Epics in Imprints-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA
RAMAYANA IN SINHALA LITERATURE
and ITS FOLK VERSION
J.TILAKASIRI
It is indeed remarkable that ever since the
Rama saga migrated to the countries of
South and South-East Asia it has not
merely enriched the cultural and literary
heritage of every country which came
under its spell but inculcated lasting
ethical and religious values among the
people. When the epic swept through the
cultures of Asian countries its episodes,
characters and even descriptive motifs had
a varied influence on the different
countries, each of which interpreted or
adapted the story to suit its social milieu.
In many Asian countries the Ramayana
theme has had a special appeal
particularly because the characterization
of the principal hero, Rama, his wife, Sita,
and their companions and even their
retinue, bears a humane and refined
outlook on life. The principal events of the
epic are located in Ayodhya, the capital of
the Kosala Kingdom, in the North of India.
In Sri Lanka, the story of Rama and Sita
has continued to be popular among the
literati and the people in general from the
time it became known. But it must be
emphasized, however, that ambivalent
attitudes towards the theme and the
characterization of the heroes have
prevailed and these are reflected in the
literature of the Sinhalese and in the
religious cults, legends and folk-lore of the
island.
(Extracted from the “Ramayana
Tradition in Asia:” Sahitya Akadami
Ed.V.Raghavan, New Dlhi 1989.)
6
RAMAYANA IN THE FOLK LITERATURE
OF BENGAL
BHABATOSH DUTTA
In Bengal, there are a number of versions
of the Ramayana mainly with regard to
its theme; some of these cannot be traced
to the Sanskrit epic. These have been
incorporated from the folk life. Quite a
considerable portion of our folk literature
is based on the Rama-Sita legend.
Undoubtedly this deserves intensive
analysis, which I am afraid has not been
done adequately in spite of the good deal
of work done on the folk literature of
Bengal.
Rabindra Nath Tagore, about seventy
years back, engaged, himself in collecting
specimens of folk literature of Prabna-
Rajashahi region of Bengal. In a paper
published in the Bharat (1898) he observed
that our folk literature was rich in the
songs on Radhakrishna and Hara-Gauri
but compared with them songs of Rama
Sita were scanty. ‘It must be admitted’ he
said: “In the west where Rama-legend is
widely prevalent, ideal of manliness is more
powerful than in Bengal. In our Hara-Gauri
and Radhakrishna legends, the mutual
relationship between man and wife and
lover and the beloved has been emphasized
but no attempt has been made to make
them morally wholesome. The ideal of
conjugal life of Rama-Sita is much higher
than that of Hara-Gauri. It is unfortunate
that Rama-Sita legend has never got the
better of either Hara-Gauri or
Radhakrishna legends”. It is true, we do
not possess on Rama and Sita anything
like Krishna Padavali or the Sakta
Padavali. The ‘Rama Padavali’ is quite
unknown to us. Later researches, however,
have shown that our folk art has been
deeply influenced by the Rama-Sita