BookRix

WhileMahabharata's Bhagvad-Gita is taken as a philosophical guide, Ramayana's Sundara Kãnda is sought for spiritual solace; many believe that reading Sundara Kãnda or hearing it recited would remove all hurdles and usher in good tidings!

Miracles apart, it's in the nature of Sundara Kãnda to inculcate fortitude and generate hope in man for it’s a depiction of how Hanuman goes about his errand against all odds.

Besides, it portrays how Seetha, on the verge of self-immolation, overcomes despair to see life in a new light?

With rhythm of its verse and the flow of the narrative this sloka to sloka transcreation of the canto beautiful of Valmiki's adi kavya - the foremost poetical composition in the world, Hanuman's Odyssey that paves the way for Rama to rescue his kidnapped wife is bound to charm the readers and listeners alike.

Interestingly, as the following verse illustrates, it was the forerunner of the magic realism of our times – “Gripped she then him by shadow / Cast which Hanuman coast to coast, Recalled he in dismay then / What Sugreev said at outset / That one fiend had aptitude / To grip its prey by mere shadow.”

On a personal note, my paternal grandfather, Bulusu Thimmaiah-garu, like many in his time, was a life-long practitioner of Sundara Kãnda parayana (the epic’s daily recital in part or full), whose spirituality could have providentially guided me in this, rather an effortless, trans-creative endeavour.

Cantos of the Kanda

1 - Hurdles in Skies

2 - City in Clouds 

3 - Prelude to Entry

4 - Foray into Fort

5 - Life in Lanka

6 - Precincts to Beat

7 - Palace in the Plane

8 - Pushpak’s Prowess

9 - Harem at Night

10 - Women in Want

11 - Qualms of Celibate

12 - At Wits End

13 - Errand in the Bend

14 - Garden of Grief 

15 - Withered Flower

16 - She is Seetha

17 - Guards all Hideous

18 - Ravan on Heat

19 - Dame in Despair

20 - Womanizer at Work

21 - Steadfast in Love

22 - Deadline to Death

23 - Guards that Pander

24 - Carrot and Stick

25 - Hapless Soul    

26 - Wandering Thoughts

27 - Dream of a Nightmare

28 - On the Verge

29 - Good Tidings

30 - Hanuman’s Dilemma

31 - Rama’s Ballad

32 - Is it True? 

33 - Genesis of Exile 

34 - Swings in Mood

35 - Winning the Trust

36 - More of the Same

37 - Aborted Move

38 - Story to Tell

39 - Doubts to the Fore

40 - Repeats the Dose

41 - Rampage in the Park

42 - Panic in the Town 

43 -Itching for Fight

44 -Takes on Prahastha’s Son

45 - Marshals in the Mire

46 - Generals in the Dumps

47 - Akshay’s Life on Line

48 - It takes Indrajit

49 - Ravan’s Darbar

50 - Cause of Loss

51 - Advice to Deliver

52- Placates the Sibling

53 - Tail on Fire

54 - Arson to Hurt  

55 - What of Seetha?

56 - Havoc of a Take-off

57 - Flight sans Hassles

58 - Odyssey in a Nutshell

59 - Pep Talk to Peers

60 - Angad on Rebound

61 - Eying the Madhuvan

62 - Orgy in the Garden

63 - Sugreev’s Reading

64 - Return of the Platoon 

65 - News in Brief

66 - Tears in Torrents

67 - Hanuman’s Replay

68 - Times of Hope

Yuddha Kanda: War on Ravan

01- Embrace of a Gift

02- Coronation and After