While Kamban's 'Iramavataram' is, no doubt, an important religious text, it is also a work of significant literary merit. It is the latter aspect that makes Tamil scholars rate it as the finest work of Tamil literature.
Vijay, as always, I learnt a lot through your article - Kamban, his version of the Ramayan, more characters (I didn’t know Urmila) … thank you for constantly teaching me and many others 🤩👍🏻
On the outset I CONGRATULATE you whole heartedly for your love for Tamil and the time and effort you have taken to present such a wonderful article to the readers. WELL DONE.I am very proud of you indeed. Kambaramayanam is immortal. You have selected the important parts explaining thoroughly with English tranlation of the verses. I as a lover of Tamil feel thrilled that I still remember these verses in Tamil from Kambaramayanam even after 60 years or so except the ones in Yudda Kandam
Continue to write more.GREAT WORK.
I would like to mention here that while in school and college my Second Language was Tamil. My teachers mentioned Sadayappa Vallal as a close friend, supporter and admirer of Kamban. To show hiis gratitude to the Vallal Kambar praised him in every 100 verses in his Ramayana. Since the other poets objected and said it is enough to mention about him once in 1000 verses. Kamban humbly said that Sadayappa Vallal was not one in 100 bit one in 1000 and changed the verses
ARUNACHALA KAVI has composed a beautiful song with the first line Kanden Kanden Kanden Kanden Seethayai. In this song Hanumar describes to Rama where and how he found Seetha. So many mucisions have sung this song. Those who are interested can listen to it in You Tube.
On the whole wonderful time spent reading your article Vijay.
Thank you, Auntie, for writing in! It's wonderful to hear from you, especially after 'meeting' you vicariously through Santy's article. :)
Thank you, too, for the additional information about Kamban and the Kambaramayana. I am truly sad that I do not know Tamil and cannot read it in the original. Thanks to this article, I got a glimpse of it.
Thanks for your reply Rohini. In fact all languages have beautiful poetry.In my opinion and personal experience two things are important. The learner must love the language and should be really keen to learn. But the vital role is played by the person who teaches going thoroughly into explaining the verses of any poetry. They make the students forget the atmosphere,time and even themselves and take them to the actual scene. That type of experience I had with my teachers. That is the main reason for remembering the verses I learnt long ago.
Thank you Amma for the compliments and very interesting comments.
I am o glad that you remember so many of verses of Kambaramayanam; it was delight to hear you recite it now after you read the article :-)
Thank you for sharing your understanding that Sadayappa Vallal was a close friend of Kamban and patron. This is a classic case of Wikipedia being inaccurate. When I researched about Kamban's life, Wiki said Sadayappa Vallal was Kamban's father. But after your comment, I searched for Sadayappa Vallal (instead of searching for Kamban), the same wiki say what you wrote - a close friend and patron!
I think you are more likely to be right. Perhaps Kamban was not born to a wealthy family but he got patronage from Sadayappa Vallal.
Thanks - I will listen to the song 'Kanden Kanden Kanden Kanden Seethayai' you mentioned.
Yes, it is. As you can understand, it has been set in the classical Carnatic music. As my mom said, many musicians have sung it either in a studio or at concerts like this one.
Loved Vijay’s write up on Kamban and his version of Ramayana. Quite fascinating. There are so many versions of the Ramayana each a bit different. Each subtly adapted to their times, context and culture. Keep it going Ro.
Kamba Ramayanam exposes his deep reading of the Tamil spic poem. The differences of Valmiki and Kamban versions brought out are interesting. Comments on Kamban’s version being in line with Tamil culture of respect for women (segregation of seats in buses, separate schools for girls, etc.) and so Ravana lifting the whole hermitage to prevent body contact with Sita) are revealing. Reading and understanding Tamil poems requires special knowledge and very few Tamilians have it. Kudos to Santhanam and my late friend Rajagopalan. Their sharing their understanding deserves appreciation.
Yes, such specialist knowledge is rare and must be celebrated. :)
Interestingly, Ravana lifting the whole hermitage rather than touching Sita is also a manifestation of the bhakti influences under which Kamban wrote. Since Rama was divine, so was Sita, and touching the goddess was to defile her. So various Bhakti poets came up with various devices to make sure that did not happen. In Tulsidas, for instance, Ravana does not carry away Sita at all - instead, she is hidden by Ram in the sacred fire in the care of Agni till the death of Ravana is accomplished. Ravana therefore steals away a copy of Sita, the chhaya Sita, rather than the goddess herself. The real Sita remains hidden till the end of the war, and the agni pariksha. In Valmiki, Sita's agni pariksha is an act to be frowned upon, one of the blots on Ram's character as prince. In Tulsi, it becomes a mechanism to swap the shadow Sita for the real one. I find these variations, so different yet so similar, fascinating. It is one of the many reasons why I find the story of Rama so exciting. :)
My Tamil friend who is no more had read Kambaramayanam in original and and a great admirer. He in his enthusiasm gave me glimpses of the portions he enjoyed. I traced a 40 year old photocopy of the poem where Kamban described the boat chief Guhan having helped Rama, Sita and Lakshmana cross the river was seeing Bharata with his army coming. Apprehending Bharata coming to finish off Rama but later knowing from Bharata he was seeking to take Rama back to Ayodhya Guha is described by Kamban “Bharata being my lord Rama’s brother, how can he err?” The line in Tamil in the poem in one line brings out Guha’s devotion to Rama, the greatness of Rama and Bharata being Rama’s sibling is infallible.”எம்பெருமான் பின் பிறந்தார் இழைப்பரோ பிழைப்பு”
Clearly your friend had narrated parts of Kambaramayanam he loved with passion. And 40 years later you still have fond memories of that. Agree with Rohini, the line is and thinking behind it is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
In Tulsi, too, the meeting of Guha and Bharat is a riveting scene. Though there is no single line that I can pick out, the entire episode is compelling and very moving. One is left in no doubt of Bharat's noble nature, Guha's devotion, and Raghubir's greatness.
Thanks! And yes, go for it! Read the original, and then tell us (and the other readers about it)! I envy you - that you CAN read it in the original! :)
To Vat and others who are interested in reading Kambaramayanam in Tamil, I suggest this one. This looks good, with notes in simple Tamil.
https://www.amazon.in/Kamba-Ramayanam/dp/B00JXG3HCA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VPBUL2RCB2MX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rXri2yf1MR9RtTnsfkjtcuTVrYVt9Qd0PIIElnf3wb-_IAyBnjRUa3MZeqmPipHCIaWrmDhNRCVEiCED0jxzeMYYftFZVmMZiMwZUSueCu9bTvatd6NtfuOSth03PCwaZRAOpqIqriHK1lxKqdVjYub6ttCh3UIJ1Qug5ngP2aljvMaz4gmNP50_TWoaXHeeVCF0-c_eSKqeFawSUQfi6jgE-8tJy92s2h-lJvM4PpA.lym4Y6mDfCGmmnEq7sYm6b-4dbTWWYUfw3CiLEh0E7Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=kambaramayanam+book+in+tamil&qid=1732613198&sprefix=Kambarama%2Caps%2C264&sr=8-1
Thnak you, Vijay! I am sure many of our readers wil find this useful
Wonderful Vijay. Keep it up
Thanks!
Vijay, as always, I learnt a lot through your article - Kamban, his version of the Ramayan, more characters (I didn’t know Urmila) … thank you for constantly teaching me and many others 🤩👍🏻
On the outset I CONGRATULATE you whole heartedly for your love for Tamil and the time and effort you have taken to present such a wonderful article to the readers. WELL DONE.I am very proud of you indeed. Kambaramayanam is immortal. You have selected the important parts explaining thoroughly with English tranlation of the verses. I as a lover of Tamil feel thrilled that I still remember these verses in Tamil from Kambaramayanam even after 60 years or so except the ones in Yudda Kandam
Continue to write more.GREAT WORK.
I would like to mention here that while in school and college my Second Language was Tamil. My teachers mentioned Sadayappa Vallal as a close friend, supporter and admirer of Kamban. To show hiis gratitude to the Vallal Kambar praised him in every 100 verses in his Ramayana. Since the other poets objected and said it is enough to mention about him once in 1000 verses. Kamban humbly said that Sadayappa Vallal was not one in 100 bit one in 1000 and changed the verses
ARUNACHALA KAVI has composed a beautiful song with the first line Kanden Kanden Kanden Kanden Seethayai. In this song Hanumar describes to Rama where and how he found Seetha. So many mucisions have sung this song. Those who are interested can listen to it in You Tube.
On the whole wonderful time spent reading your article Vijay.
Hema Santhanam
Thank you, Auntie, for writing in! It's wonderful to hear from you, especially after 'meeting' you vicariously through Santy's article. :)
Thank you, too, for the additional information about Kamban and the Kambaramayana. I am truly sad that I do not know Tamil and cannot read it in the original. Thanks to this article, I got a glimpse of it.
Thanks for your reply Rohini. In fact all languages have beautiful poetry.In my opinion and personal experience two things are important. The learner must love the language and should be really keen to learn. But the vital role is played by the person who teaches going thoroughly into explaining the verses of any poetry. They make the students forget the atmosphere,time and even themselves and take them to the actual scene. That type of experience I had with my teachers. That is the main reason for remembering the verses I learnt long ago.
Yes, Auntie. That's very, very true.
Thank you Amma for the compliments and very interesting comments.
I am o glad that you remember so many of verses of Kambaramayanam; it was delight to hear you recite it now after you read the article :-)
Thank you for sharing your understanding that Sadayappa Vallal was a close friend of Kamban and patron. This is a classic case of Wikipedia being inaccurate. When I researched about Kamban's life, Wiki said Sadayappa Vallal was Kamban's father. But after your comment, I searched for Sadayappa Vallal (instead of searching for Kamban), the same wiki say what you wrote - a close friend and patron!
I think you are more likely to be right. Perhaps Kamban was not born to a wealthy family but he got patronage from Sadayappa Vallal.
Thanks - I will listen to the song 'Kanden Kanden Kanden Kanden Seethayai' you mentioned.
Is this Arunachala Kavi's song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0xRgoh8mH8&ab_channel=Ranjani-Gayatri
Yes, it is. As you can understand, it has been set in the classical Carnatic music. As my mom said, many musicians have sung it either in a studio or at concerts like this one.
Thanks to your article, this was a new discovery for me. Thank you!
Loved Vijay’s write up on Kamban and his version of Ramayana. Quite fascinating. There are so many versions of the Ramayana each a bit different. Each subtly adapted to their times, context and culture. Keep it going Ro.
Thank you! Yes, the diversity of the Ramayana tradition is astonishing. I think I would need several lifetimes to properly explore each one. :)
Thanks! Indeed, each version seem to have been adapted to the times with the cultural context
Nicely Written with interesting facts. A good article to share. Excellent Vijay .
Thanks!
Vijay Santhanam’s nuggets from
Kamba Ramayanam exposes his deep reading of the Tamil spic poem. The differences of Valmiki and Kamban versions brought out are interesting. Comments on Kamban’s version being in line with Tamil culture of respect for women (segregation of seats in buses, separate schools for girls, etc.) and so Ravana lifting the whole hermitage to prevent body contact with Sita) are revealing. Reading and understanding Tamil poems requires special knowledge and very few Tamilians have it. Kudos to Santhanam and my late friend Rajagopalan. Their sharing their understanding deserves appreciation.
Yes, such specialist knowledge is rare and must be celebrated. :)
Interestingly, Ravana lifting the whole hermitage rather than touching Sita is also a manifestation of the bhakti influences under which Kamban wrote. Since Rama was divine, so was Sita, and touching the goddess was to defile her. So various Bhakti poets came up with various devices to make sure that did not happen. In Tulsidas, for instance, Ravana does not carry away Sita at all - instead, she is hidden by Ram in the sacred fire in the care of Agni till the death of Ravana is accomplished. Ravana therefore steals away a copy of Sita, the chhaya Sita, rather than the goddess herself. The real Sita remains hidden till the end of the war, and the agni pariksha. In Valmiki, Sita's agni pariksha is an act to be frowned upon, one of the blots on Ram's character as prince. In Tulsi, it becomes a mechanism to swap the shadow Sita for the real one. I find these variations, so different yet so similar, fascinating. It is one of the many reasons why I find the story of Rama so exciting. :)
Thank you!
My Tamil friend who is no more had read Kambaramayanam in original and and a great admirer. He in his enthusiasm gave me glimpses of the portions he enjoyed. I traced a 40 year old photocopy of the poem where Kamban described the boat chief Guhan having helped Rama, Sita and Lakshmana cross the river was seeing Bharata with his army coming. Apprehending Bharata coming to finish off Rama but later knowing from Bharata he was seeking to take Rama back to Ayodhya Guha is described by Kamban “Bharata being my lord Rama’s brother, how can he err?” The line in Tamil in the poem in one line brings out Guha’s devotion to Rama, the greatness of Rama and Bharata being Rama’s sibling is infallible.”எம்பெருமான் பின் பிறந்தார் இழைப்பரோ பிழைப்பு”
Clearly your friend had narrated parts of Kambaramayanam he loved with passion. And 40 years later you still have fond memories of that. Agree with Rohini, the line is and thinking behind it is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
How utterly beautiful. And how powerful.
In Tulsi, too, the meeting of Guha and Bharat is a riveting scene. Though there is no single line that I can pick out, the entire episode is compelling and very moving. One is left in no doubt of Bharat's noble nature, Guha's devotion, and Raghubir's greatness.
Exquisite as always, Santy and Ro! Loved every word! You are tempting me to read Iramavataram in the original
So glad that you have been inspired to be tempted read the original. I remember you read Ponni's Selvan in Tamil. Cheers!
Thanks! And yes, go for it! Read the original, and then tell us (and the other readers about it)! I envy you - that you CAN read it in the original! :)
Thank you Vat!