Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.612

c8.612

3). Āśrama life. Mārica and Subāhu were two inseparable brothers. They learned all tactics of war and their hobby was to torment the innocent sages of the forests (Sarga 19, Bālakāṇḍa, Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa). When the exploits of Mārica became unbearable, Viśvāmitra brought Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa from Ayodhyā for help. The instant Mārica heard the fierce twang of Rāma's bow he fled to the other shore of the sea. From that day onwards Mārica grew matted hair and wore barks of trees and spent his life in an āśrama. (Sargas 35 and 36, Araṇyakāṇḍa, Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa).