--Dev 18:24, 13 ஏப்ரல் 2010 (UTC)Tara, the embodiment of wisdom

Tara is a very minor character appearing in a few scenes in the Kishkindha Kanda alone. Though a monkey by birth, she is one among the five celebrated women of the yore, and is equated with Sita, Ahalya, Mandodhari and Draupadi. Though she appears only in a few scenes, she creates an impact in the minds of the readers. The reader is impressed by her intelligence, logic and reasoning skills even in the very first scene that she appears. When she argues with Vali, stopping him from venturing on his fight with Sugriva, she is seen presenting her case with patience and developing it in logical steps, substantiating her conclusion that Rama has become the ally of Sugriva, with evidence that she collected privately.

That is a quality of a queen, which is not seen in many others. Partaking in administrative activities. In Mahabharata we see Kunti participating in the administration and giving her advice on crucial questions. The ISKCON has compiled her teachings and brought out in a book form.

The very fact that Tara is able to bring an important development that has missed the eyes of the king, Vali, shows her grip on facts, happenings and also the administration. She does not stop there. She advices Vali that Sugriva deserves a better deal at his hands. See what she tells Vali. “Let the salutary advice that I am going to give you be heeded and acted upon: (pray) invest Sugriva speedily with the office of Prince Regent with due ceremony. Do not enter into a conflict with your younger brother, O valiant monarch; for I consider friendship with the aforesaid Rama and affection towards Sugriva is desirable for you. For, relegating animosity to a distance, this monkey (Sugriva), your younger brother, deserves to be lovingly cherished by you.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto 15, Sloka 23-25)

She is not only presenting a problem and giving out a warning based on evidence; she also gives the best kind of solutions, playing the role of a minister in administering the state, particularly when she says that Sugriva should be appointed as the Prince Regent.

Her speech also gives evidence to the fact that she had gone into the question of measuring the strength of this person, called Rama, and she had enough intelligence on him. We see her narrating the qualities of Rama, which she has meticulously collected. “Indeed he who is the associate of your (younger) brother (Sugriva) in fighting is widely known by the name of Rama. He is capable of crushing the enemy’s ranks and resembles the fire that flared up at the end of the world cycle. He is a tree affording shelter to (all) virtuous souls and the ultimate resort of those in the grip of a calamity. Richly endowed with secular and spiritual (wisdom) he is fully devoted to the command of his father. As the Himalaya mountain (the king of mountains) is a large storehouse of minerals, he is a repository of virtues.” (Ibid, Sloka 17-21)

She has not only collected information on the valour of this person; but also on his personal qualities. And finally she tells Vali, “Indeed your conflict with the Prince of Kosala, whose might is equal to Indra’s, is not desirable.” But Vali was not in a mood to listen. He had his own reasons, beliefs and trusts. As Valmiki himself observes, “That advice, however, did not find favour with him at that moment, which spelt destruction to him, seized as he was by Death.” (Ibid, Sloka 31)

Vali himself acknowledges her shrewdness and diligence.

The mounting pressure

The reader will recall the words of Vali to Sugriva at the time of his death, about Tara. “Nay, this Tara (daughter of Susena) is extremely clever in discerning the most profound matters as well as in deciphering the meaning of portents of various kinds as also in all other ways. That which she recommends as right should be unhesitatingly done (by you). No opinion of Tara turns out to be wrong.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda Canto 22, Sloka 13-14)

That judgement of Vali is not restricted to the mere fact that Tara meticulously collected intelligence of her own and warned Vali beforehand of the alliance between Rama and Sugriva and the danger that awaited him in the hands of Rama. Valmiki Ramayana gives other instances of her calm and composed self even in the face of a crisis of the worst kind.

As soon as Vali fell on the ground, wounded by the arrow of Sri Rama, a small herd of monkeys who followed Angada like his bodyguard ran helter-skelter, frightened by what has happened. They then rushed to Tara, with the message. They had a quick plan drafted just on the spot, even while they were running for their lives. Let’s listen to what they have to say.

”Go back, O mother of a surviving son, and protect your son, Angada. Having struck down Vali, Death in the disguise of Rama is bearing him away (to his abode). Destroying with his arrows resembling the lightning the trees as well as the huge rocks hurled by Vali, Sri Rama has struck him down as Indra would strike down a mountain with lightning. This tiger among monkeys, whose splendour equalled to the splendour of Indra, having been killed, the whole of this army of monkeys has taken to flight as though overpowered (by Rama). Let the city (of Kishkindha) be guarded by gallant soldiers and let Angada be installed on the throne. (All) the monkeys will serve Vali’s son when he assumes office.” (Ibid, Canto 19, Sloka 11-14)

Since Vali has been killed, you go back to your safety and install Angada as the king immediately. We will serve Angada, as our king. That is a situation, which very normally happens when any king expires or is killed in action. The elders and other warriors rush to the queen or whoever is supposed to be the next in command and rush the events to see that the successor is installed in office immediately. The monkey advisors do not stop there.

“Your continuance here (in Kishkindha) however, is not to our liking, O lady with a charming countenance; for (hostile) monkeys (Hanuman and others) will soon take possession of (al l) the citadels (in Kishkindha) this very day. There are monkeys (lit. denizens of the forest) both with and without wives here, from whom there is a very great fear, covetous (of sovereignty) as they are and victims of deception.” (Ibid, Sloka 15, 16)

Not only we are leaderless, for which you need to take very quick action to make Angada the king; but also your modesty is in great danger. There are hostile monkeys who will very soon be taking charge of the city. You are a charming woman and there are monkeys who do not have wives, while some of them do have wives. We are afraid that anything may happen to you. Therefore, you go away from this place this moment.

What kind of a pressure! On the one hand they want Tara to make Angada the king and on the other they advise her to leave the place in the interest of her own safety. To top it all, they have the saddest news for her – the death throes that her husband is undergoing. What is her priority now? Even the strongest of minds would buckle under such pressure and under the weight of the disaster that had befallen. What happens to Tara?

What is wisdom after all?

Wisdom does not lie in seizing events as they pop up every now and then and trying to make them work for us. It really lies in weighing the facts…

The appeals of those Vanara warriors did not appeal to Tara in the least. She was not worried about her own safety or about the welfare of her son. Her mind was set only on Vali who was in the jaws of death. Valmiki says, “Hearing the submission of the monkeys (who were only at a short distance from her), the aforesaid lady (Tara) of charming smiles made a reply which was worthy of herself.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto 19, Sloka 17)

‘What is the purpose of thinking of my safety, or securing the kingdom of Kishkindha for Angada now? The roots of my very existence have been shaken. Let me be with my master now. Leave me alone.’

“Now that the highly blessed Vali (a veritable lion among monkeys) is dying, what purpose of mine will be served by my son (Angada) or sovereignty or even by my (own) self? I shall seek the soles of feet of that exalted soul alone, who has been laid low with an arrow discharged by Sri Rama.” (Ibid, Sloka 18-19)

What Tara had was a really excellent opportunity. History is replete with instances of people encashing such opportunities and take advantage of the situation when such support was available. That too, the support here is offered voluntarily, without being asked for. Tara, who showed such diligence and prudence and even went to the extent of advising Vali to install Sugriva as Prince Regent to make the best out of a bad situation, is not prepared to listen to them. One might think she was overpowered by grief and therefore her mind was blunted by the shock of her life, which led her to refuse the offer of support by a section of the Vanara warriors.

But it was not so. This suggestion to install Angada as the king comes from Hanuman himself. It might perhaps be shocking to hear that Hanuman, who has all along been working for the annihilation of Vali, who paved the way for his death to enable Sugriva to become the king made this suggestion. Nevertheless, the fact remains that he did so.

This scene occurs when Hanuman comforts a lamenting Tara and reminds her of the duties that remain to be performed, like performing the obsequies of Vali. He says, “Nay, all the tigers among monkeys as well as this son of yours, Angada, and the kingdom of the monkeys and the bears have their protector in you, O irreproachable lady! Gradually, spur on to activity these two (Sugriva and Angada) who are distracted with grief, O good lady! Let Angada, taken by the hand by you, rule the earth………Vali (the king of monkeys) ought in every case be cremated and let Angada be installed on the throne. Beholding your son seated on the throne, you will have peace (of mind).” (Ibid, Canto 21, Sloka 8-10 – extract)

Such suggestion coming from the close associate of Sugriva, one who grew up with him and played with him from boyhood, as the Poet puts it ‘like fire and wind.’ There cannot be any better opportunity to turn the tables against them. A better opportunity came her way in a later canto, though. But look at what the wise lady says.

Diplomacy, thy name is Tara

One could understand the suggestion for installation of Angada as king coming from the faithful followers of Vali and the bodyguards of Angada. But listen, who is making the suggestion! The very Hanuman who has been working for the slaying of Vali and seeing that Sugriva is installed in his place! That’s somewhat surprising that Hanuman could have made such a suggestion at all!

See the particular lines once again. “Gradually, spur on to activity these two (Sugriva and Angada) who are distracted with grief, O good lady! Let Angada, taken by the hand by you, rule the earth………Vali (the king of monkeys) ought in every case be cremated and let Angada be installed on the throne. Beholding your son seated on the throne, you will have peace (of mind).” (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Sloka 9 and 10 [part])

Rt. Hon’ble Srinivasa Sastriyar points to this Sloka and enlists it as one of the serious lapses of Hanuman, due to the curse of amnesia that he received in his boyhood that made him forget many important things, including his own strength. He observes thus. “Do you think that these words could have been used by Sugriva’s strongest ally, if that ally had been in his proper senses? This was another case where a strange lapse of memory occurred.”

What would have happened if Tara accepted the suggestion? Would it not have put Sugriva in a fix? Leave that on one side. What would have been the position of Rama? What would have happened to his promise to Sugriva to make him the king? But her response to Hanuman is just stunning. She says:

“Let there be on one side (full) one hundred of sons like Angada. Clasping to the bosom the limbs of this hero, even though he has been killed, is (however) preferable (to them in my eyes). I have no power over the kingdom of monkeys nor over (the installation of Angada). His uncle, Sugriva is the authority in all matters and proximate to him. This conclusion (of yours) with regard to Angada (viz., that he is to be installed on the throne by me) is not worth maintaining; for the father (and in his absence an uncle) is the friend (helper) of a son and not the mother, O jewel among the monkeys!” (Ibid, Sloka 12-15)

‘I am satisfied in just touching this corpse of my husband. Even a hundred sons like Angada could not give me this kind of peace that I have now. It is not for me to think of the future of Angada. His future should in all fairness have been taken care of by Vali and in his absence his uncle Sugriva should do so.’

See what Tara is securing for Angada. By these words, she expresses her trust in Sugriva and her disinterestedness in the kingdom for her son. And by these very words she binds Sugriva to take proper care of Angada, like his own father would have done. An acceptance of the suggestion of Hanuman (especially in the light of the support offered by Vali’s followers) would have meant otherwise. It would have created difficulties of reconciliation for Sugriva as well as for Sri Rama – though it is extremely doubtful whether Angada would have accepted it, had such an offer was made to him.

Diplomacy is understood to be an euphemism for a cunning manoeuvre in most places. Tara shows what an ideal diplomat is supposed to do. Let’s see more of this in our next instalment.

The turn of events

Events took an unexpected turn when Sugriva was grieved over the laments of Tara and guilt feelings surged in him. Valmiki devotes a whole sarga for the lamentations of Sugriva. The spilling of the blood of his brother melts his heart. And, he is not able to stand the laments of Tara. But it is even more moving to see Tara uttering expressing herself in a very controlled manner though she could be the worst affected person by the bereavement of Vali.

Her words uttered to Sugriva, if seen in isolation would sound like pinpricks administered with seemingly well-meaning words. Bt we have to look at her words to Sugriva, along with the words that she uttered to Vali, to understand the real import of them.

Valmiki says, “(Turning once more to Vali) fully comfort your son and duly smelling him at the head, give to me your (parting) message, since you have now set out on your journey to the other world. Indeed a great feat has been accomplished by Sri Rama in killing you. In fact acquittance has been obtained by him (thereby) in the matter of his plighted word to Sugriva (to dispose of you). (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto XX, Sloka 19-20)

She accepts the killing of Vali by Sri Rama and she sincerely feels that he has been acquitted of all his past misdeeds by the punishment that Rama meted out on him. And, in this context, read her words to Sugriva:

“(Turning to Sugriva) be satisfied now that your desire has been fulfilled, O Sugriva! You will (now) get back (your wife) Ruma (too). Enjoy the kingdom without being perturbed, since your hostile brother has been killed.” She is very sincere in these words to Sugriva. But the situation is so charged with melancholy that these very words serve to kindle guilt feelings in Sugriva. He is now not able to bear the thought that Vali was killed because of him. He is not able to look at the kind of grief that he has brought about. The 24th Canto of Kishkindha Kanda is devoted completely to the laments of Sugriva, accusing himself, finding fault with himself for what he had done and seeking to atone his sin by entering fire.

It is a total reversal of the situation now. See what Sugriva has to say. I present only the most important of Slokas from the sarga.

“Angada, the foremost of heroes, may no longer survive (the death of his father) while his mother can survive (only) to take care of her son. But without her son she will never survive miserable as she is through agony (caused by her husbands death); this is my positive belief. I shall accordingly enter a blazing fire. Remaining at your beck and call, these foremost heroes among monkeys will search for Sita.

“Even when I have passed away, O prince, this object of yours will undoubtedly be accomplished in its entirety. (Therefore) O Rama, grant leave (to die) to me, the destroyer of my race, (and therefore) an offender and (as such) not to fit to survive.”

                                                                                          (Ibid, Sloka 21-23)”

I am not fit to live because I have brought about a tremendous destruction of my entire race. I will atone for it by entering the fire. Let me die. Angada will help you to find Sita".

What kind of a fix for Rama! How the situation turns! And, once again for a third time, Angada’s name is proposed for being installed as the king of Kishkindha, this time by Sugriva himself.

The natural heir

To recapitulate, Tara had the support of a sizeable number of followers, the blessings of Hanuman and the concurrence of Sugriva for installing Angada as the king. But she knew what was right. Rama killed Vali with a purpose. It had two parts. First and the primary was to protect Sugriva. Second was the empowerment of Sugriva for assistance in slaying Ravana and his forces. But now Sugriva says that Angada was equally good and he would go with Rama in his task.

Tara could have manipulated the events to her advantage when emotions were running high. Beat the iron when it is hot, they say. But if beating the iron is one kind of a task, bringing it to the desired shape is totally another. We are aware of events that go to prove that centres of power can be caught hold of by manipulation. However, retaining power cannot be done by manipulation for long. It has to have the backing of Dharma.

Tara knew these. More over, she was not in favour of Angada becoming king, for she knew it that it was not the right course. He was not more than a boy then and Sugriva, who was senior in all respects, was there. It was also a fact that Sugriva was the king of Kishkindha for sometime when Vali was engaged in his fight against Mayavi. Therefore, there would at least be a section of Vanaras who supported him. But support or no support, Tara was very clear in her mind. Angada would not head the power centre nor would she become an appendage to the state head, for in the absence of Sugriva, Angada would heavily be dependent on her.

Let’s see the observation of Rt. Hon’ble Srinivasa Sastriyar. He makes this observation when Tara replies Hanuman who suggested that Angada should be installed as the king. He says, “Tara, however, was wise and prudent. She excelled Hanuman even in the power of diplomacy. She says to Hanuman, ‘I do not take your word at its proper value. Angada is nothing to me and seeing him on the throne is no concern to me. Besides, when Vali has passed away, Sugriva succeeds to his authority. Over me, over this kingdom and over the fortunes of Angada himself, Sugriva presides.” She, unmistakably and very categorically states that Sugriva is the natural heir after Vali and none else.

She turned to Rama and said, ‘You are aware of the sorrow and suffering that one undergoes when the spouse is lost. You have lost your spouse for a while and I am bereaved. You can understand my feelings. Please kill me with the same arrow that you used for killing my husband.’ And if Rama hesitated to do so because she was a woman? She continues.

“If you, an exalted soul that you are, are keen that the sin of killing a woman should not fall on your head, (pray) kill me taking me to be the (other) self of Vali, in which case the sin of killing a woman will not descend on you, O prince! The title to perform sacrifice etc. enjoined in the scriptures being enjoyed in particular by a man in conjunction with his wedded wife (only) and also according to various Vedic texts a wife is identical with her husband.”

                                              (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto XXIV, Sloka 36, 37 [part])

‘Kill me because I am nothing other than another part of Vali. And if you do so, the fact that I am a woman would not stop you or blemish you. The point is, she says she is part of Vali and deserves to be killed. We know how this very same argument would have been used if it was somebody else in the place of Tara. ‘I was part of the ruler and therefore I am the natural heir.’

Tara was above all this.

A minister and a reliable source of information

Kamban shows a totally different picture. We do not see any kind of conflict there. The events do not swirl, dash and spin back and forth. The difference is due to the fact that in Valmiki Ramayana, Tara runs to Vali and meets him while he is still alive while Kamban shows the arrival of Tara after the death of Vali. That gives a different dimension to emotions and expressions and the flow of events is controlled very much.

Pacified by Rama, both Tara and Sugriva were reconciled to the circumstances. But it goes to the credit of Tara that she did not stir the flame in her or Angada’s favour.

Valmiki is rich in his tributes for Tara’s wisdom whenever an occasion for it presents itself. There is another occasion in Valmiki Ramayana when Tara is the resource person in saving a bad situation. It was when Lakshmana was sent by Sri Rama to pull up Sugriva for his supposed delay in organising the Vanara hordes to search for Sita. Lakshmana, who could be provoked at the slightest hint of a possible harm to Rama’s interests, was seething with rage when he entered the gynaeceum of Sugriva. (Lakshmana did not walk in thus far in Kamban, of course!)

Lakshmana stood outside the private apartments of Sugriva, for his moral sense stopped him from walking in any further. He was already abashed at the tinkling of anklets and other ornaments heard around him with the movements of Vanara women, shy as he was by nature. Sugriva was not able to see the reason for his anger and was puzzled. He was in fact alarmed at the sound of Lakshmana twanging his bowstring, in warning of his arrival and also to express his preparedness for a battle, if necessary. He immediately turned to Tara for help.

“Thereupon Sugriva, the foremost of monkeys, calmly gave the following friendly admonition to Tara of pleasing looks, through his mind was puzzled through fear: - ‘What may be the cause, I wonder, for anger, O lady with charming eyebrows, actuated by which this younger (half-) brother of Sri Rama (a scion of Raghu) who is soft-hearted by nature, has arrived as though full of anger? Do you know the occasion for the prince’s anger, O irreproachable lady? Surely Lakshmana (a jewel among men) would not give way to anger without rhyme or reason. If you are aware of anything having been done by us, which is not to his liking, let it be made known without the least delay after divining it by your insight at once.”
                            (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto XXXIII, Slokas 31-34)

The fact that Sugriva turns to Tara for information goes to add to her established reputation of having a grip over happenings around. Why should he pick Tara for advice? ‘It was you who forewarned Vali of my alliance with Rama. You had enough intelligence report to advice Vali against a fight with me. I know I can rely upon you for information on this occasion too. Tell me what could be the reason’. Though Sugriva doesn’t express himself this-wise, his seeking the help of Tara shows his judgement that she could be relied upon for information and also advice. And that was what Vali told him, too!

Not only that. Notice these words of Sugriva. “If you are aware of anything having been done by us, which is not to his liking, let it be made known without the least delay after divining it by your insight at once.”

‘Tell me where did I go wrong as to provoke his anger? And give me the solution,’ is the underlying request.

Tara after the death of Vali -1

‘Go and speak to him, if it is necessary,’ is what Sugriva says. “Or you ought personally to see him O charming lady, and should pacify him with words of conciliation.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto XXXIII, Sloka 35). Tara completed that assignment wonderfully well and pacified Lakshmana.

But there is something else that strikes our attention in this Canto. Valmiki says, “The high-souled Prince Lakshmana stood unconcernedly (without noticing her bodily charms), his face turned downwards the moment he described Tara (the wife of the lord of monkeys) his anger having vanished due to his proximity to a woman.” (Ibid, Sloka 39)

It is the expression, “the wife of the lord of monkeys” that strikes us the most here. Did she become the wife of Sugriva? Yes, says the book. When Lakshmana replies, he unmistakably mentions this. “Intent upon the gratification of his senses, this husband of yours has lost sight of the acquisition of religious merit and worldly riches, O lady charged with the duty of looking of the interests of your husband!” (Ibid, Sloka 43)

Though Valmiki Ramayana doesn’t speak about Vanara customs, the fact that it suggestively refers to the intimate moments between Sugriva and Tara and the fact that Lakshmana mentions ‘your husband’ referring to Sugriva when speaking to Tara, shows for certain that it was the accepted practice for a Vanara to marry his brother’s wife after the death of the brother. In fact, if we see the Sloka by which Rama found fault with Vali for coveting Ruma, the wife of Sugriva, there is a clue.

“You cohabit through lust with Ruma, the wedded wife of the high-souled Sugriva, who is your (virtual) daughter-in-law, even while Sugriva is alive; you have (thus) perpetrated a sinful deed.”

                                                               (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto 18, Sloka 19)

Even while Sugriva is alive. There lies the point. ‘This could be acceptable, if Sugriva was dead when you coveted Ruma. But doing so even when he is alive, is not right even by Vanara standards.’ The fact that Tara was wedded to Sugriva after the death of Vali was therefore an established practice, which had the sanction of Rama and Lakshmana themselves.

There is another important difference in what Kamban depicted. He portrayed Tara as leading the life of a sage, after the death of Vali. His description of Tara when she goes to meet Lakshmana is diagonally opposite of what Valmiki said.

‘ மங்கல அணியை நீக்கி  ’ She had removed her mangala sutra (thaali); ‘  மணி அணி துறந்து ’ was not wearing any jewels; ‘ வாசக் கொங்கு அலர் கோதை மாற்றி ’ did not wear garlands (or strings of flowers); ‘  குங்குமம் சாந்தம் கொட்டாப் பொங்கு வெம் முலைகள் ’ she was not wearing the tilak (on her forehead) and her breasts that were not smeared with the paste of sandal ‘  பூகக் கழுத்தோடு மறையப் போர்த்து ’ were fully covered by her upper raiment, that went around her neck. And Lakshmana wept on seeing her because she reminded him of his mothers three. ‘  தார் குலாம் அலங்கல் மார்பன் தாயரை நினைந்து நைந்தான் ’ Tears welled up the eyes of Lakshmana who was adorned with garlands, because he was reminded of his mothers.

We see what effect the passage of time – from the time of Valmiki to that of Kamban – could have on concepts. What was considered right and proper at one time undergoes lots of change and the way relationships were looked at takes quite another shape. That shows us the way of evolution of ways of life. This is not to say one version is better than the other, though. Kamban could not tolerate what he considered even the slightest of scruple even among monkeys. It is the demand of the times that brought about this change.

Tara after the death of Vali -2

As we had seen earlier when we were discussing Hanuman (See: Crisis turning into calamity) Sugriva was dead drunk in Kamban’s version of the Ramayana, when Lakshmana stormed into the castle of Kishkindha. Kamban skilfully uses the opportunity later to build a strong case against drinking, through the repentant mouth of Sugriva. When Lakshmana came in, there was no one around capable of handling the situation. Only Angada notices the arrival of Lakshmana and realises that he is angry. He runs to Sugriva and finding that he couldn’t be shaken up out of his liquor-induced-stupor, he summons Hanuman for help.

But the situation was out of hand for even Hanuman to initiate any action. Therefore they rush to Tara. The scene changes from what Valmiki depicted, hundred percent. Kamban however, places the emphasis on the upright nature of Tara. ‘So you have delayed your efforts in organising the Vanara army for searching Sita? How could you do such a thing to Rama? Whose work do you think that you neglect?’ was her first reaction.

‘  வாலியார் உயிர் காலனும் வாங்க, விற்கோலி ’ (Rama) bent his arrow in such a way that even Yama (who was otherwise afraid of coming near) came to take the life away of Vali and ‘  வாலிய செல்வம் கொடுத்தவர் போலுமால், உம் புறத்து இருப்பார் ’ gave you all the riches on earth; and he is the one who is neglected by your lot. ‘ இது சாலுமால், உங்கள் தன்மையினோர்க்கு எலாம்  ’ That fits so beautifully well for your lot, thankless brutes.

Though Tara sounds very harsh initially, she steps forward to meet Lakshmana to meet him before he reaches the doorway leading to where Sugriva was lying boozed. And the meeting between Tara and Lakshmana is a remarkable stroke of an expert artiste in the hands of Kamban. Tara was not properly clad nor was she in her senses when she met Lakshmana, in Valmiki. She leads a very pious life and her appearance was – as we saw in our last instalment – so very respectable and noble that Lakshmana could not but help think of his mothers and was moved to tears. If Lakshmana’s anger was diffused by his shy nature when Tara appeared before him as Valmiki says, “The celebrated Tara whose eyes were rolling through intoxication, (nay) who was endowed with auspicious marks on her body, sought tottering the presence of Lakshmana, the gold string of her girdle hanging loose and her slender frame bent low,” (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto XXXIII, Sloka 38) it was her motherliness that stopped Lakshmana from showing his anger, in Kamban’s version.

Even here, Kamban adds a few things. Tara by way of precaution had collected a bevy of enchanting Vanara women when she walked into the presence of Lakshmana and adds with a touch of humour that Lakshmana blushed to see so many women around and could not see them. He hung his head low, fighting shy, unable to see them.

And that was Tara. A woman who was so keen in the administrative matters, who showed extraordinary skill in collecting vital information and was never afraid of bearding the lion, though not in its own den, faced adverse situations and was given the tempting option to install Angada as the king but stood steadfast. She goes even a step up with the depiction of Kamban as a noble and pious soul, later. A fitting tribute indeed to a woman who is one among the five celebrated women – pancha kanya – in our legends.

Hari Krishnan