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Continued from yesterday’s instalment
 Unlike in His Krishna avatar, where the Lord exhibits in all His acts His divine nature, He acts so totally like an ordinary man in the Rama avatar. Even when Garuda, the divine vehicle of the Lord appears in the battlefield to relieve the brothers of the serpent noose let loose by Indrajit, Rama asks very innocently,
‘ayya! nee yaarai?’ Who art thou sire! ‘engaL arum thavap payanin vandhu ingu eydhinai,’
You came here because of the good effects of our penance and ‘uyirum vaazhvum Indhanai’
restored our lives and blessed us thus. ‘emmanOraal kaiyurai kOdarkku oththa kaatchiyai allai.’ The likes of us are incapable of repaying the debt of the good deed that you did to us, (unasked and without expecting anything in return).
Garuda, unable to break the rahasya till the completion of the purpose of His incarnation takes leave of Him, simply saying that he would come back on a later day to remind him of His real Self
‘pazhaya uravu uLa thanmai ellaam uNarththuven,’ he says. ‘I will narrate all the old tales and tell you how we relate to each other at the right time.
‘arakkanOdu am-maRa vinai mudiththa pinnar varuven.’
I will come back after you kill the demon (Ravana) in war ‘nalhu vidai,’
and now let me have your word of adieu.
That left Rama totally perplexed.
‘aar uyir udhavi yaadhum kaariyam illaan pOnan,’ he says. ‘He gave us back our lives and went without asking anything in return.
‘karuNayOr kadamai Idhaal.’ That is in the nature of the great and merciful people. The Poet very carefully strives to put Rama in oblivion of his real self, not even recognising His own
‘periya thiruvadi’ or the first of His devotees and paying rich and even venerable tributes to him.
There is a purpose behind this meticulous effort. Ravana had obtained a boon of invincibility from all forms of life, excepting humans and monkeys, whom he considered as ‘poor and puny creatures’ who can never come anywhere near his physical might, let alone the protection granted by the boons. It was therefore essential for Rama not to be reminded of his divine nature until the purpose of his incarnation is completed.
 But there is an instance in the Ramayana when Lakshmana - not Rama - for a fleeting moment at least, realised his true self as part of Lord Vishnu. This happens only with Lakshmana and none of the other three brothers in any scene of the epic is shown in this state of mind, even for a short period.
It is generally believed that Valmiki showed Rama in his human form in all its joys and sorrows and Kamban put Rama under the divine shade, if not in thought, in word and deed indeed. But nonetheless, the above instance of Lakshmana seeing himself as an ‘inconceivable part of Lord Vishnu’ is narrated in Valmiki Ramayana as well. Going a little deep into it, we see Kamban putting it slightly differently, and doesn’t mention that Lakshmana realised his ‘true self’ (even for a short time) and unlike Valmiki, instead of showing it as a thought process of Lakshmana, gives out the same reason as a narrative of the Poet, turning the focus on to him instead.
And now for the scene under discussion.
More follows...
Published on 10th April 2002
Hari
Krishnan
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