Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Samskara; The Rite for a Dead Man is a novel by Indian author U. R. Ananthmurthy that was first published in 1965. The novel was originally written in Kannada in 1965 and was also made into an award-winning film in 1970. It was later translated into English by a renowned Indian poet and translator, A.K. Ramanujan in the year 1976. Ananthamurty attempts to expose Brahmanical cultural dominance and unmasks the religious hypocrisy through his novel. The novel shows a clash between the traditions and modernity. The novel raises questions about social evils like untouchability, casteism, ritualism, and disintegration in the Hindu community.
Characters of Samskara:
Naranappa is the dead character of the novel around which the story revolves. He was a member of the Brahmin community of the small Indian village of Durvasapura, but he was notorious for his ill habits. He left his wife for a woman of a lower caste, enjoyed alcohol and meat, and showed a general disregard for Brahmin traditions. His death created an uproar, as the other Brahmins were uncertain how to handle his funeral rites. They could not decide if his behavior made it inappropriate for him to be buried in their temple's cemetery. Praneshacharya is a reputed and highly regarded scholar of the Brahmin community. The elderly people of the community ask him to decide whether or not Naranappa should be buried in the Brahmin cemetery. He is depicted as a kind man who lovingly attends to his extremely ill wife Bhaghirathi. She speaks very infrequently and is mostly seen crying out in pain. She suffers so immensely that she often wishes she weren't alive. Praneshacharya cares for her diligently. Chandri used to be a prostitute for whom Naranappa left his wife and began living with her. She is extremely generous and cares for Naranappa while he is alive, regardless of how poorly he acts. She continues to show this care for him after he dies, pushing for him to receive Brahmin funeral rites. Throughout the novel, Praneshacharya develops feelings of romantic and physical attraction towards her. Garuda is the greedy, selfish relative of Naranappa who continuously declines to perform the last rites of Naranappa but claims his right over his gold and property. Lashamana is another relative of Naranappa. Naranappa’s wife and his wife were sisters. He continues to quarrel with Garuda over the claim of Naranappa’s gold after his death. Putta is a man whom Praneshacharya meets in the forest. He begins to follow Praneshacharya and tries to corrupt him with the same habits as those of Naranappa. Padmavati is a beautiful woman, a friend of Putta who tries to seduce Praneshacharya and make him stay the night at her home. Shripati is a young Brahmin guy who perceives the Brahmin elders as out-of-touch and foolish. He has an affair with Belli, a young poor girl of low caste whom he exploits.
Summary of Samkara:
The novel is set in a small fictional village Durvasapura. Praneshacharya is a reputed and renowned scholar of the village. After obtaining mastery over Vedic Scriptures, and earning the title „the Crest-Jewel of Vedanta‟ in Kashi during his religious training, Praneshacharya performs all religious rituals and discharges his religious duties as an ascetic religious authority in Durvasapura village. He marries an invalid woman, Bhagirathi who is bedridden, just to serve his selfish purpose of obtaining “ripeness and readiness‟ on his way to salvation and keep himself away from the sensual pleasures of the world. It is a kind of self-chosen martyrdom to achieve the higher fruit of salvation. He treats his Brahmin birth as a divine test for qualifying himself for salvation. However, he is dutiful towards Bhagirathi. He engages in his daily routine of tending and taking care of his chronically ill wife. She has been ill for years. He feeds her before putting her to bed. Then another woman, Chandri, rushes to Praneshacharya's home. As Praneshacharya sees her, at the door of his home, he gets worried about his purity as she is a woman of low caste, she is the concubine of Naranappa. She came to tell him that her lover, Naranappa, caught a fever and died suddenly. This news saddens Praneshacharya and he consoles Chandri and goes out to inform Garuda about the death of Naranappa. Naranappa was a relative of Garuda. When Praneshachrya reaches Garuda’s house, he finds that Garuda is about to take his lunch. He stops Garuda from eating food and informs him that Naranappa has died. As custom requires, they must fast.
Garuda isn’t too happy in following this custom of maintaining a fast until the last rites of the dead relative are performed. He says that Naranppa was a notorious man who was not accepted well by the community. Praneshachrya informs Lakshamana, another relative of Naranappa of his death.
The Brahmin community turns to Praneshacharya to make a decision regarding Naranappa's funeral rites. According to customs, only a family member or relative of Naranppa can perform his funeral rites. However, both Garuda and Lakshamana are hesitant in performing their duties. Naranppa was a notorious person who was disliked by the whole Brahmin community of the village. He left his wife for a prostitute, ate meat, and drank alcohol. Naranppa deliberately used to do such things that would provoke and ridicule the Brahmin family of his village. Once, he threw Saligrama, the holy stone which is believed to represent God Vishnu, into the river, and spat after it. The reputed people of the Brahmin community discuss Naranappa's various transgressions, criticizing him for his lifestyle. Some of them oppose the idea that now when Naranappa is dead, his last rites should be allowed to be performed in the traditional cemetery of the Brahmin community near the village temple. Praneshacharya says he will continue to weigh the decision. Chandri looks at him, conveying her hope that he will treat Naranappa's body with charity. She eventually offers her jewelry as payment for the rites to be performed.
Praneshacharya remembers his last meeting with Naranappa in which he insulted the Brahmin tenets of faith. Praneshacharya remembers him saying that the Brahmins are hypocrites, as many members of the caste engage in shady scheming and lead generally joyless lives. Naranappa at one point took a group of boys fishing in the temple pond, an act that was viewed with great outrage. Praneshacharya made it his mission to prove Naranappa wrong but ultimately felt that he failed to do so. The Brahmin continue to be perturbed by the ongoing question of Naranappa's funeral rites.
Garuda and Lakshmana are the only two relatives of Naranappa who can perform his last rites. However, none of them is willing to do so while Praneshacharya sees them arguing bitterly over the issue of claim on the gold and property of Naranappa. The Brahmin community again turns to Praneshachrya and tells him to decide what to do with the gold from Naranappa's estate.
Praneshacharya is troubled about these issues as he doesn’t wish to provoke any of the two relatives of Naranappa. He continues reviewing the sacred texts and speaks with Chandri. He remains undecided and the other Brahmins begin to complain, both because of their inability to eat and also because of the stench of Naranappa's corpse. Chandri offers to pay for Naranappa's funeral rites by selling the few jewels she possesses; Praneshacharya tells her to keep them.
Later, Chandri sits beneath a tree with plantains in her lap. Vultures begin circling the sky, a terrible omen to the Brahmins. They attempt to chase them away with noise. Praneshacharya remains in agony over the decision regarding Naranappa. He wanders through a nearby forest and finds Chandri. Both exhausted from these trials, they weep. He feels suddenly drawn to her, as she pulls him close to her body. Overcome with desire for her, Praneshacharya sleeps with her that night. He wakes up at midnight and tells Chandri he must confess what he has done by tomorrow.
Chandri too feels ashamed of what happened last night. She is still sad about Naranappa’s death and worries about his rotting body in the temple premises. In desperation, she pays a Muslim fishmonger to steal the body and cremate it. Meanwhile, several young men in the village rehearse for a play and then talk afterward. They say that no Brahmin women are as kind as Chandri and that everyone is treating the matter of Naranappa's body too seriously. The Brahmin continue to be frustrated with the lack of decision about Naranappa while Praneshacharya remains miserable, guilty, and uncertain. He does not return to the village that evening.
Praneshacharya eventually returns home and thinks quietly to himself. He reflects on his actions, wondering what drew him to Chandri. He goes to tend to his wife and sees that she has a fever. He steps outside briefly and then is struck with a terrible premonition. When he goes back inside, he finds that his wife is dead. He burns her body and weeps. The Brahmins continue to debate the Naranappa matter in a circuitous manner. Garuda and Lakshmana try to push their claim for Naranappa's wealth, as they are related. The swami in the temple becomes enraged at their greed and chastises them both. They apologize. Praneshacharya leaves the temple and wanders in the nearby jungle where he encounters a young man named Putta. He feels a bit cagey around Putta, as he is concerned about keeping his identity concealed from him. Putta talks to him at length and follows him every step of the way. They eventually go to a small town together. Putta convinces Praneshacharya to drink coffee and watch a cockfight, which only heightens his sense of despair. Then Putta takes him to visit a woman named Padmavati who lives nearby. Praneshacharya feels a sudden lust towards her as he finds her excessively attractive. Putta tries to convince Praneshacharya to stay with Padmavati for the night, but he refuses. Padmavati too tries to seduce him but Praneshacharya strictly controls his feelings of lust and leaves the place. He thinks about Chandri and how he fell for her. He then thinks about Shripati, another Brahmin who often sexually exploits Belli, a poor girl of low caste. Praneshacharya thinks if he did the same sin with Chandri. He continues to struggle with his feelings as he enters a temple and joins in a prayer. He talks to the other men in the temple and resolves to perform the rites and confess his actions. Praneshacharya heads back to Durvasapura and the novel ends with him anxiously awaiting his return.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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