Maricha Sets Rama's Deeds before Ravana Like Unanswerable Thunder
Aranya Kanda, Doha 25
Doha 25 · Movement 2 of 2
Keep this contemplation
Preserve, print, or share
Maricha does not argue with abstractions. He places Rama's deeds one after another before the lord of Lanka. This is the archer who killed Tadaka. This is the protector who slew Subahu. Each name carries the weight of a terror removed from the sages' path.
He names the bow of Shiva, broken in Janaka's court by the same hand. Then he brings the account nearer: Khara has fallen, Dushana has fallen, and Trishira has fallen. Ravana already knows the strength of those commanders. Their destruction cannot be hidden beneath contempt for a wandering exile.
The question at last becomes unavoidable. Can the being who has performed all these deeds truly be a mere human? What mortal warrior could hold such immeasurable power? The ocean sounds beyond Maricha's dwelling while the record of Rama's victories stands between command and obedience, asking Ravana to recognize the one he means to provoke.
Five fallen powers and Shiva's broken bow ask the question Ravana refuses to hear.
Read the passage from the Manas
जेहिं ताड़का सुबाहु हति खंडेउ हर कोदंड।। खर दूषन तिसिरा बधेउ मनुज कि अस बरिबंड।।25।।
"The one who slew Tadaka and Subahu, who shattered Shiva's mighty bow, who killed Khara, Dushana and Trishira. Is such a being truly human, or some great warrior beyond all reckoning?"