Three-hundred Ramayanas, yes, but, 300 Mahabharathas?! Maybe!!

Students of mythology have read and reread AK Ramanujan’s essay, ‘Three-hundred Ramayanas’ that identifies and discusses the numerous retellings of the epic found across the entire Indian sub-continent and beyond.

While the Mahabharatha could never claim equal appeal, its pan-Indian influences have been considerable. The epic did apparently elicit a lot of interest in southern India in the ancient times.

Pandiyan era copper inscriptions dated to 10^th century AD make a specific mention of the ‘Mathurapuri Sangam' that translated the ‘Mabharatham’.  Similarly, inscriptions dating to the Pallava period tell us that arrangements were made to narrate/read the story of Mahabharatha across the kingdom. It’s not surprising then that ‘Arjuna’s penance’ finds a place in the famed rock-cut carvings of Mahabalipuram, the pinnacle of Pallava architecture.

Based on literary evidence, scholars point to strong connections established between the Pandavas and the kings of the South, mostly in the form of political alliances through marriage. These connections subsequently found their way into the public imagination in the form of folk lore.

Thus, in these stories, we find the characters from the epic engaging and interacting seamlessly with the local characters  - both mythical and historical.

Folk lore in the ballad form called ‘Ammanai’

These stories have been narrated in a ballad form called ‘Ammanai’.  The ‘Ammanai’ is in the form of questions and answers. A poet by the name of Pugazhendhi is believed to have composed several such ballads. These ballads, which primarily existed in the oral tradition, were brought to print in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Arjuna as the son-in-law of a Pandiya king

As already mentioned, although the folk versions of these stories adhere to the basic plot of the epic, they take a lot of liberty with the sub-plots by introducing several new characters, alien to the epic but intrinsic to the local milieu. Most of the stories are thus set in the Pandiya kingdom and the local stories are cleverly intertwined with the characters from the epic.

Arjuna is a central character in several stories and is often referred to as Vijayan. He is shown as establishing political liaisons through marriage with the princesses from the Pandiya kingdom. A scholar named Ramanujachari, in his Tamil translation of the Sanskrit work ‘Vyasa Bharatha’, quotes verses from Tholkaappiyam (the oldest known work in Tamil) which mention Arjuna as being the son-in-law of a Pandiya king.

While many stories acknowledge Arjuna as a warrior par excellence, he is also often shown to be lusting after beautiful women. Most of the new characters introduced into these retellings are women he married while on his exile including Alli, Pavalakodi and Min Oliyaal.

In one such story, Arjuna desires the daughter of a Pandiya king, Alli. Alli is depicted as a warrior queen who killed a man when she was just 7 years old. (The character of Alli is modelled on Madurai’s iconic goddess Meenakshi.)

One day when Alli was sleeping, Arjuna tied the mangalsutra (thaali) around her neck. When she woke up, Alli was livid. She immediately took her weapons to fight Arjuna. In the combat that ensued, Arjuna was defeated. But even when defeated, Arjuna continued to pine for her love. Even Bhima, with all his might and prowess could not help Arjuna, and fled from a battle with Alli. Finally, with the help of a plan suggested by Sahadeva, Arjuna captured and confined Alli to a tiger’s cage, where he managed to marry her.

Centred around man-woman relationships and sexually explicit

These stories are mostly centred around man-woman relationships, and unlike the epic, don’t bother to dwell much on the subject of dharma. Thus, most of the stories are about the romantic liaisons of Arjuna or his exploits of adventure. These stories can thus be seen as a continuation of the literary legacy inherited from two key Tamil works belonging to the Sangam era – Aga Naanuru and Pura Naanuru. (Aga Naanuru are primarily love poems whereas Pura Naanuru deliberates on the war exploits of the man.) For instance, the concept of marriage by abduction/eloping (kalavu) is a recurring theme in Sangam literature.  This idea is repeated in some of the folk tales too.

The other thing about these stories is that they are sexually explicit. The folklorist does not shy away from recounting in detail the sexual encounters of the men.   

Karna’s longing for sexual intimacy with his wife

In a ballad based on Karna’s life, he is shown as being married to a woman by the name Ponnuruvi. Taking Karna to be from an inferior caste, Ponnaruvi does not allow Karna to have a sexual relationship with her. But Karna wants to leave behind a progeny before he leaves for Kurukshetra.

So one day, on the advice of Krishna (Mayon), when Ponnaruvi is lying unconscious he has intercourse with her. When Ponnuruvi realises that she has been violated, she is extremely upset.  She tries to abort her child but is unsuccessful. Eventually she delivers Karna’s child. Karna’s inferior caste comes to the fore yet again when Ponnuruvi refuses to bid farewell to him before he leaves for the war. It is at this juncture that Karna reveals to his wife his identity as Kunti’s son. On coming to know of Karna’s true birth status, there is a sudden shift in Ponnuruvi’s attitude towards her husband. She then bids him a cheerful adieu, but not before Karna warns her of his imminent death on the battle field. He also cautions her not to go join the Pandavas after his death, but to leave for her father’s house. Karnas’s distrust and hatred for the Pandavas and his loyalty to the Kauravas comes through in this story.

Interestingly, the folk lore is more sympathetic to Karna’s identity crisis than the epic itself. There is a moving expression of Karna’s personal tragedy in this ballad.

The revenge of Draupadi

While the epic itself may not have dispensed satisfactory justice to Draupadi in the case of her disrobing, the folk lorist tries to make amends….to a certain extent.

In a ballad that is dedicated to Draupadi, there is a story about her disrobing. During the shameful act, Draupadi’s honour is saved by Krishna who covers her body with unending length of silk sarees.  After the Pandavas accompanied by Draupadi leave the court, Duryodhana has the sarees sent to his harem which is then divided among the hundred wives of the Kauravas. Wearing these silk sarees, the wives parade the streets of Hastinapura. Seeing this, Draupadi is very upset. With her magical prowess, she turns the sarees into birds, which fly off leaving the Kaurava wives stark naked in public. The onlookers laugh while the Kaurava wives are shamed. Thus does Draupadi have her revenge on the Kaurava men for whom their honour lay in the honour of their women.

Above all, what I found most charming thing about these stories is that they are unpretentious and supremely expressive, much like our ‘Bambaiya Hindi’, but without compromising on the literary value.

Of course, these stories have to be understood in the context of the times they were told. If we are willing to approach these stories with an open mind, there are many more waiting to be told…...

Stories extracted from Aa.Ka. Perumal’s book – Arjunanin Tamil Kaadaligal

(Arjuna’s Tamil Lady Loves)