Vedic Katha
At Panchavati, Ravana sends the demon Maricha as a golden deer to lure Rama away.
In the thirteenth year of their exile, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were living in a hut of leaves at Panchavati, on the banks of the Godavari.
Shurpanakha, a rakshasi and the sister of Ravana, saw Rama and desired him. Rama, laughing, told her he was married and sent her to Lakshmana, who sent her back again.
Ravana went to the rakshasa Maricha, whom Rama had once driven into the sea with a single arrow as a boy, and ordered him to help.
Sita heard the cry and begged Lakshmana to go to Rama's help. He refused, certain Rama could not be harmed. In her fear she accused him of hoping Rama would die, and Lakshmana, hurt and unwilling, went.
The old vulture king Jatayu heard Sita's cries and flew at Ravana. He broke his bow and his chariot and killed his charioteer, but Ravana cut off his wings and he fell.
Rama, meeting Lakshmana on the path, knew at once that something was wrong. They found the hut empty. Rama's grief was overwhelming: he asked the trees, the river and the deer where Sita had gone.
The golden deer has become a byword for the beautiful illusion that leads us away from what matters. The story also shows how a single act of anger and desire, Shurpanakha's humiliation and Ravana's lust, sets…
Vedic Katha
The complete story, its characters and sources, on Vedic Katha.