Chapter 24 - The dark forest of Taraka

[Full title: The two princes with Vishvamitra behold the dark forest of Taraka].

When the day dawned, the two princes performed their daily devotions and followed Shri Vishvamitra to the river.

The keepers of sacred vows, the dwellers in the holy hermitage accompanied them to the river bank and arranged for an excellent boat to take them across; they said to Shri Vishvamitra:—

“O Great Rishi, do not delay, please board the vessel with the royal princes, now, and thus avoid the heat of the day.”

Shri Vishvamitra paid reverence to the devout sages and proceeded to cross the sacred river. When the craft was in mid-stream, the roar of the waters was heard by Shri Ramacandra and his younger brother. They questioned the holy sage, saying: “O Venerable Lord, what is the cause of this tumult?”

In answer to Shri Ramacandra, Shri Vishvamitra described the cause of the sound in the following manner:—

“O Prince, on Mount Kailasha, Shri Brahma created a lake by the power of his thought, on account of which it is called the Lake of the Mind (Manasarovara). The holy river Sarayu rises in the Manasa Lake and flows through the capital Ayodhya, here it joins the sacred stream Gunga, and this sound is produced when the two rivers unite. With concentrated mind, offer salutations to them.”

The two royal princes made obeisance to the rivers, and having reached the southern bank, left the boat and proceeded onward. Walking further, the two princes beheld a dark and terrible forest and Shri Ramacandra again addressed the Sage as follows: “O Great Sage, this forest looks dark and sinister; above the ceaseless clamour of crickets and other insects, fearful beasts can be heard roaring. The forest resounds with their dread cries while the harsh and discordant notes of birds echo through it. See, O Sage! Boars, lions, tigers and elephants abound there, it is overgrown with dhara, ashvakama, kujaja, patala, sillea and tinduka trees, it is indeed terrifying.”

The highly resplendent Sage Vishvamitra hearing these words, said: “My son, I will tell you something of this dark forest. Formerly there were two cities named Malava and Karusha, they were both prosperous and resembled the cities built by the gods. O Rama, in ancient times, Indra slew the wicked Vritrasura then, being hungry and thirsty, he went to an inauspicious and isolated place where he became distressed on account of the sin of having slain a brahmin. The gods and holy sages bathed Indra in the sacred waters of the Ganges, and purged away his sin by pouring jars of water charged with mantrams over him. In this way, the remorse of Indra was appeased, the pollution caused by slaying a brahmin was washed away and he was highly gratified. Purified and sinless, Indra gladly conferred a boon on this land saying: ‘These two cities will be known as Malava and Karusha and they will acquire great renown, their prosperity will be famed throughout the earth.’

“When Indra thus favoured these two cities, the celestial beings praised him and cried: ‘Be it so.’ These two places soon enjoyed great prosperity and fame. In the course of time, a perverse yakshini was born here, possessing the strength of a thousand elephants. Her name was Taraka, the wife of Sunda, and her son was the rakshasa, Marica, who was equal in strength to Indra himself. He possessed long arms, an enormous mouth, and a gigiantic body. This terrible rakshasa continually destroys the people of these two lands.

“O Rama, the wicked Taraka constantly plunders and devastates these two countries. Obstructing the road, she lives at two miles distance from here; let us enter the forest of Taraka. By my command, O Rama, do you slay the wicked yakshini and set the country free. O Rama, none dares to come hither for fear of Taraka; save this land from the dangerous demoness. This is why this forest is uninhabited, but you can’st restore it. This wicked yakshini is unceasingly bent on her evil designs.”