Buddhism’s Revival in India in the 20th Century

Vinay Lal writes about the revival of Buddhism in India and the untiring torch bearers of the Buddhism in India and Tamil Nadu.

Buddhism’s Revival in India in the 20^th Century

Vinay Lal

The disappearance of Buddhism from the land of its birth, a gradual process that extended from the latter part of the 1^st millennium AD until about 1200-1300 AD, is a phenomenon that has been commented upon quite often.  [See the related article on this web site.]  Another part of this story is surely the revival of Buddhism, a reawakening with which the name of B. R. Ambedkar is indelibly linked.  Indeed, the story of modern-day Indian Buddhism  generally commences with Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism in 1956, a mere couple of months before his death.  By the early 1990s, there were an estimated 7 - 10 million Buddhists in India, the bulk of them in the western state of Maharashtra.

However, the narrative of Buddhism’s revival in India can more accurately be traced back to the 19^th century, and a more complex account of it would have to take stock of various Dravidian, anti-Brahminical, and self-respect movements that, in various ways, impinged on the fortunes of Buddhism in India from the late nineteenth century onwards.  The names of reformers such as Jotiba Phule (1826-1890) and much later E. V. Ramaswami ‘Periyar’ (1879-1973) are, of course, well-known, but one can also point to other tendencies.  Mahima Dharma, or the “religion” founded by Mahima Gosain [previously known as Mukunda Das] in Orissa in 1862, stood for the rejection of caste and idol worship, and Gosain embraced such Buddhist practices as begging for cooked food.  Gosain’s teachings were spread through many followers, none as famous as the blind adivasi poet, Bhima Bhoi, whose bhajans popularized Mahima Gosain’s teachings. 

Ambedkar’s closest forerunner may well have been Pandit Iyothee Thaas, a Tamil Siddha physician (1845-1914) who not only urged the Untouchables (as they were then known) to view themselves as non-Hindus, as casteless Dravidians, but also set another example for them by taking diksha at the hands of a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka.  Thaas went on to found the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras.

Various other trajectories fed into Buddhism’s revival, among them the arrival in India in 1891 of David Hewavitarne, more well-known as Angarika Dharmapala.   The restoration of Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, was undertaken at his behest, and Dharmapala also founded the Maha Bodhi Society.  Before Ambedkar’s conversion in 1956 and the advent of what we might call Dalit Buddhism, the Maha Bodhi Society, which also wrested control of Bodh Gaya from the hands of its Hindu managers, would become the custodian of Buddhism’s fortunes. Dharmapala’s visit to India coincided with a spurt of scholarly interest in Buddhism among Indologists, including such famous ones as the Sanskritist R. G. Bhandarkar, and something of what might be called an antiquarian and spiritual interest in Buddhism among intellectuals and truth seekers in the West.  In 1881, the Pali Text Society had been founded, and authoritative versions of Buddhist texts soon came to be published and disseminated under its auspices.  One convert to Buddhism in India who was to acquire considerable fame in later years was Dharmanand Kosambi, who was born in Goa in 1876 and was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1902.  Though his fame has been eclipsed by that of his son, D. D. Kosambi, the most eminent Indian Marxist historian of his generation,

 

Dharmanand Kosambi authored one of the most popular biographies of Buddha, Bhagwan Buddha (1940, and still in print from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan).

 

Ultimately, however, Buddhism’s revival owes the most to Ambedkar’s alienation from Hinduism and his embrace of Buddhism, which by no means seemed inevitable to him even when he had emphatically denounced Hinduism, in October 1956.  That story has been taken up in great detail by Ambedkar’s biographers and is now part of Dalit lore; and consequently it will not be rehearsed now at any length. It is worth recalling that as late as 1929, when a group of Dalits threatened to convert to Islam or Christianity, Ambedkar did not really see Buddhism as a viable alternative for low-caste Hindus.  As he then wrote, “No particular effect will be felt on the bullying of the so-called upper castes by becoming Buddhist or Arya Samajist, so we see no meaning in following this path.  To successfully confront the domination of Hindus, we should become Christians or Muslims and win the support of a powerful community and with this erase the mark of Untouchability.”   Ambedkar was fully conversant with the problem that in India the tendency to view Buddhism as an off-shoot of Hinduism meant that converts to Buddhism would be treated with something like indifference, and that they would not be able to escape the liabilities of low-caste Hinduism.  Upper-caste Hindus were not likely to perceive conversion to Buddhism as anything of a threat.  By the mid-1930s, however, Ambedkar had certainly come around to the view that he could not remain within the fold of Hinduism.  As he was to declare on 13 October 1935, “Unfortunately, I was born a Hindu.  It was beyond my power to prevent that, but I solemnly assure you that I will not die a Hindu.”  He only took the final plunge in October 1956.  Perhaps not coincidentally, or not without its own symbolic politics, Ambedkar’s conversion, accompanied by the conversion of thousands of his followers, took place at a large field in the city of Nagpur, a place associated with the rise of Hindu nationalist sentiments.  The field where Ambedkar converted would be sanctified as “Diksha Bhoomi”, the field or earth of vow-taking.

 

Though Buddhism has gained adherents over the last five decades, Indian Buddhists are still relatively miniscule in numbers.  Buddhism’s presence in India is, of course, another matter, with the landscape in many parts of the country still dotted with remains of Buddhist monasteries, Buddhist sculptural art, and other reminders of the supreme presence that Buddhism once occupied in Indian life.  The hill regions of north-east India, Uttaraanchal, and Himachal Pradesh, as well as Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir are other areas where sizable Buddhist communities are found.  Japanese tourists arriving in India to take the Buddhist pilgrimage route are writing yet another chapter of the history of Indian Buddhism, as are, in more profound ways, Tibetan Buddhists.  There is a sizable population of Tibetan Buddhists, over 150,000 people, in India; and the Dalai Lama heads the Tibetan government in exile at the hill station of Dharmashala.  In the 12^th and 13^th centuries, as Buddhism was pushed further east and north, it eventually made its way to Tibet and found refuge in the mountainous retreats of that country.  It is, thus, perfectly apposite that Buddhism should now have come back to India from Tibet to nourish the soil on which it once grew.

HTML Version: Posted:  24 February 2006

8th Century BC, Nandanar & Cast System in Tamil Nadu?: Kings Looted lands from Dalits to give it to the nomadic,landless Brahmins, Read further...!

S.Viswanatahan from Tamil Nadu is a well known and reputed writer, at times his writings are scholarly in his expression and style. 

The following review article written by him is about one of the most revered, powerful spiritual saint  with an astonished performance of crusade against brahminism and casteism during 8th century, the greatest of all saints Saint Nandanar or Thirunaalaippovar, a Tamil Dalit (what?, a dalit at 8th century?, isn't this amazing how barbaric Indias and Tamilians even at this early century). Yes, Nandanar belongs to erstwhile pariyar community, they were untouchables who were chased out to their lands and belongings to the outskirts for living (Caste Segregation, that we can see even today in every single village in India). After almost several centuries gone by, Tamil Nadu is still full of riddles of hinduism the caste animosity and atrocity against dalits, they are predominently segregated in almost all the villages?. 


REVIEW ARTICLE

Dalit struggle and a legend

S. VISWANATHAN

The Legend of Nandan: Nandan Kathai by Indira Parthasarathy, translated from the Tamil by C.T. Indra; Oxford University Press; pages 82, Rs.195.

DALITS, who constitute a little over one-sixth of India's one billion people, have for generations been at the very bottom of the social ladder. They are kept outside, and subservient to, the four-tier hierarchical caste structure sanctified by Varnasrama Dharma.

HISTORIANS relate the segregation of a section of people in Tamil Nadu as "outcastes" and "untouchables" to the process of Aryanisation of southern India. Dalit isolation grew in intensity in pace with this process. "The Aryanisation of the South was doubtless a slow process spread over several centuries. Beginning probably about 1000 B.C., it had reached its completion before the time of Katyayana, the grammarian of the 4th century B.C., who mentions the names of the Tamil countries of the extreme south." (K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India)

In his Slavery in the Tamil Country: A Historical Overview, historian S. Manickam observes: "It is difficult to say when the institution of slavery originated in the South. Perhaps the conquest of southern India by the Aryans and the consequent fusion between them and the inhabitants of the land could have been the possible cause of the birth of Caste System and the institution of slavery which is closely allied with the former."

The "Pulaiyars'', the "Paraiars" and the "Pallars" are some of the large Dalit communities. Many historians have shown that large sections of original inhabitants (the Pallars and the Paraiars, for instance) were alienated from their land. Manickam contends that the Aryanisation process reached its peak during the period of Imperial Cholas under state patronage and this led to a form of slavery, mainly associated with land. The distribution of land as gift to Brahmins by the kings during the Pallava and Chola periods brought about changes in land relations. Brahmins, who were until then mostly advisers andpurohits to the king, became landowners in several places.

Nandan, in a way, has been the symbol of the Dalit aspiration for liberation since the 8th century. The evolution of the story of Nandan, from a brief reference to his inner piety by the Tamil Saivite seer and poet Sundarar, one of the 63 nayanmaars of the Saivite order, ("chemmaiye Thirunaalaippovaarkkum adiyen") to Indira Parthasarathy's Nandan Kathai, through several re-interpretations is interesting.

Read this whole review, the life story of Saint Nandanar is a model of model for inspiration and humanity, though there are several controversial stories, he is the probably the first known Tamil Dalit during 8th century to fought against caste system and single handedly crushed the upper castes and high and mighty procrastinators of religious stupidity of those years.

Dalit Atrocity in India Continues:- Human Rights abuse by hindus

Here is a list of Dalit atrocity compiled by K.Samu, this is just a tiny fraction of the thousands and unaccounted number of human rights abuse and dalit atrocity committed by hindus in the name of caste system, if you go over the list of these atrocities, you will find it how widespread and dangerous the hindus practices and treatment of other humans in India.

Again, let me warn you about the list, this is in no way a complete list or even contemplates to be a majority of such atrocities, it is just a fraction of it, all over India, there is such a rampant amount of atrocity goes on unnoticed, unattended and uncontroled by the local, central or any govt authorities, who are all  including govt officials who are believers of such filth as caste system.

DALIT ATROCITIES - 2007

(JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2007)

Compiled By

K. SAMU

Human Rights Documentation,

Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India

Govt asks private firms to account for SC/ST staff (2)

New Delhi : Private organisations, entrepreneurs and companies may find themselves in aquandary, as Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DPP) has asked them to list detailsof SC/ST employees in their annual audit reports for 2006-07. The annual reports of a companywould be treated as 'incomplete' if they do not state the number of SC/ST employees in theorganisations. The new initiative comes in the wake of a crucial meeting of the Co-Ordination Committee on Affirmative Action (CCAA) chaired by Dr Ajay Dua, secretary, DPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, on November 2006. Dr Dua, also member-convener of CCAA, had met

Industry representatives to decide the future course of action to implement affirmative actions forthe disadvantaged groups of the society. "The idea to mention details of SC/ST employees in theannual report of the companies came from Dr Dua. The Industry would try its best to compilesuch details. It remains to be seen if we could force the people to disclose their caste identities.We feel disclosure of such information should be voluntarily, and not mandatory," an industrysource said. According to him, Jamshed J Irani, director, Tata Sons, and chairman of 

CIIASSOCHAM

taskforce on affirmative action, expressed reservation over the idea in the meeting of industry players and Government officials, stating that "such an exercise should be left to the individual companies to decide". To begin with, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the nodal agency for implementation of quota in private sector through affirmative action, has asked Industry players to "incorporate the data of SCs/STs recruited from January 2007 onwards in the annual report of 2006-07".

The Centre has also fixed March 2007 as the

deadline for the industry to collect data to assess the share of SC/ST in the private sector jobs.

The cut-off date for compiling the information is January 1, 2007. Since the private sector in the

country employs around 8 million people in the country, the SC/ST should account for over 17.6

lakh in the total jobs against 22.2 per cent quota norm earmarked for them………(Pioneer 3/1/06)

`Dalits, tribals launguishing in jails' (2)

BERHAMPUR: Ninety-two innocent dalits and tribals are languishing in Orissa jails being falsely

termed as naxal supporters, alleged the State unit of the CPI-Maoist party. In press note signed

by Sunil, secretary of the Orissa unit, the Maoists alleged that these prisoners were being treatedinhumanly in the jails. According to them 29 such prisoners were lodged at Berhampur circle jail,26 at Sambalpur jail, 23 at Malkangiri jail, three at Paralakhemundi jail, two at R. Udaygiri sub-jail,three at Rayagada jail, and six at Rourkela jail. According to them, a cancer patient named Natha Pradhan from Jajpur area arrested in the name of his alleged naxal connections was also fighting for his life inside the jail. The Maoists said the atrocities on dalits and tribals living in remote areas of the State had increased during the tenure of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The Naveen Patnaik Government has joined hands with the fundamentalist BJP to be in power but was hand in hand with the Congress to continue atrocities. (The Hindu 4/1/07)

Here is the link to the full list: Dalit Atrocity 2007

Scholarly and Revolutionary Writings of Jatirao Phule

Blog: Scholars without Borders Review on Jotirao Phule's Writings:
This blog run by individual writers, scholars and academicians from JNU university write about various issues and topics in India. The following is the review about Great Revolutionary, humanitaian and Abolishnists of Caste system and hinduism of India. Read further......!Selected Writings of Jotirao Phule Author/Editor : G P Deshpande, ed.

"Jotirao Phule (1827-1890) was India's first systematic theorist of caste,
and the most radical 19th-century opponent of it,

• who desired nothing less than
  a complete smashing up of
  its oppressive
  structure.

This volume makes available
for the first time all his most important prose writings in English.

India-Independent? from What?.:-

Will India ever get Independence from Myths, discrimination, filth
and poverty, corruption and looting the poor, lawlessness and injustices?. The answer is probably the most difficult one?.
Here is a thought provoking article by a human rights
activist.

An eye-opener for India

15 August, 2008 - 11:36.

• India

• Babu Gogineni (1)  In an illustrated article on the occasion of India's Independence Day, Babu Gogineni highlights the superstitious obstacles to India's progress and warns of the dangers of departing from the path of reason.

India's 'Progress'

India as a country has today in her 61st year of existence found a place
on the world's radar - dazzling many with the explosive economic growth nearing
that of China's, creating the world's largest pool of persons with technical
training, producing food that can sustain a billion citizens even if there were
no rains for one year, and even managing to get an agreement with the Nuclear
Suppliers Group, while remaining outside the ambit of the Nuclear Non
Proliferation Treaty!

The Warning Bells
The warning bells have been sounded. Increasing rituals.
Greater role for astrologers in private and even public life. Continuing news of human sacrifice from the rural areas, and of lynching of suspected witches. Reinforced caste identities, neglect of
the weak and the helpless ... 

the list is endless. India, despite all the tall
claims of becoming a modern nation is doing nothing about the ever increasing superstition amongst her people and their leaders, nor about the rapidly disappearing human values. This neglect of the scientific temper will prove to be a costly affair for the nation.
Babu Gogineni is IHEU's International Director

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No Academic Dignity or Scholarly approach to Education in India: Brahminism & Casteism is destroying the future of India?

Educational Instituitions in India is filled with unexplainable level of discrimination, bias, favoritism, goondaism and utter non-sense of hindu people. There is no place of sc/st's, because they are the object of the highest discrimination ever on this planet!?.

These innocent Sc/St's are perpetrated in every single aspects of their life in India by the casteistic people, no matter whether it is a Brahmin or a ignorant backward/most backward sect , they are all slaves of Brahmins even in this modern era that means they all practice discrimination period.

This is mainly because of the believes they were taught in the past several centuries, mostly Mythical and lunatic believes of hinduism. While the caste discrimination in other walsk of life is rampant in India, the

academic discriminations are much more prevalent and dangerouly practiced by brahmins and other Indians without a shame. Sujch caste perpetration is much more common and in full swing in AIIMS, JNU, IISc, IITs, IIMs and almost all the educational/higher educational instituitions.

Here is a petition and the background history of discrimination of Sc/St
in instituitions:

SIGN THE PETITION: Academia in India is an Institution of Brahminism & Terrorism, so much Academic Atrocity in India go off the Hook??
Sign the Petition ......

SC/ST students at AIIMS face discrimination'

AgenciesPosted online: Sunday, May 06, 2007 at 1353 hours ISTNew Delhi, May 6: SC/ST students at AIIMS face discrimination at all levels right from consultation with teachers, during examinations and even in hostels, a committee probing discrimination at the institute said slamming authorities for not recognising the gravity of the social divide.

“..and now disclosure of discrimination by IIT in Chennai…”

DALITS NOT WELCOME IN IIT MADRAS http://www.tehelka.com/story_main31.asp?filename=Ne160607Dalits_not.asp
There are only a handful of Dalit students and faculty members at the elite institute, but they face widespread discrimination and harassment
PC Vinoj Kumar Chennai

All the noise against extending reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in centrally-funded institutions might be a little irrelevant given that an institute like IIT Madras has parted with only a fraction of the 22.5 percent quota for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

According to information provided by the institute’s deputy registrar, Dr K. Panchalan, in September 2005, Dalits accounted for only 11.9 percent of the number of students. They were even fewer in the higher courses — 2.3 percent in ms (Research) and 5.8 percent in Ph.D. Out of a total of 4,687 students, Dalits made up only 559.

*Brahminical forces are once again at their oppressive best in AIIMS. Constitutional violation, caste discrimination and atrocities on Dalits and other backward section are rampant in AIIMS. Kindly have a look at the number of jobs given to the SC/ST/OBCs at AIIMS, the premier medical institute of this country .
*Senior Resident Doctors*

• AIIMS: Teaching Discrimination
  
• Chances are if you are a Schedule Caste/Tribe student studying or practicing in India’s premier medical institute, AIIMS in New Delhi, none of your fellow student or doctor will work with you and you will have to live in a ghetto, you will not be able to play a certain sport and each and every day, you will be reminded again and again that you belongs to an inferior class in the society.
  

Bauddhacharya S. Sajivan Nath: Scholarly Activist in the Path laid by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

Here is a story of suffering of a man in the hands of casteistic Brahmins and other Indians, who came up in life against all truamatic experiences of caste violence and atrocity. His abilities to shattered the casteistist by following Dr.Ambedkar's work and teachings brought out lots of talents and services out of Mr.Bauddhacharya S.Sajivan Nath.

From his website:
Bauddhacharya S. Sajivan Nath

Bauddhacharya S. Sajivan Nath was born on November 19, 1941 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father served the British Army as a fourth-class employee. He graduated from the University of Allahabad, Allahabad. He was fortunate not only in obtaining college level education but also gaining sufficient exposure in the area of sports, especially football. His penchant for playing football enabled him to represent his team at school, college, district and state levels. Thus, the British rule provided him with the required impetus, necessary for boosting his overall personality.

After completing his studies, he got a job as a storekeeper in the Military Engineering Services in Allahabad. During his service, he underwent ruthless caste-based discriminations. Every moment he was made to realize that he was a Dalit and was treated as an outcaste. For instance, whenever he or the other people of his community went to market to buy anything, the upper caste baniya or the shopkeeper either threw things at them or wrapped the articles in some old newspaper before handing over to them in order to avoid physical touch. Humiliated, the people of his community paid money by placing it on some shelf or plank, from where the baniya picked it up. In his office, he often entered into heated argument or debate with the upper caste co-workers regarding the ascribed lifestyle and status of Dalits in the Indian society. Exclusivity, so obvious and so sacrosanct in the eyes of the upper castes, was tormenting to him. He came to think, “If humiliation be the governing principle in an organization, then why serve it; why not to protest against it”?

Humiliation to him could be minimized, if not overcome, by abandoning the job. “But what about the others in the society who are living perpetually under this horrendous neglect and insult”? These thoughts tormented Bauddhacharya for many months, culminating in his resignation from the job.

It was his first major protest against a society that reduces man to the level of slavery. It was a step which few of his status could have dared to take. The traumatic effects of such experiences and others pushed him to take up the cause of Dalits and their sufferings. He wanted emancipation of Dalits from the hegemony of Brahmanism. He knew that it was a Herculean task, but then acquiescence would lead to moral inertia.

A missionary zeal enthused him to draw the attention of the society to the ill treatment meted out to the downtrodden and to express their urge for uplift and empowerment. During this period, he undertook an intensive study of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s autobiography and works. While reading, about the silent suffering, torture, and discrimination, he was emotionally absorbed and burst out in tears. He vowed to use his learning for the liberation of Dalit communities. He initially began writing for ‘Allahabad Kesari’. However, he failed to get the expected response from the readers. With his limited resources but indefatigable courage, he set-up a publication unit ‘Milan Prakashan’, in 1969 at Allahabad.

Since then, he has been in publishing a fortnightly newspaper ‘Dalit Kesari’, which has come to be recognized as the most widely read all over India.Being an ardent follower of Ambedkar, he extensively popularized his ideals for the Dalit awakening. He presents Ambedkar as a role model for the Dalit masses. He expresses their protests, yearnings and dreams through his poems, songs and essays. He portrays the atrocities that Dalits undergo in their day-to-day life, attacking vehemently Brahman vayavastha (Brahman system) for imposition of thevarna system at the cost of shraman tradition. 

According to him, the latter system accords equal value to all who put in labour (i.e. lower castes) and consume with ethical dignity as opposed to those who are parasitic on the fruits of the labour of others (upper castes). Last 36 years have witnessed his assiduous attempt to undertake various kinds of writings which include articles, poems, and small booklets like ‘Bhangi Ki Jivan Gatha’; ‘Bodhisatva-Babasaheb Ambedkar; ‘Manavta Ki Azadi Ka Mahaparva: Ambedkar Jayanti’; Mahaparva: Ambedkar Jayanti; Nagvanshi Hela Ki Khani Hela Ki Jabani; 1875 Ki Kranti Ka Janak- Nagvanshi Bhangi Matadeen Hela’.

His advancing age has failed to reduce his dedication to the world of writing and social activism. Some of his booklets are under publication and there are many themes which he thinks of explore in his writings. The Ambedkar in him has not made him overlook the social critique of Brahmanism by such non-Dalit scholars as Rahul Sankrityayan. He has been honoured by various academic institutions, notably like, Bhartiya Boddhaya Mahasabha, Allahabad; Mrigdawan Mahavihaar, Sarnath (Varanasi); Maharastra Dalit Sahitya Academy; Bhartiya Dalit Sahitya Academy, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh Dalit Sahitya Academy.

His writings continue to ignite the consciousness of Dalits to assert for their identity and dignity. The printing press established by him has effectively served the purpose for which it was bought. This is a great solace to a man dedicated to the cause of Dalits.

Small booklets leaving big imprint on Dalit psycheNachiketa Narayan in Allahabad December 18, 2005 22:44 IST
While the emergence of backward classes as a social and political force has been made possible by the efforts of their leaders, credit also goes to the Dalit literature to complement the efforts by infusing a sense of dignity in these sections, says a study.

Great King Ravana- and Scholarly Buddhist approach of his Kingdom?

This blogger pays tribute the greatest Asian king and Sri Lankan King Ravana, it is fascinating to note that Ravana was considered to be the greatest physician even in the days were no formal science or medicine existed?.

He is said to be one of the greatest physicians who ever existed, and even authored the book Arka Prakashaya.

The Bisajjya Grantha and Nadi Shasthra mentions that King Ravana and his grandfather Pulasthi Muni had graced the world-famous medical conferences held in those ancient days in Janasthan Pura near Pakistan. In Sri Lankan folk tales, it is said that king Ravana treated both Rama and Lakshmana with his own hand when they were badly injured on the battlefield.

• http://chathuranga.blogspot.com/2008/05/maha-ravana.html
  

Ravana- A University of California (UCLA) Scholarly Article on This Greatest Personality of the World

Ravana

Ravana appears in the Ramayana as the demon-king of Lanka and the principal antagonist of Rama. In all versions of the Ramayana, he is vanquished and killed by Rama in a ferocious battle where both are compelled to call upon all the resources at their command, including the most awesome weapons.

Thus is Sita, who had been abducted by Ravana, restored to her husband. If Rama stands forth as a shining example of the virtuous ruler, Ravana is, in the common imagination, the very sign of evil. In Hindi, for instance, a man who behaves wickedly is described as behaving like Ravana, and the effigies of Ravana that are burnt at Dusshera mark the triumph of good over evil.

There are Indian traditions, however, where Ravana is not only vindicated as a figure of immense moral and physical strength, but where he appears as the chief protagonist of the Ramayana. His immense penance, learning, and devotion to Brahma earned him the latter’s gratitude.

Brahma conferred on Ravana the boon of near invulnerability, making him immune from destruction by gods or (other) demons; he also acquired the capacity to change his form, and in the Ramayana he is described as having ten heads and twenty arms. He was endowed with the strength of moving the seas and splitting the tops of mountains. Ravana’s body bore all the marks of one who had fought the devas: the thunderbolt of Indra, the tusks of Indra’s elephant Airavata, and the discus of Vishnu had all scarred him.

If Ravana had a fatal flaw, it was doubtless his hubris. When Brahma conferred on him a boon, and Ravana asked that the devas should be unable to inflict harm on him, he did not think it worthwhile to ask for protection from men or animals. Consequently, Vishnu had to incarnate himself as a human being, Rama, and it is an army of monkeys, led by Hanuman, which assists Rama in liberating Sita from Ravana’s clutches and vanquishing him. Ravana’s hubris extends so far that at first he refuses to take Rama seriously, since he thinks that the idea that any human being could pose a threat to him is utterly contemptible.

When Rama and Ravana meet in battle, it is characteristic of Ravana that he flaunts his prowess, and speaks arrogantly of crushing Rama to bits; Rama, meanwhile, simply goes about his task. When Rama sends his final weapon, the "Brahmasthra", hurtling towards Ravana, he aims it at his heart. Though Ravana had sought invincibility, and could replace his head or arms with another set, he had not thought of safeguarding his heart. Perhaps in recognition of the fact that he had nearly met his match, or that Ravana was a Brahmin by birth, well-versed in the Vedas and prolific in his knowledge of Sanskrit, Rama ordered that the funeral arrangements for Ravana be those befitting his grandeur.

No one who has read the Ramayana can have failed to wonder why Ravana, who lusted after Sita and kept her in captivity for years, did not violat her. He repeatedly urged her to become his wife, and on more than one occasion threatened to put an end to her life; but she was just as persisting in refusing his advances. Devout readers are prone to the interpretation that Sita’s purity made her inviolable. Yet Ravana had the advantage of strength, and she was his captive. The Ramayana itself suggests a number of other readings. It is said that one of Ravana’s wives dissuaded him from violating Sita.

Ravana is himself said to have been incapacitated by a curse to the effect that if he made any attempt to molest her, he would be reduced to ashes. And it is even possible to argue that, having kidnapped her, Ravana wished to have Sita for himself only if she gave her consent; to do otherwise was to abandon the badge of honor that he, the mightiest of the asuras or demons, carried. What is remarkable is his extraordinary discipline and tapasya: right beside him, subject to his overwhelming power, was a woman for whom he had a burning desire, and yet he restrained himself. Would being burnt to ashes have been so high a price to pay for so unimaginable a good?

Certainly some interpreters, such as the nineteenth-century Bengali writer, Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873), have been inclined to the view that Ravana displayed the qualities of masculinity, honor, consistency, reliability, and justice to a greater extent than did Rama.

How could Rama, a hero of an earlier, pastoral, village republic commend himself to the attention of moderns, and what was so particularly noble about a hero who, having allowed himself to be exiled, showed himself incapable of protecting his own wife? If the welfare of the nation had been entrusted in the past to inept and feminine leaders like Rama, and these supposed heroes were still held up for emulation, was it any surprise that

India had come under British rule? Though the character of Ravana may seem like a closed book, there is sufficient plurality in Indian traditions that even Ravana is capable of some recuperation.