Ritual, Performance and the Senses by Michael Bull Jon P. Mitchell

Author:Michael Bull, Jon P. Mitchell [Michael Bull, Jon P. Mitchell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781474217712
Google: CY3GtQEACAAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 18464933
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2014-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

Rishyamukha, Pampasar, Pravasharna, and Kishkindha

Once Sita is kidnapped, the direction of the narrative shifts toward the south-east. There are a series of rapidly moving lilas—the theatrical sense is of an impending climax, a figurative movement across the subcontinent to near the Arabian Ocean then diagonally down through the spine of India to the sea facing Lanka. This rush of movement is even more apparent in the Ramlila than it is in the Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas, where the demands of poetry and devotion slow the swift current of events. In the Ramlila, Rama and Lakshman are literally on the hunt following the trail Sita leaves, including a piece of cloth, signifying her torn sari, she drops from Ravana's flying chariot. Lilas 17, 18, and 19 are full of journeys back and forth from the mainland to Lanka in ever-shortening leaps as Rama gathers his army of monkeys and bears and moves to Rameshwaram.

Although they are all-strong, Rama and Lakshman cannot fight the war against Ravana without allies. This is because two stories are being told at the same time: the unswerving tale of gods on earth cleansing the world of demons; and the more complex story, ethically and narratologically, of humans of many different social strata, alliances, and beliefs in conflict with each other. Rama the god can accomplish anything, but Rama the general needs sub-commanders and troops. On his way westward and then south-eastward, Rama does what is necessary to acquire his allies, most specially Hanuman. To align Hanuman, Rama must aid Sugriva, the weaker of two monkey brothers. And to do this, Rama behaves in a cowardly manner. In concealing himself in the bushes and shooting Sugriva's brother Bali in the back, Rama comes the closest ever to being a cunning, flawed human being. But in the Ramlila—as in the Manas—this dastardly act is not condemned except by Bali himself. I never heard anyone in the crowd criticize Rama for doing what he does. These north Indians are savvy to the ways of politicians;

Indeed, in the lilas from Chitrakut through Pampasar and Kishkindha to Lanka, Rama shows himself to be most human. He is outmaneuvered by Ravana; he is tricked by Maricha; he is angered, saddened, and humiliated by the loss of Sita; he needs help from strangers—the brave old vulture Jatayu who loses his wings and his life battling Ravana in the sky and the monkeys and bears. These three lilas do not draw vast crowds. They are, in a sense, bridges and leaps from the brief idyllic time after Chitrakut to the turbulence ahead in Lanka.

In lila 17, Rama's human lila-self weeps upon losing Sita even as his god-self knows the whole story. Lila 17 shows Rama not only seeking Sita but also lecturing the assembled that women are not to be trusted. In this lila, after the mortally wounded Jatayu tells Rama that Ravana has taken Sita to Lanka, he takes the form of Vishnu ascending to heaven while Rama cremates his vulture's body. Ironically,

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