The Role Of Myth In The Man-Eater

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The Role of Myth

in

R.K. Narayan & # 8217 ; s

The Man-Eater of Malgudi

By Jonathan Kassian

961872830 TRIN

In R.K. Narayan & # 8217 ; s book The Man-Eater of Malgudi, there exists a deep fabulous construction. The narrative of the peaceable pressman Nataraj who must get the better of the demon-like Vasu is structured really much like a myth. As myths and spiritualty are inexplicit in Hindu society, the universe of Malgudi is full of fabulous elements. To complement these fabulous elements, comparings and mentions are made to assorted Hindu myths throughout the book, which act as guideposts to the significance of what is traveling on in the narrative itself. The myths referred to give us greater penetration into the action and into the characters themselves, by demoing us more elusive facets of the narrative which are juxtaposed against the myths. In The Man-Eater of Malgudi, myths serve to cast visible radiation on what is truly traveling on in the universe of Malgudi.

The conflict between Vasu and Nataraj is framed absolutely in the context of myth. The action that occurs in the fresh bears many similarities to other myths that are either mentioned or alluded to, in peculiar the Ramayana and the myth of Bhasmasura. The construction of the narrative is the same as a myth, with the supporter confronting an unstoppable enemy who finally meets his terminal by his ain manus.

To complement the fabulous construction of the book, many mentions and allusions are made to other myths. Sastri is the 1 who seems to be the most associated with the Bibles and ancient wisdom, and serves to associate the myths with world. Rangi is besides an of import figure in this regard, non merely through her name ( which means Krishna ) and the function she plays in the & # 8220 ; deliverance & # 8221 ; of Kumar, but besides through her mention to the impression of Dharma. The impression of Dharma and its complement, the impression of Moksa, put several of the characters in a new visible radiation. It is peculiarly interesting to look at the character of Nataraj with regard to his devotedness. He at first appears to be wholly and wholly devoted, but we see that this is non needfully true when put in the proper context.

The conflict between Vasu and Nataraj, which makes up the plot line of the book, is structured like a myth. Even before we meet Vasu, we feel his impact by the silence that he causes amongst the habitues of Nataraj & # 8217 ; s printing store. His first act is to go against the holiness of Nataraj & # 8217 ; s back room, a symbol for the interior sanctum of the temple. Vasu & # 8217 ; s organic structure is characterized by his bull-neck and hammer-fist, features which make him look more like a animal than a adult male, and his & # 8220 ; black aura & # 8221 ; which instantly tells us that he is an evil figure.

In Vasu & # 8217 ; s history of his life, he describes how he crippled his wise man, demoing an arrant deficiency of gratitude for the adult male who taught him and provided for him. In really small clip, Vasu has shown contempt for about everything that Nataraj holds beloved: the caste system ; the way of non-violence ; regard for one & # 8217 ; s seniors ; the holiness of the household and of celibacy ; and the holiness of life itself. He even shows that he is non above killing something that is portion of Nataraj & # 8217 ; s household when he kills Nataraj & # 8217 ; s cat. The lone thing left for him to diss is Nataraj & # 8217 ; s devotedness to the Gods. Vasu does so when he kills a tiger, a symbol of Shiva, and a Garuda ( bird of Jove ) , said to be the courier of Vishnu.

When Vasu plans to kill the temple elephant, it amounts to a direct effort on the life of a God. Kumar is a sacred being associated with the temple, and represents the God Ganesha. Vasu is no longer merely a slayer of animate beings who disturbs the being of Nataraj, but a true Rakshasa ( devil ) who threatens to destruct Nataraj & # 8217 ; s manner of life. As many devils have earlier, Vasu threatens to destruct an full universe, in this instance the universe of Nataraj. Nataraj subsequently reflects that & # 8220 ; The cannibal had destroyed my name, my friendly relationships, and my universe, & # 8221 ; . Vasu forces Nataraj to take action against him, which he does ( as have many fabulous supporters before him ) .

Vasu, nevertheless, finally meets his terminal by his ain manus. In seeking to crush a mosquito that had landed on his caput, his unbelievable strength crushes non merely the fly, but Vasu himself by doing a fatal concussion. Vasu had, in a manner, revealed his failing when he said earlier & # 8220 ; Night or twenty-four hours, I run when a mosquito is mentioned, & # 8221 ; . The decease of Vasu is compared to the decease of the devil Bhasmasura who is tricked into puting his custodies on his caput by Krishna ( disguised as a terpsichorean ) and is scorched to decease by his fatal touch. Vasu & # 8217 ; s decease mirrors that of Bhasmasura in more than merely that regard. Rangi & # 8217 ; s name ( which comes from Ragna or Ragnatha ) means Krishna, she is the temple terpsichorean, and she is present at the decease of Vasu ( whether a direct cause or non ) .

Vasu is like a Rakshasa in many ways. His extraordinary strength and visual aspect are obvious indexs that Vasu is non a normal adult male. Nataraj besides describes Vasu as possessing a & # 8220 ; 6th sense & # 8221 ; . Vasu seems to go forth desolation in his aftermath, whether it be go forthing the adult male who taught him stultify, turning Nataraj & # 8217 ; s Attic into a tanning mill, or eliminating the wildlife of Mempi forest. His violent death of the sacred animate beings shows his discourtesy for the Gods, another characteristic of devils. When Vasu & # 8220 ; kidnaps & # 8221 ; Nataraj and leaves him stranded far from place, we can see a analogue between that event and the snatch of Sita by Ravana in the Ramayana. As good, he is seen as a super-human animal, a elephantine, by the town kids ( who are frequently the 1s who identify disguised devils in myths and fables, because of their pureness ) . He is besides suspected to hold poisoned Kumar, doing his unwellness. In the Vedas, unwellness is attributed to devils. If these indicants were non adequate to state us that Vasu was a demon figure, there are the direct comparings of Vasu to assorted devils that Sastri makes on pages 72-73.

Sastri is the character who seems to associate myth ( or faith ) and world. His name means & # 8220 ; adult male of Bibles & # 8221 ; . He possesses ancient wisdom which seems to perfectly border everything that is traveling on in the novel. He is the 1 who draws the comparing between Vasu and the Rakshasas. As good, he is the 1 who seems to be in charge of Nataraj & # 8217 ; s & # 8220 ; inner sanctum & # 8221 ; at the imperativeness. He performs pujas early on in the book, and makes pilgrim’s journeies to ho

ly sites near the terminal. He is the 1 who puts Vasu’s decease ( and the decease of all devils ) into position by stating “…every devil carries within him, unknown to himself, a bantam seed of self-destruction” . On page 105, Sastri seems to foretell the astrological catastrophe that will happen due to the aspecting of Jupiter. He says “If a fly settles on your olfactory organ at a important minute and annoys you, you may handle it as an astrological reverse worked off” . This does non look to be something cataclysmal, but the mosquito which lands on Vasu’s caput at an inopportune minute has a really big impact on the result of the narrative. He is besides the 1 who discovers the truth of how Vasu met his terminal by inquiring Rangi ( or Krishna, as her name denotes ) how he met his terminal. In that regard, as in many others, Sastri is the finder of truth.

The figure of Rangi is a really interesting one for several grounds. She is the temple cocotte, and in being a adult female of the temple, she is technically married to the God of that temple, who is in this instance Krishna. Yet her name means Krishna itself, and she plays the function of Krishna in the decease of Vasu ( with regard to the decease of Bhasmasura ) . She is both the highest adult female and the lowest adult female. She is openly looked down upon, yet she merits at least a name, unlike Nataraj & # 8217 ; s married woman. An contrast emerges between her and Vasu when the visible radiation creates a & # 8220 ; halo & # 8221 ; around her and contrasts Vasu & # 8217 ; s aura of black hair. This besides seems to propose that she is some kind of angel, if Vasu and his black aura represent a devil, making an interesting apposition of cocotte and angel.

Rangi besides makes a really of import remark when she says & # 8220 ; Sir, I am merely a public adult female, following what is my Dharma, & # 8221 ; . It is said that if a cocotte performs her Dharma conscientiously, so she acquired great powers. This is illustrated by the narrative of the cocotte who makes the river Ganges flow upstream because of the powers she received by following her Dharma. This gives us a new manner of looking at the decease of Vasu. If we are meant to believe that Rangi has followed her Dharma and acquired some kind of higher power, so Rangi could hold caused Vasu to stop his life through the blow to his caput, as Krishna led Bhasmasura to stop his life in a similar mode.

With the impression of Dharma introduced by Ragni ( or Krishna ) , the impression of moksa comes into drama, because the two are endlessly linked. In the novel, we see all three ways to release from the rhythm of life and decease, as described by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Ragni is the illustration of one who follows the way of unselfish action ( karma yoga ) , or following one & # 8217 ; s Dharma. She is so unselfish that she is even willing to put on the line her personal felicity for the interest of the temple by helping Nataraj in his effort to halt Vasu from killing Kumar. Sastri is an illustration of one who follows the way of cognition ( jnana yoga ) . He is evidently familiar with many of the Hindu texts, performs all necessary rites, and makes pilgrim’s journeies to holy sites. Muthu is the character that most exemplifies the way of devotedness ( Bhakti Yoga ) . He does whatever he can to salvage his temple elephant, does much to better the Mempi temple, observes the proper offerings to the temple goddess, and ne’er visibly strays from the way of devotedness.

Nataraj at first appears to be one who follows the way of devotedness. When we foremost see his day-to-day modus operandi, he shows his devotedness through his ritual bathing and supplication to the Sun. He does wholly he can to assist Kumar, and even sheds blood for him. However, Nataraj & # 8217 ; s devotedness on several occasions seems questionable. On the twenty-four hours that Sastri performs his Satyanarayana Puja ( a testimonial to Visnu performed by Brahmin on full-moon yearss ) , Nataraj does nil. Although Nataraj does much to form the emanation to observe the matrimony of Krishna, at one point he says that he & # 8220 ; enjoyed the position of being more of import than the emanation & # 8221 ; . This would surely non be an indicant of his humbleness before the Gods, or even esteem for Krishna. A big portion of devotedness is celibacy. While Nataraj is ne’er unfaithful to his married woman with Rangi, he is tempted on several occasions. However, this could be considered an indicant of Nataraj & # 8217 ; s devotedness if he really resisted the enticement, and wasn & # 8217 ; t merely excessively diffident to face Rangi.

Nataraj is besides taken in by Vasu & # 8217 ; s talk of scientific discipline. He takes the stuffed tiger and keeps it, thereby maintaining the memory of the homicidal Vasu alive, every bit good as maintaining Vasu & # 8217 ; s scientific discipline of taxidermy in Malgudi ( non to advert the deductions of pin downing Shiva in the Queen Anne desk ) . When Nataraj is mounting the stepss to Vasu & # 8217 ; s flat, he says that the rational thing for a individual to make is to near things in a scientific frame of head, and sympathizes with Vasu & # 8217 ; s defeat at the universe & # 8217 ; s deficiency of scientific attack. In a manner, scientific discipline has already failed Nataraj one time. In the Atharva Veda, the manner of covering with unwellness is by exorcizing the devil who caused it. Nataraj has taken Kumar to the physician, and he is no longer ill. But Kumar & # 8217 ; s life is still in danger because Nataraj has non dealt with Vasu, the devil who caused Kumar & # 8217 ; s unwellness. All these things show that Nataraj is non genuinely devoted to the Gods, although he appears to be at first.

In the Man-Eater of Malgudi, myth high spots the deeper significance in the society of Malgudi. With each myth mentioned or alluded to, the content of the narrative is put into a new visible radiation. The fabulous construction of the narrative is absolutely complemented by all the mentions and allusions to assorted myths which occur throughout the narrative. Each mention gives an facet of the narrative a new dimension by seting it against the model of the myth. The universe of Malgudi portrayed in the book is taken to a new degree of significance by the many fabulous mentions and allusions made.

Narayan, R.K. The Man-Eater of Malgudi. London: Penguin Books, 1961.

Narayanan, Vasudha. & # 8220 ; The Hindu Tradition & # 8221 ; in World Religions: Eastern Traditions. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1996. Willard G. Oxtoby, erectile dysfunction.

Nath Sharan, Nagendra. A critical survey of the plants of R.K. Narayan. Delhi: Classical printing co. , 1993.

Sinha, U.P. Patterns of Myth and Reality, a survey in R.K. Narayan & # 8217 ; s novels. Delhi: Sandharb publishing houses, 1988.

Venkateswaran, R.J. Dictionary of Bhagavad Gita. Delhi: Sterling publishing houses private limited company, 1991.

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