‘ वानर’—IN RAMAYANA

 

‘ वानर’—IN RAMAYANA

SARASIJ MAJUMDER

On my 10^th Birthday, my Father presented me the Holy Book—‘Ramayana’—in BENGALI , POET KRITTIBAS OJHA translated it from Valmiki Ramayana. And I read it in the week end,  —about 550 pages, mostly written in “POYAR” metric.

Valmiki Ramayana,  as we get it today, is composed with 24,000 Verses in seven Cantos. I also read that, Later. My late mother—a Sanskrit scholar, had a copy.

It is an ‘EPIC’, having “history’ and “mythology’ interwoven with threads of Allegory—and laced/ ornamentally decorated with imagination of ‘Poet’,  which is a poetic license. That too-may be by more than one Poet.

Britishers, and Europeans discarded it as a Mythological Epic. Indians worshipped Rama, and his allies, and hated the oppositions.

Very few people tried to integrate the ‘TEXT’ of Ramayana with other informations, and tried to segregate the ‘HISTORY’.

I try to explain below one aspect of ‘RAMAYANA’.

‘ वानर’ are the warriors who fought along with ‘RAMA’—and almost everybody thinks them as ‘Monkeys’. That is not correct.

To understand the word ‘ वानर’—(BA-NARA), I have to give one example, as shown in the image.

JARAWAS are an indigenous people of the Andaman Islands in India. The Jarawas, approximately now only 320 in number, live in the thick forests of the Middle Andaman. They were totally isolated from the outside world till 20th century.

The Jarawa community lives a primitive life without the touch of modern technology. They mostly gather fruits for foods and also hunt wild pigs and monitor lizards. Till date, they use bows and arrows for hunting. Jarawa community stay naked. They tend to wear certain ornaments but not to cover their nakedness.

By looking, their life style, dressing, food diet even in 20th century, we have to think whether they are human being or not. Because they are many centuries behind the present day modern human .

Now, let me come to the answer of the question of ‘वानर’ .

About 3,500 years before, during the time of Ramayana, there were several such tribes living in the forest. These tribes were not civilized. They were very backward in terms of social values, intellectual values and spiritual values.

By looking at them we have to think whether they are human being or not?

When describing about such tribes in Ramayana, Valmiki used the word: वानर, where ‘वा’ translates ARE THEY and ‘नर’ translates HUMAN BEING.

वानर means: ARE THEY HUMAN BEING ENOUGH?

So, all such tribes whose life was not as per the civilized human of that time, were called: वानर. It does not mean they were Monkeys. Today, there is a state in India named NAGALAND—(Land of Snake). That does not mean there are snakes (नाग) there. NAGA people are a group of several tribes native to that North Eastern part of India, called NAGALAND.

In ‘Mahabharata’—both, Manipur, and “Nagaland’ are referred. Arjuna married ‘Chitrangada’ from ‘Manipur’ and ‘Ulupi’ from Nagaland’. Both were ‘Princesses’

When Lord Ram was banished, and had  to stay in forest for 14 years, he came in touch with such tribes. Lord Ram, and his family changed, and improved their lives, taught them true values of life.  Educated them. They started staying nearby, with  LORD RAMA”, and were following him. The number also increased with time. As a gratitude of this, all such tribal people helped Rama during the war against Ravana.

And one of them was Hanumana and He was not monkey, or big Ape. For him, it is written that:

"मनोजवं मारुत तुल्य वेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुध्दिमतां वरिष्ठम्‌।
वातात्मजं वानर यूथ मुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शरणं प्रपद्ये॥ "

He was बुध्दिमतां वरिष्ठम्‌ means he was the Smartest. There are so many incidents in Ramayana in which Lord Ram took advises of Hanuman in critical situations.

So yes, we believe Hanuman as our God. For us, he is श्रीरामदूतं - the ambassador of Lord Ram, and  the one who helped Lord Ram.

Today in India, you can find many temples of Hanuman without the idol of Lord Ram, But you cannot find a single temple of Lord Ram without the idol of Hanuman.

His life gives us the message that we should spend our life in the work of RAMA. We should be instrument in the work of RAMA. 

॥ निमित्त मात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ॥

NOTE: My mother, and Late Dr. Gouri Nath Shastri, the then Principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta used to discuss many such interpretations during my school days, at our home,  in sixties. I  have read a few modern Indologists also have similar opinions. 

Source:

1.0 RAMAYANA

Image:- Jarawa: Source-- Google.