Hari Om.
Let us begin the forty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The scheme of rAvaNa unfolds near rAma’s hermitage in the panchavaTI. Willy nilly, mAricha finally dons the guise of a stunning and attractive golden deer studded with gems and bright silver spots. He loitered in that form in front of the hermitage looking every bit so natural a beast! sItA who came out to pluck flowers happened to cast her glance at it and the desire to own such a rare species of the deer was born in her. She immediately called out rAma and lakshmaNa and told them about it. At first sight itself an apprehensive lakshmaNa not only saw through the deer but pronounced him to be mAricha! But sItA seemed to be badly smitten by the desire to own the deer alive or gets its furry skin to be used either as a garment or as a mat to squat upon. rAma bought into the desire! He prevailed upon lakshmaNa that the deer was indeed a rare species and owning something like that would be appropriate for them as royalty. Therefore he told lakshmaNa to guard the hermitage while he goes to fetch the deer dead or alive. Onwards…
Having instructed lakshmaNa thus, rAma tied his sword with the golden handle on his waist, two quivers at his back, chose a bow with three bends that appeared fitting as an ornament on his self. He set out in the hunt for the deer. Watching the king of men (rAma) approach him fully armed, the deer bent on deception, disappeared in a trice and then reappeared out of mortal fear. rAma chased the deer wherever it ran.
तं स्म पश्यति रूपेण द्योतमानमिवाग्रतः।।3.44.4।।
अवेक्ष्यावेक्ष्य धावन्तं धनुष्पाणिर्महावने।
अतिवृत्तमिषोः पाताल्लोभयानं कदाचन।।3.44.5।।
शङ्कितन्तु समुद्भ्रान्तमुत्पतन्तमिवाम्बरे।
दृश्यमानमदृश्यं च वनोद्देशेषु केषुचित्।।3.44.6।।
छिन्नाभ्रैरिव संवीतं शारदं चन्द्रमण्डलम्।
As the bow wielding rAma with an arrow ready to be shot chased the deer, it kept disappearing from his sight beyond the reach of that arrow out of fear, and like jumping into the sky, reappeared farther thus luring rAma away into that dense forest. The deer resembled a moon that was being now covered by scattered clouds and now revealed! Thus mAricha lured rAma deep into the forest in the form of a deer far away from his hermitage.
rAma, running behind the deer for quite some time now was tired, perplexed at its movement and angry at not being able to catch it. He squatted a while to regain his energies on the grasslands. Now mAricha appeared again as a deer in company of others, neither too near nor too far and lured rAma again. In a moment, rAma spotted it coming out of a grove and decided to kill it now.
He set the radiant arrow created by brahma on his mighty bow, took aim at that particular deer and unleashed it and the arrow went hissing like a serpent. The unerring arrow pierced into the heart of mAricha in the form of the deer. Hit by the powerful arrow, mAricha was thrown up in the sky as high as a palm tree and then fell down on the ground nearly dead and shed the guise of the deer that he had donned. As his life force escaped him, he remembered the words of rAvaNa about fetching lakshmaNa also out of hermitage to facilitate the abduction of sItA. In those dying moments, mAricha realized that to be the appropriate time to put the scheme into further action and imitating the voice of rAma cried out loudly alas sItA, alas lakshmaNa.
स प्राप्तकालमाज्ञाय चकार च तत स्वनम्।
सदृशं राघवस्येह हा सीते लक्ष्मणेति च।।3.44.19।।
Hit hard by the powerful arrow, mAricha’s vitals escaped him, shedding the guise of the deer, he fell down dead in his form as the demon. Seeing the blood soaked demon mAricha, shedding his life, instantly rAma’s thoughts were with sItA and he thought how true lakshmaNa’s words were about the deceitful trickster mAricha who was dead now.
rAma was aghast as he thought about the state lakshmaNa and sItA would be in upon hearing the mimicry of his voice that mAricha produced to convey the false picture of him being in distress.
हा सीते लक्ष्मणेत्येवमाक्रुश्य च महास्वरम्।
ममार राक्षसस्सोऽयं श्रुत्वा सीता कथं भवेत्।।3.44.24।।
लक्ष्मणश्च महाबाहुः कामवस्थां गमिष्यति।
इति सञ्चिन्त्य धर्मात्मा रामो हृष्टतनूरुहः।।3.44.25।।
His hair stood on its end as the thoughts tormented him and fear gripped him thinking of the mimicry of his voice by the deer guised demon and its effect on sItA and lakshmaNa. He then killed another deer, gathered its meat and hurried to his hermitage near janasthAna.
Here we conclude the forty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 3.45. sItA insinuates lakshmaNa…
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
