This book details the developmental history of narratives that affirm, condemn, modify, or ignore the controversial execution of Sambuka, a minor Ramaya?a character of low social standing. Changing socio-political sentiments throughout Indian history have forced numerous revisions to the Sambuka story, placing it in an underappreciated position of influence.According to Valmiki’s Sanskrit Ramaya?a (early centuries CE), Sambuka was practising severe acts of austerity to enter heaven. In engaging in these acts as a Sudra, Sambuka was in violation of class- and caste-based societal norms prescribed exclusively by the ruling and religious elite. Rama, the hero of the Ramaya?a epic, is dispatched to kill Sambuka, whose transgression is said to be the cause of a young Brahmin’s death. The gods rejoice upon the Sudra’s death and restore the life of the Brahmin. Subsequent Ramaya?a poets almost instantly recognised this incident as a blemish on Rama’s character and they began problematising this earliest version of the story. They adjusted and updated the story to suit the expectations of their audiences. The works surveyed in this study include numerous works originating in Hindu, Jain, Dalit and non-Brahmin communities while spanning the period from Sambuka’s first appearance in the Valmiki Ramaya?a through to the present day. The book follows the Sambuka episode chronologically across its entire history — approximately two millennia — to illuminate the social, religious, legal, and artistic connections that span the entire range of the Ramaya?a’s influence and its place throughout various phases of Indian history and social revolution.
