Subahu ( , ta, சுபாகு , kan, ಸುಬಾಹು,

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

: ''Sawahu'') was a

rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma whe ...

character in the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

Story

Subahu,

Maricha In the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', Maricha, or Mareecha (Sanskrit: मारीच, IAST: ) is a demon, who was killed by Rama, the hero of the epic and an avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is mentioned as an ally of Ravana, the antagonist of the epic. Hi ...

and their mother,

Tataka Tāṭakā is a minor ''yakṣī'' antagonist in the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. Along with her children, Mārīca and Subāhu, Tāṭakā would harass and attack sages performing yajñas in the forest. They were ultimately slain by Rāma Rama ( ...

, took immense pleasure in harassing the munis of the jungle, especially

Vishvamitra Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mant ...

, by disrupting their

yajna Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

s with rains of flesh and blood. Vishvamitra approached

Dasharatha Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He ha ...

for help in getting rid of these pestilences. Dasharatha obliged by sending two of his sons,

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

, to the forest with Vishvamitra, charging them to protect both the sage and his

sacrificial fire Worship or deification of fire (also pyrodulia, pyrolatry or pyrolatria) is known from various religions. Fire has been an important part of human culture since the Lower Paleolithic. Religious or animist notions connected to fire are assumed to ...

s. When Subahu and Maricha again attempted to rain flesh and blood on the sage's yajna, Subahu was killed by Rama. Maricha escaped to Lanka. In the fear of Rama, he lived as a sage but was then ordered by

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

to trick Rama into hunting him down. Maricha refused and tried to persuade Ravana to not do such a dreadful task but Ravana insisted and threatened to kill him. Maricha eventually decided to be killed by Rama since it was honourable to die at the hands of God rather than Ravana. He was eventually killed by Rama when he took the form of a deer.

References

Rakshasa in the Ramayana {{Hindu-myth-stub Characters_in_the_Ramayana