Time Past in the Time Present: From Folklore to Mythology

Dr. K.M. Chandar
Professor of English
University of Mysore

n my beginning is my end ; In succession

Houses rise and fall crumble are extended,

Are removed, destroyed, or in their place

Is an open field, or a factory, or a bypass...

T. S. Eliot, East Coker, Four Quartets,

Faber and Faber, 1970 page 23.

      In an interesting essay, the flowering of the backyard, Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, while delineating his own growth as a writer, uses the metaphor of the front yard, the jagali, and the backyard, the angala, as the focal points in spectrum of human experience in a curious dialectic of the within -without arch; Dr. Ananthamurthy informs us, that if the front yard belonged to his father, the backyard was his mother's domain; if all official, business like exchange took place in the front yard, all the womanly gossip, from recipes to illicit relationships - found their way into this domain. If one wants to be a writer, one has to keep his sensibility open to this domain avers Dr.Ananthamurtahy. And, extending the metaphor, uses the same to critique the traditional, marga literatures, such as Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and in the recent past, English, vis-á-vis the regional literatures condescendingly referred to as vernacular literatures. This is true of literatures in all parts of the globe as the mainstream literature has always borrowed heavily from their respective backyards~. Indeed, it is these backyards that have provided sustenance to the front yards. Closer home, our mainstream, literatures in the regional languages have drawn their spirit and strength from our own backyards even as our literature in English, anemic as it is, has derived strength from the literatures in the respective regional languages. Needless to say, our folklore is ione of tahe mosat vibrant of such backyards which have provided sustenance to the 'Marga' literature. In his introductaion tao FolkTales from India , A.K. Ramanujan says:

      Anyone studying the culture of India needs to study not only its written C1assics but its oral traditions, of which folklore is an important part... Every kind of Indian cultural practice, ties, every Indian cultural performance, where the it is the classical Epic and theater or modern film and political rhetoric, is indebted to oral traditions and folk forms.

A.K.Ramanujan, 1993.

      However, each of these Semiotic systems operate in a continuum and one realises much to one's dismay that the boundaries are hazy and we end up seeing these cultural performances as a transitive series, a scale of fom1s responding to one another, engaged in continuous and dynamic Dialogic relations (A.K.Ramanujan,1993) indeed they become part of an interacting continuum. As Kunal Chakrabarthy says in a marginally different context:

      Cultural symbols are subject to continual revalorization and reintegration into the cultural system. As a result, myths are never completed...

( Kunal Chakravarthi, Psychoanalytical approaches to the staudy of Indian Myths, p.387. What Prof. Chakravary says of Myths is certainly true of the folktales too; A.K. Ramanujan rightly reminds us that:

       Texts then, are also contexts and pretexts for other texts. For Folk texts are pervasive, behind, under and around all the texts of the society-all are permeated by oral traditions, tales, jokes, beliefs, and rules of thumb not yet found in books.

(A.K.Ramanujan, Ibid., P.XVIII)

      This paper consists of two parts: in the first part I analyze the story, The hunter's Tale' which appears in the second chapter of Shivaleelalamrita which is a part of tahe Shivapurana. It is said that this book is a part of the Skandha Epic. This story is also an excellent example of the change that one referred to earlier. The main objecative of the Shivaleelamrrita is to describe the splendor of lord Siva; Shiva is aat the caenrer of all these stories. The rituals and prayers associated with the worship of Lord Shiva, the days sacred for a the observance of these rituals all these and more are available in these stories. A. K. Ramanujan comments:

      No Indian text comes without the context, a frame, till the nineteenth century. Works are framed by Phalasru Verses-these verses tell the reader, the recirer or listener all the good that would result from this act of reading reciting or listening. They relate the text of whatever antiquity, to the present reader- that is they contextualize it. (Ramanujan, Ibid., P.41-42)

      It has already been suggested that this tale, that is, the Hunter's Tale, was appropriated into the discourse of the Vratakathas one that would ritualistically follow after the observation of the worship of a diety. (In this cases, Lord Siva -Shivaratri); indeed, the vratakatha's objective as already mentioned informs us the good that would ensue if one paratkes in it even unaware of the significance of it. guy in a day in the case that untested was a populated into the discretion of another country, the one that would return us to continue follow after the observation of direction of the directory in this case larger sure that the jury, indeed, check of this object if is to inform those words are digital data during the goodwill that ensues from such a rich or to stop as to stop. As a PK, mentioned reminds us that contextualized that they and thereby the ritual itself Ritualistic narration is an important component of these Vrata katha. A frequent noticeable feature of this narration is to ensure that purposeful spending of time. normally, would last the whole night sometimes extending into the early hours of the next morning. The very purpose of this is to ensure that the narrator and the listeners remain awake throught the night, fast and pray. This is an important aspect of these tales:

      However, the moral tale remains independent of the main story as that experience does not much into the main frame. Perhaps the moral aspect of the tale enters into the main frame from the outside at a later stage of the development of the tale. The Hunter's tale begins in the evening only to end in day break with plenty of scope for description of nature. This frame within a Frame thus operates even in the time scale. The story is narrated on the night of the Shivaratri order to pass the time meaningfully and the Hunter in the tale also spends time within the time scale. More of this later.

      The hunter's Tale is what remains if we filter the moral and descriptive dimensions;. it is given below:

      A hunter comes out to hunt in the dense forests in the Vindhya mountains. He was amazed all those that we watch is time watching the worship of larger a riSch variety days. Needless to mention the being a hunter is not much interested in that ritual .He climbs atop a Bilwa tree (most sacred to the worship of Siva) which is on the banks of a lake where wild animals come to quench their thirst. He keeps plucking the leaves so that he can have a better view of the lake and the wild animals which come there. The leaves drops down land on the siva linga .The Hunter is about to shoot an arrow which is pregnant. The Deer talks in a human voice and requests him to spare its life as she is about to deliver its young one. She assures the hunter she would return once her obligation is over. He lets go off the Deer being moved by its tale. A little later, another Deer appears -She too promises to return after spending some time with her lover. The third to appear is another Deer, a male one which also promises to return. All these three return at day-break as promised and request the hunter to kill them. But the hunter is already repentant. He is now hungry for a his final salvation. At the same time a Celestial Chariot appears and Lord Siva appears in front of the hunter. The Hunter and the three Fawns join the holy Lord.

      This is the main framework of the tale; The story begins with the sunset, and as already noted it ends with the day break. As the time schedule becomes the main part of the tale as the object to use to describe the greatness of the Siva. The central role is that of a hunter here-hunting and killing is his vocation here. He has no role to play in the Siva's temple situated in the middle of the forest. He's just a passive observer of the ritual there and not an active participant. Still, all those that he watches influence him albeit unconsciously. Initially, he mocks at the chanting of Lord Siva's name and thereby learns it. This act of mocking of Lord's name is ironical from one angle; by that very act it becomes a part of oneself by the very act of imitation. The hunter in the story is that the state of transition by the very act of imitation.

       But he's a hunter still. The world around him if his hunting down., The lake in the forest... .the Bilwa tree on the bank are his hunting tools;. He is aware that the Fawns come to the lake to quench their thirst. disappointing to see is a veteran of the fonts come to the league to quench their thirst to purchase the property or tea and looks better conceivable that leaves it does not see the world around them out of the politically, sense of.. That's been the work and only when it gets down to the bodies that have been fond just no peace, hunting is also led to war with the fans and the defines an equally matched it becomes difficult to.

      The helplessness of the fall was also a directory its protective shield....,. It added some water data and to protect herself under which would not like a human being the hunters taken aback he also has to convince you that you're in the form has the task of getting battle again won the contest that also hundred and in this confrontation that the intent is that we're. Listing two that are..,, Lisa the mighty store now in the next, the DEA, the more... .Action is necessary because the marriage of this story has to go on to the DB pick altogether onto one family that they wanted was a family of his own with a rifle and apartments and ., The dealer should die in order that the hunters and rights to some other than to summary that it has to die;. But to transcend this is inevitable that your teachers in a different model altogether the hungry hunter attempts to digest the moral of the steel:

      That is the story of the hunter.,....that your which come along later also engaging in conversation a binding order such stories is that the characters which appear also bring a story on the Dow and the first get as the hunter that she is an ancient custom by the state of Alaska in defeat up and ...What's interesting about this tearl1 is that all the fonts doctor Watson and it to push their jobs seems to be in the nature of making your mother of the nature of scene and set him up in the right, this model becomes a kind of a transaction it is imperative that the content patch at a pretty to believe itself to the state of a human being in this process it's an irony that the animals which appeared in the story for the teaching human wisdom to haven't been at the end of the study that is the suggestion that until the dealers become part of the stock consternation ..consternation;, the that's a that's the hunters stock that you can't stop service between dockside is currently before the deeper level of meaning to this text.

      It up and it is a pparent that untested is embedded with other creditors sticks of other types of today's. in the story and in the suspect like human beings. The difference to the consternation is proof of the mythic dimensions. Although the moral of the day mandated by the defaults does not fall into criminal, establish the nature of the greatest thing for acts are also that all the things can be destroyed by the grace of larger. Any new man act like a King is also prevented by day's end if. A hunter touched atop a tree to host the forms, the better of the night, and a minute's undetermined as of the fathers in spite of all these back to the heart and does not take place and thereby increase is one to develop the back into the story.

     The times against sequence in the context in has already been referred to, the study which starts at dusk gets completed by the Datuk. When the hunt and goes into the only pharmacist and every piece of events take place. We can share the appearance The sequin charity of events middle of this week when she added be of time. Each phase of the night has a Deer conversing with the hunter; all of them appear in front of the hunter iceberg their promise of the breakup day. It is interesting to note that there is no logical sequence reality here. When you mouse These are animals come to drink water and not because of anything else; other members to not come here and the hungry hunter is only after the fall.

      But there is no causal relationship between the prince; and hunter does not inspire in the event in the story. He comes to the farmers to hunt but ends up with missing the chanting and worship. He enters into the forest and purchase upon entry as his first obligation is to hunt. He's not even other of their that it is the day of show that the; nineties the other that the tree on which is perched is a sacred tree of that there is an idle of Sheila at the base of the tree. In order to get a clear vision inbox the use the products of these and OPS them down on the idle not being aware of the significance of that. I never had a net of their candidates he undertakes the ritualistic frosting and what should; joop; but this meaning becomes apparent only to the lord and not to do more to Martin.

      But the hunter understands only the language of the hunt. He has the bow and the arrows, and the uninhabited forest in front of him. He has his eyes set on the animals which come to quench their thirst. In this concerted attempt, what would be a successful hunt misses the mark here; instead of the hunt, the fawns give him a lesson in morality that too in the human language. He listens to them, all ears, though the arrow is set in the Bow. That means his actions are in opposition to his avowed task that is to hunt. The fawn which come there to converse as if they are not animals at all include a discussion of the good and evil. They also appear in terms of human relationships such as father, mother, lover and so on. The emotions they display are also human emotions such as the desire to meet ones near and dear ones before the moment of death. However, they gradually transcend these human relationships and take the mortal hunter towards the divine grace of the Lord Siva. The reversal of roles is noticeable here but all these take place in opposition to the intentions of the hunter and quite by accident.

      If animals appear as characters that story becomes a fable and the symbolic act begins as is witnessed in the tales of Panchatantra. In this sense, the hunter's tale is not a fable; The deers speak like humans, they belong to the Deer family, they remember the sins of their past already committed. They are also aware of the right and the wrong. They appear like angels in the night and become the hunter's saviors. Each incident in the story takes place in opposition to the avowed intentions. Though the Hunter's predisposition is to hunt; the divine law determines otherwise. The hunter is hungry and throws down the leaves of the sacred tree in order to see the hunt clearly. but this becomes a ritualistic act. It separates itself from the participant and independently establishes its own agenda, thereby benefits the participant. The story deliberately draws a wedge between the personality of man and his actions and makes one to examine this relationship. This poser is unique to a story in the sense that it may be a reflection of reality but also has the freedom not to be a mere reflection. Once such a freedom is granted one has to understand the ironical implications of incidents such as the Udhishtira uttering a falsehood intentionally or otherwise. Even from the point of view of narration this story which describes the ritual worship of Lord Siva becomes unique. That any sinner can be saved by devotion of Siva is but only one of a the implications of this story. Obviously there are other levels too. The lake in the Dense forest, the thirsty Fawns, the hunter perched atop a sacred Bilwa tree, underneath all these details, another dimension of the story becomes apparent through these very same details.

      These details become clear once we move down in the class and caste hierarchy and examine the folktales; cultural symbols are subject to continual verification and reintegration into the culture of systems. More of this later.

PART II

      One of the commonly accepted parameters in Folkloristics discourse is the mobility with which a tale moves in the horizontal or vertical directions; horizontal in the sense, a Folktale gives rise to numerous variants of the same tale and vertical in the sense a folktale enshrines itself in many other related discourses such as Myth, Literature, and even religious discourses. The Ramayana is a case in point -versions of the Ramayana are spread all over almost all the countries in Southeast Asia and beyond; syntagmatically too, it is an essential part of the religious discourse too- Ramacharitamanas is a case in point.

      However while a folk tale gets appropriated in each of these directions, details get added on, edited, and transformed ad infinitum. A.K. Ramanujan informs us that in one folk version of the Ramayana, Sita, when advised forcefully against accompanying her husband, Sri Rama, as it will be extremely hard not befitting a princess, takes recourse to telling him that in all the versions of the Ramayana that she has heard, Sita invariably accompanies Rama to the forest and thus he has no choice but to allow her to do so. In another version, Ravana, when he learns of the unwavering intimacy between Sri Rama and Sita decides to approach her in the disguise of Sri Rama himself; However, when he does put on the disguise, he learns much to his chagrin that all the infatuation that he had harbored for her disappears.- So much for the disguise,. Such tales are endless in Greek literature too. Shakespeare did it with impunity in almost all his plays. Greek literature is full of such changes effected from the two epics, The Illiad and The Odyssey.

      I will end this paper by merely indicating the details that are there in the folk tale but not necessarily found, at least in such detail when it becomes a part of the epic. .The first is the time frame; In the Epic, the three deers come at different points on the same night the night of the ritual Shivaratri, literally the night of Lord Shiva. In the Folk version, they appear on three different days. Interestingly, the hunter's wife when he visits his family tells him that if he cannot feed them by killing an animal, he should shoot an arrow kill her and feed upon her body.

      The second significant editing is regarding the Ford offering, the Prasad, made to the Diety; after the ritualistic cleansing of the idol, a Hare darts across their path. Kanniah kills the same and offers it to Lord Siva; obviously this could not find a place in the Epic considering the emphasis placed on nonviolence and vegetarianism in the upper Caste Caste-sensitive framework.

      The third one is to do with the rewards -in the Epic version, Kannian and the Three Deers are bodily taken into the Kailasa by Siva who is immensely pleased with all of them; In the Folk version, Lord Siva assumes a disguise, goes to Kannnia's hut and gives them enough food and jewels; he of course, appears again at the end of the tale to give another boon to Kanniah.

      The last noticeable distinction is to deal with the ending of the tale. When the espies blood gushing out of the Idol's eyes, Kanniah plucks his own and fixes them into that of a idol in order to stop the bleeding. An immensely pleased Siva offers a boon- Kanniah is tongue-tied at this unexpected turn of events; a testimony to his innocence and perhaps to his gullibility, if you please he asks for just these:

      A good crop at the time of Sivaratari; children around tahe pota full of Porridge, that is Ganji. And a meal in the light of the fuel fire- that is all. The folktale ends by remarking that this is the reason why the hunters have remained poor in spite of their valour~ the tale reiterates that the reason can be found not in today's context but in the boon that Kanniah sought from Siva long long ago.

      Commenting on these 'characteristic endings' in many languages, A.K. Ramanujan infon1ls us that in the Folk tales, unlike 'bardic tellings' there is no editorializing, no telling us what to feel.(A.K. Ramanujan, Ibid, 1993, XXXI) .The story tells itself. Further,' these closures break any identification with the characters, separate our world from those of the stories, emphasize their fictive nature, their artifice and fantasy' .(Ibid.,)

      Let me close this paper with a characteristic ending of many of Kannada Folktales 'They are there, we are here'(A.K. Ramanujan, IBID)