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Reviews
Annam
Bahu Kurvita
The Mountain
Path, December 1998, Vol. 35 Nos.3&4
by Prof. Leela Subramoni
This book under review is a scholarly exposition of the
great tradition of annadana that was prevalent in ancient
India – Bharat – under the benign rule of Sri Rama and later
Yudhishthira. Far from being a restricted activity confined
to the limited requirements of a particular community,
annadana is revealed by the authors to occupy a central
position in the social, political and religious life of the
Indian people.
The subject of annadana is discussed in eight chapters
followed by an epilogue that connects the ancient tradition
with the modern situation. The giving and sharing of food is
common to almost all cultures across the world. But in the
Indian context it is the one guiding principle in the life
of the nation. It is also a way to the realisation of the
ultimate Reality – the supreme Brahman.
The book takes us on a nostalgic journey to the distant past
when the people of India enjoyed an abundance of food to the
point of surfeit. The first chapter points out the
importance of giving food and gives a number of quotations
from Sri Krishna’s advice to Yudhishthira. The story of King
Sweta (chapter 2) illustrates the law that one gets
according to the amount and care with which one has given
food earlier. While describing the yajnas of the great Kings
of India the authors say that these were occasions for
celebrations which united all the sections of the Indian
people. “… political power, if it is to remain within the
bounds of dharma, must remain widely dispersed” (p.22). In
Ramarajya, the Indian model of ideal polity, “the number of
rajavamsas, kingly dynasties, rises a hundred fold”.
“Annadana is at the centre, the events seem to unfold around
it.” In both Dasaratha’s and Sri Rama’s asvamedha yajna,
annadana is the central activity. The Ramarajya begins and
ends with annadana.
The fourth chapter gives an excellent account of life in
Yudhishthira’s kingdom. It seems incredible today that
Bharat once enjoyed such abundance in food and such great
generosity in feeding. As the authors say, the resilience of
the Indian psyche after the Great War is a matter of great
pride. Referring to various texts the authors have shown
very clearly that it was the responsibility of the kings and
the rich “to ensure eradication of hunger and destitution”
and such formulation of the responsibility of the kings and
the rich was “part of the essential doctrine of political
organisation in India.” The authors then point out the
Dharma of grahastha and the special responsibility of the
ruler or the king. “The sin of want and hunger even due to
natural causes and disasters lies primarily upon the king.”
According to Bhishma, in the Mahabharata, agriculture,
animal husbandry and trade are the very life of the people.
The importance of annadana in the life of the nation is
underscored when the authors relate it to the Upanishadic
teaching, and point out that anna is the first manifestation
of Brahman. The Taittiriya Upanishad gives a pivotal
position to anna and its manifestations, in a seeker’s path
to brahmavidya.
As the authors say, “It is indeed of great significance that
anna should occupy such a primary place in a venerated text
of brahmavidya, a text whose concern is Moksha.” Their
explanation and elucidation of the text of Taittiriya
Upanishad is pivotal.
This great tradition of giving food in plenty and sharing it
has been in vogue in later times also as in the reign of
Harshavardhana and in the reign of the kings of Thanjavur.
The authors state that this tradition was followed till
recently even in ordinary Indian households. But with the
quantity of food decreasing, the custom of sharing slowly
receded to the background and remained a sacred memory. This
was the direct result of the British invasion of India. “The
abundance of food began to turn into a state of acute
scarcity within decades of the onset of British rule.” Vast
areas fell out of cultivation and “the productivity of lands
began to decline precipitously”. The Indian concepts of
abundance and generosity have given place to scarcity and
callousness. The book does not merely tell us what the
situation was in India, but exhorts us “to bring ourselves
back to the invaluable discipline of sharing. We have to
make a national resolve to care for the hunger of our people
and animals”.
The book is highly relevant to our times and a reminder of
what should deeply concern us now. The clarity and elegance
of the presentation of the subject makes compelling reading.
Do read it.
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