ramayana of valmiki and kamban-11.Surpanakha lures Ravana to his doom

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11.Surpanakha lures Ravana to his doom

 

Surpanakha after the destruction of Khara and his army by Rama hurried to Lanka disheveled and disfigured. He saw Ravana sitting on his throne in all his glory and pomp. Valmiki has written a whole chapter describing the power of Ravana also enlisting his shortcomings. Then seeing him thus Surlanakha started to taunt him. She said that he was so enamoured with his own greatness and engrossed in his sensual pleasures that he failed to observe that there was a great calamity to his sovereignty. Then she started discoursing on statecraft. She said that a king who is not aware of the happenings in and around kingdom by engaging trustworthy and efficient spies will be ruined by enemies as well as his own people , who may desert him in need.

 

Then she told him that a single man Rama had exterminated Khara and his whole army. Surpanakha denounced him as a worthless king not aware of what was happening around him. Stung by her words Ravana asked about Rama and the reason he destroyed the rakshasas of Jansthana and also asked her who disfigured her.

 

When Surpanakha started to talk about Rama, she could not help eulogizing over him, such was her desire even after he punished her for it. She says,

`dheerghabahuH viSaalaakshaH cheerakrshNaajinaambaraH kandharpasama roopaH cha raamo dhasarathaatmajaH.'

 

"Rama has long arms and large eyes and wears bark garment and deer skin and resembles the god of love in form and he is the son of Dasaratha."

 

She described the valour of Rama as such that it made the rakshasas of Janasthana fall like the crop of grains in a storm. She further said that Rama has cut off her nose and ears maybe because he did not want to kill a woman. She also spoke of Lakshmana and Seetha, describing Lakshmana as the right hand of Rama she went on an elaborate description of the beauty of Seetha. She said that Seetha was visaalaakshee, broad eyes, moon like face, poornendhu sadhrsaananaa, beautiful hair, nose and thighs, sukeSee, sunasoru, and Sreeriva aparaa, another Lakshmi. She was of golden hue, thaptha kaanchana varNaabhaa, and slim waist, thanu madhyama. She concluded by saying that she had never seen such a woman among gandhrvas yakshas and kinnaras nor any where on earth.

 

She further kindled the desire of Ravana by saying that the husband of such a woman will be equal to Indra and Ravana alone deserves to have her as his wife. Then she twisted the story and said that she wanted to bring Seetha to Ravana when Lakshmana disfigured her. So, she said it would be befitting if Ravana went to Panchavati and kidnap Seetha.

 

In Kamba Ramayana Surpanakha says,

 

Indiran SaSiyai petRaan irumoonRu vadhanatthOn than

Thandhaiyum umaiyai petRaan thaamaraicchengaNaanum

sendhirumagaLaippetRaan seethaiayai petRaai neeyum

antharam paarkkin nanmai avarkku ilai unakkE aiyaa

 

Indra has Sasi devi, the father of six-eyed one (Siva) has Uma and the lotus-eyed one (Vishnu) has Lakshmi (sendhirumagaL) But if you have Seetha you will have more merit than them.

 

If the last line is read as nanmai avarkku ilai, unakkE, means as explained above. But if the comma is put after the word aavarkku, and read as avarkku, ilai unakkE, it would mean that if you bring Seetha the benefit is for the gods, represented by Siva, Indra and Vishnu, as a forecast of the doom of Ravana by abducting Seetha. Thus is the kavichaathurya, skill of poetry.

 

Further Kamban makes her say that one (Siva) has given half his body to his wife, baagatthil oruvan vaitthaan, another (Vishnu) placed his wife in his heart, aagatthil oruvan vaitthaan, yet another(Brahma) put his wife on his tongue, andhanan naavil vaitthaan, and asked Ravana that if he gets Seetha where would he put her, nuN idaiyinaaLai petRaal ejnanam vaitthu vaazdhi? Again we see the poetic skill here in the meaning , "how will you live with her by putting her where," can also mean by joinig the word ejnanam with vaazdhi instead of vaitthu. "when you keep her with you how can you live?"

Hearing her words, Ravana was possessed by desire for Seetha and hurried to his stable and ordered his chariot, says Valmiki. But Kamban describes the state of Ravana more poetically saying that he was suffering with arrows of cupid for sometime before he went to Maricha in his chariot. Kamban devotes 75verses to describe the love-stricken Ravana and the best among them is,

Karanaiyum maRandhaan; thangai mookinai kadindhu ninRaan

Uranaiyum maRandhaan; uttRa paziyaiyum maRandhaan; vetRi

Aranaiyum konDa kaaman ambinaal; munnaippetRa

varanaiyum maRandhaan; kEtta nangaiyai maRandhilaadhaan

 

Ravana forgot about Khara and the valour of Rama who destroyed him and who disfigured his sister. He forgot the ignominy which would be the result of abducting Seetha. All due to the arrows of cupid who finally won over Lord Siva himself. Ravana also forgot the conditions of his boon that he will not be killed by anyone except humans. He remembered only Seetha of whom he heard about, meaning, heard but not seen.

 

Even before he abducted Seetha and imprisoned her in ashokavana, he already put her in the prison of his heart, says Kamban, `mayiludai SaayalaaLai idhaym aam siRaiyil vaitthaan.'

 

There is an amusing interlude in Kamban where Ravana was visualizing Seetha and asked Surpanakha whether the vision in front is Seetha. Surpanakha replied that it was Rama. When Ravana tells her that what he saw was a female not a male, Surpanakha said that because he was always thinking of Seetha he saw her everywhere, on which Ravana remonstrated that how was it that she said it was Rama. She cleverly replied that she was also seeing Rama everywhere because he harmed her and she wished to take revenge and hence her thoughts are always with him.

 

Next is the episode of the golden deer.