Natesan Seraman
Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost – A Comparative Study
In recent times Comparative literature has emerged as a new discipline. Its goal is to visualize and universalize the total literary activities of man. Comparative literature views literatures produced in all languages and in all countries as an indivisible whole. So the scope of a comparatist is not only beyond one language and literature. The minimum requisite of a comparative study is to start with at least two literatures. The comparatist reconciles his idea or a literature as a single universe of verbal expression. It was Gothe who spoke of 'welt - literature' first. He attempted to bring together the literatures of different civilizations and was also the first man to speak of 'welt-literature'. By 'welt-literature' Gothe meant the memorable works in all languages of the world and not the total mass of writing in languages. He wanted the common reader to come out of the narrow confines of his language and geography and to enjoy the finest achievements of man. But the "goal of a comparatist, as Sisir Kumar Das observes", is not in the sense that Gothe or Rabindranath Tagore had used it" (96). According to him 'world literature' is inclusive of all literary traditions. Comparative literature is a method of investigation, while world literatures, as Gothe meant, is the body of valuable literary works... Das further says: "Comparative literature differs from the study of single literatures not in method, but in matter, attitude and perspective. It can go on extending its area of operation - its ultimate limit is the literatures of the whole world". (97)
Wellek and Warren stress the need for a comparative study thus: "we recognize that there is one poetry, one literature, comparable in all ages, developing, changing, full of possibilities. Literature is neither a series of unique works with nothing in common nor a series of works enclosed in time-cycles of Romanticism or Classicism, the age of Pope and the age of Wordsworth. Nor is it, of course, the block-universe of sameness and immutability which an older Classicism conceived as ideal" (43). But it is said that Wellek and Warren's classic theory of literature only arrives at generalizations based on western theories. Now, a time has come to recognize theories developed independently. Arthur Kunst says, " ... the ultimate object of a comparative study of Asian and European literatures should be the creation of a truly comprehensive theory of literature, based not on a knowledge of mutually reinforcing works from English, French, Spanish, German, and a few other languages, but a knowledge of independently evolved imaginative traditions. This should be sufficient at least, to give literary theory validity at the descriptive level." (323)
No critical concepts can be culture-bound. K. Chelleppan points out: "In a sense Shakespearean comedy, particularly plays like 'As you like it' and 'Winter’s tale', is closer to the Indian mind because of the closer link it establishes between nature and human nature." (304) He also finds a synthesis of Greek tragedy and Indian dramatic pattern in T.S. Eliot's murder in the cathedral. As Chellappan says:
We are back in the world of Sangam poetry and Aeschylean drama, as in both the archetypal imagery is sensational, vegetative, and diurnal. But this does not and should not reduce literature to a monistic concept, which is meaningless. Comparative literary theory seeks universals through particulars, which it interprets in a wider perspective. The intersection of the particular and the universal as well as of the historical and the timeless is essential to a comprehensive theory of literature which is in a triadic and reciprocal relationship with the atomism of analysis and relative historicism (305).
It was V.V.S. Aiyar who first referred to the comparable aspects in Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost. But it was a book exclusively on Kamban's greatness. Ramakrishnan made a pioneering effort in 1977. The book is entitled as “The Epic muse - 'The Ramayana' and '
The focus of the present study is on the structural patterns in Kamban’s KambaRamayanam and Milton’s Paradise Lost. The first half of the book focuses on certain common patterns in the epics. Since both the poets have chosen age-old ‘myths’ as the subjects of their epics, some uniform mythical patterns are found in Kamban’s and Milton’s treatment of myth, structure and vision.They drive the readers towards an idea of a journey to perfection. The second half of the book focuses on the structural patterns of Kamban and Milton.
Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost as mythical recreations. Starting with the definition on the meaning of myth, the study traces some common mythical patterns shown in the epics. Joseph Campbell, a myth critic, knits all the myths in the world by one broad formula. He calls the common pattern as 'Separation, Initiation and Return' (30). Taking 'Return' as the vital chord Maccaffrey, another myth critic, confines all the myths in the world to a 'cyclical pattern'. This book traces this cyclical pattern in the epics Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost. There are some changeless mythical patterns, which can be fitted into various contexts and they seem to be continuously present in mankind. One such pattern is man's eternal quest for some 'Heavenly Truth'. After wandering in the 'mazes', human history has to merge one day with eternity. As Shelley philosophizes in Adonis, “Life is a dome of many colored glass/ that stains the white radiance of eternity” In between, man is like a warrior endlessly fighting monsters like Ravana and Satan. In each generation man has to encounter a serpent or a monster. But man gains experience by this encounter. Otherwise he would have remained forever in utter innocence. So man’s encounter with evil is inevitable and it is there with human beings always to perceive Truth. Man always finds evil in disguises. Illusions carry him away. But all these sufferings make him understand God and he is endlessly trying to elevate his soul towards perfection. It has become a necessity for man to dream a perfect land. Both Kamban and Milton have created 'utopias' of their own. Poets conceive their dreamlands as man's ultimate destination. So a quest for Truth or perfection is the ‘cyclical pattern’, which Maccaffrey points out commonly for all epics in the world. So a quest for truth is a larger cycle within which some smaller cycles like confrontation of good and evil, and restoration of a golden age are found.
Kambaramayanam has its source from old stories relating to Rama's deeds and particularly 'Ramayana' of Valmiki, a great saint and scholar. Rama's stories were available to Tamils since old Sangam period. Vardharajan in his book History of Tamil literature refers to certain incidents of Ramayana story in old Sangam poetry. He also says that Alwars praised Rama's heroic deeds (164). As emphasized by C.P. Venkatarama Aiyar, the merit of the story is such that it earned greatness to the poets (Intra. X). The story achieved greater importance because it always answers certain unsolved problems in our life. Kambaramayanam always teaches humanity the need for virtues. Unlike Paradise Lost, Kambaramayanam teaches virtues through its central character Rama himself. What a man is endlessly searching for is understood through the character Rama where as in Paradise Lost the teaching for virtues is hidden and implied. Rama is both a man and God. As God, Rama displays virtues which man should endlessly be struggling to attain. And as a man Rama encounters a lot of evil monsters on his journey. This indicates the pattern of necessary 'rise' and 'fall' in man's cyclical life while he is journeying towards perfection. So Rama enacts two roles - the man and the divine - which indicate one common pattern of a man's endless quest for Truth. Establishing virtue is the sole purpose of Rama's journey and as a man he journeys through 'mazes, pitfalls and labyrinths'. The confrontation with evil leads man to a newer experience. In Kambaramayanam, it is well understood through Sita's character. The hero's journey is marred by an evil, which is 'the cause of his sorrow'. Forced by an illusion, the hero, for the sake of his wife, becomes a victim of evil. Evil always wears disguises. Sita, Rama's wife, is deceived by illusion. Marica in disguise of a golden deer tempts Sita. (as Eve was tempted by a serpent). Sita yields to such an illusion and asks Rama to get her the golden deer. Despite the warning by Lakshmana, Rama proceeds to chase the golden deer. Sita is cheated by another illusory voice, which resembles her husband's voice. She urges Lakshmana to follow and she is left alone. Ravana in disguise of a Sanyasi, makes use of this opportunity and abducts her. This incident leaves Rama to endless sufferings. Ravana's abduction of Sita and her separation from Rama are incidents which make man more enduring. Later in Ashokavana, she could not be easily tempted. She is not only chaste and firm, but also understands what is 'Maya’(illusion) Her love for Rama is further strengthened. So in the scheme of nature, 'merging' of evil and good is essential for man's understanding of truth. There is the constant 'rise' and 'fall' found in Rama's journey. Right from the beginning of the epic down to his defeating Ravana in the end, Rama as a human being encounters evil one after another. So this mythical pattern of the confrontation of good and evil is well defined by Kamban. The philosophy that man is infinitely journeying from ignorance to truth is explained in Kambaramayanam through various characters and incidents.
Kamban envisions an ideal world 'Kosala'. It is the imagined paradise of Kamban. Life in Kosala is contrary to our earthly lives. This is utopia or a perfect world to which the human beings are endlessly striving to climb atop. This book chiefly explains the structural patterns in Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost. The purpose of the book is not to discuss the epic structures of the two epics, but to find out a mythical structural pattern similarly set in the two epics. By analyzing the plot and incidents of the epics one can derive at a pattern which shows the pyramidal structure implying ‘the return to the lost paradise in Paradise Lost and reaching the perfect state like Rama in Kambaramayanam.
In Paradise Lost as in Kosala, we find a world without complexities and sin. Eden is a perfect world. Agony and pain of the people have made human beings into imagining a world far away from earthly realities. The people have continuously believed that Eden is the final abode.
The unfulfilled desires and frustrations of the poets’ private life too might have influenced the epics. Most critics acknowledge the fact that 'Kosala' or 'Eden' might have been the result of poet's miserable life on earth. Both poets have created worlds resembling our earthly life contrasted with the worlds of order and perfection. The 'vision ‘of both the poets is also discussed as one of the 'cyclical patterns' with a brief picture of 'Kosala' and 'Eden'. Here also the study focuses in detail on the visions and the idea of a journey to perfection by the poet's creation of earthly and heavenly worlds. Though there are superficial variations in the topographical pictures envisioned by the poets, they convey the same pattern. Kosala and Eden are the worlds resemble our earthly life. Only very rare critical references and sources are available for Kamban, but the epic itself is generating a lot of ideas. We have abundant critical references available for
There are no authentic records to trace the biographical and historical happenings of the Kamban's period. Kamban's life is known by some references here and there made by some critics. C.P. Venkatarama Aiyar says that Kamban was found as a waif on the street and an elderly couple brought him up. He says Kamban's period may be Chola’s reign . P.S.V.Aiyar says that 'Kamban had to struggle hard with adverse destiny' (7). Ramakrishnan traces the historical background of Kamban's period. He observes that though the country was affluent in Kamban's time, some people might have been suffering out of evils such as 'greed, class, pride, casteist snobbery, political authoritarianism and Jingoism. According to Ramakrishnan the fall of Lanka symbolizes the end of social order (10) P.S.V. Aiyar says that Kamban imagines a socialite state of the future. (1) Arunachalam points out that Kamban's period 'was not as ideal and glamorous as he would have wished it' (4).
Kamban portrays three different worlds-Kosala, Kitkintha and Lanka. Kosala is the desired world of man. The other two worlds Kitkintha and Lanka depict symbolically lives governed by innocence and pride. The book focusses the three worlds presented by Kamban to point out the mythical idea that man after labouring in the worlds of pride and innocence must aspire for a world of perfection. Kamban's picture of Kosala stands as a proof to it. The following picture of Kamban about kosala explains the key concept of the book - a return to perfection. Kosala is very affluent that we can see gems on the paddy fields. Harvested paddy is touching the sky. Kitchens are always full of food. People are very charitable. Wealth of Kosala is such that people are very charitable. There is perfect harmony in the lives of all creatures. People have weddings of their own choice. They are very learned in literature and music. There is no greed for unlawful wealth and people always live a life of 'Dharma'. Women of that land too are very educated. They are not afraid of death because they never sin. Ayodhya is the capital of Kosala where walls are as high as the knowledge of a scholar and the depth of the moats could be compared to the lowly minds of the prostitutes. Four portals represent the four 'Vedas'. Men are not idle. There are no thieves because no one attempts to protect wealth. There are no beggars. Knowledge is endlessly sprouting here. Kitkintha, compared to Kosala, is a different world. Here the people are ruled by instincts and they lack depth of knowledge. They are known for their extreme likes and dislikes. As Kamban says people possess 'unclear minds'. The people of Kitkintha could be easily influenced. They change colours as water changes according to the land it reaches. People are not skilled in war but they are extremely emotional. Vali and Sugriva fight for a woman. Vali unjustly deprives Sugriva's wife. During his encounter with Rama, Vali says that their world is different. He stresses that the people have no laws and they can take any woman they wish. So they follow a direction their minds drag them to. Vali shows a beastly hatred to Sugriva, but he regrets and displays his immeasurable love for his brother. In short we can say Kitkintha is a world of innocence. Kamban portrays another world called Lanka - a world of pride. People of Lanka are extremely wealthy. The golden mansions of Lanka are touching the sky and appear like a celestial world. Everything is made of gold and a sparkling light is coming out of the mansions. But their glory is clouded. People are not hard workers and they spend their time in sensual pleasures. There is a great distance between the ruler and the ruled. The wealth is not earned of hard labour but by acquiring the wealth of the people of other countries. As Kamban says, sinful deeds of Ravana burn the sprouting Dharma. Reason does not direct the people of Lanka because they are extremely passionate. Ravana is a victim of such a fiery passion. It is a world of sins and temptations. The epic movement is triggered by the wild passions of Soorpanaga. Ravana and Soorpanaga could not control their emotions. They show their amorous feelings shamelessly.
Innumerable references validate the point that Milton's vision of an ideal world of perfection might have been the result of a spiritual ferment of his time. His own thirst for purity too contributed to the creation of "
The Vision of Milton does not fail to attract anyone in Paradise Lost. Like Kambaramayanam, Paradise Lost too pictures a world of innocence, pride and perfection. The book briefly presents the world of perfection as envisioned by Milton.
The description of Hell and some images of
The visions of Kamban and Milton convey a similar pattern of man's ascent. But the destiny of man is such that he has to 'lay vanquished' in the 'bottomless perdition' But he dreams of the perfect world endlessly till he reaches it one day. Ravana and Satan are prototypes representing our "vain wisdom" and "monarchical pride". Pride, innocence and dishonesty rule the minds of the people in life. So man aspires to return to the world of 'sweet order' and 'variety'. His soul is always longing to attain the world which of "truth, sanctity and purity".
The second part of the book analyses the structural patterns of Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost. The book explains similar structural patterns in both the epics. The purpose of the book is not analyzing the general outward epic structure of the two epics- that is to discuss epic features like narrative, grand style and so on. While studying the two epics, based on a structural point of view, (Theory of Structuralism) a pattern is visible. Le'vi strauss' theory of structuralism may be reminded to comprehend the structural cohesion of the two epics. Both the epics, which are elaborations of age - old myths, have deeper and apparent structures. By applying a re-arrangement theory of Le'vi-strauss, the study shows a similar deeper level meaning in both the epics. A deeper meaning lies behind the apparent one and that is about man's infinite attempt for an ascent to a perfect world. For instance, the apparent meaning of Kambaramayanam is destruction of Ravana, but the implied or deeper level meaning of the epic is directing humanity to a perfect world. Likewise, Paradise Lost too has the implied and hidden meaning of ‘man's ascent’ by narrating chiefly, his fall or sins. This book throws some light on the deeper structures in both the epics by comprehending the language, the structures which govern the epics, situations, plot and imagery. By rearranging the elements of the epics, a deeper structure is apparent.
Before discussing the structures it will be obvious if we could understand what ‘Myth’ is. The word myth has varied associations. This is derived from Greek, 'mythos' which means a plot or a narrative The Random House English Dictionary gives various shades of meaning: 1) A traditional or legendary story usually concerned with deities or demigods and the creation of the world and its inhabitants. 2) A story or belief that attempts to express or explain a basic truth; an allegory or parable 3) A belief or a subject of belief, whose truth or reality is accepted uncritically. The popular meaning of myth today is something that no person could possibly believe. One cannot avoid certain statements like "The unicorn is a mythica1 beast". Myth is defined as a constant element of value in the products of human civilization, particularly in religion and literature. The Harper Handbook to Literature defines myth as follows: "Certain stories have achieved a distinct importance as being connected with what the society feels, it most needs to know; stories illustrating the society, religion, history, class-structure or the origin of peculiar features of the natural environment" (301) But a folk tale is different from a myth. Though both have structural similarities, they vary in their social functions. Myth defines a cultural area and verbalizes society's major concern of religion and history.
The Harper Handbook to literature defines the function of myth thus: "The social function of myth divides into two aspects. First it is a structure of concern, telling a particular society what the society most wants to know; the names and relationships of its Gods, its laws and the origin of its class structure, its legends and historical reminiscences and the like. Second it is a means of symbolizing the ideals and aims of an established spiritual or temporal hierarchy (301). Contemporary psychology looks on myth as a veiled statement of fact about the interior world in which all psychological events are enacted as a story. M. H Abrahams defines its function thus:
" the myth was believed to be true by a cultural group and the stories served to explain why the world is as it is and things happen as they do, and to establish the rationale for social customs and observances and the sanction for the rules by which men conduct their lives" (102).
The mythic fable is to be taken as the record of some real happening. It is a 'resurrection' of some primitive reality. It records a prehistoric event from which all later realities in history are descended. These myths have created an influence on later history. They are prototypical and explanatory. As Maccaffrey says, "the original story is left behind as a sort of husk from which the kernel of meaning has been successfully retrieved" (11). Myth is not like fiction. It is a living reality, believed to have once happened and continuing ever since to influence the world. It provides a clue to many human experiences like a quest for some truth, confrontation of good and the evil, dreaming for a golden age lost and so on. It is explained as the prototype from which many ectypes have been produced. For example the Red Cross knight, in Faerie Queene challenges a dragon. It is a battle between good and evil. Yet it is not Christ who is battling here but the knight who is a copy. The knight repeats a pattern of prototypical Christ. Changeless mythological themes can be fixed into various contexts and be adapted to multiple meanings. They are more fundamental to human psyche than the theology. They are particularized and made concrete according to individual convictions. The individuals decide the themes and variations.
The focus of comparative mythology has recently been on arriving at a paradigm to which all the myths in the world could be related. These studies conceive meaning as a logical universal formula based on polarities. Levi-Strauss, a social anthropologist, is concerned with certain 'unconscious foundations' on which social life rests. All the myths in the world have structural similarities. Critics call them 'mono myth'. Joseph Campbell, in his book ‘A Hero with Thousand Faces' tries a formula to link all the myths. He calls it 'Separation - Initiation and Return (30). He gives emphasis to the last one called 'Return". It is the vital thread through which he analyses the myths around the world. Another writer called Maccaffrey reinforces the idea of
The epics Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost have a common mythical pattern. Though the epics stand on polarities, they appear similar while they recreate the mythical idea of ‘Return'. Culture and custom, language, and religion and time, and place divide the two poets. Yet, they focus on the-universal experiences of human beings since prehistoric times. Both epics imply the idea that man is a 'wayfarer' continuously in quest for perfection. While the quest is on, man has to encounter evil inevitably. The confrontation of good and evil is a mythical pattern. Man, the wayfarer has to reach the mountaintop of perfection. Both poets envision an 'ideal state'. Eden and Kosala are places of perfection towards which the quest is directed.
To know the truth is man's goal or he has to end up his journey from where he has begun. The plot and imagery of both the epics are structured to let us know this meaning of 'Return' to perfection. While a recovery of lost paradise or a perfect world is the final thread in Paradise Lost, establishing 'Dharma’ or realizing a perfect world is the last chord in Kambaramayanam.
"After wandering about the earth for some time, like some heavenly visitant, in holiness and righteousness, (Man's) spirit was to take its flight upward to the heaven where it had come and to return once more to the abode and home which was its birth right "(107)".
The mythical pattern in Ramayana story is stated by Srinivasa Sastri:
I want a man of flesh and blood like me who is subject to the same temptations who wants to eat well, who must have first class coffee in the morning, a human being like me, who goes through the life of struggling like me passed, tortured as most of us are. I want to know how a great man comes out of that all. That is great man, who going through the mill, undergoing my experiences, suffering my sufferings, enjoying my joys still comes out top overcoming all these handicap's and limitations showing his fullest development of grandeur of human character, approaching the divinity from which he came and I came and you came too (12).
Minor poems of Milton too reveal the same pattern. Lycidas may be called a miniature Paradise Lost. The loss and decay, fall and death, the journey of life in death and regained paradise imply a cyclical pattern. The paradigm of loss and return is also found in 'Samson Agonistes. Here the fallen man emerges Phoenix - like from the ashes of his dark fate. The shadowy journey of life is allegorized in the woodland wanderings of 'comus'. In Paradise Lost this idea is magnified. Paradise Lost stresses the idea that life is a quest through 'mazes, woods and labyrinths' and the journey is from complete innocence to knowledge. Adam's Journey was marred and made uncertain by the fall, the memory of it remains in the midst of our present day wanderings to urge the soul upward.
Maccaffrey says:
The Adam who leaves paradise to wander down to a lower world is a wayfarer and will always be unti1 the end returns to him to the beginning. He is, besides a warrior who must do battle with a monster within himself in order to complete his journey and the father figure of long line of heroes who will face in each generation a reincarnation of the old serpent (24)
In Kambaramayanam the pattern of a quest for truth is emphasized with, man's need for 'aram' (truth, wisdom and morale). The epic's structure and the meaning are so interwoven to stress the attainment of perfection, which is an uphill task. The epic's central point focus the idea of Thiruvalluvar, an ancient Tamil poet. The poet comments on domestic virtues thus:
Who shares domestic life, by household virtues graced
Shall, mid gods in heaven who dwell, be placed (Pope. Trans. Dom. Virtue 150)
Rama is an incarnation of Lord Krishna who descends from his celestial world to enact the role of man with a purpose of teaching humanity the truth about life. The character of Rama is portrayed as divine as well as a human. He plays a dual role. As divine he stands as a model for perfection. As a human being he is 'way faring' like Adam. His journey is also marred by his encounter with evil. Though the destruction of Ravana seems to be the ultimate purpose of Rama's journey, it is undertaken mainly to 'elevate' man to a divine status. Standing on a peak of perfection Rama draws every character or situation towards him. To quote Shelley's lines may be appropriate. 'Life's a dome of many coloured glass / stains the white radiance of eternity (Adonis) Rama descends from eternity, enters this world, represents many virtues and ascends. He imparts to the world the importance of 'Dharma' and '
.... He is the son of a king who had ruled the entire world. He is the root, the substance and the very form of Dharma extolled by external Vedas. He has no beginning, no middle, or end. He has no past, present and future. The Supreme Being is born to make the people of this world pursue Dharma and uphold Vedas. After destroying the wicked and relieving the distress of the virtuous, he will go back to his original place. He is Rama (HVH. 421-22).
The human journey is not smooth and there are the inevitable ups and downs. The rise and fall is a continuous thing during the journey. Both epics emphasize confrontation of the good and the evil through characters and situations. Truth can be understood well only in perplexities. Sheer innocence will hinder a clear understanding of Truth.
The perpetual confrontation of good and evil is pictured by Kamban through his characters Rama and Ravana. They are representing the images of good and evil respectively. Though the projection of good and evil are direct and straight in Kambaramayanam, they are implied in Paradise Lost. Only by necessarily falling into the pitfalls of life, man could reach the pinnacle of glory. Rama encounters combats evil from the beginning of the epic -Tatakai, Kharan, Manca, Ayomukhi, Soorpanaga and finally the grand foe Ravana. These are archetypal figures whom we meet in our daily life cunningly and subtly. Life is seen through a 'dark glass darkly'. Evil is often seen in disguise of good. Ravana goes to abduct Sita in disguise of a saint and Soorpanaga, his sister, makes advances to Rama in disguise of a beautiful woman. Sita's attentions are carried away by a 'golden deer' called Marica and Kaikeyi falls a victim to the evil machinations of Manthara. These situations in the epic impart the idea that man's illusions are exploited by the evil. Temptation is not evil. As Allen Tate says, there is always "a temptation to sin" and an urge "not to do the decent thing". And he further says that "Henry James calls it 'a decent thing' and advises not to do it" (166). The cause of the tragedy of Kambaramayanam is, Sita's falling a victim to the temptation of Ravana. Here the good merges with the evil to know Truth. An ignorant Sita attains knowledge by her merger with evil.
Good and evil were first distinguished when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. As Maccaffrey says: 'When our first parents ate the apple, good and evil leaped forth as a monstrous birth, compounding elements that had hitherto been separate " (34) Satan himself explains his purpose by saying "Earth with Hell to mingle and involve" (PL 2 383-84). While man represents the image of good, Satan represents the image of evil. The epic moves from an 'unfallen' condition of man to a 'fallen' state. Some critics call this as 'fortunate fall' because man is journeying from an innocent state to a knowledgeable state. This is because of the 'cleaving together' of good and evil.
It was from out of the rind of one apple tasted, that the knowledge of good and evil, as twins cleaving together, leaped forth into the world. And perhaps this is that doom which Adam fell into knowing of good and evil; that is to say, of knowing the good by evil. As therefore the state of man now is; what wisdom can there be to choose, what continence to forbear, without the knowledge of evil (Areopagitica 15)
Vision and prophecy are the elements of myth. In the quest for truth through the confrontation of good and evil, human soul progresses steadily towards a blissful land. As Blake says, "Vision or Imagination is a representation of what eternally exists" Sir Herbert-Grierson calls Milton as 'prophetic' (31) and a number of Tamil critics have classified Kamban among the prophetic poets. Our earthly life is difficult, intricate and mysterious. We find innumerable mazes and pit falls in this world. Hence both the poets are prophesying a 'golden age'.
Kamban's 'Kosala' is an ideal world. It is unlike our earthly life. There are no 'mazes' and 'pit falls'. People are not cunning and malicious. The word 'Ramarajya' (Heavenly Kingdom) has been in our daily usage with a meaning of an Ideal state. In 'Kosala' one finds pure love and affection; scholarship and sophistication; peace and happiness; wealth and education. It is the world of Dharma to which the poet draws our attention. There are two other worlds - Kitkintha and Lanka - representing innocence and pride. These worlds represent our mundane life. The poet is making us aware of the need of man's purposeful journey from innocence and pride to a world of perfection. The poet wishes a world without hypocrisy and subtle cunningness. Hence, he prophesizes utopia, where man's prolonged aspirations are fulfilled. As Browning says, 'Broken arcs in earth, a perfect round in Heaven. Milton's creation of 'Eden' too is an ideal state. While Man is the image of God,
The Ramayana story has been popular among the Hindu societies since ancient times. It is imbibed with the people's lives and is available in all world languages. This story gives an endless flow of virtues through ages. Rama is an embodiment of perfection. He displays all virtues of life. Sita is the symbol of womanhood in Indian. Many stories have sprouted out of this single largest mythical tree. The story plays its role in every walk of life. As T. P Meenakshi Sundaram says, "poets have made many ornaments out of this primitive gold" (98). The Ramayana story is familiar throught the country. The characters are like the members of a society. Some of us are Ramas and Sitas; Ravanas and Soorpanagas; Lakshmanas and Guhans. The incidents and situations resemble our everyday lives. Hence the poet has chosen the popular myth as the subject of the epic. Unlike other poets, Kamban has more freedom to talk about the need of virtues.
The source of Kambaramayanam is Valmiki's Ramayana. Valmiki was a great saint and scholar who first ventured the versification of the Ramayana story. Kamban himself says, "The history of this great Rama was written by sage valmiki while the poem has been widely acclaimed as the best in the country, I, the humblest of the humble, have dared to compose my own verses" (KR-BK-32-HVH.3). Stories relating to Rama's deeds have been in currency since ancient periods of Tamil literary history. (Before Kamban's Ramayana) The Purananuru, a work of ancient Sankam period, narrates an amusing incident from Ramayana story: "when Ravana abducted Sita from the hermitage, she tied all her jewellery in a bundle and dropped it at Kishkintha. It fell into the hands of monkeys. They opened the bundle, beheld the jewellery with astonishment and happily wore them in a disorderly manner". (Varadharajan164) The devotional songs of Alwars also narrate many incidents relating to Rama's heroic deeds and the entire story of Ramayana in a brief form. C. P. Venkatarama Aiyar admires the Ramayana story thus:
The popularity of the story is not entirely due to the versification of Valmiki. Some stories have been rendered great by the greatness of the writer. Others have gained reputation by the merit of the story, which they had the good fortune to versify. It is not a bold assertion to make that great as is the poem composed by Valmiki, greater is the theme, greater still is the veneration of the hero. Valmiki has been supplemented in various literatures of this country. Every language has immortalized itself by reproducing the story. (Intro.X.)
Kamban has chosen such a great mythical story, which emphasizes the hero's quest for Truth. All the heroes of the western epics undertake a journey. Rama, the hero of Kambaramayna, too undertakes a journey with a purpose of establishing Dharma in this world. What attracts our attention is the poet's handling of the myth, which has a pattern similar to many myths in the world. Earlier Joesph Campbell's formula of myths has been discussed. He emphasizes a point called 'Return', which could be linked with many myths in the world. (His theory is that all the myths in the world can be linked with a formula called (Separation - Initiation and Return) Joesph Campbell has given a broader pattern. His structurallstic approach to study myths appear meaningful. He says that certain epics have a cyclical pattern. The point of 'Return' of
The human personality consists of different sides functioning in diverse aspects of life. In most human beings only one or two of these facets are well shown. The rest, lack perfection. In the life of Rama each facet of human personality is seen projected to absolute perfection. Rama's journey reflects his various roles of idealistic perfection. He was a perfect son, an ideal king, a true husband, a real friend, a devoted brother, and a noble enemy. Rama plays the role of an ideal man to show mankind the meaning of perfection. There are numerous instances in the epic showing his multifaceted virtues. His learning Vedas from Vasista, the saint, his moving with all kinds of people, his killing of Tataka (an evil monster), redeeming 'Akalika' of her sin, his love for Sita, his virtue of loving none other than his wife, display of bravery by breaking the mighty bow, his adopting even strangers as his own brother, his obeying elders, his forgiving nature, his display of a noble heart of an enemy to Ravana, his great prowess in war, are some of the many virtues, the hero displays through his journey. Rama's 'virtues' is the mount to which the human beings are drawn. A myth can be well understood only by its implications. Here Ravana's destruction is the final cause. We call this a denouement. It may be appropriate when we analyse the plot line of the epic. What attracts one's attention is the 'hill' of perfection called Rama who is an Ideal hero. The ironical fact is that the personification of virtue itself undergoes the experiences of human sufferings. In Kambaramayana it is ‘man’(Rama) who is in search of Truth; who should follow or at least try to find the virtues of the Divine. The people of India believe and follow the idealistic creation called Rama. They are endlessly trying to reach such a height in their lives. As VV.S Aiyar points out "The fascination which the character exercised upon the mind of Hindustan is a measure of the great art with which our poet (Kamban), among others, has delineated him ... All the qualities that belong to the hero are found to be in him to perfection" (47-48).
It would be appropriate here to show some of the many virtues Rama shows to humanity. Kamban beautifully portrays Rama's stoicism in the coronation scene. The people are eagerly waiting for Rama's coronation, unaware of Kaikeyi's evil designs in the bedchamber, (that Rama should go to wilderness and Bharatha should reign) Rama is ordered to appear before Kaikeyi. Rama prays and prostrates himself at her feet. But Kaikeyi says: "The king has ordered that your brother Bharatha shall rule his kingdom and you shall go out to the jungle, live in the matted locks in the company of saints, perform penance, bathe in the holy rivers and return in fourteen years" Rama does not evoke the natural sentiments of a man here. He seems rejoiced at this 'heartless' command. The poet says that Rama's face which before hearing the command, resembled the lotus in freshness and charm, outshone the fresh blown lotus after hearing the command. A fine display of stoicism and affection of Rama is described by Kamban thus:
Were it not the kings command but yours
Would I disobey it?
This very moment I take leave of you
And set out for the forest (Maharajan.27)
At another instance Rama's display of fraternal feelings to a savage hunter is shown. Guha is the very personification of unconditioned love and devotion. He helps Rama in the jungle with food and shelter. While Rama proceeds with his journey, Guha expresses his wish to accompany him and serve all the fourteen years of exile. To him Rama says:
Thou art dear to me as life, and this my brother
In brother to thee as well, and this fair one
Is kin to thee .... Happiness comes to us
Alone in the wake of misery, Grieve flat
Therefore that now we part: we were but four
Before: today with the we're brothers five
Attached one to another wish loving bonds. (V.V.S. Aiyar 51 )
As V. V. S. Aiyar says:
"It is this large heart that embraces all, forgives all, receives all, that has endeared his name to all the children of Hindustan from generation to generation. And it is this same grandeur of soul that has raised him from the position of an ordinary emperor to that of the hero of the great national epic Bharatha Khanda and from the position of the epic hero to very godhood" (66).
The affection of Rama for Hanuman is the affection of a great guru for a great disciple. It is to Hanuman that he entrusts his ring and a message. Rama's love for Sita is profound. It was the love for Sita that made him disregard Lakshmana's warning and go after the golden deer himself and thus sow the sea of endless misery to himself. It is this love that has been teaching infinitely the great concept of monogamy in
The eternal confrontation of good and evil is another smaller mythical pattern within a larger pattern ‘separation – Initiation and return’. Man's struggle to achieve something is also symbolically perceived by the constant ups and downs in the heroes' journey of the epic. From Balakanda to Yudhakanda, there are the constant encounters with evil. In Balakanda, Rama's glory and education are portrayed. An encounter with evil begins in the book when Rama kills a demon, named Tadaka. Then Rama's breaking the bow and his marriage with Sita is shown in Ayodhya Kanda. The same book gives an account of the evil designs of Kaikeyi and Rama's exile. Another encounter with evil is shown in Aranya kanda where Soorpanaga (a demon sister of Ravana) makes advances to Rama. At this instance Lakshmana cuts her nose and teaches her a lesson. This incident triggers another evil Ravana, who cunningly abducts Sita. Then Rama embraces the good and prepares to make war with Ravana. In Yudhakanda, Rama encounters and wins the evil embodiment Ravana and recaptures Sita. The poet let us know through these events a changeless mythical idea implying to us that encountering evil is the inevitable path of life.
This confrontation of good and evil leads to wisdom. Only by a merger of good and evil, a revelation is possible. Otherwise men would have remained innocent. Of course, complexities and deceitfulness of things make our life miserable. But man is journeying from Innocence to Truth. Illusions and temptations deceive men. Manthara, an evil hunchback, disturbs the calmness of Kaikeyi. Soorpanaga tries to tempt Rama, in disguise of a beautiful woman. Marica, in disguise of a golden deer, cheats Sita. Even Rama is fascinated by such a fine illusion. Ravana is in disguise of a sanyasi abducts Sita, Maruttan appears a 'false' Janaka before Sita in Asokavana. These are disguises and illusions of prototypical nature, which remind us of a 'maze' in our life. Of all the incidents, Sita's enchantments by a golden deer drive have the point of good and evil confrontation vividly. Sita is attracted by a golden deer and desires to possess it. Despite Lakshmana's warning, Rama wants to chase it for the sake of Sita. Rama's words to Lakshmana are noteworthy. “Brother! Even experts cannot know everything in this changing world. Who would not be attracted by this beautiful deer". This illusion leads Sita and Rama to endless misery. As Parthasarathy says," if man's attention and interest are upon the inner self and not the enhancement of the world. He would ever remain peaceful and happy whether he be placed in a state of prosperity or penury" (86). Sita in Aranyakanda is innocent but the self same Sita in Ashoka Vana is wise because suffering has made her so matured. Had Eve and Sita not see" enchanted, they would have remained ignorant”god puts people them under high sufferance for the purpose of exercising or manifesting their faith or patience as in the case of Abraham and Job- to attain perfection.
Kamban envisions a world of perfection, which the poet implies as the ultimate destination of man's journey. Earlier it was said that the very journey of Rama is undertaken to establish an orderly world. Poet symbolically creates a model world. His world 'Kosala' is an ideal world. The implication is that every soul should reach Kosala after the necessary rise and fall of life's journey. Maccaffrey calls vision and prophecy as elements of myths. Ramakrishnan observes 'Kosala' as the imagined ‘golden age’ of Kamban (49-52). Another critic Varadharajulu Naidu enlists the entire ideal places and actions in Kosala (8-27). Abdul Rehman talks of the idea of the 'ideal politics' in Kosala (13-14). Many critics have explained that Kosala is a dreamland as
A disorderly state is often contrasted'"with 'Kosala' for its orderliness. The King and the Kingdom are the ideals to which all the human beings aspire to get into. The human journey begins from the stages of innocence and pride to a perfect state. Kishkintha and Lanka are lands of innocence and pride. After crossing these states man has to reach a "golden" state called 'Kosala'. Though the description of 'Kosala' occupies a smaller portion compared to the enormous vastness of the epic, it may be understood as the symbolical mount of perfection. A
The living beings in Kosala live perfect harmony. As in Eden, there is no distance between man and nature. "The motherly affection of these buffaloes resulted in milk flowing from their udders. The cygnets would drink this milk and go to sleep lulled of the songs of greenish frogs "In such a land" people had" weddings of their choice" and 'they took pleasure in feasting their guests and seeing their faces beam with happiness' (KR- BK-46-HVH 7). Kosala levied tax without pain, there was total compassion for its subjects. People had no greed for "unlawful wealth". The people did not commit sins, anger never entered their hearts because of their nobility. They performed only righteous deeds. They never deviated from the path of Dharma. Kamban says, " There was great conformity between the internal culture and the external beauty of the people of this land. Justice prevailed because the people of Kosala did not lead illusionary lives; Virtues got stabilized because of the unique genuine qualities of the women; and because of their chastity, seasonal rains never failed" (KR-BK-59-HVH11). Kamban compares the height of the walls of the city to the height of knowledge of an Ayodhyan Scholar. The four excellent portals are like four Vedas, and in that land there are no thieves, no beggars, no pseudo scholars, no poor, and no wicked. It very much resembles Gonzalos' commonwealth in Shakespeare's "The Tempest".
The creation of an ideal world by Kamban is an indication of the poet's and peoples longing for such a paradise. Our world is filled with treachery, sin, and lack of true knowledge, needs and poverty. Man has always been dreaming of a perfect land. Kamban expresses through his vision, the man's need to reach an orderly state. And this pattern with same superficial changes found alike in major epics of the world.
Man is a "wayfarer" who is battling endlessly in search of the truth is the central idea of Paradise Lost. Though "man's disobedience" to God and his fall are the apparent in Paradise Lost, the destiny of "fallen man" wiykd imply the readers of the old mythical idea of man's endless quest for truth. Man's life appears cyclical. As Phillip wheelwright has said "time spirals rather than marches"(164). In Paradise Lost we see the major events like the Creation, the Fall of man, the Redemption by Christ and the Last Judgement. Life originates from 'Bliss' and ends to recapture it. They are linked by images of patience and faith; of warfare and victory, of death and life. These events can be said as the repetition of primitive life patterns.
This mythical pattern is also reflected in the other poems of
The epic Paradise Lost is a replica of Kambaramayanam in its mythical pattern. When we rearrange the apparent and hideen elements of both the epics a common chord – return to perfection’ in visible. An analysis of the apparent art line of Paradise Lost would help: The earlier books narrate Satan’s war in Heaven and his fall into Hell. The story actually begins with the life of the ‘unfallen’ Adam and Eve in the fourth book. The original parents of mankind are here presented with their native simplicity, innocence and charm. But the sophisticated world of modern men and women are lost in their petty struggle and hatred and jealousies.
Then let us not think hard
One easy prohibition, who enjoy
Free leave so large to all things else, and choice
Unlimited of manifold delights
But let us ever praise Him and extol
His bounty (PL 4-431-436)
With innocence and purity, faith and obedience, Adam and Eve with their mutual affection and - their devout attachment to each other. They are in the poet's phrase "the loveliest pair that ever since in loves embraces met" Johnson says, "To Adam and Eve are given during their innocence, such sentiments as innocence can generate and utter. Their love is pure benevolent, and mutual veneration. Their repasts are without luxury and their diligence without toil. Their addresses to their maker have little more than the voice of admiration and gratitude fruition left them nothing to ask and Innocence left them nothing to fear" (58).
But this innocence should undergo an experience to complete the cycle. If book IV deals with the enjoyment of Eden, Book IX describes its loss.
Earth felt the wound and nature from her seat
Signing through all her works, gave signs of woe
That all was lost (PL-9-782-83).
Adam and Eve acquire knowledge of the discerning type but it also brings them inconveniences. They realise for the first time that they are naked and it is wrong about to move about in that state. Man has lost his innocence but has gained a new experience through his merger with the evil.
Satan is the "artificer of fraud". This deceitfulness of things makes life a struggle and a hill to be 'laboured up'. These mazes and pitfalls of life are to be 'culled out and sorted asunder'. Man has to wage an eternal battle against these 'artificers of fraud'. The daily warfare is not only a contest but it is an effort to see them clearly. As Tillyard says,: " ..... in the end humanity finds itself able to attain an inner paradise better than the paradise it must give up" (167). The fall fortunately led man to perceive a new knowledge. But for Satan's corruption of man he would not have attained a new experience. He would have remained in stark innocence. Milton himself says about this in his Areopagitica:
Good and evil as we know in the field of this world grow up together almost inseparably; and the knowledge of good is so involved and interwoven with the knowledge of evil, and in so many cunning resemblances hardly to be discerned that those confused seeds which were imposed upon psyche as an incessant labour to cull out and asunder were not more intermixed ... Therefore the state of man now is: what wisdom can there be to choose, what continence to forbear without the knowledge of evil? (15)
The first stage is a 'brief Idyll' in the garden. It is the stage of innocence. The second stage is the 'fall' where man gains a new knowledge and third stage is the 'recovery of paradise'. The past should be recaptured. After a prolonged journey, man should reach the 'Happy realms of light'. This archetypal event of man's mourning for the lost age of simplicity is recorded in Book IX of Paradise Lost:
Must I thus leave thee paradise? Thus leave
Thee native Soil, these happie walks and shades
Fit haunt of Gods? Where I had hope to spend
Quiet though sad, the respit of that day
That must be mortal to us both. O flowrs
That never will in other Climate grow,
My early visitation, and my last
At ev'n which I bred up with tender hand
From the first op'ning bud and gave ye Names
Who now shall rearo ye to the Sun or ranke
Your Tribes, and water from Th' ambrosial Fount (PL 11.269-79).
Adam and Eve's descendents seem to echo this ancestral lament. The 'fall' led to man's complete revelation. It is let known to man through Michael that Adam and Eve must prepare to leave
Oh goodness infinite, goodness immense'
That all this good of evil shall produce,
And evil turn to good; more wonderful
Than that by which creation first brought forth
Light out of darkness! full of doubt I stand,
Whether I should repent me now of sin
By me done and occasioned or rejoice
Much more, that much more good thereof shall spring
(PL 12.469-476)
As Ruddick observes: "Adam and Eve leave paradise in search of a paradise within' through submission to Gods will and life long efforts to obey it" (37).
Som natural tears they dropd, but wip'd them soon;
The world was all before them, where to choose
Thin place of rest, and
They hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow,
Though
(PL 12-646-49)
This mythical pattern of man's quest for a perfect world is further understood by
So much the rather thou Celestial light
Shine in ward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from thence
Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell
Of things invisible to mortal sight (PL 3.51-55)
The Garden is surrounded by verdurous walls full of trees and shrubs. It is inaccessible. Conveniently the garden is raised on a subterranean stream and the water gushes forth in the shape of fountains in some places. Such a natural process waters the Garden.
Vernal airs breathing the smell of field. Grove attunes the trembling leaves. Universal pan in a cosmic dance Knit with Graces and Hours install the eternal spring.
This is the scheme of things that
Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost are the resurrections of some primitive reality. They give light to some changeless mythological patterns such as 'man in quest of some heavenly Truth'. These are "roots" from which endless branches spring and from these gigantic original circles are created endless smaller circles. These changeless mythological pattern can be fit into various contents and be adapted to multiple meanings. The epics are more convincing to the human psyche than theology. The original and mythic ancestor of humanity is released from the remotest regions of earth and is restored in the epics. There are some variations in the treatment of myth. For instance, in Kambaramayanam the character Rama is both an image of perfection as well as the 'man in quest of Truth'. But in Paradise Lost, Adam is the man in guest. Both epics show light to the mythical idea of the man's confrontation with evil also. They show how man becomes a victim of the evil designs of the devils. It adds light to the central idea of quest. Both poets envision the perfect lands as the destination of mans eternal journey. Hence a cyclical mythical pattern of life may be traced in both the epics.
.
Initially the book traces various interpretations on structure by Western and Eastern critics. Aristotle says that structure is a 'unified whole' with due significance to its various parts. Northrop Frye insists on 'wholeness, transformation and self-relegation' in structure. John Crowe Ransom and
Kambaramayanam is an epic of six cantos consisting ten thousand five hundred and sixty nine lines. The six cantos have many episodes, some smaller and some bigger. Right from 'Balakanda" which speaks chiefly of Rama's birth and growth, down to Rama's defeating Ravana in "Yuddha Kanda" all the incidents contribute to one factor called 'Ravana's Destruction'. But what is more interesting and illuminating is the meaning of perfection derived by unifying the key events of the epic. Though innumerable incidents contribute to building a temple of perfection, the study chooses three major incidents in the epic, which also, like the vision of the poets, reinforce the mythical idea of a 'Return' to perfection. The three events of the epic not only contribute to its movement but also reveal the idea of necessary ‘rise’ of man to a divine state. The events are (I) Kaikeyi's evil designs (ii) The incident of Rama's slaying of Vali and (iii) Ravana's destruction. Rama's steady elevation from the level of an ordinary human being to a state of divinity could be observed from these incidents. The three stages represent three dominant virtues needed for man. They are (i) repenting for one's own faults (ii) pardoning other's faults and (iii) pardoning and doing good to the others.
The first step towards perfection is understood through, the incident of Rama's slaying of Vali. Rama is shown mostly in human situations. During a combat with Vali, Rama kills him from behind a bush, which is considered as a violation of Dharma. Many critics have written in support of this single incident. There are others who condemn this. (i) Rama killed Vali because vali abducted his own brother's wife. And usurped his kingdom, Rama has also promised Sugriva that he would retrive his kingdom for him. Though Rama's act (ie. Slaying vali from behind) could be justified on these grounds, Rama's repenting for his act elevates him to divine level. He feels for it. He asks Vali's son to 'tolerate' or 'bear this' by offering his sword to him. This is understood as a rarest gesture. He also feels for the 'annexed'
Paradise Lost consists of twelve books with a total number of ten thousand five hundred and sixty five lines in blank verse. The first two books narrate Satan's unholy war in Heaven, his fall, and his plan to seduce man. While Book III narrates the son's promise of redeeming man, Book IV renders an account of life of ‘unfallen’ Adam and Eve. Books V to VII give us, through Raphael and others, stories relating to creation, war and man’s danger by Satan. In Book IX we see fall of man by eating the forbidden fruit and the last three books (Books X XI and XIII) present to us the sorrowful condition of man and his hope for recapturing the lost kingdom. Paradise Lost deals with a familiar story from Myth. Since the story is chosen from a popular myth, a normal straight narrative pattern is impossible. There is no suspense as one finds in many stories, but one notices expanding implications. The interest of the story lies in the 'psychic landscapes' let known to us through some happenings and images. Paradise Lost is not a typical epic. It diverges from Homer, Virgil and Tasso in its subject and intention. Though
When the epic chiefly speaks of 'fall', it implies naturally the inevitable 'rise' also already, the chief mythical pattern is indicated as Disobedience, Woe and Restoration of what was lost. So the chief intention of the poet is to imply man's endless attempt to climb a pyramid of perfection. So the study initially traces the 'fall' of Satan and Adam. As many critics have observed, Satan is more human than devilish. But in the initial stages he is pictured in the epic as a demon. He is compared with Leviathan, a sea monster and he changes his shape as a frog or a serpent or an elf. Satan, like Ravana in Kambaramayanam, is full of sins. He has fallen through intemperance, he has committed incest with his daughter, sin, and he has reached beyond the bounds of moderation in his pride, ambition, envy and rage. And the crown of all his evil is his seduction of man. But he is presented as possessing admirable qualities also. His leadership qualities, his courage, his readiness to do what others dare not are some of his admirable characteristics. Since a section called 'Image of evil' deals with this aspect separately, here the study traces the intention of
Adam is a parallel to Satan. He has the same 'rise and fall' structural pattern. Wilburn says 'he shares something of Satan's inner complexity' and he is also touched "by some of his (Satan) heroic greatness and radical aspirations.
When one accumulates the usage of words and images of
The epics show the concept of natural seeking after perfection through their images of divine, evil and nature. The mythical pattern actually gets enlightened with an array of these images. The section imagery is divided under three headings (i) the image of the divine (ii) the image of evil and (iii) the image of nature. All these sections focus on one idea a return to perfection through the images of the divine, evil and nature. The study also briefly sees the quality of such images used by the poets at the end of every sub-sections.
A brief account of mythology and religious background of the poets is pointed out for a clear understanding of the images. The Hindu and Christian conception of God in both the mythologies have certainly influenced the poets in creating divine images. Though the epics are reflecting two different religions, an 'unconscious' chain called perfection links the images.
The character of Rama represents two images. As an image of human who is struggling to reach the mountain top of perfection and as a divine – the embodiment of perfection itself. It can be said obviously that Rama is both the man and the
Milton's images of the divine also show the path to purity. Tillyard says, "The ending end of all earthly learning is virtuous action.
The image of evil in Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost is presented as a contrast to the image of good. To show what is perfection’, it is necessary to show imperfection. While creating the image of orderliness, the poets are necessitated to form the image of disorderliness. The presence of evil is necessary to understand the good. The presentation of larger than life like images of Ravana and Satan reiterate the mythic idea of a ‘return to perfection’ elaborately. They represent a process of degeneration to understand a process of elevation. The presentation of the image of evil by both the poets reminds us the presence of evil in our life. Both the poets present them not merely as monsters but as suffering human beings. Though they possess a devilish exterior, they have tormenting human souls. Though they are known for their heroism, valour, and rhetoric, they are victims of pride. But for their 'flaws' they would have even excelled the image of good. The way they are heroically presented by the poets drove the critics as pro-devils or anti-devils. In spite of their rich nature they seem cynical and disorderly. Pandemonium and Lanka too attribute to their cynicism. Both poets clearly point out the degeneration of Ravana and Satan from being great emperor or archangel to a pathetic armless warrior or a vicious 'hissing' snake. Their disguises, cunningness, lust and other vices are also pointed out. Evil is presented in a manner as if it is good. Both poets have presented evil with abundant images.
Kamban's Ravana is not a devil. He may have ten heads and blood shot eyes, but he is also a suffering human like a Shakespearean hero, with a tormenting sense of despair. Both Rama and Ravana are the creations of Kamban. If Rama represents the need of a man's virtuous life, Ravana represents the symbol of degeneration. There are the pro and anti Satanists and Ravanish in the critical world. Kamban's idea is to drive home the idea of good through the creation of evil. Ravana is delineated with noble qualities, but his vices dominate over the virtues and he seals his own fate.
Ravana's death is not caused by any vaulting ambition or a family feud. It is the consequence of his lust for a woman who is another man's wife and it is fueled by his indomitable pride. The picture of Lanka by Kamban is unique. It excels even the celestial world of
Satan is projected with a 'heroic' quality. He shows vigour, determination, leadership, and valour. On certain grounds, he can be equated with Achilles and Odysses. He appears as a born-leader with all majesty. As
But one may trace the degeneration of such a great hero. As C. S. Lewis puts it, Satan steadily degrades from being a leader to a 'hissing' snake. Initially, Satan is shown as a great loader and a rhetorician. He breaks the horrid silence by his speech. Satan informs them of the secrets of God. He teaches them how a direct war with God is useless. From being a leader with indomitable pride, he degenerates into a cunning politician. He suggests to the fallen angels of a devious and insidious' plan of making a cunning war with God. As a 'prowling wolf and cunning 'thief he enters Garden of Eden to seduce 'Man', the darling of God. He takes a malicious pleasure in thinking of destroying God's creation. He takes the form a serpent, which shows another mark of his degradation. He corrupts man and is punished for his act. Finally God converts him into a snake.
But Satan is not without a human touch. In Book IV the readers can see his introspection. His inner debate and self-criticism reveal his human agony. He concedes his own criminality and he owns responsibility for his fall. He realizes in his soliloquy that the only way of escape is subjecting his will to God. Certain images of
Nature imagery in both the epics conveys both good and evil connotations according to situations and moods of the characters. They remind the readers of the 'divine scheme'. Nature represents virtue, morale, rituals, and emotions in both the epics. Sometimes nature connotes the perplexities of human life. Both poets point out a correspondence between man and nature. Since God is the 'author of the universe', God is reflected in nature. Nature, very appropriately correlate with some patterns already noted. 'Vallambrosa' simile is an instance in
Kamban praises man and his virtues through nature. Though it is impossible to trace the entire nature imagery of Kamban, a few images are chosen in this study to follow his chief concern. The 'River Sarayu' defines Kamban's idea even at the beginning of the epic. The swelling flood of the river reminds poet the unlimited fame of king Manu, ancestor of Rama's kingdom. Sarayu exhibited power over the land like the good and bad deeds on the interchange of birth of living beings. It also reflects infinity. The idea of a universal brotherhood is displayed by the harmonious living of all creatures in Kosala. The image echoes the idea of such a kind of living in the epic itself. Rama gives his last respects to 'Jatayu' (a bird). He helps ‘the monkey’ king Sugreeva. He takes Hanuman, a monkey also as his loving brother. The sun is a recurring image in Kamban’s epic. Most of the time it is meant as God witnessing the events of the play. But it participates in the main events of the epic. It also reflects various human emotions in the epic. The moon kindles the full moon and the peeping moon reflect different moods of the characters. To Ravana the moon was like ‘The shining poisonous fang of Adisesha’ (a deadly snake in mythology) when the moon disappeared, the darkness resembled the darkness of the ignorant minds. Beautiful women standing in Mithila is compared to ‘billion moons’. When Rama left for forest, Bharatha’s face looked like a ‘waning moon’. Even moon has a black spot, but Sita has not. There are many instances in the epic showing the perfect comparison of nature to events in the epic. Hanuman’s surveying the beauty of Lanka, and the beauty of palaces are some of the many such instances. These images collectively help building a pattern of structure signifying the Pyramidal virtue.
The construction or organization of a literary work is called structure. "The conception of structure includes three aspects: wholeness, transformation and self-regulation. The necessity for wholeness or unity in a literary work has been recognized since Plato; transformations are seen in the endless re-telling of familiar stories ... self regulation is evident in the fact that literature is not dependent on factors external to itself." (Northrop Frye 446) According to Warren, "poetry does not inhere in any particular element but depends upon the set of relationships, to form the structure which we call the poem" (181). John Crowe Ransom observes that" the whole should never be lost in the study of the part, for though the parts may be quite significant of themselves, still they derive their substance largely from the fact that they together have the capacity to constitute a more significant and complete whole. It is only an amateur who gets carried away by his attractions of one or many of the parts while an accomplished artist succumbs not to the temptation of appreciating a part, in preference to the understanding of the whole "(182). Structure became the basis of the critical movement known as structuralism, the concept of which is derived largely from the works of a linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure and an anthropologist, called Levi-Strauss. The emphasis on structure in literary criticism first arose in the twentieth century. It began as a reaction against the emphasis on "texture". John Crowe Ransom, Cleanth Brooks and many new critics emphasized a totality of impression apart from the textual impressions.
But Aristotle was the pioneer in "structural criticism" though the term was coined by twentieth century critics. He stresses in his 'Poetics' the imperative nature of unity of action. "There should be a harmonious blending of the various incidents and events portrayed in a work of art; and these various strands should be entwined into a bonded relationship that they hold together to form a unified whole, a well-knit poem, which has no loose ends, no superfluous parts each, parts with its due share of significance adheres to the whole in such well-ordered merit that not a word could be removed without damaging the organic unity. (Aristotle. 79) He further explains "the plot (of an epic) being an imitation of an action must imitate one action and that a whole, the structural union of the parts being such that, if anyone of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed" (42). Aristotle also emphasized an action with a beginning, middle and an end. At the same time grandeur of its effect must be produced by the variety of its episodes. They help break the monotony and lead to a 'wholeness' of meaning.
Thus Aristotle paved a way for modern outlook on structure. Though there are variations in principles, the Aristotelian method remains unchanged. For the
Aristotle's influence is traced in Ransom. He discussed several Aristotelian principles and they seemed to him to relate to twentieth century. "In the New Criticism', Ransom discussed that younger new critics set forth for the needed ontological criticism. It demands first the consideration of structural properties, which is best, exemplified in the criticism of Yvor winters. The second requirement is appreciation and judgement of the texture or local peculiarity of meaning in the poem" (242).
Indian epic tradition is also aware of the concept of structure. As Aristotle laid a foundation for epic structure in his 'Poetics', Dandin, a Sanskrit scholar laid certain rules in his 'Kavya - Dharsha'. He gives a distinctive and comprehensive account of the characteristics of 'Mahakavya' (epic):
It should begin with a benediction or salutation or statement of subject matter; its topic should be taken from tradition or be otherwise real; the end attained should be one of the four great aims of man - Dharma (duty), Artha (profit), Kama (Desire) and Moksha (Release); the hero should be clever and noble; it should contain, as ornaments, description of a city, a mountain, the seasons, sun-rise moon-rise, sport in the garden or water, drinking scenes, love passages, feasts, separation of or wedding of lovers, the birth of a son, a council, an embassy, a march, a battle or the victory of the hero. It should be concise but should manifest sentiments and feelings. The cantos should not be too long, the meteres should be attractive with change at the close and the transitions should be neat. Such a poem suitably ornamented with figures may last for an age. All these merits are not essential if the result is pleasing it is especially satisfactory to set out the merits of both the hero and his foe and show the hero victorious (Kamalakannan 27-29.)
The magnificence of the structure of an epic poem is decided largely by how well its parts are unified. Dandin's" concept echoes Aristotle's theory. VV.S. Aiyar is quoting Dandin's Kavyadharsha:
'Bhavika' is said to be the essential quality of the 'prabandha' or poem; for Bhava is the idea of the poet as to show how he should arrange the poem and set forth its parts. The mutual harmony of the parts, both in the subject matter, as well as in the canto divisions; The leaving out of useless incidents and placing of everything in its proper places; the individuality and character in the treatment even of the sublime which comes of a vigorous diction and well-ordered words - all this is the result of 'Bhava' i.e, the inner poetical sense. And the right employment of the Bhava gives rise to the quality called 'Bhavika' (34).
This insistence on harmony or a unified whole in reinstated by the remarks of Nagendra:
Artistic creation is a process of synthesis: by effecting harmony in diffused elements the artist creates a unity in diversity and imparts 'form' to the formless or the deformed. This Artistic unity is a vital component of Aesthetics and its appreciation. This artistic unity brings about secretly a harmony of emotional experiences which in its turn gives comfort to the psyche (136).
In Sanskrit poetics 'Aucitya' means "mutul conformity to parts". Raghavan explains that Aucitya is an essential element in epic poetry. In his article, he emphasizes the need of proportion between the whole and the parts and between the chief and the subsidiary. He calls 'Aucitya' the Jivita, the life-breath of poetry (103).
Both the earlier western and eastern outlook on structure in poetry point towards a common factor - the 'wholeness'. Modern criticism analyses 'structuralism' in various ways. Structure of an Individual work of art is analysed based on the assumption it has its unity. This unity is caused either by the unconditional will of the artist or by its form. Therefore the critic needs a kind of literary psychology connecting the poet with the poem. This literary psychology may be (a) a psychological study of the poet; or (b) a study of his private mythology.
Another brand of structural analysis drawing inspiration from the French anthropological schools and nourished by experiments of Claude-Le'vi-Strauss with Latin American Indian mythology separates itself from Formalism. Unlike Formalists, scholars following this type of structural analysis claim the discovery of a mythological truth in the unity of concrete and the abstract. Form is defined in contrast to content which lies-outside of it. However they also claim that structure has no content. According to Levi-Strauss, "it is content comprehended in a logical organization which is conceived of as a property of reality (428). Levi-Strauss’ structuralism takes care of both form and content simultaneously. He believes that the content of a myth narrative comprehended in logical organization cannot and should not lie on the given structure and therefore needs "re-arrangement" by reducing the structural components to meaningful paradigms. (Hence the name 'Paradigmatic' in structural analysis) Levi-Strauss’ analysis deals with meaning. The method conceives meaning as a logical universal formula based on polarities. Levi-Strauss, in the final analysis, tries to fit all the myths around the world.
Levi-Strauss’ formulations have certainly added a new dimension to comparative study. Since cultural meaning, according to Levi’-Strauss’ remains hidden, an empiricist methodology of immediate and spontaneous evidence fails to decipher it. He is more concerned with the unconscious rather than conscious in cultures. Levi-Strauss’ firm belief is that “genuine meaning lies behind the apparent one” this book analyses primarily the structure of Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost on the “unconscious” level of meaning and to see how they provide to us the meaning in the conscious level. The apparent plot of Kambaramayanam is ‘Destruction of evil’ and in Paradise Lost it is the ‘fall of man’. But the hidden meaning of both the epics is drawing men towards the peak of a ‘divine state’. A pyramidal structure is seen while looking at the deeper structures of the epics.
Ramakrishnan made a prioneering and scholary work on structures of Kambaramayanan and Paradise Lost. He made a structural comparison on the climaxes, denouements and rising actions of the two epics with parallels of and contrasts. His works “seeks to present the organic structures of the two epics” (preface VIII). The present book analyses at the structure of Kambaramayanam and Paradise Lost based on mythic unity and how they look similar at the deeper levels. They are remembered and believed by human society irrespective of the changes that have occurred to mankind. So to arrive at a paradigm, structural components of both the epics have got to be reduced and they need a "re-arrangement". Le'vi-Strauss' structural analysis is more concerned about the uniform biological working of human societies, which do not seem uniform at all.While investigating a deeper structure in both the epics, certain structural patterns are also noted. They are alternating elements like hope and despair; rise and fall; loss and return; and parallels like the good and the evil; the beauty and the ugly and so on. The epics move towards an end, showing a hidden pyramidal structure.
Kambaramayanam consists of ten thousand five hundred and sixty nine stanzas of four lines each and is divided into six cantos. Kamban uses as much as forty-three different types of meters, which express a multiplicity of emotions, felt and articulated by his characters (Dakshayini-2). The six books of Kamban may be divided into odd numbered and even numbered books. The even numbered books portray events of tragic sequence while the odd numbered books relieve the tragic tension. Balakanda explains the birth and growth of Rama. The actual plot moves with Ayodhyakanda. But the seed is sown in Balakanda. The crisis begins with evil designs of Manthara and Kaikeyi in Ayodhyakanda where the seed sprouts. It results in Rama's exile. Sita is abducted In Aranyakanda and Kitkinthakanda, the plot culmipales where Rama, with the help of Sugvira and Hanuman, prepares the ground for war. In Sundarakanda, there is the denouement where we see the right cause for a war. It also speaks of Sita's virtue and Hanuman's loyalty. And in Yudhakanda, the plot reaches the climax. The purpose of Rama's 'Avtar (incarnation) is fulfilled. Except Sunarakanda Yudhakanda and Balakanda, the remaining three Kandas (Ayodya, Aranya, and Kitkintha) are represented by the names of places where the story moves.
The six Kandas of Kambaramayanam are divided into hundred and twenty seven 'padalas' (cantos). Some 'padalas' are smaller and some are very big consisting of more than three hundred and fifty stanzas. The titles of 'padalas' are represented by their contents. The story is narrated sometimes plainly and sometimes dramatically. The 'padalas' represent similarities and contrasts. The epic subject apparently is about destruction of Ravana. Almost all the incidents in the epic finally lead to Ravana's destruction. As V.V.S Aiyar observes" .... The one action of the Ramayana, as Valmiki proposes in the beginning of the poem, is the destruction of Ravana, and every incident of the story contributes to this end. This idea is never absent from the mind of Kamban" (35).
Kambaramayanam is influenced by the early epic tradition, especially Cilapatikaram and Manimekalai. Though we have no references of a link between Dandin and Kamban, Tamil epic tradition might have been aware of Dandin's concept of epic poetry. Bound by an epic tradition, Kamban excels any poet in architectonic skills. But the study will be more illuminating and meaningful when observed from Strauss’ structural angle. His belief is that the content of a myth narrative comprehended in logical organization should not lie on the given structure and therefore needs "re-arrangement". While studying Kambaramayanam, with more emphasis on meaning, a mythic structure in pyramidal pattern appears as in Paradise Lost. Every event in the epic and every character build up the 'pyramid' of perfection.
Indians have known the story of Rama and his virtues since prehistoric times. Valmiki's Ramayana is the first of its kind in Sanskrit. Kamban rendered it in Tamil. The stories were available even before Kamban. N.M.Venkataswami Nadar says that there are references to Ramayana stories in Akam and Puram poetry in Sankam period (Kamban malar.15). The culture of human societies began with such stories only. Ramayana story achieved greater importance because it was concerned with the emotional aspects of the people. It reflected and continuously reflecting the society's religion, history, class structure and above all 'Aram' (Virtues).
The story is still alive in the minds of Indians. The virtues of Rama and the chastity of Sita are embedded in the lives of the people. They represent it in their various walks of life. This old story is re-created into various new-stories. Kamabaramayana itself is a re-creation of such an old 'myth'. Since the story of Ramayanam is already familiar, the poet's intention is not limited with destruction of evil alone but has an ever expanding implication of meaning.
Though Kambaramayanam's apparent meaning appear to be the destruction of evil, its concern is mainly pointing a mountaintop of 'Aram' to which all the events of the story move. Its focus is mainly on re-creating the age-old virtues of man, or elevating man to a divine state. All the incidents and all the characters build a deeper 'pyramid' like structure. Though it will be impossible to cite numerous such incidents, which contribute to such a construction, a few illustrations from the epic would define it.
The three incidents in the epic - Kaikeyi's evil designs, the slaying of Vali, and Ravana's destruction - not only drive the epic towards climax but shows man's the necessity to climb to a divine state. In all these three incidents we see the multifaceted virtues of Rama. Amidst critical human situations, Rama shows extraordinary virtues.
To reach a divine state man should undergo three stages (i) repenting for one’s own flaws (ii) pardoning the others flaws and (iii) pardoning and doing good in return to others faults. These divine virtues are reflected in Rama in the incidents such as 'slaying of Vali', 'Ravana's destruction' and 'Kaikeyi's evil designs'.
Rama is journeying in the path of Dharma. He comes across 'Kitkintha' where he befriends Hanuman, Sugriva and the entire Vanara kingdom. This alliance helps Rama for his future war with Ravana. When Rama learns that Vali , the elder brother of Sugriva, has possessed the latter's wife, a natural motif for slaying Vali is aroused in Rama. Already Rama is waiting to kill Ravana who has abducted his own (Rama) wife. Notwithstanding Vali's act, Rama gives assurance to Sugriva that he would kill Vali.
But the crucial interest of the incident is that Rama, hiding himself behind a bush, slays Vali who accuses Rama as being unchivalrous and violating the code of manu. He asks. "Has separation from that lovely daughter of King Janaka, the swan-like Seetha, your sweet wife who is your very life upset balance of mind .... O hero you have not killed 'Vali', you have by your action killed 'Veli' (fence) that protected Dharma, means virtue. (KR-KK-420HVH292-93). These justifiable accusations of Vali and Rama's moral stand are endless debates in Tamil literature. Our concern is not to find a solution for it. What is to be noted here is Rama's divine gesture after Vali's death.
Vail is slain. His son Angatha comes and wails over the body of his dead father. On the advice of his father (Vali), Angatha prostrates himself in front of Rama. The moment Rama gives his sword to Angatha and asks him to 'bear' it, it is not to be interpreted in an ordinary litera1 sense of holding the sword. Rama asks Angatha to pardon him. Following this act of Rama, "The seven worlds praise him" (KR-KK-4140-HVH-298). Had it been in the ordinary sense why should the seven worlds praise the divine act of Rama. Actually Rama is repenting. He asks Angatha to ‘tolerate’ ('Poruthi') his faults. God is in disguise of a man to teach mankind the virtues . The word 'bear' is used in the sense of forgiving in many places in the epic.
There is another instance for Rama’s divine virtue. Vali's Kingdom is handed over to Sugriva and he is crowned. Rama advises Hanuman to render all assistance to Sugriva in his administration. Hanuman says he would stay with him and does service to him. But Rama says "Even a kingdom abounding in wealth, and ruled by a king endowed with intelligence, heroism and greatness is bound to suffer from greatness if it is annexed by another king" (KR-KK-4130-HVH-302). So Rama feels that the kingdom is got by force from Vali. He is conscience - stricken. But he is not expressing his guilty - consciousness openly. Since Rama stands a model virtue he could not openly apologise. That may set a model for many people who will do an unjust action deliberately and repent later. Rama is forced to do an action like that. It is like the traffic police violating the rules to punish a traffic-rule violator. Even then it is a violation. Hence, Rama repents. The first step towards a state of divinity is repenting for one's own faults. Rama does it. This action of Rama paves way for his second step, towards the mountain of perfection.
Rama’s pardoning Ravana is the rarer virtue. Ravana tormented the Devas. He reigned over almost all the worlds and was greedy. He usurped the wealth of Indra. He abducted Sita and killed Jatayu. So Rama has every right to wage war with Ravana. But he wants to send a messenger to Ravana to ask him whether he would leave Sita. Lakshmana protests. He accuses Ravana of pursuing a 'wayless way' a path of immortality. Hence there is no question of convincing him. War is the only solution. But Rama doesn't heed to Lakshmana. Rama smiled and said: "The final outcome will only be war. Can we discard the Dharma enunciated by scholars? Though we are mighty in the art of warfare, the only way to achieve victory is do everything patiently and properly" (KR-YK-6981-HVH.506). Lakshmana asks how can one be patient when ones wife is abducted by another? Rama has every right to make war. But Rama wants to send a messenger. He pursues the path of Dharma. One’s strength can be judged only with his patience.
In the first day's fight Ravana loses his crown. He looks pitiable "like the day without sun and the night without moon" (KR-YK-7263-HVH.525). Ravana had never known defeat in all his life. He knows only victory, now his face loses all lusture. Those who saw him declared that the lives of all those who transgressed Dharma would only end like this. Looking at the pitiable condition of Ravana, who stood before him with bare hands, Rama thought it was unfair to kill him. He did not kill him. He says, "As you are unfit now, go back today and return tomorrow to fight" (KR-YK-7271-HVH526).
How great Ravana was but how humiliated he is now. He is looking like a banyan tree without boughs. To such an embarrassing and shy Ravana, Rama says, "go back to day and return tomorrow to fight". Ravana's monumental pride is kindled by Soorpanaga. Rama knows this circumstance. So he gives Ravana a last chance. Already he had sent Hanuman for peace. Then he had sent Angadha. Now he leaves Ravana without killing him. He gave a chance even at his last moments. Rama allows Ravana a time to think. Ravana loses one by one everything he possessed - first, his brothers, then his affectionate son Indrajit, his kith and kin, his entire Army. So Rama rightly offers him a chance. "Rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance". This virtuous act of Rama is instructing the world another step towards the peak of truth.
The third step to a perfect divine state is Rama's charitable act of showing grace to evil-infected Kaikeyi. Apart from ignoring her evil deeds, he goes to the extent of doing good to her and thus elevating himself and teaching entire mankind towards the mountain of perfection. In one of the last 'Padalas' of Yuddhakanda, Rama requests Dhasaratha to offer him two boons. "Please grant me the boon with which you take back Goddess Kaikeyi (whom you had cast away as cruel) my mother and her son Bharata, my brother" (KR-YK-1 0079-HVH. 729). Even after Dhasaratha's reluctance in offering the boons, Rama insisted "I agreed in the beginning to protect all beings without realizing that my action would lead to a great crime. Therefore you should hate me and not my mother Kaikeyi" (KR-YK-10079-HVH-729). This is another rare action of virtue.
Kaikeyi is instrumental for the epic movement. Had she not asked for the two boons, (that her son Bharata should rule the country and Rama in forest) the purpose of Avtar would not have been performed (the destruction of Ravana). Kaikeyi's boons trigger incidents such as the exile of Rama, Soorpanakha's evil designs, Sita's abduction by Ravana and finally war. It has also driven the epics central meaning of man's elevation to a top of perfection. Earlier Dasaratha cursed Kaikeyi and her son Bharata: "I am telling you today that Kaikeyi is no longer my wife. I have cast her away. I will also not consider Bharata who is to become the king soon, my son. He will not be entitled to perform my last rites"(KR-AYK-1654-HVH-125). Kaikeyi suffers for the Sake of Rama's Journey towards the victory of Dharma. While Kaikeyi undergoes a change of mind by Manthara's evil designs Kamban observes:
Kaikeyi's pure mind underwent a change after listening to the words of wicked Mantharai because of the spell of the Devas and the great penance performed by the sages... It is not because of the heartless nature of such a transformed Kaikeyi that all over the world every one still imbibes and savours the omnipresent nectar of the age old greatness of Rama" (KR-AYK-1483-HVH.110-11).
Kaikeyi renounces grace-but renounces as Kamban says 'good grace’. Rama judges Kaikeyi as a victim of Destiny. Rama says to Lakshmana: "It is not the fault of the river if it dries up for lack of water. Similarly my present predicament is not due to the fault of our father, nor of our step-mother. Kaikeyi who nurtured us with great love and care, nor of Bharata, our dear brother, but all this has happened only because of destiny" (KR-AYK-1734-HVH.131-32). Rama has never found fault with Kaikeyi. While leaving for the forest he says to her "You are my father and mother" And finally when he asks two boons to Dhasaratha, he mentions Kaikeyi as his 'goddess' and 'mother'. Her evil instigation results in Ravana's destruction. When there is some good to happen one should always 'bear the cross', Vali's destruction is prior to Ravana's. Through the first step it is learnt that one should repent for one's flaws and in the second ‘pardoning other's faults’ is understood. The third is Rama’s gesture to Kaikeyi. Here man climbs towards or nearing the pinnacle of perfection. Apart from pardoning other faults one should do good to them.
The epic starts from morally high places and passes through a place of innocence and ends in a place of pride. The pattern of myth could be well understood from the social activities and natural wealth of these places. Almost all-good characters are shown in the beginning and each one is introduced with a unique virtue. Poet's Vision (separately dealt in a chapter) of utopia is shown at the outset of the epic. Suddenly the epic moves to places of earthly resemblance. Rama, journeying through forest, meets people of instinctive living and ignorance (Vali others) then he goes to Lanka, a place of material richness. Pride rules this place. People have dark wisdom. Contrasted with Ayodhya, it is far below. People are greedy, carnal, and war loving. The setting too reflects a pyramidal structure. A ‘pyramidal’ shape is observed with Ayodya as its peak and Lanka at the bottom and Aranya (forest) in between. Many characters in the epic echo the virtues of Rama. All seem to express the dire need of man’s virtues. The implication is that man could attain perfection only if he follows virtues in his life. As a wayfarer he comes across hurdles eternally. Temptations, illusions, conflicts hinder his efforts rise and fall is a continuous pattern in his life. The central character Rama, as a human, exhibits rare virtues a midst or deals. He lays a path to the peak of perfection. The other characters, more or less, echo Rama’s virtues. The incidents too coincide with the structure of the epic and show the mountain called ‘
The heroine of the epic, Sita is also seen along with the hero to a peak of virtue called chastity. The epic subject is also interpreted as a story of Sita. Pandurangan observes”. The symbolic meaning of the epic is the triumph achieved and virtue established by Sita’s chastity” (90). Sita meets trials and tribulations on her path. But she maintains purity with a firm heart till the end. As T.P. Mennakshi Sundaranar says, “I don’t know whether people follow Rama’s virtues but most women in this country became Sita” (97). Kamban bestows on women a divine status. There is a merger of, divinity and womanhood. Sundarakanda exclusively praises Sita’s grace and chastity.
Rama’s meeting different people indicate a ‘rise and fall’ situation. And he embraces the good and encounters evil till he reaches his destintion. In Balakanda he encounters the first evil Tadaka. Later in Ayodyakanda, he embraces Guhan, (the good) combats Soorpamaga and Marica (the evil) in Ayodhyakanda, but adapts Hanuman and Sugriva (the good) in Aranyakanda. He also encounters the evil like Ayoumuki, and Vali, and later taking the good like Angatha (Vali's Son) and Vibhishna (Ravana's brother) subsequently. Before encountering and winning the final evil Ravana, the hero undergoes a lot of troubles and tribulations. He stumbles and manages to reach the top to establish virtue in the world.
Destruction of the evil is the final event. All the incidents in the epic are inter-linked for that purpose. It is the apparent structure. The events, the people and the settings show a structure that resembles a pyramid. The theory of ‘wholeness’ cited by many critics, direct us in these epics to an understanding called perfection. The portrayals of events, people, and setting merge to form a gigantic pyramid called purity in which we find innumerable pyramidal virtues. Kambaramayanam re-constructs this mythological truth or the age old virtues of man with a lot of illuminations. It reaches mankind to reach such a state of perfection. One step will lead to another step. One virtue will yield another virtue. As Cardinal Newman points out. "One step enough for me". The aim of mankind is stepping from the state of mankind to mahatma and to divinity at last. So the epic construction is predominantly built on virtues.
Paradise Lost consists of twelve books with a total number of ten thousand five hundred and sixty five lines in blank verse. Book VI has only six hundred and forty lines being the least and Book IX consists of one thousand and one hundred and eight nine lines. The other books range between seven hundred and thousand one hundred lines. Books I and II present the sufferings of Satan and the fallen angels in Hell. Further, Satan is chosen to undertake a voyage with the purpose of 'seducing' man. Book III informs us of God and his foreknowledge, Son's promise of a 'Ransom' for man, Heaven and hierarchy of angles. In Book IV, through Satan's eyes, we are shown a morally high place like
Paradise Lost deals with a familiar story. The story is something we have always known to which our attention returns periodically for recognition and affirmation. Dr. Johnson observes:
" ... But these truths are too important to be new ... they have been taught to our infancy; they have mingled with our solitary thoughts and familiar conversation, and are habitually interwoven with the whole texture of life. Being therefore not new, they raise no unaccustomed emotion in the mind; what we know before we cannot learn; what is not unexpected, cannot surprise" (64).
The poet would have recognized this limitation pointed out by Johnson. It is found in the argument to Book I where he acknowledges that 'surprise' is not to be factiously striven for. It is precisely 'accustomed' emotion to which
The poet whose subject is myth strives to promote not learning but knowledge, not an introduction of something new, but a deepened understanding of something old. So a "normal" straightforward narrative traditional to storytellers cannot be found in Paradise Lost. The logical narrative slights chronology. What we find is a folded or a spiral nature that circles about a single centre. The suspense is neglected bad we find expanding implications. As Maccaffrey rightly observes "the will be built from a blue print rather than a map" (45).
Foreknowledge of the story lessens the burden of the epic writer. The need not explain everything. Instead he concentrates on a new understanding about something old. Homer need not explain that
The structure of Paradise Lost is often justified by the fact that
'Structure' is a protean term; particularly as applied to Milton's Paradise Lost where every detail can be architecturally justified. Incidents in the epic appeared look 'unchronological'. But there is an ordered pattern. The study aims at finding the mythic structure and archetypal patterns, which are similar to Kambaramayanam. The 'Myths' are enacted on well-defined architectural stages in both the epics. The 'unchronological' incidents express a vivid meaning. Both poems build a temple called 'ultimate truth'.
Paradise Lost too, like Kambaramayanam, focuses the idea of man's elevation to a divine state. Disobedience, woe and restoration are the 'pattern'.
The structure of Paradise Lost is a great 'Pyramid', with its roots in Hell and its crown in Heaven. The Journey begins at the lowest point and ends far below the crown. Within this basic structure are a number of 'rise and fall' patterns. In Kambaramayanam, the 'rise and fall' pattern signify moral, social and emotional significance only. While in Paradise Lost we find a 'rise and fall' pattern even in topography along with moral social and emotional significance with 'ascents and descents'.
Satan's 'ascent and descent' is one of the chief 'rise and fall' patterns. The first two books of Paradise Lost are set in a 'bottomless' Hell 'Far removed' from God and light of Heaven'. Satan sets out his journey to recapture his seat in Heaven. He is 'laid low' and constantly reminded of 'the happy realms' of light. 'fallen from such pernicious height' he is continuously 'groveling'. Both Satan and Adam are the victims of 'Disobedience'. But Satan's tragic position occupies a major area of Paradise Lost. The epic beings with his journey upward and ends in his degeneration into snake. As Welburn observes, "We must sympathize, even identify with Satan, for he is the consciousness in the poem which is most like ours" (58). Satan has fallen through intemperance. He has committed incest with his daughter, sin. He has reacted beyond the bounds of moderation in his pride, ambition, envy and rage. And he succeeds in seducing Adam and Eve. Why then has
Unlike the angles or the unfallen Adam .and Eve, he has the faults, the selfishness, and the aspirations, which mark us out as human beings in the world of imperfection and suffering. Some critics have thought
Satan is symbolically representing man who is eternally stumbling to climb a 'mountain top' of truth but his pride impeded by like Ravana in Kambaramayanam, he possesses many admirable characteristics - courage, leadership, a willingness to what no one else dares to do, the imagination to realise his enemy's weakness and the initiative to exploit it. He has fought and lost, he is going to continue the fight by other means and we cannot but admire his courage, Even though his purpose is utterly evil. The interest of the epic lies in viewing Satan in human position. As Wilson Knights observes. "It is indeed our fallen world
Satan has been seeking a return to the Immortal life he lost. His mission is the traditional one of the hero, who seeks to renew or restore the kingdom for his people by winning some "treasure hard to attain". Satan's voyage is an attempt to heal his impaired perfection. Unlike the traditional heroes who start from the light of day, Satan sets out his voyage from the deep Hell. Milton carries him up through the first three books to Heaven's gate, then to the sphere of the sun, "aloof the vulgar constellations thick" (PL 3-577) and at last gently downward to Paradise through Book IV and half of V. And in the book X we see the last fall of Satan to Pandemonium which completes the figure in Book I by returning him to his original level. He ends where he began. Thus we find in Satan's movement in the epic, an attempt to reach the Pyramid. But his "Vain wisdom" draws him again to his original position. The recurrent images such as 'desert' and 'wanderer' present him as an endless voyager.
.. As when a scout
through dark and desert waves with peril gone
All night; at last by break of cheerful downe
obtains the brow of some high-climbing Hill (PL 3-543-46).
Thus in Satan’s character, the poem’s structure is found to be a constant ‘rise and fall’. Thia shows that a man with ‘obdurate pride’ could not reach the top. He could only catch sight of that Immortal Hill of Truth. As William Ruddick points out “He represents individualism unrestrained by goodness or love of others and the poem gradually reveals how energy, which is nearly, self interested corrupts and makes base his personality. From being an “archangel ruined’ he degenerates and is turned (with symbolic, aptness) into a serpent before the poem’s conclusion” (34).
Adam is a parallel to Satan. He is also a victim of ‘disobedience’. He suffers and combats as Satan. Welburn finds a parallel thus;
“Our first parents lose
The poem speaks of the fall of Satan and Man. A past event such as war in Heaven resulted in Satan’s fall before the opening of the epic and the new happenings result in 'the loss of
Adam and Eve, the inhabitants of the Garden, are simple and dignified. Adam's acceptance of the apple brings a change with the future of mankind. Through the fall the spiritual forces represented by Statan and Christ are opposed, to fight forever in that battle between good and evil in every one of us which the poem's story symbolizes. Book IV presents the blissful 'unfallen' condition of Adam and Eve. Truth and Sanctity can be seen in, their lives.
The structure of Paradise Lost is well understood in Adam's ascent from innocence to the mountain of knowledge. The 'unfallen' Adam and Eve in Book IV symbolize Innocence. They possessed "simplicity and spotless innocence". The interest of Paradise Lost lies after the fall and restoration thereafter. As A.S.P Woodhouse has said, the poem" move towards an end" (117). The end is Adam's Hope. How he will struggle to reach a future world? His quest for an inner
In these last two books we see Adam confronting imperfections and contradictions. In Book IV he is in stark innocence. The Journey starts from Innocence (Book IV) to fall (Book XI) and to Hope (Book XI to XII). We see him patiently listening with awe the accounts of war in Heaven, creation of Universe, earth and so on. But in Book X we see him wrestling with the fact of death. Man must face a world in which corruption and finitude have a part. He must face his own transience. More than that Irony of death is hanging over him even when he is granted life.
Adam comes to grips with the greatest problems of the human condition; not only those of love and fear of death, but the moral riddle of man's responsibility in a world he can only imperfectly control. He is also an infinite wrestler, like Satan, who could not reach the pinnacle but always dreams for it.
We find in the poem's verbal texture the structure's basic dimensions of depth and height, with corresponding down ward or upward movements. Certain adverbs of directions like 'Rise and raise'; 'fall, high'; and 'height and low'; 'deep and depth' are found repeatedly. These words convey literal as well as figurative meanings: The expression "Awake, arise or be ever fallen" (PL 1-330). Indicate the moral as well as topographical positions. For example, as the fallen angles gather, "down cast and damp" at Satan's call, to have their courage "gently rais'd" by his "high words". Paradise Lost is a poem of forces of constant pressure on mind, feeling and will. "High thoughts", "high words" and "high matter" push the actors upward. Because of lower impulses, there are recurrent 'falls'.
Further the place inhabited by a creature gives the key to its moral status.
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