Professor La.s.sen remarks in the Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes, ii. 62: "At the furthest accessible extremity of the earth appears Harivarsha with the northern Kurus. The region of Hari or Vish?u belongs to the system of mythical geography; but the case is different with the Uttara Kurus. Here there is a real basis of geographical fact; of which fable has only taken advantage, without creating it. The Uttara Kurus were formerly quite independent of the mythical system of _dvipas_, though they were included in it at an early date." Again the same writer says at p. 65: "That the conception of the Uttara Kurus is based upon an actual country and not on mere invention, is proved (1) by the way in which they are mentioned in the Vedas; (2) by the existence of Uttara Kuru in historical times as a real country; and (3) by the way in which the legend makes mention of that region as the home of primitive customs. To begin with the last point the Mahabharata speaks as follows of the freer mode of life which women led in the early world, Book I. verses 4719-22: 'Women were formerly unconfined and roved about at their pleasure, independent. Though in their youthful innocence they abandoned their husbands, they were guilty of no offence; for such was the rule in early times. This ancient custom is even now the law for creatures born as brutes, which are free from l.u.s.t and anger. This custom is supported by authority and is observed by great rishis, and it is _still practiced among the northern Kurus_.'

"The idea which is here conveyed is that of the continuance in one part of the world of that original blessedness which prevailed in the golden age.

To afford a conception of the happy condition of the southern Kurus it is said in another place (M.-Bh, i. 4346.) 'The southern Kurus vied in happiness with the northern Kurus and with the divine rishis and bards.'

Professor La.s.sen goes on to say: 'Ptolemy (vi. 16.) is also acquainted with _Uttara Kuru_. He speaks of a mountain, a people, and a city called _Ottorakorra_. Most of the other ancient authors who elsewhere mention this name, have it from him. It is a part of the country which he calls Serica; according to him the city lies twelve degrees west from the metropolis of Sera, and the mountain extends from thence far to the eastward. As Ptolemy has misplaced the whole of eastern Asia beyond the Ganges, the _relative_ position which he a.s.signs will guide us better that the absolute one, which removes _Ottorakorra_ so far to the east that a correction is inevitable. According to my opinion the _Ottorakorra_ of Ptolemy must be sought for to the east of Kashgar.' La.s.sen also thinks that Magasthenes had the Uttara Kurus in view when he referred to the Hyperboreans who were fabled by Indian writers to live a thousand years.

In his Indian antiquities, (Ind. Alterthumskunde, i. 511, 512. and note,) the same writer concludes that though the pa.s.sages above cited relative to the Uttara Kurus indicate a belief in the existence of a really existing country of that name in the far north, yet that the descriptions there given are to be taken as pictures of an ideal paradise, and not as founded on any recollections of the northern origin of the Kurus. It is probable, he thinks, that some such reminiscences originally existed, and still survived in the Vedic era, though there is no trace of their existence in latter times." MUIR'S _Sanskrit Texts_, Vol. II. pp. 336, 337.

Page 428.

_Trust to these mighty Vanars._

The corresponding pa.s.sage in the Bengal recension has "these silvans in the forms of monkeys, vanarah kapirupinah." "Here it manifestly appears,"

says Gorresio, "that these hosts of combatants whom Rama led to the conquest of Lanka (Ceylon) the kingdom and seat of the Hamitic race, and whom the poem calls monkeys, were in fact as I have elsewhere observed, inhabitants of the mountainous and southern regions of India, who were wild-looking and not altogether unlike monkeys. They were perhaps the remote ancestors of the Malay races."