BHAGWAN VALMIK JI - OUR PATH FINDER

The life and times of Guru Valmik Ji are shrouded in history. Ancient Indian history, lacking authentic recorded material and frequently archaeological arti-facts, present us with a problem when analysing the period of Aryan and Dravicham struggle. History if one can call it history, was 'recorded' by this Victor Aryans who naturally depreciated the Nagas and Dravidians. I say 'recorded' because most of the hindu texts were first memorised and later after hundreds of years were written down with much distortion, mythical symbolism and sometimes down right lies. There is much chaff and little wheat in the Hindu texts but never the less it is still possible to piece together the life and mission of Guru Valmik from fragmentary evidence of the ancient texts and modern archaeology.

Guru Valmik is famous for - the Yog Vasistha and the Ramayana. The Ramayana and Yog Vaisitha in their present forms have had been completely distorted. We knew for a fact that parts of Ramayana were later deleted, distorted and added to by the crafty Brahmin priests and writers.

Here I quote Valmik who himself praised Ravana on several ocasions- 'Ravana was a great and good man. He was magnanimous and handsome. But he (Ravana) chastised Brahmins whenever he saw them performing Yagarns and drinking Soma juice.' (Ravana and his Lanka (Hindi) by Chander Parsad Yagiasu)

But in Hindu Ramayana's Ravana is described as a notorious demon king, while Valmik mentioned Ravana as a great learned man a great saint, a master of scriptures, I quote Ralph T.H. Graffith, translator of the important work of Valmiki Ramayana in English. Graffith has written in introduction of Ramayana of Valmik, 'There is every reason to believe that the seventh book (Uttar Kanda) is later addition.

Hence the original Ramayana of Valmik Ji is some what older and altogether different from Hindu texts. Ramayana is essentially the story of the so called Aryan expansion into South India. This expansion was facilitated by the use of iron tools and weapons and his use of iron in North and Central India was introduced round about 1000 BC and 250 years. Many people may disagree with the date of Ramayana but I have archaeological evidence.

I feel that in our community there is a tendency, from self respect viewpoint; to ascribe as older date as possible for Guru but this thinking can only discourage the younger generation from learning about their culture and history and hence it must be avoided.

Around about 1500 BC the Nomadic barbarian Aryans invaded N.W. India and over ran an already ancient, by decaying, civilisation later known as the Indus Valley Civilisation was renowned for many features it gave to the Indian society e.g. architecture, drainage system, waterlocks trade, system of standard weights and measures, granaries, written script, astronomy (the Nak-Shatrya system) medicine Lokayata philosophy etc. etc,. The first 10 chapters (mandalas) of the Rigveda are filled with descriptions of battle between the Aryans and the Indus Valley peoples as is amply testified by the Vedic Seers.

The society that emerged from these battles was a fusion of the two cultures although the pure Arayan way of life and the AUTVOCHOTHONOUS Indians way of life survived side by side for a long term. This is testified by the fact that the modern Hinduism retains many aspects of the Haraapa Culture, Aryan arrogance and a large tribal population on its periphery.

Valmik was a fighter against oppression. He was a great scholar, The first Indian to codify music and much more.

Ramayana portrays the story of the first aggressive Arayan expansion into Central and South India. Rama is not a pure Arayan as we know from his dark colour but of mixed parentage. There are other reasons for believing that there was a fusion of two cultures in Rama's own family. Sita, his wife is born out of a furrow when king Janak ploughed the land in order to stop draught! This alone links her to earth mother goddess which incidently wallows Sita at the end of the story. This points to a matrilineal society, a society in which the man has right to a property by the virtue of him marrying the woman to whom the property itself being transmitted through the female line. A large part of India was matriarchal in character at one time. The present Khasi tribe is still matrilineal. The reason for the Kaikayi's insistence that her own son Bharata should inherit the kingdom after Dasratha is perfectly in line with the matrilineal tradition! Dasratha had made promise to her, on their marriage, that her son would inherit the kingdom. The fact that Bharata was brought up in his maternal grandparents home also points to Kaikeyi's matrilineal background. Hence the so called Arayans expansion into Central and South India was not an expansion of Arayan race but the spread of a new mode of living. This mode was patriarchal, monarchical, more class ridden and exploitative. The Copper age autochothonous population with their matrilineal tradition were not so backward but the Arayan culture was more aggressive and assisted by iron, it spread, motivated as it was for more land and people to rule. Here archaeloy and ethnology agree well with tradition.

According to Valmik, Rama is not a re-incarnation of the God Vishnu. This idea was later introduced in the Ramayana. Rama is an ordinary mortal who lies, cheats, has no scruples, double crosses and uses people where convenient for his own ends. Anyone who thinks that Rama was an ideal man should read "The Ramayana (A True Reading)' by Periyar E.V. Ramasami who has laid bare the underlying contradiction running in the whole length of Ramayana. Valmik in the true fashion of an epic poet was accurately describing the changes that were taking place in his time, albeit in a slightly secretive form so that these could be preserved for the future generations. He would not be able to save his epic poem from the Brahaminical contamination. The Brahmins deleted portions of Ramayana, added to it and distorted parts of it to suit their own slave/feudal ideology. No wonder Hanuman is considered by the Hindus to be a shining example of loyal and faithful servant. The tribesmen of Western Orissa to this day consider him a traitor! And so he was a Bali, his rightful king.

But readers may ask what connection have tribesmen of Western Orissa with Ramayana? First of all Lanka of Ramayana is not the Sri Lanka or Cylon of the present day. Cylon used to be known as Singhla. Markande Puran, Kathasaut Sagar, Mahabharta, Badmavada Kavya all refer to Lanka and Singhla separately. The astronomer Varaharmihira refers to Singhala and Lanka as two different places. In early literature Ravana's  country was refered to as tamraparni or Singhla. In Bal Ramayana itself on the occasion of Sita's marriage the king of Lanka and the King of Singhla were present. Anyway Cylon or Sri Lanka has no folk memory of Ravana or Rama! So where was the Ravana's capital?

It may have been at Sonepur in Western Orrisa. Recently stone inscription dating back to 1703 A.D. found in Bastar revealed that the Dandakaranya forest mentioned in the Ramayana was near the kingdom of Raja Bhanjdeo and that the rerritory of Lankeshwara- Ravana, by another name - was close to Dandakaranya. Also Rama's sojourn began in Chtrakut and all through the routes from Chitrakut to Bastar Rama's folk tales are very popular among thr tribals. A copper plate found at Sonepur refers to Somshwar Deva, a prince calling himself the lord of Pashchim lanka (Western Lanka). According to Valmik himself Lanka was close to Mahendra Giri Hill which is in the Ganjan district of Orissa. The Ramayana mentions sal tree which flourishes in Orissa but one doesnot find any such tree in Cylon. One further point. In the Sonepur area of Bihar the tribal tradition has contempt for Hanuman. Every year his effigy is burnt, crushed, and finally thrown into the river as a mark of disrespect. While Cylon has no folk memory of Rama or Ravana the Binjhal tribe in Sambhalpur have several such tales about Lanka. Women of Orang tribe sing folk songs about Pradesh claim that they are descendants of Ravana! What is more last year archaelogists at Sonepur excavated a fort running nearly two kilometres along the bank of the river Tel Among the relics they discovered were two massive pillars each 27 feet high one containing the skeleton of a house and another of a baby. A quantity of aims were also unearthed at this place. The provisional date of this place is 600-700 B.C.

So it appears that Ravana far from being a demon was probably a ruler of the autochothones. Valmik himself extoles the virtues of Ravana. According to the Ramayana, Ravana was a brave fighter, chivalrous, sincere and well learned. We know how the Arayan seers labelled the Dravidians as monsters and demons. If we accept Sita at her face name i.e. furrowed land then the fight was not for a human female but for land; not any land but cleared and fertile land.

A short article such as this can not possibly do justice to Ramayana and its analysis but needless to say that while analysing its contents it is well worth remembering history, archaelogy and past and present sociology of the places in question. It is also worth remembering that Valmik was not writing for people of 3000 years in the future but for the near future generations The Brahaminical distortions have also contributed a great deal about the confusion. Only science can lighten our path and guide us and we must remember this when discussing even Valmik!

So what is the importance of Valmik to the twentieth century Dalits? People who forget their past are fated to repeat their past mistakes. The ruling intellegensia in the form of brahamins tried their level best to destroy our literary and historical past so that we may not take pride in the history of our struggles. The caste system was thrust upon us as divinely originated. Did not Krishna another alleged incarnation of Vishnu declare in Bhagvad Gita that he had created the caste system? Valmik challenged the monarchichal class/ caste system by stopping Rama's Ashavmedh Yajna Horse. Later Brahamin writers would try to hide the facts that Rama was killed by Valmik. Most prominent scholars agree that last Kand of Ramayana appears to be a forgery which has neither the literary merit nor the style of the bulk of the rest of Ramayana. The Brahamins tried to vilify Valmik by calling him a petty bandit wo achieved salvation by inadvertently reciting the name of Rama! What cheek?

People who have no sense of the history cannot create their own future. Valmik is a part of our own history. We need to learn about our past, about Valmik in order to check our future course. Valmik stood at the beginning of a class/ caste society. We stand near its end, but our struggle is the same. This struggle links us to Shambuk Rishi, Eklavya, Baba Jivan Singh, Shaheed Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammed Singh. The torch was lighted by Valmik: Let us carry it forward.

Refrences :

(1). 'Iron Age Culture Provinces of India'
       Glimpses of Indian Culture - Dr. K.V. Soundra Rajan
(2). Ros to Roh Tak (Punjabi) - Mohan Bandalvi
(3). Digging up a new Lanka - India Today April 16-30 1981
(4). Ramayana A True Reading - Periyar E.V. Ramasami
(5). Indian Serpent Lore - Professor J.P.H. Vogel
(6). Rebellious Prophets - Stephen Fuchs
(7). Valmiki Ramayana - Griffiths R.T.H.
(8). Hinduism Dharam Ya Klank (Hindi) - L.R. Balley
(9). Ravan Ki Lanka - Chandras Parsad Yagyasu

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