First appeared in the May 2021 issue of the international e-magazine, Guwahatian.
[This tale is an imaginative account of the author, based on the epic Ramayana.]
“One should not run in search for gold, Sita. You are my jewel, and all my life, I wish to protect you from the clutches of greed!” uttered Rama when Sita urged him to go in search for the golden deer which she had just seen from a distance.
“But I wish to have it in my arms. Its dazzle has beautified the skies of Panchavati. Will you not fulfill this desire of mine, Rama?”
“The journey towards achieving riches without values is the biggest trap of destiny, Sita. No wonder the deer may seem alluring to you, but deep within its quest must lie a sinister truth which is waiting to be unfolded in the screams of greed!”
“You overthink, Rama!” Sita looked upset, and Rama could sense the darkness that was about to follow. His human self filled his mind with the need to impress his woman, while his godly being understood the gamble. To resolve the conflicts of his mind, Rama closed his eyes, and tried to bring his avatar to power.
Just then…
Oh! Wait!
Just then, he saw white dots swimming in the darkness of his closed eyes, and moving towards forming a bright dot of energy in the middle as if it wished to guide him to the truth. Rama focused on the brightness which glowed amidst his meditated blindness. He followed the energy to the realms of Panchavati where he saw the golden deer. It looked like an incarnation of Lakshmi, his true better-half, and it persuaded him to be hypnotized. Its skin was softer than silk, and eyes innocent as himself. As Rama moved closer to hold it, it ran away towards the banyan. Rama made several attempts to befriend the beauty but to no avail. The trap was real as he had warned Sita! What an irony! Now he is trapped in its trail.
Rama did not wish to return from his meditating quest for the deer. He went further into the grove guarded by the banyan. After a while, he saw the deer transform into a demon. He could recognize it. It was Maricha. He hid behind one of the trees, and watched Maricha take out a potion of golden sparkles, and drink it. He re-transformed into the deer, and Rama understood the story. He prepared to shoot it when he saw Lakshman and Sita coming from the other end. Both encountered the deer, and were baffled at its beauty. Before Rama could warn them, the deer quickly transformed into Maricha and attacked Lakshmana. While both fought, Rama ran towards them but his pace was restrained by the magic of illusion. He saw another man appear from within the woods behind, forcefully hold Sita by her waist, and disappear back into the green veil of magical misfortune. Maricha killed Lakshmana, and disappeared too. Rama shouted in despair…
…
…
“Rama,” uttered a voice.
“Rama.”
Rama came back to his senses and found Sita worried at his screams in meditation. Rama realized that only he could slay the deer, and not allow the events which he had seen in his guided sleep to occur. To direct the fate of events towards a different future, he said to Sita, “I will bring the deer for you. You must stay here with Lakshmana.”
Surprised, Sita smiled in joy. But it was Rama who knew deep within his heart that if he did not move then, he would lose his brother as well as his beloved.
He moved into the forest in search for Maricha, and the Maricha Trail beyond the banyan changed the course of destiny in a similar but a very different way!
