Raja Rao’s confidence in Gandhian thought led him to idealize Mahatma Gandhi as a true saint.
In this
novel, Rao depicts Mahatma Gandhi as an emblem of divine power. Gandhi is presented as an
incarnation of Krishna who will assuage the distress of the Indians. Gandhi would kill the snake of
foreign rule as Krishna had killed the snake Kalia.
As an apologist to Gandhian ideology, Rao believes that “the future of the world is in Gandhism [4] .
Moorthy obtains spiritual power in his very first meeting with Gandhi, who primarily gives instruction to
him in his political ideology. Moorthy says: “There is in it something of the silent communion of the
ancient books” (52). He is spiritually influenced and states: “There is but one force in life and that is
truth, and there is but one God in life and that is the God of all” (52-53). In essence Moorthy explicates
his faith in Gandhism and acquires self-realization after catching a glimpse of the Mahatma. Inspired and
influenced by the ideology of Gandhi, Moorthy starts preaching Gandhian
philosophy of non-violence, love of mankind and abolition of untouchability. Moorthy sees
Seetharamu’s willing acceptance of the torture by the British Government and it strengthens his belief in
the Gandhian ontology of non-violence. The term non-violence indicates the extirpation of ill-will from
one’s heart, for it causes enmity and violence. When Ranga Gowda wants to teach a lesson to Puttayya
for unjustly drawing all the canalwater to his fields, Moorthy preaches him the Gandhian principle of
non-violence and love for the enemy. Once Ranga Gowda wishes to settle scores with Bade Khan, the
policeman appointed by the British Government to watch over the political activities of the freedom
fighters in Kanthapura, Moorthy dissuades him from indulging in any violence. Gandhi’s axiom of non-
violence presents an astonishing paradigm for the whole world as it is a “war without violence and
battle without hatred [5] . Moorthy holds the Gandhian view that “good ends can be achieved only by
good means [6] . Each individual observes the same abiding awareness underlying all jives, whether
friends or friends or foes, hates none. In this novel Jayaramachar articulates the ideology of Gandhi:
“Fight, says he, but harms so soul. Love all says he, Hindu, Mohammedan, Christian or Pariah, for all are
equal before God. Don’t be attached to riches, says he, for riches create passions, and passions create
attachment and attachment hides the face of the truth. Truth must you tell, he says, for Truth is God,
and verily, it is the only God I know” (22). Jayaramachar continues by saying that truth is God and,
therefore, the countrymen should speak the truth. It has the tone of Bhagavad Gita, which emphasises
truthfulness as a part of human behavior. Moorthy’s opinion that he is just “a pebble among the pebbles
of the river, and when the floods come, rock by rock may lay buried under” (100) implies that he is
without arrogance. Moorthy’s recitation of “Sivoham, Sivoham is vedantic in spirit. Rangamma inspires
the Satyagrahis to face the oppression of the police boldly and preaches that no one can hurt the
immortal soul: “No, sister, the sword can split asunder the body, but never the soul” (153). C.D.
Narasimhaiah observes that the novel delinates the dynamic power of a living religious convention. He
states that “religion seems to sustain the spirits of the people of Kanthapura.”7 The inhabitants of
Kanthapura willingly pledge to spin yarn, maintain non-violence (Ahinsa) and speak truth. When
Moorthy is arrested the villagers implore goddess Kenchamma to set him free: “The Goddess will never
fail us- she will free him from the clutches of the Redman” (134). The inhabitants of Kanthpura go to
Kenchamma Hill and invoke goddess Kenchamma to protect them from the savage assault of the British
Government. Men and women are assaulted and arrested by the police. Most of the male freedom
fighters are taken to prison but Moorthy is left out: “But Moorthy they would not take, and God left him
still with us” (200). A large number of freedom fighters from other corners of the country come and join
the movement in Kanthapura. The Satyagrahis, knowing that the soul is immortal and indestructible,
come and jump into the ocean of death sans fear. During his early years, Rao was influenced by the
ideology of Gandhi which is one of the most challenging ideologies of the 20th century.
Rao’s faith in Gandhian thought led him to idealize Gandhi as a true God. In Kanthapura Mahatma
Gandhi is depicted as an emblem of divine power as well as great reality. The theme of the novel,
“Gandhi and Our Village” has a mythical significance in that the past blends with the present. The ageold
faith of the villagers that gods walk by lighted streets of Kanthapura during the month of Kartik indicates
that the myth co-exists with the contemporary reality. As the gods pass by the potters’ street and the
weavers’ street, lights are lit to see them pass by. This reference affirms the peasants’’ perpetual faith in
gods- a faith which is shared by the author with his characters. Rao lays stress on the role of religion in
the struggle for independence. That is why religion and politics are interwoven in the novel. The
importance of independence is delineated in a religious metaphor. The political activity of the
inhabitants of Kanthapura gains power from their religious faith. Rao adroitly deals with the
conventional mythology which is interlaced with contemporary reality. The recurrent reference to myth
adds new dimensions to the struggle for freedom, for the “exaggeration of reality by myth is the
necessary way of achieving the eternity in space.”9 Thus, Raja Rao’s maiden novel Kanthapura presents
the Gandhian ideology of non-violence and the abolition of untouchability. The great importance given
to caste, the mythical presentation of Gandhi and mother India and the spiritualization of the freedom
movement within the parameters of Indian cultural convention imply the tremendous impact of
Gandhian ideology in Kanthapura
