Epics in Imprints-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA
real freedom for the country lies first in
freeing the woman from her shackles and
treating her as man’s equal.
He has again brought into focus the
Mahabharata which is an eternal drama
that is going on today, the struggle
between good and bad. In his Panchali
Sapatam, Subrahmanya Bharati has
mingled nationalism as well as his very
philosophy of life too. So it has been again
brought back as the mirror in which the
modern man can see himself and
understand. The moral perhaps is that the
nation cannot be pawned to satisfy the
personal egos and fancies, however mighty
the leaders are. That scriptures can be
interpreted by clever politicians, to suit
their ends, not necessarily always in the
interest of the vast multitude-the people.
(From Mahabharata in the Tribal and Folk
traditions of India. I.I.A.S. Shimla 1993)
Epics and Puranas influence Proverbs
The measure of an idea touching
the heart of the common people, is how
they express that idea in their own words.
Proverbs are the distilled essence of
custom, usage and tradition. Rich in
meaning dressed in minimum of words,
proverbs combine wisdom and wit. They
are popular, wide-spread in appeal, and
in India we find proverbs travelling across
language barriers. Their wisdom has been
tested by the touch-stone of time. Epic and
Puranic events, characters, and messages,
similies abound in Indian proverbs. Sita’s
chastity, Hanuman’s monkey-like pranks,
Sugriva’s inviolable orders (to monkeys to
discover Sita) Rama-Lakshmana’s
brotherly love, Rama’s obedience to his
father, Bhima’s strength, Sakuni’s
cunning-ness, Kumbhakarna’s sleep, are
all part of the vocabulary of Indian
languages, each word conveying a hundred
8
words’ worth of meaning and significance.
That is how in India, civilization has
become a part of religion and not viceversa.
Mahalaxmi is the standard for
beauty and prosperity. A Telugu, proverb
says “In a village where there are no cows,
the barren buffalo is Shri Mahalaxmi”. The
Ganga is the example and standard for
majestic flow but it does not make much
sound, and is humble. The proverb again
in Telugu goes “The flow of Ganga is always
majestic but the gutter water flows with
great sound.”
The Bangla proverb ridicules a
pampered son “A single son of a mother is
so much pampered that he moves about
like Yama’s emissary.”
A proverb is Kannada ridicules the
efforts of mean persons who attempt what
is impossible even for the mighty. “Who is
to care for Uttarkumar when there are
renowned and valiant warriors.?”
Uttarkumar was the cowardly son of the
king of Virata desha, where Arjuna and
others lived in disguise.
One’s own possessions are praised
by oneself as the best of the lot. An Oriya
proverb puts it thus “To each his home is
like Mathura; to each her husband is like
Krishna”. Telugu has a slight variant. The
woman whom one likes is Rambha; and
the water one prefers to bathe in is Ganga.”
The glory of self-help is brought out
in the Hindi proverb. “One’s own hand is
the Jagannath”. An Oriya proverb puts
this idea slightly differently. “There is no
seeing Yama without dying oneself.”
Proverbs warn man to act in time.
It is useless to do something after its
proper time. A Punjabi proverb likens this
to “Lighting after Deepavali.” A Bangla