Goma's Birth and Curse on Her

The nineteenth chapter of Shree Swasthani Vrat Katha(derived from Magha Mahatmya of Skanda Puran) deals with the birth of Goma and the curse given to her. In both cases, there are plenty of myths.

First, let us look at the birth of Goma. Her parents Shivabhatta and Sati are poor Brahmans and devotees of LordGanesh. They worship Him every Tuesday in the hope of getting wealth as boon. Happy with their devotion, Lord Ganesh apparates and says, “Next Tuesday, when you come over here for worship, you shall find something. Take it home and keep it on a plate covering with another plate. After 4 days, that shall turn to gold.” And then he disapparates. Next Tuesday, they find a laddoo and keep it as instructed. What a wonderful surprise! They find a piece of gold in its place and soon become rich. They even donate the riches to the poor and their popularity also increases. But they do not have a child. So they worship Ganesh again. He appears and says, “Next Tuesday, when you come to worship, you shall see a cow. She shall look at you and after a while she shall defecate. At that moment, before the dung hits the ground, catch it and take it home. Keep it on a plate covering with a plate. Then you may find a daughter. You shall not get a son though, because you had not kept that in your previous life.” Then he disappears. They do as instructed and a daughter is born out of cow-dung and that is the reason why her name becomes Goma.  

This is what the story says and its too mythical. The same thing could have been recorded, which I believe is much close to truth, as:

The Brahmans Shivabhatta and his wife went to worship Lord Ganesh every Tuesday. As they were poor, they were in want of riches. One day, they found a big piece of gold mistaking it for a laddoo, took it home. When they found out that it was gold, they became happy and started trading on gold which gave them riches and money enough to live securely and also to donate to the poor. Being poor was one small problem but having riches without heir or protector was a greater one. One day, as they were worshipping Ganesh, they happened to see a newly-born, abandoned girl beside a heap of cow-dung. They adopted the child and named her Goma.

Please take a look at the original text and my suggestion. The original one looks like a story made up by Shivabhatta and his wife to explain their sudden prosperity and begetting of a daughter. And our Guru Ved Vyas kept it in Puran without even double checking the probability of the story. Still, some Pundits say he was a historian and Purans speak history. Shameful, it is that we have been misled by our greatest teacher! What would intellectuals say if we believe in stories in which a girl is born out of cow-dung—fools? Also, the statement of not getting a son because of the Karma of previous life--who has ever seen the previous lives and proved that? Does it not imply gender discrimination?

Now, let’s look at the circumstances at which Goma is cursed. As popularity of Shivabhatta increased, Indra, along with his brothers(Gods/Devas) goes to Lord Shiva’s abode Kailash and says, “O Lord! Shivabhatta and his wife worshipped your son Ganesh and gained enormous wealth which they have also been donating to the poor. This has brought a threat on to Amaravati(Heaven’s capital). They also gained a daughter from your son’s blessings. So, please do something O Lord! And help us protect Amaravati.” Lord Shiva immediately agrees and goes to Shivabhatta’s house in the guise of a sage and asks alms with a five-year-old Goma. As she is busy in her chores, she keeps him waiting for sometime but does give the alms. The sage then asks rice grains to be used for daily Pooja(worship) to which she refuses. Then all of suuden, enraged sage curses,”May your parents’ wealth diminish, may you be married to a 70-year-old at the age of 7, may you suffer a lot and may your parents die soon.” And then he goes away giving tears to the little girl.

Why such harsh curse for such a small innocent child? The question is not asked by me alone but also by her mother Sati and many people who have read it. And I have some possible reasons: Insecurity of Indra(seen in many stories where he cannot rule well but still wants the post of “Dev Raj”), and the jealousy of Shiva with Ganesh. Questions arise- Was Lord Shiva  jealous of Ganesh? Does the provocation by Indra mentioning the name of his son as the God worshipped by the Brahmans and the action taken by him not suggest jealousy? And the curse- of course, it was planned. Otherwise the sage may have cursed the little girl only saying she did sin by making him wait, he would not have cursed her parents.

    
Why should we blindly believe that God loves us? If poor becoming rich brings their reign in difficulty, how are they different from present day leaders? To hide the inefficiency of the rule of Devas, myths were made. Because we are led to believe that they were true, we blindly say, “Yeah, that was what had happened.” It’s high time we change the way we think.

Was Valmiki the Original Writer of the Ramayana?

What a funny and stupid title? Who does not know that Ramayan was written by Valmiki? This is not a matter for discussion! These might be your immediate reactions. But I have found something what is worth discussion.

These stanzas are from "The Ramayan of Valmiki, translated into English verse" by Ralph T.H. Griffith published around 1870s.

"Praise to Válmíki, bird of charming song
Who mounts on Poesy’s sublimest spray,
And sweetly sings with accent clear and strong
  Ráma, aye Ráma, in his deathless lay.

Where breathes the man can listen to the strain
  That flows in music from Válmíki’s tongue,
Nor feel his feet the path of bliss attain
  When Ráma’s glory by the saint is sung!

The stream Rámáyan leaves its sacred fount
  The whole wide world from sin and stain to free.

 The Prince of Hermits is the parent mount,
  The lordly Ráma is the darling sea.

Glory to him whose fame is ever bright!
  Glory to him, Prachetas’ holy son!
Whose pure lips quaff with ever new delight
  The nectar-sea of deeds by Ráma done.

Hail, arch-ascetic, pious, good, and kind!
  Hail, Saint Válmíki, lord of every lore!
Hail, holy Hermit, calm and pure of mind!
  Hail, First of Bards, Válmíki, hail once more!"

These stanzas are present in "Invocation". I would have thought that the translator had written these if he had not added the following footnote:

"The MSS.(manuscripts written in the original language) vary very considerably in these stanzas of invocation: many lines are generally prefixed in which not only the poet, but those who play the chief parts in the poem are panegyrized. It is self-apparent that they are not by the author of the Rámáyan himself."

But I have never read the Sanskrit version(I am not a Sanskrit scholar so I don't think I would have ever understood). I haven't even read other translated versions. So, I would be grateful if someone joined the discussion and solved my doubts.

Since I believe that no author praises himself, I think Griffith presents his findings during the translation. Even if Valmiki is the writer, the writing of the events of Rama's life are believed to be after 16 years(Is this TRUE?) of his enthronement(after returning from the forest) that too, when Narad Muni asks him to write the story in slokas invented by Valmiki. As Valmiki hears the complete story from Brahma( some say Brahma gave him yogic powers and through which he was able to see all the events as a seer which I believe is false), it is apparent that he associated the story with myth. What I believe is that Valmiki sang the Ramayan which he taught to Luv and Kusa and was later written by someone else.