Sita became insistent and said sullenly, "You will never get it, I know," and turned round and went back into the hermitage, annoyed and irritated. Rama felt sad that there should be such an argument over an innocent wish of his wife, who had ungrudging thrown her lot with his. He said to Lakshmana, "Let me go and catch it myself. Meanwhile, guard her." With his bow held ready, he approached the golden deer. His mind did not admit Lakshmana's words of caution; it went on echoing Sita's plaintive appeal and he resolved to himself, "She shall have it, and then she will surely smile again." The chase began. The deer waited for his approach and darted off again and again. In the mood of the chase, Rama had not noticed how far he had been drawnoutor how long it had lasted.
Forest paths, mountain tracks, and valleys he had traversed trying to keep pace with the elusive deer. A blind determination, a challenge, and behind them a desire to please his wife—all these drew him on as the splendorous animal receded farther and farther.Suddenly it dawned on him that he was being duped.
Lakshmana was right after all. He ought not to have so blindly obeyed his wife. Automatically his hand took out an arrow and shot it at the animal, just as Mareecha, guessing Rama's thoughts, made a desperate attempt to escape. But it was too late. Rama's arrow as ever reached its target. Mareecha screamed, "Oh, Lakshmana! Oh, Sita! help me…" assuming the voice of Rama. After disposing of Mareecha in this manner, Rama turned back, rather worried that Mareecha's cry might have been heard by Sita. "Lakshmana will help her to guess what has
happened," he thought, for he admired Lakshmana's sagacity and understanding; but realizing that he had been drawn quite far away from Panchvati, he hurried back towards his cottage.
Sita, hearing the cry of Mareecha, said to Lakshmana, "Something has happened to my lord. Go and help him." "No harm can befall Rama. Be assured of it. One who has vanquished all the demons in this world will not be harmed by a mere animal, if indeed, as you think, it is an animal. It was an asura, now finished off, and the cry was false and assumed, aimed precisely at you."
"This is no time for explanations or speculation," she said. As she was talking the cry was heard a second time. "Oh, Lakshmana! Oh, Sita!" And Sita was seized with panic and lost control of herself completely. She cried, "Do not stand there and talk! Go, go and save Rama!"
"He is the savior and needs no help from others, my respected sister-in-law. Wait, be patient for a while, and you will see him before you, and then you will laugh at your own fears."Sita had no ear for any explanation and went on repeating, "Go, go and save him! How can you stay here talking! I'm surprised at your calmness." As Lakshmana kept on asking her to remain calm, she became more and more worked up and began to talk wildly. "You who have never left his sidesince your birth, who followed him into the forest—at a moment like this, instead of rushing to his side, you stand there chattering away at me. This looks very very strange to me!"
Once again Lakshmana tried to set her mind at rest. "You have apparently not understood the nature of Rama. There is no power which can reduce him to cry for help. If Rama was really threatened, the whole universe and all creation would have trembled and collapsed by now, for he is no ordinary mortal… ."
Sita's eyes flashed anger and sorrow. "It's improper for you to stay here with me and talk coldly this way. Strange! Anyone who has been close to my lord for even a brief moment ought to be prepared to lay down his life for him. Yet you, who were born and bred with him and attached
yourself to him through everything—you stand here unmoved and unaffected by his cry for help. If you don't want to save him, there is nothing more I can do, nor anyone I could turn to
for support. The only thing left will be for me to build a fire and throw myself into it… ."
Sita's insinuations and lack of trust in him pained Lakshmana deeply. He pondered over her words and said, "No need for you to harm yourself. Only I shudder at the import of your words. I'll obey you now. Do not be anxious. This very second I'll leave. I only hesitated because your
order goes against the command of my brother. I'll go, and may the gods protect you from harm!" "If I don't go, she will kill herself," he reasoned. "If I go, she will be in danger. I'd rather be dead than facing such a dilemma… . I'll go, and what is destined will happen. Dharma alone should protect her." He said to Sita, "Our elder Jatayu is there to watch us, and he will guard you."
The moment Lakshmana left, Ravana, who had been watching, emerged from his hiding place. He stood at the gate of Panchvati cottage and called, "Who is there? Anyone inside to welcome a sanyasi?" He was in the garb of a hermit, lean, scraggy, and carrying a staff and a wooden
begging bowl in his hand. His voice shook as if with old age, his legs trembled, as he called again, "Is there anyone living in this hut?"
Sita opened the door and saw the old man and said, "You are welcome, sir. What do you want?"
Ravana was overwhelmed by the vision before him. Sita invited him in and gave him a seat while his mind buzzed with a thousand thoughts. "She should be mine. I'll make her the queen of my empire and spend the rest of my days in obeying her command and pleasing her in a million ways. I'll do nothing else in life except enjoy her company… . Ah! how perceptive and helpful my sister has been! Not a word of exaggeration in her description. Absolutely perfect.
Perfection … How good of my darling sister to have thought of me when she saw this angel! I shall reward my sister by making her the queen of my empire. She shall rule in my place, while I live in the paradise of this woman's company."
He had already forgotten that he had intended to make Sita the queen of his empire.
While his mind was busy with these pleasant plans, Sita was inquiring, "How do you come to be found on this lonely forest path—at your age? Where do you come from?"
He woke up from his day-dreaming to answer, "Well, there is one …" and proceeded to give a detailed account of himself in the third person—as the mightiest in creation,
favorite of the great Lord Shiva himself, powerful enough to order the sun and the moon to move in or out of their orbits as he pleased. "All the gods wait upon him to do his slightest
bidding, all the divine damsels, Urvasi, Thilothama and the others, are ever ready to massage his feet and strap his sandals on. He is greater than Indra; his capital is unmatched, a magnificent city; he commands all the power, wealth, and glories of this world. Thousands of women wait
anxiously for his favor, but he is waiting and looking for the most perfect beauty in creation. He is learned, just,handsome, in vigor and youthfulness unmatched. I have stayed in the glory of his presence for a long time and am now returning home this way."