purAnA and the sibling ideal

[Guest guest]

Dear "bhAgavatOttamA-s",

 

Browsing through last week's digests I came across a very poignant query

from a member who, in the context of alluding to the relationship between

Ravanaand his sister, Surpanaka, asked if there are any other "pUrAni-c" or

"itihAsic"anecdotes that serve to underscore or celebrate that most

cherished of human relationship --- the special bonding between a brother

and sister.

 

The Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other "puranA-s" in many instances have

described the "dharmA-s" enjoined in many ideal relationships e.g. between

father and son (Dasaratha& Rama), between brother and brother (Rama and

Bharatha, Yudhishtra and his brothers) between man and woman (Rama and

Sita) between sisters-in-law (Kausalya and Kaikeyi) between bosom friends

(Rama and Sugriva, Karna and Duryodhana) and so on. But, as the member

seems to rightly indicate, when it comes to describing that rare tie of

affection between brother and sister, "purAnic" episodes are, I am afraid,

truly and woefully few, far and between. One cannot recall to mind a

sterling "purANic" character (or characters) exemplifying the classic

brother-sister complex of relationships with the same ease or familiarity

with which one can, say, instantly identify Bharatha and Rama, as the two

most towering dramatic personae typifying the unique "dharmA" that binds

siblings, isn't it?

 

One is therefore likely to ask oneself if the "pUrAnA-s" did not

deliberately give the brother-sister bond of affection the short shrift.

Why, we may well ask, why is there nothing idealistic about such a

realationship? Are there no "dharmA-s" that can be plumbed by essaying the

psyche, the role and the character of sibling protagonists against the

backdrop of a "puranic" situation or theme? Is there nothing edifying about

such a dramatic construct? Have we nothing to learn from such relationships

as we do otherwise from a deep study of the relationship between say, Rama

and Dasaratha, Krishna and Sudama, Kunti and Karna or Sita and Hanuman? Why

are "puranic" offerings on the brother-sister score so meagre?

 

TO such questions I would answer: No, the great "puranA-s" which are

nothing but the Vedas in the form of narrative drama have not left any part

of human affairs uncharted and unexplored!

 

The wonderful relationship between brother and sister, and the "dharmic"

essences within such a tie of human affection, are essayed in lore as

vividly and comprehensively as any indeed in the full and grand spectrum of

human relationships that constitutes the subject-matter of the

"puranA-s"! The principal aim of the Vedas and the Puranas is to lead us

into right conduct ie. to do right by ourselves, to do right

by everyone else and obtain happiness in this world and the after-world. A

relationship as important as the "brother-sister" one would not therefore

have escaped the notice of the great and wise ones who authored the

treasures of "puranic" mentoring that have been bequeathed to us.

 

I recently came across one such episode from the 'siva-purana' dealing with

the brother-sister relationship. It was once narrated by a "mahAn" in the

course of a religious

discourse.

 

I shall share it with you all in the next post.

 

adiyEn,

sudarshan