Indian Folk Epics: Kannada
The Story of Sankamma:
This is the most popular as well as poignant part of the epic. In a text of 445 pages, this part runs to about 200 pages. I give below a few extracts from this part so that readers can get an idea of what a great 'woman-centered' narrative this is.
Neelegowda belongs to a forest tribe whose main occupation is to collect forest produces like honey,fruit, roots, etc. After a long search, he finds a very attrctive woman,Sankamma, and marries her. But, when Sankamma doesn't bear any child and she is ridiculed as a barren woman at home, Nelegowda leaves his joint family and sets up a separate home away from his parents. Once, as per custom, he has to join his clan members on an expedition (to collect forest produces) that may last nine months. Neelegowda is worried about, and is suspicious of , leaving his young and attractive wife alone at home. Hence he asks her to swear an oath of fidelity to him. ........
In the very beginning, I revere your feet / O Madeva, grant me wisdom.
I am ignorant of rhyme, rhythm, and metre,/ O godly Teacher, grant me salvation.
..........
- Hear me, my wife Sankenne, / It will be six and three nine months
Before I return from the hills of wild honey-combs,
Collecting all the wild honey.
I have to leave now for the hills of wild honey-combs.- Master, in that case,
- No woman who transgresses her tribe, and no bird which transgresses its field.,
- Can live in thhis world. master, one should never transgress one's tribe.
- Sir, You go to the hills of wild honey-combs;
- Sir, listen to my words.
- || give alms to the sage on the mountain peak||
- Hear me, my wife, Sankenne; / I have also thought over it.
- And have decided not to violate the laws of our tribe.
- But, Sankenne, /It's a year since we began to live separately,
- And many enemies surround us:
- Brothers-in-law, nephews and nieces, and cousins.
- My wife, I cannot leave you alone in this house.
- If I have to go the hills of wild honey-combs,
- Swear an oath,woman,
- And send me to the hills of wild honeycombs.
- ||Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- O Teacher! O the feet of my Teacher!
- O master, my master. / What words are you using master!
- You are demanding an oath from me --
- I am not a thief, and I haven't mixed with thieves;
- I haven't even raised my head to see unknown men.
- Master, should I swear you an oath?
- Sir, first, point out my fault,
- And only then ask me to take an oath.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- Listen to me Sankenne, daughter of a foul widow;
- Don't oppose your husband's wishes; / And don't answer him back.
- If you answer back your husband, / You will violate the principles of conjugal fidelity. / Unless you give me your solemn word,
- I won't go to the hills of wild honeycombs.
- If I don't go to the hills of wild honeycombs,
- They will ostracise me from the community.
- Then my wife, how do we live here?
- Master, my master! I will bear your feet on my head.
- If I have to swear an oath to my husband,
- What happens to my principles of conjugal fidelity?
- Master, decidedly, I will not take an oath.
- Sir, listen to my words;
- And go to the hills of wild honeycombs.
- ||Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- (Out of self-respect, she persistently refuses to swear to be true to him. Her husband gets furious, and decides to punish her cruelly.)
- My wife,
- Take off the saree you are wearing;
- Take off the blouse you have put on;
- And, remove your gold and other trinkets.
- Take out the belt of gold from your waist;
- Take out the anklets from your legs;
- Take out the bracelets from your hands;
- And take out the string of pearls from your forehead.
- Take off the saree you are wearing.
- My wife, I will give you another in its place.
- Take off the saree you are wearing.
- ||Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- (Poor Sankamma obeys her husband, takes off everything, and lies on her back in the state in which she was born.Still, Neelegowda, her husband isn't satisfied.)
- He goes near a large pool, / And cuts Ugani-leaves.
- He cuts the leaves of the Yekka-plant, / And cuts Kabbali-creeper.
- He gathers all and makes a bale of them.
- He colects fine grains of sand, / And mixes it with the leaves.
- Sir, with these, to the hut of virtuous Sankamma / Arrives Neelayya.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- Then, Neelegowda shouted:
- Hey, Sankenne! / Put on these and come out;
- And he threw the bale of leaves and thorny creepers inside.
- Sankamma, the devotee of Shiva,
- With the belief that whatever her husband gave her was heavenly,
- Opened the bale and saw: Ugani-creeper,
- Yekka-leaves, Teak-leaves, and Kabbali-creeper;
- She saw and knew that she had to wear them.
- She took out the Ugani-leaves ,
- And wore them round her body;
- She took out the Yekka-leaves,
- And covered her bosom with them;
- She took out the Kabbali-creeper,
- And used it as a girdle round her waist;
- She took the Teak-leaves,
- And used them to veil her face.
- || Madeva of Alambadi, / Cast a kind glance at us;
- The garlands round the water-pots, / Flutter and wave in the wind.||
- She bowed her head and touched her husband's feet.
- Neelegowda glared at Sankamma with anger.
- Aha! If I spoil the looks of my wife and leave her alone,
- She will be captured by a hunter like me.
- If she is left with her eyes, she will eye somebody;
- If she is left with her moth, she will talk to somebody;
- And, if she is left with her hands, she will signal to somebody.
- Hence, I should turn this Sankenne into an ugly ogre;
- And throw her on the ground prostrate -- Thinking thus, Neelegowda,
- He pierces her eyes with needles,/ And bores her ears with bodkins;
- He pierces her eyes with needles,/ And puts a lock onto her mouth.
- He ties her hands at the back, / He ties her wrists together,
- And, binds her legs with fetters./ The hunter of the hills, Neelayya,
- Roughens and bundles her up, / And throws her down on her back.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
(Not satisfied, still, Neelegowda, being a sorceror, creates two magic figures and stations them near the door; and orders them to kill anybody who tries to enter or go out of the hut. Then he goes out to join his clan-members in the hunting expedition.Sankamma, moaning and writhing in pain, prays to Madeshwara. He comes there immediately; but, first, he needs alms. Hence, he shouts:)
- Alms in the name of Harahara;/ Alms in the name of the holy Guru;
- Alms in the name of sages and monks;
- Alms in the name of my father Kalyana;
- Alms in the name of my mother, Uttrajamma;
- Alms in the name of the enlightened Linga;
- Alms in the name of his soul who holds the alms-bag;
- Alms in the name of the four-cornered bag.
- Give me alms-- alms to me, he shouted.
- But this poor woman had no mouth to answer him;
- And had no hands or feet to move about and talk to him.
- He has bound her hands and feet,has this Neelegowda.
- But, when words like 'charity' and 'alms' fell on her ears,
- Lying on her back, immobile,thought Sankamma:
- O mother earth! O sky above! / If I could get up and go there,
- Though I have no grains at home,/ If with folded hands,
- I sent him to the next house, / My sins could be atoned.
- But it is impossible for me to get up.
- O mother earth! O sky above! Madeva,
- The tears shed by me, a sinner,
- Let your feet, Madeva, be aware of them.
- ||Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- (Lord Madeshwara takes pity on her, and tosses the sacred ash of the Seven Hills on the cottage. Immediately, the cottage turns into a palace; and ...)
- The needles in her eyes got lost; / The bodkins in her ears fell down;
- The lock in her mouth got opened; / The knots in her hands got loosened.
- The knots on her wrists came off; / The fetters on her feet fell away.
- The woman gets up sighing deep; / Sankamma of true feelings.
- ||Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- ( After nine months,Neelegowda returns from his expedition. When he finds his wife free and living in a palace, suspecting her faith, he flies into rage.)
- If Madeshwara, the deity of your father's family, / Is a man of Truth,
- Give me proof, he said./ Tell me, master; what proof? - she asked.
- Look here, wife; you talk of proof so casually.
- I will place three stones in the inner yard, / And light a fire there.
- I will keep a cauldron on it --/ The iron-cauldron that I carry with me.
- I will pour three big measures of wild honey and light honey,
- Into the cauldron, and light the fire.
- When the honey begins to boil and bubble, / I will slide three iron-balls into it.
- When the iron-balls get hot and begin to rumble,/ O Sankenne, you have to take
- Three dips in it, and bring up the iron-balls.
- If you are still alilve then, and come and bow to my feet,/ I will admit, Sankenne,
- That Madeva,the family-deity of your father, is true.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- Sankamma heard her husband's words,/ And grieved inside her palace:
- O Madappa! The Charmer of charmers! / The deity of my father's family;
- Not one -- not two / Three iron balls!
- When they boil in wild honey,/ The very first time I dip into it, Father,
- I will be burnt and charred.
- When will you understand, Madeva,/ The agony of my miserable womanhood.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- Outside the palace, the hunter of the hills,/That son of a foul widow,
- Set three stones, placed a cauldron on them, / Poured wild and llight honey into it,
- And lilt the fire./ When the honey began to boil and bubble,
- He slid three iron-balls into it./ Then Madappa,
- Unable to stand the suffering of Sankamma any longer, said:
- Don't be afraid my child; / Don't you panic, my child;
- O Sankamma of conjugal fidelity, / Why do you fear, my child, when I am here?
- Listen, Sankamma, my daughter.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- When the honey began to boil and bubble,/ He slid three iron-balls into it;
- And then, he, Neelegowda, came inside, / And found Sankamma weeping.
- Hey you, Sankenne! Daughter of a foul widow! What are you thinking of? --
- With these words,
- He catches hold of her long hair,/ And comes out dragging and pulling her.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- Holding her by her long hair,/ Dragging her out violently,
- He stood her before the cauldron,and said:/ Fie on you, daughter of a foul widow!
- Dip quickly into it three times,/ Take out the three balls and keep them here.
- And, if you want to live, bow to my feet.
- Sankamma, completely loyal to her husband,/Saw the cauldron --it was hissing.
- The honey in it was boiling and bubbling./ If my fidellity to my husband is true,
- Madappa, protect me -- with these words,
- She invokes her parents,/ Takes the first dip,/ And brings up one ball.
- She invokes her in-laws,/ Takes the second dip,/ And brings up the second ball.
- She invokes her husband's feet,/ Takes the third dip,/ Brings up the third ball,
- And then clasps her husband's feet, and prostrates herself.
- || Give alms to the sage on the mountain-peak.||
- (Still not satisfied, Neelegowda makes her go through six more ordeals, each more gruesome than the other. But, Sankamma, by the grace of Madeshwara, comes out successfully through all of them. Madeshwara grants her a boon of two children; and when they are born, Neelegowda accepts her and her god, Madeshwara. After the children are born, ....)
- O master! / What are ours for ever,
- Are our clan, the hills and forests./ This palace cannot be ours for ever.--
- So saying,/ Invoking the name of Madappa,/ And as advised by Madappa,
- Both the husband and wife, / Carrying all their pots and pans,
- Left the palace and set out.
- ( After some time, they return to their original abode and, with their clan-members, live happily thereafter.)
(Tr. Dr. C. N. Ramachandran)
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Date this page was last updated: September 10, 1999