How did Ram and Lakshman kill the demons? Why did Vishwamitra take Ram and Lakshman with him? Story of Tadka. Story of Marich & Sabahu. What are Bala & Atibala powers given by Vishwamitra to Ram & Lakshman?
While passing through the forest, Vishwamitra narrated the story of the demons to Ram and Lakshman. Accompanied by Ram and Lakshman, Vishwamitra set out from Ayodhya. After trekking along the banks of the Sarayu River for about twenty kilometers, Vishwamitra stopped and said, "Dear Ram, take a little water and perform purification by sipping. Now, I will initiate you into the mantras named Bal and Atibal. Upon acquiring the knowledge of these mantras, you will be liberated from fatigue and old age, and you will attain unparalleled knowledge and power. I know that you already possess these qualities, but still, it is my desire to impart these mantras to you for your welfare."
After receiving initiation into the mantras named Bal and Atibal, Lord Ram's radiance became as brilliant as a thousand suns. Ram, Lakshman, and Vishwamitra spent the night by the riverbank in great comfort, and the next day, they reached the confluence of the Sarayu and Ganga rivers.
There, Ram noticed an ashram of sages and expressed his desire to know its history. Vishwamitra explained, "This is the place where, due to the interference of Kamadeva, Lord Shiva's penance was disrupted, and therefore, Lord Shiva reduced Kamadeva to ashes."
Welcomed by the sages, the three travelers spent the night in their ashram. The next morning, they crossed the Ganga River. Upon reaching the middle of the river, Ram distinctly heard the sound of flowing water, but no sign of it was visible anywhere.
When Ram inquired about it, Vishwamitra said, "Once, Lord Brahma created a lake of water in his mind, which is why it is called Mansarovar. The source of the water flowing into the Sarayu River is this Mansarovar. The sound you hear of rushing water is merging with the Ganga from Mansarovar. Ram, you should offer reverence to this sacred place and pay your respects."
Upon reaching the southern bank of the Ganga, Ram saw a dense, desolate forest area. He said, "Just by looking at this desolate forest, one can feel a sense of fear in their heart. Please tell me the reason for this."
Vishwamitra explained, "When Indra killed the demon Vritrasura, the residents of this place became agitated with sin, causing their prosperity to diminish. To restore Indra to his normal state, the celestial beings purified him with the waters of the Ganga, invoked through Vedic mantras. Then, Indra discarded all his impurities into this place. As a result, this place accepted all of Indra's sins but, in return, Indra, the lord of heaven, bestowed upon this place extreme prosperity. As a consequence, the prosperous kingdoms of Malda and Karusha were established here.
"Later, a wicked demoness named Tadaka arrived here and began terrorizing the inhabitants of this place. Tadaka is the wife of the demon Sund and their son is Maricha, whom I have brought you here to kill. Due to Tadaka's terrifying rampage, all the people here gradually left, and this area became completely deserted.
"My dear Ram, I want you to
annihilate this demoness today and thus liberate this place from her terror and
tyranny. As long as this demoness is alive, no one will dare to enter this
forest. Ram, Tadaka is extremely wicked, so do not hesitate to kill her, but
rather, disable her limbs so that she cannot harm anyone."
Ram said, "You are my guru, so I must follow your command," and saying this, he drew the string of his mighty bow. When Ram vibrated the string of the bow, producing a terrifying sound echoing in all directions, all living beings were filled with fear at the terrifying sound of the bow. This sound reached Tadaka's cave, and upon hearing it, she became furious with rage. Tadaka conjured a whirlwind of dust, which temporarily obscured Ram and Lakshman from seeing anything. After that, she began hurling rocks from the sky. Ram immediately became alert and shattered all the rocks with his arrows, and then he cut off Tadaka's arms. At Ram's command, Lakshman cut off her ears and nose, and suddenly she disappeared from sight.
After Tadaka vanished, she started showering stones again, and just then Vishwamitra urged in a stern voice, "Oh Ram, it's getting dark. The power of demons increases greatly in the darkness. Therefore, abandon your compassion now and immediately kill Tadaka!"
Upon hearing this, Ram unleashed a barrage of arrows. However, just then, Tadaka appeared and, filled with extreme rage, started rushing towards Ram. But without hesitation, Ram took out a special arrow from his quiver and shot it towards the charging demoness. With a dazzling light, this arrow pierced through Tadaka's heart, and with a scream of pain, the terrifying demoness fell to the ground, her life force departing.
At this moment, under the leadership of Indra, the gods came to meet Vishwamitra at a secluded place. They said, "Lord Ram has an extremely important task to accomplish from our side, so without wasting time, impart all your knowledge of divine weapons to him."
Saying this, the gods vanished from sight immediately. Vishwamitra, Ram, and Lakshmana spent the night there peacefully. The next morning, Vishwamitra imparted all his knowledge of divine weapons to Ram. When Ram received the initiation into the mantras that activate divine weapons, these divine weapons manifested before him in their human forms. They said, "Lord Ram, please command us on how we may serve you."
Lord Ram said, "My request is that when I summon you, you should appear before me."
After the departure of the divine weapons, Vishwamitra, Ram, and Lakshmana continued their journey. After several days of travel, they reached Vishwamitra's hermitage, which was known as Siddhashrama. Vishwamitra's disciples came out to welcome them, and they welcomed their gurus Ram and Lakshmana.
Vishwamitra said, "Dear Ram, this place was previously the abode of Lord Vishnu, where he resided during his Vamana Avatar. You are the same Lord who has incarnated as a human. There is such power in this holy place that it liberates any person from the bonds of birth and death. Consider it as your own place.
After this, Vishwamitra began preparations to continue his yajna, while Ram and Lakshmana took charge of overseeing the yajna area with their bows and arrows. Thus, six days and six nights passed without any mishap, and nobody slept. Then, on the sixth night, when the soma was to be extracted and it was a very important night, suddenly the sacrificial fire blazed up with great brightness, indicating the imminent arrival of the demons.
In a few moments, a terrifying roar was heard from the sky as Maricha and Subahu, without any warning, descended to the ground with their fellow demons. Using their magical powers, these demons began showering the sacrificial altar with blood, flesh, excreta, urine, and other impure substances.
Lord Ram said, "Dear Lakshmana, I will drive away these wicked demons from here with my divine weapons, but I will not kill them because it is written in their fate to live for some more years."
Saying this, Ram shot a powerful
arrow that struck Maricha's chest, and with its impact, he was thrown into the
ocean before dying. Then, with another arrow, Lord Ram pierced Subahu's chest,
and he fell lifeless to the ground. By activating the third divine arrow, Lord
Ram scattered all the remaining demons and restored peace to the Yajna area
once again. All the sages and saints residing in Siddhashrama came out, and
they congratulated Lord Ram for defeating the demons. And on that very evening,
the yajna was successfully completed.
