Torave Ramayana narrates the story of Valmiki Ramayana in Kannada. It was written by Kumara Valmiki. Here is a look at the difference between Torave Ramayana and Valmiki Ramayana and some of the important characteristics of the Torave Ramayan.
Torave Ramayana contains 112 sandhis, numbering 5079 verses in the meter bhamini satpadi. It is a narrative poem with not many figures of speech.
The intention of the poet was to depict the greatness of Bhagavan Sri Rama. On account of this, the poet has avoided depicting the inner conflicts in the characters and ever their finer qualities.
All the characters in Torave Ramayana appear like puppets in the hands of Bhagavan Sri Ram. Hence the characters lack independence and independent existence.
Manthara is the representative of maya in Torave Ramayana. Her sole intention was to kill Ravana. So she instigates Kaikeyi to send Rama, Sita and Lakshmana into exile. This angle is not found in the Valmiki Ramayana.
In Valmiki Ramayana characters like Kumbhakarna, Atikaya and Indrajit are all demons and sworn enemies of Rama. But in Torave Ramayana all these characters appear as devotes of Rama. Even the chief adversary, Ravana, at the end appears as a devotee of Rama. Hatred is converted into devotion, and Ravana attains moksha or liberation.
The character of Atikaya is said a new creation of Kumara Valmiki. Here, Atikaya is a Vira Vaishnava, patriot and a devotee of Rama. For him, the battlefield looks like ‘swayamvara mandapa (marriage platform) of Muktisri (liberation). These deviations, perhaps, are due to the influence of Adhyatma Ramayana and Ananda Ramayana. To the poet, the incarnation of Sri Rama was meant for the purification of all lives.