He was right when he said it is easy to pile epithets on epithets and constantly repeat that Rama was a divine king. But he holds that Kamba had managed to create the poetical impression of the divinity of Rama's character. An extremely difficult task. We could also acknowledge the contribution of music towards dieification of Rama. Sri Thyagaraja's role for instance is phenomenal.
Valmiki's Rama with some exceptions, which some critics see as interpolations, is not seen as divine but as a mortal human! But in KR it is rare to see any reference to Rama which does not indicate his divinity. He is Narayana, he is the great one whom even the Vedas have not seen. When he runs after the golden deer,'he set forward the foot that measured the three worlds'. However this does not come in the way of the human emotions being attributed to him. He feels all the anguish of separation from Sita, is stunned by the death of his father. Affected by the simple affection of guha and so on. A mix of divinity and humanity. All the qualities that belong to a hero are to be found in him in perfection.
He is the personification of valor. He is stoically calm, when Lakshamana is enraged on the news of his exile, 'Tis fate that drives us on, my brother! Why then this rage?' But he is tender as a woman, when he sees others suffer. Like when he sees Lakshamana's princely hands engaged in building him a cottage; 'Ah! Those whom fate has helpless cast upon the world, what's there that they will not learn to do.'
If you wonder why he and Sita did not give a helping hand, the reason or rationale you may give will only reflect your state of mind or how you view Rama.
How was his love for the beautiful, holy and all suffering Sita? It was an all absorbing love! A love that makes him rave like a mad man when he loses her and fall like a lightening-struck sal tree when he hears that she has been murdered by Indrajit.
Kamban does not describe any entrancing love scenes between Rama and Sita. It is all by suggestion! They bathe together in the holy Ganga. They enjoy together the wild beauty of the forest, and it is there that Rama's words become more and more tender towards Sita. Rama's love appears most when he instructs Hanuman before the vanaras go looking for her. He dwells with delight on the beauty of her form, and calls to mind the little telling incidents of their married and pre-marriage days.
It was his excessive love for her that made him disregard Lakshmana's warning and went after the golden deer himself and sow the seeds of endless misery for himself and Sita.
The author admits that there is a blot in Rama's love, but chooses to speak about it later. He goes on to describe his valor, his magnanimity and loyalty to his pledged word. In fact, Valmiki searched long for an ideal hero, and sage Narada suggested Sri Rama. And, grandly has Valmiki exalted and idealised the character of the great hero. He adds: If Valmiki's Rama is grand, Kamban's Rama is grander still.
So what the personality of Rama does is to fill a need in all of us for that ideal. We can accept a Valmiki Rama with a few of his human faults or we can fall in love with a more deified version of Kamban's Rama or even create a new version of Rama. Amazingly no one stops you from creating your own Rama or Sita for that matter. No wonder there are 300 or more versions of Ramayana!
The character of Rama filled a need.
Yes, and a bench mark too against which all other maortals are measured.
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