Karkaśa Bhilla

Karkaśa is a bhilla (a forest-dwelling tribal man, here a robber). He appears in the second Caitra-snāna (Caitra bath) story in Chapter 11 of the Manohara Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. His name means “harsh” or “rough”.

He robbed Śambhu, a brahmin of Kāñcī, who was on a pilgrimage to Ayodhyā. Śambhu did not curse him or run away. He gave Karkaśa bananas as a Caitra gift. This woke sattva-buddhi (a clear and good understanding) in Karkaśa. In the end it led him to liberation in Vishṇu-loka.

The robbery and the gift

Karkaśa met Śambhu on his pilgrimage from Kāñcī to Ayodhyā and robbed him of his belongings.

Śambhu answered with a gift. He gave Karkaśa bananas, freely given, in the month of Caitra. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa teaches that gifts given in Caitra carry the puṇya (merit) of the month of Rāma’s birth, and that the holiness of the season makes them greater.

The awakening of sattva-buddhi

A true devotee gave the bananas in Caitra and showed no anger toward the man who had robbed him. This woke Karkaśa’s sattva-buddhi. This is the power to see what is true and good, which is hidden in every being by tamas (dullness) and rajas (restless passion). The harsh man became able to know goodness and to be touched by it.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa shows this as the working of the Caitra-mahimā (the greatness of Caitra). In an ordinary month Śambhu’s kindness might have been ignored. In Caitra, the month filled with Rāma’s presence, all waters and all acts of piety carry greater puṇya. So even a simple gift of fruit could wake the goodness asleep in a rough man.

Liberation at Vishṇu-loka

After this change, Karkaśa came to Ayodhyā and took the Caitra snāna at the Rāmatīrtha. The full puṇya of the Caitra bath at the birthplace of Rāma, together with the first waking of his sattva-buddhi through Śambhu’s gift, was enough. Karkaśa reached Vishṇu-loka, the realm of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

This is the teaching the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa gives again and again. Moksha (liberation) is not only for the learned, the brahmin or the lifelong devotee. A rough robber who received a banana in the right season and was touched by true kindness could reach the highest goal, through the grace of Bhagavān Rāma and the greatness of Caitra.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Manohara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 11