ताटकावृत्तान्तः
The Account of Tāṭakā and the Royal Duty to Protect
भक्षार्थं जातसंरम्भा गर्जन्ती साभ्यधावत।0आपतन्तीं तु तां दृष्ट्वा अगस्त्यो भगवानृषि:।।।।राक्षसत्वं भजस्वेति मारीचं व्याजहार स:। 1
bhakṣārthaṃ jāta-saṃrambhā garjantī sābhyadhāvata | āpatantīṃ tu tāṃ dṛṣṭvā agastyo bhagavān ṛṣiḥ | rākṣasatvaṃ bhajasveti mārīcaṃ vyājahāra saḥ || 1.25.10 ||
ਭੱਖਣ ਦੀ ਲਾਲਸਾ ਨਾਲ ਉੱਠੇ ਰੋਹ ਵਿਚ ਗੱਜਦੀ ਹੋਈ ਉਹ ਦੌੜੀ ਆਈ। ਉਸਨੂੰ ਝਪਟਦੀ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਰਿਸ਼ੀ ਅਗਸਤ੍ਯ ਨੇ ਮਾਰੀਚ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਾਪ-ਵਚਨ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਤੂੰ ਰਾਖਸ਼-ਸਵਭਾਵ ਧਾਰਣ ਕਰ।”
Roaring, she rushed with excitement to devour him. The venerable rishi Agastya saw her approaching him and cursed Maricha to assume form of a demoness.
Unchecked aggression leads to moral and existential downfall; dharma warns that predatory intent invites consequences, especially when directed against the righteous.
Viśvāmitra recounts an earlier episode: Agastya confronts an attacker and pronounces a transformative curse upon Mārīca.
Agastya’s ascetic potency and protective severity—using spiritual authority to restrain adharma.