Konkani at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese was developed enough to give us Ramayana and Mahabarata. These were suitable adapted from its original epics by its writers, Kurusnadas Shama (Kelosikar) and his Companions of Quelossim. It is reported that these great epics were transcribed into Roman script by the missionaries while the local pandits read them out to them from the manuscripts that they had in their procession. The script of those manuscripts is still not known. It is suggested that the script is Kandvi as the contemporary gnavkaria records were in the same script and Konkani was written in that script at that time. Missionaries may have learnt the script but since print technology needed Roman alphabets, they were transcribed in Roman script. The story of Rama has Goan elements and both Rama and Ravana are regarded as heroes. The epic gives great importance to Lav and Kush, the sons of Rama and Sita and also narrates a episode that tells us how the child Rama was kidnapped into Goa by diabolic diatyas and was brought to meet the ganvkars of Utorda and Majorda villages. It is said that the son of Ravana Indorjit tries to kidnap young Rama to Sri Lanka through Mormugao but is saved in time by his teacher Vashistha and taken back home to Ayodhya .
The following text demonstrates the versatility of Konkani of the text of Ramayana ( taken from the work of Prof. Olivin Gomes) :
Treta-iugim eklo jiv (monux’eo) hozar vorsam aiux’eo (aukh’eo) bhogi . Te iugim sot’eo bolot, lot tik bolnanti. Oixi tea iugachi mhoima. Te iugim somest rai prithvi-vori doit’eo danov mha oturbolli raj’eo korum lagle. Punn tea iugantu dhormu boro udhonddu cholta. Poti-vrota ostrieo apulea daduleachi seva udhonddi koritati; putr bapachi seva koritati; maie-bapa veglle anniek somorthu na. Tea lokachem mon dhorma-vori, sot’eo bolnnem, mha porakromi. Eku magto onathu zori magunk ailo tori apulem xorir mukh’eo taka diti. Apuli proja pallunu prithviche rai nitin bhanddar bhoriti. Hea iugantu bhikari na, vrodh’du mhataroi na. Oixem tem maha-iug somorthu. Konnachem konnak voir na. Pormexpora vanchunu anni eka konnachi bhojona na. Oixem tea iugantu astam somest dev vanarachea vekhan upzum lagle.
The two manuscripts in the Roman script of both Ramayana and Mahabharata were found in Braga Portugal in the University Minho Library. In the case of the Mahabharata, the title does not appear at the beginning but is referred to as Bharata at several places. It has ten parvas and each parvas has a title. Each parva has two or more stories ( Kathas) which are more like chapters. All together the Konkani Bharata has sixty-nine stories. Besides, there is another manuscript at Braga. It has Marathi poetry in Roman script. Pissurlekar had examined the codices/manuscripts of Ramayana an Mahabharata as early as 1954 and he narrates part of their contentment in the Boletim do Instituto Vasco da Gama. In 1985 , Fr. Antonio Pereira brought photo copies of all the three manuscripts to Goa. It is said that they are found at the Xavier Center of Historical Research (XCHR), Goa. A copy of the same is said to be in the library of Thomas Stephens Konkani Kendr, Goa . Prof. Olivinho Gomes have put the pre-sixteenth century Konkani Ramayana in 1996 in Devnagri script and was published by the university of Goa. The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata was reconstructed in modern Konkani in Roman script by prof. Lourdino Rodrigues in 1989 and was transcribed in the Devnagri script by Fr. Pratap Naik in 1990.
Its prose is free flowing . Here is an example :
Bhismu montream-prodhanam uloilo: ‘Amchea bapak ostrie-vinn jivak such na. Mha-chintakrantu. Tori atam tonv’eki kon’eaturtachi zoddin’ mhonnonu apulea raj’eantlo ghodde-hasti-roth-paimdoll choturong sohin’ea sohit bhair poddlo. Itukea marga vorio vetam, eka somudrache tirim sugondh porimoll ievum laglo. Tea porimollachea lobdanu rav vo somest sohinem vedle. Tonv raian prodhana paxim vicharilem: ‘Kosturi chodona sariko porimollu zo ieta to khoincho?’ Tem utor aikun prodhanan apulea sevokank nirop dilo: Konni koddem konn devosthan asa, khoim borov sugondh puspancho tthav asa? Tori tumi tthaim ghalunu vegim iea.’ Tem utor aikunu sevok dhanvot gele te somudra tirim sodum lagle. Soditam soditam tea somudrachea tira vori eku navaddu mhonnchem tirim tari utortalo – tachi ti kon’ea mha sorupi, sundori, tea sevokam-ni dekhili. Tiche angicho sugondh porimoll. Tea porimollachea lobdak bhonvranchem ronn zunnunkaru ontrokhieo zata…. ( Taken from the work of Prof. Olivinho Gomes)
Indeed, the fact that Konkani could have its versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata tells us that Konkani had highly developed to put these epics in the literary forms that they deserve. Besides, we have to appreciate the work of the Jesuit missionaries who transcribed the same and kept them for the future. The coming of the printing press to Goa in the 16th century gave a great boost to the production of Konkani literature. The early fathers of our Konkani literature were the missionaries who worked hard to study and write in Konkani. Studying and teaching Konkani was set up in around 1565 in the city of Goa, about 1576 in the fort of Rachol, in 1565 on the island of Chorao and thereafter in Mapusa-Bardez-Goa. By 1590s Konkani flourished in the Franciscan College in Reis-Mangos. The service to Konkani by the foreign missionaries cannot be set aside. Although there is no dearth of people who claim that a large amount of Konkani literature was destroyed by the Portuguese upon their arrival. Mathew Almeida S. J Konkani scholar says that this fanciful claim has been repeated after Cunha Rivara (1857) but without convincing substantiation. The fact that we have transcribed copies of Ramayana and Mahabharata is an indication that this thesis is erroneous. More recent discovery of Krishnadas Shama’s two manuscript in Marathi by V. B Prabudesai as well as an instance of manuscript in Marathi belonging to the 17th century being used by Priolkar (1968) to edit Sivdarpana of Shrimagesh Kavi shows that it is not entirely true to hold Portuguese and claim victimhood for the loss of Konkani literature. We can find 16th and 17th century land records all written in Marathi but in Kandvi or Halakannada script. The entire Goa was not under the Portuguese and therefore, one may ask: how can we explain the absence of Konkani writers and their work in those areas that gradually came under the Portuguese? Hence, it appears to be a political opportunism to simply construct victimhood by blaming Portuguese for destruction of Konkani literature. It is fair to give credit to where it deserves. In fact, it is reported by Prof. Olivinho Gomes that Fr. Thomas Stevens that drafted nagri characters and sent them to Portugal for their types to cast in the foundry there. But the authorities there did not oblige. There is no mention of this request in later documents. It is clear that the Jesuit and the Franciscans who were familiar with Marathi literature new about nagri characters. Konkani at time is said to be written in Kandvi script and even some Marathi was in Kandvi script. This is inferred from the official records of ganvkarias of that time. This does not mean the Portuguese rulers supported Konkani. They did severely persecuted Konkani but this came subsequently.
