Storytelling Week 2: Rama and the Cursed

A report on Rama and Lakshmana’s activities:

As Vishvamitra was walking with Rama and Lakshmana, he began to tell them the story of Thataka and her sons, Mareecha and Subahu.  Vishvamitra spoke of how Thataka was a pure, courageous demigod.  Then he spoke of how Mareecha and Subahu were full of mischief and how they had gone around and in their pride and ignorance had reaped destruction upon the landscape.  After that he spoke of how Thataka’s husband, Sunda, saw what Mareecha and Subahu had done and saw that it was desirous and went into the forest where they lived and pulled up the father trees and killed the wildlife and how Subahu had incited the ancient and great sage Agasthya to great rage over the destruction of the forest.  Vishvamitra then said of how at that moment Sunda was struck down by Agasthya for his deeds.  Then Vishvamitra angrily spoke of how Thataka, Mareecha, and Subahu had gone into the forest to seek and bring to justice the killer of Thataka’s husband and Mareecha and Subahu’s father and when they had located Agasthya, Agasthya without second thought sentenced Thataka, Mareecha, and Subahu to become asura.  He then whispered of how Thataka, who was free from any wrongdoings and had merely gone out to seek justice, was now wandering about devouring sages for her being wrongly judged.  Rama then spoke of how he would free Thataka.  When suddenly Thataka appeared in their midst and began to attack them.  Thataka threw her trident at Rama, which he then deflected and destroyed with an arrow from his bow.  Then Rama quickly strung a spirit arrow (arrow that had been cleansed at a shrine on the Ganges River) and shot true and pierced the heart of Thataka.  The instant Thataka was pierced by the spirit arrow, cracks began to appear all over Thataka’s form with light bursting forth, and a beautiful voice emanated from Thataka thanking Rama for freeing her from the curse.  Then she burst and the light flew to Rama and was absorbed into him.  Vishvamitra then asked Rama what had Thataka done and Rama replied that Thataka as thanks had attached her spirit to him and now her strength was now his strength and she would protect him and guide him in the future.  Vishvamitra, Rama, and Lakshmana then journeyed and arrived at the site for the yagna and as the ritual was being performed, a host of asura appeared.  Rama using Thataka’s strength shielded the ritual from the asura.  Among the asura slain were the sons of Thataka, Mareecha, and Subahu.  Then after the ritual Vishvamitra spoke to Rama and told him that he had a difficult life in front of him and then they journeyed to a secluded region of the forest and Vishvamitra taught Rama and Lakshmana all the arts of warfare.  Shortly thereafter, a host of gods appeared and all the gods of warfare went and blessed Rama and pledged their service to Rama.  So ends my report.

Seshenona Arben – Captain of the Dragoon Shadow Guard

Long Live King Dasharatha!

Rama shooting Thataka (Source: wikimedia)

Author's Note:

This is based of Thataka's story in The Ramayana By R. K. Narayan.  I tried to create a story of that was viewed from a distance and at the same time invoke emotion using the situation of Thataka.  The reason that I tried to create a story viewed from a distance was that it limits the emotions generated by the individual characters, which causes, I believe, the reader to have to draw the emotion from the actual events and their own self.  I came up with the situation with Thataka with a variation of a scene from Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari.  In the original scene an elf who was bound to a magical ring and due to circumstances her lover had to leave her and she cursed her fellow elves and her fate being bound to the ring and left her home.  Then she was given a fake magical ring with a promise to heal her heart by a demon king and was forced into his service. Then she was defeated by the hero in the story which freed her from the fake ring.  So in this instance of the story instead of a ring it was a curse.  In the original story however, Thataka is an raging monster that for all intents and purposes deserves her punishment.   Then she is killed by Rama. 

Bibliography:

         "The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic" by R.K. Narayan, 1973.