# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 37 — Mārīca’s second defeat and terror *His deer-form attack costs two companions, he abandons violence but still sees and fears Rāma everywhere* Portion: The abduction plan and Mārīca’s warnings · Verses: 20 · Ref format: 3.37. ## Sequence - Mārīca continues with a later episode: despite the first defeat, he returned to Daṇḍaka with two other rākṣasas, all in deer forms (37.1–2) - as a huge, sharp-horned, flesh-eating deer, he again attacked tapasvins and their sacred places (37.3–6) - he encountered Rāma during the exile, with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa (37.7–8) - recalling his old grievance and again underestimating Rāma, he charged to kill him (37.9–10) - Rāma shot three arrows → remembering the earlier blow, Mārīca sprang away and escaped, but his two companions were killed (37.11–13) - he then withdrew to this hermitage and adopted a disciplined life of tapas (37.14) - fear still makes him see Rāma behind every tree and wake in terror from dreams; even words beginning with “ra,” such as ratna and ratha, frighten him (37.15–18) - he tells Rāvaṇa that his knowledge of Rāma's power comes from experience and repeats that ignoring the warning will cost Rāvaṇa and his relatives their lives (37.19–20). ## Verses **3.37.1** evam asmi tadā muktaḥ kathaṃ cit tena saṃyuge idānīm api yad vṛttaṃ tac chṛṇuṣva yad uttaram Thus was I somehow let off by him then in the battle; now hear also what happened afterwards. **3.37.2** rākṣasābhyām ahaṃ dvābhyām anirviṇṇas tathā kṛtaḥ sahito mṛgarūpābhyāṃ praviṣṭo daṇḍakāvanam Undeterred, though so treated, I entered the Daṇḍaka forest together with two rākṣasas in the form of deer. **3.37.3** dīptajihvo mahākāyas tīkṣṇaśṛṇgo mahābalaḥ vyacaran daṇḍakāraṇyaṃ māṃsabhakṣo mahāmṛgaḥ With flaming tongue, huge body, sharp horns, and great strength, a great deer feeding on flesh, I roamed the Daṇḍaka forest, **3.37.4** agnihotreṣu tīrtheṣu caityavṛkṣeṣu rāvaṇa atyantaghoro vyacaraṃs tāpasāṃs tān pradharṣayan exceedingly fearsome, O Rāvaṇa, I roamed among the sacrificial fires, the holy fords, and the sanctuary-trees, harassing those ascetics. **3.37.5** nihatya daṇḍakāraṇye tāpasān dharmacāriṇaḥ rudhirāṇi pibaṃs teṣāṃ tathā māṃsāni bhakṣayan Killing in the Daṇḍaka forest the ascetics who practised dharma, drinking their blood and likewise eating their flesh, **3.37.6** ṛṣimāṃsāśanaḥ krūras trāsayan vanagocarān tadā rudhiramatto 'haṃ vyacaraṃ daṇḍakāvanam a cruel eater of the flesh of sages, terrifying the forest-dwellers, then, drunk with blood, I roamed the Daṇḍaka forest. **3.37.7** tadāhaṃ daṇḍakāraṇye vicaran dharmadūṣakaḥ āsādayaṃ tadā rāmaṃ tāpasaṃ dharmam āśritam Then, wandering in the Daṇḍaka forest, a defiler of dharma, I came upon Rāma, living as an ascetic, devoted to dharma, **3.37.8** vaidehīṃ ca mahābhāgāṃ lakṣmaṇaṃ ca mahāratham tāpasaṃ niyatāhāraṃ sarvabhūtahite ratam and the greatly blessed Vaidehī, and Lakṣmaṇa the great chariot-warrior—an ascetic of restrained diet, devoted to the welfare of all creatures. **3.37.9** so 'haṃ vanagataṃ rāmaṃ paribhūya mahābalam tāpaso 'yam iti jñātvā pūrvavairam anusmaran So I, holding in contempt the mighty Rāma who had gone to the forest, thinking 'This is (only) an ascetic,' and recalling my former enmity, **3.37.10** abhyadhāvaṃ susaṃkruddhas tīkṣṇaśṛṅgo mṛgākṛtiḥ jighāṃsur akṛtaprajñas taṃ prahāram anusmaran rushed at him in great fury, sharp-horned, in the form of a deer, senseless, bent on killing, remembering that (earlier) blow. **3.37.11** tena muktās trayo bāṇāḥ śitāḥ śatrunibarhaṇāḥ vikṛṣya balavac cāpaṃ suparṇānilatulyagāḥ Drawing his bow with force, he loosed three sharp, foe-crushing arrows, flying swift as Garuḍa and the wind, **3.37.12** te bāṇā vajrasaṃkāśāḥ sughorā raktabhojanāḥ ājagmuḥ sahitāḥ sarve trayaḥ saṃnataparvaṇaḥ those arrows, like thunderbolts, most terrible, blood-drinking, all three came together, with well-jointed shafts. **3.37.13** parākramajño rāmasya śaṭho dṛṣṭabhayaḥ purā samutkrāntas tato muktas tāv ubhau rākṣasau hatau Knowing Rāma's prowess, crafty, and having tasted his terror before, I sprang away and thus escaped; but those two rākṣasas were slain. **3.37.14** śareṇa mukto rāmasya kathaṃ cit prāpya jīvitam iha pravrājito yuktas tāpaso 'haṃ samāhitaḥ Spared from Rāma's arrow, somehow keeping my life, retired here, disciplined, I have become an ascetic, composed of mind. **3.37.15** vṛkṣe vṛkṣe hi paśyāmi cīrakṛṣṇājināmbaram gṛhītadhanuṣaṃ rāmaṃ pāśahastam ivāntakam For at every tree I see Rāma, clad in bark-cloth and black antelope-skin, bow in hand, like Death (Antaka) with his noose. **3.37.16** api rāmasahasrāṇi bhītaḥ paśyāmi rāvaṇa rāmabhūtam idaṃ sarvam araṇyaṃ pratibhāti me In my fear I see thousands of Rāmas, O Rāvaṇa; this whole forest appears to me to have become Rāma. **3.37.17** rāmam eva hi paśyāmi rahite rākṣaseśvara dṛṣṭvā svapnagataṃ rāmam udbhramāmi vicetanaḥ In a lonely place I see Rāma and nothing else, O lord of rākṣasas; seeing Rāma come in a dream, I start up, out of my senses. **3.37.18** rakārādīni nāmāni rāmatrastasya rāvaṇa ratnāni ca rathāś caiva trāsaṃ saṃjanayanti me Names beginning with the syllable 'ra,' O Rāvaṇa, terrify me who dread Rāma—even 'ratna' (jewel) and 'ratha' (chariot) fill me with fright. **3.37.19** ahaṃ tasya prabhāvajño na yuddhaṃ tena te kṣamam raṇe rāmeṇa yudhyasva kṣamāṃ vā kuru rākṣasa na te rāmakathā kāryā yadi māṃ draṣṭum icchasi I know his power; war with him is not fitting for you. Either fight Rāma in battle, or make peace, O rākṣasa; but you must not talk to me of Rāma, if you wish to see me (alive). **3.37.20** idaṃ vaco bandhuhitārthinā mayā yathocyamānaṃ yadi nābhipatsyase sabāndhavas tyakṣyasi jīvitaṃ raṇe hato 'dya rāmeṇa śarair ajihmagaiḥ If you will not heed this counsel, spoken by me who seek the good of my kin, then, with your kinsmen, you will lose your life in battle, slain today by Rāma with his straight-flying arrows.