Iravan - Historical Development

Historical Development

Iravan first appears as a minor character in the Mahabharata as the son of Arjuna, the chief hero of the epic. The background to the Mahabharata infers a date that is "after the very early Vedic period" and before "the first Indian 'empire' was to rise in the third century B.C.", so "somewhere in the eighth or ninth century." It is generally agreed, however, that "Unlike the Vedas, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style." The earliest surviving components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest external references to the epic, which may include an allusion in Panini's 4th-century grammar manual Ashtadhyayi (4:2:56). It is estimated that the Sanskrit text probably reached something of a "final form" by the early Gupta period (about the 4th century CE). The editor of the first great critical edition of the Mahabharata commented: "It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in a literally original shape, on the basis of an archetype and a stemma codicum. What then is possible? Our objective can only be to reconstruct the oldest form of the text which it is possible to reach on the basis of the manuscript material available."

Iravan is also mentioned, as the son of Arjuna and Ulupi, in passing references in two Puranas ("sacred texts") known as the Vishnu Purana (4:20:12)—also with a text history from the late Vedic through the Gupta periods—and the Bhagavata Purana (9:22:32)—traditionally dated to the Vedic period but dated by modern scholars to the 9th or 10th century CE.

Although the original Sanskrit version of the Mahabharata records Iravan's (Sanskrit name) death during the 18-day Mahabharata war, the Tamil versions discuss Aravan's (Tamil name) ritual self-sacrifice to Kali before the war. Hiltebeitel relates this to the South Indian glorification of "heroic" self-mutilation and self-decapitation before a goddess. He takes particular note of a scene towards the end of a puranic text, Devi Mahatmyam, in interpreting old Tamil sculptures depicting a warrior king spilling his own blood, as in the Purana, in adoration of a goddess of victory. In the Tamil sculptures, the goddess is Korravai, who became associated with Durga and hence Kali. He also finds parallels in the Telugu legend of the sacrifice of Barbarika—another Mahabharata character—and its variants in Rajasthan (see also: Khatushyamji), Himachal Pradesh, Garhwal, Kurukshetra, Bundelkhand and Orissa. Most notable among the similarities between Aravan and Barbarika is the boon to witness the entire duration of the Mahabharata war—through the eyes of the severed head, despite the sacrifice.

The first account of Aravan's sacrifice is found in Parata Venpa—the earliest surviving Tamil version of the Mahabharata—by Peruntevanar (9th century). The tale is later retold by Villiputuralvar in his 14th-century Makaparatam and by Nallapillai in the 18th century. The legend is also mentioned in the text Khoothanvar Sthala Purana, associated with the shrine of Kuttantavar.

Another source of Aravan traditions is the folk-theatre of Tamil Nadu, called koothu. Aravan Kalappali (or Aravan Kalabali), "Aravan's Battlefield Sacrifice", is a popular theme of the traditional Terukuttu ("street theatre"). Aravan Kalappali tells the story of Aravan's pre-battle self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali to win her support, guaranteeing victory for the Pandavas (Arjuna and his brothers) in the Mahabharata war. Aravan Kalappali is staged annually in the villages of Melattur, Kodukizhi and Yervadi, according to various forms of the koothu folk-theatre. In Karambai, Aravan Kalappali is performed as part of the cult of Draupadi, on the 18th day of an annual festival (April–May), to please the goddess.

In modern interpretations, Aravan's head symbolizes not only self-sacrifice but also regeneration and continuity, because of his ability to see the war after his sacrifice. For example, Iramacamippulavar's Merkolvilakka Kkatai Akaravaricai (1963)—which narrates the tale of Aravan—ends with the conclusion that Aravan continues to live on as a folk hero in Tamil Nadu, because he embodies "the ideal of self-sacrifice." Aravan is considered to be a representation of the cost of war; he evokes the "countless innocent" reluctantly sent by their mothers "to be consumed by the insatiable Goddess of War." Indologist David Shulman, on the other hand, considers Aravan's sacrifice to be a reworking of the serpent sacrifice in the Tamil epic tradition.