Carry off Sita by force and Rama is sure to die deprived of his beloved Sita. Surupnakha spoke harshly to his brother in order to rouse his anger and added, "Yes, Sita is peerless in beauty and personal charms. She is perfect match for you. Carry her off by fierce and make her your queen.
Kill both the princes and be the proud possessor of that large-eyed beauty. Ravana pondered over for a moment and then took a decision, and ordered for his chariot. Having decided to carry off Sita, he drove towards the sea and the aerial car rumbled along amidst the clouds. It was a wonderful chariot that moved at would on the ground, in the air and on the water with equal grace and ease.
Soon Ravana was on the farther shore of the sea before a hermitage. Here lived maricha, the same son of Tataka who had been hurled away here by Rama's never failing arrow. He had decided to lead a life of a hermit. Maricha received and entertained Ravana with good food and drinks and then asked, "O king Lanka, what makes you hasten her. You know how Rama, a mere man, has killed my brave brothers Khara and Dushana. It is an utter disgrace to my race and me.
Besides he has disfigured my sister. I must revenge this dishonor but merely killing Rama is not sufficient. I must carry off forcibly her so beautiful wife, and in this only you can help me you are a master of all kinds of stratagems.
Disguise yourself as a golden deer to entice Sita. She will ask Rama and Lakshmana to catch you. And in their absence I shall carry her off to Lanka. On hearing these words, Maricha grew pale and trembled with fear and advised Ravana to desist from this stratagem, but Ravana remained adamant and said, "None of your advice, do what I say.
Rama is away chasing you cry in Rama's voice, "Alas Sita, O Lakshmana; Hearing that Lakshmana too will follow and then I will have no difficulty in stealing Sita by force. Maricha had to obey. He knew his end was near. He thought it better ti die at pious Rama's hand than those of wicked Ravana's. They went together Panchavati in the chariot.
Reaching there, Maricha changed himself into a wonderful golden deer with marvelous diamond spots. Sita saw it and at once was possessed with intense desire to have it.
She called Rama and expressed her desire. Rama readily got up to go after the magic deer. Lakshmana too saw it and cautioned Rama, "Please brother, don't run after it. It is not real. It is sheer witchcraft. And Rama had to go to get it. Those wonder animal captivated even Rama's heart.
Ordering Lakshmana to keep guard over Sita, Rama ran after the deer with the bow in hand. The magic deer played hide and seek with Rama and drew him away into the forest. Unable to catch him Rama decided to kill him. He let fly a shinning arrow, which went straight piercing the animal. The deer jumped high in the air and fell down dead on the ground.
Maricha's cry made Rama shudder with fear and he hastened towards Panchavati. When Sita heard that distress call of Rama for help. Weeping woebegone and she again and again pleaded to Lakshmana to go to find out what had happened to Rama. Lakshmana tried his best to calm and console Sita but all in vain. Sita got angry and said harsh words to Lakshmana. Hence, Lakshmana had to leave reluctantly. He left looking back again and again anxiously. In the meantime, the wicked Ravana approached Sita in the guise of an anchorite and called for alms.
Sita came out and welcomes the poi hermit and offered him fruits, roots and water to wash his feet. Ravana engaged her into a pleasant conversation asking her many questions about which she was where they come from etc.? When Sita asked Ravana about his name, family etc, and as to why he was there alone in the forest, he revealed his real identity and said, "I an Ravana, the king of Lanka.
Be my chief queen and rule over me and my kingdom. Highly at these words of Sita shot back, "How dare you talk like this to me the devout wife of Rama, the example of human excellence. I follow the man-lion Rama like his shadow. If you dare to lay your foul hands on me, you will not escape Rama's fatal arrows. Incensed at these words of Sita, Ravana if immense strength and fame resolved to carry her off and grew to a huge size.
Without any further fuss, snatching her up, placed her into his wonderful chariot and drove towards Lanka through the clouds. Being carried off forcibly along the sky, Sita wept and cried out piteously, "O Rama, where are you? Ah Lakshmana, why did I sent you away. O trees and plants of the forest, O you gods tell Rama that Ravana carried off Sita.
Jatayu, the old volture king and a friend of Dashratha when heard these pitiful cries of Sita, swooped down from his perch where he was dozing. Challenging Ravana he said, "O sinful Ravana, relinquish Sita instantly. You cannot carry her off before me like this. Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community.
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Thank You for sharing! Your friend will receive the article link on email mentioned. As per the scripture, Ramayana, thousands of years ago, Prince Rama of Ayodhya, his wife Sita and brother Lakshman trekked from Chitrakoot region to the massive Dandakaranya forest in India during the Visual Stories Right arrow. Travel Beautiful getaways in South India that you can visit in December.
Lanka was somewhere in the Deccan or on the east-central part of India. During his years in this forest, Rama visited a number of ashramas , the most prominent of them being that of sage Agastya from whom Rama received 3 powerful weapons. This Agastya muni sage is the same person who spread Brahminical Hinduism in southern India region south of the Vindhyas.
The famed Sabari , a woman belonging to the Bhil tribe of aborigines, lived here in the hermitage of Matanga rishi. Ramachandra met her who received him with great devotion. Ramayana describes Dandakaranya to be home to many deadly creatures like ghouls, goblins, demons, pishachas. Dandakaranya was the abode of a demon rakshasa by the name Dandaka. Many exiled persons lived here and sages had to cross the forest to reach the Vindhya mountains.
Thus Dandaka means 6 things: name of a person, name of a kingdom, name of a demon, inhabitants of Dandakaranya, name of a plant and punishment. According to me, for many years during Treta yuga, the word meant all the six things. One can conclude from all these that Dandakaranya was both a cursed as well as a holy forest.
The incident related above shows that Danda was not only a libertine of the highest class, but was completely devoid of the power of discrimination viveka shakti. He led a voluptuous life through and through from a very young age and continued with that life-style even after he was made king of a new kingdom. In Atharva-Veda, Danda , with the word vaitasa, means the penis.
Unbridled licentiousness was in his DNA. The crime he committed was not a sin; it was a monumental sin maha-pataka because the crime-scene was the holy place of a hermitage which belonged to his illustrious family guru kulaguru Shukracharya. Danda was a first quality murkha or a maha-murkha great idiot. The story conveys to us that adharma unrighteous living has already set in, though in a small way since Krita yuga had ended and Treta yuga had commenced. That is why the good king Ikshvaku neither awarded a death punishment on Danda nor exiled him to a forest.
He merely segregated Danda from himself, his kingdom, and others. The example of Danda is an aberration, not one of common occurrence since it was the age of Treta when the level of righteousness Dharma was high. Things are very much different now-a-days and that is the reason the present time is called the age of Kali.
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