Rama-and-Laksmana-confront-the-demons-Marica-and-Subahu-Courtesy-Sahapedia

Subahu () was a

rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...

featured in the Hindu epic

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

Story

Subahu was the son of Shambara, a demon slayed by Indra. Subahu, Maricha and Maricha's mother, Tataka, took immense pleasure in harassing the munis of the jungle, especially

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

, by disrupting their

yajna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature ...

s with rains of flesh and blood. Vishvamitra approached Dasharatha for help in getting rid of these pestilences. Dasharatha obliged by sending two of his sons,

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and Lakshmana, to the forest with Vishvamitra, charging them to protect both the sage and his sacrificial fires. 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. Out of the fear of Rama, he lived as a sage but was then ordered by

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

to trick Rama into hunting him down (and kidnap his wife

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

). Maricha refused and tried to persuade Ravana to not commit such a dreadful sin. However, Ravana insisted and threatened to kill him. Maricha eventually decided to be killed by Rama since it was better to die at the hands of God rather than Ravana. He was eventually killed by Rama when he took the form of a deer to distract him. Just before his death, he called out in Rama's voice for Lakshmana's help. This eventually lured Lakshman away from Sita, and allowed Ravana to assume the form of a sage and abduct her.

References

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