Seminar Paper

On
An analysis of Lakshman by Toru Dutt

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Award of Degree of

B.A. (H) English

Indian and New Literatures in English

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Apoorv Anand Dr. Reena Singh

A0706121039

Amity Institute of English Studies and Research

AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH

India
Introduction

Toru Dutt was an Indian poetess born on March 4, 1856, in Bengal, British India, to a family

of scholars and linguists. She was the daughter of Govind Chunder Dutt, a distinguished

lawyer and scholar, and Kshetramoni, who hailed from a family of accomplished writers.

Toru Dutt displayed remarkable literary talent from a young age and received an excellent

education. She was fluent in several languages, including Bengali, English, French, and

Sanskrit, which greatly influenced her poetry and prose. She is best known for her poetry

collection "A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields" (1876), which showcased her mastery of both

English and French poetry. Her poetry often reflected themes of love, longing, nature, and

spirituality, blending Western and Eastern influences in her unique style. Apart from her

poetry, Toru Dutt also translated works from French and Sanskrit into English, contributing

to the promotion of Indian literature and culture in the Western world.

Her poem Lakshman is from her Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan (1882). It tells a

story from the Hindu epic Ramayana, in which the protagonist, Lord Rama is asked to

procure a golden deer by his wife, Sita. After Rama leaves Sita with his brother, Lakshman,

for safekeeping, he finds out that the deer is a demon named Maricha who served as a

distraction for the demon king Ravana to lure Rama away so that he could abduct Sita. Rama

kills Maricha, however, when the demon dies, it calls out for help using Rama's own voice.

Though Lakshman knows Rama is invincible and does not worry, Sita panics at the sound of

the cry for help and asks Lakshman to go and investigate. So that he can both please Sita and

ensure that she stays put, as ordered by Rama, Lakshman draws a line in the ground that Sita

is not to cross while he leaves to search for Rama. While he is absent, however, Sita crosses

the line and is abducted by Ravana, thus leading to the main events of the epic.
About the Poem

The dialogue between Sita and Laskhman is expanded upon in the poem, which adapts this

Ramayana tale and goes beyond what is said in the epic. Nonetheless, the epic retains a large

portion of their dialogue's essential components. When the screams were heard, initially Sita

cautions Lakshman to pay attention to what seem to be Rama's pleas. He counters by

explaining Rama’s divine invincibility, but Sita remains concerned for her husband’s well-

being and shocked by her brother-in-law’s unwillingness to go after him, accuses Lakshman

of plotting to dethrone Rama and to claim her as his own wife when he tries to give her other

advice. Her remarks hurt Lakshman, who eventually gives in to her demands and draws an

arrow in a circle that she is not to cross as he leaves to help Rama. Lakshman is calm, simply

uttering a few words as Sita is furious and has hurt his feelings, to bless Sita and offer up

prayers that the forest's gods will protect her once he departs. With Lakshman's countenance

"sorrow dark" and a "vulture scream[ing]" as he leaves, the poem comes to a melancholic

conclusion.

In terms of its form and rhyme scheme, the poem is written in twenty-two stanzas of eight

lines each and closely mirrors a standard ballad, with each stanza consisting of alternating

rhymes. Importantly, however, the stanzas of a standard ballad are only four lines, so the

doubling of the line count per stanza in Lakshman might be meant to reflect the dialogue

occurring between Lakshman and Sita. Also important to Dutt's rendition of the legend is her

preservation of language that mirrors other translations from the Sanskrit original, such as

"succour" and "Videhan Queen" in reference to Sita. This lends Dutt's rendition the authority

of an accurate and rigorous account while still allowing her to innovate greatly on the story.

The poem, based on one of the two great Indian Epics, also deals with themes of bravery,
marriage as well as the role of family.

Analysis of the Poem

Where Dutt chooses to embellish the original account, then, is in providing additional

descriptions of both the surroundings and Rama, to round out the sentiments conveyed by

both Lakshman and Sita. First, when Lakshman begins speaking in stanza 4, he quickly

begins listing a series of dangerous or malevolent figures that would cower before Rama,

adapted from the original, including "the lion and the grisly bear," "sun-staring eagles,"

"pythons and cobras," "Rakshases, Danavs, demons, [and] ghosts." The rhymes that are set

up between these beings and their surroundings reinforces not only their connection to nature,

but also Rama's supremacy—his power both to make the world and her children bow before

him and his might. Further, the move from natural animals such as lions and bears to

supernatural figures such as Raskshases and ghosts emphasizes that Rama is a being who

commands not only things of natural significance, but also things of divine import.

Second, Dutt has Sita taunt Lakshman and his supposed cowardice by means of a new,

original metaphor: "But then thy leader stood beside! / Dazzles the cloud when shines the

sun, / Reft of his radiance, see it glide / A shapeless mass of vapours dun; / So of thy courage,

—or if not, / The matter is far darker dyed, / What makes thee loth to leave this spot? / Is

there a motive thou wouldst hide?" Sita here is comparing Lakshman to a cloud that seems to

shine only when it borrows the light or radiance of the sun. She suggests that Lakshman's

courage is similar, only present when his brother is around; otherwise, Sita suggests,

Lakshman is cowardly, just as the cloud is "shapeless" and "dun" without the sun's (Rama)

light. This metaphor connects Lakshman to the natural world as well, conveying the message

that he himself is also inferior to Rama. The later detail of Sita shooting "flames from her
eyes" paints Sita also as a goddess or supernatural being that Lakshman must not deny.

Finally, at the poem's close, Lakshman turns to nature and prays that it will keep Sita safe

from harm, in a manner adapted from the original but far more explicit and extensive: "And

oh ye sylvan gods that dwell / Among these dim and sombre shades, / Whose voices in the

breezes swell / And blend with noises of cascades / Watch over Sita." As a merely loyal

servant to the more powerful Rama and Sita, he must entrust nature with the task of

protection when he fails. Further, the "hoarse" scream of a vulture serves as an ill omen that

foreshadows Sita's eventual abduction by Ravana. Here, too, nature seems to play an

important role as it mirrors the affairs of the demigods and legendary figured depicted in the

Ramayana.

The poem is thus characteristic of many of Dutt's interests—the relationship of humanity,

divinity, and nature; the complexity of family relationships; the experience of loss or

bereavement; and the merging of English verse forms and poetic traditions with her own

innovations and Indian inspirations. At the same time, its more formal tone and register—as

distinct from those of other, more personal poems in the collection such as "The Tree of Life"

and "Our Casuarina Tree"—also shows that, in writing this poem, Dutt was intentionally

calling back to something other than her own experience, something deeply rooted in

tradition and timeless in its telling and retelling over time.

Conclusion

Although the poem is based on an important incident of Ramayana when on hearing Ram’s

voice Sita requests and forces Lakshman to go for his help. In persuading Lakshman, she

even used harsh language and blames many charges on him, which hurts him and forces him

to obey her orders while disobeying his brother’s. But the hidden central idea of the poem is

to show fear of a woman whose husband’s life is in danger and in case of his death her life

will hang in uncertainty. The main theme of the poem is the expression of fears of Sita

regarding the life of Ram. It is evident to notice Lakshman is aware of Ram’s reality and

powers, but Sita has forgotten that under effect of fear. It was the fears of Sita which made

her language ‘wild and wrong’ towards Lakshman. Sita is concerned about her rights when

she doubts on lingering of Lakshman and not going to Ram’s help. She accuses Lakshman

that he wants his elder brother to die so that he may take his wife i.e. Sita. The poem

highlights this important theme too where rights of a woman are under threat,

There is also the perspective of Lakshman. He was following his duty and knew the reality of

both Ram and the forest hence he was right there. But how he felt from the venomous words

of Sita is something that went unnoticed which poet has brought into highlight. Lakshman is

deeply hurt by the thoughts of his sister-in-law Sita towards him. Lakshman is one of those

poems of Toru Dutt on whose her identity stands. Toru Dutt is known among pioneer writers

of Anglo-Indian poetry. She died at a very tender age of 21 but left behind a legacy of

beautiful poems. She was taught stories of Indian mythology by her mother and later one a

whole collection of poetry was written on Indian mythology.