Nuggets from 'Kambaramayanam'

Kamban's 'Iramavataram'

Nov 24, 2024

This month, we take a look at Kamban’s Iramavataram (‘The Incarnation of Ram’)—composed in the 12^th century, it is amongst the earliest vernacular Ramayanas. It became, and still is, the definitive version of the Rama story in the Tamil-speaking areas of the subcontinent.

After writer Vijay Santhanam’s introduction to Bharathi and Valluvan in earlier articles, now we present his introduction to Kamban. Many thanks to him for this article.

NUGGETS FROM KAMBARAMAYANAM

Tamil scholars and students alike consider Kamban, Valluvan and Ilango the three greatest writers of Tamil literature. Kamban was honoured by the Chola king with the title of Kavi Chakravarthy, ‘the emperor of poets’. Valluvan was a great poet and philosopher. His most famous work is the Thirukural. Ilango was a monk and a poet. It is believed that he was a brother of the great Chera king, Senguttuvan. Ilango wrote the Silappathikaram, the most famous of the five great Tamil epics. In a poem glorifying Tamil Nadu, modern Tamil's greatest poet, Subramaniya Bharathi, praises it as ‘the land of Kamban, Valluvan and Silappathikaram’.

Kamban lived many centuries after Valluvan and Ilango and unlike the other two of the trinity of Tamil literature, Kamban’s life has been well recorded. He lived from 1180 CE to1250 CE. He was born in Therazhundur, a village in the culturally rich Mayiladuthurai district in the current state of Tamil Nadu. His father was a wealthy farmer named Sadaiyepa Vallal. He grew up in the Chola Empire under the reign of Kulothunga III.

Kamban was a great scholar in both Tamil and Sanskrit, and was the author of many other literary works. For example, he wrote 70 poems on farming in a book titled Ezhupathu. But it is for his Iramavataram, or, as it is more commonly called, his Kambaramayanam, the Tamil version of the story of Rama, that he is best known. Kambaramayanam is not a translation of Valmiki’s Sanskrit epic, but a telling of the story in Tamil.

SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KAMBAN’S EPIC AND VALMIKI’S RAMAYANA

As V.V.S.Aiyar, who has translated Kambaramayanam, said, “Here is a building which is built on the same plan no doubt, and with the same materials, but which possesses a striking individuality of its own”.

One big difference between Valmiki and Kamban is that Kambaramayanam ends with the return of Rama to Ayodhya, and his coronation as king. There is no Uttarakandam, and no mention of his sons, Lava and Kush.

Kamban has given more prominence to some characters like Bharata and Guhan. More on that below.

Kamban has treated the female characters more in accordance with the Tamil norms of the era, giving them dignity and respect. To give three examples from Kambaramayanam:

Ravana does not physically touch Sita when he kidnaps her; he picks up the whole hermitage.
Indra impersonates Ahalya’s husband, the sage Gautama, to seduce Ahalya. In Valmiki’s version Ahalya recognises him, but in Kamban’s version, she doesn’t. This creates sympathy and respect for her among the readers.
Tharai (Tara in Valmiki), the wife of the monkey king, Vali, remains a widow after her husband is killed by Rama at the instigation of his brother Sukreerivan (Sugriva); in Valmiki she had to live with Sugriva as his wife.

The most important difference between Valmiki and Kamban is the matter of Rama’s divinity. For Valmiki, Rama is a human prince with god-like qualities. But for Kamban, who wrote within and under the influence of Bhakti, Rama is God. (See ‘Bhakti and the Story of Rama’ for more on the bhakti movement and the rise of vernacular Ramayanas).

THE LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE OF KAMBARAMAYANAM

While Kambaramayanam is, no doubt, an important religious text, it is also a a work of significant literary merit. It is the latter aspect that makes Tamil scholars rate it as the finest work of Tamil literature. In this article, I focus on Kamban as a great poet above anything else.

Kambaramayanam is divided into six parts, called ‘Kandam’ in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 113 sections called ‘Padalam’. These 113 sections contain a total of more than 10,000 verses.

Most non-Tamil speakers (and even some Tamilians!) may not have known much about the work of Bharathi, Valluvan or Ilango. In contrast, almost all Indians and some non-Indians too know the story of the Ramayana. So why should a reader be interested in Kamban’s version? And why, some may ask, is another telling of an already existing, and celebrated, literary work considered one of the greatest achievements of Tamil literature, especially given that Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world with a wide and rich literature?

I will now attempt to answer these questions with the help of some nuggets from Kambaramayanam, especially one-liners, that showcase Kamban’s genius. To help non-Tamil readers appreciate the beauty and richness of these nuggets, I have given the context in each case; I also share the nuggets in the order in which they occur in the story itself. I have translated Kamban’s Tamil lines into English focusing on the substance and content, not word by word.

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Rama and Sita: Love at first sight

Kamban follows the basic story line of Valmiki’s Ramayana. He tells of Janaka organising a swayamwaram for his daughter Sita, to which he invites kings and princes from far and wide, and of Rama breaking Shiva’s bow while the rest could not even lift it to win her hand in marriage. But that is not all—in Kambaramayanam, Rama and Sita see each other before the swayamvaram, and it is love at first sight for them. This incident does not feature in Valmiki’s version.

In Kamban’s telling, Sita, standing in a balcony of her palace, sees Rama entering Mithila along with Vishvamitra and Lakshmana. Rama also happens to look in her direction, and their eyes meet. This exchange of glances is described famously by Kamban in the following line:

The lord looked at her and she look at him too

In the next verse, Kamban elaborates:

With an aching look and thirst of love, they were bonded
Their hearts had been instantly attracted to each other
He with his bow, she with her sword-like eyes—
Love’s arrows hit the targets, their bosoms

Kamban’s words make the reader feel that both were physically armed but emotionally disarmed with love!

Handsome Rama wows the people of Mithila!

Kamban declares that every part of Rama’s person is so beautiful that an individual, upon catching sight of one part, is unable to tear their eyes away to look at any other part of his body. Thus:

Those who saw the shoulders, saw only the shoulders!

Kaikeyi’s attempt to deflect her guilt

Initially, Kaikeyi has abundant love for Rama and is actually delighted when she learns about his coronation. But then she falls under the evil influence of Kooni (called Manthara in Valmiki’s version). She reminds Dasharatha of the two boons he had given her, forcing him to make Bharata the king and send Rama to the forest for fourteen years. Dasharatha collapses and is unable to speak; so Kaikeyi decides to inform Rama herself. To deflect her guilt, she tells Rama that it was his father’s decision, and, knowing that fourteen years is a long time, she tries to soften the blow by making the duration ‘seven years, twice’ in a poetic manner.

All land and the seas surrounding, Bharata to rule; and you, with
Long, hanging, braided hair suitable for great penance,
To go to the dusty, dense forest and bathe in holy ports.
Twice seven years later you return, said the king

Upon hearing it, Rama expresses no shock or disappointment:

Face still like that of a fresh lotus

he says

It’s the king’s task today but if it had been yours, I should not have refused either

A thousand Ramas can’t be equal to one Bharata

Tamil scholars and laymen rate Bharata and Urmila highly. Bharata’s suffering, it is felt, is far more than Rama’s. Similarly, there is greater empathy for Urmila than for Sita, whose plight is regarded as much worse than Sita’s since the latter is with her husband in the forest, at least till she is kidnapped by Ravana. The luxury of the palace gives no relief to Urmila as she pines for Lakshmana.

Bharata’s anguish and travails are unmatched: anger towards his mother; sorrow at his father’s death and the fact that he is not even allowed to light his father’s funeral pyre; and above all, guilt at being the unwitting cause of the anger of the people of Ayodhya and the suffering of his loved ones.

In the Tamil movie Sampoorna Ramayanam, made in 1958, N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) played the role of Rama. He was one the biggest stars in Telugu cinema. But in Tamil cinema, he was mainly known for his role as Rama or Krishna in mythologies. In the Tamil Sampoorna Ramayanam, given the importance of Bharata in Tamil Nadu, the producers had to find a topnotch actor. They managed to rope in Sivaji Ganesan, at the time one of the two top stars of Tamil cinema (the other was MGR). Despite his star status, he agreed to play a supporting role—he knew the value of the playing Bharata in the film! This underlines the importance of Bharata and the great regard the Tamilians have for him.

Suffice it to say, the importance and stature of Bharata among Tamils is driven largely by Kamban’s portrayal of the character.

See how eloquently Kamban writes about Bharata in the passage where the Nishada chief, Guhan, first suspects Bharata, then realises that Bharata has come to the forest with is army, not to fight Rama but to plead with him to return to Ayodhya.

Guhan says:

Your mother’s boon misused, forcing your father to gift the kingdom—
The evil that caused your heart to burn. Yet, noble thoughts visible in your face,
You have rushed to correct the wrong, so praiseworthy are you!
My God, I wonder, can even a thousand Ramas be equal to you?!

Hanuman to Rama: Kanden Seethaiyai

Hanuman goes to Lanka to search for Sita, while Rama is anxiously waiting for news, plagued by many worries: Is she alive? Is she well? If yes, where is she? And above all, is she still chaste or has she succumbed to Ravana?

Kamban is insightful—Hanuman gives the good news to Rama succinctly, like in a telegram!

Found her, wearing chastity like an ornament,
At a southern city of Lanka with clear tides.
My lord, stop worrying and remove all doubts

In Tamil the usual grammatical structure would be, “Sita is found (or not found).” Kamban’s thought is that Rama should not even have to be anxious for another split second after Hanuman locates his wife; hence he changes the order, placing the verb first then the subject. Based on this verse, the phrase Kanden Seethaiyai (‘Found Sita’) is used commonly by Tamil speakers, an equivalent to ‘Cut to the chase.’

A real, personal example to illustrate: a year ago, my mom once went to the doctor. Upon her return I inquired what happened. She started narrating her experience, “I just missed bus number 165! The next one came only 12 minutes later…” As a reader, you can understand, that details like how long it took my mom to get the bus, how many patients were in the clinic etc. could have waited. I was anxious to know what the doctor’s diagnosis had been and what needed to be done. So I told her in an impatient tone, “Amma, Kanden Seethaiyai!” She then quicky got to the point.

Rama to Ravana: Go today and return tomorrow to battle

Rama has vanquished Ravana, who has lost his chariot, his bow, the sword gifted by Shiva and even his crowns. At this juncture, Rama could have killed him but he doesn’t. Instead, he tells Ravana:

Go today and return tomorrow to battle.

At this stage, how does Ravana leave the battlefield to return to his palace?

Chest that the tusks of an elephant could not pierce, shoulders that had attempted to lift Kailasam
A tongue that chanted the Vedas and was praised by the sage Narada
Crowns on all his ten heads, his sword gifted by Shiva—
Losing everything, including his valour, in the battlefield, he left empty-handed.

Kamban then writes about Ravana’s mood: he was looking in only one direction, downwards, at the lady called earth.

Rama and Hanuman fighting Ravana, an album painting on paper, Tanjore or Trichinopoly, Tamil Nadu, India, c. 1820. British Museum Collection. (From the collection of the British Museum, via Wikimedia Commons; this image is in the public domain)

In a further insightful verse on Ravana’s state of mind, Kamban beautifully writes:

Devas in heaven may laugh, the people on earth may laugh,
Enemies, who he once laughed at may now laugh at him; but he won’t be ashamed.
One with piercing eyes like a spear will laugh, one with ruby lips and gentle nature from Mithila,
Janaki will laugh—oh that utter shame will burn him alive.

Kamban captures Ravana’s obsession with Sita and now, what Sita may be thinking, “I told you not to mess around with me! I knew that my brave hero will rescue me, fight for me and kill you!”

KAMBAN EATS HUMBLE PIE!

There is a fictitious story about how Kamban could not complete a couplet. This story is not to belittle Kamban but to illustrate that even the greatest may have their Achilles’ heel; therefore, there is even more reason for lesser mortals like us to be humble.

Once, Kamban was wandering around a farm. He heard a voice saying in a lyrical manner:

On a bamboo leaf sleeps a drop of dew.

And then the voice stopped.

Kamban tried to find the person who had spoken, but in vain. He realised the line he had heard was the first line of a couplet, and tried to complete it in a poetic manner, but struggled to do so. In nature, things move from big to small: from tree to trunk, to a main branch, a secondary branch (bough), then to a flower, leaf, or fruit. In this case, a dew drop on a bamboo leaf is so tiny, how should he continue with an even smaller object in the second line of the couplet?

Finally, Kamban managed to find the farmer who had returned from his lunch, and asked him to complete the couplet as he could not. The farmer, who did not know who he was speaking with, said mockingly, “Ah, that is easy. After all, we live in the land of Kamban. Anyone could have completed it!” And he completed it thus:

On a bamboo leaf sleeps a drop of dew
The Sun’s rays receive it with his arms!

I hope this article helped the readers to understand Kamban’s genius and why his version of the Ramayana is regarded as one of the greatest literary works in Tamil.

Did you enjoy this post? Do you also have a favourite passage from Kamban you’d like to share? Or any questions? If so, please do write in via the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

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