ambka and the Rmyaa Tradition

This book details the developmental history of narratives that affirm, condemn, modify, or ignore the controversial execution of ambka, a minor Rmyaa character of low social standing. Changing socio-political sentiments throughout Indian history have forced numerous revisions to the ambka story, placing it in an underappreciated position of influence.

According to Vlmki's Sanskrit Rmyaa (early centuries CE), ambka was practising severe acts of austerity to enter heaven. In engaging in these acts as a dra, ambka was in violation of class- and caste-based societal norms prescribed exclusively by the ruling and religious elite. Rma, the hero of the Rmyaa epic, is dispatched to kill ambka, whose transgression is said to be the cause of a young Brahmin's death. The gods rejoice upon the dra's death and restore the life of the Brahmin. Subsequent Rmyaa poets almost instantly recognised this incident as a blemish on Rma's character and they began problematising this earliest version of the story. They adjusted and updated the story to suit the expectations of their audiences. The works surveyed in this study include numerous works originating in Hindu, Jain, Dalit and non-Brahmin communities while spanning the period from ambka's first appearance in the Vlmki Rmyaa through to the present day. The book follows the ambka episode chronologically across its entire history - approximately two millennia - to illuminate the social, religious, legal, and artistic connections that span the entire range of the Rmyaa's influence and its place throughout various phases of Indian history and social revolution.