Summary
The next part of the book picks up with the Brahmins returning to the temple again. They talk about how Garuda's son went and joined the army, sharing their belief that Naranappa convinced him to do it. They continue to talk about their son, remembering the turmoil that his decision resulted in. Praneshacharya speaks to Garuda. Garuda asks if the sacred texts have given him an answer about how to handle Naranappa's death. Garuda desperately attempts to sway Praneshacharya's decision, much to the latter's disgust.
Garuda continues to try and influence Praneshacharya against Naranappa. Praneshacharya becomes increasingly irritated by Garuda and finally tells him to just say what is on his mind. Garuda reiterates his distress over his son's military service. Lakshmana arrives at the temple. The narrative then focuses on Lakshmana's wife, Anasuya. She thinks about how much she dislikes Garuda and how her daughter's marriage to a young orphan named Shripati has brought her great unhappiness, as he frequently gallivants about town with local theater troupes. She blames Naranappa for encouraging his immoral behavior.
Garuda notices that Lakshmana is standing next to him and begins to think about how much he hates him. He thinks of him as incredibly greedy and penny-pinching. He looks at Lakshmana with contempt and has unflattering thoughts about his appearance. Lakshmana argues in favor of performing Naranappa's death rites, despite his bad reputation in the village. Praneshacharya says that it is not so simple, as there is also the matter of who will perform the rites. Privately, he worries about how to deal with Naranappa's gold.
Dasacharya, another Brahmin, asks Praneshacharya if there might be special allowances made so that people can eat while he weighs his decision. Praneshacharya says he will continue to think on all of these matters and tells everyone to return home. Praneshacharya also goes home. He takes care of his wife before bed and then dutifully returns to his studies.
The next section focuses on Shripati. The narrator describes his viewing of a play the previous evening. Shripati reflects on some of Praneshacharya's comments about the sacred texts of their religion. He then heads out into the night to meet up with Belli, a lower-caste woman with whom he is having an affair. He tries to have sex with her but she is preoccupied as she tells him about the terrible living conditions of her family. Irritated by her complaints, Shripati leaves and then goes to see Naranappa's decaying body at the temple.
Chandri sees Shripati leaving the temple and reflects on her last days with Naranappa. She remarks that in his final hours, Naranappa began to talk rather strangely, crying out the names of various holy spirits. She worries about him receiving death rites and getting a proper funeral. She eats plantains as she thinks and eventually falls asleep. Meanwhile, Praneshacharya completes his readings and thinks about his attempts to reform Naranappa before he died. He continues to struggle with the question of whether or not Narnappa deserves these rites and what determines whether someone is a Brahmin at their core.
He leaves the temple and encounters Chandri. He tells her to keep her jewels, as Naranappa is now dead but she has her life to live. The following day, Belli is greatly disturbed by rats in her home. Then, the Brahmins return to the temple to speak with Praneshacharya. Praneshacharya informs them that their children can eat while the body remains uncremated. He sits in the garden of the temple and waits for the gods to deliver him an answer to this dilemma. Nearby, Chandri sits with fresh plantains and thinks of how her relationship with Naranappa yielded nothing.
Analysis
Community is a major theme in these pages, as the novel lays bare all of the conflicts within the village. Garuda and Lakshmana have an intense dislike of one another and constantly vie for Praneshacharya's attention, as they seek to push their claims for Naranappa's gold forward. The novel uses their fraught relationship as an indicator of the lack of harmony within the village. While the Brahmins are supposed to make decisions in a unified way, they fall into bickering almost instantly. The immediate conflict that arises surrounding the tending of Naranappa's body shows how the village community exists only on the surface, as petty resentment lingers over trivial matters. Garuda and Lakshmana are prime examples of this discord, as their conflict is centered almost entirely around the distribution of money and personal slights. While seemingly small, these issues are enough to fuel bitter resentment that nearly boils over into a shouting match.
Desire is another theme in this part of the book. In these sections, the reader learns of Shripati's extramarital relationship with Belli and gets some additional context about Naranappa's relationship with Chandri. Shripati is extremely attracted to Belli, who is described as being very beautiful, but he shows no concern for her health or safety. He visits her at night, hoping to sleep with her. When she begins to complain about the rat infestation in her family's small home, he becomes annoyed and leaves. Similarly, Naranappa desired Chandri physically and she often ended up tending to him when he became very drunk or ill. In both cases, these relationships bring happiness only to the men, as it satisfies their desires. But both women are left with the scorn of the community and a man who doesn't care about them. The novel seems to frame the danger of desire as not being about the corruption of a Brahmin, but the harm done to lower-caste women who are saddled with an affair that brings them nothing.
Faith is also an important theme in this part of the novel. Praneshacharya searches tirelessly for an answer to the question of Naranappa's funeral rites. He rereads all of his books from cover to cover, as he seeks out the right way to bring a close to this quagmire. However, in the process, he becomes increasingly discouraged. He reflects on Naranappa's nasty words to him about Brahmanism. He also takes note of the many petty interests that are dominating the conversation around the funeral rites. He becomes discouraged because he feels that the values he tries to uphold are showing such clear signs of decay. Furthermore, his inability to resolve the question of the funeral rites troubles him more and more, eventually pushing him to question the value of the social order he is maintaining if these are the sort of people—spiteful Brahmins—who benefit from it.
Greed is a prominent theme here as well. Chandri is unique in that she is one of the only characters not motivated by greed. Despite Naranappa's poor treatment of her, she expressly wants him to receive proper funeral rites. She offers up her gold without a second thought. Unlike almost all of the Brahmins, she is concerned with what is right, not what benefits her. Her display of generosity is not only unique, but completely striking, as she stands alone against a backdrop of people pursuing their selfish aims. For this reason, Praneshacharya ultimately tells her to keep her jewelry, as she has to take care of herself. Unbeknownst to Chandri, her generosity troubles Praneshacharya, as he has to reckon with the fact that she continues to protect someone who showed no care for her while people hate her for "corrupting" someone they already hated. Her lack of greed highlights how damaged their society already is, as she inhabits its lowest class but displays the greatest sense of civic duty and human sympathy.
This part of the book delves deeper into the moral decay of the village. Ananthamurthy highlights the petty squabbles and harmful affairs that take place beneath the surface to show the various characters' hypocrisies. While Naranappa is initially framed as the greatest wrongdoer in the village, it quickly becomes apparent that his behavior was merely symptomatic of larger, systemic issues. Praneshacharya and Chandri are portrayed as lonely figures who can really only rely on one another, as they are surrounded by people who care only about the improvement of their own social and financial situations.
