Overcome by my curiosity, I recently started reading literature originated in India. India is a land of many languages. Sanskrit, Bangla, Hindi, Gujarati and the list goes on. I am not comfortable with any of them. But I thought I should atleast start somewhere.
My childhood was filled with stories from epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Jataka. Naturally, I am inclined to Indian mythology(predominantly Hindu works as of now; will move on to Buddhism, Jainism and other religions if fortune allows me to). I started with Mrityunjaya by Shivaji Sawant. In parallel, I am reading the translated works of the famed Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa. The purpose of this post is to summarize what I have read so far. I will go in chronological order.
The first Hindi novel I ever picked up --- Mrityunjaya(meaning "Conqueror of Death") written by Shivaji Sawant tells the story of Karna. It is a strange title to begin with. Karna from the epic Mahabharata, died in the great battle of Kurukshetra; slain by his own brother. Still the author chose to go with such a title, probably to give respects to a tragic hero. In a way, Karna was among the unluckiest of men. Abandoned by his own mother, cursed by his own guru(teacher), insulted by people because of his seemingly low caste, pushed into the wrong cause by his friend -- he still is remembered for his valor and greatness of character(Indian parents still name their boys as Karan). This book tries to capture the perception of Karna through the eyes of his various contemporaries. Some of them are:- Karna himself, Kunti(Karna's biological mother) and Vrishali(Karna's wife). Overall, the book is poignant and does justice to a complex character.
FACT: Karna's bow, Vijaya was gifted to him by his teacher, Parshurama. The name literally translates to "victory". Vijaya was one of the bows of Lord Shiva himself. Only few men were worthy and capable enough to wield it. Whoever used it in battle became invincible. Arjuna instructed by Krishna, killed Karna when he was weaponless i.e; without Vijaya.
The second work I am reading is Raghuvansam(means "the dynasty of Raghu"). As evident, it tells the story of King Raghu's line, a descendant of Manu(the first man to walk on Earth who originated from Surya, the Sun god). The kings of this dynasty have always formed an integral part of Indian folklore(the likes of Bhagirath, Harischandra and Rama). This work of Kalidasa is a mahakavya(epic poem). In my humble opinion, Kalidasa has showed extraordinary brilliance -- depicting the lives of legendary men in a way that was unknown to me.
FACT: Though his works are of legendary stature among the scholars of Sanskrit, the history of Kalidasa is virtually unknown. He is known to dislike love stories but ironically while writing about romance, surpassed everyone. It is believed that he enjoyed fame during his lifetime and was an ardent follower of Lord Shiva.
The third work I am reading, is again from Kalidasa. It is Kumarsambhavam(means "how the creation of Kumara became possible"). It tells the story of the creation of Karthikeya, the warrior god. It contains description of events after the immolation of Sati up to how Shiva was united with Parvati. Some of the passages are especially noteworthy. Like Shiva self-insulting himself in front of Parvati and his description of the full moon later on. Kalidasa shows why he is known as the greatest among the greatest.
FACT: The greatest works in Sanskrit always revolve around legendary men and women. It seems to me that poets wrote their works for the sole purpose of showing the ideal life. That's kind of cool.
So what's next? I am thinking of starting Meghnada Badh(means "the slaying of Meghnada"). Written in Bangla by Michael Madhusudan Dutta, it was the first ever work in Bangla to be written in the form of western play. Why did I chose it? Because Michael Madhusudan Dutta is a household name in Bengal. Born into Hinduism, he converted to Christianity on seeing the plight of women and lower castes in the orthodox Hindu era. He was continuously ridiculed by his fellow people as an 'Englishman' and was rejected by his own family. He succumbed to his long addiction with alcohol, but not before creating a name for himself.
FACT: Meghnada was the son of Ravana(the villain of Ramayana). He was named so because his birth cry sounded like thunder. Ravana wanted his son to surpass himself. So he instructed every single planet and constellation to align at the particular moment of his son's birth. The planets who are gods themselves, feared Ravana's wrath and agreed to do so. Ultimately, Ravana got a legendary warrior as his son. Meghnada is the only man apart from Parshurama, who is said to wield the greatest three weapons of Hindu trinity -- Brahmandastra from Brahma, Narayanastra(the one with eleven Rudras) from Vishnu and Pashupat from Shiva.
So what lies in the future? Maybe I should learn a lot more Indian languages. I am still to touch any literature from Southern and North-eastern parts of India. Lets see how that changes in the coming years.
