The two great Hindu epics, the Ramayana (Story of Prince Rama) and the Mahabharata (War of the Bharatas), have been dear to the hearts of Asians for over a thousand years. Translated from Sanskrit into Kswi, the old Ja- vanese language of literature, these immortal poems continueiD inspire the arts and stimulate the imaginations of Indonesians with a world of heroism and adventure. In Bali, artists rein- terpret the epics in stone reliefs, woodcarvlngs, ink drawings and paintings. Delighted crowds gather to watch the Wayang Kulif puppets cast shadows ot mystical princes and monsters a- cross the screen, to the chanting of a storyteller. In the classical play Wayang Wong, in the con- temporary Ramayana Ballet, and in rhe choral drama of the modern Kecak. or Monkey Dance. the [ales from these epics are re-enacted with great enthusiasm and appreciated by viewers who find beautyJn-their many interpretations. The reason tonhe popularity of the Rama- yana and Mahabharata goes deeper than mere entertainment. One main theme of Hindu liter- ature in Bali is the symbolic struggle between absolute good and absolute evil, The principal characters and their allies are defined on a moral basis. Rama, hero of the Ramayana. is a reincarnation of Vishnu, the Preserver, and em- bodies the ideal of manly virtues: strength, en- durance. love and devotion 10 truth. His wife, Sita, is the ideal of womanly Faithfulness and marital love. white his companion and brother, Laksmana, personifies fraternal courage and loyalty. Rama’s antagonist, Rawana. the many- headed demon-king with a retinue of giants, revels in lust, deceit, and hatred, Theopposition between hero and fiend could be no more ex- treme. Whereas the Ramayana illuminates the ethics of human relationships, Mahabharata sings of the glonous exploits and deeds of battle in the war of the Bharatas (an ethnic namefor the ancient, warlike races of Norten India). The verses king of dazzling feats warriors unconquerable, tournaments of Stones from the Ramayana? come to life in the Wayang Wong mask drama.
princes, daring escapes from death. and merci- less revenge in a bloody feud between two rival royal houses- The heroes of the epic are the noble Pandawas, five brothers of divine birth who are the models of goodness and vir- tue. They fight against [heir hundred cousins, the perfidious Korawas. Led by their wicked king Duryodana, the Korawas are the apotheo- sis o! greed and jealousy. As the adventures of a wandering prince exiled from his kingdom, the Ranisyana can be likened 10 the Odyssey ol ancient Greece; while the Mahabharsta. as a saga of fiery epi- sodes based upon a great historical war, recalls the/Had. In both Hindu epics is woven a thread of high moral purpose-ths ultimate triumph of virtue and subjugation of vice. Every episode performed on stage or portrayed in art is, in a way. a parable relevant to present-da v Indone- sia. Heroes of [he epics are much more than fictional characters to the people. Each defines both a personality and a way of behavior, Many times an Indonesian describes a friend by likening him to a mythological hero. as "he is powerful and strong-willed, like the warrior Bima" (hero of the Mahabharata). The oldest version of the Ramayana. attri- buted 10 the Indian sage Vaimiki, was wriiten around the 3rd or 4lh century B c The Maba- bhdrata. ascribed to the poet Vvasa, probably reached its present form in the 4th century ad, though parts are many centuries older. Through [he ages poets infused the themes of the epics with additions, until they grew to monumental proportions. The present version of the Ramayana in India consists of 24,000 verses divided into 500 songs; the Mahabha- raca. probably the longest single poem of world literature, is nearly 30,000 stanzas in its final form, The Indonesian translations written during the Hindu era in Central and East Java are among the most beautiful poems in Old Javanese literature- The following are brief synopses of the epics, in prose. Quotations are from translations by the late Romesh C, Dutl- The mercurial monkey warrior, Hanuman, carved from satin-wood by Rod/a of Mas. stdry of prince rama. In [he kingdom of Kosala, near the Himalayas, reigned King Da- saraia who had four sons; Rama, Barata. Laks- mana and Saturgna. Raised In wisdom and righteousness, The princes lived always in harmony and were an endless source of hap- piness to the king and his people. At a great age, Dasarata realized he must give up his throne. He told his subjects to prepare for the coronation o( his eldest son, Rama.
The populace joyously embellished the ca-’: pilal with decorations lor the momentous oc- casion Yet there was one unmoved by the general enthusiasm. Kekayi, Dasarata’s second wife and mother of Barata, fostered secret am- bitions for her own son. Urged by her wicked servant Muntara, she reminded .the kino he- owed her iwo, unfulfilled vows Now she made her demands, that Baraia must be king and Rama banished for fourteen years to the forest of Dandaka, The king. trembling with sorrow and rags, could not revoke his promises and, forthwith, announced Kekayi’s requests as royal com- mands. Rama. respectfully obeying his royal father, prepared to go. As he was leaving, Sita ran to the gate, begging permission to accom- pany him. Rama refused becauseof the dangers and hardships o{ the forest, but Sita replied from her heart: For my mother often told me And my lather often spake. That her home the wedded woman Doth beside her husband make, As the shadow to the substance. To her lord is faithful wife: And she parts not from her consoft. ‘Till she parts with fleeting life Laksmana also insisted on following. Finally,. Rama consented and the three started for the’ forest, The kingdom of Kosah grieved- The king, overcome by sadness, soon fell ill and died. Everyone went into mourning. Kekayi too, mourned, but only in pretence, As soon as time permitted, she approached her son. Much to. her dismay, Bargta steadfastly refused the crown and ruled the kingdof" only as Rama S
deputy, with his elder brother’s sandals on the throne. Meanwhile. Rama. Sita and Laksmana went deeper into the woods where they found asylum with saints and hermits, one of whom, Agastya, gave Rama a magic bow- In a clearing in the forest they built a simple dwelling where they lived peacefully for thirteen years. Never- theless, Rama was haunted by a sense of danger and forbade Sita to remain alone; one brother guarded her while the other hunted for food. Alas, their peace was shattered when the horrible Rawana discovered their hiding place. Captivated by Sita’s beauty and grace, he de- termined to kidnap her, egged on by his sister, Sarpakenaka. whose love and lewd overtures both Rama arid Laksmana spurned. Rawana’s minister, the giant Marica, was ordered to lure Rama away. Soon a golden deer came to Sita’s bower. She begged Rama to fetch it Hesitating at first, he set off in pursuit. After a while he grew suspicious at being lured so far from the cottage and loosed an arrow at the golden deer. Instant!^ where the creature fell dead lay the body of Msrica himself- Before he died the giant cried out for help, in Rama’s voice. Fearing !he worse for her husband, Sita urged Laksmana to go to the rescue. Although acting against his brother’s word. Laksmana hurried off to give aid, tell ing Sita that under no condition should she leave the cottage. Suddenly, a blast of wind shook the hut and Rawana stood before Sita, in the disguise of a bagging Brahmana. With much flattery he per- suaded her to open the door. Seeing his blazing eyes, Sita immediately realized her mistake, but too late I The demon caughi her in his arms. soared high in the air as he transformed himself back to his original grotesaue appearance, and flew to his home in Langka (Sri Lankal. On the way he was attacked by the brave bird Ja- tayu who vainly tried to rescue Sita, but was mortally wounded and only managed, before dying, to tell Rama of Sita’s abduction. Rama and Laksmana sei out into the dan- gerous woods in search of Sita. One day Rama met the white monkey, Hanuman, servant of Ihe monkey king, Sugriwa, who had been de- 330 prived of his rightful throne by his wicked brother Subali. Rama regained Sugriwa his kingdom by killing Subali with an arrow while the monkey brothers were fighting. I ngratilude. Sugriwa ordered his armies, under the com- mand of Hanuman. to search the whole world for Sila. * After many adventures, .they reached the shore opposite Langka Hanuman leaped across the sea to find Sita in the garden of Rawana’s palace. He told her that Rama would rescue her within a month and, in token, gavS her Rama’s ring. The delighted captive gave him her ring to take to Rama. Before returning Hanuman created havoc in Rawsna’s capital. He increased his size a hundredfold and shout- ed & terrifying warning to the giants. His tail was set afire by the enemy, but the monkey general cleverly used this to burn the town bs- forejumping back across the sea. The monkey armies prepared their attack. iormmg g causeway of boulders across [he sea. Rama and his allies invaded Langka and a vio- lent battle ensued, ending wiih Rawana’s death byanarrowfrom Rama’smagicbow Reunited. Rama, Sita. and Laksmana returned to Kosala anerfourteen years of exile. Barata gladly ceded his regency. Thereafter Kosala attained new heights of glory and prosperity under the reign of King Rama. There is a suppiementaiy book To the epic with a sadder conclusion. The people of Koaala Adventures of Prince Rama are popular themes of temple reliefs everywhere in Ball. suspected thatSita had not resisted her captor’s, affections, Rama banished his guiltless wife who found shelter with sage valmiki where she bore Rama two sons, the twins Lawaand Kusa. Many years later, during the great horse sacri- fice in Kosala, the twins came to ihe capital and chanted the story of the Rafiayana as Vatmiki had taught them. Rama suddenly recognized his sons and sought Sila’s forgiveness. Sita re- turned to Rama, but she had andured loo much of life’s sorrows. As she died. she ascended 10 heaven on a golden throne That rose from a cleftin theearth.
WAR OF the bharatas Once there lived two Eamiliesofthe Kuru clan descended from Bha- rata: the Pandawas and the Korawaa The Korawss, "wrathful sons of Dretarastra, born of Kuru’s royal race", were the hundred sons of [he blind king Dretaraslra. The five Pandawa brothers, "righteous sons of noble Pandu, god- born men of god-like grace." were ihe sons of the king’s brother Pandu, who ruled the king- dom in his brother’s nama, All of Psndu’s sons were of semi-divine origin The eldest son, Yudistira, a man of truth and piety, was descended from Dharma, god of virtue: the dauntless warrior Bima was descended from Bayu, god of the wind: Arjuna, the peerless archer, from Indra, god of the rains: and the twins Nakula and Sahadewa from the celestial Aswin twins. Pandu’s wife gave birth to yet another son, Kama, begotten by the sun- god Surya, but his origin remained hidden and he joined the Korawas, becoming their war- lord and the chief opponent of his half-brother Arjuna. While Pandu ruled for his brother, the cou- sins grew uptogether In every contest between the rival families, the Pandawas were victor- ious. The Korawas grew more jealous and re- vengeful with the years When Pandu died, the old blind king appointed Yudistira. his eldest nephew, as heir to the throne. His own enraged sons. headed by the ruthless Duryodana, con- trived a plot to destroy the sons of Pandu. One day the Pandawas and their mother were persuaded to pay a visit to a distant town where a special resting place had been con- structed. On the appointed hour the house burst into flames. The brothers and their mother barely escaped through an underground tunnel and tied to the forest. In the wilderness the Pandawas, hearing of a contest for the hand of a princess, journeyed 10 the kingdom ruled by King Drupada. Afjuna easily defeated all his rivals and won the princess Druparii. The sons returned 10 a potter’s hoiiae where ihey lodged and told their mother they had received a great gift that day Not knowing what it was. their mother replied. "Enjoy yethe-gin in common." Thus Drupadi became the wife of all the bro- thers. Later they all had other wives as well. Ari’una marred the sister of King Krishna (an incarnation of the god Vishnu). Meanwhile the devious Duryodana learned of the failure of his plot, and that his cousins had found powerful allies in Drupada and Krishna. Finding that he could not keep the Pandawas from their inheritance, Duryodana retained the richer eastern province of the king- dom; the sons of Pandu were allowed the wil- derness to Ihe west. The Pandgwas soon cleared the forest and built a new capital. Ngamaira (supposedly the present-day region of Delhi). Yudistira. king of Ngamatra, pro- claimed a sacrifice to declare his sovereignty over all kings of India, and his brothers set out in all directions to proclaim his rule, The hun- dred Korawa brothers and their aging father also attended, but did so in great humiliation and envy. Duryodana returned from the Imperial Sacri- fice burning with jealousy. Determined to se- cure the ruin of the Pandawas, he gained the assistance of a prince who shared in his hatred – Sukam, an expert at loading dice. They knew Yudisiirs had one incurable weakness: a love for gambling. Sukam challenged Yudistira who lost game after game. With each loss his reck- lessness increased and the stakes went higher. Yudisiira forfeited everyrn ing- wealth, steeds, elephants, his slaves and possessions and, lastly, his kingdom In a final gamble he staked himself, his brothers, and even the princess Drupadi, against Sukani-and losti Duryodana. eager to claim the Pandawas as slaves, was persuaded by his father to soften the claim to banishment. Yei the exile was a harsh one: the Pandawas must go into twelve years of hiding and one year of concealment among the common people. If their identity be discovered in the thirteenth year, they were 10 be Bxiied for another twelve years. The Pandawas then passed twelve years banished In the wilderness. During this time, King Ouryodana, still nol satisfied with his 234. revenge, decided [o appear before them in full regalia and splendor. Unfortunately, along the way, he was taken captive in a skirmish with aerial sprites. The Pandawas heard of his plight, rescued him and allowed him to return to his kingdom; but this act of generosity only deep- ened Duryodana’s haired and jealousy, After twelve years, the sons of Pandu went Into concealment among the common people by serving a distant king under false names. Yudistira disguised himself as a Brahman cour- tier and dice expert, Bima became a palace cook, Arjuna put on bangles and earrings and posed as a eunuch, Nakula a stable keeper, and Sahadewa a cowherd. They retained these Identities for one year as was their bargain, and then demanded the return of their Kingdom. Duryodana refused, saying that no land, "not even a spot which a needle’s point can cover". shall be given them. In couricil with Krishna, the Pandawas deci- ded to recapture their kingdom by force. The great war of the Bharaias ensued. For eighteen days. the skies were dark with clouds of arrows, and the earth thundered with the clashes of charioteers and cavalry. Arjuna’s dialogue with his charioieer and ally Krishna, to whom turned in anguish, foreseeing the massacre of his kin. is described in the renowned Bhags- vadGita in which the agony of war is shown as an inward personal loss. The venerated tea- chers of both families were killed, as were the younger heroes, Arjuna’s and Bima’s sons. Then the undefeated rivals, Arjuna and Kama met in mortal combat. Arjuna revenged the death of his son with thai of his arch-enemy. Bima and Duryodana, "like two bulls thai tight in fury, blind with wounds and oozing blood", Fought on until Duryodana fell dead. Later, the women of Kuru visited the battle lield to mourn ihe fallen. The epic ends with the people of Kuru returning home with desoiats hearts,

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