PRACHI PATHAK
Somaiya Vidyavihar University prachi@somaiya.edu prachi@somaiya.edu
ECO-AESTHETICS OF THE EPIC: RIVERS AND WOODLANDS IN THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE ĀNANDARĀMĀYAṆA
The Rāmāyaṇa, the Sanskrit text that narrates the story of Rāma, has been presented through multiple retellings. Amongst various such retellings, Ānandarāmāyaṇa is a popular sectarian text belonging to the 15th-16th century CE. As compared to the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, there are multiple variations in the content of the story of Ānandarāmāyaṇa. Unlike Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, the Ānandarāmāyaṇa describes the pilgrimage of Rāma and Sītā in the chapter titled Yātrā Kāṇḍa. It covers various sacred locations such as Prayāga, Gayā, Kanyākumarī, Badarīnātha etc., in all the quarters of the Indian subcontinent existing in that era as well as it describes in detail the rivers like Gaṅgā, Sarayu etc. and the primary water bodies namely the tīrthas developed around these rivers. The sacred geography including the auspicious rivers, flora and fauna makes this journey a reflection of the rich dataset of information in that era. Through this database, the paper attempts to map the ritualistic approach towards these locations as portrayed in a few other compositions of Sanskrit Literature. It also tries to compare the famous journey of exile of Rāma with this journey of pilgrimage. This research can also contribute to the “Rāmāyaṇa Circuit” with special reference to the eco-aesthetics of the Ānandarāmāyaṇa, which is prominently focused in current cultural and tourism research. Through the textual analysis and comparative study of various compositions the paper would cover the analysis of rivers, forests and pilgrimages.