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.
——————–
*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.

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

There are quite a few stories about crows in the Ramayana. The black crow, also known as a raven in some regions is said to possess clairvoyance by which he can see different worlds. Although considered to be an ugly bird, crows are one of the most mystical and intelligent birds valued for its wisdom. It is believed that crows warn humans of oncoming danger by their frenzied cawing. And yet, many ancient cultures have attached negative connotations to these magnificent birds. In Hindu mythology, crows are considered to be both auspicious and inauspicious when sighted within the context of a particular ritual or ceremony.

The most well-known example of a story featuring the crow is the tale of KakBhushundi, mentioned in Tulasi’ Das’s epic poem ‘Ramacharitamanas’. Bhusundi who was an ardent devotee of Ram had no respect or devotion for any representation God other than Lord Ram. His guru sage Lomas tried to correct this attitude by teaching him to develop devotion for nirguna brahman or the formless aspect of God. But Bhusundi ignored his guru’s teachings and kept on worshipping Ram as the Ultimate Truth. In a fit of anger Sage Lomasha cursed Bhusundi to become a crow because of his repeated rejection and arguments against the sage’s guidance and advice. When Lord Ram intervened on behalf of Bhusundi, Sage Lomas relented and recalled Basundi who was now in the form of a crow as ‘KakBhushundi’ or Bhusundi the crow and taught him Ramcharitmanas, stories about Rama’s spiritual journey. Thus KakBhusundi in the form of a crow became the ultimate narrator of the events in the life of Lord Rama. He was also blessed with the ability to travel through time and recreate the story of Lord Rama.

There are also other stories about crows that get a mention in various localised versions of the Ramayana. Tulu Ramayana known as ‘Seetha Kalyana’ mentions an episode in Rama’s life that is connected to crows.

Once the crows in Janak’s’ kingdom grew in numbers and started creating chaos in his all over his land. King Janak was so troubled by the menace of these crows that he announced that anyone who can get rid of crows from his kingdom would be eligible for marrying his beautiful daughter Sita. Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana managed to kill all the crows and restored peace in Janak’s kingdom. As per the announcement, Janak offered Sita’s hand to Lakshmana. But Lakshmana refused to marry Sita, stating that as per the custom, he cannot get married unless his elder brother Ram gets married first. Lakshmana then requested Rama to marry Sita. This episode in Tulu Ramayana is a substitute for the Shiva Dhanush episode in Valmiki Ramayana which leads to the marriage of Rama and Sita.

Yet another folk narrative of Ramayana explains why crow looks at the world through one eye. The peculiar habits of the crows to look sideways through one eye has generated a belief that crows can see only through one eye. According to the tale, once Sita went to have a bath at a nearby water tank. While she was having her bath a crow pecked at her delicate foot creating a wound. As Sita cried in pain, Ram who was standing nearby in attendance saw the culprit crow flying away and quickly shot an arrow. The arrow struck the crow in the eye making him blind in one eye. Since then crows can only see through one eye.

Durga Bhagwat who first noted this folk tale observes that this story incorporates the prevalent belief in Maharashtra and central India that if a crow touches a woman, her sexual desires get aroused. Kaksparsh  literally meaning the touch of a crow is considered inauspicious and seen as a bad omen. On the other hand, during the shraddha ceremony or oblation offered to ancestors, a ball of cooked rice ( pind) is offered to the dead ancestor. If crows eat ( touch/peck) it, then it is assumed that the dead ancestor’s soul has been released from his or her bindings with the physical body and has embarked on the continuation of the soul’s journey to the next level of existence. In this rite, crows touching the rice ball is considered auspicious and is also seen as a good omen.

The crow remains an intriguing symbol in mythological tales

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: inputs from Adimata by Ashok Rana
Location: Pan India

Image Copyright : Vidya Kamat

There are some questions in Ramayana that have remained a mystery. For instance, why the wicked and powerful Ravana, who was known for abducting and sexually assaulting wives of other kings could not force himself upon Sita after abducting her to Lanka?

Valmiki’s Ramayana describes a number of occasions when Ravana tries to threaten Sita and coerce her to surrender to his whim and fancy. But she remains unmoved and unaffected by his threats and cajoling.What could be the reason the mighty Ravana could not subdue gentle Sita’s mind and body?

In the Vanaparva of Mahabharat (280), Sage Vaishampayan narrates the following incident to King Janmejaya, and throws light on the above mystery to reveal why Ravana could not succeed in taking advantage of Sita.

After abducting and carrying off Sita to Lanka, Ravana kept her captive in Ashokavana surrounded by demonesses. The terrifying demonesses threatened Sita in all possible ways demanding Sita, surrender to Ravana as he was the most powerful King. But Sita categorically refused the demands by saying “Besides Rama I would not let any man touch my body”. To break Sita’s will, these demonesses began to torture her mentally and physically. Only demonesses Trijata, was sympathetic to the plight of Sita.

Trijata was not only kind to Sita, but she also assured Sita not to fear Ravana’s threats as he would never be able to touch her without her consent. When Sita, asked the reason why Trijata was so certain about this, Trijata replied, “Oh Sita, You would always be protected by Nalakubar’s curse that is holding back Ravana”. “And why did Nalakubar curse Ravana?” asked Sita, and Trijata replied “Once Ravana violated Rambha, the wife of Nalakubar and the daughter of Kuber, without her consent. When Nalakubar came to know of this he became livid with rage. He cursed Ravana that if he ever touches a woman without her consent, his head would splinter into a thousand pieces.” Ravana was bound by this curse and could no longer force himself upon any woman without her consent. Trijata assured Sita that she would be safe as long as she remains steadfast in her devotion to Ram, who would come and rescue her from Ravana’s captivity.

—————————-
Story Collected by: Vidya Kamat
Text Source: Mahabharatachi Shapvani by R. Bhide ( Marathi)
Location: Pan India
Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

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.

Wadars are a wandering community found on the border area of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh (Today’s Telangana) and Karnataka. Every year during Dasara and Gudi Padva they gather near the river bank at Pune, to perform a ritual called Jaladi or Gangasthal.

Dasara and Padva being a Hindu new year, it is also an occasion for the members of Wadar community to come together and recite oral tales of their clan. This annual ritual is an important reunion for the Wadars as it consists of many important rituals such as repainting of traveling shrine they carry with them. The mobile wooden structure or shrine, measuring two feet by one and half foot is called ‘Gudi’ meaning temple in Telgu. These shrines are in shape of palanquin covered with painted images in ‘patachitra’ style of Andhra Pradesh. The tradition of narrating stories through these patachitras is known as jatipurana or clan stories. Jatipuranans are particularly significant to wandering Wadaries, since it helps them to identify with their history and provides a unique identity to the clan.

The narratives of the Jatipurana invariably establish a link with Ramayana and Mahabharata. Here is a story about a curious custom followed by Wadari women to identify themselves with the plight of Sita.

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.