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Vali Vadham 61

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Hari Krishnan • December 26, 2002 


The 'maiden kill' II


Tataka roared before them.  'It is my good fortune that you came my way.  I am going to gobble up all of you,' and she lifted her trident menacingly, to wipe them all the next moment.  The situation was too dangerous.  But Rama remained calm.  He knew that Viswamitra would want him to slay her that very moment.  

'aNNal munivaRkku adhu karuthu eninum' Rama thought, 'I know that the sage wants me to kill her now.  Even so,' 'aavi uN ena vadik kaNai thodukkilEn' I will not shoot the sharpest of my arrows at her to take her life away.  'thuN enum vinaith thozhil thodangi uLaLEnum' Though (it is a fact that) she is about to venture upon a gruesome deed 'peN ena manathidai perundhagai ninaithaan' she is a woman (and so I will not kill a woman.)

I will not kill her, however bad she is described to be by the sage.  If what the sage says is true and if she is indulging in wanton killing, how come the sage and his followers are still alive in this jungle?   How come she has not finished them off, all these days?  Rama must have thought in these lines.  Viswamitra read his mind and said,

'theedhu endru uLavai yaavayum seydhu' She has committed all those deeds that are listed as sin.  (She has exhausted the list of sins!)  'emaik kOdhu endru uNdilaL.'  She did not eat us till now for we are mere sages and are not muscular enough to satiate her hunger.  'ithanayE kurai.'  So that is what is lacking in us.   We are nothing more than mere skeletons.  That's why we are alive.  'yaadhu endru eNNuvadhu?'  What to think of her?  Who is there to compare her misdeeds with?  'ik kodiyaaLayum maadhu endru eNNuvadhO?'  Would you think this insensible, malevolent personification-of-cruelty as a 'woman' and desist from killing her?

Viswamitra then went on to describe who were all the sufferers of her cruelty.  And also added a list of all those who slayed women who were cruel and committed sinful deeds in the past.  Kyathi, wife of sage Brgu, who fell in love with rakshasas and went astray, was killed by Lord Vishnu.  Kumathi (also known as Manthara, daughter of Virochana) who relished the flesh of any living being - including humans - was slayed by Indra.  Therefore, do not think that it is not manly to kill a woman.  Viswamitra gives a long, long list of reasons as to why she deserves to be killed and only after that Rama killed Tataka.

The point is, Dasaratha told Viswamitra in the presence of Rama that he (Viswamitra) was like the very father as well as mother of Rama and Lakshmana.  Rama's penchant for carrying out the order of his parents is the very theme around which Ramayana revolves.  Therefore, Rama should have without a word carried out what Viswamitra desired.  He didn't.  Viswamitra had then to give proof of her callousness.  He had to give convincing reasons.  He had to quote precedents of who all have done a similar deed to convince Rama of the correctness of what he was supposed to do.

And this was the same Viswamitra, at whose anger the entire earth shook and all the directions darkened, simply because Dasaratha gave an alternative.  He didn't refuse what Viswamitra asked for.  He suggested that he, an experienced warrior, would be a better alternative to a lad who has not seen any 'real action' thus far.  Why could he not show such an anger here?  Why should he have to indulge in a long peroration instead?  Simply because he knew Rama could not be made to act against his will.  His intellect had to be appealed; he should first be convinced that what he was doing was absolutely right, before he could be pushed into action!   

That was why this sage, senior in many respects, age, achievement, tapas, stature (now as a parent) had to reason it out and convince this slip of a boy.  




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