Swasthani 1.Indd

ORDER your copy Call 97510-15674 Email [email protected] www.swasthani.org www.facebook.com/swastani US $35 Swasthani adaptation by Pallav Ranjan Kathmandu. Spiny Babbler, 1999. 126 pp. Reviewed by Michael Hutt EBHR 17. Pages 159-161. P allav Ranjan divides his English ad- too, but on her way to Labhanya Chan- with the edi on cited by Benne . For apta on of the Swasthani Vrat Katha, drawa becomes angry with her bearers instance, Benne quotes from her own the ‘Story of the Fast of the Goddess for stopping to listen to the Swasthani transla on of the episode towards the Swasthani’, into twenty-two short ‘read- stories en route, and when they resume end of the Goma story, in which an ings’. Two thirds of these deal with their journey she falls into a fl ooding Apsara instructs Chandrawa how to characters and myths from the Hindu river. Chandrawa is so evil that the river perform the Swasthani vow, and these Puranas. Readings 1 and 2 deal with cos- does not fl ow again un l some villagers instruc ons con nue for 26 lines (Ben- mology and the crea on of the world. dump her body on the bank, where she ne 1983: 277), but Ranjan simply gives The main theme of readings 3 to 7 is becomes an unrecognizable object. Not us “So she asked the Apsaras what she the story of Shiva’s marriage to Sa devi, even the soil will allow her to eat it. Two should do. According to their advice, daughter of Daksya Prajapa , Daksya’s priests on their way to the feast promise Chandrawa learned to worship the insul ng of Shiva, Sa devi’s self immola- to bring food back for her but the grain Swasthani with a clean mind” (p. 118). on, and Shiva’s mourning and sca er- store suddenly emp es when they go to Thus, it would seem that Ranjan has ing of the pieces of Sa devi’s body, dur- get some, and the rice turns to ash when prepared his adapta on for a readership ing which the demon Taraka takes over she tries to eat it. The Apsaras come and that would fi nd this level of detail irrel- the world. Readings 8 to 15 begin with tell her to read the Swasthani and make evant and resome. the birth of Parba , who manages to se- off erings of sand; fi nally, she is restored It would have been instruc ve if cure Shiva as her husband by reading the to her family. Pallav Ranjan had provided some insight Swasthani stories, and go on to recount The Swasthani Vrat Katha is a cru- in his brief preface into the way in which the myths of Shiva as Kirateswor in the cial text for anyone who wishes to un- he prepared this adapta on. Certain forest near Pashupa , the births and ex- derstand the ideals and constraints that passages are very close indeed to the ploits of Ganesh and Kumar, the defeats have tradi onally governed the lives of original, which suggests that a text was fi rst of Taraka and then of the demons women (par cularly, but not exclusively, at least consulted, while others are omit- who had created Three Ci es, and the Brahman and Chetri women) in Nepal. ted (sugges ng an inten on to abridge, bizarre series of seduc on, murder, and My understanding of it prior to reading perhaps) or simply diff erent (sugges ng suicide involving Bishnu and Shiva, and Pallav Ranjan’s rendering relied heavily that a diff erent text was consulted or Jalandhar and his wife, Brinda. on the summary and analysis that ap- that Ranjan relied on an oral source or Finally, readings 16 to 22 contain pear in Lynn Benne ’s book Dangerous his own memory). It is also a shame that the story of Goma, the girl who is cursed Wives and Sacred Sisters: Social and Ranjan’s introduc on does not really by Shiva to marry a man ten mes her symbolic roles of high-caste women in bring out the important role the text has age. This is in some way the most inter- Nepal (Columbia University Press, 1983, played and con nues to play in the lives es ng sec on of the text. At the age of especially pp. 274-306). Benne referred of so many women in Nepal. seven, Goma marries a 70-year-old man, to an edi on compiled by Babu Madhav Which brings us to the ques on Shivasharma, and they live with her Prasad Sharma and published in Banaras of readership? For whom is this ‘adap- parents. Some years later Shivasharma in 1955, which extends to around 300 ta on’ intended? Nepali readers with decides he must go home, and Goma pages. Pallav Ranjan’s retelling of these a mastery of English will admire the goes with him. As soon as they have de- stories is in almost fl awless English and elegance of its prose, and will also ap- parted, her parents die in an accident, is highly readable. For instance, when preciate this eff ort to bring this text to and on their journey thieves steal eve- Shivasharma hears Goma’s mother, Sa , the a en on of a wider readership. To rything from Shivasharma and Goma, voicing her horror at the idea of her introduce the text to a foreign reader- then Goma becomes pregnant. When daughter marrying such an elderly man, ship which is unable to approach it in they reach Shivasharma’s village he goes the words Ranjan has him say are genu- its original language: would be a worthy begging for food but dies in a fall. Goma inely poignant: aim, but if this is indeed the inten on bears a son, Nawaraj, and they are sup- “There are old people in this the success of the ini a ve it is rather ported by some local rich people. In world, mother, and then there are chil- circumscribed by the absence of any real me, Nawaraj marries Chandrawa , and dren. There are people who are pleasant explana on or analysis of the text’s pre- then he searches and fi nds his father’s to look upon and people who are ugly. cise signifi cance and meaning, despite bones but does not return to his mother. Some people do not have descendants the fl uency and accessibility of the Eng- A er a while Chandrawa goes back to and some have too many. Some have lish rendering itself. To fully understand her parents, leaving Goma alone. Goma wives that are older than they are and what is going on here, a foreign reader goes mad, but Parba sends Rishis to some have husbands who are older. would need also to be directed to a work teach her the Swasthani rites, and when Some of us are rich and some poor. The like Benne ’s. they leave she fi nds gold under their world is like the po er’s wheel. It is al- This is not to detract from Pallav seats. ways spinning. Everyone becomes old Ranjan’s achievement, which is notable Goma’s readings of the Swasthani and dies. There are none who will not and worthy of praise. The text is also stories bring her son back to her, and age. Why do you feel that you are be er greatly enhanced by the inclusion of il- Shiva, now suddenly benevolent, sends than I am? Why will you not respect my lustra ons whose abstract nature sug- Nawaraj to become king of Labhanya life? If this is how you feel , I will die now, gests that they emanate from the same and take a new wife. Goma is sum- before your eyes.” mythic dimension in which these stories moned there too. Nawaraj holds a feast Parts of Ranjan’s adapta on ap- take place. and magnanimously invites Chandrawa pear highly condensed in comparison SOAS • LONDON CNRS’ PARIS SAl’ HEIDELBERG The extended edition of Pallav Ranjan’s Swasthani is now available to order Compared to the concise edition, this is an entirely new version. Extensive, more imaginative, and with greater detail, structure, research, it features fi fty full page illustrations by the author. For those interested in Eastern culture, Swasthani is essential reading. There is, perhaps, no other document like it on the entire Indain sub-continent. Most Nepalese people perceive the universe, their religion, and their deities through the Swasthani readings. Its stories will tell you more than the most pedantious text book. Defi nitely, the Swasthani scriputures do more to shape the cultural fabric of the Nepal Himalya than the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. The stories of creation, stories of the great Lords Brahma, Bishnu, and Shiva created by one god, the way of life in the Himalaya are all in this single slim volume. For every traveler, every scholar, every person interested in Oriental religions, cultures, and people, the Swasthani scriptures are a must read. Every year, Swasthani is read aloud in thousand of Nepalese homes. A simple yet exquisite presentation of Swasthani stories by Pallav Ranjan, a writer, according to one critic, who can capture the “fog’s moisture and the light of a million fi refi lies” with his words, provides good reading as well as learning. Beautifully adapted stories, 50 full-pages Swasthani related artwork, a chart outlining God’s creations, and a map of sities that you can visit after reading the scriptures, this may be the most comprehensive and enjoyable guide to Nepalese culture that you will fi nd.

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