“Being under the influence of illusion, I underestimated Rama and took Him to be a mere child. Thus I ran towards Vishvamitra’s sacrificial altar. With that, Rama released an acute arrow capable of destroying His enemies. Upon hitting me, that arrow forcefully threw me away to an ocean one hundred yojanas [eight hundred miles] away.” (Maricha speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 38.19)

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अवजानन्नहं मोहाद्बालोऽयमिति राघवम्
विश्वामित्रस्य तां वेदिमभ्यधावं कृतत्वरः
तेन मुक्तस्ततो बाणः शितश्शत्रुनिबर्हणः
तेनाहं त्वाहतः क्षिप्तस्समुद्रे शतयोजने

avajānannahaṃ mohādbālo’yamiti rāghavam
viśvāmitrasya tāṃ vedimabhyadhāvaṃ kṛtatvaraḥ
tena muktastato bāṇaḥ śitaśśatrunibarhaṇaḥ
tenāhaṃ tvāhataḥ kṣiptassamudre śatayojane

1. Wrestling gimmick

“I must say, I fall for it every time. It gets me excited. I am always surprised, even though I have seen it many times already. The audience should come to expect it, but there is something dramatic to the place going entirely dark. You are never quite certain as to the cause. Did a circuit trip? Is there a violent storm passing through the area? Is someone playing a prank?

“No, in the case of professional wrestling everything is choreographed. The lights usually go out when one person is on the verge of victory. They are about to lay down the finishing move, when everything grinds to a halt. Upon the lights returning, you find a surprise visitor. How did they get in the ring? How are they even in the building? They had been sidelined for months. Never mind, as this surprise guest is standing right behind the wrestler in the ring. The audience can see everything going down, but the victim has no idea. They are in for a world of hurt. No wonder they refer to this art form as ‘sports entertainment.’

2. Stealing an election

“I assure you, this is relatively new. At the same time, it has occurred in all of the recent cycles. This means that we are slowly getting accustomed to the practice. It is becoming a ritual, of sorts. You see, in the past there was something called integrity as it related to elections. When the polls closed for a specific race, one thing was never in doubt: the total ballots cast. This meant that as the tabulation continued, you could get a general idea of how things were turning out. You knew how many votes out of the remaining count a candidate required in order to assure victory.

“Today, the vote counting is merely the beginning. It is like a game where the opponents take the numbers as a signal. They then run the calculations to see how many fraudulent ballots they need to produce in order to reverse the tide. Since ballots now get sent out in the mail, to anyone and everyone, they are not difficult to produce. The one thing the cheaters need is time. But how will they pull it off? All eyes are on the people counting the votes. The proceedings are being broadcast on a live stream, for the world to see.

“Well, why not resort to the tried and true method? As they say, deception thrives in the darkness. Simply turn out the lights. Everyone is baffled. What is going on? A few minutes later, the lights turn back on. The only change is in the vote totals. Suddenly, the candidate who was well behind has closed the gap. The last batch of ballots counted all went in their favor. It is a miracle, indeed, since no previous batches were ever this one-sided.”

3. Spoiling a yajna

During the period of history described in the Ramayana poem of Valmiki, sages had retreated to the Dandaka forest. There was a purpose. They wanted to complete yajna, which is sacrifice. They did not want to be disturbed. As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains, yajna is synonymous with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since God presides over every official yajna, He is also known as Yajneshvara.

अहं क्रतुरहं यज्ञ: स्वधाहमहमौषधम्
मन्‍त्रोऽहमहमेवाज्यमहमग्न‍िरहं हुतम्

ahaṁ kratur ahaṁ yajñaḥ
svadhāham aham auṣadham
mantro ’ham aham evājyam
aham agnir ahaṁ hutam

“But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.16)

Despite moving to a quiet place, the sages still faced trouble. There was interference from a class of beings known as Rakshasa. These were like man-eating ogres. Since they were expert at ranging the night, they were also known as nishachara. They intruded on purpose. They wanted to disrupt the yajnas taking place. They waited until right before the time of completion. They wanted to spoil everything.

One of the reasons they were successful is that they attacked at night. Who would suspect such intrusion? How could the intruders be detected? The sages, led by Vishvamitra, asked King Dasharatha of Ayodhya for help. You see, Dasharatha had a son now. The eldest was named Rama. Vishvamitra knew that Rama could protect the yajnas. Dasharatha reluctantly acquiesced. Rama went with Vishvamitra. Rama’s younger brother named Lakshmana also went with the group.

तुलसी दिन भल साहु कहँ भली चोर कहँ राति
निसि बासर ता कहँ भलो मानै राम इताति

tulasī dina bhala sāhu kaha~ bhalī cora kaha~ rāti
nisi bāsara tā kaha~ bhalo mānai rāma itāti

“The day is beneficial for the merchant, while the night is beneficial for the thief. But Tulsi says when worshiping Shri Rama both the day and the night are equally as good.” (Dohavali, 148)

As Goswami Tulsidas reveals, worship of Rama is beneficial either in the day or the night. It is not that any period of time necessarily becomes better or worse. This applies to the glories of Shri Rama, as well. He is equally worthy of praise while acting in the nighttime as He is during the day. He proved this by successfully defending the yajnas. The clearest testimony on the proceedings happens to be provided by the chief perpetrator. The Rakshasa named Maricha later recalled to his friend Ravana, who was the ogre-leader of Lanka, how Rama had defended with dexterity, courage, and precision. Rama was but a youth, but that did not stop Him from hurling Maricha eight hundred miles in reverse through the force of a single arrow.

In Closing:

Not previously to rehearse,
The powerful arrow to reverse.

Otherwise just a child,
Polite, kind, and mild.

But upon intruder detecting,
Ready that yajna protecting.

With arrow swiftly drawn to bow,
Skilled even in darkness to know.

Categories: the three

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, rama, ramayana