Significance of Harikatha
The use of the mythical technique in Raja Rao’s maiden and groundbreaking novel Kanthapura is seen at its best in the strange kind of Harikatha. Harikatha is a South Indian genre of storytelling with religious themes that combines poetry, philosophy, song, dance and theatre. Sastri usually gives harikathas in Kanthapura. In the novel Jayramachar, the Harikatha-man Moorthy brings from the city on account of Ganesh Jayanti, tells the story of the birth of Gandhi in the manner of the Puranic tales of the
birth of gods and goddesses.Through Harikatha he tries to connect the freedom fighting movement with the religious myth so that people ask no questions.
According to the Garuda Purana, Lord Vishnu has ten avatars. In Harikatha there are different kinds of songs related to Lord Vishnu. His incarceration has been reiterated again and again by Sastri in the novel. The purpose behind this is to disseminate the significance of Lord Vishnu to the villagers. On the other hand it is meant for unifying, spreading love, cosmopolitanism, equality, and liberty among the villagers. Moorthi, the central figure, pays Jayramachar some money to preach Harikatha among the villagers in a way that can unite the villagers altogether so they can stand against colonizers in Kanthapura. The epitomized Gandhi, Moorthi also believes in such kind of love, cosmopolitan fraternity and forgiveness as symbolized by Lord Vishnu rather than Lord Krishna. Gandhian steel-strong faith in Hindu philosophy and the Indian epics – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata – to consolidate our inner integrity and ethical values is resonated by Rao in his novel.
Thus, Harikatha is a storytelling method that has to be conducted orally and this is where our indian sensibility lies.
