The many deaths of Śambūka : a history of variation in the Rāmāyaṇa tradition

The most impactful stories carry with them wonderful traditions. The formation of these traditions and the drive to tell old stories in new ways is not an arbitrary process. That drive is energized by the endless motion of social and cultural tides that expose new ways of encountering familiar stories and finding purpose in the expression of their content. In this study, I explore why, for nearly two thousand years, so many have told and retold, maintained and modified, the story of Śambūka, an often overlooked story of the Rāmāyaṇa tradition. The story centers around Rāma’s killing of a Śūdra ascetic named Śambūka, an incident that has long carried with it considerable controversy rooted in the dissonance between devotional sentiments and caste politics that appears when the story collides with lived experiences. Since the earliest centuries of the Śambūka story’s history, many have framed Śambūka’s death so as to glorify Rāma and demonstrate the salvific power of contact with him, even if it results in death. In more recent years, anti-caste activists have increasingly mobilized the story to demonstrate a longstanding culture of casteist violence. This deep exploration of the Śambūka tradition and the connections and divergences between its narratives reveals a versatility to the story that illuminates the Rāmāyaṇa’s limitless impact on Indian society and the endless oscillations in the purposes it serves