“Stones and sticks will break my bones, but words will never harm me.” This saying urges us to become thick-skinned and not let people’s harsh words hurt us. It is an expression of a conscious intention, a rallying call to steel oneself against painful words, whose power to injure is conveyed in another aphorism: “Words hurt more than swords.”
The Sinister Shapeshifter
The dynamics underlying these two paradoxical sayings can be understood from a pastime in the Ramayana. When Rama was living in the forest with his wife Sita and his younger brother Lakshmana, they became the target of a conspiracy by the demon king Ravana who wanted to abduct Sita. He instructed one of his demon associates, a shapeshifting wizard named Maricha, to assume the form of a spellbindingly beautiful deer. It danced and pranced near Rama’s forest cottage, captivating the tenderhearted Sita. She desired the deer as a pet to alleviate the austerity of forest life. Further, when their exile ended and they returned to Ayodhya, she could gift it as a memento to her mother-in-law Kaushalya.
Pointing to the deer, Sita requested Rama to get it for her. Lakshmana, who was by Rama’s side, peered at the deer. Where Sita saw disarming beauty, Lakshmana saw disconcerting peculiarity. Remarking that the deer looked too beautiful to be real, he pointed out that other animals were staying away from it. Given that deer are not predators, such fear for the deer among other animals was suspicious.
The Ramayana here points to an uncanny ability of animals to perceive things beyond human perception – an ability that some people living in, say, earthquake-prone areas sometimes testify to. Unusual behavior such as fearfulness and noisiness among dogs, horses and other similar animals often comprises a forewarning of an impending quake.
Based on the deer’s unusual appearance and the other animals’ uncharacteristic response to it, Lakshmana inferred that the deer was actually a demon. Sita, however, was so captivated that she neglected Lakshmana’s inference and beseeched Rama again. Rama didn’t have the heart to say no to her. She had given up so much for his sake in following him to the forest, and he, being bereft of all royal resources, had been able to give her so little in return. So, he decided to fulfill this small desire of hers by catching the deer.
On seeing Rama approaching, the deer took off into the forest. Rama gave chase and soon they both disappeared deep into the wilderness. Rama pursued the deer for nearly an hour. Whenever he closed in on it, it would escape by taking a giant leap, far bigger than what any deer would be capable of. Or it would just mystically disappear and reappear at a distance, as if teasing Rama. Tiring of its many tricks, Rama concluded that Lakshmana had been right: The deer was definitely a demon in disguise. Angered at its deception and wary of the danger it posed, he abandoned his plan to catch it alive and decided to […]
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