Rama and Lakshmana battle Thataka (Indian Epics: Images and PDE Epics)
The
Fall of the House of Thataka
Listen now to the tale of the destruction of the evil
house of Thataka. For these events
occurred long ago when man was first evolving into their own. Originally, the race of demons was a proud
and noble race, with powers that far surpassed the abilities of mankind. Over time the demons grew increasing cruel
and sadistic toward the humans.
Eventually, the demon’s main source of food was human flesh. The Gods and Goddess looked down and upon the
suffering of the humans and grew angry.
They could not in good conscience allow the subjugation of the humans
continue. So many of them sent avatars
of themselves to liberate the humans.
Two
cunning avatars were brothers know as Rama and Lakshmana. Although their ultimate goal was to destroy
the high ruler of demonkind King Ravana, they decided that it would be better
to weaken him. To do this the brothers went
after King Ravana’s allies first. The
first mission was to cause the House of Thataka fall into ruin.
The House of Thataka was a matriarchy, whose clan
leader was a female demon named Thataka.
Word reached her about the brothers entering her territory. After consulting with her son, Maricha, she sounded
the call of the hunt. A great reward was
offered to whoever killed the brothers and gave their heads to Thataka as
tribute.
Unfortunately for Thataka, the
brothers caught her unware. Using her
formidable powers, she attacked the brothers.
However, the brothers were seasoned warriors, and quickly dispatched
Thataka. The battle was the stuff of
legend. Rama aimed to slow her down by
shooting off her arms. Infuriated
Thataka attacked with all her might.
Lakshmana, without pity or remorse cut off Thataka’s ears and nose. Gravely injured the demoness turned invisible
to escape the brothers, while causing an earthquake to bury them with
rocks. Rama using his enhanced sense of
hearing and fired an arrow, which struck down the great matriarch Thataka.
Maricha entered the forest clearing as Rama struck his
mother with the fatal kill shot. So
clouded by anger Maricha called upon his personal guard to help him avenge his
fallen mother. However, the demons did
not notice the celestial weapons that the Gods had given Rama as a reward for
slaying Thataka. When the demons
attacked the brothers, Rama tested out his new arsenal. First, the great firebolt incinerated
Maricha’s lieutenant Subahu. Rama,
knowing Maricha still had a part to play in the coming battle, used the tempest
rod, and swept Maricha out to sea.
For months Maricha mourned the loss of his mother in
an abandoned hermitage near the sea.
King Ravana decided that enough time had passed, went to talk to
Maricha. The king ordered Maricha to
return to the frontlines and do his duty.
If Maricha refused Ravana would behead him as a warning to all other
demons. King Ravana, with his gift of
foresight knew that Maricha was the linchpin to divide the brothers. The plan was a simple one. Maricha, using his shape shifting powers
would lure Rama away. This would weaken
the brothers enough to destroy them both.
Maricha, being clever, transformed into a deer. This deer had a golden pelt with silver
spots, antlers tipped with sapphires, and eyes of blue lotus flowers. As Maricha lead Rama on a merry chase,
Lakshmana stayed behind to look after Rama’s wife Sita. Once again Rama’s aim was true, and his arrow
pierced the heart of the deer. As
Maricha returned to his true form, he used the last of his strength to play one
more trick on the brothers. Disguising
his voice to sound like Rama, Maricha cried to Lakshmana and Sita for
help. At Sita’s request Lakshmana went
searching for Rama.
As the events were witnessed by those who dwell in the
heavens, all deities celebrated. For
they all knew that it is the beginning of the end for all demonkind. Because as they foresaw it all starts with
the fall of the House of Thataka.
Author's Note:
The original versions I read was the PDE epics version. After this note is a bibliography for each of the four sections I used as a starting point. The four were Thataka, Ravana and Maricha, The Golden Deer, and The Chase. I focused on these because they focused on one family of demons. This allowed me freedom to expand on their backstory. I found myself wanting more information about the antagonists of Rama, because they all seemed a little one dimensional.
Bibliography:
Thataka: Indian Myth and Legend, Donald A. Mackenzie
Ravana and Maricha: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, by Sister Nivedita (1914)
The Golden Deer: Indian Myth and Legend, by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)
The Chase: Indian Myth and Legend, by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)
Hi Ramona,
ReplyDeleteI liked your story! The part where you described the deer Maricha transformed into was very captivating. Because of your detailed description, I could visualize the deer very well. How did the house of Thataka come into being? Some more information on their roots might be an interesting addition to your story. Maybe, you could also add a visual description of Maricha and Thataka too so that the reader can picture the scene more completely. Also, maybe you could elaborate a little bit on what an avatar is. This was a useful way to link the characters from the Ramayana to the premise of your story. Also, are Rama and Lakshmana aware they are avatars of the gods or are they more like the Rama and Lakshmana we know from the Ramayana? The part where Maricha disguises his voice to lure in Lakshama and Sita was suspenseful and well written.
Hi Rona,
ReplyDeleteLike I have said before, you are really good at the way you write, it is detailed enough which is the best part because it makes it easy for the readers to visualize the story. I also like your choice of words, some parts could have used more detail and that would really make your story even better. Looking forward to more of your stories.
Hi Ramona!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your story! It was full of details and I was able to picture some of scenes in my head. I also liked how you combined the four separate stories into one story. I liked that it connected Maricha again after the fall of his mother, and him helping Ravana one more time at getting the two brothers. Something you could add would be how Ravana needed Maricha's help in distracting the brothers because he wanted to get Sita. Overall, you did an amazing job telling this story!
Hi Ramona. Great job with this story. You painted a clear picture with your use of imagery. I like how you elaborated on the story, yet kept it clear and readable. One of the disadvantages of the PDE version is that it can be a little fragmented. I enjoyed reading your story because you made the story more uniform and understandable. I think the strongest part of your story is when you explain why the gods sent down avatars of themselves. This seemed muddled to me in the original story, so I appreciate that you cleared it up. How did you decide to write about this particular story? I think you could continue to rewrite these epics because you've done a great job at clarifying the story. The only thing that I think could have been improved upon is going into more detail about the celestial weapons. I think you anticipate the audience already knowing what you were talking about so they're lacking some description. Overall, fantastic job and I look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteHi Mona!
ReplyDeleteI loved the beginning and ending of your story- the setting of the stage and subsequent narrative wrap-up set the epic tone and bookended the action nicely. There are a few places in your story that would benefit from a read-through or spell-checker, nothing too dramatic but a few one/two word slip-ups here and there. Commas, especially, could be alternatively trimmed and inserted to improve the story’s flow. I found myself curious about the lieutenant, Subahu, especially about his life and the impact his death had on Maricha. Your story’s action was written well, and I enjoyed reading it!
Hey Mona, I hadn't thought about the storytelling style of expanding on the original story and it was such a great idea! I feel like we meet a lot of characters in Ramayana and Mahabharata that don't appear in more than 1-2 stories and while it is annoying that we have to contemplate if we should take the time and energy to learn about how they are and what their backstory is, it also leaves a lot of room for us to create a backstory for them!
ReplyDelete