While going through the Bala Kanda, I found that many Sargas/Cantos are either inserted with an aim to elevate the status of Vedic God Vishnu, one among 33 Devas, to the status of SUPREME God or not in tune with Sage Valmiki's style.
The order in which the literature came into existence in India is as follows;
Vedic Literature -> Srimad Ramayana -> Mahabharata -> Puranas
- Till Mahabharata period, i.e, around 3102 B.C., the Gods from Vedic Pantheon were worshiped.
- Lord Brahma is the Ruler of of all Worlds. - ब्रह्मा लोकाधिपो यथा (Srimad Ramayana, Bala Kanda).
- Indra's status was held next to him. Indra was the Chief invitee of Yagnas - पुरु हूतस्य, but not Vishnu or Shiva as commonly believed.
- Vishnu was one among 33 main Devas, being worshipped. He is described as indrAnujam - इन्द्र अनुजम् (younger brother of Indra, the chief of GODs). He used to assist Indra, when ever occasion demanded, as in the case of subjugating BALI by taking the form of VAMANA.
- Shiva could not be found in Vedic Pantheon. The Vedic God Rudra's structure, appearance, status,etc, were altered and named Shiva, and was elevated to the staus of MAHAADEVA.
- Sage Valmiki belonged to Vedic Era. So he adored and praised Vedic Gods only
- Sage Narada was not mentioned in Vedic Literature, and only find place puranas.
With this background if we have to study the Baala Kanda, then we can find the following interpolations.
A) Sargas/Cantos that are inserted with an aim to elevate the status of Vedic God Vishnu
1. Prologue to the story
The first 4 Sargas of Bala Kanda. It is in these Sargas we will come across the stories of
- Sage Narada describing the great qualities of Sri Rama
- Lord Brahma coming down personally to the Ashram of Sage Valmiki and ordering him to pen the Srimad Ramayana.
- Singing of Ramayana by Lava and Kusa.
(a) As already mentioned above Sage Narada was not a part of Vedic Literature. Hence, his coming and explaining about Sri Rama is an insertion made at a later date.
(b) All Vedas were heard by Rishies in Dhyana and they gave that knowledge to the world. In no case we heard that Lord Brahma himself coming down and directing a sage to share the Vedic Knowledge with the world. So the story of Lord Brahma ordering Sage Valmiki is an INTERPOLATION.
(c) The Story of Ramayana ends with the coronation of Sri Rama as the king of Kosala Kingdom. It was only in the PRAKSHIPTA KANDA i.e, Uttara Kanda Lava and Kusa were mentioned. Hence, their presence in Baala Kanda does not in fit in.
So the first 4 Sargas of Baala Kanda are interpolation with a view to elevate the status of Vishnu to the level of SUPREME GOD.
2. Conduct of Putrakaamesthi Yagna
King Dasaratha never thought of conducting of Putrakaamesthi Yagna. This story is incorporated at a later date (interpolation) in 15 - 17 sargas (3 in number ) to elevate the status of Vishnu to that of SUPREME God and to establish that Sri Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu.
A detailed explanation is at the following URL.
http://sriramayanakandukuri.blogspot.in/search/label/E.01.%2001%20Bala%20Kanda%20English%20-%20Only%20Aswamedha%20Yagna
3. The story of Parasurama
Parasurama was not an incarnation of Vishnu. This story was incorporated in 75 - 77 Sargas (3 Sargas) of Baala Kanda. This story was incorporated with a view to establishing the 6th incarnation of Vishnu, an interpolation.
A detailed explanation is at the following URL.
http://sriramayanakandukuri.blogspot.in/search/label/G.23%20General%20-%20Parasurama%20was%20not%20the%20%20incarnation%20%28Avatar%29%20of%20Lord%20Vishnu
And what about the horse killing Ashvamedha?
ReplyDeleteIs that a prakshipta too?
And Kausalya "as law ordained" sleeping with the dead horse for a night?
And the killing of horse, by cutting the vapa into three.
And Dasaratha, by Manu's law, inhaling the fumes of the cooked horse flesh, instead of eating.
Do you think such a ritual could have happened?