Listening to the stories from epics as a child is fun, but at times baffling as well. How could Ravana have carried ten heads on his shoulders? Or how did Hanuman leap across great distances? There can be many such questions that remain unresolved till some one tells you a counter story explaining and resolving the mystery.

One such mystery I was curious about was, how did Sita give a gold ring to Hanuman when she had already left all her royal ornaments at Ayodhya while leaving the city as an exile? Bundeli Ramayana, an oral rendition of Ramkatha sung in the form of Tamura Bhajans or devotional songs tries to explain many such anomalies in the Valmiki Ramayana.

When Ram, Sita, and Lakshman completed their 14 years of exile, they began their journey back to Ayodhya. The boatman Kevat offered his services to the royal couple and brought them to banks of  the river Sarayu . When Ram touched the soil of Ayodhya he was grateful to Kevat for bringing him home and wanted to offer him a token of his gratitude. Unfortunately Ram had nothing to offer. Seeing his downcast face, Sita realised Ram’s predicament and removed her chudamani ( an ornament worn on the head by married women in north India) and gave it to Ram, and asked him to gift it to Kevat for his services.

Story tellers of Tamura bhajans explain how Sita carried not one but two jewellery pieces with her while going to exile with Ram. It is said, Sita had received two divine jewellery pieces that belonged to her mother, Sunaina in the form of a ring and a chudamani. These were no ordinary jewels but divine ornaments as god Shiva had gifted them to Sunaina. Tamura singers narrate following tale explaining how Sita acquired these divine jewels.

Being a mendicant Lord Shiva came dressed in a tiger skin with snakes ornaments as the bridegroom of Parvati on the day of their marriage. A huge snake dangled around his neck like a garland while his loose unkempt hair was held together with another snake knotted around his hair. Baby snakes were tied around his wrists and arms as armlets. Incidentally, one of the snakes tied around his arms was too tightly knotted. The baby snake cried in pain, and two tear drops rolled down from the snake’s eyes, turning it divine jewels called ‘nagmani’. Shiva picked up these two precious jewels. When Sunaina, a daughter a Naga king was married to king Janak, Shiva gave these divine jewels to Sunaina as a wedding gift. But Janak gifted these divine jewels to Dasharatha as mark of their eternal friendship. When Ram won Sita’s hand in marriage and brought his bride to Ayodhya, the custom was that in-laws should present the new bride with a piece of jewellery as a gift when they meet her first time, a rite known as “muh dikhai’. Dasharath and Kaushalya gifted these jewels to Sita as a part of ‘muh dikhai’* ritual. Thus Sita acquired these divine jewels that once belonged to her mother Sunaina. When Sita left for exile, she left all other royal ornaments in the palace but carried with her these two ornaments affixed with these jewels, a ring and the chudamani. When Hanuman came to Lanka in search of Sita; she gave her ring to Hanuman as her insignia, by which Ram could recognise her. The second jewel was on her chudamani, given to boatman Kevat as an appreciation for his service as mentioned above.

In another tale narrated by Tamura singers is the story of Shanta’s birth. Not much is known about Shanta, sister of Ram in the Valmiki Ramayana. Valmiki mentions that after sage Rishyashringa helped Dasharath to perform the sacrificial rite of Putrakameshthi*** , he offered his daughter Shanta in marriage to sage Rishyashringa. One wonders here, since she is said to be Dasharatha’s daughter who was her mother? Here is the story that solves the mystery.

Once Dasharatha went hunting in the forest. While chasing a deer he entered into a magical sacred grove that was dedicated to feminine power. Everything in that forest was a feminine force. Men feared to step in to this grove as they would have to live in female body for a designate period of time. Dasharatha having entered the grove inadvertently, too turned into a woman. For many years, he lived in that grove in the form of a woman. Once he came in contact with a man and fell in love with him. He eventually conceived the child from their union and gave birth to a baby girl. He named her Shanta. Having completed designated period of time in the grove as a woman, Dasharatha reverted back to his male body and returned to Ayodhya, with baby Shanta in his arms. Thus Dasharatha is the mother and father of Shanta.

There are many such unusual tales narrated in Tamura songs that explain the anomalies found in Valmiki Ramayana.
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*Muh Dikhai is a wedding rite, literally meaning “seeing the face “. When the bride comes first time to grooms’s house after the marriage, groom’s parents and elders welcome her home and lift the wail from the the bride’s head and “see the face of the bride”. Custom is to give a gold ornament to the bride welcoming her to her new home.
** Stree dhan means woman’s wealth in the form of ornaments given to a woman during the wedding.
*** Putrakameshthi- is a vedic sacrificial ritual that was performed to beget a male child.

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Story collected by Vidya Kamat
Text source: Bundeli Ramayana by Anandi Lal Kurmi
Location: Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh

The region of Mevat is sandwiched between present Haryana and Rajasthan and consists of 1200 villages. Mevat has a rich cultural history, and the inhabitants of Mevat known as Mev, trace their ancestry to heroes from the epics. Traditionally the singing of two great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata are integral to Mevati life and their identity.

A section of wandering folk singers of Mevat known as Mevati jogis, belong to the Muslim community and are popular for their narration of Ramayana sung in the form of dohas. Their rendition of Rama katha differs in many ways from Valmiki Ramayana. Some of the key characters from Valmiki’s Ramayana are missing in the Mevati-jogi Ramayana. For instance, the character of Shurpanakha the sister of Ravana is missing in Mevati-jogi Ramayana. There are also a number of new narratives branches introduced in this version of Ramaynana. Here is one such example, of Lord Ram’s first meeting with Hanuman.

After Sita’s disappearance, Ram and Lakshman embarked on their search for her. They would spend hours searching through deep jungles calling out her name, but with no result. One day, in the middle of their fruitless search, hungry and tired the brothers sat under a tree planning to look around for some food and water. Lakshaman was particularly worried about Ram who had not eaten properly after Sita’s disappearance. “Sit here brother, I will look around for some water and food” saying thus he climbed a tallest tree to lookout for any water source close by. Instead he saw a large orchard full of ripe fruits close by. It must be somebody’s private orchard as it is well tended and well nurtured, he thought to himself. As he climbed down he asked Ram to give him some money and walked towards the orchard. At the orchard he could not find any one guarding the entrance. He tried calling out to the caretaker but no one answered his call.

He finally climbed a tree and plucked some ripe fruits. After keeping a few coins under the tree, he began walking back to Ram. Just then a huge monkey appeared seemingly out of nowhere and confronted him ” Hey you thief! you are stealing fruits from my master’s garden ” he accused Lakshman. “How dare you steal these fruits while I am guarding this orchard of great Mahadeo” The monkey roared. ” O Monkey, I am not a thief! I tried calling out for the caretaker but no one responded to my calls. So I picked a few fruits for my brother who is hungry and tired. And of course, I have left some money under the tree” he said as he turned around and pointed at the base of the tree.” But the money he had left there was gone! Furious, the monkey rushed at Lakshman saying, ” You are not only a thief but a liar too”. The monkey grabbed Lakshman by the nape, thrust him into his huge mouth and swallowed him.

Meanwhile Ram was getting restless and worried as Lakshman had not returned. “Why he is taking so long ? He wondered, and marched towards the orchard. Ram saw a huge monkey guarding the entrance. “I am sure this huge monkey has harmed my little brother”, the thought crossed Ram’s mind and he aimed his bow and arrow at Hanuman. In response Hanuman leaped at Ram. But Ram in a swift move grabbed and squeezed Hanuman so hard that he screamed in great pain. The scream was was so loud, that Mahadeo and Gauri Parvati who were sitting on Kailash heard it. “I am sure Hanuman’s life is in great danger, my lord. You need to help him as he is in great pain” Gauri Parvati nagged Mahadeo. When Mahadeo arrived at the orchard, he saw Ram crushing Hanuman with his bare hands. Mahadeo challenged Ram” Oh you stranger! why wrestle with a monkey! If you are a man fight with a man like me”. Ram kept his bow down and got ready to wrestle with Mahadeo. As he looked at Mahadeo he saw Mahadeo was suffering from a strange skin disease that had discoloured his skin. Apparently, it was Anjani’s curse that had caused the skin disease of Mahadeo. And only Vishnu could cure it.
As soon as Ram touched Mahadeo’s body in preparation to wrestle, Mahadeo’s his skin decease disappeared. Mahadeo realised the person before him is none other than Lord Vishnu. He bowed deep to Ram and said ” Oh great Vishnu! Forgive me for not recognising you. Why are you angry with my servant Hanuman?” Ram narrated to Mahadev the story of missing Sita and Lakshman. Hanuman immediately brought back Lakshmana from his mouth. Mahadeo then ordered Hanuman to help and support Ram in his search for Sita.

Story collected by Vidya Kamat
Source: “Mevat jogiyonki Ramkatha- lanka chadai ” by Umar Farooq Mevati and Satyendra Singh
Location: Rajasthan

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

Every local version of Ramayana has tried to include additional details to Valmiki’s Ramayana, that they thought were missing or lacking in the text. Thus every local version enriches the original text with layers of counter narratives adding to the tradition of Ramayana in India.

Bundeli Ramayana from Bundelkhand an area sandwiched between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh is no exception. Sung in the oral form, the following incidents are added in Bundeli Ramayana to throw light on some of the unanswered questions in Valmiki’s Ramayana text such as who was Rama’s sister?

Not much is known about Rama’s sister Shanta. The only time she is mentioned in Valmiki’s Ramayana is when Dasharath invites sage Rishyasringa to officiate the sacrifice of Putrakameshthi, to get son/s and an heir to his kingdom. After the completion of the  sacrifice Dasharath offers his daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyasringa in lieu of his officiating fee. Valmiki does not tell us anything about Shanta’s birth. The question becomes interesting as all the queens of Dasharath were childless. Who then was the mother of Shanta ? Bundeli Ramayana tries to address this lacuna through the following tale.

Once King Dasharath and his friend King Janak was on a hunting trip. As they tracked their prey, King Dasharath inadvertently entered a forest patch where men were barred from entering. The belief was the forest resonated with feminine power and was strictly reserved for women, and if any male would enter the forest, he would turn into a female. Dasharath, having entered the forest by chance turned into a woman. For years he wandered around in female form. Then one day he met a man, had a relationship with him and conceived a child. This female child was named Shanta. After the birth of Shanta, Dasharatha regained his maleness and returned to his palace with the child. Thus Shanta became Dasharath’s first child, but he was her mother.

In Andhra Pradesh, women sing tales from Ramayana in the privacy of their homes. However, they narrate Ramayana from the women’s perspective highlighting interpersonal relationships, rather than the war scenarios. Thus female characters are the main focus of their telling. For Instance Kausalya’s birth pangs, Sita’s bidai, and the wedding night of Sita and Rama get a lot more attention in these songs . Women’s Ramayana also openly blame Rama for Sita’s plight. They recall how Rama’s envy and suspicion of Sita’s character led to Sita’s banishment. The story is known as the revenge of Shurpanakha .The narrative begins when Rama, Sita and Lakshman have returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana.
Shurpanakha, the sister of Ravana, is angry and feels humiliated for Lakshman has cut her nose and ears and further more, her powerful brother Ravana, was killed in the war. Shurpanakha feels she needs to take revenge on Rama. Being a women, she is no match to Rama’s strength and skill in battlefield, and the only way she can belittle Rama is by disturbing his peace of mind and happiness. Identifying Sita, as the root cause of all her pain and tribulations, she decides to humiliate Sita to take revenge on Rama .
Taking the form of a hermitess Shurpanakha goes to Ayodhya, where Rama is now ruling as the King. She goes to Sita’s palace and asks for Sita stating she had met Sita during her days of exile in the forest. Sita is little hesitant to meet her, as she can not recollect any past meeting, but after some persuasion from her aides Sita agrees to meet the hermitess.
Hermitess asks Sita, about Ravana. “Oh great Queen can you describe the wicked Ravana to me ? Can you draw his picture for me” Asks Shurpanakha in disguise. “ No holy lady! I never looked at Ravana? replies Sita. But hermitess is adamant “ Try to remember Ravana for me Oh Queen!. I am sure you must have seen something of him ” Shurpanakha insists. But Sita replies she never set eyes on Ravana as she looked only at his feet. Hermitess encourages her to draw whatever she recollects of Ravana, so Sita draws the picture of Ravana’s big toe.
Shurpanakha then completes the picture –depicting Ravana as a handsome man with a broad shoulders and chest, with strong ankles and thighs. She then pleads Brahma the creator of life, to breath life into the picture so that she can fondly remember her dead brother in this life like image. Not knowing her ulterior design Brahma breaths life into the image which immediately comes alive. Shurpanakha now brings the picture to Sita’s palace and drops it at her feet and runs away saying, “ Do what you want with this picture”.

In Goa, Ramayana is narrated during harvest festivals and folk performances such as, Jat , Val , Aarat, Chaurang, Taalen, Ranamale, Gavan Kaani, Fugadi , Ovi, and Gadya Ramayana which is a local version of Ramayana performance. It is a common practice across India, for folk performers to embellish and localise the main narrative of Valmiki’s Ramayana by inserting specific local details and episodes. The following episode from Ramayana sung and performed in the Canacona region of Goa is one such instance.

Once Guru and Ravana went into the forest for hunting animals. But even after spending a whole day they could not find any prey. Hungry and tired they fell asleep under a Jamun tree. Suddenly a huge bright shining jewel fell from the tree. Ravana and Guru woke up hearing the loud thud and found the precious jewel lying in front of them. Guru picked up the precious jewel and decided to present it to Indra-Kavalasa. Indra accepted the jewel, looked at it for a long time, then tied it in a holy red cloth and hung it on his wall.

Ravana became very curious about the precious jewel. “ I must have this rare jewel in my possessions,” he thought to himself. Greedy as he was, he quietly sneaked into Indra -Kavalasa’s home and stole it.

That Sita sat under an Ashoka tree (a- shoka : without sorrow) in the Ashoka grove during her stay in Lanka is commonly known episode of the Ramayana. Not so well known however, is an interesting myth from the Bhavishya Purana that adds a precursor to that tale. As it is seen with other Purana stories, it is plausible that this tale too was an attempt at acculturation and social synthesis.

Years before the abduction of Sita by Ravana, there lived a cannibal among the Bhil tribe named Sashoka. He roamed the forests of central India and lived by killing passers-by and consuming them as food.