Fw: The Right-thinking Rakshasa

December 7, 2003

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

The Right-thinking Rakshasa

RAkshasAs, as a race, are demoniacal. All one tends to

associate with them are cruelty, torture and all sorts of murder and

mayhem. They have always been a clan of marauders, with more brawn

than brain and making a profession out of opposing the divine

dispensation. They are always against the Lord and His devotees,

always on the look out for opportunities of causing harm to the

latter, in any and all ways. The very word “RAkshasa”

brings to our mind a RAvaNA, a HiranyAksha, a Hiranyakasipu and

others of their ilk. At the mere mention of the word, our

mind’s eye picturises a meaty hulk with bulging, blood-red

eyes, a tangled mane of hair falling over the shoulders, long and

sharp protruding teeth resembling those of a predator and a body

which is a veritable moving mountain of flesh, invariably dark in

complexion, with a terrifying and blood-curdling roar passing for a

voice. And, somewhat inexplicably, all the pictures of Rakshasas that

I have seen, either on TV or in films, were with stripes of VibhUti on

their foreheads.

It is easy to conclude from the aforesaid that

RakshasAs, without exception, were a gang of rogues and murderers,

who couldn’t bear the sight or thought of good things

happening. However, when we peruse the VAlmIki Ramayana, we find

several exceptions to the aforesaid stereotype picture that is

painted of a RAkshasa. We are told that there were several Rakshasas

in Lanka who were well-versed in the Vedas and were constantly

reciting the same-“SvAdhyAya niratAnschaiva yAtudhAnAn dadarsa

sa:”. The houses of some of these worthies were reverberating

with the sound of Mantras—“sushrAva japatAm tatra mantrAn

rakshO grihEshuvai”. Several were engaged in the performance of

YagyAs and were attired accordingly—“dIkshitAn jatilAn

mundAn gO anijAmbara vAsasa:” Sri Hanuman is also able to find

among the residents of Lanka, those with beauty of physique and

character—“nananda drishtvA sa cha tAn surUpAn nAnA guNAn

Atma guNAnuroopAn”. Their wives too impress the Vanara VIrA

so much with their good hearts that he describes them as

“mahAnubhAvA:”, “vishuddha bhAvA:” etc. They

are also extremely attached to righteous conduct, finds Sri

Maruti—“dharmaparA:”. Many of the inhabitants of

Lanka performed appropriate hOmAs during amAvAsya, PourNamAsya etc.

(like Darsam, PoorNamAsam etc.). These Rakshasas were profound

patrons of the arts and Lanka was filled with bewtitching music

emanating from various instruments as also from the sweet shAreerams

of their women.

Having said enough to establish that RAkshasAs were not entirely

beyond redemption and that there were indeed exceptions to the

general rule of their being bad, I should now do justice to the

caption of this piece by dwelling on a Right-thinking Rakshasa.

Readers would invariably except me to write here about the most

obvious specimen of decency and Dharma that was to be found in

Lanka—Sri VibhIshaNa. Indeed, it appears difficult to think of

anyone else as rooted firmly in righteousness as this brother of

Ravana, with his fearless espousal of the right path despite very

real threats to his life and limb and his bold decision to leave all

his earthly possessions, his princedom and all his loved ones, to

cross the seas and surrender at the Lord’s lotus

feet—“tyaktvA putrAmscha dArAmshca Raghavam sharaNam

gata:”.

However, I would not be obliging readers by doing the obvious and

writing about Vibhishana. The Hero of this piece is quite different.

Though it is difficult to picturise him as a right-thinking person,

he is indeed one, as Sri Valmiki demonstrates through his own words.

The amount of adulatory references to Sri Rama, emanating from this

Rakshasa, exceed the tributes paid by many of His admirers. Indeed,

this worthy uses so many imaginative similies to describe the Prince

of Ayodhya, that even the Lord’s regular devotees would have to

hang their heads in shame. The encomiums heaped upon the distinguished

son of Dasarata, emanating from this unusual source, make one wonder

as to whether he was indeed a Rakshasa, or born in the clan due to

some mix-up at BrahmA’s creative factory.

“RAmO vigrahavAn dharma: sAdhu: satya

parAkrama:”—Sri Rama is indeed righteousness personified

and is the best of people, with proven prowess. Whom do you think is

the author of these eloquent words of tribute to the Prince of

Ayodhya? None other than MArIchA, who is the centerpiece of this

article.

Enraged by the indignity meted out to sister ShoorpanakhA, Ravana

seeks the help of MarIchA for the abduction of Sri Mythili, to wreak

revenge on Sri Rama. The elder Rakshasa’s elaborate reply and

homilies to Ravana have been chronicled by Sri Valmiki in

considerable detail and each individual word of Maricha is worth its

weight in gold.

>From Maricha’s accounts, it would appear as though he is the

fittest person to tell us about Sri Raghava’s bravery, prowess

in war, tolerance and mercy, of all of which he (Maricha) has been

either a target or a beneficiary. In fact, the Prince of

Ayodhya’s very first encounter with enemies involves Maricha,

SubAhu and a host of others, when they arrive in force to create

hurdles to Visvamitra’s yagyA. Mistaking the Prince to be a

mere toddler playing with a bow and arrow, when Maricha attacks, all

that the Lord does is to let loose a single sharp arrow, which not

only renders the rakhsasa senseless, but the momentum of which also

carries him hundreds of miles afar, flinging him deep into the ocean.

Readers must appreciate the strategy behind the RamabANA’s

sparing this rakshasa, when all the others accompanying him are

annihilated. Keeping in mind the important role the rakshasa was to

play later on, Sri Rama spares him with a warning shot, so to say.

The Rakshasa has a second encounter with the Prince, when he runs into

Sri Rama, Lakshmana and Sri Mythily during their initial sojourn in

the DandakAraNya. Misled again by appearances and failing to

recognise in the deer-skin-clad Sri Rama the Prince at whose hands he

had almost met his nemesis, Maricha attacks again, in the form of a

deadly deer with lethal horns, intent on his habitual pursuit of

killing and consuming RishIs and dharmAtmAs. Again, the RAmabANa,

while putting paid to his equally blood-thirsty accomplices, spares

Maricha, with a sound thrashing.

Thankful to the Lord for having spared his life twice, Maricha turns

over a new leaf and leads a life of penance and renunciation,

adhering to the right path atleast towards the sunset of his

life—

“sharENa muktO Ramasya kathanchit prApya jIvitam

iha pravrAjtO yukta: tApasOham samAhita:”

It is at this juncture that Ravana seeks out Maricha, for abetting the

abduction of Mythili. And Maricha, trying hard to dissuade DasagrIva

from the foolhardy endeavour, uses the opportunity to sing the

praises of Sri Rama in delightful detail. He tells the ill-fated

Ravana that the one the latter was mistaking to be a puny mortal to

be easily triumphed over, was in fact a warrior of matchless

magnificence and peerless prowess. The similes employed by Maricha

are choice ones, portraying vividly the various and glorious aspects

of the Prince of Ayodhya.

“Rama is verily the Master of all these worlds, just as Indra is

for the dEvAs”, begins Maricha, recounting the fame of the

Prince of Ayodhya.

“He is verily the Furious Fire (“RAmAgni:”), having

unfailing arrows as its leaping tongues, fed by the magnificent bow

and sceptre, which form the fuel, and totally unappraochable to

opponents intent on attack.”

“ Sri Rama is indeed the God of Death personified, with a

terrifyingly gaping mouth represented by His splendorous bow

Kodandam, sharp and lethal arrows forming the deadly tongue, weilding

a sceptre that verily is a lasso capturing resisting victims and

spelling death with every action of His”.

Maricha uses several beautiful adjectives to describe Sri

Ramachandra’s glorius attributes, uttering each syllable with

apparent relish—“MahAveeryam, guNOnnatam, MahEndra

VaruNOpamam, DharmAtmA., Narasimha:, Padmapatra nibhEkshaNa:. SrImAn,

BAlachandra:, aklishta karmaNa:,” etc. If the complimentary

references made by Maricha are strung into a verse, they would indeed

form a fitting accolade to the illustrious son of Kousalya.

Maricha is also aware of the glory of SitA PirAtti and tells Ravana

that one who has Her at His side could never be won over, for His

glory would be immeasurable—“apramEyO hi tat tEjO yasya

sA JanakAtmajA”. She is like the blazing fire, unapproachable

by others—“deeptasyEva hutAsanasya Sita

sumadhyamA”. The rakshasa is aware too of the inseparability of

the Divine Duo, likening Piratti to the brilliance of the Sun, which

can never be separated from its possessor—“PrabhAm iva

Vivasvata:”.

Sri Rama is in Maricha’s constant contemplation and forms the

unvarying subject matter of his thoughts, both due to the terror

occasioned by the former’s deadly arrows, as well as the

pleasure it affords the Rakshasa to think about the splendorous

divine form with the matchless attributes. Like the seasoned

BrahmagnAni, he is able to see the Lord in everything that he sets

his eyes on—

“Rama bhootam idam sarvam araNym pratibhAti mE”. He sees

not one Rama, but thousands of Him, filling all directions, the earth

and the skies above—

“api Rama sahasrANi bheeta: pasyAmi Ravana!”.

He sees Sri Raghava in every tree and shrub of the forest he lives in—

“VrikshE vrikshE cha pasyAmi cheera krishNAjinAmbaram

girheeta dhanusham Ramam pAsa hastam ivAntakam”

Maricha is blessed to see the Lord not only while awake, but even in his sleep—

“Ramam Eva hi pasyAmi RakshasEsvara!

DrishtvA svapna gatam Ramam udbhavAmi vichEtana:”

So much obsessed is the rakshasa with Sri Rama that all words

beginning with “Ra” remind him only of the Prince of

Ayodhya—

“RakAra AdIni nAmAni Rama trastasya Ravana!

RatnAni cha rathAschaiva trAsam sanjanayanti mE”

What an exalted state, which every aspiring seeker would covet! To see

the Lord in anything and everything one sets sight on, to hear the

Lord’s sonorous and stentorian voice in all sounds that fall on

one’s ears, to have Him inhabit one’s thoughts constantly

and without intermission, in waking and in sleep, to have each and

every word in the lexicon remind one only of Emperuman, to know His

prowess in all its glory and to think, breathe, hear and do

everything with the Lord as constant companion!

If this is not what Brahma gnAnam is all about, what else could it be!

It is an entirely different story that all this constant contemplation

of the Lord was caused in Maricha by his mortal fear of

DAsarathi—irrespective of the causative factors, we must admit

that the rakshasa attained a state which would be extremely

difficult, if not impossible, for any devotee to even think of, leave

alone achieve.

There are two entities who claim to know the Lord’s glories in

all their immeasurable extent- the first is the VEda Purusha, who

claims with confidence to know the Lord for what He

is—“VEdAham Etam Purusham mahAntam” says the

Purusha Sukta. The other is Maharshi Visvamitra, who too employs

almost similar words to display his close acquaintance with and

knowledge of the Paramapurusha—“aham vEdmi mahAtmAnam

Ramam satya parAkramam”. And there is a third too, a totally

unlikely entity, none other than our Maricha, who says he knows Sri

Raghava in all His glory—“ aham tasya prabhAvagya: na

yuddham tEna tE kshamam”. All these three knowers stand on an

equal footing, in that they know not the true extent of the

Lord’s magnificence, but know it to be immeasurable and beyond

description.

The dialogue between Maricha and Ravana can rank very well with other

conversations of scriptural renown as those between Sri Bhishma and

Sri Yudhistthira (resulting in the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama stotram)

and the one the latter had with Sri Vidhura—for, all these

serve to bring out the many-faceted splendour of Emperuman and His

auspicious attributes.

Maricha’s monologue covers a lot of ground in social, political

and personal ethics and is a treat to the discerning reader. Maricha

prefaces his long sermon to Ravana with the remark that holds good

even today—that quite a lot of friends and relatives could be

found, who tell you only what you want to hear, what is pleasing to

your ears, irrespective of its being truthful or otherwise. On the

other hand, there is none to voice bitter truths or hard options, and

even if there were to be some such honest person, he would find no

takers or listeners—

“Bahava: purushA RAjan! Satatam priya vAdina:

apriyasya cha pathyasya vaktA shrOtA cha durlabha:”.

One might wonder—if Maricha was indeed a reformed rakshasa,

cured of all his bestial nature, why should he consent to assuming

the form of the golden deer and enable the abduction of Piratti by

Ravana? Does this not prove that one’s essential nature never

changes, whatever be the lessons life teaches one? Can a tiger ever

change its stripes? And so on.

The truth of the matter is that Maricha was able to discern the

inexorable hand of fate pulling him towards his end. He was aware too

that if he didn’t oblige Ravana, it would mean immediate death

at the hands of the cruel asurA. He knew too that to obey Ravana

would mean certain death at the hands of Sri Rama, who would

definitely not spare him for a third time. So Maricha found that his

fate was sealed, with death a sure end-product of whichever option he

chose. And he preferred to die at the hands of one whom he admired

most and whom he considered a “vigrahavAn Dharma:”. He

says as much to Ravana too—

“MAm nihatya tu Ramascha na chirAt tvAm vadhishyati

anEna krita krityOsmi mriyE yat ariNA hata:”

And when, as expected, Sri Rama’s arrow pierces his heart,

Maricha lets out a cry, “HA SItA! HA LakshmaNA!”.

Whatever be the motive behind these utterances, the Rakshasa has the

Piratti’s tirunAmam on his lips and that of mahA bhAgavata

Lakshmana, which must have ensured for him a place in the heavens

above, though Sri Valmiki is silent on this. If the parable of

ajAmiLa is any indication and it is true that he was taken to the

VishnulOka merely for calling out to his son Narayana (and not the

Paramapurusha Narayana) while on his death bed, it would appear that

the efficacy of Bhagavan nAma is such as to ensure emancipation,

irrespective of the intention behind its utterance—as such,

Maricha too should have attained the good worlds inhabited by

meritorious mortals.

This is not an eulogy to an unendearing asura, but a tribute to the

Lord who is able to enthrall and entice even hard-core offenders and

die-hard demons like Maricha. Inscrutable indeed are the ways of

Emperuman, in bringing habitual offenders to the path of

righteousness—He attracts some through His bewitching form,

some through His magnificent kalyANa guNAs, some others through His

prowess. In the case of Maricha, the Lord did it through the very

basic human emotion of fear, making the asura so terror-stricken as

to find the Lord anywhere and everywhere, to see Him in every object,

while awake as well as when asleep.

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan

December 8, 2003

Sri nikamantha maha desikaya namaha

Sri adi van satakopa yatheendra maha desikaya namaha

Respected sir,

please accept this adiyals pranams. your article on maricha was really

excellent. the quotations really adds to the beauty

regards,

supraja vasudevan iyengarsadagopaniyengar wrote:

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

The Right-thinking Rakshasa

RAkshasAs, as a race, are demoniacal. All one tends to

associate with them are cruelty, torture and all sorts of murder and

mayhem. They have always been a clan of marauders, with more brawn

than brain and making a profession out of opposing the divine

dispensation. They are always against the Lord and His devotees,

always on the look out for opportunities of causing harm to the

latter, in any and all ways. The very word “RAkshasa” brings to our

mind a RAvaNA, a HiranyAksha, a Hiranyakasipu and others of their

ilk. At the mere mention of the word, our mind’s eye picturises a

meaty hulk with bulging, blood-red eyes, a tangled

mane of hair falling over the shoulders, long and sharp protruding

teeth resembling those of a predator and a body which is a veritable

moving mountain of flesh, invariably dark in complexion, with a

terrifying and blood-curdling roar passing for a voice. And, somewhat

inexplicably, all the pictures of Rakshasas that I have seen, either

on TV or in films, were with stripes of VibhUti on their foreheads.

It is easy to conclude from the aforesaid that

RakshasAs, without exception, were a gang of rogues and murderers,

who couldn’t bear the sight or thought of good things happening.

However, when we peruse the VAlmIki Ramayana, we find several

exceptions to the aforesaid stereotype picture that is painted of a

RAkshasa. We are told that there were several Rakshasas in Lanka who

were well-versed in the Vedas and were constantly reciting the

same-“SvAdhyAya niratAnschaiva yAtudhAnAn dadarsa sa:”. The houses of

some of these worthies were reverberating with the sound of

Mantras—“sushrAva japatAm tatra mantrAn rakshO grihEshuvai”. Several

were engaged in the performance of YagyAs and were attired

accordingly—“dIkshitAn jatilAn mundAn gO anijAmbara vAsasa:” Sri

Hanuman is also able to find among the residents of Lanka, those with

beauty of physique and character—“nananda drishtvA sa cha tAn surUpAn

nAnA guNAn Atma guNAnuroopAn”. Their wives too impress the Vanara

VIrA so much with their good hearts that he describes them as

“mahAnubhAvA:”, “vishuddha bhAvA:” etc. They are also extremely

attached to righteous conduct, finds Sri Maruti—“dharmaparA:”. Many

of the inhabitants of Lanka performed appropriate hOmAs during

amAvAsya, PourNamAsya etc. (like Darsam, PoorNamAsam etc.). These

Rakshasas were profound patrons of the arts and Lanka was filled with

bewtitching music emanating from various instruments as also from the

sweet shAreerams of their women.

Having said enough to establish that RAkshasAs were not entirely

beyond redemption and that there were indeed exceptions to the

general rule of their being bad, I should now do justice to the

caption of this piece by dwelling on a Right-thinking Rakshasa.

Readers would invariably except me to write here about the most

obvious specimen of decency and Dharma that was to be found in

Lanka—Sri VibhIshaNa. Indeed, it appears difficult to think of anyone

else as rooted firmly in righteousness as this brother of Ravana, with

his fearless espousal of the right path despite very real threats to

his life and limb and his bold decision to leave all his earthly

possessions, his princedom and all his loved ones, to cross the seas

and surrender at the Lord’s lotus feet—“tyaktvA putrAmscha dArAmshca

Raghavam

sharaNam gata:”.

However, I would not be obliging readers by doing the obvious and

writing about Vibhishana. The Hero of this piece is quite different.

Though it is difficult to picturise him as a right-thinking person,

he is indeed one, as Sri Valmiki demonstrates through his own words.

The amount of adulatory references to Sri Rama, emanating from this

Rakshasa, exceed the tributes paid by many of His admirers. Indeed,

this worthy uses so many imaginative similies to describe the Prince

of Ayodhya, that even the Lord’s regular devotees would have to hang

their heads in shame. The encomiums heaped upon the distinguished son

of Dasarata, emanating from this unusual source, make one wonder as to

whether he was indeed a Rakshasa, or born in the clan due to some

mix-up at BrahmA’s creative factory.

“RAmO vigrahavAn dharma: sAdhu: satya parAkrama:”—Sri Rama is indeed

righteousness personified and is the best of people, with proven

prowess. Whom do you think is the author of these eloquent words of

tribute to the Prince of Ayodhya? None other than MArIchA, who is the

centerpiece of this article.

Enraged by the indignity meted out to sister ShoorpanakhA, Ravana

seeks the help of MarIchA for the abduction of Sri Mythili, to wreak

revenge on Sri Rama. The elder Rakshasa’s elaborate reply and

homilies to Ravana have been chronicled by Sri Valmiki in

considerable detail and each individual word of Maricha is worth its

weight in gold.

>From Maricha’s accounts, it would appear as though he is the fittest

person to tell us about Sri Raghava’s bravery, prowess in war,

tolerance and mercy, of all of which he (Maricha) has been either a

target or a beneficiary. In fact, the Prince of Ayodhya’s very first

encounter with enemies involves Maricha, SubAhu and a host of others,

when they arrive in force to create hurdles to Visvamitra’s yagyA.

Mistaking the Prince to be a mere toddler playing with a bow and

arrow, when Maricha attacks, all that the Lord does is to let loose a

single sharp arrow, which not only renders the rakhsasa senseless, but

the momentum of which also carries him hundreds of miles afar,

flinging him deep into the ocean. Readers must appreciate the

strategy behind the

RamabANA’s sparing this rakshasa, when all the others accompanying him

are annihilated. Keeping in mind the important role the rakshasa was

to play later on, Sri Rama spares him with a warning shot, so to say.