The Sarala Mahabharata As a Novel 'Prison-Revenge'
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Azim Premji University From the SelectedWorks of Vikas Kumar July 17, 2016 The aS rala Mahabharata as a novel ‘prison- revenge’ story Vikas Kumar Bibudhendra Narayan Patnaik Available at: https://works.bepress.com/vikas_kumar/244/ www.pbdodisha.in the . Cuttack, Sunday, politicalbusinessdaily July 17, 2016 spectrum II VIKAS KUMAR AND B N PATNAIK RANSLATIONS" of the Ramayana and the "TMahabharata into modern Indian languages are The Sarala Mahabharata as a among the defining features of our regional cultures. The dif- ferences between the Sanskrit and regional versions, which are essentially creative retellings, reflect the specifici- novel ‘prison-revenge’ story ty of both the regional epic and the regional culture. The use of 'Duryodhana' as a nam- Dhritarashtra to shield the tell the king that he had smiled In Ravinartaka's Prompted by a prophesy ing word in Odia, might, for couple from inauspicious on seeing a fruit of a banyan Chanakyakatha, King Nanda's Minister Shaktara killed the instance, be explained by the stars. Duryodhana perceived a tree flowing away in the flow kshatriya wife gave birth to a possessed Nanda and humane treatment of classical widow's marriage to his father of his urine. The reply stunned lump of flesh that was cut into installed the real heir villains in the Sarala as an affront and starved his Duryodhana and he appoint- nine pieces that became the Ugradhanvan as the king. Mahabharata. maternal grandfather, his ed Sakuni his mantri. nine Nandas. (In Sarala, When the latter learnt of his The 15th century Odia epic ninety six brothers, and his Somadeva's Gandhari gave birth to a lump "father's" murder, he impris- differs from its Sanskrit coun- hundred sons in a prison. The Kathasaritsagara and related of flesh that was cut into hun- oned and starved Shaktara terpart with regard to the nar- prisoners denied themselves texts contain a similar story. dred pieces, which became the and his hundred sons. rative frame, among other food so that Sakuni, the king's Three brahmin students - Kauravas.) Maurya, their Vikatara, the youngest son, things. In Sarala's story, eldest son, lived. Vyaadi, Vararuchi, and cousin born to the King's survived and was released Duryodhana's annihilation of (Significantly, ninety nine Indradatta - needed a crore of Sudra wife, was the com- somehow. He took revenge his mother's natal family was Kaurava brothers perished in rupees to pay guru dakshina. mander of the army. The with Chanakya's help. the root cause of the the Kurukshetra War.) Sakuni They decided to approach Nandas, who reigned in rota- The originality of Sarala's Kurukshetra war that was made dice out of his father's King Satyananda. He died just tion, were jealous of Maurya, epic in the world of Prison- plotted by Sakuni. Sarala bones, which would obey his when they reached his camp. who enjoyed his office without revenge stories lies in its novel introduced new stories, e.g., call. Indradatta entered the body of interruption. They imprisoned conception of the ethical choic- Duryodhana's crossing of the One day Duryodhana was the king, who came back to life and starved Maurya and his es facing Sakuni. Sarala's river of blood, and new char- urinating under a banyan tree, and became known as hundred sons. Chandragupta, Sakuni refused to return to his acters, e.g., Suhani and Hari when he saw a fruit of that Yogananda. He ordered the the youngest son, alone sur- ancestral kingdom and gave Sahu. He also captured the tree flowing away in his urine. payment of a crore of rupees vived. A rival king challenged up his life in the battlefield. mundane features of the char- A banyan tree is so big and to Vararuchi. Minister the Nandas to take a caged Sakuni's act of revenge was acters, e.g., Duryodhana's strong that even the strongest Shaktala (also known as waxen lion out without open- simultaneously his act of vir- passing urine and Parvati's wind and the heaviest rain Shaktara in some versions) ing the cage. The Nandas tuous suicide. Sarala gave removing lice from Shiva's cannot shake it. Its fruit con- wondered if the revival of the released Chandragupta after Sakuni a second choice where hair. These differences, and tains the seeds of so many dead king and the subsequent he solved the riddle by heating he amply redeemed himself. the limited compounding pos- So, Sarala's retelling of the It is also possible that the banyan trees, and yet it flowed gift to a stranger could be a the waxen lion. Chandragupta In Sarala's eyes, Sakuni was a sible in Odia language, partly Mahabharata, the story of the regional versions, such as away in his urine. These mere coincidence. He feared in due course avenged the sufficiently moral person to explain why Sarala's epic is Kurus, can be seen as a pretext Sarala's, tapped into lesser thoughts made him smile. A that the person who entered family. make that choice. The original- considerably longer than to dwell upon Krishna lila. known parallel classical tradi- female attendant saw him the king's body would leave In Anantasarman's ity of Sarala is evident only Vyasa's. Indeed Sarala referred to his tions, which might explain the smile, and she smiled too. once his job was done. He Mudraraksha sapur- when it is compared with A number of features of Mahabharata as Vishnu Purana. deviation from the classical Duryodhana asked her why ordered the burning of all vasamkathanaka, when King other inter-related tales that the classical version made pos- Innovative retelling was also version. The Sarala she smiled. She said whatever corpses in the kingdom, Nanda Sudhanvan died, an define the story space that is sible these differences. The enabled by the abundance of Mahabharata can indeed be made him smile made her including Indradatta's body. ascetic entered his body and India, where shared narrative context of regional retellings underdeveloped characters read as a "Prison-revenge" smile. Duryodhana then asked Yogananda made Vararuchi distributed alms to his stu- frames have circulated over a was far removed from that of and stories as well as inconsis- story, a few examples of which her why he had smiled, and his minister and imprisoned dents. This aroused suspicion long period of time. the classical period, which tencies in the classical version. are presented below. threatened to put her to death Shaktala and his hundred sons in the mind of Minister necessitated innovations. Also, Moreover, innovations were In Sarala's story, Gandhari if she failed to answer him. fearing a coup. Shaktala alone Rakshasa, who found and Vikas Kumar teaches at Azim the Bhakti environment not culturally unacceptable as was married to a sahada tree She happened to be the atten- survived. He took revenge destroyed the ascetic's body. Premji University, Bangalore; required reorientation of the the Mahabharata was not treat- (and immediately widowed) dant who carried food to with Chanakya's help and Rakshasa then joined the serv- and B N Patnaik is a retired entire story toward the avatara. ed as a sacred text. before being married to Sakuni. Sakuni asked her to retired to a forest. ice of King Parvataka. faculty of IIT-Kanpur B M MALHOTRA The Partition was in the NDIA'S Partition, which the British rulers in pursuit of their notorious "divide and rule" policy, manoeuvred news recently as an exhibi- Ito inflict on us in 1947 as a concomitant of our long- coveted and overdue Independence, still continues to tion titled, Rising From the revive painful memories, especially of those who were The Partition: directly affected by it. Dust: Hidden Tales from The bloody communal riots that the Partition unleashed resulted in large-scale arson, loot, killings and India 1947 Refugee Camps other atrocities perpetrated on innocent victims by fren- was organized in Delhi in zied mobs and bigoted individuals in certain parts of India, mainly the Punjab and Bengal. May, 2016 when some The Divide also led to an unprecedented forced dis- placement and migration of millions of Hindus and Sikhs Partition-related documents, from the areas constituting Pakistan to the rest of India A painful relic and an almost equal number of Muslims from India to photographs of tented that newly created country comprising West Pakistan and East Pakistan. East Pakistan was of course liberated refugees and sundry other and transformed into a sovereign Bangladesh in 1971. Metaphorically, the Partition turned the golden memorabilia were displayed dreams of Indians for a wholesome Independence into a and some stories of nightmare and they felt that though spring had arrived, it was unfortunately accompanied by a harsh autumn. aggrieved families were The Partition was in the news recently as an exhibition titled, Rising From the Dust: Hidden Tales from India 1947 Refugee recalled with poignancy Camps was organized in Delhi in May, 2016 when some Partition-related documents, photographs of tented refugees and sundry other memorabilia were displayed and some sto- Amrita Pritam's eponymous novel. ries of aggrieved families were recalled with poignancy. Ritwik Ghatak's Bangla films, Megha Dhaka Tara Of human interest were the instances of some Muslims (1960), Komal Gandhar (1961) and Subarnalekha (1961) helping and saving their Hindu and Sikh neighbours and questioned the rationale of the Partition; condemned the friends and vice versa when parts of the country were suffering caused by it, yet highlighted the affected peo- engulfed by the mind-blowing and traumatizing happenings. ple's strong wish for reunification of the sundered part The exhibition was a precursor of a Partition Museum of the country with its parent body.