Odia Ramayana

Odia Ramayana (Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଆ ରାମାୟଣ) also known as Jagamohana Ramayana or Dandi Ramayana popularly across Odisha is an epic poem composed by the 15th-century poet Balarama Dasa.This work is a retelling of the Ramayana though not a direct translation.[1][2]

Odia Ramayana(ଓଡ଼ିଆ ରାମାୟଣ)
Author(s)Balarama Dasa
PatronPrataprudra Dev
Dedicated toJagannath
Languagemedieval Odia
Date15th century
GenreMythology
SubjectRamayan
PersonagesRam, Sita,Laxman,Hanuman.Ravan, others

Synopsis

The story of this version is presented as a narration by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati.The plot moves as a form of dialogue between the two. The story begins with Sati and how Shiva finally gets back Sati in form of Parvati. After getting Parvati together , Shiva narrates the story of Rama to Parvati. The Plot of Ramayana begins with Dasarath's efforts of getting a son by holding a yajna. The central plot of the Sanskrit Ramayana is followed in the text. However there are some significant departures in the sub plots and minor character. Hence it isn't a translation of original Sanskrit Ramayana. It is said that the poet hadn't read original Sanskrit Ramayana in his lifetime.And he wrote about it by getting information from local priests and folklore.

Structure

The work is written in a meter called Dandi Vritta.. It is a 14 letter meter suitable for narrative style.[3][4]It is a lengthy work .[5] The epic keeps seven cantos of the original Sanskrit Ramayan. They are :

  1. Adi Kanda - Odia: ଆଦି କାଣ୍ଡ
  2. Ayodhya Kanda - Odia: ଅଯୋଧ୍ଯା କାଣ୍ଡ
  3. Bana Kanda - Odia: ବନ କାଣ୍ଡ
  4. Kishkindya Kanda - Odia: କିସ୍କିନ୍ଧା କାଣ୍ଡ
  5. Sundara Kanda - Odia: ସୁନ୍ଦରା କାଣ୍ଡ
  6. Yudhaa Kanda - Odia: ଯୁଦ୍ଧ କାଣ୍ଡ
  7. Uttara kanda - Odia: ଉତ୍ତରା କାଣ୍ଡ

Cultural Aspects

This work brought the tale of ramayana to the Odia speaking region and it became quite popular. It faced significant opposition from the Sanskrit proponents and opponents of Odia literature. It is heavily influenced by the Jagannath culture. In multiple places the writer says that the writing is carried out by Jagannath himself The book also enlightens some significant aspect of contemporary lifestyle. There are descriptions of pregnancy , customs and rituals followed during pregnancy etc. There descriptions of cultural practices that follows the birth of a child. There are descriptions of natural beauty of Odisha , living standards, foods, locations etc. [6]It also contains reference to the popular Indian foods at the time such as Puri,Malpua,Laddu and Rasgulla.

Derivative works

There were multiple books written that summarised the Jagamohana Ramayana. they were called Tika Ramayana. There were several of this abridged versions . One such work by Maheswara Dasa was just fourty printed pages.[7]

In southern Odisha the original Odia Ramayana circulated with new material being added over the years.This eventually grew to a massive volume of 3000 pages , This version is known as Dakhini Ramayana.[7]

See Also

references
  1. Bhubaneswar Review (in Odia). M. N. Misra. 1968. p. 53. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  2. Paniker, K.A.; Sahitya Akademi (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Medieval Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 402. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  3. Ray, D. (2007). Prataparudradeva, the Last Great Suryavamsi King of Orissa (A.D. 1497 to A.D. 1540). Northern Book Centre. p. 134. ISBN 978-81-7211-195-3. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  4. RATH, RAMAKANTA; DAS, HARA PRASAD. [www.jstor.org/stable/23003889 "Tradition and Modernity in Oriya Poetry"] Check |url= value (help). India International Centre Quarterly. 21 (1): 8. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  5. Bose, D.C.I.S.A.R.I.A.R.M.; Bose, M.; Oxford University Press (2004). The Ramayana Revisited. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-19-516832-7. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  6. Bahinipati, P. (2017). Jagamohana Ramayana. The Epic of Balarama Dasa. Anchor Academic Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-3-96067-124-4. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  7. Bose, D.C.I.S.A.R.I.A.R.M.; Bose, M.; Oxford University Press (2004). The Ramayana Revisited. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-19-516832-7. Retrieved 2020-08-12. the Tika Ramayana of Mahesvara Dasa, Balarama's substantial poem is reduced to around forty printed pages
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