GOOD MORNING AND HARE KRISHNA HAPPY FRIDAY.. The alvars had both alluded to and participated in the Ramayana--some more intensely than others. In later North Indian bhakti we see devotees playing a character in Krishnaite myths; in the alvar poetry, we see this occurring both for the Rama and Krishna stories. More important, Rama and Krishna are seen to be none other than the lord enshrined in the nearest temple. This focus on a temple has to be emphasized before we talk of an abstract Rama-bhakti or Krishna bhakti and the alvar devotion has to be studied in the context of a local shrine. The Ramayana itself is understood against the background of South Indian conventions and the associative structure of the five landscapes found in Cankam poetry. The jasmine garland that Sita bound Rama with is more than a vignette that is not found in Valmikis Ramayana; the flower is the controlling metaphor of the dramatic situation that Hanuman/Periyalvar are participating in: separation between Sita and Rama. The audience, by secondary participation, feels the separation between Periyalvar and the lord.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 23:47:01 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015