The Demons
The Raamayana describes various demons encountered and defeated by Raama and Lakshmana.
When the young princes accompanied Vishwamitra in order to thwart the attempts of the demons to foil the performance of sacred rituals, their first encounter was with a demoness, with the strength of a thousand elephants, called Taataka. She was the mother of Mareecha and Subaahu.
Cursed by Agastya*, originally a yakshini, she had turned into an ugly man-eating demoness hounding rishis immersed in worship. Vishwamitra instructed Raama to kill Taataka and harbour no reservations about her being a female. Thus, Taataka met her end by Raama’s arrow.
*accounts vary from her husband Sunda being killed by Agastya and thus Tataka trying to attack Agastya, to her being smitten by Agastya and trying to seduce him.
Mareecha and Subaahu: The demon sons of Taataka, would rain flesh and blood on the sacrificial fires in order to defile them. Raama killed Subaahu, while he flung Mareecha far away. Mareecha is said to have lived like a sage, in order to escape the wrath of Raama. But, years later, the king of Lanka, Raavana* ordered him to help in the abduction of Sita. A helpless Mareecha in the guise of a golden deer, lured Raama away from his hermitage, and shouted in Raama’s voice in order to lure Lakshamana away from the hermitage too. Mareecha finally died at the hands of Raama.
*Mareecha is believed to be the brother of Kekasi and the maternal uncle of Raavana
Shurpanaka: Raavana’s sister whose husband was supposedly killed by Raavana as he was their enemy. Upon Mandodari’s and Kumbhakarna’s appeals, Raavana is said to have spared Shurpanaka’s life which she then spent on the look-out for a new husband.
When she encountered Raama in Panchavati, she appeared before him in a beautiful form in order to entice him. Raama told her that he was married and had vowed to have only one wife. When Shurpanakha turned to Lakshmana, equally handsome, he, in jest said, he was Raama’s slave and hence she too would become a slave.
Rebuffed and angered, Shurpanaka assumed a dreadful form and rushed towards Sita, but Lakshmana quickly cut off her nose and ears. Shurpanaka first attempted to avenge the insult by sending her cousin Khara to destroy the brothers. Later, she went to Lanka and incited her brother Raavana to abduct Sita.
Khara and Dooshana: Khara and Dooshana were the sons of Raavana’s maternal aunt. They were man-eating raakshasas known for their unbeatable strength and wickedness. Both of them attacked Raama and Lakshmana with their army of 14000 demons, after hearing of Shurpanaka’s humiliation and mutilation. But their reign of terror and evil ended when they, along with the 14000 rakshasas were killed by Raama and Lakshmana.
Kabandha: When Raama and Lakshmana set out in search of Sita, they encountered a headless torso, who appeared to be all arms. This frightful creature was a cursed Gandharva who roamed as a man-eating demon. Cutting off his arms, they killed and cremated him.
Raavana, Kumbhakarna and the entire army of demons, along with Trishira, Atikaya, Indrajit, the sons of Raavana; Makaraksha, the son of Khara; were destroyed by Raama and Lakshmana.