Rama - The story of a history
Breathes here the man…
It was the story of a man that Valmiki asked for; a man who is almost perfect. I say ‘almost’ because the Lord had, may be, on purpose left his story, his traits, his acts somewhat questionable, unintelligible to everyone of us at least in two instances. One has to be an unquestioning devotee, staunch in every sense of the word, to remain silent and without arching a brow some times; without knotting the brows and the forehead, when we hear him and see him acting ‘as though’ he were another man.
What Valmiki wanted to know of was a person who is
‘atmavan ko jitakrodho matiman ko 'nasuyakah| kasya bibhyati devas ca jataro?asya sa?yuge||’ (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda, Canto 1, Sloka 4). ‘Tell me about that person, he asked Narada, “who has subdued his self; who has conquered anger; who is possessed of splendour and who is above fault-finding, and whom do the very gods dread when his wrath has been (apparently) provoked in battle.”
A person who has conquered anger. And a person who is dreaded by the very gods when he is provoked. I think that seeming contradiction itself has the seed of this character of whom the adi kavi wanted to learn of, his intention of writing his story not yet having taken shape.
If it is true that Rama had conquered his anger, it is also true that he gave quick and spontaneous vent to his rage many a time. Take for instance his seething rage on learning from Jatayu, whose blood, life and last breath were oozing out on his laps, what happened to Sita and how he – Jatayu – was wounded mortally by the hands of Ravana. ‘You are going to witness now,’ boils Rama uncontrollably, ‘the very end of the world. The stars would be knocked out of their firmament like pebbles; the sun would be turned to mere dust; the whole sky is going to be engulfed by fire; all the universe, all the planets,
‘nIrin mokkuLin udayumaaRum kaaN’ would burst like mere bubbles on water. You are going to see this happen now. Now.
Jatayu pacifies Rama. He holds his breath hard for a few moments longer and speaks to him wisely. Of the many reasons and arguments that he puts forward, one line shakes us to the roots.
‘ayyanmIr!’ My dear, sir!
‘aayum kaalai,’ If you but think of it, reflect on it, go into it more fully,
‘um pizhai enbadhallaal,’ was it not your mistake? Were you two not at fault in leaving her all alone by herself in this jungle?
‘ulagam sey pizayum uNdO?’ Is it reasonable at all to think that the world has gone against you, erred and has put you at a loss! What did the world do to deserve the punishment that you intend!
If Rama was quick to give free vent to his rage in rare instances like the one above, Rama wept bitter tears many a time. That is no wonder. It is not that the avatars are devoid of emotions! Devoid of every other trait of a human being! Speaking of
avatara-purushas Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says, ‘It is not possible for everyone to get to know, understand an
avatara-purusha. It is natural to be afflicted by disease, grief, hunger, thirst, and all that other stuff, when one assumes the human frame. When we see such traits in the avatars, we tend to think that they just, after all, are like us. Sri Rama wept uncontrollably, unable to bear the separation of Sita! The
Brahmam, encumbered by the elements, wept.” (Rough translation of Sri Ramakrishna’s conversation with ‘M’ dated 22.12.1883)
Born as a man, the
Brahmam played its role as a man. Man! Do I dare call Him, an avatar, a man! I am sorry; it is not I who do so, but Valmiki, Kamban and every other poet who has narrated, retold, re-rewritten the epic have deliberately, consciously – or do I call it conscientiously – woven a liberal amount of human traits into this most wonderful, the most absorbing, the most inspiring and the most what-not of a character that the literature of the world has known. Else, how do we find his story absorbing, stimulating and abiding despite the passage of thousands of years! Else, how is that his story is spread throughout the length and breadth of Asia, taking various shapes!
With all devotion, with all salutations, with all reverence, without questioning or debating as to whether he was conceived as an avatar or not, here we go in our quest, looking at him as a man. A man of the highest order. A man who held righteousness above his own self. A man who stood for truth in trying circumstances and has left us a glorious story to read, cherish, debate, emulate and try to come somewhere – at the very least – near him in his quest for truth.
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