1. See, for example, the folk texts in Kannada and Telugu described by Gopalakrishna Rao (1984:88, passim).

2. See Hatch 1934. The War Book is popular also in the shadow puppet play in Andhra Pradesh (C. R. Sarma 1973:44) and in the Chengam mural paintings in Tamil Nadu (Nagaswamy 1980:421).

3. Kampan 1926-71, 6, pt. 1:iv. He also comments on the extraordinary number and variety of interpolations in Kampan's War Book.

4. See Kampan 1926-71, 6, pt. 2:ix. These episodes are accepted by some editors as part of Kampan's original text.

5. The temple here is dedicated to Kannaki (not Bhagavati), the deified heroine of the Cilappatikaram , an epic composed by the brother of a Kerala king several centuries before Kampan; as in Kannaki temples in Tamil Nadu, the goddess here is imaged by a mirror and patronized by Chettiyars.

6. This privilege is called mata pulavar atimai , or "right of the [drama]-house puppeteer."

7. The Kanta Puranam is often thought to be a Tamil translation of the Sanskrit Skanda Purana , but is, in fact, a very different text (Shulman 1980:30-31). The influence of this Tamil text on Kampan's poem, which is acknowledged by the puppeteers, led the Dravidian movement leader E. V. Ramaswami Naicker to call the Rama story a "stolen story" (Periyar 1972b: 59-64).

8. Kampan verse, konakar (6.2.75).

9. Tay konralum tutan konrate

10. The puppeteers use curuti (Skt. sruti ) as a synonym for the "Veda," including the Upanishads; murtti they explicate as "meaning" ( porul ).

11. Tirtta or "holy bathing place," "ford."

12. Omitted here is a description of the monkey army at work, including a conversation between Jambuvan and Hanuman.

13. Kampan verse, kumutan (6.7.42). Notice that this important verse is the only one in the translations not converted to dialogue by the puppeteers; also see note 15 below.

14. The Kiskindha Kanda has been omitted in this list.

15. In its second recitation, the verse, although unaltered, becomes dialogue because it is spoken by Kampan himself.

16. Kampan's text is seldom printed with the Uttara Kanda, however; see the discussion in chapter 8.

17. In the Naka pacam episode (see chapter 7), Garuda rescues Rama and his army from Indrajit's snake( naka )-weapon.

18. The singer either forgot or simply omitted the third and fourth miracles.

19. Kampan verse, enniya (invocation, 12). I follow Kopalakirusnamacariyar's reading of this verse, which includes the fatuously disputed date of Kampan's composition. See note 20 below.

20. Saka Era, after the Shaka kings in northern India, began in 78 A.D. ; Saka 807 is thus 885 A.D. Most scholars consider this ninth-century date too early for the Kamparamayanam and, on largely literary. evidence, date the poem from the late twelfth century. See Kampan 1926-71, 1:xii-xiii; Zvelebil 1973b: 208.

21. Omitted here is a description of building the causeway, a long conversation between Rama and Vibhisana about Lanka, and a humorous scene in which Ravana's spies are caught by the monkeys and released by Rama.

22. I have been unable to trace the source of this quotation.

23. Here I have truncated the puppeteer's commentary, which runs on at length and without eloquence, concerning the nature of Siva.

24. This iconoclasm is not uncommon in south Indian Saivism.

25. Compare this explanation with Rama's terse answer in Kampan: ayarttilen; mutivu ate ("I have not forgotten: the result will be that [Ravana's death]").

26. I have omitted an argument between Angada and Ravana about the power of Rama.

27. This is one of numerous points where the lead puppeteer (speaking for Angada) was cut short by another puppeteer in order to keep the narrative on track.

28. Kampan verse, varanam (6.15.1).

29. Another version of this story is told in the Tiruvarancuram Talapuranam , a Tamil temple myth, in which the Brahmin form is assumed by Ganesa, who tricks Ravana out of his boon from Siva (in this case, a powerful lingam). The inverted bush also appears later in the same myth when Visnu deceives Ravana and wins back Parvati (Shulman 1980:323-26).

30. At this point, Natesan Pillai jumped up from his catnap and entered the conversation. His explication of this verse has no parallel in the printed commentaries.

31. A folk verse. The same dialogue between Rama's hands is recorded (with a minor difference—the right asks Rama if it's proper to kill Ravana, a Brahmin ) in an Oriya folk text (Misra 1983:75 ) and in Tulsidas (Philip Lutgendorf 1991, personal communication).

32. Twenty-four minutes ( nalikai ), one-sixtieth of a day, is a traditional unit of time in Tamil.

33. Here the puppeteer draws on his knowledge of Tamil Siddha medicine; see Zvelebil 1973b:224.

34. The Kampan verse, vanaku mannu (6. 15.11) compares Sita's eyes to a spear (vel).

35. Kampan verse, mulaiyamai (6.15.16). The puppeteers regularly gloss puvana munrum as "gods of the Three Worlds," whereas other commentators read it as "He [Siva] of the Three Worlds."

36. Foley 1991:6-7.

37. From the Sanskrit pramana (citation).

38. On the independent status of the Tamil Uttara Kanda, see Venkatarama Cettiyar 1986, 2:iii-v.

39. The story of Vedavati is found in the Sanskrit and Tamil Uttara Kanda, to which the puppeteers add Sita's birth from Vedavati's ashes in a vina played by Ravana; their version thus belongs to a cycle of folk stories that hint at a sexual relation between Sita and Ravana.

40. This is an example of what I have termed the "backward-building" tendency in traditional Indian literature (Blackburn 1989),

41. On Valmiki's curse of the bird hunter, which motivates his composition, see Shulman 1991b.

42. A more elaborate version of this story occurs in the Vinotaracamancari , Although that version follows the puppet play in nearly every detail, two major differences illustrate the theological shift from Vaisnava bhakti to folk religion, discussed in chapter 3. First, in the printed account Kampan is aided by Visnu, whereas the Goddess plays that role in the puppet play. Second, in the printed account it is again Visnu (carved on a stone pillar in the Srirangam temple) who confirms the authenticity. of Kampan's composition, whereas in the puppet play his poem is validated by a common woman's words.