Will Bollywood Rama Ignore Shambuka?

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata reached their final written form around 2000 years ago, exactly when the Dharma-shastra was being coded.

- Devdutt Pattanaik Mysthologist, Author, Speaker

There is a Ramayana inside the Mahabharata, known as the Ramopakhayana, narrated by Markandeya Rishi to the Pandavas. In this telling, the role of Brahmin teachers is limited. The story focuses more on Rama as a king and warrior, less as a defender of Brahminical order.But in the Valmiki Ramayana, composed a bit later, Brahmins are central. Rama’s life is shaped by sages: Vishvamitra takes him from Ayodhya to the forest, Vashishta is the royal priest, Agastya arms him with divine weapons, Gautama and Atri appear in the landscape of the epic. Rama is repeatedly praised for protecting Brahmins and upholding their way of life. The king's duty is to preserve dharma, and dharma is closely tied to the varna order.

The most troubling episode appears in the Uttarakanda, the final book. A Brahmin approaches Rama in grief. His young son has died prematurely Such a death, he says, can only happen when dharma is disturbed. A king is responsible for cosmic order. If something unnatural has occurred, the fault lies with the ruler,

Narada informs Rama that the cause is a Shudra named Shambuka who is performing tapas, ascetic practices. In the varna ashrama system, severe austerities are said to belong to the twice born: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya. A Shudra attempting to become a hermit is crossing boundaries. A Shudra doing tapas disrupts order. One is reminded of lines in the Bhagavad Gita that states that it is better to perform one’s own duty imperfectly than another’s duty well. Narada interprets this rigidly.