The violent and vindictive character prevailed over reason, and Ravana yelled at his assistants to prepare the battle chariot. So, with all that paraphernalia, he went back to Maricha’s.
Seeing him arrive, Maricha understood that a bleak future of tragedy was opening up for the race into which he was born. This time Ravana hadn’t come for advice.
“I’ve made my decision,” he said in a commanding voice. “I will kidnap Sita and destroy Rama. I am not a coward. I am the monarch of the most powerful race in the world. Nothing scares me. Why should I fear any man, however valiant he was, as this Rama is?”
Maricha made the last attempt to save the day. Thanks to the powers he had obtained with his austerities, he could see the death and destruction that would be caused by Ravana’s stupidity and vanity.
“Who gave you such reckless advice?”, asked Maricha. “A king with bad counselors, however powerful, is doomed to perdition. Believe me; touching Rama is like inadvertently touching a venomous snake. The consequence of such a mistake is death. Don’t give in to pride. Go back to your city and enjoy life.”
But Ravana was determined.
“Maricha,” he said, “this time I didn’t come to ask you for advice, but to give you an order. You have to help me. And I want you to know that if you don’t, I’ll kill you myself. Therefore, think carefully before refusing.”
Maricha understood that all was useless and that Ravana could not be saved. Then, he realized that his life was in danger anyway, and that he had no escape. He thought it would be better to be killed by Rama than by Ravana.
“I am convinced that you are making a serious mistake, and you will soon regret it bitterly. But I’ll help you. Tell me what to do.”
Ravana was very fond of Maricha and would not have liked the idea of killing him. So, satisfied with his friend’s decision, he smiled cruelly.
“We will go to these people today. You have to transform yourself into a wonderful golden deer, as beautiful as ever seen in this world, and under this guise you have to be seen by Sita, who will ask Rama to chase you and capture you. You will flee by being chased for a long time. When you are far enough away you must cry out for help, imitating Rama’s voice. Sita is sure to get scared and send Laksmana to her aid. When she is alone I will kidnap her and take her to Lanka. Maricha, do this for me. All I want now is to see Sita in my possession and take revenge for the insult made to my sister, my relatives, and my friends of Janasthana.”
Reluctantly, Maricha accepted, but he felt like a lamb entering a wolf’s den.
This is a section of the book “The Ramayana”, in English.
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