The Wonderful Mysteries of Ramayana

The Ramayana was composed first by the sage Valmiki who happens to be the foremost of all the poets in the country, which relates to the story of the Rama, the son of Dasaratha, the Ikşvāku king of Ayodhyā. It has seven Kändas starting from Bala-kända or Adi-kända and concluding with Uttara-kända, completing the story from the beginning to the end. Some of the Western scholars like Bulcke and Others, besides also a few from the country claim that the first (Bala-kānda or Ādi-kānda) and the last i.e., Uttara- kända, are the subsequent additions to the Ramayana of Valmiki. They have also contested Rama to be the incarnation of Vişņu. These scholars further believe that the incarnation aspect of Rāma is highlighted in these two Kändas, besides some of their interpretations which were added subsequently to the various episodes in the epic of Valmiki. In this connection it may be pointed out that the following points have to be kept in view while dealing with the question of these interpolations-

(i) The entire story of the Rāmāyana is quite a well-knit story and in case, even one episode is removed from the poetry, the void left would be too obvious.

(ii) The total number of verses have been counted as twenty-four thousand and in case the theory of interpolation is accepted, the very structure of the epic would be in jeopardy.

(iii) Though the scholars have come forward with the theory of interpolation, no one has given the time when such interpolations were incorporated, nor the persons or the poets who did so, and much less, of the reasons for such interpolations.