Maricha Flies a Hundred Yojanas
Bala Kanda, Chaupai 208
Doha 210 · Movement 1 of 2
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At dawn Ram tells Vishwamitra to perform the sacrifice without fear. Sages return to the fire while Raghurai stands as guardian. Maricha rushes upon the rite with Subahu and the demon host.
An arrow without iron tip strikes Maricha and throws him one hundred yojanas across the ocean. A fiery shaft kills Subahu, while Lakshmana destroys the attacking army. Gods and sages praise the brothers as the brahmins become fearless.
Ram remains for some days, receiving ancient stories from devotees though nothing is unknown to him. Then Vishwamitra proposes the bow sacrifice. On the road they find a lifeless hermitage and a stone, and the sage begins Ahalya's hidden history.
The sacrifice burns undisturbed as Maricha vanishes beyond the ocean.
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AI-created devotional illustration · Chaupai 208
All12units read; selectedfinal11-12 uninhabitedhermitage andplainstone
Source reference and artistic choices
Gita Press code81 undated · PDF pages 210, 211 · printed pages 208, 209. Reader passage: bala-kanda-chaupai-208. Printed numbering may differ.
Source facts
- At DAWN Raghuraya tellsMUNI conductYAJNAfearlessly; ALLMUNIS beginhoma LORDprotects. AngryMaricha rusheswithallies; Rama TIPLESSARROW flingsMaricha100YOJANA acrossSEA, not killedMaricha or exactmodern-distance claim.
- Rama FIREARROW killsSUBAHU; YOUNGERBROTHERdestroysDEMONARMY not just makesforcesbend. Having killedasuras makesBRAHMINSFEARLESS primary निर्भयकारी versusqueueनिर्मयकारी, gods/ALLMUNIpraise. Tadaka alreadykilledC207 not futureforeshadow.
- Staysfewdays compassionBrahmins; forBHAKTI Brahmins tellmanyPuranastories althoughLORDALREADYKNOWS. Sageinvites goseeonecharit; HEARINGbow-sacrifice SUNIprimary versusMUNIqueue, RaghuLord HAPPILYdepartswithMUNI, not O Lord addressed replacement.
- Onroad seesHERMITAGEwithout BIRDSDEERLIVINGCREATURES. Lord seesSTONE asksMUNI wholehistory narrated. Selected11-12 emptyplaceandstone only; visitorsoutsidecrop notdenied or alreadyAhalyaliberated. Full12sourcefactsretained.
Artistic choices
- No named human or animal portrait introduced. Imagined clay/wood hut, straw roof and empty doorway, earth path; prominent rough unmarked grey stone in foreground, other ordinary landscape rocks. Stone placement is farther from threshold than requested; source prescribes no exact placement. Not the earlier Rama/Sita exile hut. No embodied woman, statue or gravemarker.
- E10 environmental adaptation with matte terracotta cream sage grey fields, textured foliage and forest landscaping; vegetation and roof detail exceed minimal prompt but do not add source-forbidden animals. Plant motifs do not certify ecology or season. Soft ambient lighting does not impose dawn from first unit.
An imaginative interpretation, not a historical portrait or documentary evidence.
प्रात कहा मुनि सन रघुराई। निर्भय जग्य करहु तुम्ह जाई।। होम करन लागे मुनि झारी। आपु रहे मख कीं रखवारी।। सुनि मारीच निसाचर क्रोही। लै सहाय धावा मुनिद्रोही।। बिनु फर बान राम तेहि मारा। सत जोजन गा सागर पारा।। पावक सर सुबाहु पुनि मारा। अनुज निसाचर कटकु सँघारा।। मारि असुर द्विज निर्मयकारी। अस्तुति करहिं देव मुनि झारी।। तहँ पुनि कछुक दिवस रघुराया। रहे कीन्हि बिप्रन्ह पर दाया।। भगति हेतु बहु कथा पुराना। कहे बिप्र जद्यपि प्रभु जाना।। तब मुनि सादर कहा बुझाई। चरित एक प्रभु देखिअ जाई।। धनुषजग्य मुनि रघुकुल नाथा। हरषि चले मुनिबर के साथा।। आश्रम एक दीख मग माहीं। खग मृग जीव जंतु तहँ नाहीं।। पूछा मुनिहि सिला प्रभु देखी। सकल कथा मुनि कहा बिसेषी।।
At dawn, Raghurai said to the sage: Go and perform your yajna without fear. The munis began the homa rites with great fervor. The Lord Himself stood guard over the sacrifice.