The Ramayana features many intriguing group dynamics, among human groups, monkey groups, demon groups and even human-monkey groups. Divisive and cohesive forces are graphically evident in the group of monkeys that had gone south in search of Sita.
The search and the schism
The back-story is that Rama and Sugriva had formed an alliance: Rama would help Sugriva regain his wife and kingdom, and Sugriva would help Rama regain Sita. Rama had done his part, and the now-enthroned monkey monarch Sugriva had started doing his part. He had organized his leading monkeys into four groups and instructed them to go in the four directions to search for Sita. The search parties were asked to return within a month with latecomers liable to severe punishment. Among the groups, the south-bound group was most likely to locate Sita – Ravana, the demon-king who had abducted Sita, had been seen carrying her southwards. This group had as leaders three great monkey generals: Angada, Hanuman and Jambavan. Rama gave Hanuman a signet that he was to show to Sita on finding her; the signet would assure her that its bearer was an authorized messenger of Rama.
The south-bound group searched vigorously for over six weeks, braving many dangers, but couldn’t find any clue to Sita’s whereabouts. And amidst the consequent disappointment, concealed tensions within the group came to the fore. The group’s three leaders had different things to commend them: age, lineage and grace. By age, Jambavan was the senior-most and was accorded due deference. But his age had decreased his physical prowess. By lineage, Angada was a valiant prince, being the son of the previous monkey monarch, Vali. But he was young, impetuous and inexperienced. By grace, Hanuman had received from the gods many extraordinary powers. But those powers had made him, when he was still a mischievous child, into an innocent menace for forest sages. So, those sages had cursed him to forget his powers till he was reminded of them at a later, more opportune moment. Being thus forgetful, Hanuman hadn’t, till this point in the Ramayana, done anything extraordinarily heroic.
Their search for Sita having drawn a blank, the disheartened monkeys discussed their next strategy: Should they keep searching? Or should they return, report their failure and seek further orders? Their predicament triggered residual suspicions in Angada. He said that Sugriva’s hunger for power, which had made him conspire to kill his own brother, would also make him pounce on any pretext to kill his nephew. And their delay in returning would serve as such a pretext. Angada concluded that fasting to death in the forest would be better than returning only to be executed in disgrace in front of their loved ones.
On hearing Angada’s apprehension, the monkeys responded variously, discussing to and fro, till they split into two groups. One group agreed with Angada and resolved to fast to death. The other group sided with Hanuman, who underscored Sugriva’s fairness and assured that no one would be penalized for the delay.
Seismic fault-lines in […]
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