Week 3 Story: Mareecha and Ravana

“ You can’t call coercion a favor “

Story adapted from R. K Narayan’s Ramayana from the Chapter: The Great Tormentor

Ravana, king of demons

A long time ago, in a land far from where we are now, Sita, the wife of Rama, experienced a series of events leading up to the unfortunate event that a dark, dangerous, and powerful being named Ravana decided that he needed her by his side. In a romantic fashion. This was bad news. 

Rama had tales of his strength, power, and cunning spread far and wide over this land, and even in the land here where I tell you this story. Ravana knew deep in his heart that he would not fare well in a fight against Rama, but used for an excuse a story that it was below him to stoop to Rama’s level to fight him fair and square over Sita. This led him to seek the aid of his uncle, Mareecha, who had faced Rama on two previous occasions. 

Mareecha had been so shaken by the display of intelligence and battlefield prowess that Rama showed him these two previous encounters that he moved into a cave in order to avoid further interaction with the terrifying human. When Ravana arrived and informed him of his needs, Mareecha pleaded with him to reconsider, and to leave Sita alone- fearing the consequences of the rage Rama was likely to be consumed by. Ravana argued with him for a while, but his famed temper grew and grew. He began to insinuate that should Mareecha not aid him that he would do something bad to him. Mareecha chose to ignore these veiled threats, because a certain death at the hands of Rama was scarier than a quick beating at the hands of his nephew. 

Ravana said to Mareecha finally: 

“Help me, uncle, I need you to help me to steal away Sita, you must distract Rama until I can snatch her up and take her away with me so that I may be happy.”

Mareecha replied, 

“No woman is worth the fight that we both shall end up dead by the end of.”

Ravana took this as an insult not only to himself but to Sita as well, the compounded assault on the value of Sita and his own power proved too great to hold up against his temper. Ravana swelled in size, steam rising from his twenty shoulders and the ten faces he possessed growing redder and redder with rage. Ravana towered above his uncle, who shrunk away from him. He bellowed from all ten mouths:

“If you do not accompany me this instant to acquire that which I desire I shall provide swiftly a violent and painful death to you.”

This was now more frightening than dying at the hands of Rama, which was not only further down the line but may be much less traumatic. Mareecha fell at Ravana’s feet:

“Forgive me I was being selfish, what is my life stacked up against your happiness with Sita that will surely occur soon, I will go with you and help you.”

Ravana adjusted back down to a more reasonable height and grinned ear to ear. He wrapped Mareecha up in a hug and thanked him for his help:

“Thank you thank you, Uncle, you will never know the joy I feel presently. I shall remember this favor the rest of my life.”

Mareecha groaned a weak thank you:

“You are most welcome. I do request to be released from your embrace as my feet are lifted from the floor and I am having,”

he wheezed,

“ a very difficult time breathing.”

Mareecha thought to himself:

“This feels an awful lot like I’m being forced to participate in his ridiculous request. I’m not quite sure it qualifies as a favor, can you call something a favor if it is in all reality a coercion? I guess when you are as feared as Ravana you can redefine things all you want.”

Ravana plopped him back down to the floor. The two took off at once, Ravana excited for his new life with Sita at his side and Mareecha traipsing along and struggling to keep up with his elated companion.

Authors Note:

I adapted this story from a chapter from R. K. Narayan’s Ramayana. I enjoyed the part where Ravana pleads with his uncle for help stealing Sita, but I wished it were a little bit more dramatic. I think I achieved an increased drama from the original passage.