The story of Sri Rama and Tataka is found in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Tataka’s father Suketu was a Yaksha king who performed Tapas to please Lord Brahma so as to obtain an offspring. Suketu desired a son, but Brahma blessed him with a daughter, beautiful and strong in physique. She was Tataka who married Sunda. She had two sons Maricha and Subahu and a daughter, Kaikasi.
Tataka and Sunda planned to marry off Kaikasi to the Rishi Visravas in order to obtain a progeny that would be all-powerful. Visravas, although already married, fell in love with Kaikasi and married her. Their son was Ravana, the mighty King of Lanka. Once, Rishi Agastya cursed Tataka’s father Suketu to death. Tataka decided to wreak vengeance on the sage. She had the help of her son, Subahu. This enraged Agastya and he cursed Tataka to lose her beautiful physique, and transform into a demonic creature with a cruel and cannibalistic nature. The curse transformed Tataka into a man-eater with an ugly and fierce figure. After the curse of Agastya, Tataka started living in a place near the habitations of Malaja and Karusha in a forest near the river Ganga, opposite to the confluence of the river Sarayu. The area came to be known as the forest of Tataka. She terrorized the people, devouring anyone who dared to set foot in that forest.
Tataka and Subahu harassed many Rishis by destroying their Yagas with rains of flesh and blood. Maharshi Visvamitra was the most affected victim of Tataka's harassment. At last, Visvamitra approached Dasaratha, the King of Kosala, for help. The King obliged by sending two of his four sons, young Rama and Lakshmana, to the forest, entrusting them to protect both Visvamitra and his sacrifice.
Visvamitra and the two princes Sree Ram and Lakshmana came to Tataka’s forest and the sage ordered Lord Rama to kill the demoness to free the area from her terror. Rama was hesitant to kill her as she was a woman. He chopped off her hands so that she could not attack anyone further. Using her demonic powers, she changed her form, disappeared and continued her attack. Visvamitra advised Lord Ram that though a woman, Tataka was terrorising the region and as a prince, it was Sri Rama’s duty to protect the people by killing the terrorists who plagued his people. Rama was thus convinced of killing Tataka. He pierced her heart with his arrows.
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