ramayana of valmiki and kamban-12-Ravana returns to asrama of Mareecha

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12. Ravana returns to the asrama of Mareecha

 

Ravana went to his vehicle garage in secrecy and set out to the asrama of Mareecha again. Valmiki says that he deliberated on the proper way to act, thinking about what happened. He has heard the valour of Rama from Surpanakha and Akambana and would not risk advancing against him. So he decided to go stealthily because his intention was only to get Seetha and not to fight with Rama.

 

Valmiki describes the route he took to reach the asrama of Mareecha in detail and alludes to the story of Garuda and Valakilyas. Once there were a tortoise and an elephant fighting with each other and Garuda took them both with his claws and settled on a branch of a banyan tree. Under the branch, the sages known as Valakilyas, who were thumb-sized and the manasaputhras of Brahma were doing penance upside down with other sages. When Garuda sat down on the branch with the elephant and the tortoise the branch started to break and to save the sages Garuda was holding the branch with his claws and started to eat the animals. After the sages have left the branch, Garuda let it fall on a region of some wicked tribals and destroyed them. Ravana saw the tree on his way.

 

Ravana reached the asrama of Mareecha who asked him the reason for his return. Then Ravana outlined his scheme that Mareecha should take the form of a golden deer and should roam around the place where Seetha was living. Seeing him Seetha would asrama and Lakshmana to get him. Then Ravana would enter the hermitage when Seeths would be alone and abduct her.

 

Mareecha was pained to see that Ravana was again tempted by evil desire. He trembled with fear on hearing the plan of Ravana and felt as though he was already lifeless. He started to advise Ravana a second time to turn him away from the terrible deed. The following is famous sloka in Valmiki Ramayana,

 

sulabhaah purushaa raajan sathatham priyavaadhinaH

apriyasya cha paThyasya vakthaa Srothaa cha dhurlabhaH

 

"It is easy , oh king, to get men who are always saying what pleases you but it is rare to get one who talks about what is good but not pleasant and rare too is the one who listens."

 

Mareecha spoke thus and the same sloka is repeated by Valmiki in Yuddhakanda as the words of Vibeeshana who tries to persuade Ravana to return Seetha to Rama in order to prevent the destruction of the rakshasa race.

Mareecha says `aprameyam hi thath thejaH yasya saa janakaathmajaa,' The glory of him, with whom is the daughter of Janaka, is immeasurable. What Valmiki implies here is that the Lord whose incarnation was Rama, becomes redoubled in glory when He is accompanied with Lakshmi. Mareecha refers to Rama again as Narasimha, perhaps to remind Ravana of the fate of Hiranya Kasipu, who he himself was in his last birth, and to warn him that all his boons would be of no avail as it was in the case of Hirnayakasipu.

 

Mareecha told Ravana about the prowess of Rama even while he was young and related the incident when he confronted Rama a second time. Mareecha was roaming in Dandakaranya taking the form of a deer .and killing the sages when he saw Rama with Seetha and Lakshmana and tried to attack him, angered by the memory of his previous experience. Rama flung three arrows at him and he had to flee to escape from them which were like thunderbolt. He escaped death , he said, because the arrows of Rama do not pursue those who run away from them. Since then he was living in utter fear from Rama and whenever he heard any word beginning with the letter `ra' he shuddered thinking that Rama has come. Then Mareecha advised Ravana to give up the idea of abducting Seetha , which was a heinous sin, because he would destroy himself and all the rakshasas by antagonizing Rama.

 

But Ravana did not heed his words like a man wishing to die who would not take medicine , `na prathijagraaha marthukaamaH iva oushaDham.' Ravana said that he did not come for advice but only for help and got angry with Mareecha who, he said, was arrogant and impertinent to advise him. He further said that if Mareecha did not agree do what he wanted he would kill him at that moment. Ravana gave a detailed instructions to Mareecha as to how he should appear and how he should behave.

 

Mareecha then told Ravana that his end was near and he would prefer getting killed by Rama rather than dying by the hands of a sinner like Ravana. He said that Ravana could be sure that the moment Rama sees him Mareecha would be dead and so would be Ravana, soon after that. So saying Mareecha went towards the hermitage of Rama in Panchavati changing himself into a golden deer with silver spots.