EPIC SOURCES
The R
mya
a is one of the most important sources for the commentators who write on the poems of the 
vr. Periyav
cc
Pi
ai, in particular, does not pass up an opportunity to cite from the Vlm
ki Rmyaa. The Vlmki Rmya
a consists of seven books in total. I summarize the major plot elements of each book below. The number and the name of the relevant book are given within parenthesis at the conclusion.
Rmyaa
King Da
aratha of Ayodhy has three principal wives—Kausaly, Sumitr, and Kaikey
. After being childless for a number of years, he performs a grand sacrifice and is blessed with four sons, who are all emanations of Vi
u. Rma is the eldest and is born to Kausaly. Sumitr gives birth to two sons, Lakmaa and 
atrughna, while Kaikey is mother to Bharata. The boys grow up into handsome and noble princes, with Rma beloved by all, for he embodies every virtue.
When they are but mere youth, Rma and Lakmaa accompany the great sage Vivmitra into the forest to aid him in vanquishing demons, who seek to disrupt his great sacrifice. During their sojourn they defeat the demoness T
ak, release the beautiful Ahaly from a curse, and acquire various magical weapons. Vivmitra then takes the boys to the city of Mithil, ruled by King Janaka. Rma wins a contest and marries the king’s lovely daughter, St. Rma and Lakmaa and their wives return to Ayodhy triumphant, and thus spend many blissful years (Book 1: Blak
a).
One day, Daaratha, aware of his old age, decides to anoint Rma as his successor. He makes the announcement immediately, even though Bharata is away. Everyone is delighted by the news, except a loyal maid to Queen Kaikey. She convinces the noble Kaikey that it is not in her best interests for Rma to become king, and urges her to redeem two promised boons from Daaratha. Kaikey does so, requesting that Bharata be made king in Rma’s place, and that Rma be exiled to the forest for fourteen years. Daaratha is heartbroken, but accedes to her wishes, because he cannot go back on his word. Rma accepts his father’s decree without comment or protest, and prepares for his exile. Both Lakmaa and Rma’s wife St insist on accompanying him to exile, and the three of them leave. Daaratha, separated from his beloved Rma, dies of a broken heart.
Bharata returns to hear the news of Rma’s exile. He is thunderstruck and falls into a swoon. He disowns his mother and prepares to follow Rma into the forest, and to beg him to return. Bharata implores Rma to forgo his exile, but Rma, steadfast in upholding his father’s vow, refuses. Bharata eventually accepts Rma’s decision, and agrees to rule in his place for the duration of his exile. He takes Rma’s sandals as a symbol, installs them on the throne of Ayodhy, and vows not to enter the city until Rma returns. He swears that should Rma not return in exactly fourteen years, he, Bharata, would leap into the fire and kill himself. (Book 2: Ayodhyka)
Rma and St have many adventures in the forest. Toward the end of their exile, 
rpaakh, the demon sister of Rvaa, the king of La
ka, falls in love with Rma and attempts to seduce him. rpaakh sees the beautiful St, decides to kill her rival, and attacks her. Lakmaa intervenes and mutilates her. When a local band of demon relatives are unable to defeat the two princes, rpaakh turns to her brother Rvaa and secures his aid by inciting his lust for St.
Rvaa decides to abduct St and enlists the help of Mrca, whom he commands to assume the form of a magical deer. Mrca prances in front of St and beguiles her with his false beauty. St requests Rma to capture the deer for her, and Rma agrees to do so, despite Lakmaa’s warnings. Rma chases the deer, corners it, and kills it. But St urges Lakmaa to follow Rma. Lakmaa refuses, but eventually agrees, defying Rma’s orders. Rvaa seizes the opportunity and abducts St. The great vulture king Jayus gives chase, but is killed. Rvaa imprisons St in his island city of Laka. (Book 3: Arayak
a)
Rma and Lakmaa return to find St gone. Rma is distraught, but urged by Lakmaa he begins the search. Finally, the two brothers find themselves in Kikindh, the land of the monkeys, where they meet Hanumn and his friend Sugrva. Sugrva is an exiled monkey prince, and Rma aids him to regain his throne, after securing his promise of aid in return. Rma secretly kills Vlin, Sugrva’s brother, and installs Sugrva on the throne of Kikindh. As the monsoon arrives, Sugrva forgets his promise and the monkeys are immersed in having a good time. Rma sends Lakmaa as an emissary to Sugrva and once again secures his help. All of the monkeys, including Sugrva, Vlin’s son, Agada, and Hanumn rally to support Rma. (Book 4: Ki
kindhka).
Sugrva dispatches his monkey army to search for St. Hanumn and a small contingent of monkeys are sent south, where they learn that St is in Laka. Hanumn, who is the son of the wind, and is blessed with great strength and wisdom, leaps across the ocean to Laka. He searches far and wide for St, until he finds her imprisoned in a grove of aoka trees. He introduces himself as Rma’s messenger and gifts her with Rma’s ring. Hanumn offers to rescue her, but St refuses, not willing to be touched by any man other than her husband. She requests Hanumn to urge Rma to hurry to Laka and avenge the insult to her (and his) honor. Hanumn causes havoc in Laka and allows himself to be captured by Rvaa’s guards. Rvaa punishes him by setting fire to his tail. Hanumn, in turn, escapes and burns down Laka. Hanumn returns to Rma and gives him St’s message. (Book 5: Sundaraka)
Rma and his monkey army ready for battle. Rvaa’s advisors warn him of Rma’s might and valor, but he ignores them. Chief among his detractors is his brother, Vibhaa, who is virtuous and noble. Unable to support Rvaa’s misguided actions, Vibhaa defects and surrenders to Rma. Rma accepts him into the fold, despite the warnings of his allies, saying that he would give refuge to even an enemy if he came in the guise of a friend. Vibhaa proves an invaluable asset. Rma and his army of monkeys build a bridge across the ocean to Laka. A terrible battle rages between the forces of Rma and Rvaa, and finally, Rma kills Rvaa.
St is freed, and she returns to Rma. Rma however rejects her, and demands that she enter the fire to prove her chastity. She does so and emerges from the flames, unscathed. Rma and St are reunited. They return to Ayodhy, where a jubilant Bharata and the entire citizenry of Ayodhy greet them. Rma is crowned, and rules over a happy and peaceful Ayodhy for a number of years (Book 6: Yuddhahaka).
Rma and St rule for several years, until rumors surface among the population of Ayodhy of St’s infidelity with Rvaa. Rma, cleaving to the role of a good king, banishes the pregnant St, although he knows the rumors to be false. Many years later, Rma performs a sacrifice, at which the twin boys Lava and Kua, students of Vlmki, recite the story of Rma. He discovers that they are his sons, and Rma is ready to reclaim St. St, however, has suffered too much, refuses, and disappears into the bosom of the Earth from which she was born. Rma, unable to bear this final separation from St, divides the kingdom between his two sons, enters the Saray river, accompanied by the citizens of Ayodhy, and returns to Viu’s abode. (Book 7: Uttaraka).
Mahbhrata
The Mahbhrata is not as significant a text for the commentators as the Rmyaa. In their commentaries to the Tiruppvai and Ncciyr Tirumo
i, they rarely quote directly from it.
The one episode that is of immense importance concerns Draupad, the heroine of the Mahbhrata. When the oldest of the five Pava brothers, Yudhihira, loses everything in a game of dice against his Kaurava cousins, who are his archenemies, the oldest brother Duryodhana orders Draupad to be brought before the assembly. Draupad is menstruating and refuses to do as he bids. She is finally dragged by her hair and then disrobed in public. At this time of dishonor, Draupad appeals to K
a to protect her. He does so by supplying endless length of cloth to cover Draupad, thus protecting her honor.
However, the Bhagavad Gt, which is a part of the Mahbhrata, is of enormous significance to the rvaiava commentators.
The Bhagavad Gt (Song of God) is Ka’s discourse to Arjuna, the hero of the Mahbhrata. It takes place on the battlefield of Kuruketra, on the eve of the great battle between the two sets of cousins, the Pavas and Kauravas. The Bhagavad Gt is divided into eighteen chapters, and it deals with a variety of issues, including the nature of desireless action (nikma karma), the relation between sacrifice and action, and the discipline of devotion (bhakti yoga).
rvaiava theologians see verse 18.66 as the crux of the Gt. In this verse, Ka tells Arjuna to practice an exclusive devotion to him. Verse 29 of the Tiruppvai is understood in rvaiava commentaries as reiterating the central ideas of this verse, which is known as the carama loka.
The verse is as follows:
[Ka says]
Relinquishing all sacred duties to me,
make me your only refuge;
do not grieve,
for I shall free you from all evils.
(Trans. Barbara Stoler Miller, p. 144)
Bhgavata Pura
The Ka legend is a rich source of material for the rvaiava commentators. While they do quote from the Bhgavata Pura and the Viu Pura, these instances are frequent as the quotations from the Rmyaa. Instead, they often retell favorite stories to illustrate a point about Ka’s compassionate nature, his accessibility, or his valor. Therefore, it is not possible to determine if the commentators are relying solely on the Bhgavata Pura, or if they are working from a set of circulating narratives that include oral and multiple written versions. However, it must be noted that by the period of the commentaries (mid-twelfth to thirteenth centuries), the Bhgavata Pura is a well-known text, and the rvaiava commentators are no doubt aware of it.
Although the Bhgavata Pura is not the earliest compilation of Ka stories–the Hari Va
a and Viu Pura are probably older—it is, without a doubt, the most well known and popular among Vaiavas. It is for this reason that I refer to the Bhgavata Pura version of the Ka stories in the synopses below.
I give below a summary of the stories that occur most frequently in the commentaries to the Tiruppvai and Ncciyr Tirumoi. These are based on Edwin Bryant’s translation of the Bhgavata Pura, book 10; on Swami Venkatesananda’s retellings; and the references in Vettam Mani’s Puric Encyclopedia. The Bhgavata Pura is a voluminous work of eighteen thousand verses. The bulk of the Ka narrative takes place in book 10 and book 11. All citations below refer to the relevant book and chapter in the Bhgavata Pura. Therefore, “10.22” refers to book 10, chapter 22.
In addition to this summary of stories, I have also included a very brief synopsis of those Ka stories that occur frequently in the Tiruppvai and Ncciyr Tirumoi in the “Index of Myths and Names in the Tiruppvai and Ncciyr Tirumoi.”
1. Ka’s Birth, 10.3 and 10.4
Ka is born in the city of Mathur at midnight as the eighth child of Devak and Vasudeva. Ka
sa, Devak’s brother, has imprisoned them because of a prophecy that their eighth child will kill him. Furthermore, he has killed all their previous seven children. Aided by the divine child, the doors to their prison fly open, and Vasudeva spirits the child away, across the swollen Yamun, which magically recedes to grant him passage to Gokula. On the same night, Yogamy (divine illusion) is born as a daughter to Nandagopa and Yaod. Unbeknownst to the cowherds of Gokula, Vasudeva switches the babies, and brings Yogamy back to Mathur. When Kasa attempts to kill Yogamy, she escapes his grasp and announces that the one who will kill him has already been born elsewhere.
2. Ka Kills Ptan, 10.6
Kasa dispatches Ptan, the devourer of children, to kill Ka. She wanders the area killing children. One day, she changes her form into that of a beautiful woman and arrives in Gokula. She enters Nanda’s house and proceeds to suckle Ka at her poisoned breast. Ka sucks her life breath out of her body, reveals her true form, and kills her. When the cowherds cremate Ptan’s body, a delightful fragrance wafts from the pyre, because all her sins have been destroyed when she suckled Ka.
3. Ka Submits to Yaod, 10.9
Ka steals butter from Yaod, much to her frustration and anger. She beats the child until he cries. Then she takes a rope and tries to bind him to a grinding stone. But because Ka is the supreme lord, she is unable to do so, as no length of rope is sufficient. Finally, Ka takes pity on his mother, and allows himself to be bound, demonstrating his devotion to his devotees. It is for this reason that he is known as Dmodara—the one whose belly was bound by a rope.
4. Ka Kills Baksura, 10.11
A terrible demon assumes the form of a crane and swallows Ka. The watching cowherds are distressed, but the demon immediately disgorges Ka, who is like a fire in his belly. When the crane-demon approaches Ka once again, intent on killing him, Ka destroys him by splitting his beak.
5. Ka Vanquishes Kliya, 10.16
A giant thousand-headed snake, Kliya, takes up residence in the Yamun and poisons it. Ka decides to vanquish it, and leaps into the river from the top of a katampa tree. He tussles with the snake and at one point, pretends to be inert. All the cowherds are distraught and gather on the banks of the Yamun. Realizing their distress, Ka subdues the snake and begins to dance on its crest. In this way, he subdues Kliya, who surrenders to Ka and offers him worship. The Yamun once again returns to its pure state.
6. Ka and Balarma Vanquish Pralamba, 10.18
A demon named Pralamba disguises himself as a cowherd, and joins Ka, Balarma, and their friends in their games. He is intent on killing Ka and Balarma. They play a game in which the loser has to carry the victor on his back. Thus Pralamba finds himself carrying Balarma. He tries to kidnap the boy, but, because of Balarma’s great weight, is brought to a halt. Then Pralamba assumes his true form, but Balarma smites him and thus kills him.
7. Ka Steals the Gops’ Clothes, 10.22
The gops observe a vow in the winter months to the goddess Ktyyan to win Ka as their husband. They make images of the goddess out of sand on the banks of the river and bathe in the river. They call to each other in the morning to join in the vow. One day, Ka follows them to the river and steals their clothes. From high above in a katampa tree, he teases them, until they reveal themselves to him naked and worship him. He returns their clothes to them and promises to fulfill all their desires.
8. Ka Lifts Mount Govardhana, 10.24–10.25
Ka questions the cowherds’ worship of Indra and suggests instead that they worship the Govardhana hill. Ka assumes the form of the hill and receives their delighted worship. Indra, angered, brings down a terrible thunderstorm on the land of the cowherds. Realizing that he is their sole refuge, Ka lifts the Govardhana hill with one hand and shelters all of Gokula under it for seven days. Indra realizes his foolishness, and he withdraws the rain. The cowherds come out from under the protective umbrella of the Govardhana hill, and Ka places it gently back on the ground.
The Story of Akrra’s Devotion, 10.36–10.39
Akrra is a great devotee of Ka, but is also Kasa’s minister. Kasa dispatches Akrra to invite Ka and Balarma to Mathur. Akrra is delighted, because he finally gets the opportunity to see Ka. He makes his way to Gokula immersed in contemplation of Ka. When he enters Gokula, Akrra sees Ka’s footprints and, overcome with devotion, prostrates on the ground and rolls in the dust of Ka’s footprints. And when he finally sees Ka and Balarma, he once again falls at their feet. Ka embraces him, overcome with love for the devotee who has taken refuge in him.
Balarma and Ka depart for Mathur with Akrra. En route, they pause at the banks of the Yamun. While the two brothers wait in the chariot, Akrra takes a dip in the river. As he immerses himself in the water, he sees Ka in the water. When he breaks the surface, he sees that the boys are still seated in the chariot. Witnessing this miraculous feat, Akrra is overcome by love and devotion for Ka.
10. Ka Kills Kuvalaypa, 10.43
When Ka arrives in Mathur, Kasa sends the king of the elephants, Kuvalaypa to kill him. Ka fights the elephant, and finally kills him by grabbing him by the trunk and hurling him to the ground.
After Ka kills Kuvalaypa, Kasa sends the two wrestlers Cra and Muika to fight against Ka and Balarma respectively. They fight long and hard, but Ka succeeds in killing Cra, while Balarma does the same to Muika. Kasa, witnessing this, is afraid. He commands that the wealth of the cowherds be seized and Nanda imprisoned. Angered, Ka advances on him. Kasa takes up his sword and shield, but Ka leaps up on the throne and overpowers Kasa, flinging him into the center of the arena, thus ending his life. Since Kasa spent every waking moment contemplating Ka, he was released from the cycle of life and death.
12. Ka’s Marriage to Rukmi, 10.52–10.53
The beautiful princess Rukmi wishes to marry Ka, but her brother Rukmi is his sworn enemy. She dispatches a love message to Ka through a trustworthy Brahmin. In that message, Rukmi declares her love for Ka and asks him to rescue her from marriage to another. She tells him to abduct her as she emerges after performing the pre-wedding rituals at the temple of the goddess. Ka heeds her message, steals her away, defeats all that stand in his way, and weds Rukmi.
13. The Story of Ka’s son Pradyumna, 10.55
iva burned Kma, the god of desire, but also blessed him that he would regain his bodily form and be reunited with his wife, Rat.
Rukmi’s son Pradyumna is none other than Kma. A prophecy foretells that he will kill the demon ambara. The wicked demon steals the newborn baby and flings him into the ocean. The baby Pradyumna is swallowed by a fish, which is subsequently caught and then sold to the cooks of ambara’s kitchen. The cooks find Pradyumna and are surprised. They entrust the child to Myvat, who is none other than Rat. Myvat realizes that Pradyumna is her husband reborn. Pradyumna grows up into a strapping young man, Myvat reveals their true identity, and Kma and Rat are reunited as Pradyumna and Myvat. Pradyumna, now aware of ambara’s mischief, kills him in a pitched battle. Pradyumna returns with Myvat to Dvarak, where he is reunited with his mother Rukmi and his father Ka.
14. The Story of Ka’s Grandson Aniruddha, 10.62–63
Aniruddha is the son of Pradyumna and Rukmavat, the daughter of Rukmi (the brother of Ka’s wife Rukmi). The demon Ba’s daughter U dreams of a beautiful youth, and falls in love with him. Her friend Citralekh paints the pictures of various eligible young men, and eventually U identifies Aniruddha as the lover in her dream. Citralekh, who possesses magical powers, spirits a sleeping Aniruddha to Ba’s kingdom and unites the two lovers. Aniruddha and U spend several months together. Ba soon finds out about his daughter’s secret lover, who has stolen her chastity. Ba succeeds in imprisoning Aniruddha. In the meantime, Ka and Pradyumna also discover Aniruddha’s whereabouts. A great battle ensues between the forces of Ka and those of Ba. As Ka is about kill Ba, he is rescued through the intervention of his mother. Ba is a great devotee of iva, so iva also lends his aid to Ba’s cause. Eventually Ka defeats Ba, but spares his life because iva appeals to Ka on his devotee’s behalf. Aniruddha is released, and U and he are married.
15. Ka Kills iupla, 10.74
iupla insults Ka in the midst of a great sacrifice. When the assembled kings, angered on his behalf, rise up to defend his honor, Ka lifts his sword and beheads iupla. Immediately, a light emerges from iupla’s headless body and enters Ka. iupla was cursed to be born as a demon for three consecutive births. He had spent those three births consumed with hatred of Ka and had therefore spent every waking moment in contemplation of Ka. Therefore, in death he merged into Ka.
REFERENCES
The Rmyaa of Vlmki. Vols. 1–6, trans. and ed. Robert P. Goldman et al.
The Bhagavad Gt: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War. Trans. Barbara Stoler Miller.
Bryant, Edwin. Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God.
Venkatesananda, Swami. The Concise Srimad Bhagavatam.
Mani, Vettem. The Puranic Encyclopedia.