ACK-071, 072 & 073: Pinocchio, Valmiki & Shringabhuja

This past year has been an exciting one for me and for the blog. Many changes.........

I want to take a moment and say THANK YOU to all of you who have contributed & visited over the past 1 year.

Special thanks to those friends who come forward with scans to survive this blog. Only due to such selfless friends this blog is running regularly & celebrating first anniversary today.

With bonus by TPH and promised post please continue celebration ……

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An out of print ACK #9 (Hindi)

An Italian author, Carlo Lorenzini (November 24, 1826 – October 26, 1890) pen name Carlo Collodi, wrote the famous children’s story Storia di un burattino ("The story of a marionette"), also called Le Avventure di Pinocchio ( The Adventures of Pinocchio) toward the end of his life. It is an archetypal fairy tale of the inward conflict associated with the process of change, growth, and development. It is also noteworthy that Pinocchio contains the prescription to remedy these human dilemmas.
The entire story of Pinocchio symbolises a transition, via voluntary effort, from a purely material life to one incorporating the intangible, but more rewarding, spiritual dimension. The wooden boy, lacking a moral outlook, (crafted out of wood: a substance incorporating low-level life) is naturally prone to misjudgments which then require additional opportunities to prove himself. He returns again and again to his material condition, each time with a new set of surroundings and characters and opportunities.
Like many classic stories, fables, and myths that have weathered the passage of time, it carries the symbolic blueprint for social and emotional conflict and the potential for resolution: Pinocchio has many unhappy adventures as he progresses from his wooden and dependent state to true independence as a real boy. He finally attains fulfillment and happiness when he completes his symbolic quest for the psychological foundations of courage.

Read The Adventures of Pinocchio online.

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ACK #46 (579)

Valmiki
The Great Sage & Author of The Ramayana

Maharshi Valmiki, the author of the great Indian epic Ramayana, was a Hindu sage who lived around the beginning of the first millennium B.C. He is referred to as the 'adikavi', the original creator of the Hindu 'sloka' - a verse form in which most of the great epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and other works are composed.

How Valmiki Got His Name

He was a Brahman*** by birth belonging to the lineage of Bhrigu. Fate consigned him to a family of robbers which brought him up. Accidental contact with the Saptarsis - the Seven Sages and with the sage Narada changed his life. By the repetition of Ramanama or the name of Ram, he attained the supreme state of a 'maharshi' or great sage. Since a 'valmika' or an anthill had grown over his body during his long period of austerities and poised state of penance, he came to be known as Valmiki.

The Epic Vision

When the mythical sage Narada came to his hermitage, Valmiki who received him with due honor, posed a question - who was an ideal man? The reply came from Narada in the form of Samkshepa Ramayana which formed the foundation on which the magnificent 24,000 verse edifice was built by Valmiki. Then, immersed deep into this story, Valmiki left for the river Tamasa with his disciple Bharadwaj. The pleasant and placid river reminded the seer of the mature and modest quality of his hero. He visualized a pure and pious man's mind reflected in the deep waters. In the next instant he witnessed a heartless hunter mercilessly killing a male bird that was in love with its mate. The piteous wailing of the distressed female moved the heart of the sage so much that he spontaneously uttered a curse on the hunter. However, this curse came out of his mouth in the form of a 'sloka', a perfectly metrical composition, which surprised the sage himself: "No - You shall not command any respect in society for a long time as you have shot dead an innocent bird engrossed in love". The sage had turned into a poet.

Lord Brahma's Command

His powerful emotions found equally powerful medium for their manifestation. It was a spontaneous outburst of his inner voice motivated by divine will. When he returned to his hermitage, Brahma (the fourfaced God, the creator), appeared to him and commanded him to compose an epic poem on the story of Ram as he had heard it from the great sage Narada, in his newly discovered metre. He also gave him the boon of the visions of all the incidents and the revelation of all the secrets connected with the story. Accordingly, Valmiki composed the epic, named it The Ramayana - the way or the conduct or the lifestory of Ram - the story of Ram's march in search of truth and righteousness.

A contemporary of the heroes of the Ramayana, Maharshi Valmiki gives very little information about himself since he was a sage who had completely dedicated his life to contemplation on God and service to humanity. History has no account of his life except that he figures briefly and modestly on two occasions in the course of the epic he wrote:

Valmiki's Cameo in Ramayana

He is one of the first sages whose hermitage Ram visits along with his wife and brother on his way to Chitrakoot after leaving Ayuodhya. Valmiki welcomes them with love, affection and reverence and utters just one word 'asyatam' (be seated). He feels honored when Ram accepts his request and sits a while.

The other occasion is when Ram banishes Sita, it is Valmiki that shelters her and rears up her twin sons Luv and Kush. When they recite the epic poem in his royal court, Ram invites Valmiki and requests him to bring Sita along so she can prove her chastity before the elders and sages. Valmiki is offended yet keeps his composure and says Sita would comply with Ram's wishes for he is her husband. While presenting Sita in the Mandapa (prayer hall) Valmiki utters words that highlight the penance and perseverance which Valmiki practiced his entire life.

In His Own Words

"I am the tenth son of the sage Prachetas. You belong to the great dynasty of Raghu. I do not remember to have uttered any lie so far in my life. I say that these two boys are your sons. I performed penance for thousands of years. I shall not accept the fruit of all my penance if there is any blemish in Maithili (Sita). I never entertained any ignoble thought, I never wronged any person, and I never spoke any vulgar word - I shall derive the benefit thereof only if Maithili is void of sin."

A True Sage

Valmiki was truly a Maharshi. I Panduranga Rao describes Valmiki in these words: "He was purity, penance, benevolence and meditation personified and the sole object of his dedication and contemplation was Man, a man leaves his selfish existence and lives for others identifying himself with the composite culture of the cosmic creation." The only work available of the great sage-poet, The Ramayana, has established the poet's timeless fame.

Bibliography

• Makers of Indian Literature: Valmiki by I Panduranga Rao (Sahitya Akademi) 1994
• Studes on Valmiki's Ramayana by GS Altekar (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute) 1987
• Maharshi Valmiki by Chalasani Subbaro (Machilipatnam) 1988

(~Author Subhamoy Das of this article published at About.com)

*** According to Dr. Nandini Sahu, Valmiki was from Kirata Bhil (a tribal) community. Many other sources also say that he was from tribal community. As there is very little information available about him, point of view differs. But he was first poet of Sanskit mostly specialists agree.

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An out of print ACK #378

Read about author & Kathasritsagara in earlier post.

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Contributors:

ACK #9 - Ajay Misra
ACK # 46 - Anon ( our old ACK conrtibutor friend who requested to not reveal his identity)
ACK #378 - Apoorva Chandar

All thanks & credits go these three friends.