''Arundhatī'' ( hi, अरुन्धती) (1994) is a
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
(
Mahakavya Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, eve ...
) composed by
Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (1950–) in the year 1994. It consists of 1279 verses in 15 cantos (sargas). The poem presents the narrative of the couple
Arundhatī and
Vasiṣṭha
Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ...
which is found in various
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
scriptures. As per the poet, the narration of the epic is directly related to the psychological evolution of humans.
[Rambhadracharya 1994, pp. ''iii—vi''.] A copy of the epic was published in 1994 by the Shri Raghav Sahitya Prakashan Nidhi,
Haridwar
Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district.
The city is situated on the righ ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. The book was released by the then
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
,
Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh who served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997.
Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahaba ...
on July 7, 1994.
[Rambhadracharya 2000.]
Composition
In the prologue of the work, the poet mentions why he chose Arundhatī as the subject of his first ever epic poem composed in
Khadi Boli, the standard dialect of Hindi. He mentions that his reverence for Arundhatī is natural as he was born in a family of Vaśiṣṭha
Gotra
In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra fo ...
. He found the character of Arundhatī – ''“which has invaluable elements of the Indian culture, society, righteousness, nation and Vedic philosophy”'' – to be unblemished, inspiring and worthy of imitation. He further says that the practice of
Agnihotra
Agnihotra (IAST: ''Agnihotra'', Devnagari: अग्निहोत्र) refers to the yajna of casting of ghee into the sacred fire as per strict rites, and may include twice-daily heated milk offering made by those in the Śrauta tradition. Th ...
was substantially promoted and furthered by Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha only, and that along with the seven sages (the
Saptarṣi), only the wife of Vasiṣṭha is worshipped, and no other seer's wife is accorded this honour.
Narrative
Sources
Most of the narrative of the epic can be found in various Hindu scriptures. Some portions are the original compositions of the poet.
The birth of Arundhatī is found in the
Śiva Purāṇa and
Śrīmadbhāgavata, but the epic describes the birth as per Śrīmadbhāgavata. The instruction by
Brahmā
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
to Arundhatī is taken from the
Uttarakāṇḍa of the
Ramcharitmanas
''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). This ...
. The animosity between
Viśvāmitra
Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantr ...
and Vasiṣṭha is based on the
Bālakāṇḍa of
Vālmīki's
Rāmāyaṇa
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
. The birth of Śakti and
Parāśara
Parāśara (Sanskrit: पराशर; IAST: ) was a maharshi and the author of many ancient Indian texts. He is accredited as the author of the first Purana, the Vishnu Purana, before his son Vyasa wrote it in its present form. He was the gr ...
is found in the
Mahābhārata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
and several
Brāhmaṇa
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within each ...
works. The final events in the epic are based on the narrative of Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa, Rāmacaritamānasa and
Vinayapatrikā.
Synopsis
Arundhatī is the eighth daughter of Ṛṣi Kardama and Devahūti, and is married to Vasiṣṭha, the eighth son of Brahmā. Brahmā assures the couple that they will have the ''Darśana'' (sight) of
Rāma
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...
. The couple spends many years waiting for Rāma. Viśvaratha, the son of the king Gādhi, tries snatch celestial cow
Kāmadhenu from Vasiṣṭha, but is unable to stand against the ''Brahmadaṇḍa'' of Vasiṣṭha. Viśvaratha undergoes penance and becomes the Ṛṣi Viśvāmitra. The revengeful Viśvāmitra curses all hundred sons of Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha to die. The forgiveness of the couple gives rise to a son Śakti, whom Viśvāmitra gets killed by a demon. Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha then head for
Vānaprastha Āśrama, leaving their grandson Parāśara to look after their hermitage. Brahmā ordains them to re-enter
Gārhasthya Āśrama, reassuring that they will have the ''Darśana'' of Rāma as a householder couple only. The couple starts living in an Āśrama near Ayodhyā. With the birth of Rāma, a son named Suyajña is born to them. Rāma and Suyajña study together in the
Āśrama of Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha. After the marriage of Sītā and Rāma in
Mithilā, Arundhatī meets
Sītā for the first time when the newly-wed couple arrives in
Ayodhyā. Sītā and Rāma spend fourteen years in exile. When they return home, they have their first meal after the exile which is prepared by Arundhatī, and the epic ends thereafter.
The fifteen cantos
# Sṛṣṭi (Hindi: सृष्टि, meaning ''Creation''):
# Praṇaya (Hindi: प्रणय, meaning ''Adulation''):
# Prīti (Hindi: प्रीति, meaning ''Affection''):
# Paritoṣa (Hindi: परितोष, meaning ''Satisfaction''):
# Pratīkṣā (Hindi: प्रतीक्षा, meaning ''Expectation''):
# Anunaya (Hindi: अनुनय, meaning ''Supplication''):
# Pratiśodha (Hindi: प्रतिशोध, meaning ''Retribution''):
# Kṣamā (Hindi: क्षमा, meaning ''Exculpation''):
# Śakti (Hindi: शक्ति, meaning ''Qualification''):
# Uparāma (Hindi: उपराम, meaning ''Cessation''):
# Prabodha (Hindi: प्रबोध, meaning ''Cognition''):
# Bhakti (Hindi: भक्ति, meaning ''Devotion''):
# Upalabdhi (Hindi: उपलब्धि, meaning ''Acquisition''):
# Utkaṇṭhā (Hindi: उत्कण्ठा, meaning ''Anticipation''):
# Pramoda (Hindi: प्रमोद, meaning ''Elation''):
Notes
References
*
* {{cite book , title = मुण्डकोपनिषदि श्रीराघवकृपाभाष्यम् , trans-title=The Śrīrāghavakṛpā commentary on the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad , first=Svami , last=Rambhadracharya , language=Hindi , author-link=Jagadguru Rambhadracharya , publisher=Shri Tulsi Peeth Seva Nyas , place=Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India , date=January 14, 2000
External links
Arundhatī online
Epic poems in Hindi
Hindi-language literature
Hindi poetry
Works by Rambhadracharya