Abstract
The present article aims to examine a folk literary motif from the ‘Kirātārjunīyam’. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna once needed to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted pāśupatāstra from Śiva that could only be awarded to a soldier of mettle to wield the missile efficiently. Arjuna undertook hazardous tapas pleased with which Śiva tested Arjuna and finally awarded the astra. This myth appears in the Mahābhārata dated sometime in the fifth century BCE and its folk origin may get back to the immoral past. This story was retold in a classical work by the poet Sanskrit Bhāravi in eighteen cantos. The article examines a key motif relating to the Penance of Arjuna (cf. the Māmallapuram bas relief) from the Kirātārjunīyam episode, called pañcāgnitapas and how the Penance of Arjuna is retold in the ballad understudy? Several folk motifs of kuṟavaṉ-kuṟatti of Kuṟṟālakkuṟavañci are illustrated in a later phase of the art in Tamilnadu (e.g., the Thousand-Pillared Hall of the Great Maturai Temple of the Nāyaka period). Kirātārjunīyam was a popular motif in sculptural art though the ages.
Highlights
Classical literature may have their roots in bardic poems of immemorial origin
Itihāsic-purāṇic episodes are likely to be based on ballads, e.g., the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki supposed to have been derived from the popular recitals of the sutas-Kuśīlava.[2]
In Interrelations of Indian Literature and Arts, edited by Lidia Sudyka, 145-162
Summary
Classical literature may have their roots in bardic poems of immemorial origin. itihāsic-purāṇic episodes are likely to be based on ballads, e.g., the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki supposed to have been derived from the popular recitals of the sutas-Kuśīlava.[2]. Arjuna undertook hazardous tapas pleased with which Śiva tested Arjuna (leading to a malla-yuddha “duel”) and awarded the astra ‘missile’ 167, Vana Parva) dated sometime in the fifth century BCE and its folk origin may get back to the archaic time This story was retold in a classical work by the poet Sanskrit Bhāravi in eighteen cantos (anterior to 634 CE). During the terukkūttu saga of Tamil culture, a folk work called Pañca-Pāṇṭavar Vaṉavāvam (Forest Life of the Pañca-Pāṇḍavas) was written to meet the need of country theatres. This succinct article examines a key motif relating to the Penance of Arjuna (cf the Māmallapuram bas relief of the imperial Pallava period) from the Kirātārjunīyam episode. Kirātārjunīyam was a popular motif in sculptural art though the ages
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