Kamban and Valmiki's Ramayana

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 14 August 2025 Lyricist Vairamuthu's recent remarks on Ram, claiming he was 'out of his mind' after separating from Sita, have ignited controversy in Tamil Nadu. Vairamuthu's comments, made at a Kambar Kazhagam event, drew sharp criticism from TN BJP President Nainar Nagenthran, who deemed them 'anti-Hindu.' The remarks were made at an event in Madras recently, where Vairamuthu received an award named after Tamil poet Kamban, and in light of the killing of Vali. With the comments kicking up a row, Vairamuthu took to his social media page, claiming neither Valmiki forgave Lord Ram nor did Vali. The analogy refers to Lord Ram killing Kishkinta King Vali during his duel with brother Sukreeva. To aid Sukreeva, Lord Ram apparently targets Vali from behind, which some interpret as 'hiding' while releasing the arrow at Vali. Talking about this, Vairamuthu said he remarked that neither Valmiki, nor Vali forgave Lord Ram for this incident, "nor was the world ready" to do so. "But Kamban saves Rama from the blame," he said and cited a line, apparently from Kamba Ramayanam penned by Kamban, that means "Ram lost his mind after being separated from wife Sita" and that "actions borne out of this don't constitute a crime." "I said Ram became a human for being forgiven by Kamban and Kamban became God," Vairamuthu said on his social media page. "The learned (in the audience) nodded in agreement," he claimed. Tamil poet Kambar or Kavichakravarty Kamban, belonged to the ninth century, much later after many centuries, nearly a millennium later than Valmiki’s time, in the south indian cultural landscape. While Kambaramayanam, consists of 10,368 versus the Valmiki Ramayanam only had only a total of 6000 verses. More than fifty percent of Kamban’s versus (4500) was dedicated to the final chapters ‘Yuddha Kandam’ (the Book of War) - the war episodes. Rama’s story was not new to Tamilnadu when Kamban decided to write his epic. There have been many references about Rama in the Sangam Tamil classics, the great twin epics namely the Silappathikaram and the Manimekalai, and praises in the hymns of Nayanmars and Alwars of the later period. It is evident different versions of the Ramayanam were prevalent prior to Kamban’s attempt to commence his work, thus the worship of Rama as one of the incarnations of the Almighty was already existing in his period. Mythology is interpretative. There're many written versions of Ramayan in addition to folklore. Every version has its own story because it's relatively easy to weave a whole new story around a character who may not have existed in the first place. Dr Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' wrote in his book, Sanskriti ke chaar adhyay that, 'Jo buniyadi taur pe na ho uss par ek poori nayee imarat khadi ki jaa sakti hai ' (What doesn't exist fundamentally, can provide a template for a whole new building). But 'Dinkar' didn't say this in the context of mythology as he was a devout Hindu who wrote magnificent poetry on Karna (Rashmirathi), Urvashi etc. The same quote is also attributed to the Maratrhi novelist and dramatist Shivaji Sawant whose Mritunjay (on the life of Karna) and Yugandhar (on Krishna) are epics in the annals of Marathi literature. He too believed that mythological characters can be presented and projected in different ways with new perspectives getting accrued to them as time advances and perceptions undergo a sea-change. So, all these controversies as to whether Ram was out of mind or not must be read in a proper context known as the systematic contextualization of a character or episode. Taking a statement out of the context and plot might create misunderstandings and bad-blood. Mythology is not history. It's a pure story or mythical history if not outright hokum. History itself is seldom definite and exact. Obviously, mythical history is even more amorphous and nebulous. We're living in ethnocentric times. Don't forget that certain South Indian versions of Ramayanam, even eulogise Ravana and put him (Ravan) on a higher pedestal than that of Ram. One must be open to all types of interpretations. Study of mythological texts demands a dispassionate approach. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URl: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/kamban-valmiki-ramayana/d/136489 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism