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ABSTRACT
The seventh-century Digambara author Raviṣeṇa is an important figure in the history of pre-modern South Asian literature, having composed the earliest extant Jain Rāma narrative in Sanskrit, the Padmapurāṇa (‘The Deeds of Padma’), a text that stands at the forefront of centuries of Jain engagement with the Rāma story. This article examines for the first time Raviṣeṇa’s use of humor in constructing the character of Rāvaṇa, arguing first – with reference to both Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra and the works of Kālidāsa – that Raviṣeṇa establishes humor by subtly undercutting common Sanskrit literary tropes, and, second, that this humor serves three interrelated purposes vis-à-vis Rāvaṇa. First, the humor foreshadows Rāvaṇa’s primary character flaws that will lead to his abduction of Sītā and eventual death at the hands of Lakṣmaṇa. Second, the humor works to humanize Rāvaṇa, making him a sympathetic character to the reader. Third, the humor establishes Rāvaṇa in opposition to the calm and serious Rāma, thereby positing that, according to Raviṣeṇa, true heroism consists of controlling one’s passions.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Anne E. Monius, John E. Cort, and Francis X. Clooney for their helpful suggestions on earlier versions of this paper. The author also thanks the anonymous reviewers of this paper for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1. Padma is a traditional name for Rāma in Jain texts.
2. Scholarship on Rāmāyaṇa literature is too massive to account for in its entirety here. On the overall importance of the Rāma narrative tradition in South Asian literature and culture, see Richman, ed. Many Rāmāyaṇas and Richman, ed. Questioning Rāmāyaṇas. For a historical examination of major Jain Rāma narratives, see De Clercq, “Paümacariẏa-Padmacarita-Paümacariu.”
3. See Cort, “An Overview of Jain Purāṇas”; De Clercq, “Paümacariẏa-Padmacarita-Paümacariu”; Jaini, “Jaina Purāṇas”; Kulkarṇī, The Story of Rāma in Jain Literature; Kulkarṇī, “Origin of the Story of Rāma”; Ramanujan, “Three Hundred Rāmāyaṇas”; and Shah, “Rāmāyaṇa in Jaina Tradition.”
4. This is not the first examination of Jain use of humor in literary texts. See, for example, Monius, “Jain Satire and Religious Identity.” Alternatively, see Siegel, Laughing Matters, for numerous examples of Jain monks (as well as brahmins and Buddhists) being the fodder for satire. Elst, in “Humour in Hinduism,” provides a valuable overview of the subjects of humor and strategies by which humor is generated in Hindu texts.
5. This is one of the major differences between Jain and Brahminical versions of the Rāma narrative. In the latter versions, it is Rāma who deals the final death blow to Rāvaṇa. On the roles of Lakṣmaṇa and Rāvaṇa as vāsudeva and prativāsudeva, respectively, in Jain Rāma literature, see Cort, “An Overview of the Jain Purāṇas,” 199.
6. See Warder, “Jaina Aesthetics,” 343.
7. See Miller, Theater of Memory, 3, where she calls Kālidāsa the “master-poet of Sanskrit.”
8. There is a total of 123 chapters in Raviṣeṇa’s work, meaning that his description of Rāvaṇa makes up approximately ten percent of the narrative.
9. As explained by Jaini (“Jaina Purāṇas,” 212) in the context Jain purāṇas, ‘vidyādharas [are] men possessing great magical powers but given to excessive forms of greed, lust (as in the case of Rāvaṇa), or envy (as in the case of Jarāsandha).’
10. Goldman and Masson (“Who Knows Rāvaṇa?”) remind us that, similar to Rāma, Rāvaṇa’s description in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa is not completely consistent. It is only in the Uttarakāṇḍa that Rāvaṇa evolves from a local rākṣasa chieftain to become a great asura demon, thereby making him a worthy foe of the newly exalted Rāma, who has evolved from a mortal prince and hero to become a full-fledged avatāra of the god Viṣṇu, descended to earth to restore dharma.
11. Kulkarṇī, “Origin of the Story of Rāma,” 44.
12. Ibid.
13. Shah, “Rāmāyaṇa in Jaina Tradition,” 68.
14. Ibid., 70.
15. Dundas, The Jains, 239.
16. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1, 152, verse 192.
17. Ibid. The compound, literally meaning “the moon for the lotuses of enemies,” relies upon the specific meaning of ‘padma’ as the day-blooming lotus that closes towards evening and remains closed throughout the night.
18. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1, 171–172, verses 53–55. tato garbhagṛhaṃ ramyaṃ praviṣṭo ‘yaṃ subhāvanaḥ | cakāra mahatīṃ pūjāṃ jinendrāṇāṃ viśeṣataḥ || stavāṃśca vividhānuktvā romaharṣaṇakāriṇaḥ | mastake ‘ñjalimāsthāya cūḍāmaṇivibhūṣite || spṛśaṃllalāṭapaṭṭena jānubhyāṃ ca mahītalam | pāvanau sa jinendrāṇām nanāma caraṇau ciram ||
19. This episode is found in the fourteenth chapter (parva) of Raviṣeṇa’s Padmapurāṇa.
20. I am grateful to Anand Venkatkrishnan for pointing this out.
21. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1, 153, verses 204–8.
22. Ibid., 155, verse 227.
23. ghanaughāt iva nirghātaḥ pravṛṣeṇyāt.
24. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1, 197, verses 402–10.
25. A hasta is a measure of length roughly equal to the length of a forearm. It is also a word for an elephant’s trunk, amplifying, here, the enormity of the elephant being described.
26. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1, 197–199, verses 410–430. tadādiṣṭaḥ prahasto ‘tha taṃ deśaṃ samupāgataḥ | apaśyatparvatākāraṃ līlāyuktamanekapam || niveditaṃ tatastena daśāsyāya savismayam | mahārāśimivābdānāṃ deva paśya mataṅgajam || īkṣitaḥ pūrvamapyeṣa dantivṛndārako mayā | indreṇāpyujjhito dhartumasamarthena vāraṇaḥ || manye purandarasyāpi durgraho ‘yaṃ sudussahaḥ | gajaḥ kimuta tuṅgaujāḥ śeṣāṇāṃ prāṇadhāriṇām || tataḥ prahasya viśrabdhaṃ jagāda dhanadārdanaḥ | ātmano yujyate kartuṃ na prahasta praśaṃsanam || etāvattu bravīmyetau bhujau keyūrapīḍitau | chinadmi na kṣaṇādenaṃ yadi gṛhṇāmyanekapam || tataḥ kāmagamāruhya vimānaṃ puṣpakābhidham | gatvā paśyati taṃ nāgaṃ sallakṣaṇasamanvitam || snigdhendranīlasaṃkāśaṃ rājīvaprabhatālukam | dīrghavṛttau sudhāphenavalakṣau bibhrataṃ radau || hastānāṃ saptakaṃ tuṅgaṃ daśakaṃ pariṇāhataḥ | āyāmataśca navakaṃ madhupiṅgalalocanam || nimagnavaṃśamagrāṅgatuṅgamāyatabāladhim | drāghiṣṭhakaramatyantasnigdhapiṅganakhāṅkuram || vṛttapīnamahākumbhaṃ supratiṣṭhāṅghrimūrjitam | antarmadhuradhīrorugarjitaṃ vinayasthitam || galadgaṇḍasthalāmodasamākṛṣṭāliveṇikam | kurvantaṃ dundubhidhvānaṃ karṇatālāntatāḍanaiḥ || bhagnāvakāśamākāśaṃ kurvāṇamiva pārthavāt | līlāṃ vidadhataṃ cittacakṣuścoraṇakāriṇīm || dṛṣṭvā ca taṃ parāṃ prītiṃ prāpa ratnaśravaḥ sutaḥ | kṛtārthamiva cātmānaṃ mene hṛṣṭatanūruhaḥ || tato vimānamujjhitvā baddhvā parikaraṃ dṛḍham | śaṅkhaṃ tasya puro dadhmau śabdapūritaviṣṭapam || tataḥ śaṅkhasvanodbhūtacittakṣobhaḥ sagārjitaḥ | karī daśamukhoddeśaṃ calito balagarvitaḥ || vegādabhyāyatasyāsya piṇḍīkṛtya sitāṃśukam | uttarīyaṃ ca cikṣepa kṣipraṃ vibhramadakṣiṇaḥ || dantī jighrati taṃ yāvattāvadutpatya gaṇḍayoḥ | aspṛśadyakṣamardastaṃ bhṛṅgaughadhvanicaṇḍayoḥ || kareṇa veṣṭituṃ yāvaccakre vāñchāṃ mataṅgajaḥ | tāvaddaṃṣṭāntareṇāsau niḥsṛto lāghavānvitaḥ || aṅgeṣu ca caturṣvasya spṛśan dantatale muhuḥ | bhrāntividyuccalaścakre preṅkhaṇaṃ radanāgrayoḥ || athāsya prṣṭhamārūḍhaḥ savilāsaṃ daśānanaḥ | vinītaśca sthito dantī sacchiṣya iva tatkṣaṇāt ||
27. Bharata, Nāṭyaśāstra, 751, verse 68.
28. The vidyādhara Indra’s name here is important, in part because of the god Indra’s intimate association with vīrarasa. Bharata explains that Indra is the presiding deity over the heroic sentiment. See Ghosh, The Nāṭyaśāstra, 108.
29. Ibid., vol. 1, 133. Bharata explicitly states that lightning strikes are one way of representing āvega.
30. Patankar, Kalidâsa’s Raghuvaṃśa, 134–36.
31. Vasudeva, The Recognition of Shakúntala, 96.
32. Fynes and Hemacandra, The Lives of the Jain Elders, 52–53.
33. Bharata, The Nātyaśāstra, 699, verse 40.
34. Bharata, The Nāṭyaśāstra, 696, verse 39.
35. Sharma, “Hāsya as a Rasa in Sanskrit Rhetoric and Literature,” 107. tena karuṇādyābhāseṣvapi hāsyatvaṃ sarveṣu mantavyam | anaucityapravṛttikṛtameva hi hāsyavibhāvakatvaṃm | taccānaucityaṃ sarvarasānāṃ vibhāvanubhāvādau sambhavyate |.
36. Siegel, Laughing Matters, 8.
37. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1, 174–175, verses 90–100. evaṃ ca ramamāṇo ‘sau nāmnā megharavaṃ girim | prāpattatra ca sadvāpīmapaśyad vimalāmbhasam || kumudairutpalaiḥ padmaiḥ svacchairanyaiśca vārijaiḥ | paryantasaṃcaratkrauñcahaṃsacakrāhvasārasām || mṛduśaṣpapaṭacchannataṭāṃ sopānamaṇḍitām | nabhaseva vilīnena pūritāṃ savituḥ karaiḥ || arjunādimahottuṅgapādapavyāptarodhasam | prasphuracchapharīcakrasamucchalitasīkarām|| bhrūkṣepāniva kurvāṇāṃ taraṅgairatibhaṅguraiḥ | jalpantīmiva nādena pakṣiṇāṃ śrotrahāriṇāṃ|| tatra krīḍāprasaktānāṃ dadhatīnāṃ parāṃ śriyam | ṣaṭ sahasrāṇi kanyānāmapaśyat kekasīsutaḥ || kāścicchīkarajālena remire dūragāminā | paryaṭanti sma satkanyā dūraṃ sakhyā kṛtāgasaḥ || pradarśya radanaṃ kācitpadmaṣaṇḍe saśaivale | kurvantī paṅkajāśaṅkāṃ sakhīnāṃ suciraṃ sthitā || mṛdaṅganisvanaṃ kāciccakre karatalāhatam | kurvāṇā salilaṃ mandaṃ gāyantī ṣaṭpadaiḥ samam || tatastā yugapad dṛṣṭvā kanyā ratnaśravaḥsutam | kṣaṇaṃ tyaktajalakrīḍā babhūvuḥ stambhitā iva || madhyaṃ tāsāṃ daśagrīvo gataḥ ramaṇakāṅkṣayā | rantumetena sākaṃ tā vyāpāriṇyo ‘bhavan mudā ||
38. One of the eight traditional types of Hindu marriages, the gāndharva marriage is based upon mutual attraction of the two individuals and requires no external ritual or system of approval.
39. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how many fathers there are in this episode. Raviṣeṇa explicitly mentions only three, the fathers of the three women whose names Rāvaṇa learns. It is thus possible that three men fathered all 6,000 women between themselves. It is also possible, though, that the three named fathers stand in for a larger group.
40. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, 175–6, verses 101–4.
41. Ghosh, The Nāṭyaśāstra, 108.
42. For a more in-depth examination of Raviṣeṇa's poetic prowess, see Clines, “So that it Might Become Clear.”
43. Vasudeva, The Recognition of Shakúntala, 139.
44. Ibid., 161–3.
45. Ibid., 177.
46. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 1., 175, verse 108.
47. See above 34.
48. Heyers, The Spirituality of Comedy, 1.
49. Torrance, The Comic Hero, 2.
50. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 2, 18–19, verses 55–59. āśvāsitaśca bāṇaughairjanako dhvastakaṅkaṭaḥ | tena janturyathā duḥkhī dharmeṇa jagadāyuṣā || rāghavo rathamāruḑho yuktaṃ capalavājibhiḥ | kavacodyotitavapuḥ hārakuṇḍalamaṇḍitaḥ || dhanurāyatamāsthāya śarapāṇirharidhvajaḥ | prakīrṇakolvaṇacchatro dharaṇīdhīramānasaḥ || praviṣan vipulaṃ sainyaṃ līlayā lokavatsalaḥ | subhaṭaiḥ pūryamāṇaḥ san bhātyarka iva raśmibhiḥ || saṃrakṣya janakaṃ prītaḥ kanakaṃ ca yathāvidhi | balaṃ vyadhvaṃsayacchatroribhavat kadalīvanam ||
51. Raviṣeṇa, Padmapurāṇa, vol. 2, 15-16, verses 13-15, 21-23. vijñāpayati deva tvāṃ janako janavatsalaḥ | paulinda paracakreṇa samākrāntaṃ mahītalam || āryadeśāḥ paridhvastā mlecchairudvāsitaṃ jagat | ekavarṇāṃ prajāṃ sarvāṃ pāpāḥ kartuṃ samudyatāḥ || prajāsu vipranaṣṭāsu jīvāmaḥ kiṃ prayojanāḥ | cintyatāmiti kiṃ kurmo vrajāmo vā kamāśrayam || muktikṣāntiguṇairyuktā yacca dhyānaparāyaṇāḥ | tapyante sutapo mokṣasādhanaṃ gaganāmbarāḥ || mahāntaśca puraskārā yaccaityabhavanādiṣu | vidhīyante ‘bhiṣekāśca jinānāṃ kṣīṇakarmaṇām || prajāsu rakṣitāsvetatsarvaṃ bhavati rakṣitam | tataśca dharmakāmārthāḥ pretya ceha ca bhūbhṛtāṃ ||
52. On Jain discourse on kingship, see Cort, “Who is a King.”
53. Siegel, Laughing Matters, 226–9.
54. Monius, “Love, Violence, and the Aesthetics of Disgust,” 135.
55. Hyers, The Spirituality of Comedy, 1.