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Book Review
TAMIL
Nuances of Ramayana
V. S. KARUNAKARAN
SRIMAD RAMAYANAM: T. R. Kuppuswamy; copies can be had from the author, No. 8, West Mada Street, Triplicane, Chennai-600005. Rs. 200.
KAMBAN REFERS to Sage Valmiki as one without lies. The appropriateness of this epithet can be traced to Brahma’s blessing that Valmiki’s Ramayana will be in vogue as long as there are mountains and streams. How true this blessing has proved to be is evidenced by the fact that, to this day, the Ramayana continues to be the source material for writers, discourses, playwrights, script-writers, lyricists, researchers, et al. T.R. Kuppuswamy, the author of the book under review, is no exception. Written in simple Tamil with catchy titles for chapters, the book is fascinating. ‘In what language did Hanuman converse with Sita when he met her in the Asoka Vana? — this has been a topic of lively debate among scholars and commentators. While some are of the view that the language was Sanskrit, some others argue it must have been Tamil. In this context, Valmiki just says Hanuman spoke in a “sweet language.” The pro-Tamil viewpoint derives its strength from the fact that the word ‘Tamil’ is synonymous with ‘sweetness’.
In this book (chapter 25), Kuppuswamy has put forth strong arguments in a marvellous effort to establish that the language was indeed Tamil. Apart from bringing out how Ramanuja drew upon Valmiki’s work to expound the Vedic concepts, he has captured several other nuances of the epic and presented them lucidly.
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