CHENNAI: Ayodhya, Mithila, Panchavati, Chitrakoot, Lanka — these seemed like magical, fictional places to me as a child when I first read the children’s illustrated version of the Ramayana. But as years went by, I delved deeper into my love for mythological stories, and contrary to most opinions, a part of me believed that Ayodhya did exist and that even Lanka is modern-day Sri Lanka.
Maybe this is what drew me to Vikrant Pande’s and Neelesh Kulakrni’s book, In The Footsteps of Rama - Travels With The Ramayana. Admittedly, they too were drawn to visiting and mapping all the places mentioned in the epic.
So, along with them in their journey from Ayodhya to Nashik to Karnataka and Sri Lanka, I too travelled to the places where the trio — Rama, Sita and Lakshman — are said to have stayed during their exile, the temples Rama built and those built for him, and discover more myths and faiths that people associate with the epic.
Excerpts follow:
What prompted you to go in the footsteps of Rama?
We wondered how much our generation knew of journeys that were well-known in Hindu religious folklore. The most iconic was the journey of Rama, Sita and Lakshman during their vanvaas (exile). When we asked around, we found that most people didn’t know the route or had never really visited the places mentioned in the vanvaas.
We had read a book called Walking with Nanak where the author takes the reader through the travels of Guru Nanak. We asked our friends whether they knew where Chitrakoot was and as expected, most did not! Our curiosity took us to Chitrakoot, and the treasure trove of stories it opened up for us was so exhilarating that we decided to make it into a book.
How did you map all the places you wanted to visit?
We did a thorough reading of the Valmiki Ramayan and the Ramcharitmanas to mark the incidents we wanted to feature in the book. We also used the works of scholars, who had spent lifetimes identifying places associated with the vanvaas. Yet, we had to ask around when we reached the suggested places because of differences in nomenclature and other things.
A greater part of the research was done for authenticating the stories we heard by cross-checking them in the Valmiki Ramayan, Ramcharitmanas, Kamba Ramayana, Eknath Ramayan, Adhyatmik Ramayan, parts of the Devi Purana, Hanumad Purana etc. We also read many commentaries and articles on the Ramayana.
I was fascinated by the several stories of the presence of troops of monkeys in these temples. Popular belief goes that in any Rama temple there are monkeys. Can your trips vouch for that?
Most temples in India have monkeys. The most intrusive were, of course, the monkeys in Ayodhya who stopped us, put their hands in our pockets and emptied them out. There was nothing we could do to stop them nor did the multitude of policemen around even try to. Surprisingly, there were very few monkeys in Hampi, the erstwhile Vanar kingdom of Kishkindha.
Were there places that you came across in your research that you could not spot in present-day India/Sri Lanka?
In India, there was no place of significance that we were not able to locate because a lot of work has been done both by scholars as well as the government in identifying them. We did have a problem finding locations in some places due to local superstitions though. For instance, the place where Vali was cremated. We saw the place in the distance from across the river in Anegundi, but when we went by road, people just refused to acknowledge it existed because they believed a curse would descend upon whoever mentioned the name of the place.
In Sri Lanka, we experienced many such cases. In the Sita Amman temple (the erstwhile Ashok Vatika), we were told about Ravan’s palace on the other side of the hill and that the temple trust has applied to the government to help restore the same but we could not locate any such place over there.
You mention priests making money off of you, but there are also several stories where they were helpful. And of those are the youth, who have quit cushy jobs to take care of the temples. Can this book and their efforts make Rama’s trail a tourist attraction? What is your take on the future of these temples?
There are three parts to the answer:
What were your favourite parts of the trip?
Are you planning another trip for a similar tale?
India has some amazing mythological travel opportunities. Some practices go back centuries. We intend to explore two such over the next year.
Book: ‘In The Footsteps of Rama - Travels With The Ramayana’
Pages: 252
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Price: `599
Travel tales
There are a few stories and incidents that the duo heard of during the travels that they did not know about.
A. The fact that the Lakshman Rekha has not been mentioned in the Manas and the Valmiki Ramayana. Yet, it is part of our metaphor today.
B. Rama, Sita and Lakshman did not only meet Kevat while crossing the Sarayu but also met Nishadraj, who was the King of the boatmen with a significant army at his disposal. This army was on high alert when Bharat came to meet Rama because Nishadraj and Lakshman both thought that Bharat had got the army of Ayodhya with him to attack Rama.
C. Dasharath had told Kaikeyi that she was no longer his wife and therefore Bharat was no longer his son and the cremation of Dashrath was actually done by Shatrughna.
D. That Jatayu had met Rama, Sita and Lakshman when they reached Nashik and it was he who had asked them to settle down there.