Compassionate and All Powerful Sita of South Indian Stories Vasudha Narayanan
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Courtsey: Encyclopaedia of Indian Iconography, Vol. VI All Compassionate and All Powerful Sita of South Indian Stories Vasudha Narayanan I did ask her then as to why then aunts sang regularly. I did not know Rama was on Sita’s left side. I don’t the meaning of these songs at the time, recall if I got an answer. My but they sounded beautiful. Tyagaraja grandmother’s answer, and the many (1767-1847), one of the greatest South stories that she and my mother told me Indian music composers had sung in were immensely influential on my life. I Kambodi raga: ma janaki, chetta HE picture of Rama, Sita and grew up thinking that Sita was not just battag... In this song, Rama is praised very special, but very powerful. Lakshmana in my maternal for becoming great by taking the hand The songs that I heard women grandmother’s house was of Sita. Tyagaraja also hailed Sita as a T sing at joyous occasions, too, told me different than the one in my paternal source of refuge and salvation. In his that Sita’s marriage was a happy one. grandmother’s house. As a child, I song Sri Janaka tanaye, Tyagaraja On birthdays, festivals, and other commuted between the two houses asks Sita, the beloved daughter of auspicious days, young girls and boys almost every other day and the Janaka, to protect him. are adorned with coloured powder on difference was palpable. The Sita in Although I loved the songs, it our feet (nalangu) and given a ritual was the stories that held me my father’s house was from bath. Nalangu is also done for spellbound. My grandmother and somewhere in the north - Sita’s hair weddings. During the nalangu mother told me many stories of Sita’s was covered and she sat on the left ceremony, women rub turmeric paste side of Rama. The Sita in my mother’s on the bride’s feet and massage oil into strength and her desire to protect us. natal home, however, was in the her hair. Finally, two women bless the I have chosen to retell just three of typical style of Tamil Nadu: her head girl by waving a dish of red water these narratives here. I had grown was not covered and she was on (called arati in south India; waving of up thinking that everyone knew Rama’s right side. It was this camphor or fire is called karpura these stories, only to later realise configuration that I saw in the arati), All the while, they sing songs that they are apparently well known Hanuman-Rama temple in appropriate for the occasion. The most mostly in the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Royapettah High Road, Mylapore, popular refrain are the lines everyone Pradesh region. that we visited regularly as well as knows: sita kalyana, vaibhogame, As a child, my favourite was the in all the major temples of Tamil Nadu rama kalyanam, vaibhogame - story of Sita and the ball. When Sita - Madurantakam, Vaduvur and Tillai ”Rejoice, it is Sita’s wedding, rejoice it was a little girl, she and her friends Vilagam. When I asked my is Rama’s wedding.” Long before I loved playing with a ball. One day, it grandmother about this, she said, heard of Sita’s unhappiness, these fell under the immense bow of Shiva “The right side is the auspicious side songs had already made their that King Janaka had on display in — we keep all good things to the impression on me. his palace. The girlfriends were right side. That is why we go around And then there were the Carnatic unhappy-who could ever extricate the temple clockwise.” music songs that my grandmother and the ball from beneath this bow? Sita 24 MANUSHI was not worried. She ran to the bow Lionel Price himself supervised indeed their Goddess was that that no human being could lift, the the building of the best walls for this powerful, she would protect the bow that not even a team of people reservoir, only to have them all reservoir walls from breaking down. could lift. Happily Sita lifted it with collapse. If she did so, said Mr. Price, he On one visit, he went to the her left hand, picked up the ball, himself would build a temple for her! outer perimeters of the temple and gently put down the bow and went The monsoon that year was saw that the construction of a particularly severe. For days there back to play. It so happened that her shrine had been halted. The local was no respite. One day, the father, Janaka, had been quietly people told him that they were reservoir was almost full; Mr. Price observing her. Astonished, and building a shrine for Sita, but had knew it was only a matter of hours marvelling at the ease with which Sita stopped because of a shortage of before it would overflow. The strong had handled this bow, he resolved funds. One of them proceeded to walls constructed for the fourth time that only a man who could also lift it describe the grace and grandeur of in four years would be destroyed yet was Worthy of her. Sita. The written account of this that again. At 11:00 p.m. there was a I loved the idea of Sita appeared in 1904 narrative: “Then thunderclap and an enormous effortlessly picking up the bow to another began to expatiate on the breaking sound-the sound he had retrieve her ball. Now, when Rama great merits of their Janaki-Devi heard year after year, signaling the lifted it, he was not the first to do so. (Rama’s wife), how she chased collapse of the walls. The rains She had already done it. It almost away sorrow, poured plenty over all, slowed a bit after an hour. Lionel seemed like it was their shared secret. and was ever solacious for her Price dressed and went to examine devotees... “(Go vindachary a 1906: Years later, in the United States, I the devastation. To his 63). Mr. Price exclaimed that if saw this story gracefully performed astonishment, the walls had not by some young Indian students in a crumbled-the roaring sound was the water being contained within the classical Bharata Natyam dance. Its lake-reservoir. Near the wall, he saw visual presentation in this an ethereal blue light (my hair would performing art made it come alive stand on end every time I read this even more forcefully. part) and when he went nearby, he There were two other stories saw two men with bows and arrows. that emphasized Sita’s power in There was a woman and a monkey saving her devotees. One tale was nearby. He went closer but could not set in Madurantakam (Tamil Nadu) touch them. The light shone through around 1884 and focussed on the them. The other workers could not residents of Madurantakam and a see anything. Lionel Price was filled British administrative official. with an unnatural joy; he fell on his Lionel Price was the Collector of knees and prayed. Chengelpet district in Tamil Nadu. He Rama, Lakshmana and Sita had would visit the city of been there to protect their people Madurantakam (50 miles south of from floods. Lionel Price was convinced about the “authenticity” Chennai) regularly. There is a famous of his spiritual experience. His heart temple for Rama and Sita here and and mind had no doubt that this also a very large lake. The local was a religious vision. The next day, people call this “Rama Eri kaatha he started to build the shrine for Raamar,” the Rama who protects the Sita. Such stories, strengthen the lake. Apparently, every rainy season popular image that Sita’s power can (October to December in this area), Shadow play puppet in leather, work any miracle. Sita can do the wall near the overflow area of the illustrating Sita; Andhra Pradesh, anything. To protect her children in lake would collapse and the local area 19th century Madurantakam, she sent Rama and would be flooded. Courtsey: Crafts Museum, Delhi Sita to guard the lake from flooding. No. 118 25 While I had been to the temple century and worked under the Qutb Gopanna (b. 1630) was a revenue many times, it was only a few years Shahis of Golconda in modern collector (tahsildar) of the Muslim back that I saw the inscriptions on Andhra Pradesh. Ramdas is known king. He became a devotee of Rama the wall in Lakshmi/Sita’s shrine. in the South for his beautiful songs and thereafter was called Ramdas. Since Sita is identified completely to Rama and Sita. Apparently the According to the story, he with Lakshmi, the shrine here is Qutb Shahis were literary (mis)appropriated the money’s simply known as tayar sannidhi or connoisseurs who encouraged the collected from tax revenues and used “mother’s shrine.” The donor’s development of Urdu, Persian and them to build a temple for Rama in name is clearly inscribed over the Telegu. From written accounts we Bhadrachalam. (Sometimes my lintel of Sita’s shrine: “This [act of] know that they seem to have been grandmother would say that this was on very good terms with their Hindu dharma [donation] is that of the under the express command of Rama, subjects. One of the kings, Company official, the Collector and was all done to “test” Ramdas. I Mohammed Quli, had married a Lionel Price.” was not sure if Rama should have Hindu woman called Bhagmati or While most of the local children done this and this line of the story Bhagyavati.