PB Introduced Prof. Richman, one of the great scholars of Ramayana. She has edited two volumes which are invaluable to Ramayana Scholarship:
1) Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition
in Southwest Asia
University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-07589-7, 1991
(More
info available at
http://www.oberlin.edu/religion/books/Richmanbk1.html
and
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/5663.html)
Indian edition available from Oxford University Press, 1992.
2) Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition
University of California Press, Published February 2001
(More info available at
http://www.oberlin.edu/religion/books/Richmanbk4.html
and
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/sale/pages/8765.html)
Indian edition available from Oxford University Press, 1995.
PB informed the audience that Prof. Richman has recently
turned her attention to what she terms the "other epic", Mahabharata,
though it is "the epic" because it
includes Ramayana! Remarkably, her entry point to the Epic is the relation
between Pandava Bhima and Rakshasi Hidimbaa. (Prof. Richman's presentation
on this theme at the seminar organised by Sahitya Akademi recently
(2004) was the subject of discussion recently in the MBh study group)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahabharata_study).
Prof. Richman started off by saying that it is interesting to compare the Rakshasas in Mahabharata and Ramayana. In Ramayana, they are a powerful race. They are rich, capable of producing illusion and knowledgable in Vedas. They appear as violators of the Dharma code of humans. In Mahabharata they appear in much lower status. They are almost peripheral except of course Ghatotkaca who has to serve a crucial purpose in the scheme of things. Surpanakha's main role in Ramayana is that of a sister and the cause of Sita's abduction, whereas Hidimbaa's is that of a mother who gives birth and sustenance to the saviour of Arjuna from Karna's infallible missile. What is remarkable about Mahabharata is the room left between the lines in the epic that has continously produced many inspired works of oral and written literature in Indian languages.
Prof. Richman went on to consider two specific works:
1) The Kannada novel Parva by S.L. Bhyrappa, English translation published
by Sahitya Akademi.
2) Grandmother's Desires by Kumudini (Real Name: Ranganayaki Thatam)
(The original Tamil version was included in a volume
titled "Sillarai Sangathigal Limited" (Trifling Matters Limited) under the
section "Antahpura Tapal" (Zenana Mail) and published in
1948.) English translation by Dr. Ahana Lakshmi available
on the Mahabharata Resources page under Epics - Creative
Insights on-line section:
http://www.geocities.com/harindranath_a/maha/creative/threeletters.html
Also see
(http://www.hinduonnet.com/lr/2005/04/03/stories/2005040300230300.htm)
for
Ahana's translation of some of these stories.
In Bhyrappa's version Bhima is a fighter who relies on the strength of his arms. According Bhima, marrying Hidimbaa is like "marrying the best of the wrestlers". She is a perfect companion to Bhima in everything: hunting, playing, swimming, ...Bhyrappa also contrasts the trouble Bhima faces in handling his human wife Draupadi (hard to understand, unpredictable, ..) compared to his ease in sharing a life with Hidimbaa who doesn't present any complexities. The attitude is continued towards his two sons. His son by Hidimbaa, Ghatotkaca is his favourite. Bhima himself took care of his parenting. His son by Draupadi, on the other hand, was looked after by Draupadi's parents while Pandavas spent their time in the forest and consequently became a "spoiled brat". In Kumudini's short story (in the form of four letters Hidimbaa's grandmother supposedly wrote), human attributes are freely given to the Hidimbaa and her grandmother.
During the exchange of ideas that followed Prof. Richman's presentation, Prof. Lal brought our attention to the etymology of the words Vanara and Rakshasa. Vanara is Vana nara (Forest man) and Rakshasa is Protector.
PB commented that the female vanaras in Ramayana have no tail. For males,
it (langula) is more of a decoration which they can remove at convenience.
Hence the implication is of a totem. PB suggested that it is good project
to look at the forests in the two epics and the Rakshasas
in Mahabharata and associated inspired literature in the vernacular. In
this connection he informed the audience about A. Harindranath's
research into the Ravi Varma painting of Simhika and Draupadi. Simhika
appears in the Malayalam text (attakatha) for the Kathakali play
"Kirmiravadham" by Kottayam Tampuran (17th century). More info
is available at
http://www.geocities.com/harindranath_a/maha/variation/simhika.html
PB also mentioned the temple of Khatu Shyam dedicated to Barabareek, son
of Ghatotkacha and Mura Asura's daughter. For more info and the temple's
location see
http://www.khatushyamji.com/legend.htm
Another link gives a different parentage:
http://www.shrikhatushyamji.com/shrishyamkatha1.shtml
PB also mentioned the B.R. Chopra TV serial "Mahabharat Katha" (which was abruptly taken off the air) which depicted the scenes associated with this legend/myth.
Prof. Richman at this point mentioned a temple dedicated to Vibhisana
in Sri Lanka. It is useful also to recall the temple for Hidimbaa:
http://www.kullumanali.com/hadimbatemple.htm
In answer to the question,
"who was responsible for winning the war?",
Barabareek, (who witnessed the whole Mahabharata war as a severed
head after he was sacrificed before the beginning of the war due
to a trick played by Krishna), replies that all he saw was the Sudarshan
Chakra whizzing through the armies and Draupadi following it, drinking the
blood of the Kshatriyas.
PB noted that this ties in with the worship of Draupadi as Virashakti
in the villages of Tamil Nadu[1], as a Goddess among the Bhils[2] (a group
of aboriginals) and in Rajasthan oral tradition, also as the heroine
Bela (Draupadi reborn) in the Rajasthani oral epic "Alha"[3]. PB
also mentioned the books on Ramayana and Mahabharata and tribals
connection[4]. PB referred to the need to have a project
like Dr. Richman's "Many Ramayanas" on the Mahabharata and requested her
to consider this. It could begin with the as yet untranslated manuscript
of "Abhimanyu Vadha" in Grantha script lying in the library of the
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. He also referred
to the Jaimini Bharat tradition which is extant in south India with many
variations on the Mahabharata and Ramayana, some of which is found
in the vernacular versions of the epics. He requested Dr. Richman to
consider looking into this during her future visits.
References:
[1] A. Hiltebeitel,
The Cult of Draupadi Vol. 1, Mythologies, from Gingee to Kuruksetra (1988)
The Cult of Draupadi: Vol. 2, On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess (1991)
(University of Chicago Press).
[2] See Bharata of the Bhils (Dr Bhagwandas Patel) (Summary (in English by
Pradip Bhattacharya) of the paper presented
in the Sahitya Akademi's seminar on Mahabharata in 2004) available
at
http://www.geocities.com/harindranath_a/maha/variation/BharataoftheBhils.html
and an article that refers to Mahabharata variations in Rajasthan by Shail
Mayaram available at
http://www.indiatogether.org/manushi/issue103/meomaha.htm
[3] A. Hiltebeitel
Rethinking India's oral and classical epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims
and Dalits
(University of Chicago Press, 1999).
[4] K.S. Singh, The Mahabharata in the Tribal and Folk Traditions of
India. The Ramayana in the Tribal and Folk Traditions of India.
Both published by Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 1993.
http://www.iias.org/